Mustangs auctioned at Fairgrounds

MOSES LAKE - A mustang, a true mustang, straight off the range, is lean and rangy, with a narrow head and not all that tall. Potential horse owners have plenty of options, everything from thoroughbreds to quarter horses and beyond, domesticated from birth and ready to train. Yet one mustang owner said there's a bond between horse and owner that's almost impossible to explain.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management put up 20 mustangs for adoption Saturday at the Grant County Fairgrounds. It's part of the bureau's ongoing adoption program, which in the Pacific Northwest is based at the wild horse corrals near Burns, Ore.

Debby Jackson, of Ellensburg, has owned two mustangs, and in her opinion they're terrific to ride.

"They don't come with bad habits. The only bad habits they learn are from you," Jackson said. Jackson and her horse Windy Daze gave demonstration of competitive trail riding Saturday morning.

It might take a while to convince a mustang that it's OK to let a human get close, and then let that human get on its back. But "when they start to trust you, you can really tell. It's quite a bond." In fact it's almost impossible to describe, she said.

Horse trainer Lesley Neuman said horses never forget what they learn when they're first trained. If they learn good habits, they will revert to those good habits, even if they are taught bad habits afterward. That's true in reverse for bad habits: horses never forget them, even if they've been schooled in good habits for years. Neuman demonstrated how to interact with the horses and persuade them to accept humans.

The mustang herds in the Pacific Northwest are concentrated in southeastern Oregon, ranging in a 250-mile semicircle from the desert north of Lakeview to the Owyhee mountains south of Ontario. Their range is split into smaller districts called herd management areas and the horses in each district are rounded up every three to five years, said Rob Sharp, a natural resource specialist at the Burns corrals, who accompanied the horses north.

Bureau of Land Management officials determined the best way to round up the horses is from the air, Sharp said. Helicopter pilots are the wranglers. It's a skill in itself as pilots must be certified in at least 500 hours of livestock handling to qualify, he said.

The contractors set up a temporary corral, usually near a known horse trail, and just move the horses along; unlike the movie cliches of animals running wildly as the helicopters dive, it's all pretty mellow. "Most of the time they're at a slow, steady trot," Sharp said. Only when the horses get close to the temporary corrals do the helicopters move in close.

The BLM chooses the animals that will be pulled from the herd and adopted. "The younger horses are the obvious candidates," Sharp said. The target population is ages 3 to 4 or younger. Sometimes the BLM takes older females if they have a nursing colt or are pregnant, he said.

Once the horses arrive at the corral they're treated for worms and tested and vaccinated for disease. "Every horse is given unique identification," Sharp said, a number on the neck. It's done with a freezing process. Most stallions, unless they come from designated management areas, are gelded.

The mustangs are cared for but not broken or ridden. "There is no gentling that goes on in our facility," Sharp said.

The BLM schedules offsite adoptions three to four times per year, Sharp said, focusing on places where there are a lot of people around who like horses. "We want a good crowd," he said.

Mustangs are also available for adoption at the Burns corral, each Monday through Friday, April through October. Burns is off the beaten path, yet there are people who find their way there, Sharp said. "It's every day. It's a constant flow of individuals who have heard about the facility. And they've actually planned a trip around it."

The mustangs are available for adoption year-round; more information is available on the BLM website, at 1-866-MUSTANGS or the Burns BLM office, 541-573-4400.