Wild horses up for adoption in Lawrence

LAWRENCE, Kan. - The U.S. Bureau of Land Management put wild horses and burros which roamed public ranges up for adoption in Lawrence, Kan., on Friday, with the goal of saving precious land and finding the animals loving homes.

“It’s important that we adopt these animals because it’s part of our responsibility to manage the horses on the public range,” said bureau spokesman Paul McGuire. “When they overpopulate the range, we have to periodically remove animals and the adoption program is our primary outlet for finding homes for those animals.”

Shawn Lewis was born and raised with horses, and has traveled from Illinois to adopt at least two mustangs. With drought conditions and the lack of hay, Lewis calls Friday’s adoptions a win-win situation.

“They’ve had a pretty rough way to go,” said Lewis. “They’ve been out West, and as a lot of people know with the severe drought, there’s just not enough forage for them. Unfortunately, a lot of them are starving to death and they need good homes.”

And a good home is exactly what Mare Me-Haw found with owner April Sanders, a foster horse handler with a caring touch.

“I take them in and care for them for a couple of months and teach them that the human touch is nice, that they no longer need to be the rebel rouser,” Sanders said.

The adoption, which is first-come, first-serve, runs through noon Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. The cost is $125 per animal.