Did you know that August is National Make-A-Will Month?
The subject can seem daunting … but it’s oh so important! Not only does creating a will give peace of mind and a sense of security to you and your family — but it’s a great way to create a lasting legacy for the causes you care about.
Planned gifts like wills and trusts are some of the best ways to help the charities you care about long after your lifetime.
Many American Wild Horse Campaign supporters have already opted to include a Legacy Gift in their will, ensuring that their legacy and passion for wild horses will be remembered for many years to come.
Fern was bailed from auction by another rescue who kindly quarantined her and gave her a safe haven at their rescue. She unfortunately is completely feral and petrified of people. Giving where she came from I can’t blame her one bit, she came from one of the worst kill pens for animal abuse and torture that we know of. She is safe now and will be treated with the kindness and the respect she deserves.
Fern has already realized that she is in a safe place. Her “bubble” when she first arrived last Monday was 20 feet. She would bolt away from any of us and stare back at us with wide eyes. Just one week later thanks to the help of Laura, Lauren and one of our training volunteers, Mike Fern let me sit with her while she ate her dinner on Friday. Creating positive associations right off the bat is so important. She sees people- good things follow. A history of positive reinforcement and she will be our best friend hopefully soon. The more time I spend with her the more I see that she is just scared but also very curious, you can tell she wants to be helped and loved. It will not be a quick process but we are here for her and we will stick it out with her until we have earned her trust.
Volunteer Mike Dunham sat outside her pen for close to an hour in 90 degree weather last week and Fern just hung out with him. Until she decided to lay down and take a little sun nap in his presence. How sweet is that?
Two other new arrivals at the rescue, Athena and Apollo.
Athena is a very sweet grey mare, and Apollo is a stout little intact jack. After Apollo is gelded and has a behavioral exam he will be available for Adoption. His gelding date is September 24th. Apollo is 4 years old and a very active guy who will need to be adopted out to a home with another donkey gelding who likes to play.
Athena needs to continue to eat her groceries before she will be available for adoption as well. She came to us about 200 lbs. underweight and with a critically low Vitamin E level, which will need to be rechecked in another 60 days.
It’s been 5 weeks since their arrival and both have shown to be outstanding citizens, who love to be groomed and loved on. Athena is just a little over 15 hands and is just a baby at 3 years old. She has been learning ground manners while she’s been with us and is an incredibly smart gal, and a quick learner.
Esme and Hojo are a very sweet miniature pair of donkeys who are here at the rescue with us due to their owner passing away. It’s always very sad when this happens but we are happy to be here as a safe haven for people’s donkeys, to ensure they continue to get the care they need and deserve. Hojo especially was very depressed when first arriving, we believe due to the loss of his owner. Hojo was also severely underweight due to his lack of grinding surface with his teeth and ability to chew hay. While Esme was dangerously overweight due to eating all of Hojo’s meals.
Since being here for over three four weeks now Hojo has gained an appropriate amount of weight, and Esme has lost quite a bit just by running around her dry lot with her friend. Hojo does have Cushings disease and is going to be put on medication to help manage this. His feet are also in rough shape due to the cushings, but we believe will continue to improve over time.
Both Esme and Hojo have had their dental, vaccines and their first hoof trim. Both these two cuties are senior donkeys in their 20’s and will be looking for their retirement home to love and dote on them. Both are great with kids and love ear rubs, to be groomed or to just sit and be talked to.
Welcoming Travis and Betsy! These two came from a neglect case in NJ where a sanctuary who was supposed to give them refuge, left them without adequate food or water. They are safe now and will be given the care and attention they have always deserved and needed. Both of them have had their hooves trimmed and will be seen by our vet before the end of the month. Travis, the Appaloosa pony is completely blind as far as we can tell and will most likely need at least one of his eyes removed surgically. Betsy is Travis’s seeing eye mule. She is very underweight and was very scared upon arriving, but has settled down very nicely. Betsy needs a dental exam/float, to be dewormed, and needs some serious groceries. We will also have her vitamin E levels checked as well since she’s having a hard time gaining weight. We suspect this will improve once her teeth have had some TLC. Once Travis and Betsy get healthy and sound they will be available for adoption. We realize they will probably be here quite a while due to Travis’s blindness, so we welcome anyone who would be willing to sponsor their stay with us.
