The fate of the only wild horse herd left in North Dakota is in jeopardy. The Theodore Roosevelt National Park is home to a historic herd of 180 wild horses who are believed to be descendants of Sitting Bull’s horses and are related to the rare Nokota breed – but the National Park Service (NPS) has made clear that they want to eliminate the entire herd.
This plan is unacceptable, Meredith. These horses are integral to the scenery, native wildlife, and wilderness qualities of the park – the landscape that inspired President Theodore Roosevelt himself.
We know this herd already has the support of North Dakotans, including Senator Hoeven, Governor Burgum, the state legislature, and local media. And thankfully, national attention has been brought to this critical issue, with bipartisan support in the US Senate Committee on Appropriations urging the NPS to preserve this historic herd.
Documenting the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) helicopter roundups is critical to not only shining a light on the true consequences of these operations, but also to holding the BLM accountable for the mistreatment of our beloved wild horses and burros. To that end, we’ve assembled and trained a team of photographers and videographers to cover nearly every helicopter capture operation conducted by the federal government this year.
In the past few weeks alone, the dual roundups in Nevada’s Antelope Complex have led to the traumatic deaths of over 26 wild horses, including nearly a dozen young foals.By documenting these tragedies, we’re able to show Congress, the press, and the public exactly what happens during these inhumane helicopter roundups and why we need to change the way the BLM manages our wild herds.
This is essential work. Without the photos and videos from our observers, the public would be in the dark about the dangers that wild horses and burros face during helicopter roundups. In fact, AWHC representatives are oftentimes the ONLY ones on site to document the animal welfare violations taking place.
The evidence of cruelty we’re publicizing is changing hearts and minds, including in Congress. Both the U.S. House and Senate Committees on Appropriations just included bipartisan language in this year’s budget bills directing millions of dollars towards humane fertility control efforts for wild horses and, for the first time ever, the House Committee urged BLM to consider alternatives to helicopters. Our roundup observation program has never been more important.
But the truth is, it’s grueling work. Our observers go out in the field in all kinds of weather, and watching these beautiful wild animals lose their freedom and families, and sometimes their lives, day in and day out is emotionally draining. It’s also expensive to get our observers out to these remote areas, keep them equipped and in the field with 4-wheel drive vehicles, and provide them with places to stay after long days.
We’ve got a lot to share with you in this week’s edition of eNews, including the latest updates about the roundups in Nevada’s Antelope Complex, some good news for our wild horses and burros on Capitol Hill, and an invitation to join an exciting webinar on wild horse care hosted by a specialist from Freedom Reigns Equine Sanctuary.
Last weekend, the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations advanced bipartisan language in its Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill and its accompanying report. This language continues to call for protecting wild horses and burros from slaughter, and includes key reforms to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. These reforms include scaling up humane and proven safe fertility control and – for the first time ever – urging the agency to consider alternatives to helicopters and manned fixed-wing aircraft. Click here to learn more!
AWHC has humane observers in the field at the on-going roundup operations in Nevada that are targeting 3,000 wild horses for removal. While the roundup in the south portion of the complex has concluded, the operation is still ongoing in the north. Stay up to date on the latest by checking out our daily reports.
The American Wild Horse Campaign is proud to be a co-sponsor of the Homes for Horses coalition, dedicated to increasing collaboration, professionalism, and growth in the equine rescue and protection community. Carrie Echezarreta, Equine Manager at Freedom Reigns Equine Sanctuary will discuss how she cares for such a large herd and what makes mustangs so different! If you are interested in mustang care or equine sanctuaries, don’t miss this free webinar tomorrow, July 28th at 2 PM ET.
We are about HALFWAY to being able to get them home safely.
A WONDERFUL donor offered to match up to $1000, starting with anything donated after she called. That was July 5 at 2 p.m.
SO YOUR MONEY IS WORTH TWICE AS MUCH!
When we get to the $1000 and she matches it, the GIRLS & BABY WILL BE SAFE!
