DREAM

Dream came to us in 2018 as a 22-year-old mare from Meadow Mountain Valley HMA. We have no idea what happened to her in the 20 years before we found her. She is without doubt the most extreme starvation case that Skydog has ever taken in. Within moments after I messaged her photos to our Board of Directors, we all agreed to get her as soon as possible and start her new life.

She came to us shaky, so thin. She was almost dead, physically and mentally. When I saw her I cried and kept telling her in a soft voice, “I’m so sorry” for all the terrible things people do to horses. We weren’t sure she would make it and I used to pray on my way to the barn every morning that she had survived the night. It was so much work as we had to feed her up gradually, so I would get up three times a night to give her small amounts of hay. She took a while to come back to life, but slowly and surely the light went back on in her eyes.

As she grew stronger, Dream revealed her incredible personality. She holds very strong opinions about all things. She communicates clearly her likes and dislikes and we love every minute of it. She’s a bossy boss mare, who likes to chase the other horses around for fun. She has no trouble putting our mischievous mini-mule, Boots, in his place.

She has taken care of all the babies that have come to Skydog Maliby and been caring and a doting mama to the donkeys, Joe, Bert & Ernie, too. I am sure she had babies at some time in her life before she was starved and the ones she’s met here have surely helped heal her heart.

In all the time we have known Dream, she has never shown one bit of resentment or anger for the way she was previously treated. She’s left the past behind to enjoy her full belly, warm sand, clean water, ocean views, equine family, loving volunteers and the alternative healing modalities some of them offer. She bobs her head up and down when Bobbi plays the singing bowls. She pays for cookies with kisses. We absolutely adore this feisty, forgiving, beautiful mare.

We think of our Malibu ranch affectionately as Senior Assisted Living. It’s the place for older mustangs and burros, who need more help to be comfortable. It’s also for animals that crave more human attention and affection than the wild herds in Oregon. 

Dream shares her space with her beloved Remi and other seniors: Chesney, Barnaby, Bella, Ms. Tiggywinkle, Charlie Brown, and Red.

Dream, we dream a little dream of you. You just keep doing YOU xxxx

You can watch a couple videos of Dream on Youtube:

#skydogdream

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.