CLOUD

We cannot tell the story of Cloud, a 25-year-old dowager Queen of South Steens, without Calypso, who brought us all together. Calypso is Renegade’s mother, about whom we knew nothing until someone pointed her out to Kayce at the Burns corrals. She’d been languishing there since the 2022 roundup, forgotten and left to her fate. As soon as we learned this, we headed over to identify her.

Ever since Renegade passed away, a golden eagle is frequently seen with his family at Skydog. When a golden eagle was perched at the entrance to the corrals, we felt the blessings of a higher power guiding this rescue.

Kayce, the BLM adoption staff, asked us to take Calypso with two other mares, Cloud and Chardonnay. The three are so attached, we suspect they may be related. They are the mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers of legendary mustangs. Had we not found out about Calypso, all three would have disappeared forever into the long-term holding system.

Golden girls in every way, this beautiful trio is a challenge to tell apart in the beginning. Calypso and Chardonnay were given names on the range, but the third mare was unknown. Her blaze is distinctive, wrapping around both sides of her face with a wispy quality, so we named her Cloud. South Steens mustangs often have markings that call to mind jigsaw puzzle pieces or countries on a map. Cloud has a mark on one side that makes us think of the continent of Africa. 

They started out on a 40-acre pen with trees, sage brush, good food, clean water, and all the familiar scents and sounds of home. We then added Stargazer and Curly Girl, two youngsters in need of guidance from wise elders. They were then released onto 1200 acres, where Blue Zeus and his family share space with a herd of very wild long ears. Cloud led Curly Girl away from the inevitable drama when the two mustang bands first met. Perhaps the senior saw a filly she lost in Curly Girl, and the filly saw the mother she lost when rounded up so young.  It all came together when Nike took it upon herself to integrate the Golden Girl band into her family. Now we spot them resting peacefully together with Blue Zeus, the patriarch,  and Calypso, the matriarch, standing together watching over their family.

#skydogcloud

Mustangs & 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.