Wild Horse Adoption Event Coming to Center, Texas this Weekend

This Friday and Saturday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a wild horse adoption event in Center, Texas at the Shelby County Expo Center. Around 120 wild horses and burros will be featured.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 10. Adoptions will be held from noon-6 p.m. on Friday, June 10, and from 8 a.m.-noon on Saturday, June 11. All animals are eligible for adoption. The best way to gather more information is to ask the BLM staff that will be onsite in Center.

As part of their efforts to find every horse and burro a good home, the BLM now offers up to $1,000 to adopt an untrained animal. On July 26, 2021, the BLM announced additional steps it will take to secure the health and safety of adopted animals, including conducting an inspection of wild horses and burros adopted through the Adoption Incentive Program within six months of the adoption date, rather than twelve months.

The animals offered at the event are adult and yearling horses and burros that once roamed free on public lands in the West. The BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range in order to maintain healthy herds and to protect other rangeland resources. Since 1971, the BLM has placed more than 280,000 of these animals in approved homes across the country.

BLM staff will approve applications onsite. To qualify to adopt, one must be at least 18 years old, with no record of animal abuse. Qualified homes must have a minimum of 400 square feet of corral space per animal, with access to food, water, and shelter. A six-foot corral fence is required for adult horses; five feet for yearlings; and four-and-a-half feet for burros. All animals must be loaded in covered, stock-type trailers with swing gates and sturdy walls and floors.

The event is taking place at the Shelby County Expo Center located at 980 State Highway 7, in Center. For more information, call toll-free 866-468-7826 or visit www.blm.gov.