ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — 100 wild mustangs … 100 days to train them … 100 trainers brave enough to do it.

The result: Extreme Mustang Makeover 2010 in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Oct. 22-24 at Tennessee Miller Coliseum on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.

And Dr. Cindi Brasfield of Robertsdale, who works for the Department of Agriculture, will be among five trainers from Alabama taking part in the competition.

Picking up “Top Notch,” 3 years old and weighing 1,000 pounds, from Piney Woods, Miss., 85 days ago, Brasfield has used natural horsemanship techniques similar to “the horse whisperer” to tame him and get him ready for competition.

“He was captured wild in Oregon and brought to Mississippi where I picked him up. I used a round pen so he couldn’t run away and convinced him through gentle touch I wasn’t going to hurt him. They have this fight or flight instinct and can sense fear. Once I gained his confidence and trust, I was able to train him and he can walk. trot, be ridden and pull a cart,” Brasfield said.

Started in 2007, this competition is put on by the Mustang Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Texas, who is “dedicated to facilitating successful adoptions for America’s excess mustangs and burros. Founded in 2001, it’s mission is to help promote the Bureau of Land Management’s National Wild Horse and Burro Program and increase the number of successful adoptions,” according to the web site.

Because there are 35,000 wild mustangs in 10 Western states, with Nevada having the most at 17,711 and 37,000 in long-term holding facilities, the BLM must remove them to control the herd size. The appropriate manageable size is 27,000, the BLM web site said.

“Horses and burros have no natural predators so herd sizes double in four years. There are currently 25,700 in pastures and 8,800 in corrals. There is a catch and release fertility program for mares but it has to be administered annually and those efforts are hard to keep up with,” according to the web site.

In 1971, the BLM created the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act to protect against overpopulation and starvation of wild mustangs. In 2009, 6,413 horses and burros were removed and 3,474 were placed into adoptive care. Since 1971, 225,000 have been adopted out.

With seven competitions throughout the year all over the country, The Mustang Heritage Foundation strives to attract potential adopters and provide education and information about mustangs and burros, their care, nurturing and use as athletes and companion animals.

During the two-day competition, adults and youth compete for prizes totaling $200,000 and on the third day, the mustangs are available for adoption. The basic fee is $125 but bids could go higher, Brasfield said. “Some horses go for $500 to $1,000 depending on their training and what kind of mustang they are.”

Brasfield already has three mustangs and a mule and said she may end up adopting Top Notch if noone bids a high price for him. “I have gotten really attached to him during this training time. You can’t help but get attached when you spend so much time with them.”

This is the fourth mustang Brasfiled has trained but the first time she has had a time limit to train one. “I love challenges and I thought this would be a good challenge. It’s pretty dangerous and scary to take a wild horse and train them when you have lots of time but even more challenging when you only have 100 days. Lots of good trainers have gotten hurt trying to tame a wild mustang.”

To be a trainer, you must be 18 years old, meet the BLM requirements and be pre-approved to adopt a mustang and provide adequate housing including a corral and trailer, the web site said, and a trainer can adopt up to four horses in a 12 month period. The BLM provides medical care for the adopted horses.

If a mustang is more than 10 years old or has been passed over for adoption at least three times, the BLM can sell the animals, the web site said. Since 2005, 4,200 have been sold but they don’t sell to slaughterhouses or “killer buyers” and the proceeds from the sales as well as from the competitions are used for the adoption programs.

Brasfield said the reason for adoption of these mustangs is so important because there are so many of them in the wild and they will starve to death in the winter if noone takes them. “My goal is to help these horses and get awareness out about this problem so people will know more about it. This will increase the adoption opportunities and availability.”

Growing up in Mississippi, Brasfield’s love affair with horses began at age five when she was introduced to a friends horse and was able to train her first wild horse at 19. Graduating from Mississippi State University Veterinarian School in Starkville in 1982, Brasfield moved to Baldwin County in 1991 and began working for the D.O.A.

Traveling all around the United States and world caring for diseased animals and doing research for disease eradication, Brasfield trains horses in her spare time.

“I’m doing this training and competition for my own personal satisfation. It’s not my occupation, it’s my obsession and I truly love it,” Brasfield said.

For more information about the Mustang Heritage Foundation, check out their web site: muatangheritagefoundation.org or call (512) 355-3225. To mail a tax-deductible donation: Mustang Heritage Foundation, P.O. Box 703, Bertram, TX 78605.