PLEASE, Let’s GIT ‘ER DONE!
More wild/unhandled horses heading to slaughter.There is a brand, new baby, (in pretty rough shape), with Mama who is set to ship. Mama is NOT being listed or offered to anyone else, and we are Her Only Chance!! (Baby won’t ship with Mama), but they NEED to stay together.
Mama is emaciated. If you look closely you can see her ribs. Her topline is horrible and her hips are sunken. I will post better photos later. You can see baby looks bad as well.(Look at how skinny and sunken his/her neck is). That is from Mama being starved while he/she was in utero.
Mom 2, who is said to be getting ready to give birth is also slated to ship if we don’t save her. She is also emaciated. She is the pretty girl with the blaze. She will NOT be offered to anyone else. We are Her only hope as well. We need to save both her AND her unborn baby.
I have until Friday to come up with the money. I need to raise $4000 to help purchase, transport for vetting and then get them home.
When I drove to NV to set up a chute to get the last wild mares, and the pregnant donks vetted, the bill for the Coggins and Health Certs was $636, just to get blood drawn so we could legally transport them.
IF we don’t save the mares, they will ship on Saturday. I HAVE to say yes by Friday evening to save them.
I would love to celebrate my birthday tomorrow knowing we will save them!!
THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU, FOR BEING SO AMAZING FOR THESE PRECIOUS SOULS! YOU are the reason so many lives are saved!
I will keep fighting the good fight as long as I can afford to. I so appreciate all of you and so do the critters.
If you want to help with the Vet Bill, call Goldendale Veterinary at 509-773-0369.
I appreciate every single one of our Chilly Pepper Family. God has truly blessed this rescue!
Have a safe, blessed and life saving 2023!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
time is running out, so I’ll try to keep this quick:
In just a few short hours, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) helicopters will take flight, marking the start of the summer roundup season. By the end of October, approximately 5,900 wild horses across the West will have lost their freedom, families — and, for some, their lives.
Our magnificent wild horses and burros need you, Meredith. They need all of us to stand together and continue to strongly oppose the BLM’s deadly roundups.
Right now, we’re $9,612 away from reaching our $50,000 goal in preparation for another traumatic roundup season. Our team works day in and day out to uphold our promise to America’s wild horses and burros by ensuring their protection.
We are tackling this issue from all angles, from sending observers to document the cruel roundups, to launching strategic lawsuits, to alerting the media and the public to the inhumanity these animals face, and finally, working to reform government policy through our work on Capitol Hill. But we need your help to keep the momentum going.Will you rush a donation before midnight tonight to fuel our efforts and help us reach our $50,000 goal?
The funds we’ve raised will go far, but reaching our $50,000 goal ensures we have every resource necessary to fight back, document any tragedies, and save the lives of as many of these iconic wild animals as possible.
My name is Chance (that’s me at the front), and I’m really scared right now.
I’m a wild stallion living with my family within the 1.1 million acres that make up the Antelope Complex in Nevada. It’s my job to protect all of us from intruders and predators — but for the past few years, my herd has been targeted by “helicopters.” And now, they’re coming for us again this summer.
When the helicopters descended on my family in 2021, we ran as fast as we could away from its deafening roar. But after over an hour of running, we were exhausted — especially my foals — and that’s when I noticed: The helicopters were funneling us into a trap.
I had to do whatever I could to get us out, so I led my family up and over one of the jute barriers with the little strength I had left. I thought everyone was behind me, but when I looked back, half of my family had been captured.
That day, I lost two mares whom I had been with for years, and all three of my foals. I don’t even know if they’re alive — I later learned that during this government “roundup” on the habitat I call home, 11 wild horses, including four babies, died at the trap, not even making it into the holding pens.
I don’t understand why the government would do this to wild mustangs and our burro neighbors. Our friends at the AWHC say it’s because powerful ranching private interest groups have lobbied for roundup and removals in Washington for decades — they want to use more and more of the public land we live on to graze their privately-owned livestock since it’s subsidized by your tax dollars.
