They're considered minimum security or minimum restricted, meaning they aren't violent or dangerous. Normally these prison residents would be serving their time behind bars, away from anything that could help them build self-esteem or social skills. That was before a partnership formed between the U.S Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Colorado Department of Corrections. Now, inmates who apply and are accepted into a unique vocational program are doing something productive and rehabilitative with their time away from society: training horses.
The Colorado Wild Horse and Inmate Program is a mutually beneficial opportunity that allows prison inmates to work with Mustangs that have been taken from public land to be put up for adoption. Working with wild horses can be dangerous, very time consuming and generate a great emotional investment. In this special program the inmate learns various stages of animal care and training while they gentle, halter train and saddle train horses that would normally never feel a human hand. The program offers the inmates a chance to tend to a living creature and learn empathy for others. The amount of patience and dedication it takes to work with a wild horse is quite a commitment. The men involved with this program are thankful for the opportunity to be part of these magnificent animals lives, and enjoy the sense of purpose and rewards associated with working with them.
The inmates use a "resistance free" type of training with the horses. The idea is to make the horse want to cooperate rather than forcing them to. The horses must feel comfortable around people and trust they will not be harmed. It can take as long as four weeks of continual handling before a wild horse will allow someone to approach and touch it. When the horses are ready for adoption the inmates "show off" their students to prospective parents while demonstrating the following:
Easy mounting and dismounting
Understanding the command for walk, trot and canter
Can turn in either direction, stop and back up on command
Can pick up all four feet
Can load and unload in a 4-horse trailer
Every year the BLM rounds up protected wild horses to keep their population in balance with the land and those who share it. Because the wild horse has few natural enemies, they populate quickly and can clash with other animals trying to survive off the same land. Once the young horses are removed from the public land and gentled by prison inmates the public has the opportunity to adopt one of these amazing animals into their family. The adoption fee is $125 and you can find out more about the horses at www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov/
