Horses leave prison for new homes

Will Hybarger watched as the horse he trained in prison met its new owner Wednesday afternoon.

"He's getting his parole," Hybarger said. "He gets to go home now, go have some fun."

Hybarger will get his own chance at parole next April, but until then he plans to stay busy working in the wild-horse training program at Warm Springs Correctional Center in Carson City.

"You can't get any better way to spend your time," he said. "It's sure done me a lot of good."

The horses come to the minimum-security prison from the wild and are saddle broke and ready to be adopted within about three months.

Members of the equestrian drill team, The Cowgirl Way, from Norco, Calif., are adopting horses from the program to create an all-wild-horse team.

They argue the feral horses are not inferior to their domestic counterparts.

"I think she's beautiful," said Cheryl Konrath of the red roan mare she adopted from the program. "She can stand up to any registered horse out there."

Robin Havens came to collect Colonel, the horse Hybarger trained.

"Look at his face, he looks so honest," she remarked to her teammates. "I think he's awesome."

She adopted a wild horse, Crowbar, about a year ago that was also trained by Hybarger.

"I feel really fortunate that Will's the one training my horse," she said. "The achievements of the horse are really the achievements of the trainer."

She plans to keep Hybarger updated on the horse's progress through letters and pictures.

About 15 inmates participate in the horse-training program. They spend nearly six hours a day, five days a week, working with their steeds.

Some, like Hybarger, worked with horses before prison, but others are complete novices.

Doug Masterson joined the program in February. It was his first exposure to horses.

"I was scared to death," he remembered. "They outweighed me and were a lot stronger."

Even though he's been bucked off several times, he plans to continue working with horses once he's out of prison.

Even if they have no plans to work with horses directly, the inmates said they've learned important life lessons.

"It's better than just sitting here and rotting, getting out no better than when you came in," Hybarger said. "I'm learning how to work problems out. A lot of these guys didn't work or have any skills. They have something they can do when they get out instead of going back and doing stupid things."

And by taming the horses, they are also taming themselves.

"Patience," explained inmate Dan Norman. "They don't always do what you want them to do right away. But you can't get mad because it's usually your own fault."

A wild-horse adoption will be open to the public Sunday at the Reno Livestock Events Center. For adoption information go to www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov or call (866) 4-MUSTANGS.

The first Western States Wild Horse and Burro Expo is being run in conjunction with the wild horse adoption. The celebration of the wild horse begins at 6 p.m. Friday and is free. Go to www.wildhorseandburroexpo.com for information.