By Melissa Wynn
Nothing whispers of the Wild West quite like wild mustangs, and a great place to get a close-up look is at the Bureau of Land Management’s Litchfield Corral. Established in the fall of 1976, the Litchfield Corral was the first Wild Horse and Burro Facility opened in California. Today the Litchfield Corral serves as the regional preparation center for wild horses and burros gathered from public lands in northern California and northwestern Nevada. At maximum capacity, the facility can hold over 1,000 horses and burros. Supporting 14 of California’s 22 Herd Management Areas keeps the professional wranglers at this facility busy all year ’round. Captured animals are prepared for adoption at the Litchfield Corral by receiving vaccinations, worming, blood tests and freeze branding. The average stay for horses and burros is 30 to 45 days which gives the animal time to become acclimated to domestic-grown hay. Some of the wild horses of this region trace their ancestry to horses of the true Wild West that were used as mounts for the U.S. Calvary. They are truly a majestic sight to behold.
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- Adoptions by appointment only, call (530) 254-6575.
- Open Monday through Friday, 7:00 am to 4:00 pm and closed on federal holidays.
- Information is available 24 hours a day by calling 1-800-545-4256.
- Located 21 miles east of Susanville, CA on US Highway 395.
Facts courtesy of www.blm.gov
