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Show i r Is" ft ifijk pSfr V y jih " mi.; , J:, I I f I x . j 1 J M lit ' 41 4tl f A AS- If Vn J i J Ben Quinters Heber Police Chief John Lawrence adoped a wild horse from the Bureau of Landmanage-ment Landmanage-ment Proeram. response was enthusiastic. Lawrence asked Quinters to work with the horse for. one month. "Then we will see where we stand,'1 he decided. The wild horse presented a special challenge. "His only contact with humans had been negative. He was probably rounded up by helicopter,' Ben explained. The horse, who has been nicknamed Freebe (from Freebe and the Bean) by John's kids, still bears the number 626 on his flank and numerous bite marks which are just beginning to heal. "He was in a holding area with 500 others when I chose him," said Lawrence. "Being in an enclosed area with the older stallions in the herd had to have been a frightening experience for his application, Lawrence went to choose one and came home with two. He paid the BLM $60 to cover their costs, packed up a seven month old Ovaro paint stallion and a two year old part-thoroughbred stallion and came home. Once home, Lawrence realized that his responsibilities responsi-bilities at work wouldn't allow him enough time to work with the older horse so he called Ben Quinters, a professional horse trainer. "I had often seen Ben working with his horses so I asked around and heard a lot of good things about him. 44 Boy, have I got a horse for you!" he told Quinters three weeks ago. The trainer's Story and Photos By Nan Chalat Heber Police Chief John Lawrence recently saw a program on TV which he , could not put out of his mind. The feature was about the Bureau of Land Management's Manage-ment's Adopt-a-Wild Horse Program. He remembers seeing inhumane treatment of the wild animals during round-ups and some horses actually driven over cliffs. The situation violated the Chiefs sense of justice and he soon found himself filing an application to adopt a wild - horse. "I wish we could just leave them free," he said "but it doesn't seem possible pos-sible now." The Bureau decided that the Lawrences would offer one of the horses a fine , foster home in Charleston. They accepted .0 J y Lit . . i I I i ' '"lllil",t':"' ;ri ' MV, r-' I i IO ' 4 i -Jy it r " '' -n, V ' ffii "TfSfK - A training session in Heber . . , , . f 4 4 . ' ' ' ' ' t .. v i t ' ' . j ' i ' 4 a ' i The fate of this wild horse would have been in jeopardy without the BLM's Adopt a Wild Horse Program |
