CHIEF & HAWK

We were contacted by the BLM corrals about a young horse who was going to have to be euthanized. He had a severe leg injury and was not getting any better from it. We drove up to take a look and see if there was anything we could do to help him. He had been put in a small pen with another injured horse who did seem to be doing better. They were both young, only 2 and 3 years old, and were rounded up last October from Warm Springs. The two were so bonded however and never left each other for one second. With all the noise and commotion of a working corral with over 800 horses in it they were both very spooky and moved constantly due to the stresses.

One of the hardest things to do is to spend time with a horse, look into their eyes and then walk away knowing their immediate fate. We wanted to take these lost boys and help them, gentle them so we could treat their injuries and do whatever we could to get them well.

We have seen incredible cases of stallions in the wild with serious breaks and fractures managing to heal and live long and happy lives, albeit with a mangled leg. Compared to that this boys injury was not that bad. He was not ready to go to heaven and we believed we could help him. And we wouldn’t dream of taking him without the friend he was so dependent on. So we brought both of them home to Oregon.

The roan we named Hawk and the appaloosa is Chief. We had the vet out and Hawk had x-rays, luckily there was no fracture. He had had a wound that got infected in the corrals, and sadly it went into the joint and fused the bone. He will never be able to walk perfectly but we and our wonderful vet are hopeful that he can live a pain-free life and manage his injury. He has such fight for life and a will to live and we are continuing to give him every chance to do that. His friend Chief was gloriously happy and ran around bucking and jumping for joy - which to be honest is his reaction to most things in life xx

 Helping Mustangs & Burros

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.