In addition to documenting the cruelty that wild horses and burros are subjected to during Bureau of Land Management (BLM) helicopter roundups, my teammates and I investigate what happens to these innocent animals after they’ve been captured.
Our Investigations Team files Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain government documents that reveal the harsh reality wild horses and burros face after they are rounded up and funneled into the BLM’s overburdened holding system. Our findings consistently show that the inhumane treatment these animals suffer continues well after the helicopters are grounded.
Our FOIA work helps uncover indisputable evidence of the often unreported death toll of roundup operations, as well as the cruel impacts of the BLM’s holding system. For example, late last year, we filed FOIA requests that illuminated the deaths of over 30 burros at a Utah holding facility between August and September 2022.
The records we secured revealed that six burros died from hemorrhaging during gelding, and four were euthanized. These same records showed that the majority of the burros died from a preventable blood disease that they can get when they experience extreme stress.
Tragedies like this prove that the deaths don’t stop once the helicopters do. But if it weren’t for the work of our Investigations Team, the truth about what happened to these burros may have never been made public.
Just like our observers who document violations at roundups in the field, our investigations work has shed a light on some serious animal welfare concerns within the BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. In the past few years, FOIA has helped us to uncover:
The horrific slaughter pipeline resulting from the BLM’s disastrous Adoption Incentive Program (AIP) which has landed at least 1,100 wild horses and burros in kill pens since the start of our investigation;
The deaths of 16 horses at the U.S. Forest Service’s Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals and the BLM’s Bruneau Wild Horse Off-Range Corrals;
The BLM’s use of IUD’s in wild mares despite the lack of scientific research about the efficacy and safety of these devices in wild populations;
The beautiful wild mares, (one Pregnant and the other with her baby on her side), are at their new home with Jennifer Nelson at Mystic Meadows. She is an amazing lady that we are very fortunate to work with.
“Tequila”, the Pregnant, wild Jenny shown here, is also adopted.
We have a pretty urgent need to finish perimeter fencing around the horse area.
My friend who lives about 5 minutes away, recently watched our local “Cinnamon Bear” finish devouring a fawn he had killed. This brought back memories of the Wild Horse Sanctuary. Although more of the babies were killed by the Mountain Lions than the bears, we did see bears eating the foals and deceased horses.
Although it is not necessarily common, if you don’t think it happens, simply google it, and we know for sure this guy is a carnivore. (I believe it is the same one I saw before. He looked old and in rough shape.)
On that note, It is important to have the LGD (Livestock guardian dogs, running the fence line.) This will help ensure that our beautiful bear goes around, and doesn’t stop to snack on the mini’s, goats or other small critters.
It’s also “go time” AGAIN, to purchase hay in NV for the 11 residents there.
The hay will be around $1800? and it is about $5000 for the “no climb” horse fencing I need, not including the T-Posts. As always, if the rescue moves, so does the fencing lol.
THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU, FOR BEING SO AMAZING FOR THESE PRECIOUS SOULS! YOU are the reason so many lives are saved!
I will keep fighting the good fight as long as I can afford to. I so appreciate all of you and so do the critters.
If you want to help with the Vet Bill, call Goldendale Veterinary at 509-773-0369.
I appreciate every single one of our Chilly Pepper Family. God has truly blessed this rescue!
Have a safe, blessed and life saving 2023!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
We’ve got a lot to share with you in this week’s edition of eNews, including an opportunity for you to stand up for North Dakota’s iconic Theodore Roosvelt wild horse herd, a call to take action against the curel slaughter of wild horses for human consumption, and a tribute to a dedicated wild horse advocate.
The efforts to save North Dakota’s historic Theodore Roosevelt wild horse herd from eradication by the National Park Service is picking up speed! Join local organization, Chasing Horses and fellow advocates on July 12-13 in Medora, ND for a rally, film screening and field tour! Click here to learn more about the events and how you can attend!
