Wild Horse & Burros Coming to Tulare - Adopters Wanted

Catch the spirit and romance of the Old West as 80 wild horses and 20 wild burros from Nevada and California come to the International Agricultural Center in Tulare in search of good homes.

The Bureau of Land Management's Bakersfield Field Office will be hosting a wild horse and burro adoption on Saturday November 18 and Sunday November 19.  The animals will be available for viewing on Friday the 17^th beginning at 4 pm.  The gates will open Saturday and Sunday mornings at 8 for viewing, with the adoption starting at 9 and concluding at 5 pm.  

Wild horses and burros will be offered for public adoption through an oral auction.  A minimum bid of $125 per animal is payable at the time of adoption.  Visa, MasterCard, personal check, cash or money orders are accepted forms of payment.

Prospective adopters must be at least 18 years old and have adequate facilities to provide humane care for the animals.  Until gentled, wild horses and burros must be maintained in a corral that provides a minimum of 400 square feet of space per animal.  The corrals must be constructed of posts or poles, wood or metal, with no sharp protrusions or other hazardous objects, and must be six feet high.  Adopters must provide safe transportation for their adopted animals.  A covered stock trailer with a swing door is required for adult horses.  A two horse trailer with the dividers removed may be used for burros and yearlings.  All prospective adopters must have their applications pre-approved before they adopt.

Before the animals are shipped to Tulare, each animal will be thoroughly checked by a veterinarian, vaccinated for various equine disorders and administered a Coggins test to assure they do not have Equine Infectious Anemia.  A health record is included with each animal.

The Bureau of Land Management's Adopt-A-Horse and Burro Program, which began in 1973, has placed approximately 162,000 wild horses and burros in private care.  The program was initiated to find homes for excess wild horses and burros that must be removed from public land in order to maintain an ecological balance on the public rangelands.  These same lands also support livestock and native wildlife.

With care and patience, wild horses and burros can be trained and used for pleasure riding, farm work, showing, barrel racing, roping, trail riding or other non-commercial purposes.  One year after adoption, the adopter will become eligible to receive title to the adopted animals.

Application forms and additional information can be obtained from Mindy Odom at the Bureau of Land Management's Bakersfield Field Office, 3801 Pegasus Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93308 or by calling (661) 391-6049.

- BLM -