wild horses

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Two young fillies — barely a year old — were found in a Texas kill pen this month. This is their story.

The pair survived a traumatic helicopter roundup in California’s Calico Complex last fall, which resulted in 42 deaths. After that, they endured months in federal holding facilities only to be sold through the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Sale Authority Program for just $25. Weeks later, they were nearly lost to slaughter.

Photo by RJF Equine

This tragic story isn’t unique. Thousands of federally protected wild horses and burros are at risk of entering the slaughter pipeline every year.

Thanks to our Rescue Fund and partners at RJF Equine, Inc. and the Oregon Wild Horse Coalition, these fillies got their happy ending. But so many more wild horses and foals still need our help. Our Rescue Fund is critical to stepping up when wild horses face life-or-death moments, and we urgently need your help to sustain it.

Every dollar counts — now more than ever. Thanks to a generous $100,000 matching gift this holiday season, your donation will go TWICE as far to help us reach our $200,000 end-of-year goal. Will you make a donation today?

$50 → becomes $100 to power rescues
$100 → becomes $200 to fight for their freedom
$250 → becomes $500 to keep them safe

Photo by RJF Equine

Thank you, RJF Equine, Inc., for giving these sweethearts a freedom ride from the kill pen and a safe place to heal before going to their forever home.

Thank you to the Oregon Wild Horse Coalition for helping coordinate their rescue.

Thank YOU, for standing with us to keep America’s wild horses wild, safe, and free.

Happy New Year,

AWHC Rescue Team

P.S. The clock is ticking! All gifts made through midnight on December 31 will be MATCHED, doubling your impact for wild horses in need. Donate today to power rescues like these two fillies’ life-saving freedom ride. Click here to give →

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

Our wild herds are suffering. Each year, thousands of innocent wild horses and burros are stripped of their freedom in cruel and costly Bureau of Land Management (BLM) helicopter roundups.

These operations ​​are extremely traumatic events. Many horses and burros suffer severe injuries trying to escape the helicopters, and some even lose their lives during and after the roundups end. Those who do survive are often forced to endure the heartbreak of being separated from their families as they’re shipped off to overburdened government holding facilities.

AWHC is fighting to shift the federal government’s approach away from unnecessary and costly helicopter roundups towards a strategy of humane, in-the-wild conservation. An important part of this fight is our observation work, documenting as many roundups as possible to expose what happens during these operations and share it with the world.

To this end, we’ve assembled and trained a team of photographers and videographers to cover as many helicopter-capture operations as possible. Through their powerful reports, photos, and videos, we expose the harsh realities of these operations, creating undeniable evidence of cruelty and informing the public, the media, and Congress about the need for change. Our observation program is extremely critical to protecting wild horses and burros, but the truth is, we simply can’t do this without your support. Getting our observers out to the remote areas of the West where roundups are conducted (and keeping them there) isn’t easy. The average cost to cover their food and lodgings and to equip them with four-wheel-drive vehicles is approximately $2,500 for just one week at a roundup.

Your generous contributions enable us to send our observers to as many roundups as possible to ensure no wrongdoing against these cherished animals goes unrecorded. We are the boots on the ground, fighting to hold the BLM accountable for its inhumane and unsustainable management practices.

With the deadline to reach our $200,000 End-of-Year goal just days away, can you make a contribution right now to help us continue our roundup observation work in 2025? Every contribution up to $100,000 will be MATCHED. This is a great opportunity to bolster one of our most critical programs.

Thank you,

Team AWHC

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

My name is Ari Zucker and I am an ambassador for American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC).

From the time I was a young child, horses were my world. I even stole the reins from my dad at 3 years and took off running with the pony when he would walk me on pony rides. I competed my whole life in Hunter/Jumpers and my main goal was always to rescue a horse from a situation and give him a loving home. I still have my horse Speck, who I rescued off the Kentucky race track at 8 months old. He will be 25 this coming year. I have always had a love for horses and I always will!

Joining the AWHC Ambassador Program has been an incredibly meaningful experience. It’s allowed me to connect with an inspiring community of advocates — from grassroots supporters to fellow public figures — who share my deep love for these majestic animals.

Will you join me in  supporting AWHC’s end-of-year giving goal? Together, our dollars will make a real  difference in the fight to protect these iconic animals from abusive government roundups targeting their shrinking habitats on public lands where they’ve roamed for centuries.

