RIVERTON — Thirty gentled wild horses and burros found homes on Saturday at the Bureau of Land Management–Wyoming Honor Farm spring adoption in Riverton.
Attendance was at a near record high—close to 150 potential adopters and interested onlookers gathered for the adoption. Winning bids ranged from $125 to the high bid of the day: $1,900 for 5-year-old Aries. Aries is a buckskin gelding from the Divide Basin Wild Horse Herd Management Area (HMA) in south central Wyoming. In addition to Aries, 21 more saddle-started horses, 6 halter-started horses and 2 burros were adopted.
Happy adopters plan to use their new horses in a variety of ways. Some of these versatile horses will carry their owners when they hunt, trail ride or work on the ranch. Others will be used by outfitters or to teach students how to ride.
Taylor Engum is an outfitter who plans to use the two horses he adopted, Alpha and Daffy, on hunting expeditions in the Bighorns and the mountains around Dubois. “These horses are good for hunting,” said Engum. “They seem to be more alert and see game before other horses do.”
Zach Turnbull of Pinedale will use his two new horses when working in the backcountry for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Dexter and Ruby will join Forrest, who Turnbull adopted from the Honor Farm last September.
“I’d take a dozen more just like ‘em,” said Turnbull. “If you just put some time into them, they’re a pretty good deal.”
Ted and Maureen Shuler of Powell took home Waddy, Smokey and Sasha—all three are grays from the Salt Wells HMA southeast of Rock Springs. They plan to ride them in the mountains as soon as Memorial Day Weekend.
“We like to have our mustangs in the mountains much more than our quarter horses,” said Ted Shuler. “When we have new riders with us, I put them on mustangs. They have good feet and are maintenance free if they throw a shoe.”
The adoption wrapped up with a spirited bidding war over 3-year-old Dexter, a beautiful pinto from the Salt Wells HMA. Dexter fetched the 2nd highest bid of the day: $1,500. And finally, two burros from Lake Pleasant, Arizona, were adopted.
“I support this program so much,” said Cathy Purves of Lander, the lucky bidder who took home both burros. “These will be my fishing burros—they’re just the right size to carry our fishing and camping gear into the backcountry. And they’ll become part of our family.”
Two adoptions are held at the Honor Farm each year and the next one is scheduled for September 10. For more information about the BLM wild horse and burro program, visit this link.
For more information about the Honor Farm, click here.
