A symbol of America and the epitome, the icon of freedom is in trouble.

U.S. officials announced last week that they might have to start euthanizing wild mustangs in the American west because there are too many of them. There are approximately 33,000 wild mustangs living in 10 western states and the government wants that number reduced to 27,000. The proposed solution is to kill the 6,000 unwanted animals.

There is already a system in place to capture, or roundup these wild horses and the captured animals are made available for adoption.

But officials have reported the ranches where the captured animals are held can’t afford to sustain them and they aren’t being adopted at the rates needed to successfully thin herd numbers.

My childhood was greatly influenced by stories of these magnificent animals, the descendants of Spanish warhorses roaming the heart of our country.

To me they possessed something distantly intangible but deeply beautiful and unique.

Freedom – pure, unadulterated freedom. A remnant of a time long passed.

The train, the automobile and the airplane. Cities and suburbs and pavement as far as the eye can see. Lights blocking the stars, covering the sky…

For every thing we create to cushion our lives and make them easier, more convenient and efficient, the wild mustangs are a reminder that we distance ourselves from the very freedom we seek.

As we drive our patterned course to work each day with our windows up, cruising around in little bubbles of advanced isolation, I have to admit I find comfort in knowing that somewhere, not far away, a horse stands unbridled on a mountain with the wind stirring it’s mane. I imagine that it looks out over the expansive heartland and ponders which way to guide the herd today, which way to run.

I find comfort in knowing that as we humans become slaves to our pursuit of freedom, somewhere one of these wild creatures exists as a reminder that freedom is real.

The pragmatist in me battles the idealist as I weigh this issue.

Of course there are limits, even to freedom.

To quote Janis Joplin, “freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.”

As long as land has boundaries and limits, the mustang’s freedom too has limits.

Therefore an unfortunate consequence is that some must lose their freedom so that others may remain free.

Hence the adoption option.

To become the beast of burden for a human certainly is a far cry from freedom but perhaps better than death.

So here is my question.

Why aren’t they being adopted?

I hope the horse people out there will educated me on this point because I really want to understand.

For those of you who read regularly, you know that with the exception of my short time with Midnight the jackass, I have not had the pleasure of owning a horse and aside from the handful of years I spent at formal English riding schools, I have but loved from afar and so I recognize my knowledge on this topic is limited.

I read the adoption requirements for mustangs and on the surface it seems doable enough if you have the resources. Here are some of the basics:

• be at least 18 years of age (Parents or guardians may adopt a wild horse or burro and allow younger family members to care for the animal.);
• have no prior conviction for inhumane treatment of animals or for violations of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act;
• demonstrate that you have adequate feed, water, and facilities to provide humane care for the number of animals requested; and,
• show that you can provide a home for the adopted animal in the United States.
• You must provide a minimum of 400 square feet (20 feet x 20 feet) for each animal adopted. Until fence broken, adult horses need to be maintained in an enclosure at least 6 feet high; burros in an enclosure at least 4.5 feet high; and horses less than 18 moths old in an enclosure at least 5 feet high. 
• You may adopt up to four wild horses or burros within a 12-month period. However, you may seek permission from the BLM to adopt more than four, in which case the agency requires additional verification of facilities and compliance checks. Though you may adopt more than four in a 12-month period, you can receive title to only four adopted animals within that period.
• The minimum or base adoption fee for each wild horse or burro is $125. Mares and jennies (female burros) adopted with their unweaned foal are $250. 

OK, this doesn’t seem impossible. Perhaps not entirely easy, but to a person who really wants to do it, it is feasible.

So here are my questions:

·         Why aren’t more people adopting these horses?

·         Is there some roadblock within the system that isn’t immediately obvious?

·         Are these horses not trainable or unreliable in captivity?

·         Is it easier to pay hundreds or even thousands for a trained animal than it is to take on the task of breaking a wild horse?

Check it out for yourself and please give me some feedback because I really want to understand why more of these horses aren’t adopted.

How to adopt: http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/adoption_of_wild_horses/how_to_adopt.html

 Adoption schedule:

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/events.html

Internet adoptions:

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro/adoption_of_wild_horses/internet_adoption.html

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