06/06/07 Mustang Patrol

The Border Patrol has just recruited some new border agents. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to introduce you to them. Okanogan, Kootenai, Spurs, Sisko and Slash are some new agents working the United States northern border. The new recruits are mustangs that will be ridden by border Patrol agents. A project called "Noble Mustang" will use mustangs adopted from the Bureau of Land Management to help patrol the rugged terrain along the U.S. and Canadian border. Border horse patrols are not a new idea; our southern border with Mexico has been patrolled using horses for years. Last year horse patrols were started in the Spokane sector of our northern border using horses rented from private individuals. The experiment with eight head of the mustangs this year will determine if more mustangs will be adopted for the patrols next year. In an Associated Press story, border Patrol spokeswoman Danielle Suarez related these horses should be physically adapted to go into the remote, rugged areas because of the generations of survival in mountains of the west. Personally, I don't know if they will be better than a lot of ranch-bred horses, but it will be a unique program. Inmates at Skyline Correctional Center in Cannon City, Colorado do the initial training. The inmates have trained mustangs since 1986 so that part of the program should be successful. The final training of the three and four year old horses will be taken over by Border Patrol agents. I hope the experiment works since it would be a good job for these surplus BLM mustangs. I'm Jeff Keane. Wenatchee World 5/17/07