I had an interesting day yesterday. I went to the BLM Mustang Adoption facility that is about 25 miles away to do some business with Dr. M. While I waited, I got the grand tour, and some interesting information.
For example, there are 50,ooo mustangs that reproduce at a rate of 20% per year. Any mare over the age of 2 that comes to this facility, and has been captured less than 11 months, will foal while at the facility.
Most adoptions are of babies, and of course the funky colored ones go first. Rarely is a horse at this facility for more than a year, but sometimes it does happen. There is now a rule about three strikes--if a horse has been at three adoption events and still not adopted, they can be bought for really cheap like $25 or 50 bucks, and instead of the BLM holding on to the papers for a year like they normally do, the buyer gets them right then. I do not know what I make of that policy but I can tell you that there were a lot of nice nice nice horses in the three strike pen. Bay and sorrel of course, but nice horses.
This is what lunch time looks like. 
This grullo gelding is the personal horse of Andy, who works there. He is a really nice horse-and the pics in no way do him justice. He was really put together, if a bit fat, and a gorgeous grulla color. He was not a capture but the product of two horses that were.
This was one of the horswes that was not a baby---I love that steel gray color.
Look at that hair! So curly and crazy--this was a baby--under a year for sure. It is hard to tell on some of them, but interestingly, the two guys that work there know each one of them, and there are a couple of hundred horses I bet. They call them by number usually, but each one is known to them.
There were four burros, but they were owned by the worker's mom. They do not get a lot of them in, but sometimes they do. They had funny names like Blueberry, Pinky, etc. They cracked me up.
I learned all about the tattoos--how to do them, what each piece of them means, etc. They can tell what year they were born, what state they came from, all kinds of stuff. They gave me a little chart, and it would be very handy but I cannot read them damn tattoos! They look like Sanskrit to me.
It was really interesting.
Next up will be the cool tools they have, as well as a model
Thursday, May 29, 2008
A day at the BLM Mustang Adoption facility
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6 comments:
when I come back the next time, this is a Must See. Really cool Paige. Interesting.
I'd take a baby mustang......probably not an adult one, but a baby one I would.
Wow, what a system and great living quarters to boot.
Have a question. Does someone personally own all of this and pay for all the care of these mustangs?
OR: Does an agency finance some of this?
It is remarkable that the workers can remember each and every horse and it's name/number.
To me the horses all pretty much look very similar. I know a paint and an appy look different but if they are all appy's they begin to look alike to me---so I guess personalities come into play.
Horse Student Carol
Fascinating. I'd love to see it, too. What does TB mean?
Mom
TB= Thoroughbred
Carol, this is your federal tax dollars at work.
The BLM is the Bureau of Land Management, and they are responsible for capturing wild mustangs because there are too many of them to support on the available land. They ship them out to distribution centers across the country and then they are adopted. Or not, as the case may be.
Wow. What fun! I want to se it too!
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