THANK YOU for saving the above 11 lives. Sadly when I arrived there were SO MANY IN THE PEN, THEY WOULDN’T ALL FIT IN MY TRAILER.
I left behind Mamas, Stallions and more babies.
We did not have enough space or funding. As of this morning I have until Thursday to come up with the funds needed to save the group below. (It will cost approx $1500 just to geld and vet the 4 stallions.)
I need to raise around $5000 for this next group. THEIR LIVES MATTER!!
Meet “TROOPER“, our latest abuse/neglect case. (A starved 25 year old grandpa brutally neglected and dumped).
This beautiful little man was dumped on the reservation to be torn apart by coyotes and bears.
It’s up to you, YOU Choose – Life or Death for these horses??? PLEASE Help!
I know everyone is tired of the 911’s and emergencies. So am I! But they are not my emergencies. They belong to the life of each and every horse you help save. I can’t look at these faces and picture them being butchered alive. It’s too much to bear. So I am their voice as much as I can be, and y’all are their saviors!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN HELPING SAVE THESE PRECIOUS LIVES!
We held our 9th annual Boots & Bling this past Saturday evening and it was a smashing success. Thank you to all of our sponsors, event guests, donors, volunteers, auction bidders, and supporters near and far!
Together we raised over $76,000 for horses-in-need! Thanks to you, horses will get a second chance at a life filled with love, health, and happiness!
Horses like Granger, one of our newest intakes.
Granger arrived at AAE just about two weeks. He was started on a refeeding program, and he’s finishing quarantine soon. He’ll have a dental and vaccines once cleared.
Granger was in a small herd, and his needs were not being met. He came to AAE after law enforcement intervention. We’ll be getting to know more about this guy over coming weeks before he’s available for adoption.
Your support helped remove this handsome guy from a bad situation.
Second Chance Auction
Good news – if you missed the Boots & Bling silent auction, our Second Chance Auction will give you another opportunity to bid on items to help horses-in-need! This silent online auction is open now. It will close Sunday at 6pm.
Register, browse the available items, and start bidding by clicking the button below.
Register, browse the available items, and start bidding by clicking the button below.
The Journey to Pilot Hill
See our journey to build AAE’s new home in Pilot Hill and learn how you can help us with our next project and help transform the lives of horses-in-need even more.
We wanted to share some recent updates around roundups, our latest report on the Bureau of Land Management’s Adoption Incentive Program, and a heartwarming rescue of 16 wild horses! Read on to learn more and take action to help us protect our cherished wild herds. >>
This summer, the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) released an explosive investigative report that detailed the devastating and deadly consequences of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Adoption Incentive Program, which pays individuals $1,000 to adopt up to four wild, unhandled mustangs and burros a year.
Our latest AIP report makes it clear: Handing out cash to adopt wild animals is a dangerous and fiscally irresponsible plan. To ensure mustangs and burros are protected from slaughter, the BLM must abandon the cash component of this program — and we need your help.
On the same day AWHC released its report on the deadly consequences of the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program, 16 BLM-branded mustangs showed up at a notorious kill pen in Eaton, Colorado. What happened next was a monumental effort involving group collaboration to get these horses to safety.
As we write this, BLM-contracted helicopters are stampeding wild horses and burros into traps in four different Herd Management Areas (HMAs) across three western states with the goal to roundup 5,600+ animals. AWHC has field representatives on the ground to bring you the latest.
I received another urgent call to save these precious lives as time is running out!
Yesterday I stood in front of this new group of horses. As they stood staring into my eyes, it’s as if they are asking “Why not me? Why aren’t you saving my life?”. As I stood with tears flowing I could only say I’m so sorry, over and over. There are so many beautiful souls in there, and I am praying y’all find it in your heart to help.
