By Rebecca Feldhaus
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-938269.mp3
Martin, TN – The temperature hovers around freezing on a dry morning in Marshall County. Two men, wearing heavy layers work on a small shed, made of white metal panels and a wooden frame. The shed is for the newest member of the team at Southern Komfort Resort and Marina, named Cocoa. The 16-year-old brown mustang has a watchful eye of the stranger in his territory. Larry Hellcamp stumbled upon Cocoa when he went to get a cup of coffee at the gas station.
"I met the guy at Fast Eddie's up here. He walked in to pay his gas bill and said, Anyboy here want a horse? I got a horse I'll sell for $200 with saddle, bridle and everything.' I said I'll go and look at it."
Hellcamp says he knew Cocoa was for him the moment he saw the horse move. He plans to attend this weekend's Wild Horse and Burro Adoption to look for a friend for Cocoa.
"Apparently the thing they most likely will accept is a burro. And a guy told me You'd better check out those burros, cause they're noisy.'"
In his studies, Hellcamp has found mustangs often respond well to burros. Cocoa is an older horse, by most standards. At 16, Cocoa has had a bit of gentling and has been handled, but also had many years alone. Hellcamp hypothesizes the years alone allowed Cocoa to regress, socially.
Hellcamp worked as a young man cleaning horse stalls. As part of his payment, the land owner gave him riding lessons. He says he doesn't have to ride to be happy around a horse. That, however, didn't stop him from trying.
"I had two hip-replacements some years ago, but I thought, Ah, I can get on him.' So I had some steps brought up, put my leg over the horse, but I couldn't get off. One boy held the horse, and the other two grabbed me and the horse went out from under me. It wasn't very graceful, but I got off."
The Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program is an initiative of the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM supervises land in western states where feral horses run free. Public Affairs Specialist Marth Malik.
"We have the authority, under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act, to control herd sizes on the West."
Malik says without regulation, the feral herd populations can double every four years, because they have no natural predators. She says ecosystems cannot sustain the large population. Part of BLM's answer is the adoption program. Since 1971 residents in Tennessee alone have adopted close to 8,000 horses and burros. Across the country, 217,000 animals have gone to private owners.
Tennessee truck driver Mike Branch is one of those adopters, and he's gone a step further. Branch now gentles wild mustangs for pleasure and to subsidize his income. He's done demonstrations for BLM and been invited to travel abroad for competition and exhibitions. Branch warns against picking the most attractive horse, because they could have the worst attitude in the herd.
"I try to encourage people to walk around to each pen, not put any pressure on the horse or try to get the horse to come over to the fence. Many times if your heart's in the right place, there'll be a mustang there that will pick you out."
Branch likens the over population of feral horses to the white-tale deer population in the eastern part of the country. He says the program benefits the animals, adopters and the environment, which otherwise, could be overrun with wildlife. Branch emphasizes that these are wild animals. When in a new place, they can become defensive and can seriously injure owners. He says as long as adopters respect the wild instinct of the horses, and respect their space, the mustang is likely to accept the adopter as well.
Back on his lot in Marshall County, Cocoa warms up slowly to new visitors. He is calm, save a quick cantor through a small space, and keeps his distance. Hellcamp learned to horses early.
"There's something about a horse that allows grown men to act like children, I guess. There's a response."
That response has made his mustang experience a positive one.
"This is something we can do, and it's a real neat thing. To think that this guy, not too long ago was wild and free, and now he's penned up in here and all we have to do is make life easy for him. So far, he seems to enjoy it."
Hellcamp says he still has a lot to learn about the animals, and that's one of his main interests of the adoption program. Animals under three years go for $125, while those over three, sometimes considered less valuable in the long-run, are $25. Cocoa's success in his "old age", however, might prove the price tag wrong.