Wild horses captured in Alberta roundup go to auction

The Alberta government's wild horse roundup is halfway towards its target goal for 2015 and some of the newly penned animals found homes yesterday.

This weekend, 17 mares and stallions went up for auction at Danny Daines' Innisfail Auction Market.

The horses sold for between $500 and $800 to owners who either want to break them in to ride them, or just give the horses a place to live.

"Hopefully everyone is aware of what they are, but there's a lot of domestic horses that are just as wild as these horses and they all deserve a good home," said new owner Jenny Rath. "Just because they came from the wild, doesn't mean they're not a good horse and not easily trainable."

The wild horse capture is organized by Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources. The Wild Horses of Alberta Society gets first opportunity to take the captured horses they want and the remaining go to auction.

"[The horses] are coming out of their environment but they're going to go somewhere where they're going to get fed everyday, there is water to drink and just to be an animal there that's well looked-after," said Danny Daines.

The province estimates there are about 880 of the animals in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains that are having a damaging effect on grasslands shared by livestock and wildlife.

The province says the horses are not a native breed but descendants of horses once used in the logging and mining industry more than 100 years ago.