Honor Farm helps place wild horses in new homes

CASPER (WNE) — Forty-six gentled wild horses and burros were placed into new homes this week, thanks to a partnership between the Wyoming Department of Corrections Honor Farm, a minimum custody facility in Riverton, and the Bureau of Land Management. 

It’s the latest testament to the department’s Wild Horse Program in which inmates work together to gentle wild horses in preparation for placement in second homes. 

The high bid of the adoption was $5,000 for saddle-trained Walker, a 2-year-old grullo gelding from the Divide Basin Herd Management Area east of Rock Springs. 

Of the eight burros offered, a 6-year-old named Kodak, who had been trained to ride, pack and pull a cart, fetched the winning bid of $800. 

Overall, the average price for a riding horse was $2,147. The halter-started horses went for an average of $413, and $669 on average for a pack-trained burro. 

Walker now starts a new life with the Wyoming Catholic College in Lander. Equine instructors in the school’s Horsemanship Program will train him for use in their Introduction to Horsemanship course. 

The program has adopted Honor Farm-trained horses in the past. 

“Walker was calm, had beautiful transitions, wasn’t pushy, was listening and waiting for instructions, was built well, and had great movement,” said instructor Lorine Sheehan, director of the Horsemanship Program. 

“I’ve never had soundness issues with a mustang,” said instructor Margorie Papadopoulos. “The fun thing about having them in our Horsemanship Program is that we get to ride them, too.” 

“We’re excited you guys do this,” added Sheehan. “It’s really good for the wild horses. And horses teach you so much about how to be a good human being.” 

Two adoptions are held at the Honor Farm each year. The next one is scheduled for May 10, 2025.

This story was published on September 23, 2024.