Beau is an elder Arabian gent about 28, and he came to AAE after his elder owner could no longer provide care, and his family caregiver was relocating out of state. Beau had been with his family almost all of his life. He was much loved, but his family may not have understood the need for continued dental care, even when horses are old and have only a few teeth. We know they only wanted to best for him and we are glad we were able to help. With so many horses in need, that is not always the case.
After much needed dental, hoof care, sheath cleaning, vaccines, deworming, and a lot of love from volunteers, look at him now….
Beau is at the tail end of his refeeding program, and he is available for adoption. Beau is a lovely ol’ guy. He loves attention and really enjoys a long grooming session. He was ridden a lot in his younger days. His last riding relationship was a couple years ago with a 12 year old girl in a lease situation. We were told it was a great relationship, but not much more about his girl’s experience or what activities they did, only that he rode very well for his age.
In his younger years, Beau was part of a three horse team that rode across the US on the Pony Express Trail. He rode about 800 of the 2000 miles. About seven years ago, he had a bout of laminitis/founder, but thankfully, he recovered very well. Dr. Stolba provided care for this guy back then, but unfortunately, she hadn’t seen him for about three years when he arrived at AAE. He didn’t appear to have been trimmed in a while, but updated radiographs showed no obvious changes in his hooves since his episode seven years ago. He was a tad tender footed with thin soles, so we had shoes placed on his fronts for now.
Beau is current with vaccines, deworming, and hoof and dental care. He has very good ground manners, he ties and stands for the farrier. With a long history of riding, he should load and trailer fine, but hasn’t yet been tested since he arrived. He was tested for Cushing’s and results were negative. Because he has only a few teeth left, he needs a strictly pelleted diet and with feed that is appropriate for a horse that has foundered. His future housing should not be in a green, grassy pasture.
Beau is looking for a new home where he will be doted on and pampered like the good ol’ guy that he is. He might have some light riding in his future, but priority should be a solid companion home, and the riding should be a bonus (not a requirement). Beau should NOT be an only horse. During his time with AAE, he has bonded tightly to his buddies, at least a couple other horses might be best. He gets anxious when he is in his paddocks and his buddies leave, are taken out/away or wander away from him. He does fine when he is taken out and away from his paddock.
Interested in giving this gorgeous guy a soft landing in a forever home to live out his years? For more info about our adoption process, please visit our website or
Wow, the phone calls just keep coming. We had some heartbreak last week as I was called for 5 weanlings. I knew we would have a deadline, but was given no idea how short it would be. Sadly, I didn’t have enough time to find a place where we could keep them or even begin to put out a fundraiser, before it was too late. I sent the text as soon as I found a place, but received one back saying “I already got rid of them”. I do not know for sure what that means, but we were pretty close to, if not the “last resort”. These “deadlines” are serious as far as being able to commit so we can have a chance to save them.
My understanding is that the babies have to be 400# to be loaded onto the truck. I believe most shippers do not want babies that small on board, due to injuries and babies being trampled or squished during transport, but I can honestly not say what happened to those 5 babies.
We are in Yakima working on Mama Mel’s Urgent Care Nursery, as it is imperative that it is ready for winter babies. My phone rang and my heart sank. It was one of the catchers, and he told me he has orphaned babies (ages unspecified) in his trap right now. I NEED TO KNOW WITHIN A FEW HOURS IF THERE IS A CHANCE WE CAN PULL THIS OFF. WE NEED FUNDS FOR PURCHASE, VETTING AND TRANSPORT. We do not have a number, it could be 5 or many more. I was told there are 100 horses where they are trapping and they thought they might get a third. They could get more or less and so there is no way to know how many babies we could end up with. If there are a lot, how do you decide who lives and dies? That is why we need to make sure we have the funds ready to go when it is time.
Thankfully some of the folks we work with on a regular basis have been building their out reach, so these kids will not have to come back to Chilly Pepper.
