BLM tracks horse and home

James Spring has spent multiple hours in the past year lurking in the doorway of his small Otis Orchards horse shelter, watching Thumper and Major.

His two mustangs, adopted through the Bureau of Land Management’s National Wild Horse and Burro Program, were captured while running free near Beatys Butte, a mountain that sticks up out of the desert of eastern Oregon.

With their coats mangy, the beasts found themselves confined within the fences of Spring’s six-acre parcel.

“It took me the better part of three months before I could even touch them,” Spring said. “They would get close and run away.”

On Tuesday, BLM officials arrived at Spring’s farm for what is considered the final inspection of the home he has provided for the wild animals.

Before the government will turn over ownership of the wild horses adopted through the program, willing adopters like the Springs must prove they can provide a safe and healthy environment. Six-foot fences are required. Only metal or wood – no wires are allowed. They also must have shelter, and be well-fed.

The inspection is usually held a year after adoption, “so that people don’t adopt them and sell them as canners,” said Rick McComas, a natural resource specialist with the BLM in Spokane.

“We encourage people to work with them, fall in love with them,” McComas said

The BLM is mandated by law to manage public lands, which includes managing wild horse herds. Each year the herds can increase by 20 percent, surging beyond what the land can support.

The government holds auctions for captured horses three times each year at various locations in Washington state, where about 100 wild horses are adopted each year, McComas said.

It’s a unique experience for those willing to take on the challenge of gentling a wild horse, officials said.

“They truly are a product of the survival of the fittest,” McComas said.

Spring and his wife, Kathryn, had never owned horses before, and adopted the animals last year at an auction held in Spokane.

The same auction is planned for this weekend at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center. They paid just over $400 for Thumper, and got Major, a gelding, for $25 because nobody wanted him.

“It’s been a learning experience,” said Spring, who moved to Spokane Valley six years ago from Atlanta.

After a year, Spring, 56, can swing his arms around the neck of Major. The female, Thumper, is ornery and doesn’t like to have her gray coat brushed, but she doesn’t flinch at his gentle caresses.

BLM officials come across only a few adopters that aren’t up for the challenge of taming a wild horse.

“Within the first year usually, neighbors or somebody will call us,” about animals who may be in trouble, said Kathy Helm, a BLM planning and environmental coordinator. Helm is helping to organize the wild horse auction in Spokane this weekend.

There are also many resources for those who feel like they bit off more than they can chew, Helm said. There is a local mustang mentoring group that meets once a month at the BLM office. If animals have to be reassigned, the adopter will pay a fee, Helm said. The BLM also offers free horse gentling demonstrations at the auctions.

“People have to realize it’s not a Barbie-doll situation,” Helm said. “You have to be willing to put in the time.”