Adoptions give break to mustangs

Rebecca Malone

Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2001 | 8:37 a.m.

Liz Masters is often awakened in the morning by her "little drummer boy," Pistol. He sticks his front feet in his feeding bucket, kicks around to make noise and then goes to her window to make sure she gets up to feed him.

Pistol is Masters' 3-year-old black mustang that she adopted when he was only a couple of months old. Adoptions are part of a nationwide program intended to save horses and increase range land space.

Wild horses will again be available for adoption on Sept. 7 and Oct. 7.

The Bureau of Land Management's Sept. 7 adoption will be televised via satellite -- C Band Satellite, Galaxy 3 and Transponder 22. There will be 74 geldings, 48 mares and 15 saddle horses going up for adoption that day.

Those who do not receive satellite signals can view and bid on the horses at the local BLM site, 4765 Vegas Drive.

The Oct. 7 adoption will be at Horseman's Park at Flamingo Road and Stephanie Street, east of Boulder Highway. This adoption follows a wild horse and burro show on Oct. 6 put on by the National Wild Horse Association.

The Sept. 7 televised adoption will be through Superior Livestock Auction and will begin at 9 a.m. with a preview of the horses. Bidding will start at 10 a.m. Bidding on wild horses and burros will start at $125.

Watching the auction live is not necessary. People can go to the website (www.nv.blm.gov), look at the horses and burros that will be up for adoption and then call in and make the bid Sept. 7.

This is the third consecutive year the BLM has put on an auction. Each previous year it placed around 84 horses in homes, Debra Kolkman of BLM said. The last estimate found approximately 2,600 wild horses in Nevada's range land and she said they are hoping to get to a point where they can put on two auctions a year.

"These adoptions are great because not only do they supply good horses to the public, but more importantly it provides more room on the range land," said Gary McFadden, wild horse specialist with the BLM's Las Vegas field office.

"Getting a wild horse is a great idea for someone who has never owned a horse before," Masters said. "They are a learning experience and they don't have any bad habits. If people are willing to learn there are plenty of horse experts who can teach them."

Free clinics on wild horse ownership will be held Aug. 18 and Sept. 1 and 15. People will learn feeding requirements and veterinary issues, McFadden said. The clinics will be held at the Intermountain Farmers Association, 3176 W. Martin Ave.

All animals going up for adoption have been vaccinated and the BLM provides health papers allowing them to be transported into any state. People have to be preapproved to adopt an animal. This means they have to be at least 18, a U.S. resident and have no convictions for inhumane treatment of animals. Adequate facilities of a corral with a minimum of 400 square feet and a shelter is required as well.

Anyone wanting more information on the adoptions or clinics may call the BLM office at 647-5000.