Inmate horse-training bill passes House

OLYMPIA — A bill requiring the state Department of Corrections to study the feasibility of creating a wild horse inmate training program passed the state House, 95-2, last Tuesday.

House Bill 2210 would direct Corrections to study and develop a wild horse training, holding and farrier program at state corrections centers, like nearby Coyote Ridge in Connell.

It’s the second time the horse-training program was approved by the House.

“This is a bill that originally passed the Legislature in 2020,” sponsor Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, said. “But that was the year COVID hit and Gov. Inslee vetoed 147 bills to save money, including my Wild Horse Inmate Training Program bill.

The original bill called for $166,000 to be earmarked for a a program at Coyote Ridge Correctional Center in Connell, which falls in the 9th Legislative District.

Dye represents the district, which includes Eastern Franklin and Adams Counties, as well as Whitman, Southern Spokane and others.

The 9th District lawmaker says she brought this idea to the Legislature after touring a successful program at a state prison in Arizona in the fall of 2019.

“The Arizona program involved as many as 30 inmates who train wild horses captured from public lands to control the Mustang population,” Dye said. “The program gives inmates hands-on training in the equestrian field, helps them to build self-confidence as they care for the animals and provides the opportunity for employable skills they can use upon release, including farrier certification.”

Dye also noted it helps the federal Bureau of Land Management deal with feral horse problems.

Since the original bill passed in 2019, changes in Coyote Ridge administration necessitated changes in this year’s legislation.

“This latest new bill is much broader, so that the Department of Corrections can study and create a plan for a program at the most appropriate correctional facility,” she said.

A public hearing on the bill took place Feb. 15 in the Senate Human Services Committee.

But time is running out for it to pass, as the legislative session ends March 7.