July 16th, 2015: Wild Horse and Burro Adoption

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a wild horse and burro adoption in Silver City, N.M., Aug. 7-8, 2015. The two-day event at the Southwest Horsemen’s Association Rodeo Grounds will feature dozens of spectacular animals. These are adult and yearling horses and burros that once roamed free on public lands in the West. The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range in order to maintain healthy herds and to protect other rangeland resources. The adoption program is essential for achieving these important management goals.

Adoption Schedule

Friday, August 7 – noon – 6 p.m.

Saturday, August 8 – 8 – 10 a.m.

Adoption Qualifications

Application approval is required and can be done on site. To qualify to adopt, one must be at least 18, with no record of animal abuse. Adopters must have a minimum of 400 square feet of corral space per animal, with free access to food, water and shelter. A six-foot corral fence is required for adult horses, five feet for yearlings, and four-and-a-half feet for burros. All animals must be loaded in covered stock-type trailers with swing gates and sturdy walls and floors. BLM staff will be on hand to assist adopters through the short application process.

Adoption Fees

All animals will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis for the minimum adoption fee of $125 (set by law).

$500 Adoption Incentive

BLM pays a one-time $500 care-and-feeding allowance to adopters of selected older horses (four-plus). The allowance is paid in full after one year when adopters receive official ownership title for their horse(s). All standard adoption conditions and fees apply. A limited number of eligible horses will be available at this event. Younger horses, burros and trained animals are not eligible for this incentive. This incentive is designed to find homes for older horses that might otherwise be destined for off-range pastures, where they’d live out the remainder of their natural lives at taxpayer expense.

Wild horses and burros – iconic symbols of America’s western heritage – are renowned for their strength, endurance, agility and intelligence, characteristics bred into them in the wild that make them ideal for work or recreation. Since 1973, the BLM has placed more than 235,000 of these “living legends” in approved homes across the country.