The Bureau of Land Management's Palomino Valley Wild Horse Center will offer mare/foal pairs for adoption at a reduced fee from mid-July through September.
The pairs can be adopted for $125 - $100 for the foal and $25 for the mare. The standard adoption fee for wild horses and burros is $125 per animal.
While providing savings to potential adopters, the reduced adoption fee is aimed at moving more BLM-managed animals that are currently in holding facilities into good homes of private owners.
The BLM's cost for maintaining wild horses and burros in short and long-term holding facilities accounts for more than half of the agency's total wild horse and burro budget.
There are 138 mare and foal pairs at the Center, north of Sparks on the Pyramid Lake highway. The Center is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Visitors are welcome at the Center, but an appointment must be made to adopt. Adopters must have six foot high fencing and a stock trailer for transportation.
Under the BLM's adoption program, an individual can adopt up to four animals within a one-year period. Qualified adopters are eligible to receive title after providing one year of humane care.
According to the BLM, the current free-roaming population of wild horses and burros on BLM-managed lands is about 31,000, which exceeds by some 3,500 the number determined by the Bureau to be the appropriate management level. Off the range, there are more than 28,500 wild horses and burros cared for in either short-term (corral) or long-term (pasture) facilities.
The BLM encourages those who are interested in providing good homes to wild horses or burros to visit the agency's Web site for information about adoptions or sales.
