Wild horses available for adoption at Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center near Elk Grove
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ELK GROVE, Calif. – Wild horses trained by inmates to accept a saddle and rider will be up for public adoption on Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, 12500 Bruceville Road, Elk Grove. The adoption event is a partnership of the Bureau of Land Management and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.
The event will kick off at 9 a.m. with an hour-long meet and greet; from 10 to 11 a.m., there will be a demonstration the highlights the capabilities of each horse; and from 11 a.m. to noon, the wild horse auction will take place. Bidding starts at $300 per horse.
Interested adopters will have the opportunity to speak with Joe Misner, the program manager and an experienced mustang trainer, as well as with the inmates who have trained the 11 horses. The BLM provides the training program with mustangs removed from public ranges in population control measures.
“The wild horses that come out of R3C training program offer a valuable opportunity for all those involved,” said Amy Dumas, BLM-California’s Wild Horse and Burro Program manager. “The inmates’ benefits from the training by learning new skills and patience, the adopters get a head start on training their horses for a variety of uses, and the horses find homes.”
Dumas explained that BLM’s management of wild populations, required by federal law, helps keep public rangelands sustainable for a variety of uses.
Adopters must be United States residents and at least 18 years old. Adopters must provide corrals offering least 400-square-feet per animal. The BLM requires that corrals be enclosed by six-foot fences built of pipe or boards. A roofed, two-sided shelter also is required. Adopters should not release the horses into large pastures until they have settled into their new homes. Adopters may not sell or give their horse away until they have received a title from the BLM.
The BLM certifies that the horses are healthy and provides medical care records for each animal.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.