PLEASE let’s NOT miss another deadline. I had no idea the time was so short when we got the last call. But I do know I have to have the answer by tomorrow so we can say yes and save these babies.
I know it is a regular thing for us to ask for urgent help. We certainly did not choose to be on the front lines.However, God has put us here for a reason and y’all are part of this amazing journey. The number of lives YOU have made it possible to save is absolutely astonishing. But as most of you know, the horses are in crisis, so instead of having the winter off to “re-group” like we are supposed to (haha), the emergencies just keep coming.
So I hope y’all understand that we have to ask, because without funding these babies could die. We are still trying to raise enough funds to pick up the miniatures and make sure they are all properly vetted with Health certs etc. Vetting is scheduled for the 22nd if we have the funds.
On a good note, we are making great progress on the “Nursery”, considering how many horses we are involved in rescuing at this time.
AGAIN, THANK YOU AS ALWAYS for the love and support. As soon as we get a spare minute I will be back on our “thank you’s”.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
The above are some of the lives you just saved. As you can see, some are barely alive and others are looking ok.
ANOTHER PHONE CALL – The mini’s we have been on standby for, since a couple of months ago, will be ready for us in the coming weeks. However, we need funds as always to get these kids to safety and vetted etc. Do you want to save these little cuties? See photos below.
In the meantime, Matt picked up a 20+ mare yesterday. It seems like they are coming out of the woodwork. She is beautiful, but definitely a grandma, and needs TLC and her lil hoofers done.
The other days was a really rough day. In the midst of all that is going on, we lost one of our most recently rescued donkeys. So now as we get ready to head to WA to pick up the babies, we are filled with so many emotions. Two days ago we lost our beautiful “Long Ears”. He had been adopted and was about to be loaded for his new home, when Matt told me he “was not feeling it – as far as driving that day”. We have both learned to listen to that little voice because over and over God has kept us safe when we listen.
Hours later I would be calling the vet to come out. Long Ears had went down and . did not get up. At first he was not concerned. He was in good spirits and just lay there reaching out and grabbing bites of hay. We spent most of the day with him, giving him a chance to rest and trying to help him when he wanted to get up. I spoke with the vet and even before she arrived, Long Ears let me know without a doubt that he was done. Thankfully it was a quick change, and he did not lay suffering for hours. The vet said he was a very old man, and due to the starvation he went through, who knows what damage was done internally.
Long Ears came in skin and bones, with basically no muscle in his back end. From the second Matt picked him up to the last few minutes we spent with him, this wonderful and amazing donkey was surrounded by love. He was happy and very vocal when it was time for dinner, and just LOVED to be loved on.
Although once again, my heart was in pieces, I was thanking God for not letting that little girl lose her new donkey. Sadly for me, but luckily for the little girl waiting for her forever donkey, I had one other little mini donk that we were planning on using for the Sunshine & Smiles program. So unbeknownst to that little girl, we sent him instead. Today, they are together and it is a match made in heaven.
So now we are getting ready to pick up the babies in Yakima. Matt delivered 3 of the kids to their new homes yesterday and our friend in Idaho took 3 of the babies from the last rescue, to help us place them.
The good news is that out of 9 horses y’all just saved, 5 have been adopted, and 3 are staying here for some much needed TLC! As always, we have been running non-stop and want to THANK Y’ALL from the bottom of our hearts for helping save these beautiful souls. Obviously several of them would have not even had a chance at survival if y’all had not stepped up!
We appreciate the love and support and are confident that we can once again “git ‘er done”, and save the 10 minis that we are once again on stand by for.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
The U.S. Forest Service is planning to round up and remove 1,000 wild horses from California’s largest federally-protected habitat area – the 233,000-acre Devils Garden Wild Horse Territory in the Modoc National Forest near Alturas. Even worse, the Forest Service intends to sell captured horses age 10 and over “without limitation,” allowing kill buyers to purchase a truckload of 36 horses per week for slaughter! We can’t let this happen – especially in California, a state that has banned the cruel practice of horse slaughter (including export for slaughter) for two decades! The roundup starts as early as next week, so time is of the essence.