In December, our community lost Nancy Killian, wild horse advocate extraordinaire, President of the Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association (VRWPA), and longtime American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) volunteer. Nancy was a pioneer of AWHC’s groundbreaking fertility control darting program for the Virginia Range horses and was the first member of our “1K Club”, delivering over 1,000 treatments to wild mares to manage this population that is challenged by habitat loss due to development. AWHC is proud to have granted $5,000 towards the completion of a memorial garden for Nancy,which you can learn more about below!
One of the most important parts of our work here at the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) is documenting the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) helicopter roundups of our cherished wild horses and burros.
To this end, we’ve assembled and trained a team of photographers and videographers to cover as many helicopter capture operations as possible. The reports they compile are then used to file complaints to BLM officials, provided to the media, are used in our advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill, and help us establish an irrefutable pattern of cruelty.
This is grueling work. Watching these beautiful and innocent wild animals lose their freedom and families, day in and day out, is emotionally draining. The days can be incredibly long, with start times as early as 4 AM and roundups going until dusk – sometimes amidst extreme heat or cold depending on the location of the operation.
On top of that, these operations often occur in some of the most remote corners of the West,making it challenging to even get there. The closest airports are usually between 1.5 to 5 hours away from roundup areas, and hotels aren’t always easy to find near them.
In fact, the first roundup scheduled this summer on Nevada’s 1.1 million acre Antelope Complex will be over 200 miles away from the nearest airport. And to make matters worse, there will likely be two roundups occurring in the Complex at the same time in both Elko and Ely, Nevada. That means we need to send out two sets of documenting teams to make sure we don’t miss any animal welfare violations.
Meredith, our observers play an integral role in our work to hold the BLM accountable. But the truth is, it is expensive to get them to these remote areas and keep them equipped and in the field with four wheel drive vehicles and places to stay after such exhausting days. Your support is what makes this critical work possible.
This citizen Advisory Board is supposed to represent broad stakeholder interests, but its membership, appointed by the BLM, is heavily weighted in favor of livestock interests and pro-slaughter advocates. One of the current board members is even on record as previously stating that wild horses could be a “protein source!” With individuals like this sitting on the Board, it’s vital that we raise our voices as loud as possible in support of protections for our wild herds.
Thankfully, the Advisory Board is currently accepting comments from the public, so we have an opportunity to speak out against the BLM’s flawed management approach and demand key reforms, including:
Ending the cash incentives as part of the BLM’s Adoption Incentive Program (AIP), which an investigation by AWHC and our rescue partners revealed as a pipeline to slaughter for untold numbers of mustangs and burros;
Investing in and increasing collaboration with wild horse nonprofits to implement humane fertility control programs in herds across the West;
Mandating cameras be installed on helicopters used during roundups to ensure transparency and accountability for the BLM’s contractors;
There is still time to provide us with any feedback you may have.
Will you take a few moments to fill out our Donor Feedback Survey and let us know how we are doing?
First, we want to extend our deepest gratitude for your ongoing support for our work here at the American Wild Horse Campaign. It is because of you that we are able to continue our policy, awareness and conservation programs.
As one of our most dedicated donors, we’re hoping to get to know you better through your answers to a few questions about our programs and how we, as the leading wild horse conservation organization, are doing.
This will help us understand how you came to AWHC, why you stay involved, and help us make sure that we’re sending updates that help you support our work and America’s wild horses in the best way possible.
First, we want to extend our deepest gratitude for your ongoing support for our work here at the American Wild Horse Campaign. It is because of you that we are able to continue our policy, awareness and conservation programs.
As one of our most dedicated donors, we’re hoping to get to know you better through your answers to a few questions about our programs and how we, as the leading wild horse conservation organization, are doing.
This will help us understand how you came to AWHC, why you stay involved, and help us make sure that we’re sending updates that help you support our work and America’s wild horses in the best way possible.
If there is anything our public awareness campaigns have taught us, it’s this: When Americans are made aware of the cruelty wild horses and burros face, they are upset, angry, and ready to take action.
