The equine training and handling class at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is gentling and training a special group of horses in preparation for adoption. The horses that are being trained are wild mustangs that were rescued through the Bureau of Land Management’s Save the Mustangs program.

Federal protection and a lack of natural predators have resulted in a thriving wild horse population that increases every year. The mustangs at SMWC were rescued from Wyoming, Florida and Montana, and they were selectively gathered from public lands, administered by the Bureau of Land Management, where the mustang populations have exceeded the carrying capacity of the land.

The horses arrived on campus in March, and since that time, the SMWC students have been training them to stand quietly while tied; pick up all four feet; and to walk, trot and canter while being led by the student. Students have placed halters on the horses and loaded them into trailers.

SMWC is currently accepting bids for the eight mustangs that are being trained. All of the mustangs available for adoption are yearlings, and bidding begins at $125.

To qualify to adopt a mustang, adopters must be at least 18 years old, have the ability and financial means to care for a mustang, and have corrals that meet BLM specifications. Bidding will begin immediately and will remain open until April 20, 2009. Notification of adoption approval will be made before April 23, and horses must be picked up from SMWC between April 24 and April 28.

To receive an adoption application or to place a bid, contact Angie McMillin at 812-535-5003 or amcmillin@smwc.edu, or Sara Schulz at 812-535-5018 or sschulz@smwc.edu.