What is a BLM mustang?

By Nancy O'Neil Lombardo, Dir. of Horse Training. What distinguishes a mustang to most people is the freeze brand

freeze brand

Freeze branding (or cryobranding or cryo-branding) is a branding process that involves the use of liquid nitrogen or dry ice and alcohol to cool a branding iron so that the iron may then be used to alter the hair follicle of an animal to remove the pigmentation or to remove the hair altogether, depending on the color ...

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Freeze brand - Wikipedia

on the left side of his neck. This brand is applied after a wild horse is rounded up and removed from public lands by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

What does BLM mustangs mean?

Page 1. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) uses freeze marking to identify captured wild horses and burros. Freeze marking is a permanent, unalterable, and painless way to identify each horse and burro as an individual. It is applied on the left side of the neck.

What does BLM mean in horse?

The Bureau of Land Management manages and protects wild horses and burros on 26.9 million acres of public lands across 10 Western states as part of its mission to administer public lands for a variety of uses.

What does BLM do with wild mustangs?

The BLM gathers and removes wild horses and burros from public lands to protect the health of the animals and health of our nation's public rangelands. In some locations, the BLM also uses birth control to slow the growth of wild horse herds.

Are BLM mustangs gelded?

In 2009, the BLM adopted policy to geld all stallions weanling age and older (with exceptions provided for adopter preference), provide consistency in gelding at all preparation centers, apply a common-practice gelding standard and address stallions affected by cryptorchidism.

BLM MUSTANG ADOPTION | New Client Horse!

Are BLM horses branded?

When a wild horse is rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), they are given a freeze brand on their neck. This marking indicates that the horse is federally owned. Each one is unique and has identifying information like birth date and capture location.

Can you sell a BLM mustang?

Can you sell a BLM mustang? Yes, any titled BLM mustang or burro can be legally sold, including at auction. If the mustang is not titled, it must be returned to the BLM.

What happens to horses rounded up by BLM?

What will happen to these horses? BLM has requested permission from Congress to destroy “excess” horses and to sell them for slaughter. If Congress says yes, most of these horses will be killed.

What happens to the BLM rounds on horses?

News and Actions Regarding Wild Horse and Burro Roundups

Using low-flying helicopters to stampede and round up wild horses, the federal government removes them by the thousands from public lands in the West each year. Once removed, the horses are warehoused in holding facilities.

Can wild horses be tamed?

With careful training and a lot of patience, wild horses can be tamed. A wild horse to transition to be ready for a beginner rise will take several months to up to a year. The taming of a wild horse will take longer than that of a horse used to being in close contact with humans.

How do you read a BLM mustang brand?

The large U shaped mark is the BLM code. The next two marks (one on top of the other) is the estimated year of the horses birth. The next six marks is the registration code. The registration code is made up of two digits identifying the region taken and the next four are the “tag number.”

Why are wild mustangs a problem?

Wild horse and burro populations have a demonstrated ability to grow at 18-20 percent per year. Widespread and overabundant feral horses and burros wreak havoc on the rangeland ecosystem by overgrazing native plants, exacerbating invasive establishment and out-competing other ungulates.

Why do they round up wild mustangs?

According to the bureau, the roundups, known as “gathers,” are used to keep herds from multiplying beyond a sustainable population. State BLM offices estimate that wild horses repopulate at the rate of roughly 18 percent per year. Apart from the mountain lion and black bear, wild horses have few natural predators.

Where do wild horses still run free?

They can be found roaming free across the western United States but are also kept by humans in captivity and ridden like other horses. Mustangs have muscular bodies and hard hooves, which makes them suitable for scouting and trail riding, according to Horse Canada, a government-run equine website.

How many horses does a BLM hold?

The BLM is currently holding approximately 41,000 horses and burros in short- and long-term holding pens.

Is there any wild mustangs left?

Today, 86,000 free-roaming horses live on nearly 28 million acres of public lands across 10 western U.S. states, and 55,000 taken off the land now live in government-run quarters.

Why does Nevada round up wild horses?

The reason cited for the roundup was lack of water and resources in the wild horse's habitat. The capture operation concluded with over 800 wild horses losing their freedom and with 31 losing their lives.

What does gentling a horse mean?

There's a term in the horse world known as “gentling.” It refers to working with a wild horse until it becomes responsive to a trainer's commands, meaning that it no longer wants to kick you in the face. If handled properly, it even bonds with its trainer.

What happens to mustangs in long-term holding?

Approximately 50,000 wild horses are currently stockpiled in long-term holding facilities across the country with no place to go. As more and more mustangs are piled into captivity, the pressure to sell them for slaughter grows. The lives of tens of thousands of these innocent and iconic animals are at stake.

How many mustangs are in holding pens?

Many horses that are not adopted end up in long-term holding facilities, or pens. There are currently more than 36,000 mustangs in holding facilities.

What is a tip mustang?

States. The Trainer Incentive Program (TIP) is a training and adoption program that engages talented horse trainers nationwide. Approved TIP trainers gentle and halter train a Bureau of Land Management-branded wild horse or burro, then market and find a new home for the animal.

Are mustang horses good for beginners?

Are Mustangs Good for Beginners? Mustangs bred in the wild do not make good horses for riding for beginners because they need firm and experienced handling and training. However, once they are used to working with humans, they make affectionate and personable companions capable of taking care of themselves.

How can you tell if a horse is a mustang?

The mustang most closely resembles a small Warmblood-type horse and stands between 13 hands and 15 hands high. Hands are measured from the ground to the horse's withers, each hand 4 inches. The mustang's body is muscular, with a well-defined and narrow chest. Mustangs tend to have short backs and rounded hindquarters.

What is a freeze mark horse?

Freeze marking

This involves a cold branding iron being held on the skin for 7-10 seconds in dark horses to make a white mark, or 12-15 in lighter horses to destroy the hair growth follicles and make a bald mark.