Wild horses trained by the BLM Nevada’s inmate training facility are serving America
By Jenny Lesieutre, BLM Nevada Wild Horse and Burro Public Affairs Specialist
The COVID-19 virus and the strict social distancing guidelines over the last several months has not stopped the BLM Nevada’s contracted wild horse facility, the Northern Nevada Correctional Center (NNCC) Inmate Training Program, from doing what they do – training horses and finding them forever homes! When BLM Nevada had to make the difficult decision to cancel their annual June public adoption, instead of sitting on 15 trained horses, Ruth Thompson, the BLM-NV Wild Horse and Burro State Lead, working closely with Justin Pope, Farm Manager of NNCC, picked up the phone and started coordinating filling back order requests for started horses received from Federal agencies to serve America.
On June 17-18, 15 saddle-started horses and one halter-started burro trained by inmates at NNCC were directly transferred to two different Federal agencies. The New Mexico Border Patrol, El Paso Sector picked up 10 horses and The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, CA picked up five horses and the burro.
On June 17, Border Patrol wranglers, John Goodman and Adam Schertz, spent the day testing out horses and talking with the inmate trainers and NNCC’s Head Trainer, Hank Curry about the program and the animals. Ahead of their trip to Nevada, the Border Patrol sent over their specifications of what their strict requirements are when obtaining horses for their program – by the end of the day, 10 of the 15 horses shown were selected to begin their journey serving America.
The horses will be utilized to assist Border Patrol agents in the apprehension of individuals who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico international border. The horses will be used on a daily basis in mountainous and rugged terrain to assist in tracking operations and nighttime camera operations. In addition, the horses are also used in public relation events such as parades, school events and national competitions.
The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center conducts service-level Marine Air-Ground Task Force integrated exercises and supports formal schools, develops warfighting doctrine, supports Research, Development, Test and Evaluation for specialized equipment for use in mountain warfare operations, and maintains installation infrastructure and services in order to facilitate increased U.S. Marine Corps readiness. The burro was personally selected by the Colonel, who is the commanding officer of the center, and will be trained to pull a cart and mainly used for public relations. The five horses that were selected were loaded in a trailer and headed to Wyoming to add additional training from well-known wild horse trainer, Ken McNabb. The horses will be there approximately 2-3 weeks and then will head to their final home in Bridgeport, CA. The next class will be conducted, using these horses, in mid-July.
The next public saddle-trained wild horse adoption is tentatively scheduled to take place at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center on October 10, 2020. In addition, the BLM Nevada / NNCC partnership continues to work closely together to ensure we are providing well-started horses for other Federal and state agencies to serve America and local communities.
