BLM Wild Horse and Burro Adoption and Sales Programs

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) protects, manages, and controls wild horses and burros under the authority of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. As an agency that administers the public lands for multiple uses, the BLM works to ensure that herd populations across 10 Western states are in balance with rangeland resources and other uses of the public lands.

HMA in WY. Photo protected by U.S. copyright law and may not be produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Bryan Wagner.

To achieve this balance, the BLM must remove thousands of mustangs and burros from the range each

HMA in WY. Photo protected by U.S. copyright law and may not be produced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Bryan Wagner.

year to control the size of herds, which have virtually no predators and can double in population every four years. The estimated free-roaming population of wild horses and burros on BLM-managed lands is more than 36,000, which exceeds by some 9,400 the number determined to be the appropriate management level. Off the range, there are nearly 32,000 wild horses and burros cared for in short-term (corral) and long-term (pasture) facilities. All animals in short- or long-term holding are protected by the BLM under the 1971 law.

After wild horses and burros are removed from the range, the BLM works to place as many animals as possible into private care through adoption or sales. Since 1971, the BLM has placed more than 220,000 mustangs and burros into private ownership through adoption, a process in which a citizen may receive the title of ownership to an animal after one year (with a limit of four titles per year, regardless of the number adopted). Under a December 2004 amendment to the 1971 wild horse law, animals over 10 years old – as well as those passed over for adoption at least three times – are eligible for sale, in which the title of ownership passes immediately from the Federal government to the buyer. Since that amendment took effect, the BLM has sold more than 3,300 wild horses and burros. Proceeds from the sale of eligible animals are used for the BLM's wild 

Mustang adopter, Nancy Kerson, with "Sparky" visiting Vine Village, Inc., a non-profit organization for people with developmental disabilities.

horse and burro adoption program, as directed by Congress under the sale-authority amendment.

Janet Tipton and her adopted mustang, "Lady Bug", participating in an endurance ride.

Ford Motor Company and Take Pride in America, a national partnership program, have teamed to support the BLM in its efforts to place sale-eligible animals in good homes. The BLM is committed to the well-being of wild horses and burros, both on and off the range. With this support from Ford and Take Pride in America, the BLM will be able to carry out the will of Congress while finding good homes for wild horses and burros, which are a treasured symbol of the Western spirit and an icon of American freedom.

If you are interested in buying a wild horse or burro for long-term care, please call us toll-free at 1-800-710-7597 or e-mail wildhorse@blm.gov.

The BLM is committed to the adoption program, which is unchanged by the amended law and will remain separate from the sale authority program. Please visit the BLM's adoption Website for more information on how to adopt and the national adoption schedule for mustang and burro adoptions in your area.

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