Mustangs Trained by Rio Cosumnes Inmates Offered for Adoption in Rancho Murieta
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RANCHO MURIETA, Calif. – Mustangs trained by inmates at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center will be offered for adoption Saturday, Dec. 10, in Rancho Murieta.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) horses will be available for preview from 9 to 11 a.m., with an auction at 11 a.m., at the Rancho Murieta Equestrian Center, 7200 Lone Pine Drive. Bidding will start at $300.
Five saddle-started horses, two geldings and three mares (all 4 to 5 years old), will be available. Former inmates who trained the horses will be working the horses.
The BLM California State Office entered into a partnership with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Dept. to operate a wild horse holding and training facility at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove. The facility uses inmates to train wild horses for adoption and provide a short-term holding facility for horses removed from the rangeland. Trained horses are available for adoption from the facility in a program similar to other BLM prison-training partnerships in the nation.
The Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center is a county jail prison, one of two jails operated by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department. The correctional center houses offenders sentenced to county jail and others sentenced to county jail prison under the Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011 (AB109). The correctional center is located in rural Sacramento County and provides a variety of vocational, treatment and educational services with the goal of reducing the recidivism rate amongst county offenders.
The BLM is responsible under federal law for managing and protecting wild horses on public lands across the west including California. Horses removed from public lands to protect the habitat for the herds are offered to the public for adoption.
Wild horses and burros are protected by a federal law, the Wild and Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The law recognizes the animals as "living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the west," and requires the BLM to manage the wild herds.
The BLM periodically gathers horses and burros to control herd populations on ranges shared with wildlife and domestic livestock. Herd sizes are controlled to ensure there is sufficient feed and water for all range users and to ensure that natural resources are not over-used.
There are about 67,000 wild horses and burros roaming on public rangelands in the western states. More than 235,000 animals have been placed in private care since the BLM’s Adopt-a-Horse-or-Burro Program began in the early 1970s.
For additional information on the adoption event contact Joe Misner, the Rio Cosumnes trainer, at (254) 386-2640.
For information on wild horse management, contact the BLM toll free at 1-866-4MUSTANGS. Information is also available online at www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.
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.