Once they galloped free on public land out West, but they’ll soon be rolling into the McAlester area in search of new homes.

It’s almost time for the wild horse and burro adoption the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is bringing to the Lightning C Arena in Dow.

All of the horses are wild Mustangs which were rounded up out West — the same lands roamed by the burros which are part of the program.

The event will start late Thursday afternoon with a preview of the animals up for adoption and concludes around noon on Saturday, when the adoptions will close.

“We’ll be bringing about 80 head,” said Paul McGuire, a public affairs specialist for the BML.

“About half are yearlings and half are adult horses from 2 to 5. We usually don’t bring animals in that are more than 5. That’s pretty standard,” he said.

The horses are expected to be about evenly divided between males and females, with mares, fillies and studs — and even some geldings, which obviously have already had a brush with civilization.

Both the Mustangs and burros were rounded up out West as part of the BMW’s herd management program.

“The purpose isn’t to go out to the range and harvest the most highly adoptable animals,” McGuire said. Rather, it’s to see that the herds, which tend to overpopulate, are kept to appropriate management levels.

The first thing someone wanting to adopt the animals will need is the minimum $125 adoption fee — although the price could go higher on some animals through competitive bidding.

Prosepective owners also need adequate facilities and a covered livestock trailer to get the animal home.

Anyone interested in one of the Mustangs or burros can get a look at them when a preview of the animals is held at the Lightning C from 4 until 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Gates will reopen at 8 a.m. on Friday, with adoptions starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 6 p.m.

The adoptions will continue on Saturday, from 8 a.m. until noon.

Congress designed the adoption program to preserve and protect wild horses and burros as “living symbols of America’s western heritage.”

Those wanting to adopt a mustang or burro must first go through an application process. Application approval is a requirement, but the entire process can be completed at the Lightning C, with BLM staff on hand to assist.

Anyone wanting to adopt an animal must be at least 18 and have no record of animal abuse, according to the BML.

With the minimum $125 adoption feerequired by law, an initial round of competitive bidding is set for 10 a.m. on Friday to determine adoption fees for horses or burros sought by more than one bidder.

After that initial round of bidding, walk-up adoptions will be processed for $125 on a first-come, first-served basis for the remainder of the event.

Anyone interested in participating in the competitive bid adoptions are encouraged to go the Lightning C arena either on Thursday afternoon or early Friday morning to identify the animals they would like to adopt and to ensure they will have the application process completed in time.

No one is allowed to adopt more than four animals and those handling the adoptions and must have what the BML considers suitable facilities.

“You need a six-foot-high corral. It can be made of pipe or wood,” McGuire said. The reason is that a secure place is needed for the animals.

“These are wild horses,” McGuire noted. That means they are not so much as halter-broke.

“The first thing you have to do is get them accustomed to human beings. They fear man as a predator,” he said.

However, McGuire said it’s not difficult for the animals to get used to people.

“They are highly intelligent,” he said.

The animals must be loaded into covered stock-type trailers with swing gates and sturdy walls and floors, according to the BML.

McGuire hopes a lot of the Mustangs and burros will have been loaded onto trailers by the time the event ends at noon on Saturday.

“McAlester has traditionally been very good for us,” McGuire said.

“Our adoption figures have been slumping, but McAlester’s been good.” McGuire said he thinks that’s because people in the McAlester area understand the aims of the program.

“Hopefully, we’ll see another successful one this time around,” McGuire said.

The Lightning C Arena is approximately eight miles east of McAlester on the north side of U.S. Highway 270.

Next: Challenges the BML faces in the wild horse and burro adoption program.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.