These efforts are exactly why, despite the National Park Service’s proposal to eliminate the historic Teddy Roosevelt wild horses from the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, momentum has been growing in the grassroots movement to keep the herd where they are — in large part thanks to supporters like you. Even the media is taking notice:
We launched billboards in key areas to raise awareness about the Teddy Roosevelt horses;
More than 19,000 comments have been submitted to the park service — over 13,000 from AWHC supporters, with a resounding majority supporting keeping horses in the Park;
Governor Doug Burgum has signed into law a unanimous resolution urging the park service to keep the historic wild herd in the Park;
AND, hundreds of AWHC supporters like you have taken action to ask North Dakota legislators like Rep. Kelly Armstrong to support keeping the horses in the Park, where they have thrived for generations.
We are committed to doing everything we can to keep the Teddy Roosevelt wild horses on the lands they call home — and our awareness efforts are the first step.
Please join our American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) team on Thursday, June 22, 2023, for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at our fight to preserve and protect wild horses and burros in 2023.
This session will feature an exciting update on “Setting the Conservation Standard” for wild horses and burros with members of our Government Relations and Field teams. We’ll also have dedicated time for an open Q&A with AWHC leadership and staff.
Please RSVP to reserve your spot!
Private Invite: Donor Update
Hosted by American Wild Horse Campaign
Please join our American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) team on Thursday, June 22, 2023, for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at our fight to preserve and protect wild horses and burros in 2023.
This session will feature an exciting update on “Setting the Conservation Standard” for wild horses and burros with members of our Government Relations and Field teams. We’ll also have dedicated time for an open Q&A with AWHC leadership and staff.
I pulled the Donkeys, in spite of only raising half of what we need. The girls have hideous wounds from some “person” double hot branding them. Big open wounds that are pouring infection and extremely painful. They are lethargic and have been through the wringer.
Now I need to get them vetted, along with the pregnant mares who just finished their quarantine. ALL of them need vetted.
If this Pregnant Donkey rescue fundraiser is a sign of the times, we are all in trouble. I keep hearing of rescues closing and most of the ones I know are very close.
TONIGHT the phone rang AGAIN. Another (truly) orphaned foal needs our help. She needs milk, vetting etc, etc.**
THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU, FOR BEING SO AMAZING FOR THESE PRECIOUS SOULS! YOU are the reason so many lives are saved!
I will keep fighting the good fight as long as I can afford to. I so appreciate all of you and so do the critters.
If you want to help with the Vet Bill, call Goldendale Veterinary at 509-773-0369.
I appreciate every single one of our Chilly Pepper Family. God has truly blessed this rescue!
Have a safe, blessed and life saving 2023!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
Your support for our Rescue Fund powers a variety of critically important work – from providing life saving medical care to foals on Nevada’s Virginia Range to even outbidding kill buyers at slaughter auctions to protect victims of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) failed Adoption Incentive Program (AIP).
Back in January 2021, as part of our ongoing investigation into the AIP slaughter pipeline, AWHC staff were monitoring a slaughter auction in Texas when they discovered a young, red roan BLM-branded mustang, now named Fran, and her small domestic companion, Nellie.
Our team knew we had to act fast, so we quickly reached out to our partners at Montgomery Creek Ranch (MCR) to check to see if they had room for them in their sanctuary and adoption program. Once they confirmed they could take the pair in, we leapt into action and sprung them both from the kill pen and transported them to MCR. Shortly after they arrived to safety, we confirmed that Fran was in fact a victim of the AIP.
These two young horses arrived at the sanctuary scared and in poor condition from their long journey. But thanks to the kind and loving care from the MCR team, they have both grown up to be beautiful and healthy horses! In fact, Nellie has completed all of her pre-riding groundwork training and is actually available for adoption now!
Next, we’d like to introduce you to Elsa and Sven!
