When the Bureau of Land Management brought a group of young mustangs to the Bella Cavalli Farm Sept. 12, it turned out to be the opportunity of a lifetime to have the horse of your dreams. They were yearlings born in captivity, or removed from a wild herd as weanlings and raised around humans.

People who came to see them were amazed at how gentle and beautiful they were. You could stroke their noses and feed a carrot, as the process of falling in love just happened in spite of all resistance.

There is a certain cache that comes with rescuing a mustang. In addition to saving a living symbol of our American history, it establishes you as a kind and caring person. It’s hard to believe that a person could own a beautiful young mustang for $125.

If you missed the opportunity, you can go to the BLM facility at 300 S. Richmond Rd., Ridgecrest, Calif., 93555 or call (800) 951-8720.

 

Adoption costs $125, and people have to sign a legal and binding contract with the U.S. government. This document details the care and maintenance expected and the provision that the animals may not be sold, traded or given away until legal title is obtained.

The BLM stays in touch with the buyers and they must have the signature of their veterinarian or farrier saying that the animal is in good health, before the title can be sent.

To control wild horse populations on the range, the BLM is using a relatively new program of rendering the mares infertile for an extended length of time with a drug called PZP. The patent for this fertility control drug is held by the Humane Society of the United States and it is involved with this study. This means adult mares can be released back into the wild without contributing to over-population. The weanlings are raised around humans and later put up for adoption.

 

This has two advantages: The younger horses require less time to train and are much easier to handle for their new owners. And secondly it helps in maintaining the size of the herd so that there will be enough forage. The BLM says that it wants to make sure the mustangs can thrive in the wild.

There are 200 different herds in the U.S. managed by the BLM and the Forest Service. The BLM is responsible for 256 million acres across the U.S., with the states of Nevada, Wyoming and California having the highest wild horse and burro populations.

Permission to sell wild horses to individuals became legal in December of 2004. The BLM is adamant it has not been selling any wild horses or burros to slaughterhouses or killer buyers.

“It is a very emotional issue,” says BLM public affairs officer Jeff Fontana. “Opinions range from ‘Let them all run free with no control.’ to ‘Wipe them all out because they are not native animals.’ The latter group doesn’t realize that horses are native animals because they originated here and then migrated to Asia during the ice age.

 

The emotion and furor possibly started decades ago, with the violent movie “The Misfits” about the capture of wild horses for slaughter houses. This was said to have led up to actor Clark Gable’s heart attack and death, and the subject and action reportedly caused his co-star Marilyn Monroe great emotional distress. But on the positive side, when people speak up about things that are not right, changes will take place.

I asked Fontana about the controversial capture of the wild horses with helicopters, which guide the panicked horses into corrals.

“We hire helicopter pilots who know how to move the horses slowly,” he said. “Having cowboys herd the wild horses doesn’t work for us because we are dealing with vast areas. Also it can get dangerous for them and their horses. We keep the various bands separate. Our corrals that are 30 to 40 ft. across will sometimes be holding only about 12 to 15 horses. We separate the mares from their babies, then those that are not yet weaned are returned to their mothers.

“These mustangs are not inferior in any way and we are constantly hearing from people about what a close bonds they have with their adopted horses. People bring us scrapbooks and sometimes even bring their horses back to visit. “

 

A big plus for buyers in our area is that we have a gentling and training facility called Mustang Alley, which is a wild horse gentling, training and adoption center run by Nicolette Birnie. Several of the horses purchased from the BLM at the Bella Cavalli Farm holding pens, that day, were taken to the center. Another was taken next door to Flag is Up Farm where some gentling via Monty Robert’s Join-Up method was offered without charge.

Nicolette is a long-time horse woman and trainer who has experience with wild horses as well as horses of various breeds. She is now working with some Hanoverian dressage horses. The fascinating thing is that she completely understands how horses think. And she can predict their actions and reactions.

“Each of our mustangs has its own stall and corral but they can see other horses,” she said. “They are frightened at first but slowly settle in as we give them lots of chances to be close to us. Slowly we will get them used to being handled and be led by a rope instead of run down an alleyway.

 

“Once they are gentled, there is a great bonding that takes place between horse and owner. This is the reason that owners need to participate because otherwise the horses bond only with the trainer. They fall in love with you and become almost like dogs. We teach them the manners that their mothers would have taught them as members of a herd.”

One of the fillies was adopted locally by Lynni Gilfrey and this turned out to be a wonderful decision. In just two days, she was able to groom her horses and pick up her feet. Somehow, it seems as if the young mustang was able to feel the love in Lynni’s heart.