Wild Horses Find New Owners In Kellyville

By Tara Vreeland, The News On 6

KELLYVILLE, OK -- Owning a part of the old west is a dream come true for some Oklahoma horse lovers Saturday.

The Bureau of Land Management conducted its wild horse and burro adoption in Kellyville at the Creek County Fairgrounds.

"If you are a woman -- and I guess men that are horse crazy -- the mustang is the first thing that comes to your mind," horse owner Glo Wilson said.

The horses were rounded up from the hills of Wyoming, Nevada and Utah -- bays mix with grays and sorrels, adults and yearlings, some gentled others still very green.

"These horses have developed a number of characteristics in order to survive in the wild," said Paul McGuire with the Bureau of Land Management. "Strength, agility and endurance are some of the key characteristics that people know about the mustang."

The BLM rounds up the mustangs each year to keep herd sizes in check. Many are available for adoption across the country.

This year, the Kellyville adoption is a test site for a new incentive -- $500 for people who adopt horses that are more than 4 years old, an incentive to protect the breed but also to encourage adoption.       

"They have a unique look about them," horse owner Tim Weaver said. "It's nice to hear them run across your pasture in the group and listen to them thunder."

Regardless of whether they thunder across the plains or in a backyard pasture, if you are horse crazy those hoof beats will make your heart beat.

"I have just always been in awe of them," Wilson said. "Just a dream, a dream of mine always to own one."

The sale at the Creek County Fairgrounds is the first in the nation in the new program to offer the $500 stipend.