Late last week, AWHC, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and The Cloud Foundation filed a motion for preliminary injunction to stop the BLM from performing risky and inhumane sterilization experiments on wild mares in Oregon. The BLM plans to begin the experiments — which involve a veterinarian placing his hand into a mare’s abdominal cavity via an incision in her vaginal wall, manually locating the ovaries, then twisting, severing and removing them by using a rod-like tool with a chain on the end — in early November. Check out our press release below, with more information on this critically important legal action.
On Tuesday, the BLM began the roundup and removal of wild horses from the Warm Spring Herd Management Area (HMA) in Oregon. The BLM intends to round up 100% of the wild horses and burros in the Warm Springs HMA (approximately 800) AND permanently remove 685 horses and burros from their homes on our public lands in this area. The agency wants to use 100 of the captured mares in the brutal sterilization experiments described above. Read our field observer’s reports from the roundup below.
More babies are coming in. IN ADDITION to the 4 that we just saved, there are SIX MORE, including Lil Cash (shown above) who is only a month or two old. Due to the loss of life last winter, many of the mares are foaling out of the normal foal season. So we will need LOTS of Foal Lac and milk pellets etc.
The new nursery is NOT set up, and there are only a few panels and no shelteras the other rescue took everything when they shut down the “orphanage”. The normal trapping season is beyond over, but much like last year they just continue to round up these beautiful souls, non-stop. The new nursery was not supposed to be open, but babies do not come at our convenience, and this is an emergency situation.(There are times when I wish we were not always on the front line having to deal with immediate life saving issues. Thankfully y’all are amazing!)
Right now the winds are blowing 40 miles an hour and we need to get up there, save the rest of the babies and start setting up the nursery NOW!!These babies have been through more horror than any horse should see in it’s entire life, and some of them are only a month or two old. We had hoped to be able to slowly raise funds and get it set up before trapping started again next spring. However, as always, that is obviously not happening.
This is so overwhelming. It sounds whiny, but I just had surgery 2 weeks ago and Matt is not even home yet with the 9 y’all just saved. So we are a tiny bit exhausted but once again, I need to ask folks to step up! (ok – crying over.)
I have been told “you can just say no”. Well, I cannot look at a baby who is not only innocent, but terrified, hungry and most often in very poor shape and say let it die because it is inconvenient , especially knowing that their moms are literally on the truck on the way to a horrific and painful death.
CAN YOU SAY NO to a tiny innocent orphan? I hope not. We can purchase, insulate and prepare a smaller nursery building similar to the ones we use in NV for our nursery and critical care units for about $3000. That would enable us to set it up exactly how it should be. The weather is changing fast and it is critical that we have the proper facilities so we can provide the care they truly deserve.
I couldn’t believe it when I got called for 2 more today. We have had the vet out twice and it was roughly $445 BOTH TIMES. Now we have to call her to come out again, and it will be about $350 for the 2 new kids. But we have to do things the right way, so I am hoping and praying we can raise enough funds to pay the vet for the last 2 times, the upcoming visit and be able to get a shelter up in the next week. (So for these 10 foals, the vet bill is roughly $1200 – $1300, and this does NOT include the cost of saving them, bringing them home or taking care of them.)
SO WE ARE ASKING FOR YOUR HELP FROM THE FRONT LINES ONCE AGAIN.You are the difference for these innocent souls, and we thank each and every one of you who donate, send prayers, share the information and are part of our Chilly Pepper Family. Once again we will do the work if we have the funding.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
Next week, the National BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meets for the first time since the BLM delivered its disastrous and deadly report to Congress.
This board is supposed to represent stakeholders that include the public, science, wild horse advocacy, environmental and wildlife concerns. It’s time for its members to stop doing the bidding of the special interest livestock lobby, which continues to profit greatly from the BLM’s mustang roundup program. We need to be heard because the majority of Advisory Board members certainly aren’t representing the wishes of the American public. That was obvious when the board voted to recommend the mass destruction and sale for slaughter of the nearly 50,000 wild horses and burros in holding facilities. Only one member of this Advisory Board – our friend and colleague Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation – voted no.
