WILD HORSES SCHEDULED FOR AUCTION BLOCK IN JACKSON

JACKSON, Mo. -- Carol Baker was skeptical when she and her husband, Scott, adopted a wild horse three years ago.

"I thought we would have a lot of problems settling him and riding him," she said.

But the horse they named Dusty turned out to be must easier to work with and less high strung than the family's three domestic horses. All four children in the family ride him. Scott is astride Dusty during the James Gang robberies staged some weekends by the St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway.

"He's just a big baby," Carol says.

The annual Wild Horse and Burro Adoption conducted by the Bureau of Land Management will be held July 8 at Flickerwood Arena in Jackson.

So far, only 14 people have registered for this year's auction compared to 70 last year. Drought and in some cases an overabundance of rain have hurt hay crops, which may be one reason fewer people are signing up for this year's auctions, says Gabriele Thompson, a wild horse specialist for the BLM in Milwaukee, Wis.

Friday's deadline for registering is being extended to Monday. Those who don't register can still bid on horses July 8 but only on those horses remaining after the auction for registered buyers.

Some 40 wild horses and burros will be offered for sale at Flickerwood. The prospective owner's facilities must meet very specific requirements set by the BLM.

The BLM currently is managing about 50,000 animals, most of them in herds on public lands in the West. The optimum number for the land is 29,000, Thompson said. Some of the horses available for adoption this year are from areas where fires destroyed their forage.

People think of wild horses as Spanish mustangs, Thompson said, but most breeds are represented. Most are descendants of cavalry horses that were released long ago.

Wild horses are very sturdy and very intelligent, she says. "Out in the wild, they have to use their minds. Domestic horses don't have to think to survive."

She concurs with the Bakers that they have an unfair reputation as difficult animals. "Once they gentle down they trust you. You're not going to find a horse more willing to do whatever you ask it to do."

Josh, the Bakers' youngest son, was only 4 when they got Dusty. "The horse walked up to Josh before he would walk up to anybody," Carol said.

Thompson says that's because the animals trust children before they will an adult.

The Baker family has registered for the adoption again this year hoping to get a yearling.

They live on a two-acre place in Marble Hill. "The horses have most of the acreage," Carol jokes.

The minimum bid is $125. While some horses go as high as $600 or $700 at auction, the Bakers paid only $135 for their wild horse. "We stole Dusty," she said. "I wouldn't take $5,000 for him now. He's part of the family."

Viewing hours are 1-5 p.m. July 7. The auction begins at 7 a.m. July 8 and continues until 5 p.m.

For information about the adoption, phone (800) 293-1781.