Almost one year ago, AWHC partnered with Skydog Sanctuary to help rescue Elsa and 15 other formerly-wild BLM mustangs from slaughter. Like Fran, and thousands of others, they too entered the slaughter pipeline through the AIP.
Upon rescue, two of the mares were discovered to be pregnant – including Elsa – so they were transported to the Colorado Sanctuary For the Love of Aria (FTLOA) to await the birth of their babies. After months of loving care at the sanctuary, Elsa gave birth to Sven who is now growing into a big, healthy colt!
Our Rescue Fund enables us to help support the direct rescues of mustangs like Elsa (and her unborn baby at the time!) AND fund the ongoing care of rescued equines at our partner sanctuaries – including supporting critical initiatives like gelding clinics or hay funds.
These precious Jennies are pregnant, and the one on the bottom is just a baby. (yearling)
THEY SHIP TOMORROW!!
I don’t want to picture the unborn babies being born and tramped in the slaughter trailer.
I need to raise around $4000 so I can cover bail, shipping and feed for the first few months. That is just the beginning.
I cannot take on more critters if I don’t have enough funds to properly care for them. Things are extremely tight for most all of the rescues right now.
Time is of the essence. Do I say YES? It IS up to you.
I will do the work as always, but I need the funds to provide them whatever they need,
The clock is ticking and time is running out quickly.
I need to let them know if we can save these 5 lives.
Please help if you want me to save them. Time is running out fast!!
THANK YOU to everyone who made it possible to get Tika buried with dignity. She was laid to rest on a beautiful ranch.
THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU, FOR BEING SO AMAZING FOR THESE PRECIOUS SOULS! YOU are the reason so many lives are saved!
I will keep fighting the good fight as long as I can afford to. I so appreciate all of you and so do the critters.
If you want to help with the Vet Bill, call Goldendale Veterinary at 509-773-0369.
I appreciate every single one of our Chilly Pepper Family. God has truly blessed this rescue!
Have a safe, blessed and life saving 2023!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP HELPING US SAVE MORE LIVES, YOU CAN GO TO:
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_
If there are ever funds left over from the cost of the rescue itself, the monies are used to feed, vet, care for and provide shelter and proper fencing for the animals once they are saved.
We’d like to apologize. Earlier today, we mistakenly sent you the email below without linking to the proper advocacy form for you to contact your representative about the SAFE Act. If you’d still like to take action in support of this critical legislation, you can click here. Thank you for standing up for our beloved wild herds.
We’ve got a lot to share with you in this week’s edition of eNews, including an opportunity for you to speak up in support of permanently banning the slaughter of equines, an article about an important new bill banning the use of helicopters in wild horse and burro roundups, and an adorable guest blog post from rescued burros “Huck” and “Puck”!
On Friday, May 19, 2023, U.S. Representatives Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) reintroduced the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (H.R. 3475) to permanently ban the slaughter of equines for human consumption and to ban the export of equines to foreign countries for slaughter.Please urge your representatives to co-sponsor this bill today!
Huck and Puck, AWHC’s wild burro Ambassadors, were pulled from their range in Nevada in one of the Bureau of Land Management’s helicopter roundups, adopted through the Adoption Incentive Program, and flipped at an infamous kill pen in Oklahoma soon afterward. From there their luck changed, however, and they were saved by a rescue and fostered in Wyoming, before ending up with AWHC’s program specialist Mary and her husband, Dick. Be sure to read on for the “policies” Huck and Puck have adopted over the last 12 months or so.
We are so grateful for how much love and kindness you give to horses. It’s inspiring to know our AAE community hears our calls and helps wherever they can. Thank you for being the reason horses get chances for better lives.
Gabby has wings
Spotlight: Casper & Pearl
Save the Date: Boots & Bling
Horses Available for Adoption
Volunteer Corner, Current Volunteer Help Needed
Special Project Help Needed
Ways You Can Help
Gabby has wings, run free sweet girl!
