Picture a prison—there probably aren’t any horses there. But that’s not the case in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, and Nevada, where prisoners participating in the Wild Horse Inmate Program work to train mustangs that the U.S. Border Patrol will eventually adopt. The program allows the agency to use inexpensive and strong horses, and helps prisoners—many of whom have a violent history—develop a unique skill set they wouldn’t otherwise possess. Take a look below at some of the incredible images from behind the fence.
Inmates tend to horses as part of the Wild Horse Inmate Program (WHIP) at Florence State Prison in Florence, Arizona, U.S. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
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An inmate rides a wild horse as part of the Wild Horse Inmate Program (WHIP) at Florence State Prison in Florence, Arizona, U.S. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
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Wild horses are herded into corrals by a helicopter during a Bureau of Land Management round-up outside Milford, Utah, U.S. (Jim Urquhart/Reuters)
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U.S. Border Patrol agents prepare their horses for patrol at their station in Boulevard, California, U.S. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
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U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback patrol along a beach just north of the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego, California, U.S. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
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Randy Helm rides a horse, while inmate Gabriel Curtis gestures, as they train a horse as part of the Wild Horse Inmate Program (WHIP) at Florence State Prison in Florence, Arizona, U.S. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
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U.S. Border Patrol horses Hollywood (L) and Apache roll in the dirt at their patrol station in Boulevard, California, U.S. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
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An inmate rides a wild horse as part of the Wild Horse Inmate Program ( WHIP) at Florence State Prison in Florence, Arizona, U.S. (Mike Blake/Reuters)
To read the full Reuters story about the program, click here.
—RealClearLife Staff
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