Wanted to make sure you saw that we’re suing BLM. Can you chip in to support our efforts?
Today, we filed a lawsuit in Oregon to stop the BLM from conducting cruel and dangerous sterilization surgeries to remove the ovaries of wild mares.
The BLM’s plans violate the U.S. Constitution and three federal laws – and they pose a serious, dangerous threat to wild horses. Our suit asks for an immediate injunction to stop these experimental procedures from moving forward.
The experiments are gruesome and painful: a veterinarian inserts his arm into a mares’ abdominal cavity through an incision in the vaginal wall, manually locates the ovaries, then twists, severs and removes them using a rod like tool with a chain on the end. The procedure is outdated, inhumane and will subject the mares to life-threatening complications. The National Academy of Sciences itself warned the BLM that it is too risky for field application, but the BLM just ignored that warning.
We know the agency is bought off by special interests, which is why we must turn to the courts to stop this. We can win this case, and we’ve teamed up with our colleagues at The Cloud Foundation and Animal Welfare Institute to ensure that we do!
Starting next month, the BLM plans to start rounding up 100 percent of the wild horses in the Warm Springs Herd Management Area in southeastern Oregon. An estimated 685 horses will be permanently removed and another 100 mares will be surgically sterilized. Chip in now, before it’s too late for these mares.
Today, we filed a lawsuit in Oregon to stop the BLM from conducting cruel and dangerous sterilization surgeries to remove the ovaries of wild mares.
The BLM’s plans violate the U.S. Constitution and three federal laws – and they pose a serious, dangerous threat to wild horses. Our suit asks for an immediate injunction to stop these experimental procedures from moving forward.
The experiments are gruesome and painful: a veterinarian inserts his arm into a mares’ abdominal cavity through an incision in the vaginal wall, manually locates the ovaries, then twists, severs and removes them using a rod like tool with a chain on the end. The procedure is outdated, inhumane and will subject the mares to life-threatening complications. The National Academy of Sciences itself warned the BLM that it is too risky for field application, but the BLM just ignored that warning.
We know the agency is bought off by special interests, which is why we must turn to the courts to stop this. We can win this case, and we’ve teamed up with our colleagues at The Cloud Foundation and Animal Welfare Institute to ensure that we do!
Starting next month, the BLM plans to start rounding up 100 percent of the wild horses in the Warm Springs Herd Management Area in southeastern Oregon. An estimated 685 horses will be permanently removed and another 100 mares will be surgically sterilized. Chip in now, before it’s too late for these mares.
We’re just 4,864 signatures away from our goal to encourage the BLM to stop the roundups! It’s crucial that we reach our goal for signatures this week, as we plan to take our petition to the national wild horse and burro advisory board meeting coming up in October. If we can show this strength in support of stopping the roundups, we could push the BLM to change their tactics of abuse. Help us raise awareness, and put an end to the brutality of BLM roundups. Sign the petition today.
The BLM Burns District Office in Oregon announced last week that it will begin controversial experiments to remove the ovaries of wild mares next month. Now, AWHC along with the Animal Welfare Institute and the Cloud Foundation are evaluating all possible means to stop the experiments, including litigation. We have also been working to expose the BLM’s collusion with the pro-slaughter group, Protect the Harvest and its perverse program to showcase spayed fillies who have undergone this barbaric surgery. Read more below.
Great news! Our friends over at FLOAT have extended our limited-edition Keep Wild Horses Wild apparel for another week! This means you still have time to show your support for wild horses and our work to protect them!
911 ANOTHER URGENT CALL… As Matt was driving me home from surgery, we received an emergency call from the Shipper in WA. 4 babies need your help!
