Meet Bert and Ernie, representing our newest venture in equine training. Bert (5 years old, #5486) and Ernie (6 years old, #5445) are both gelded and hail from the McGee Mountains herd management area in Nevada, where they were gathered on January 9, 2012. These well-built burros have really taken to driving. They can be hitched together as seen in the photos or harnessed individually. They know the commands and cues for gee (turn left), and haw (turn right), back and stop. When hitched individually, Bert or Ernie deliver hay to the training pens each morning, carry tack to the round pens, and help with cleaning the stalls. Both of them have also been trained to carry a pack saddle and panniers. Bert and Ernie have the unusual dark muzzles, sometimes referred to as Maltese markings.

This novel pair of burros would be a lot of fun to work with and drive around the neighborhood. In the photos, Bert is on the right (haw) side and Ernie is on the left (gee) side.

Please contact Samantha Hartung if you have questions.

American mustangs are a common thread in many of this country's greatest legends. Mustangs played a vital role in the settling of our American West. These noble creatures carried cowboys up the Chisholm Trail, mountain men through the Tetons, trappers into Oregon, native Americans into buffalo hunts and settlers from the east coast to the west. Today these mustangs are helping troubled men make a new beginning with an old craft - horse training. Born and bred in the wild, mustangs have to be intelligent, hardy, sure-footed, and healthy to survive the rigors of living on the open range. It is these traits, combined with their loyalty, that make them such a versatile horse.

In 1986, Colorado Correctional Industries, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), initiated a program in Canon City where mustangs are trained and offered for adoption to qualified applicants. This is our Wild Horse Inmate Program (WHIP). We operate within a state-of-the-art facility and employ a staff of professional horse trainers who provide horsemanship, animal husbandry and farrier skills. Since its inception, more than 5,000 mustangs have been trained through the WHIP.

We specialize in starting horses for the trail rider, but our trained mustangs have also found homes and lead productive lives with youth riding organizations, handicap and therapeutic riding organizations, riding stables, and government agencies.

Colorado Correctional Industries, in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management, is proud to offer mustangs, the American original. Be a part of the western tradition and adopt a mustang of your very own.

Office Hours 7-3, visiting by appointment only.