Casper

According to his brand, Casper is 24 years old. We first saw him on video and it was hard to watch. They talked about this beautiful, white horse as if they were selling a used car. An old and obedient mustang, he probably worked hard his whole life only to end up in a kill pen. Emaciated, he obviously wasn’t doing well at fighting for food. The bites on his body indicated he was low on the pecking order of the other horses in the pen.

Casper had a pony friend that we wanted to take. Sadly, he was sold to someone else. We had, however, just saved Raven, who was pacing a lot and jumping at everything in quarantine. He needed a friend to help him settle and I knew that friend was Casper. Halloween was approaching, so we named him for the friendly ghost cartoon character while making sure he didn’t become one in the slaughter pipeline.

The love that Casper inspired was tremendous as donations for his rescue came from the US, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. A lot of first-time donors stepped up for him, which was wonderful to see.

The first kindness our rescues personally experience comes from the hauler who transports them from kill pen to Skydog. Steve drove Casper and Raven from Oklahoma and he is one of the very best. Incredibly sensitive to their fears and needs, he calmed and reassured them. When they arrived, he gently unloaded them into their adjoining stalls at the old ranch in Malibu. They knew the tender touch of Steve. Jud was there to open the trailer door and a bevy of volunteers were there to greet him.

One black as ebony, the other white as ivory, I was excited to see these two together. Casper was first out of the trailer and boy did he need us.

He was much skinnier than he appeared in the video and pretty sucked up from the haul. He only had a few top teeth, so it’s no wonder he wasn’t getting enough to eat. We started him immediately on mash with soaked Senior on top, as well as some green, flowery alfalfa to help him gain weight. He seemed weak and stiff when he cautiously came out of the trailer, but he bounced back as soon as he was on solid ground. He was the first to roll in the soft, warm sand and jumped back up with ease to shake off all the old smells and dirt from the slaughter pipeline.

Raven was used as a stud and most likely held in isolation when he wasn’t breeding. He may never have been part of a herd. He was constantly sniffing Casper, following his every lead as though he was seeking guidance and advice. Neither was food aggressive, though we’d have understood if they were after being starved and isolated. They both shared the hay and ate so politely. Casper seems more than happy to show him the ropes.

It wasn’t planned this way, but Casper the Friendly Ghost and Raven arrived on Halloween with names of powerful synchronicity. Someone once said coincidences are God's way of staying anonymous and I think it was a definite "God Wink" to tell us "good work" for pulling these two out of danger. We don’t dress up on October 31st or put the animals in costumes. The scariest thing that day was all the bot fly eggs we combed out of their coats. No sweets, but we happily scratched their sweet spots. These two gentle beings soaked up the loving touches, gentle voices, and kindness from volunteers with ocean views and breezes at Malibu.

It's emotional seeing a horse who has been let down this badly at his age, but Casper landed in the best place with the best friends. He's mustang strong and he's made it this far. Soft, healing hands will make that old body feel better. Thanks to so many of you, Casper the sweet and very friendly ghost is home safe and he will never ever be hungry again.

#skydogcasper

Mustangs and burros need your help 

In addition to supporting our work by donating, becoming a patron on Patreon or sponsoring a Skydog, there are several important pieces of legislation to protect American equines currently moving through Congress. It only takes a few minutes to contact your Rep and Senators and urge them to support these bills:

Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act of 2023 (H.R. 3475 in the House / S.2307 in the Senate). This bill will shut down the slaughter pipeline that sends some 20,000 American horses and donkeys to savagely monstrous deaths in foreign slaughterhouses every year.

The Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act of 2023 (H. R. 3656) This bill will prohibit the use of helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft in the management of wild mustangs and burros on public lands, and require a report on humane alternatives to current management practices.

Ejiao Act of 2023 (H.R. 6021). To ​​ban the sale or transportation of ejiao, a gelatin made from boiling donkey skins, or products containing ejiao in interstate or foreign commerce, which brutally kills millions of donkeys primarily for beauty products and Chinese medicine.

You can Contact Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121‬, submitting contact forms on their individual websites, or sending one email to all three simultaneously at www.democracy.io

See our How to Help menu for other actions to ban zebra hunting at US canned hunt ranches, stop production of Premarin & other PMU drugs, and defund the Adoption Incentive Program.