Aswe are the ONLY rescue he works with, it is up to us to save their lives. They literally have NO WHERE ELSE to go. They are possibly 5 or 6 months old, and it only takes 400 pounds to get them on the slaughter truck (or at least that is what I have been told).
So instead of staying home taking care of me for the next 5 days or so, Matt will be dropping me off tomorrow, picking up his truck from the shop and heading to WA to save these babies, (IF we can raise funds to bail, vet and bring them home to safety).
We so appreciate the donations y’all have sent to save the horses we were already working on, and thanks to your generosity we were able to secure the safety of 4 of them. Thankfully the palomino and the heavily bred mare were saved by someone else, so we were able to save a gelding ready to ship, the badly beat up horse, one of the donkeys and the branded mustang mare. We are hoping to save more, but it will depend on funding.
But that rescue is on hold, as this is truly a “now” emergency and we have to make sure we do what we can to keep these guys safe.
These babies desperately need your help to save them, and that requires funding, as WE ARE THE ONLY THING BETWEEN THEM AND THE DEADLY TRUCK. Once again, we will be running on faith, as I know that God put them in front of us and it certainly was not to let them die.
So please help us once again, and let’s bring these kids to safety.
Thank you as always, for your love and support for these horses.
BELOW:
Three of the kids safe and waiting to be picked up. Luckily the Palomino and the heavily bred mare were saved by others.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
Thank you for saving the last group of Texas kids. At the bottom of the page you will see a bit of what we are facing with their rehab.
HOWEVER, once again we received a call asking for help. The above kids are some of the ones we were asked to save. (We won’t know for sure which ones we will be able to save until we have the funds to secure them. But if one is already safe, we will save another one)
As Matt is going to be a third of the way there when he delivers the next group of horses to their new homes, this would be the time to save some more lives.
We wanted to give everyone a chance to save these beautiful souls from the slaughterhouse floor and to help save more lives. We are more than willing to “git ‘er done” as long as we can raise enough funds to make it happen.
There is a heavily bred mare, a beautiful branded mustang mare, donkeys, injured kids etc.They all need our help and as always, time is of the essence.
I am heading for surgery on Monday, but it should be an outpatient type of thing, (just replacing my generator), and Matt is ready and willing to go get these kids when he delivers the other 6 to their new homes.
As always, it all depends on you. We will keep doing the work if we have the funds to do so. Out of the last 9, 6 are heading to their forever homes. As you can see by the pictures below, there are 3 who need intensive care and they will remain at Chilly Pepper for the time being. BOTH of the mare’s front hooves are in horrific shape, and she will need major care. Our beautiful Princess Sahreena was emaciated and she will need lots of love and care. She also came in with some pretty gnarly injuries, but they are healing well.
Please help us save the “new kids”. We are looking at about $6000 plus to hopefully save 9? more lives, including transportation, rescue and vetting to get them home.
Again, this is not our “normal rescue”, but since Matt is already headed that way, we got the call, and the timing is perfect to combine the two, we are definitely willing to go the extra mile if you want to save these kids and keep them off the slaughter truck.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
We wanted you to know immediately: The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations just announced that a Joint House and Senate Conference Committee meeting will take place tomorrow, September 13th, to begin discussions on finalizing Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations legislation (H.R. 6157) – including funding for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Wild Horse and Burro Program.
This committee will decide whether the final spending bill will include dangerous House language, known as the Stewart Amendment, that would authorize the BLM to manage wild horses and burros in non-reproducing and single-sex herds by subjecting them to risky, invasive surgeries (video).
If passed by the full Congress, this would spell the beginning of the end for the iconic, free-roaming mustang herds of the American West. Do not let Congress undermine over 50 years of wild free-roaming horse and burro protection…Please, take action today!
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Call Your Congressmen and Senators at 202-224-3121. Here’s what you need to say:“I’m [name] and I’m a constituent. Please ask Rep./ Senator [Name] to contact the Appropriations conference committee to urge them to reject the Stewart Amendment calling for the mass sterilization of wild horses and burros. This would undermine 50 years of protection and is counter to the wishes of the 80 percent of Americans who want our wild horses protected and humanely managed. Thank you.”
