Horse Illustrated Magazine

Working in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Program, the Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF) recently achieved remarkable highs by placing 2,623 wild horses and burros into private care through adoptions and sales. This accomplishment is a 34% increase over 2017-18.

“First and foremost, I personally want to thank all of our trainers, fans, volunteers and staff for the dedication and commitment to supporting the mustangs,” said Alex Kappert, Executive Director of the Mustang Heritage Foundation. “Thanks to the efforts of all these groups, I’m very pleased to report that we have achieved a new all-time record number of placements surpassing the previous record set in 2017 by 737 animals.

“While we are thrilled with the results, I can assure you that the entire MHF staff is already hard at work creating new and additional opportunities to get even more Mustangs placed into adoptive forever homes,” Kappert continued. “As an organization, we have robust goals for the number of animals to be placed in FY 2019-2020, and we will need your continued support to reach, and hopefully exceed, these goals. Here’s to another phenomenal year in 2019-20.”

To keep up with this momentum, the BLM recently awarded MHF with additional funding to continue programming into FY 19-20. The majority of the funding will go to the MHF Trainer Incentive Program (TIP), which is responsible for 93% of MHF’s animal placements and is experiencing unprecedented growth. Across the United States, wild horses and burros are placed into the TIP gentling program, which was created and is managed by the MHF. Equine trainers involved in this program pick-up a BLM wild horse or burro and gentle it to halter, lead, pick up all four feet, and load and unload from a trailer. Once the animal has met the gentling requirements, the trainer then finds an adopter or purchaser and MHF pays the trainer an incentive of $1,000 per horse and $750 per burro.

Getting these 2,623 animals placed into adoptive homes helps to preserve an American icon and a connection with our western heritage. Every animal placed also saves taxpayers an average of $50,000 over the course of an animal’s life. This year’s placements alone equate to $131,150,000 in taxpayer savings.

To help ensure another record year, MHF is introducing a new program to get more Mustangs out of government holding called Hero a Mustang. Through the Hero a Mustang program, a $1,000 tax-deductible donation will guarantee that a Mustang will come out of holding and be gentled, trained and placed into private care. For more information and to make a donation go to www.mustangheritagefoundation.org/hero-a-mustang.

The goal of the MHF is to find a home for every horse in holding. To get involved in the mission of bringing Mustangs home, visit www.mustangheritagefoundation.org.

About the Mustang Heritage Foundation

The primary mission of the Mustang Heritage Foundation is to create and promote programs and activities that provide information and education about wild horses and burros, elevate their image and desirability, provide opportunities to become involved in the wild horse and burro experience and secure adequate numbers of caring homes for excess horses. Working in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, the Mustang Heritage Foundation works to ensure healthy wild herds and rangelands through the placement of excess animals removed from public lands so future generations can enjoy this distinctive part of our American heritage.

About the Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) removes wild horses and burros from public lands to ensure a healthy balance of land and animals. Since 1971, the BLM has placed more than 255,000 wild horses and burros into good homes nationwide. Partnerships, like the Mustang Heritage Foundation, provide the BLM with additional opportunities to place animals into good homes. Interested applicants can attend BLM offsite adoption/sales event, visit a BLM Off-Range Corral or participate in an Internet adoption/sales event to apply to take a wild horse or burro home! To learn more about the Wild Horse and Burro Program, please call 866-468-7826 or visit www.BLM.GOV/whb.