Press Releases Downloadable Stock Images Downloadable Logos & Flyers eNewsletter Sign-Up		National Wild Horse Adoption Day Offers Many Options September 26 To Mark 1,000 Horse and Burro Adoption Goal Fort Worth, Texas, April 27 - A goal of 1,000 adoptions has been set for the first National Wild Horse Adoption Day to be held September 26, 2009, and potential adopters have many options from which choose, including one that will pay $500 to adopters of older horses. The offer is designed to help defray the initial cost of keeping a horse. Payment is made after one year when adopters receive title to the animal. This adoption incentive is being offered on a trial basis in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-New Mexico region only (which also includes Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas). The incentive is designed to increase the number of mature horses (4-10 years old) placed into private ownership through adoption. This, in turn, can reduce the number of older horses that BLM must care for at considerable taxpayer expense in contracted pasture facilities, sometimes referred to as long-term holding. If successful, this program could reduce the pressure on BLM to sell or euthanize excess horses, and it could free up critical resources needed for on-the-range management. Under this program, all standard adoption rules and fees apply. At the end of one year, adopters return the title application mailed to them by the BLM along with the incentive voucher received at the time of adoption. The only additional requirement to receive payment is that a licensed veterinarian must attest to the animal's fitness on your completed title application. Upon receipt of those items, a $500 check and title to the animal will be provided. If for some reason you must relinquish the animal within one year, meaning you return it to the BLM, the allowance cannot be paid. The same is true if the animal dies before title is issued. Nearly 33,000 mustangs roam federal lands across the West. In order to manage the herds and maintain both land and herd health, the Bureau of Land Management oversees the adoption of wild horses and burros through public adoptions held throughout the United States. Since 1973, more than 220,000 wild horses and burros have been adopted. "We're encouraging people to adopt now even though we would like to see a major increase in adoptions leading to the week prior to September 26 and will have a number of events dedicated to the goal of 1,000 adoptions" said spokesperson Jerry Reynoldson. "There are several options to adopting a wild horse interested people can look to with all of them available through the BLM web site. Adopters can go to BLM holding facilities, satellite adoptions across the country or to events like the Extreme Mustang Makeover or to adoptions conducted by some of the prisons where gentled horses are available." Horses between the ages of one and six years old are typically selected from the herds for adoption, but a horse of any age can fit into the right farm or ranch. For many mustang adopters, having the opportunity to work with a horse or burro with a storied past and an unconventional upbringing brings a unique and special element to their relationship. The groups supporting National Wild Horse Adoption Day, in addition to the BLM, include Wild Horses 4 Ever, the American Horse Protection Association, the Mustang Heritage Foundation and The Humane Society of the United States. The goal of 1,000 horses adopted through a National Adoption Day program could create a savings of more than $1,500,000 for the BLM and the American taxpayer. State BLM offices, as well as rescue centers, wild horse groups, and volunteers will be engaged in activities leading up to and on September 26 to promote an understanding of and interest in opening new homing opportunities to these magnificent animals. Activities will not only include adoptions, but will also include educational events and wild horse expos. More than 65 events will take place across the country in support of national wild horse adoption day, and other events may apply to be included on the calendar through the event web site at nationalwildhorseadoptionday.org. For more information on events or how to volunteer, go to nationalwildhorseadoptionday.org or contact coordinating director Angie Grizzell at 817-559-5650. For information on available adoptions, go to wildhorseandburro.blm.gov or call 866-4MUSTANGS.