It’s never easy to say goodbye, but Gabby is running pain free in green pastures. After her surgery went well, and she had several days of promising progress, Gabby took a turn for the worse. She wasn’t progressing like she should, and her pain increased. Unfortunately, it was highly likely infection had invaded her coffin joint making her chance for a pain-free recovery slim to none. Helping her across the Rainbow Bridge was the kindest way we could help her be pain-free forever.
Gabby was such a warrior. When she got to AAE, she quickly weaseled her way into everyone’s hearts. She was progressed so well, initially. Then she rode some ups and downs these past several months like such a champ, meeting each battle with such a strong will and rebounding when we didn’t think she would. This last one was too much and could not be overcome. Thankfully, Gabby was loved by so many volunteers, and she had so many friends she never met.
Oh Gabby-girl, we’ll miss you. You’ll be missed by everyone, and we’ll long be remembered the warrior you were. Rest easy, sweetest girl
CASPER and PEARL
Casper and Pearl came to AAE in a group with three other ponies: Ace, Bucky, and Minnie. AAE got a call from Wilbur Hot Springs in Williams, CA requesting help for this little herd. These sweet ponies were part of a larger herd of feral ponies, the Robinson Creek Ponies (click for history), that came from the hills west of Ukiah in Mendocino County. This group separated from the main herd and wandered dangerously close to the highway. In 2019, these ponies were relocated to the 1,600 acre nature preserve at Wilbur Hot Springs in hopes they could resume their free-roaming lifestyle and live among the other wildlife on the preserve. Sadly, some of the ponies eventually foundered from eating so much of the green grass. One was euthanized. Though the remaining herd was seen by a vet and had hooves trimmed, later, it was discovered their hooves were getting overgrown again. They were still feral and not easily caught or handled. WHS staff recognized the ponies could not live wild and without maintenance care, but they did not have the experience to give the ponies the attention they needed. WHS Staff was connected with AAE, and our team drove out to the nature preserve, loaded the five ponies into a trailer, and brought them back to AAE for gentling, and hoof care, along with radiographs for those that appeared they may have foundered.
Once at AAE, they all had hoof and dental care, vaccines, and deworming. They each also got a microchip and DNA analysis, too.
Casper’s hooves were long, but in otherwise fairly good condition when he arrived. He was very reactive, untrusting with humans, and lacked confidence. The ponies have been gentled, and they have been learning basic groundwork, hoof handling, and how to stand quiet for the farrier. Casper has improved tremendously. He’s getting more curious and growing more confident every day. He is not quite sure he wants to be with humans all the time, but he willing and tries hard. Some days he’s very approachable; other days, he is evasive. Sometimes, it depends on who is approaching.
Caspar stands quietly for hoof cleaning, and he’s doing well with the farrier. Once haltered, he does well on a lead. He still has some fear issues loading into a trailer, but he will eventually get in the trailer IF he’s given time to check it out and isn’t pressured. He accepts fly spray and a fly mask without much concern. He’s come a long way and though he’s not quite as far as the others, with consistency and ongoing handling, this guy is going to make nice little pony for an experienced family.
Pearl’s hooves were long, but also in otherwise fairly good condition when she arrived. She was very reactive, very fearful of humans, and lacked confidence. Pearl is improving every day and evolving into a very sweet little mare. She’s getting more trusting and brave every day. She wants to be with humans, but still has a little reservation. Once she gets beyond that first touch, her confidence grows a lot.
Pearl leads and stands fairly quietly for grooming and hoof cleaning. She’s doing well with the farrier, too. She accepts fly spray and a fly mask without much concern. She, too, has come a long way, and with consistency and ongoing handling, this sweet mare is going to make a nice little pony for an experienced family.
Caspar and Pearl are bonded, and they have likely been together their entire lives. They are looking for a home where they can remain together, forever. The perfect home will be a horse-experienced home with a couple of youngsters that want to make them the best ponies ever! They’ll be fun to bring along.
Thank you for your support helping horses each and every day!
Your donations, volunteering, adopting, and social media shares & likes allow us to make this work possible!