For Immediate Release: July 14, 2003
Contact: Fran Ackley BLM 719-269-8511
Hillerie C. Patton BLM 303-239-3671
Vaughn Whatley BLM 303-239-3766

BLM to Hold Nationally Televised Wild Horse Adoption 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a nationally televised wild horse and burro adoption August 1.  Participants can stay home and bid on more than 150 animals or go to any Colorado BLM office. The broadcast will air on the Dish Network’s channel 9602 and on C Band Satellite Galaxy 3, channel 2 beginning at 10 a.m.

The BLM is offering for adoption 158 fillies, colts, mares, geldings, studs, and burros gathered from rangelands in Nevada, California, and Arizona.  The adoption will include a few saddle-ready wild horses trained by prison inmates in Wyoming and Colorado.  Bidding on the animals start at $125 with the exception of select trained horses from Colorado. The starting bid for these animals is $1,025 each for two geldings and $250 for a trained mare and her foal.  The animals are available for viewing at www.nv.blm.gov.  To participate in the adoption, bidders must pre-qualify and obtain a bid number from the BLM by calling 1-800-633-6094.  Qualified individuals will participate via telephone and will have approximately 90 seconds to bid on a horse or burro.

All the animals have equine inoculations, including the vaccination for the West Nile Virus, and have received a Coggins test to detect Equine Infectious Anemia.  Additionally, each animal comes with a health card and a paper, provided by the BLM, which allows the adopter to transport the horse or burro from the pick up site to another state. 

For more information about the wild horse and burro adoption program call toll free at 1-866-4Mustangs or visit www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.  For information about BLM viewing stations visit www.co.blm.gov and click on offices.

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