CARSON CITY - The Bureau of Land Management, the Nevada Department of Agriculture and the Nevada Department of Corrections on Saturday, May 18, hosted the second of three annual saddle-trained horse adoption events at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center (NNCC) in Carson City.
Fifteen wild horses, gathered from herd management areas within administered public lands in Nevada, Idaho, California and Oregon, were saddle-trained for four months by inmate trainers in the NNCC program, and offered during a spirited competitive bid adoption. Successful bidders from the crowd of more than 150 people paid a total of $12,950 for the animals.
All of the 15 offered horses were adopted after starting bids of $150. The event's top bid of $2,500 went for a five-year-old buckskin gelding named "Junior." The average bidding price for each horse was $863.
The successful bidders officially adopted their new horse, and they must show diligent care of each animal for a year before they can apply to the BLM to receive a title of ownership. Since 1973, the BLM has placed more than 230,000 horses and burros into private ownership through the adoption program.
The next saddle-trained horse adoption and competitive auction event will be held during the Western States Wild Horse and Burro Expo at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Gardnerville, Nev. on Saturday, Aug. 3.
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