CAPTURED IN THE WILD: HORSES, BURROS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

Horses became extinct in North America around 8000 B.C., then were reintroduced by Spanish explorers in the 1500s. Some of those Spanish horses inevitably escaped and formed wild horse herds primarily in the western United States.

One hundred descendants of those horses will be available for adoption along with 50 burros July 10 and 11 at Flickerwood Arena in Fruitland. (See related stories.) The adoption is being run by the Bureau of Land Management.

For many years wild horses were rounded up with aircraft and trucks and slaughtered to make animal feed. Then a woman called Wild Horse Annie brought the treatment of the horses to national attention.

The Wild Horse Annie Act of 1959 prohibited motorized roundups, but Congress did not fully protect the wild horses and burros until 1971. A 1973 amendment provided for a means -- adoption -- to handle excess populations of horses and burros.

Since then more than 173,000 animals have been adopted.

Mustangs have the same confirmation found in quarter horses and Arabians. Some look a bit like draft horses because they have interbred with domestic horses through the years.

All the mustangs up for adoption come from 10 western states, most of them from Nevada. Ages can range from 6 months to 10 years. All have been certified healthy by a veterinarian.

Wild horses are very frightened when they leave the auction. But they are herd animals and will bond with the new family.

"These animals are very loyal," says Sharon Exarhos, a wild-horse and burro specialist with the Bureau of Land Management in Milwaukee, Wisc.

The burros already are practically domesticated, Exarhos says. "They are very smart animals, very survivor-oriented. They make wonderful sentinels.

"They're like gossips in town: They watch and see everything."

Exarhos said burros are good at controlling predators, will run off coyotes and kill snakes but won't hurt a farmer's own animals.

The person who adopts a wild horse or burro does not receive title until one year later. The animal may not be sold, traded or given away until the government's jurisdiction ends.

The animal's health must be certified by a veterinarian at the end of that year, and BLM compliance officials will visit during that period.

Phone 1- (800) 293-1781 or fax (414) 297-4442 for information to request an application. Applicants must be pre-approved before the adoption. Those approved by July 2 will be given priority.