Click hereto send a follow up email to your elected officials on Capitol Hill.
Thank you for taking action to stop the devastating Stewart Amendment from becoming law. Together we can save our nation’s iconic and cherished wild horses and burros!
On Tuesday, BLM will resume rounding up wild horses with helicopters. Wild horses will be traumatized, terrified, driven for miles and trapped in pens. They will lose their families and their freedom, forever.
We’re not letting BLM get away with it.
Our field representative will head to Utah tomorrow for the BLM’s roundup in Muddy Creek — a 443 square mile public lands area swarming with private cattle but where fewer than 200 horses roam.
Last month, our field representatives documented BLM helicopters chasing horses into barbed wire in Utah, and literally running foals to death in Wyoming. This cruelty would be happening out of the public eye if not for work to expose it.
Our roundup documentation and humane observation program is not cheap. But it is critically important. Often we’re the only eyes on the roundups besides the ranchers, who want the public lands cleared of wild horses so they can graze more cattle and sheep.
The fix is in for our wild horses and we’re exposing it every way we can. And bringing it to the doors of our lawmakers, who have the power to demand change.
The roundups this year are underway — and they’ve led to dozens of deaths of wild horses.
What’s worse is that most Americans are unaware of the tragedy that is happening on our public lands, funded by their tax dollars. That’s why we’re doing everything in our power to raise awareness of this abuse.
We need your help. Watch our new video that documents the atrocities of this year’s roundups, and share it with your friends and family.
Helicopters chasing horses to the brink of exhaustion, foals being run to death and separated from their herd, innocent animals being driven into barbed wire – as soon as people hear about all of this cruelty, they’re against it. And when people come together to demand action, lawmakers will take notice.
If we bring awareness to this issue – by alerting people to the abuse that is going on behind their backs, we can put enough pressure on lawmakers to replace these barbaric roundups with modern, humane and scientific management practices.
Over the last month, we’ve seen images of horses being rounded up, driven into barbed wire fencing, and chased by helicopters to the point of exhaustion. Foals have been literally run to death. Once healthy horses have been forced into holding pens, losing their freedom and their families forever.
So far this has been a deadly summer for America’s wild horses and burros.
It’s time for a freeze on the roundup program until a full investigation is completed.
BLM helicopters will take to the air again in September. Our tax-dollars should not be funding this abuse. Keep speaking out, and let’s stop these roundups.
We have just four days left to get our comments in to oppose the BLM’s plan to conduct barbaric sterilization experiments on wild mares in Oregon. The BLM intends to remove the ovaries of 100 mares via a surgical procedure (ovariectomy via colpotomy) that is associated with high risk of pain, hemorrhage, evisceration, infection and abortion for pregnant mares. Recently Colorado State University (CSU) pulled its association with the experiments, but BLM is proceeding anyway! Please protect wild mares from these risky and cruel surgeries by weighing in today!
This beautiful mama and her baby are scheduled to ship in 3 days. WE CAN SAVE THEM WITH YOUR HELP! But once again it is up to you.
(I apologize for the quality of the photos, but they are all I have.)
Matt is still in Texas, as complications have arisen with 7 horses y’all just saved. All of the mares have clear Coggins (the blood test required for transport). However, only 2 of the mares received their Health certificates, so now we have to put the others in quarantine until we can get a Health certificate to bring them safely home.
It will cost up to $1500 to quarantine up to 30 days. Hopefully it won’t take that long to get them healthy enough to get the necessary paperwork. However, once we establish this “quarantine” we will be able to use it in the future at a fraction of the cost.
To complicate matters further, when Matt was heading back to “wait” for the vet to come out again, there were issues with the truck and off to the shop it went. That is the issue with having 16 year old vehicles and working them as hard as we do.Luckily, the truck is being repaired and will be ready to go today. We work really hard to keep them road worthy but they are old and never stop working.
