NEVADA STATE OFFICE NO. 2003-50 
FOR RELEASE:  June 5, 2003

Eeyore No Longer the Bad Boy on the Range 

 Eeyore and his adopter, Debbie Driesner of Dallas, Oregon, will be among the participants at the 12^th annual National Wild Horse and Burro Show and Adoption in Winnemucca, Nevada, on June 14 and 15.  The show starts each day at 8 a.m.  A wild horse adoption for qualified adopters will be conducted by competitive bid beginning at 1 p.m. on June 15.

 Driesner describes her adopted horse as “the bad boy of the range” who is now a sweetheart.  The Eeyore-Debbie story is proof there is someone for every horse.

            Born in the fall of 1998, in the Ochoco Mountains of Oregon, Eeyore developed a bad reputation.  His habitat was in a Forest Service area where his aggressive behavior as a young stallion was disturbing to hikers and campers.  He was easily spotted because of his droopy ears.

            During a camping trip in the summer of 2000, Debbie heard the story of Eeyore, whose namesake just happens to be Winnie-the-Pooh’s donkey pal with floppy ears.  During this outing, she made the decision that if he were removed from the range, she would take a chance and bring him home.  Eeyore was captured and transported to the Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse and burro facility in Burns, Oregon, where he received his inoculations and freeze mark and was introduced to domestic feed. 

            Having never seen any pictures of Eeyore, Debbie didn’t know what to expect and had many unanswered questions.  “Was he as aggressive as his reputation?  Could he hear?  Was the rest of his body normal?”  Upon visiting the Burns corral, Eeyore’s backside faced the visitors and his head was in the feeder.  Debbie saw bony hips and tailbone, a matted tail, and battle scars.  She thought, “Oh my, what have I done. But, when the wild horse turned his head and looked at me with those big soft, trusting, brown eyes, I sensed we were both hooked.”

            A few days later, Eeyore was enjoying the attention of his new adopter.  While he liked being brushed, having his face rubbed was the best.  About those interesting ears:  they are placed lower on his head and move up and down rather than swivel and have a cartilage running down the back of them.  No one seems to know what caused the deformity.

Debbie says the ears don’t affect Eeyore’s energy and they don’t diminish the fun of riding trips to the mountains or the beach or the challenge of a horse show.  In fact, Debbie notices that Eeyore seems to really like people and they are drawn to him because of his Winnie the Pooh appearance.

            Does his owner have any regrets about adopting this wild horse?  Not for one moment.

 “He is truly an amazing horse, and the more I work with him the closer our partnership becomes.  To know Eeyore is to love him.  He is a walking lesson of patience, tolerance and love.  Eeyore definitely shows the true mustang spirit.”

-BLM-

Pictures of Eeyore

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