Nevada inmates helping to find horses a forever home after roundups

CARSON CITY, Nev. (KRNV) – From ranging on federal lands to the Northern Nevada Correctional Center, some horses in the state are trained by inmates and then adopted and eventually paid for by private owners.

However, program leaders say there's a lot more to it.

On Thursday, inmate horse trainers could be seen practicing their hard work for a presentation on Feb 26. Inmates told KRNV the process of breaking in a horse is etched with character building.

"If I don't do my job and gentle the horse and get it ready for an owner outside the program, then it could hurt somebody and end up with euthanasia or something along those lines," said inmate and horse trainer Craig Kenison.

Another horse trainer/inmate, Terry Jones, said it has helped him see his own flaws as he had to learn to be patient with his horse's shortcomings.

Hank Curry, the head horse trainer for NNCC, said you cannot lie to a horse because "they are almost like a lie detector."

Curry has been with NNCC's horse program for almost the entire 20 years it has been running. He said you can see the impact these horses have on inmate development.

"(It) teaches these guys to be humane, patient, persistent but also steady," said Curry.

NNCC said the horse program is 13% more likely to prevent re-offending than those not in the program. The inmates say the tough part now is saying goodbye to a bond they cultivated right up until auction day.

"This is biggest relationship essentially I have here in prison, so I come out here and she relies on me and I rely on her every day," saidKenison.

Between the eight inmate trainers, they have produced 16 green broke horses that are up for adoption next Saturday.