March 14, 2018 - KING CITY, Calif. – Wild horses and burros from western public rangelands will be available for public adoption, Saturday and Sunday, April 7 and 8, at the Salinas Valley Fairgrounds, 625 Division St., in King City.  The Bureau of Land Management will offer 15 wild horses, all under 5-years-old, 10 gelding burros and 10 female burros.

Anyone interested can preview the animals from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, April 6, and from 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday, April 7.  An auction begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, with bid prices starting at $125 per animal.  Horses and burros not taken during the auction will be available on a first-come, first-served basis until 5 p.m. Saturday and from 7 to 11 a.m. Sunday.  The adoption fee is $125.

“These animals are healthy and ready to train,” said Amy Dumas, manager of BLM-California’s Wild Horse and Burro Program.  “They have been vaccinated against equine diseases including West Nile virus.  We provide complete health care records.”

To qualify, adopters must be at least 18 and United States residents.  They must provide corrals offering least 400 square feet per animal.  The BLM requires six-foot corral fences built of pipe or boards. Adopters can house horses under 2-years-old in corrals surrounded by five-foot fences.  Burro corrals must have four-and-a-half-foot fences.  

The BLM gathered these animals from public land ranges in ongoing work to manage wild populations in balance with other range users and available rangeland food and water.
Source: BLM