RENO, NV - Wild horses captured from the range will soon be sent back, but not in the way you think. There’s a new role for Mustangs in our area, trained by inmates at the Warm Spring Correctional Center.
For the first time agents purchased horses from the facility to work on America’s borders.
Local Mustangs are stepping out with U-S Border Patrol Agents on their backs.
Destination: Tucson Arizona.
“Wish that was us, go ahead take you with you Border Patrol,” says German Lechuga an inmate at Warm Springs.
Lechuga and other inmates at the facility train the Mustangs for public adoptions. But recently, the U-S Border Patrol contacted the prison to see if there were any horses available to fit their needs.
“From the looks of it, it looks like they are looking for dark colored horses something that is not going to be noticeable. They are testing to see if they handle good in different situations,” says Lechuga.
The Border Patrol began buying Mustangs back in 2007 to ride them and canvass the U-S border.
Right now the agency has 123 Mustangs in their ranks.
This is the first time they've come to Warm Springs to replace horses that are retiring out.
“After about 2 days of evaluating, riding, we look for temperament and looking at the animals themselves to see how much weight they could put on in the future. We found that 6 would meet our needs,” says Felix Morales, the operations officer with the U.S. Border Patrol.
Morales says they are impressed with the caliber of Mustang here at the facility and will no doubt be returning for additional re-enforcements.
The border patrol has given instructions as to just what they will be looking for when they come back for more Mustangs. Inmates here say they will be ready.
