69 of 80 wild horses and burros find new homes at Tulare adoption

Southern San Joaquin Valley residents flocked to the Tulare County Fairgrounds Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8 and 9, and many of them left with a new family member -- a wild horse or burro. The occasion was a Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Adoption that offered 62 mustangs and 18 burros for public adoption. At the end of the weekend, 69 of the available 80 animals were adopted.

(above) BLM volunteer Robert Lynk and adopted wild horse Pinocchio share a moment during the Tulare wild horse and burro adoption. Pinocchio, a 13-year-old wild horse from the Buckhorn Herd Management Area in northeast California, is owned by Mindy Odom, wild horse and burro adoption coordinator for BLM in California. Mindy adopted Pinocchio when he was six months old.

(below) BLM employees Vickie Nelson and Maria Soto (at right, behind table) were busy helping adopters complete their adoption transactions during a busy Saturday morning at the Tulare adoption event.

(below) Horse trainer Phil West of Bishop works with an untrained wild horse to demonstrate gentling methods during the wild horse and burro adoption event in Tulare. BLM adoption events usually feature training demonstrations by professional trainers such as West.

News.bytes, issue 134

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11/12/2003