***BL M News***![](media/image1.png){width="1.1826388888888888in"
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NEVADA STATE OFFICE NO. 2003-75

FOR RELEASE: Sept. 12, 2003

CONTACTS: Maxine Shane, (775) 861-6586 or Debra Kolkman (775) 289-1946

# ADOPT A SADDLE-TRAINED HORSES IN OCTOBER

#  Available in Carson City and Henderson

This Columbus Day weekend you have an opportunity to adopt a
saddle-trained wild horse.

Whether you live near Carson City or Henderson, Nevada, you can adopt a
trained horse and have it home by Columbus Day which is celebrated on
Oct. 13. Saddle-trained horses will be offered for adoption at the Warm
Springs Correctional Center, Carson City, on Sat., Oct. 11 and at the
Henderson Saddle Club on Sun., Oct. 12.

Potential adopters in Carson City are asked to enter the Warms Springs
Correctional Center off Edmonds Drive. From U.S. 395 South, take 5^th^
Street, and then turn right at the roundabout onto Edmonds Drive. Gates
open at 9:30 a.m.on Sat., Oct. 11. A competitive bid adoption conducted
by an auctioneer begins at 10:30 a.m. Ten horses from lands administered
by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and two horses under the
jurisdiction of the State of Nevada will be offered for adoption.

In Henderson, the public may view the horses at the Henderson Saddle
Association, 6490 Weisner Way, all day Saturday and starting at 8 a.m.
on Sunday, Oct. 12. Silent bidding on the BLM horses begins at 9 a.m.
Five saddle-ready animals plus 18 "local" horses will be offered for
adoption. Many of the local horses are fillies and colts which come from
the Nevada Wild Horse Range (Nellis), or mares and studs from the Red
Rock Herd Management Area.

-MORE-

ADOPT A SADDLE-TRAINED HORSES IN OCTOBER -- 2222

All saddle-trained animals were prepared at the Warm Springs
Correctional Center by inmates in the Nevada Department of Corrections
program. Animals offered for adoption in northern Nevada can be viewed
at [***www.nv.blm.gov***](http://www.nv.blm.gov/) and
***www.silverstateindustries.com***. An adoption application is also
available at the BLM Nevada site. Horses looking for homes in Henderson
can be seen at
***[www.nv.blm.gov/vegas/WHB/adoption.htm](http://www.nv.blm.gov/vegas/WHB/adoption.htm).***

To pre-qualify for the Oct. 11 adoption in Carson City, call 775
861-6469 (BLM) or 775 851-4817 (estrays). In southern Nevada, call BLM
at 702 515-5106 for adoption information.

The Henderson adoption is held in conjunction with the Wild Horse and
Burro Show sponsored by the National Wild Horse Association. The
Association, BLM and Intermountain Farmers Association are sponsoring
pre-adoption clinics. For information on the Sat. and Sun., Oct. 11 and
12 show, or about Sept. 13 and 27 clinics, call 702 596-2963.

-30-

**Note to editors:** During his second journey, Columbus was in command
of 17 ships, 1,200 men and boys. His ships carried horses, cows, pigs
and chickens. Although this 1493 trip did not result in horses spreading
across North America, other Spanish explorers like Cortez did bring
horses that eventually spread throughout the West. Attached are some
facts you may wish to use in connection with this story and/or the
Columbus Day holiday.

Sources for the Columbus Day information that follows:

Moorhead, Carol Ann*. The Wonder Series: Wild Horses*. Denver, Colo.:
Roberts Rinehart Publishers: 1994.

*[www.evschool.org/Columbus](http://www.evschool.org/Columbus).*

[*www.imh.org/imh/kyhpl2b*](http://www.imh.org/imh/kyhpl2b)

[*www.imh.org/imh/bw/mustang*](http://www.imh.org/imh/bw/mustang)

[*www.mariner.org/age/secondvoyage*](http://www.mariner.org/age/secondvoyage)

## Christopher Columbus, the Spanish and horses

-   The horse evolved over three to four million years ago, but
    disappeared from North and South America about 10,000 years ago.

-   Although the horse originated on the North American continent, it
    did not survive prehistoric times. Horses were re-introduced to the
    Americas in the 1500s by the Spaniards.

-   Columbus made four voyages. On his second trip that began in
    September 1493, he brought horses with him. The purpose of this trip
    was to establish colonies for Spain, to find riches and to check on
    men he left behind during his first trip, which was in 1492.

-   Horses were carried in the Nina, a ship known as a "caravel." This
    ship was easier to control in shallower water and sailed more easily
    in difficult waters.

-   Columbus did not actually land on the North American continent the
    second trip. He went from the Canary Islands to Dominica; discovered
    the Leeward Island, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico; reaching
    Hispaniola; founded La Isabela; and landed at Cuba and Jamaica.

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-   Horses were placed in slings when they were carried on ships in
    order to take the weight off their feet and keep them from slipping
    in rough seas. They were confined to damp, dark holds and had little
    or no exercise. Many were lost during the voyages.

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-   So many horses died enroute to America, one section of the Atlantic
    Ocean became know as the Horse Latitudes because dead horses were
    thrown overboard during rough voyages.

-   The typical way to unload a horse which survived a voyage was to
    blindfold it and hoist it from below deck.

-   In some cases, horses were lowered to the water and then swam
    ashore, being led by men in small boats.

-   The re-introduction of horses into what we now know as the United
    States began with Cortez who brought 16 horses to Mexico in 1519.
    Indians had not seen horses, and many saw the horse and rider as one
    animal.

-   Cortez was quoted as saying, "Next to God, we owe our victory to our
    horses." The Indians submitted to the conquistadors and these
    fearful equines.

-   Spain's colonization depended heavily on horses. Coronado was
    reported to have 150 horsemen in 1519, and Desoto had 237 horses in
    his 1539 venture. The first governor of New Spain (Mexico) was said
    to have more than 1,500 horses.

-   Indians were forbidden by the Spanish conquerors to ride horses.
    However, by 1680, many Indians had acquired horses and were riding
    them.

-   "Mustang" is a word derived from the Spanish language. "Mesteno" was
    a stray or ownerless horse.

-   The horse transformed the New World, changing the lives of the
    indigenous people who were now able to travel great distances and be
    more efficient hunters from astride a horse.