Sadly, we are stuck at this point. We cannot bring the horses home who do not have the proper paperwork.Luckily we have a safe place to quarantine them, but we obviously did not figure for the additional expenses involved.
So once again we are asking our Chilly Pepper Family to not only SAVE ANOTHER MOM AND BABY!, but to help us get the funds to cover these unexpected costs, so we can quarantine these mama’s and their babies and get them home to safety as soon as we can.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
Last week, Colorado State University announced that it is withdrawing from participation in the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) mare sterilization research in Oregon. But the BLM is not letting the lack of academic affiliation stop it from proceeding with these barbaric experiments. Instead, the agency is just dropping CSU’s part in the study, which was to assess the harm to the horses from the study! Now the BLM will proceed without regard for or documentation of the pain and complications — including bleeding, infection and abortion — caused by performing the barbaric and risky surgery on wild mares. This is unacceptable, and we need to weigh in AGAIN to oppose the use of our tax dollars to fund these cruel experiments.
We criticize the BLM frequently for its mismanagement and mistreatment of our wild horses and burros, but when the agency is doing something right, we must acknowledge and support it. Such is the case in Colorado where the BLM is partnering with advocate TJ Holmes and a coalition of local groups to humanely manage the spectacular wild horses in the Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area. Thanks to a robust fertility control program, no removals have taken place in this HMA for a number of years and no removals are planned. Now we need to weigh in to support the BLM’s proposal to prioritize bait trapping over traumatic helicopter roundups should removals be necessary in the future. Please add your name to our comments by clicking below!
The current Administration is promoting rollbacks of legal requirements for environmental review, public participation, and information disclosure that could have severe detrimental impacts on efforts to protect wild horses and burros. As always, we the people are the line that stands between these cherished animals and destruction, and we must continue to let Congress know that Americans oppose this Administration’s dangerous efforts to weaken legal protections for our wild horses and burros and the public lands they inhabit. Learn more by clicking below.
The BLM’s cruel roundup in Wyoming’s Red Desert ended last week, with the permanent removal 1,4444 horses from our public lands. Ten horses died in the roundup, including six foals, four of whom were literally run to death. Currently, the BLM is removing wild horses and burros from several public lands areas via bait trapping in Utah, Nevada and California, but the helicopters will take to the air again soon. See the latest info on the roundups and find out which herds are targeted next by clicking below.
Maya came to AAE when her owner was facing a terminal health condition and would no longer be able to care for Maya or work with her. Maya was initially rescued by her former owner from an extreme neglect and abuse case, and one of her former owner’s priorities was assuring Maya would never have to face abuse again. She knew AAE would work to find a safe and loving home.
Maya was transferred to AAE at the end of September 2016. She unloaded from the trailer after a marathon haul from near the Oregon border, and she was a tad lame. Maya had some challenging trust issues and physical limitations resulting from a past hip injury from her abuser. She also had DSLD, further limiting her adoption potential.
While at AAE, she was given time and space to settle in. She was showered with love and kindness by her many special volunteer friends, and she was housed on flat ground to minimize the stress on her body. Thankfully, her old hip injury and DSLD maintained very well, and she never showed any discomfort. With the help of her special friends at AAE, Maya learned that humans weren’t all bad. She started to really enjoy grooming and all the pampering showered upon her.
Cahill came to AAE in March 2018 when his family was unable to provide the care he needed. He had also been rescued from a previous neglect situation where he had been living alone in a pasture and not cared for for years. The family that rescued him was told he was a former sheriff’s horse. He was emaciated and in poor condition when they offered to take him in. They tried to provide the care he needed, but they were unable to help him. They had a family crisis of their own. They reached out to AAE and asked for help.
When Cahill arrived at AAE, he was very thin. He also had substantial skin issues, a thick coat that helped hide his bones. He needed dental work, and he was very depressed. After starting him on a refeeding program and his vet evaluation, he had a much needed spa-day. He had caked on dirt on his limbs, and he was given a medicated bath. He enjoyed the water and the relief that seemed to come from treating his skin and getting rid of all the dry, caked on dirt. There was hope in his eyes.
