Bitterroot Range, Montana
BLM
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
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Adopting A Wild Horse or Burro

The United States Marine Corp Mounted Color Guard; all America's Living Legends.

The United States Marine Corp
 Mounted Color Guard.
 All America's "Living Legends".

Adoptions

Federal protection and a lack of natural predators have resulted in significant increases in wild horse and burro herd populations. The Bureau of Land Management monitors rangeland conditions and wild horse and burro herds to determine the number of animals, including livestock and wildlife, that the land can support. Each year, the BLM gathers excess wild horses and burros from areas where vegetation and water could become scarce if too many animals use the area.

These excess animals are offered for adoption to qualified people through the BLM’s Adopt a Wild Horse or Burro program. After caring for an animal for one year, adopter's are eligible to receive title, or ownership, from the Federal government. While the BLM faces a constant challenge in adopting out enough animals to maintain healthy herds on healthy rangelands, the adoption program is a popular one. In fact, the BLM has placed more than 220,000 wild horses and burros into private care since the adoption program began in 1971.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 gave the BLM, an agency of the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service the authority to protect, manage, and control wild horses and burros on public lands to ensure that healthy herds thrive on healthy rangelands.

America's Northern Border patrolled by American Mustangs.

America's Northern Border; patrolled by
 American Mustangs.

Jennifer Rowland and "Pretty Girl".

Jennifer Rowland's
"Pretty Girl" and Pretty Girl's best doggie friend.

 







For more statistical information, please visit  Mustang and Burro adoptions, sales, and gather information on this website.  

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Janet Tipton and "Ladybug" onwards and upwards at the Pink Flamingo Endurance Ride in Cascade, ID.

Janet Tipton and "Ladybug" onwards and upwards at the Pink Flamingo Endurance Ride in Cascade, ID.
 Photo by Steve Bradley.


 

Northern Border Patrol Unit Mustangs marching in the 2009 Inaugural Parade.l

Northern Border Patrol Unit Mustangs marching in the
 2009 Inaugural Parade.