Wild Horse and Burro

“He’s going to outgrow the pony soon, and we just don’t have the money for a Jr. High Rodeo horse,” I whispered to my husband as we looked through the panels at a small bay mare with a big head and even bigger eyes. 

The COVID-19 virus and the strict social distancing guidelines over the last several months has not stopped the BLM Nevada’s contracted wild horse facility, the Northern Nevada Correctional Center (NNCC) Inmate Training Program, from doing what they do – training horses and finding them forever homes!

From visiting residents at nursing homes, rounding up cattle on the Bell Ranch in New Mexico and visiting elementary schools to conducting clinics with adopters and potential adopters, Blue has been my best friend, confidant and companion. He is the reason I currently serve as Chairman of the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. 

From the Nevada wilderness to the rolling hills of Iowa, you came to become the beloved mount of a lonesome cowboy. // Always wary of your surroundings, you and the cowboy grew to depend on each other. // Herding cattle, breaking a trail, riding fences.  Oh the stories that were told with pride.

Tara Kilpatrick began her involvement with wild horses 20 years ago. After moving to Southern Nevada, she and her husband David began exploring the Mojave Desert. She soon came across her first sighting of wild horses in the Red Rock Herd Management Area and began documenting the herd’s animals and social interactions.