Adopt-A-Horse

This weekend, people will be able to adopt wild horses in New Hampshire. The United States Bureau of Land Management is holding an auction of 30 wild horses and 10 wild burros in Somersworth. The Bureau?s mission is to manage the nation's public lands by balancing natural resources such as wildlife and vegetation with livestock, recreation and development. Terry Lewis, with the BLM, says the agency wants to find homes for horses whose lives are threatened by starvation and dehydration. He says there are now 53 thousand of them on public rangelands in the West:
Lewis: ?Unfortunately, that?s just too many of them ? because of drought and wildfires, we?re kind of in a bad situation in that we have to go out and gather more than we normally would and bring them in so that the animals that stay on the range are going to be better of because there?s not as much competition for the forage and water. ? (:22)

But Karen Sussman, President of the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, says that the main competition for resources comes from commercial cattle. She says that, in the battle for territory between the domestic and the wild, the domestic prevails:

Sussman: ?Wild horses now are trying to desperately survive on public land and there is truly no reason to remove all these animals ? and they are sharing lands with over 6 million livestock. The Public Land ranchers? interests have a much more powerful control of Congress. Therefore, they are well more equipped than wild horse groups to be able to enact legislation or any type of controls to remove wild horses from public lands? (:29)

One of the ranchers? lobbying groups is the National Cattleman?s Beef Association. Spokesman Scott Kluntz says that, left unchecked, the wild horse population can be viewed as a nuisance by ranchers:

KLUNTZ: ?They can kick or bite cows, charge at the cows and sometimes even trample the calves. The have a very sharp hoof, so they tend to churn up the soil a lot more, and particularly around stream banks where they can cause a considerable amount of erosion, and, many times that is blamed on cows, but cows have a flatter hoof and don?t tend to cause as much soil degradation as horses?

Considered by many to be the last living symbols of the American West, part of the horses? allure is the prospect of taming and training them. The Bureau of Land Management?s website advertises the auction as a car dealer might, calling the horses ?the Finest Endurance Animal You Will Ever Own? Lewis says the horses can be trained to do anything you?d expect from a domesticated animal. He refers to the process as ?gentling?:

LEWIS: ?We?re going to have in fact a person there in New Hampshire, on the Friday, that would be the 27th, at about 5 o?clock in the afternoon, who?s going to give a ?gentling? demonstration, and then on Saturday the 28th, he will take one of the horses right out of the corral, there, and I have seen him in the past, within 3 hours, have a saddle on it.? (:20)

Lewis points out that most people won?t have such quick results in training the wild horses, and Karen Sussman agrees. She believes the gentling demonstrations may mislead prospective owners by making training look too easy:
Sussman: ?I?ve seen animals where they just lay down in colic after having a training session like that. I encourage all adopters to move slowly with your horse. If it takes you six months before you get a hand on your horse, or however long it takes you, take the time but work diligently every day. You?ve got to spend time every day with that animal.? (:19)
The horses will be available for viewing at The Hilltop Equestrian Center in Somersworth Friday from 1 to 5. The auction takes place on Saturday from 7 to 5. (information at 603-692-6313)