A decades‑long program that let incarcerated men care for Bureau of Land Management mustangs in Colorado is closing, leaving inmates and local advocates disappointed.
Inside a Colorado prison, Matthew Kurvink has been cleaning out corrals that once held thousands of wild horses as the program winds down. “I can’t say enough on how much personal growth this has done for me,” he said. Kurvink and fellow participant Justin Leonard, who is serving time for aggravated robbery, spent roughly a year and a half tending the mustangs. Leonard said working with the horses changed him: “It’s taught me most of our relationships in life are dependent on you being able to understand their perspective and where they’re coming from.”
In September, the BLM announced it would end its roughly 30‑year partnership with the Colorado prison program, citing budget cuts. The Colorado Department of Corrections said it regrets the decision and is exploring new rehabilitation opportunities for people in its care.
This fall, more than 2,000 wild horses were shipped from Colorado to private holding facilities in Wyoming and Utah at taxpayer expense. A CBS News analysis of federal spending records found each of those two private facilities stands to receive about $800 more per horse than the Colorado prison program earned this past year.
Nationwide, four other prison programs that house wild horses have contracts set to expire next year. The BLM told CBS News it has issued some contract extensions while it evaluates how to manage wild herds in the West; for now, every wild horse rounded up in Colorado will be transported out of state.
At a recent adoption event, some local residents criticized the decision. “We want them to stay in Colorado,” one attendee said. As the prison program closed, a volunteer adopted a horse named Hollywood, explaining she did so “because I didn’t want to see him go to an unknown,” a small act that underscored the personal ties formed by the partnership.
Supporters say the program offered second chances for both horses and the men who cared for them; with the partnership ending, questions remain about how the animals and the people who benefited from the work will be supported going forward.