Wild Horses and Burros Up for Adoption : But to Qualify, You’ll Have to Know Your Stuff

With a little bit of “horse sense” and not too much cash, people interested in owning a wild horse or burro can select from a herd up for adoption at the Camp Pendleton Rodeo Grounds today, the California Bureau of Land Management announced.

The 65 wild horses and 34 burros captured on California’s public lands are being offered to qualified owners through the federal “Adopt a Horse and Burro” program, according to Art DiGrazia, a specialist for such animals with the California Desert District. The adoption will continue through the weekend from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Prospective owners can select from the herd on a first-come, first-served basis. Prospective owners must have knowledge in the care of such animals and be able to provide “good, safe, sound facilities for them,” DiGrazia said.

They Have ‘Everything’

“These animals have just been unloaded into the corrals and are ready for adoption,” he said. “They’ve been vaccinated, been checked for worms . . . they’ve gotten everything.”

Those interested in adopting such animals will have to pay only for the veterinary care and relocation expenses, which will be $125 for a horse and $75 for a burro. DiGrazia said only four animals can be adopted by one person in one year.

DiGrazia said that BLM officials will check to see how the animals are doing within four months of the adoption. The animals will continue to belong to the government for one year.

“The new owners will have to prove that they can take care of the horses or burros for a year before they are given full ownership,” he explained.

DiGrazia said the wild horses and burros “don’t know what humans are,” but they can be easily domesticated for various purposes, including riding, working and showing.

He said the federal adoption program--which has placed 22,000 burros and 5,000 horses in 10 years--has helped alleviate the animals’ population explosion.

“There has been a population explosion of sorts among wild horses and burros in this country,” DiGrazia said. “In the past, ranchers would go out and capture these wild animals and do whatever they wanted to do with them. So in 1971, Congress decided such animals roaming on federal land were of historic value to the American way of life and needed to be protected.”

Once the value of these animals was established, the BLM--a branch of the Interior Department--was given the authority to round up the wild animals for adoption.

The horses to be offered for adoption were captured in the Owens Valley and around Susanville; the burros were caught near Death Valley.