Resources & More Info
BLM Adopter Requirements
- Be at least 18 years old. However, 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 violation of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
- Have adequate feed, water, and facilities to provide humane care for the number of animals requested.
Minimum Facility Requirements
- Space: 20ft X 20ft (400 square feet)
- Corrals:
- Must be of heavy duty construction such as pipe or board but not wire;
- 6 ft. high for horses over 18 months
- 5 ft. high for horses under 18 months
- Shelter: a minimum of two sides with a roof
WANT TO ADOPT BUT NOT SURE YOU CAN HANDLE A WILD ONE?
HIRE A TIP TRAINER!
Thanks to the Mustang Heritage Foundation, you can arrange for a TIP Trainer to do the early gentling work, at no extra cost to you!
Under the TIP program, certified trainers are paid by the Foundation to gentle and halter-train wild horses at their own BLM-approved facilities.
Through the Mustang Heritage Foundation’s Trainer Incentive Program, horse enthusiasts can adopt gentled Mustangs that are halter broke. Mustangs gentled through the Trainer Incentive Program are 3 to 6 years old. Mustangs are available for adoption across the United States. The adoption fee for TIP-trained horses is a low $125. That’s the same price adopters pay at BLM facilities for “untouched” horses!
Mustangs in the TIP program are halter broke, allow all four hooves to be picked up and cleaned, and load and unload from a trailer. Adopters can contract with a TIP trainer for additional training services such as saddle training for an addition fee to be worked out between trainer and adopter.
When the horse is ready, you finish the adoption paperwork and take the horse home. Go to the Information booth at the adoption for information about hiring a TIP trainer, or contact a TIP Trainer listed below or on the Mustang Heritage Foundation’s website.
Please note that you must work through the TIP Trainer at the adoption (The Trainer must do the paperwork with BLM at the adoption, and then you will do your own adoption paperwork when the horse is ready for you). If you adopt first, before engaging the trainer, your horse will not qualify for the TIP program.