Photo: Ari Zucker and Kellie Purfoy © Jessica Mangia, C Magazine

An unforgettable moment of my journey was visiting the Fish Springs range in Nevada with Suzanne Roy, AWHC’s Executive Director. Seeing wild horses thriving in their natural habitat was life-changing. Watching these magnificent animals interact — free and unbroken — filled me with awe and strengthened my commitment to this cause.

That trip wasn’t just inspiring. It was a call to action. 

At that moment, I realized how urgent it is to protect wild horses from government roundups and shrinking rangelands. Since then, I’ve been using my platform to amplify their story through public campaigns and personal advocacy. In doing so, I’ve seen the impact we can have when we work together.

AWHC’s efforts have made a real difference in 2024:

• AWHC launched the Wild Horse Film and Photography Project to showcase the world of wild horses through high-quality film and broadcasting.
• AWHC has driven nearly 4,000,000 advocacy actions this year, including more than 20,000 letters to Congress supporting the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act that was introduced by Rep. Dina Titus to ban expensive, dangerous helicopter roundups.

I’m in awe of these initiatives for awareness and action. But the fight is far from over. Government roundups are still taking horses and foals from their families and the wild, and our window to stop this is closing.

That’s why I’m asking you to stand with me today. Your donation ensures AWHC can continue:

• Fighting for humane conservation of wild horses.
• Protecting their habitats from destruction.
• Amplifying their stories through powerful campaigns.

Every donation matters — and every contribution submitted before midnight on December 31 will be MATCHED up to $100,000. Together, we’re preserving not just these iconic herds but the essence of wildness that makes America so special.

Let’s make sure future generations can experience the beauty and freedom of wild horses.

Stay wild,

Arianne Zucker
AWHC Ambassa

The following is from the American Wild Horse Campaign:

My name is Kimerlee Curyl, and I’m a wild horse fine art photographer and advocate. I have been involved with American Wild Horse Conservation (AWHC) since its inception well over a decade ago. It has been my honor to also be a Creative Ambassador, using my imagery not only to assist in AWHC’s advocacy efforts but also to raise funding to support its mission to protect these beautiful animals. Today I want to tell you about one of my favorite places to see wild horses and how AWHC is fighting to protect it.

The Red Desert is one of the most mystical, magical, and mysterious places to view the wildest of our American wild horses. This landscape is a wild and pure tonic for the soul. If you ever get the opportunity to travel here, I cannot recommend it enough.

Photo Credit: Kimerlee Curyl Photography

The thing is, most people will not get the chance to do so, and it is my sincere hope that through images and stories, we can inspire you to care as deeply as we do about this unique and rugged place.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to eliminate wild horses entirely from vast areas of the Red Desert and drastically reduce their numbers elsewhere. Despite meeting the “thriving natural ecological balance” required by law, the agency rounded up 3,500 horses — nearly 75% of the population — in the 2020-2021 helicopter roundup, at the behest of the Rock Springs Grazing Association (RGSA).

To combat the RGSA’s influence over the BLM, AWHC, Western Watersheds Project, and Animal Welfare Institute took them to court, along with myself and two other Red Desert photographers, Carol Walker and Chad Hanson. In fact, just this July our lawyers argued on behalf of these wild horses in federal court. While the judge’s ruling was not in our favor, we’ve appealed the decision to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The future of our wild horses, not only in Wyoming but across the West, depends on our ability to fight back and win. At its core, the Wild Horse and Burro Program is strung together with a narrative that supports special interests and has very little to do with “protecting” America’s icons. That responsibility is up to us. Together, it is our job to protect wild horses and burros, and the lands they live on, by using our voices and supporting the organizations working so hard to ensure they have a future — one we will continue to enjoy for years to come.

It is my greatest hope that we win this case and restore wild horses to their rightful place in the Red Desert.

Their absence would leave an unhealable wound on the landscapes of Wyoming and eliminate a key part of the wildness we hold so dear in this area for future generations to come. While Wyoming can be a challenge, AWHC has won in the 10th Circuit before. Lawsuits are costly, and should you feel moved to assist us in some way, I thank you, but more importantly, our wild ones will — in all their majestic wild glory.

We must act now to ensure that future generations can witness the wild beauty of these horses, just as I have been fortunate enough to do. This fight is not just for the Wyoming mustangs, but for the soul of our public lands and all its inhabitants who thrive here.

Kimerlee has created a special collection of prints, the Stay Wild Collection and the Holiday Collection, to support this legal battle in Wyoming. Until December 31st these fine art prints are 20% off and 20% will be donated to our work here at AWHC.