Adopt a Wild West Horse in Northeast Mississippi at bargain prices
By Riley Manning
Daily Journal
VERONA, MS
There’s never been a better time to be in the market for a horse.
Friday, the Bureau of Land Management hosted a horse and burro adoption that continues today through 7 p.m. at the Lee County Agri-Center. The animals are priced at $125 each, or two animals for a total of $150.
Horse and burro specialist Marty Neugebauer for the BLM’s Southeast region, said the horses come from the western U.S. Between its range in Oregon and holding facilities all over, the BLM is responsible for nearly 100,000 excess horses.
“They have no natural predators, and they’re rough on the grass,” he said. “Here, the grass grows back quickly, but out West, they nibble the grass and stomp the rest, and it won’t grow back for two years.”
Neugebauer’s region covers 11 states and pulls from a holding facility in Illinois that stores around 300 animals. The wild horse and burro staff hold one adoption event per month, each time in a different state. Normally, the event moves between 30 and 40 animals, about half of the inventory they bring with them.
“It’s a measure of population control for the horses,” Neugebauer said. “All types of people want them – farmers, horse show people, mainly trail horse riders. Lots of cattlemen buy them to keep the dogs away from their livestock.”
Most horses at the adoption are considered Mustangs, he said, though genuine Mustangs have been extinct for years. Neugebauer said the original breed came from Spain with the conquistadors. The closest horses to the original come from the Kiger horde in Oregon, and even they retain only 3 percent of the original bloodline.
“Most people just want mares or geldings. Sometimes they want a specific color,” he said.
The BLM also allows adoptable horses to be bid on through the Internet. These adoptions are run out of the BLM’s office in Washington. From there, the horse will be transferred to its new owner through the nearest adoption event.
For instance, Meagan Willis drove to Verona from Pelham, Tennessee, to retrieve a horse she won in September through the BLM’s online auction.
“I was looking for a horse to do dressage and jumping competitions. I was looking for good legs, good proportions and a kind eye,” she said. “I saw a couple of horses that would have worked, but this one had the kindest eye. That means you can see in their eyes that they’re smart, that they’re a thinking horse.”
Because she bought through an auction, the horse ended up costing $400, verses the $125 adoption price. Willis still said it was a steal, considering her other horse, a Oldenburg breed, ran her $13,000.
“These horses are just as good, even better sometimes, because they’re hearty. My Oldenburg is highly bred, so it has a lot of allergies and sensitivities. These horses don’t, because nature has weeded the sensitive ones out,” she said. “Adoptions like this are the best value for the dollar. They’re undervalued, for sure.”
riley.manning@journalinc.com