The rescue budget is below the “emergency level” and is lower than ever before.. I posted the vet bill so y’all can see how quickly these “hidden” expenses add up.
We need more hay and feed, to get the vet bill paid, and a huge chunk of money is needed to save these precious lives, not to mention just transporting them.
So many of these will be adoptable and have a chance for a wonderful life, thanks to your generosity. I simply cannot do it with out your love and support.
Please help us give them a life of love and keep as many as we can off of the slaughter truck.
We were only able to save 11 last time, and that wiped out our funds. However, for each one of those horses, it was their whole world.
It’s up to you, YOU Choose – Life or Death for these horses??? Please Help!
.Please help us “git ‘er done”, and God bless y’all for being so amazing for these horses. He puts them in front of us for His reason, and I am glad He chose our Chilly Pepper Family to help them!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN HELPING SAVE THESE PRECIOUS LIVES!
The Herd Sponsorship is only available through midnight tonight and there are only 2 tables left! Since we didn’t get this last call out yesterday, we’ve extended one more day!
Let’s sell out this event so we can help more horses!
The Herd Sponsorship is perfect for small businesses, families, and friends! It includes a Boots & Bling table for 12 and recognition on our website, social media channels, and newsletters – all for just $500.
Use Promo Code HERDAAE22
Grab 11 of your friends, family, co-workers, riding buddies, or fellow animal lovers to come enjoy a fun-filled evening together at a Herd table.
Boots & Bling is AAE’s most important fundraising event of the year as it supports our ongoing operations and allows us to continue helping horses, one horse at a time.
Boots & Bling raises funds to help horses like Cody.
Cody is a 1999 Arabian gelding that came to AAE in January 2020 after long-time family health issues with his owner and the passing of his caretaker.
When Cody arrived at AAE, he was very underweight and in much need of dental care, something so easy to fix, yet many seem unaware of basic needs of older horses.
While at AAE, he received much needed dental care, and all of his other basic needs were updated including hoof care, vaccines, and deworming. Cody also got a new microchip. Cody gained quite a bit of weight. Once he started feeling great (and looking great), he worked with our trainer to refresh his ground manners and riding skills. In a matter of months, he regained good health, and he found his forever home.
Will you help me save as many as we can? LOOK AT THESE FACES, YOU decide how many lives we can save.
OLD MAN MULE – “FLASH GORDON” was simply thrown away. He is skinny, sad and does NOT belong on a slaughter truck.
The 1st $500 – $1000 PER HORSE covers bail, transport to Goldendale, Coggins & Health Certs, Brand Inspections, selenium shots etc. and that is just the beginning. I still have to feed them and care for them until they are adopted.
Stallions cost more to save because they also need
to be gelded, which is approx $440 including the ranch call.
The horses need your help Now to save as many.lives as we can.
I am going to have to stand and watch these horses go through the chute and pick the ones I think we can re-home. It is the worst thing to say yes or no, and it makes me physically sick and gives me nightmares. I am praying we can save more than a couple.
It’s up to you, Please Help!
.Please help us “git ‘er done”, and God bless y’all for being so amazing for these horses. He puts them in front of us for His reason, and I am glad He chose our Chilly Pepper Family to help them!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN HELPING SAVE THESE PRECIOUS LIVES!
We’ve got a LOT of news to share with you this week! You won’t want to miss the story of how we partnered with Skydog Sanctuary to rescue 16 mustangs from a notorious kill pen in Colorado, and you’ll definitely want to take action to support a bill to ban cruel helicopter roundups. So, please read on!
Across the West, Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-contracted helicopters are hunting down wild horses right now, chasing tiny foals, pregnant mares and other horses in high summer temperatures across very rugged terrain. These helicopter roundups are traumatic and dangerous, and wild horses are injured and killed because of them. Take this week, when BLM helicopters in Califoria stampeded 124 wild horses at once into a far too-small trap pen, causing the panels to burst and killing two horses in the process. Fortunately, members of Congress are standing up to this brutality, including Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) who has introduced a bill (H.R. 6635) to end helicopter roundups for good. Please act today and ask your legislators to cosponsor this important legislation!
