The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold the 22nd annual Wild Horse & Burro Expo at the Saline County Fair and Expo Center in Salina, Kansas, October 14-15, 2016.  A wild horse and burro adoption featuring 35 excellent animals is the focus of the event.  The adoption will take place from noon - 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 14, and 8:00 am – 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 15.  The BLM will offer all animals on a first-come, first-served basis for the minimum adoption fee of $125 (set by law).  A horse show featuring trained wild horses and burros and their adopters will be held Saturday, October 15, at 9:00 a.m.  This show is for any BLM wild horse or burro and is free to participants.  Please visit www.blm.gov/nm/whb for show registration.  Gentling demonstrations will take place throughout Friday and Saturday.

These are adult and yearling horses and burros that once roamed free on public lands in the West.  The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range in order to maintain healthy herds, and to protect other rangeland resources.  The adoption program is essential for achieving these important management goals.  Since 1973, the BLM has placed more than 235,000 of these “living legends” in approved homes across the country.

BLM staff can approve applications on-site.  To qualify to adopt, one must be at least 18, with no record of animal abuse.  Adopters must have a minimum of 400 square feet of corral space per animal, with free access to food, water, and shelter.  A six-foot corral fence is required for adult horses, five feet for yearlings, and four-and-a-half feet for burros.  All animals must be loaded in covered, stock-type trailers with swing gates and sturdy walls and floors.  BLM staff will be on-hand to assist adopters through the short application process.

The BLM pays a one-time $500 care-and-feeding allowance to adopters of horses that are at least four years old.  The BLM pays the allowance after one year when adopters receive official ownership title for their horse(s).  All standard adoption conditions and fees apply.  A limited number of eligible horses will be available.  Younger horses, burros, and trained animals are not eligible for this incentive.  The BLM designed this incentive to find homes for older horses that might otherwise be destined for long-term pastures, where they would live out the remainder of their natural lives at taxpayer expense.

To get to the Craig County Fairgrounds at 915 East Apperson Road take East Illinois Avenue in Vinita (Route 66), and go south on 7th Street over I-44 to the facility, which will be on the left.  For more information, call toll-free 866-468-7826 or visit www.blm.gov/nm/whb.