Taming Wild Mustangs

More proof about the power of horses to "heal" comes from this article about a program called the Wild Horse Inmate Program at Colorado state prison. Prison inmates learn to be trainers for wild mustangs which are prepared for private adoption, including use by the U. S. Border Patrol.

"This program has taught me patience, perseverance," says John Peterson, a convicted burglar who has spent about 23 of his 44 years serving time. It takes Peterson about four months to "train" a wild mustang and he has spent five years training them. He is up for parole next month and plans to get a job training horses when he gets out.

The inmates start slowly: cleaning stalls and trimming hooves. They work their way up to training horses and learn to take it very slowly. "We put a lot of work and training into these horses. Gentle them and show them that there's a different way than they are used to out there on the range, fighting for their food and everything," Peterson explains.

According to Brian Hardin, the program's supervisor for the Colorado Department of Correction, the recidivism rate for horse trainers is half the national rate of 68%. "The animal takes the place of the family unit while they're locked up," he explains.

Demand for the saddle-broken wild mustangs is reputably high, especially by the U. S. Border Patrol, who prefers their quiet ways. "You can use them at night. They're quiet and don't have motors," commented Fran Ackley, the Bureau of Land Management's wild horse and burro specialist.

All of which sounds a bit like the BLM is touting its own horn, trying to drum up some positive press for its ability to manage its herds, which we were previously led to believe are overrunning the plains with too many "adoptable" mustangs languishing in corrals after being rounded up.

I won't and can't dispute the ability of horses to tame prison inmates; many other prisons report similar successful programs, nor can I refute the appeal of training inmates for a profession, but I wonder if the BLM just gave the wild horses to Madeleine Pickens if any of this would be necessary.