AWHC operates the world’s largest humane birth control program for wild horses on Nevada’s Virginia Range. It’s part of an amazing community initiative involving several wonderful local organizations and dozens of volunteers who work tirelessly to protect this historic group of wild mustangs. Now you can keep up with their incredible (and sometimes daring!) efforts by subscribing to the Pinto Post, a monthly electronic newsletter that chronicles the work of the volunteers and tells the stories of the beautiful wild horse families living in this area. Subscribe today to keep up with all the news!
On the same day we released our explosive investigative report on the deadly consequences of the Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), we partnered with Skydog Sanctuary on the rescue of 16 BLM-branded wild mustangs from a notorious kill pen in Eaton, Colorado. After being immersed in the grim statistics documenting the hundreds of BLM wild horses and burros who have been sent into the slaughter pipeline, we were gratified to help save 16 wonderful souls who would have otherwise faced a horrific fate. Read the story of these horses and find out how you can help by clicking below.
As the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is bearing down on Colorado’s last large remaining wild horse population, we’re fighting back.
We’ve sent a legal letter calling for the delay of the Piceance wild horse roundup, we’ve mobilized thousands of wild horse advocates, and we’ve echoed the urgings of Colorado Governor Polis and Congressman Neguse to halt the helicopters and instead explore humane alternatives to manage these iconic animals. And, now we’re taking that fight right to your screen:
We are all set to launch television commercials educating the public in Colorado about what is happening to the wild horses just hours away from their homes. Public education is key to empowering more people to speak up for wild horses across the country. And people speaking up is the only thing that will save these cherished animals.
This important aspect of our advocacy is critically important, but it’s also expensive, and we need your help to get the message out loud and clear: wild horses should not be terrorized with helicopters, rounded up, confined for life, and robbed of the two things they hold dear: Family and freedom. Rush a contribution now and see a preview of our commercial before it goes live. >>
Catcher just called! Will you help save more lives?
Still needing funds for the last 7 we just picked up. With vetting, transporting and buying some urgently needed hay, we are strapped.
Doc was out for blood work, health certs and to check on Mama Mercedes again. She is huge. Thankfully she is getting stronger, but needs lots of special feed. Times are tough and we need your help to keep saving these horses.
THANK YOU!
I simply cannot do it without your love and support. As always, I will do the “boots on the ground”, but I simply do not have enough funds to save them without your donations.
Please let me tell the catcher “Yes, we will save them!“
.Please help us “git ‘er done”, and God bless y’all for being so amazing for these horses. He puts them in front of us for His reason, and I am glad He chose our Chilly Pepper Family to help them!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN HELPING SAVE THESE PRECIOUS LIVES!
I am here RIGHT NOW. I have a chance to save MAMA WITH BABY?
There us also a 2 year old and an abused, neglected mess of a yearling.
We need help asap to do so. Do I get them all?
I simply cannot do it without your love and support. As always, I will do the “boots on the ground”, but I simply do not have enough funds to save them without your donations.
Please let me tell the catcher “Yes, we will save them!“
.Please help us “git ‘er done”, and God bless y’all for being so amazing for these horses. He puts them in front of us for His reason, and I am glad He chose our Chilly Pepper Family to help them!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN HELPING SAVE THESE PRECIOUS LIVES!
I received another call from the catcher. It’s up to us. Do we save these precious lives or let them ship?
Please help me save them. The last 3 (shown above) say THANK YOU! All 3 are in amazing new homes, (THANKS TO YOUR GENEROSITY).
We all know the world has gone crazy. Hay prices, diesel prices and simply buying groceries. However God keeps putting these kids in front of me so I have to ask, “Can we save them?”
I simply cannot do it without your love and support. As always, I will do the “boots on the ground”, but I simply do not have enough funds to save them without your donations.
Please let me tell the catcher “Yes, we will save them!“
.Please help us “git ‘er done”, and God bless y’all for being so amazing for these horses. He puts them in front of us for His reason, and I am glad He chose our Chilly Pepper Family to help them!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN HELPING SAVE THESE PRECIOUS LIVES!
