Event Coordinator Crystal Cowan
Event Dates - Jan 31, 2025 12:00 pm MST and Feb 1, 2025 12:00 pm MST
12125 Robert Larson Blvd. Las Cruces, NM 88007
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a two-day wild horse and burro event Jan. 31 – Feb. 1, at the Doña Ana County Fairgrounds in Las Cruces, N.M. The event begins Friday, Jan. 31, at 10 a.m., and will feature 100 animals for adoption. Adoptions take place Jan. 31, noon-6 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 1, 8 a.m.-noon.
As part of the program's efforts to find every horse and burro a good home, BLM now offers up to $1,000 to adopt an untrained animal. This incentive will be offered for every animal in Las Cruces. On July 26, 2021, BLM announced additional steps to secure the health and safety of animals through the Adoption Incentive Program, including conducting inspections of wild horses and burros within six months of the adoption date.
Animals offered at the event are adult and yearling horses along with burros that once roamed free on public lands in the west. BLM periodically removes excess animals from the range to maintain healthy herds and to protect other rangeland resources. The Adoption and Sale Program is essential for achieving these important management goals. Since 1973, BLM has placed more than 280,000 of these animals in approved homes across the country.
BLM staff will approve applications onsite. To qualify to adopt, applicants must be at least 18 years old, with no record of animal abuse. Qualified homes must have a minimum of four hundred square feet of corral space per animal, with access to food, water, and shelter. A six-foot corral fence is required for adult horses; five feet for yearlings; and four-and-a-half feet for burros. All animals must be loaded in covered, stock-type trailers with swing gates and sturdy walls and floors. BLM staff will be on hand to assist with the application process.
The Doña Ana County Fairgrounds is located at 12125 Robert Larson Blvd., Las Cruces, N.M. For more information, call toll-free 866-468-7826 or visit www.blm.gov/whb.
