Bureau of Land Management California offers saddle-trained wild horses for adoption

Participate by submitting the completed adoption application by Wednesday, Oct. 27

Organization

Bureau of Land Management

BLM Office:

Mother Lode Field Office

Media Contact:

A brown horse

ELK GROVE, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management, in coordination with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, is offering six saddle-trained wild horses for adoption. The virtual competitive-bid event will start at 6 p.m. Pacific Time via Zoom on Thursday, Oct. 28.

The BLM gathered the wild horses from overpopulated herds on western ranges, as part of its mission to manage healthy horses on healthy public lands. The horses were trained by inmates in the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center wild horse training program in Elk Grove. The training program, established in 2013, provides prospective adopters with horses that have a sound start in their training, while providing inmates valuable professional and life skills.

“This is a fantastic opportunity to adopt a wild horse that already has a solid foundation of training that can take you into whatever discipline you choose,” says BLM California Wild Horse and Burro Program Lead Amy Dumas. “These horses are sought after, so we look forward to placing these animals in loving homes.”

Anyone interested can view horses and information about each animal and learn about the training program at www.blm.gov/cawildhorseadoption. To participate in the virtual adoption, you must register in advance at https://tinyurl.com/j53e4t7n. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the virtual adoption.

To bid on horses, prospective adopters are required to: complete the BLM adoption application available at https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/4710-010.pdf. Obtain a BLM-issued bidder number to participate by submitting the completed adoption application to Amy Dumas at adumas@blm.gov, by Wednesday, Oct 27 at 4 p.m.

Adopters must meet BLM’s qualifications and facility requirements. Details can be found at BLM.gov/whb. Horses must be picked up from the R3C training facility, 12500 Bruceville Road, Elk Grove on Nov. 6. For more information, please contact Amy Dumas at 916-978-4678.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which was passed unanimously by Congress and signed into law on December 15, 1971. To mark this anniversary, the BLM is holding a series of events around the country highlighting the value of wild horses and burros as enduring symbols of our national heritage.


The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.