Roundup season begins tomorrow and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning on coming for me and my herd soon. The American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) says that the BLM is planning to roundup nearly 2,000 of my friends and family from our home in the 2.1 million acre Triple B Complex in Eastern Nevada.
I’ll be honest, I’m scared. Helicopter roundups aren’t just cruel, they can be deadly. I’ve heard that wild horses can get stuck in traps, break their legs, or worse — get killed after the BLM chased them with helicopters. Meredith, I really don’t want to join that list. That’s why we need organizations like AWHC who fight to protect horses like me.
Powerful ranchers in Nevada hold permits to graze their animals on our lands — they want most of us gone.
AWHC says the goal of this cruel roundup is to reduce our population so that these privately-owned cattle and sheep can continue to graze within our Complex each year. The ranchers want us eliminated because then they get to graze their animals for really cheap — discounted by your tax dollars too! These powerful interests have lobbied in Washington for decades, so they hold a lot of influence, influence that hurts horses like the ones in my herd and thousands more across the West.
That all doesn’t seem very fair, and to be honest, Meredith, I’d really like to keep my whole family together on the lands we’ve called home for centuries. That’s why I’m so glad you support an organization like AWHC.
Join us at our 9th annual Boots & Bling as a Herd Sponsor!
The Herd Sponsorship is perfect for small businesses, families, and friends! It includes a table at the event for 12, recognition on our website, social media channels, and newsletters.
This sponsor package is $500 and is available only through midnight! Act fast and sign up before it’s too late!
who wish to support the event and AAE in a bigger way.
Boots & Bling will be held on Saturday, August 6 at the
El Dorado County Fairgrounds, in Placerville.
Doors open at 4pm.
This evening features a catered BBQ dinner by Blackjack Grill,
and DJ music and entertainment by Sundance Kid,
live and silent auctions, stories from our barn, and more.
Boots & Bling is AAE’s most important fundraising event of the year as it supports our ongoing operations and allows us to continue helping horses, one horse at a time.
Don’t need an entire table? Buy individual tickets!
If you want to sit together, please buy your tickets in one transaction.
Thanks to your support, the House Appropriations Committee just adopted language championed by AWHC calling for on-range management strategies of America’s cherished wild horses and burros. The Committee allocated $11 million in funding for humane, reversible fertility control vaccines as part of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget.
Additionally, the Committee called for several other key provisions that would help keep wild horses and burros on public lands where they belong and better safeguard the welfare of animals that are sold or adopted by federal agencies. These include:
Evaluating options for relocating wild horses and burros to different Herd Management Areas (HMAs) as an alternative to sending them to government holding facilities.
Reviewing the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) for any weaknesses that jeopardize the welfare of wild horses and burros placed into private care.
Partnering with veterans and wild horse organizations to assist in the implementation of a robust fertility control program.
Requiring the BLM to provide quarterly reports to Congress regarding how funds are spent and performance metrics.
The Committee also addressed concerns about wild horses and burros under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) by emphasizing the importance of implementing adequate screening procedures for adopters and purchasers of these animals. The USFS currently lacks safeguards to protect wild horses and burros it rounds up and removes from their habitats on USFS lands. This, paired with sale prices as low as $25 a horse, raises serious concerns that USFS wild horses could end up in the slaughter pipeline or face other inhumane outcomes.
We are incredibly grateful for the concrete steps Congress has taken toward reforming the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program over the past two years. This is a result of your unrelenting advocacy, and it marks important progress in the fight to protect these iconic animals.
At the same time, the bill proposes increased overall funding for the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program — although $6 million less than what the Committee proposed last year. We must continue to press the BLM to use any additional funding to improve its program by reducing inhumane removals and addressing shortcomings in its holding system, where 60,000 wild horses and burros are confined and where disease outbreaks have claimed the lives of 159 wild horses so far this year.
This isn’t the last step in the congressional appropriations process, so stay tuned for more updates!