Cahill began to improve and put on much needed weight. His skin cleared, but not before he lost nearly every ounce of hair on his body. His head and trunk were practically bald in the cold of winter, but he was grateful for blankets and the hair that remained on his legs. His eyes brightened, and he started acting with more interest in the horses and world around him. He enjoyed his daily luvin’ from his volunteers, and day by day, he evolved into such a good ol’ boy.
We are happy to share that our long-timer, Maya, and our short-timer, Cahill, recently found their “golden pond” with their dream family in Nevada City. When Maya met her new mom, it was obvious they were both experiencing a “love at first sight” moment. Maya is not one to approach just anyone, but when she met her mom, there was no hesitation. She walked up to her and there was instant pleasure in their exchange. Cahill, on the other hand, took it all in and drew mom AND dad in as he relished in their attention.
These two lucky souls got their soft landing in the perfect forever home where they are lavished with daily love and attention, and in return, their new mom and dad are say their lives have been so enriched by these two, and they have been fulfilled in being able to make such a big difference in the lives of Maya and Cahill.
It’s so gratifying to see the transitions horses make when they’re given the love and care they need, not only the physical transition, but the new hope they share with humans. They hold no grudges, and they become such a reminder of foregiveness, resilience, and unconditional living. Rescue horses are such a gift.
Thank YOU for supporting AAE and making possible happy endings for horses like Maya and Cahill!!
If you are considering adoption, please visit our website to learn about our horses!
Featured Intake: Beau
Beau came to AAE in mid-July when his aging owner was no longer able to care for him, and his caretaker was moving out of state. Beau is a 28 year old Arabian gelding. He was a truly beloved companion to the family, he had been with them his entire life, and he had carried many a rider on his back. Still, his condition was saddening.
It was a bit eye-opening when Beau arrived. He was a bit on the emaciated side, and he was “empty”. Dr Stolba came to check him out and drew blood to evaluate his “systems”. His diet had been four scoops of senior pellets (AM and PM), about 20-25 pounds a day. You would think plenty for this lil guy, right? You could tell immediately simply eating was a challenge. He chewed very gingerly, and food fell all over around the trough.
Sadly, when Dr. Stolba opened his mouth, the exasperated sigh was palpable. Beau did not have many teeth, but the ones he had were much overgrown, some loose and one so long it was pressing into the roof of his mouth causing an ulcer. He could not close his mouth to chew. It’s no wonder the poor ol’ guy looked like he did; he couldn’t eat. Four larger teeth were extracted, one so sharp it could cut paper. The few remaining teeth were floated, and he was finally able to eat comfortably. Boy, did he enjoy it. Now it seems he’s eating for two.
Moving on to the end, Beau sheath got some much needed attention, and he was beyond relief when a rock sized bean was removed. It didn’t take long to see the brightness return to Beau’s eyes and a little pep in his step. For now, Beau is doing very well, and he is slowly redeveloping his svelte lil’ bod!
Beau needs a sponsor! Would you like to sponsor Beau or one of our other horses? Please click here to sponsor. To learn about our horse sponsor program visit our website.
YOUR support helps horses like Beau!
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The latest video captured by our observation team in Wyoming shows a mare trying to protect her foal while being rounded up by a helicopter and men on horseback with ropes. Later in the day, our observer photographed the exhausted foal lying lifelessly on the ground in a holding pen. By the next morning, he was dead.
Most Americans have no clue what’s happening on public lands at the hands of our government. The abuse of wild horses is taking a huge toll. Roundups are hardest on young foals, who are pushed too far and too fast in the summer heat. Half of the wild horse deaths so far in the Wyoming roundup have been foals. At least three were literally run to death.
Here’s the math: if everyone of us shares this petition with 5 friends, more than 1 million people will learn about this abuse. And if just 1 of those 5 signs our petition, we’ll double the size of our movement overnight.