Federal Bureau of Land Management officer Amanda Schramm patrols public lands riding a mustang that she adopted and helped train.

Schramm, whose territory includes the the Salmon and Challis area, has had the horse, Red, for about a year. She obtained him through an inmate training program based in Carson City, Nevada. Through the program, inmates learn to work with and care for horses.

“It benefits the horses as well as the inmates,” she said. “It gives the inmates a chance to interact with the horses.”

Schramm explained that the reason she was happy to adopt Red from this program is that she is now using the horse as a law enforcement horse.

Horses from the inmate training program are green broke, which means they have at least three months of training done, including saddle training. Red was a very well gentled horse when Schramm adopted him.

“All I needed to do was to put some finishing touches on him and build a relationship with him,” she said.

She explained that Red was such a well gentled horse that inmates new to the program who had never worked with horses before usually worked with him as they got used to the animals.

Schramm explained that what she likes best about utilizing horses in her work is that it gives her the ability to patrol in areas that are inaccessible by motorized vehicles.

“I have several wilderness areas that I patrol,” she said. “These are areas where either no motorized are allowed or only limited vehicles are allowed. I like having the horse as the means of transportation.”

She also likes when people in her community approach her to inquire about her horse. She explained that she likes this because it gives her an opportunity to share information about mustangs and inmate training programs.

“It’s been part of my goal to get the word about mustang adoption and the inmate training program,” she said. “Red is a good representative for the wild mustangs.”

Schramm looks forward to continuing her work with Red and to show what mustangs are capable of.