Boots & Bling is AAE’s most important fundraising event of the year as it supports our ongoing operations and allows us to continue helping horses, one horse at a time.
If you want to sit together, please buy your tickets in one transaction.
Catcher called and I need to head out now to pick up babies.
Our funds are depleted from this last rescue and now we need to replenish our supplies immediately.
We need meds, bail money, transport money, Foal Lac Powder, Foal Lac Pellets, Hay, meds, funds for vetting and all the normal stuff.
THANK YOU for the milk y’all have sent for Pearl. All of the kids are getting healthier every day and the baby is starting to buck and play.
Please Help us Save the new kids so they can also have their best life!
Please help us “git ‘er done”, and God bless y’all for being so amazing for these horses. He puts them in front of us for His reason, and I am glad He chose our Chilly Pepper Family to help them!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN HELPING SAVE THESE PRECIOUS LIVES!
Over the past few days, you’ve heard all about how our Rescue Fund has helped rescue and support some of the most vulnerable baby foals from Nevada’s Virginia Range.
While foal rescues are a critical part of our work, they aren’t the only thing our Rescue Fund’s resources go towards! Another incredibly important aspect of our Rescue Fund is offering financial support to on-the-ground rescue organizations to help get wild horses and burros of all ages out of kill pens AND support their continued care after they’ve been rescued.
Just this month, we sponsored the feed, veterinary care, and farrier bills for three beautiful mustang mares and their babies who found safe haven at Oklahoma-based rescue organization RJF Equine after being rescued from various kill pens across the West. Meet the mares and their babies:
Uno and her baby!
Uno is a beautiful pinto mare from the US Forest Service-managed Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory in California. She was born wild and free in 2018 but was soon rounded up by the agency and sent to a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding facility. From there, she was adopted through the disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) and arrived at a kill pen soon after her adopter received the full incentive payment. When RJF Equine saved her from slaughter, she was pregnant and soon gave birth to a beautiful appaloosa baby!
Duo’s baby Gemini
Duo is a stunning bay mare also from the Devil’s Garden Wild Horse Territory. Like Uno, she was pregnant when RJF Equine rescued her from a kill pen, and was able to give birth to a beautiful baby named Gemini.
Trinity and her three-day-old filly
Trinity and her adorable foal are RJF Equine’s most recent kill pen rescues! Thanks to the rescue’s swift action, this sweet filly gets to grow up strong and healthy by her mother’s side and the pair are safe from the horrific fate of slaughter.
We’re honored to work alongside and support our rescue partners, like RJF Equine, that do so much to save our beloved mustangs and burros from danger. And we couldn’t be more grateful for our other partner in these rescues — you.
Our Rescue Fund powers a variety of critically important work from providing lifesaving medical care to foals on the range to even outbidding kill buyers at slaughter auctions to protect victims of the BLM’s failed Adoption Incentive Program. But no matter how many rescues we fund, just know that this work is only possible because of supporters like you, Meredith.
Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of the recent rescues, a sweet long-legged boy named Ranger who was born on Nevada’s Virginia Range:
Ranger’s story begins when at just two days old, he got mixed into the wrong band and was separated from his mother. Once this was reported to a local organization, Wild Horse Connection (WHC), they called the Least Resistance Training Concepts (LRTC) rescue team to the area. The skilled rescue crew was thankfully able to secure him. The team tried to reunite him with his family, as they were still very near, but his mother would not come to him, and the stallion kept chasing him away.
After attempts to reunite them failed, LRTC rescue members gave Ranger a critical supplement to ensure he received colostrum, and they transported him to LBL Equine Rescue. Unfortunately, after several hours he began to show signs of intestinal distress. He was rushed to the emergency vet, where he tested positive for an infection and had to be hospitalized for a week while he received lifesaving antibiotics. But little Ranger recovered, and was released back to LBL Equine Rescue!!
Here at AWHC, we partner with local rescue organizations like WHC, LBL Equine Rescue, and LRTC to fuel their work as they care for orphaned or abandoned foals on the Virginia Range. Your support enables us to help these organizations with funding to make sure no foal is left behind.