As part of the Wyoming State Fair in Douglas this weekend, the Bureau of Land Management will host a horse show with all wild horses. The seventh annual Mustang Days aims to show the benefits of adopting wild horses.
The Bureau of Land Management has 16 wild horse herd management areas in Wyoming, and tries to keep the number of wild horses in the state to around 3500. When herds become overpopulated, some animals are put up for adoption.
June Wendlandt leads the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. She says this weekend’s show will feature wild horses that have since been adopted and trained. Wendlandt says owning wild horses has its advantages—they’re healthy and easy to maintain.
“Wild horses are a blank slate, not very many people have messed with them,” Wendlandt says, “and sometimes when you get a domestic horse, they’ve been through multiple trainers, or multiple handlers, and you don’t know what they’ve gone through.”
Wild horses will also be available for adoption through a silent auction Friday through Sunday, with bidding ending at 6 p.m. each day.