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CASSOPOLIS —  Local residents interested in taking home a wild horse are in luck, thanks to a government program. 

The Bureau of Land Management is set to a wild horse and burro placement event Friday and Saturday at Red Horse Ranch, 64247 Library Road, Cassopolis. Approximately 60 excess animals gathered from western rangelands will be up for adoption. Adoptions and sales will be held, by appointment only, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. 

“The BLM placed more than 240,000 wild horses and burros into private care since 1971,” said Northeastern States District Manager Stephanie Carman. “Many of those animals have become  excellent pleasure, show, or work horses.” 

The BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program was designed to help improve rangeland health in  overpopulated herd management areas in the western states and to save taxpayer costs for animals  held at off-range holding facilities. Through this program, qualified adopters are eligible to receive $1,000 after one year of issuance of the certificate of title for an untrained wild horse or burro. The  incentive is available for all untrained animals eligible for adoption with an adoption fee of $125 per  animal. 

Animals that are over ten years old or younger animals who were unsuccessfully adopted out to new homes three times may be sold. BLM staff will be available to identify these animals to  interested, qualified buyers. Purchasers will receive immediate ownership of the animals. 

Appointments can be made via email at  BLM_ES_NSDO_WHB@blm.gov. The BLM requests all potential buyers and adopters to disclose their top three preferred time slots when making appointments.  To learn more about BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro program, visit blm.gov/whb.