Visiting the Wild Mustangs

A fun tradition has developed for us. Each summer,the Bureau of Land Management brings in about 60-70 wild mustangs/burros/etc. that they have captured out in the wild in Western states. The animals are brought to our local fairgrounds for adoption. The adoption fee is the bargain rate of $25. They also have several on display who were adopted here in the past, which are now tame and gorgeous. The owners are standing with the animal to answer questions. The before-to-after transformation is quite remarkable. An improved diet alone changes these animals into beauties.



--Annabelle's favorite, a lovely burro


--"Little Star", the smallest horse, won Sol's heart


--Elliot's favorite, and mine also!


--Each pen had a list of animals showing state of origin.

Here are some interesting facts about the Bureau of Land Management, from Wikipedia:

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately 253 million acres (1,023,855 km2) or one-eighth of the landmass of the country.[1] BLM also manages 700 million acres (2,832,800 km2) of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private lands. Most public lands are located in western states, including Alaska. With approximately 10,000 permanent employees and close to 2,000 seasonal employees, this works out to over 21,000 acres (85 km2) per employee. Its budget is $960,000,000 for 2010 ($3.79 per surface acre, $9.38 per hectare).[2]

The BLM's stated mission is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.