COMMANDER
“Commander is home and he’s safe” are the words I wasn’t sure I would ever say and a horse I wasn’t sure I would ever meet. When we first found Rango in a kill pen in Louisiana, we quickly learned he had been adopted out with Commander and that they’d last been seen together at a livestock auction in Tennessee. Truly we would never have found him if it hadn’t been for the incredible efforts of Caroline @horsewelfarecollective During those first days she called every auction house, trader, shipper and kill buyer providing them with descriptions and asking them if they had seen this horse. And she didn’t give up when they said no she just kept trying. Just like with the rescue of Sinatra she proved again that determined, driven and compassionate women can move mountains when they want to help a horse. And we are so grateful.
It’s been hard seeing these recent saves when they’re accompanied by photographs of these boys on the range looking spectacular and then distressing photos of them now. Commander seems to be a shell of his previous self, traumatized, jumpy, scared and tired. What he’s been through should never have happened to any horse. He was bought by a trader who intended to ship him to Mexico but he would not load and the man gladly sold him back to the auction for more money. And I was happy to pay the ransom and bring this majestic horse home and remind him who he was and will be once again. When he goes over to smell the little bit of green in this pen I think he was breathing in home. Thank you to every single person who donated for him - every dollar made this happen and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. And now he rests and recovers from his haul and experience and we have reunited him with Rango and Ranger.
He’s home.
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