LAWRENCE, Kan. — A specialty auction is taking over the Douglas County Fairgrounds this weekend which focuses on wild horses.

The animals are brought in for the sale as a part of federal herd management.

But horses are not the only wild animal up for adoption.

Burros, which you may know as a donkey, are a part of the same sale put on by the US Bureau of Land Management. Most of the animals are brought in from public land in Nevada, 120 of them, horses and burros – with prices starting at $125.

At the event on Friday there is a laser focus on horses, especially those with unique colors.

But some people are focused more on the blue and red hues most laypeople would just describe as jenny gray.

Williams is a return customer to the event. She currently has six horses including one previously bought wild from the sale.

“In all honesty, I learned a lot from my granddaughter. Because if it wasn’t for here gentling these horse I probably wouldn’t know as much,” Williams said.

“Right now she is training another mustang colt,” she said.

“She was able to get close to him. And then she was able to give him kisses,” she said of the horse named George.

“Now if you’re building a fence he will take the tools out of your back pocket. We have what we call George’s corner. If there’s anything missing at the house you go to George’s corner and it will be there,” Williams said.

Crystal Cowan, a wild horse and burro specialist with the Bureau of Land Management, said that burros, like the horses need federal management.

“These animals roam on our public land in the ten western states and we just do not have enough forage or water to support them,” Cowan said.

“We have four pens of burros here. We have a good selection of burros. A lot of people use burros for herd protection for cattle, sheep, or goats,” she said.

“We do a few things to control the numbers each year because they will have a baby every year and double in numbers every four years and triple in numbers every six years,” Cowan said.

Before adoption, purchasers must go through a brief application process to make sure they are qualified to take an animal home and have enough room

The sale continues Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds from 8 a.m. until noon.