WE NEED YOUR HELP – Still here in South Dakota saving horses!
The following is an update from Chilly Pepper-Miracle Mustang Rescue.
The wind is blowing the frozen snow and the roads are covered in ice. The temperature has been -18 degrees wind chill factor and conditions are brutal. However, the good news is that more horses are going out today, and even more are scheduled to leave in the next week or so.
Your donations have purchased another $1100 in milk products for the 6 babies back at Chilly Pepper. Another $1000 to pull 4 more horses (transport, vetting etc.) this last week and yesterday it was over $550 for medical supplies. This was for medicine used for the babies and for horses in need of meds at this time.
We purchased over $5000 worth of panels and had previously purchased $4200 worth. The $4200 was specifically donated by a wonderful woman named Sara, thanks to Elaine Nash and Fleet of Angels.
It sounds like a lot of panels, but unfortunately even with the additional panels purchased by Fleet of Angels, we are still substantially short. A great number of the panels purchased for this rescue are being used to cover up very dangerous fencing so we can safely sort without horses being torn up.
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I know God put this in front of us, so we are here, but sometimes it is just really hard. Even though we did not cause the situation, we are the ones who have to listen to the stallions and mares screaming for each other. We are the ones in the middle of the stallion fights and due to the lack of gelding, there are so many more in small areas than is normal. We are also dealing with horses with long standing injuries and we are the ones separating the families.
Unfortunately we are not able to stay in the trailer on the property this time, so there are food and lodging expenses, as well as many miscellaneous expenses. We have had to purchase lots of rope to tie the panels together, hardware for fixing dangerous situations and the list goes on and on. Many of the expenses are small, but they do add up. Hay prices are rising due to the extreme winter, and the initial budget was $250,000. At the same time these costs are being incurred to secure these 500+ horses their forever home, our rescue still has it’s normal expenses, with the additional “ranch hand costs.
But we will get this done with your help. Y’all have been amazing, and saved so many lives already. With the 30 that have already gone out, TOGETHER WE HAVE SAVED OVER 300 LIVES – JUST SINCE OCTOBER. THANK YOU!!
P.S. If you have donated via a check and it hasn’t cleared quickly, please understand we are stuck here in South Dakota and even when we can get mail forwarded we are hours away from a bank, and we normally work straight through, 7 days a week. There were also several pieces of mail that were lost from around October. We just received them. If you are worried about a donation, please call me at 530 339 1458. Thank you!
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After days of driving very slowly on solid ice and snow, we arrived safely after delivering the horses to their new homes. Matt and I have never seen so many wrecks. It was truly terrifying with our precious cargo on board. But our prayers were answered and we had Angels all around us.
The following is an update from 
As I sit here typing, the winds are howling. We have been working in pretty much blizzard conditions, with a wind chill well under 0. It is 3 degrees with the temperature at -20 with the wind chill at this time. More snow is expected in the next few days with even colder temperatures.
Matt and I had to do an unexpected rescue today. “Big Girl” is a 20+ (?) year old Percheron who weighs about 1600 pounds. She was for sale as a “riding horse” and we were told she just needed her hoofers trimmed. We were also told that even if you used a crop or whip, she would not canter. But it was fine to trot her.
