Boone, Lil’ Rain, Panda & Tux
The Colts
When four beautiful mustang colts came into the world in 2021, they should have been given the freedom and protections intended for them by Public Law 92-195: The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971. Instead, the mothers of Boone, Lil’ Rain, and Panda were violently rounded up from Paisley Desert by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Tux’s mom was removed from South Steens. Born in captivity, the babies were confined to the barren dirt pens of BLM holding. The scent of sage scrub, sound of bird song, wide vistas of open spaces, and fresh water from the springs, streams and rivers of their natural habitat had been stolen from them.
They changed hands several times thru failures of the BLM’s suspended Adoption Incentive Program (AIP). The BLM used to pay bad adopters $1000 per animal to take captive wild equines off their hands. The owners pocketed the federal funds and then sold the colts with no intention of giving them good homes. From the day the initiative was launched in 2019, the AIP facilitated the abuse, neglect, and risk of slaughter of thousands of mustangs and burros in the hands of terrible owners. In March 2025, a federal judge struck down the program in response to a lawsuit we filed with the American Wild Horse Conservation.
Before we intervened, the colts had been subjected to severe training methods that caused emotional and physical damage. We rescued six from a bad situation before they could be sent to auction in July 2023. Two went to wonderful homes that we keep in touch with. Boone, Lil’ Rain, Panda, and Tux came to Skydog.
Boone, a red and white pinto, is the tallest and strongest of the four. He had even been ridden a couple times by a trainer who broke all these boys too quickly and too soon. He’s a stunning mustang and the one with the best confirmation, although we couldn’t have cared less about that. He is smart, kind, and became the leader of the gang.
Lil’ Rain is a handsome buckskin, who looks so much like Rain that we had to acknowledge that in his name. When he first arrived, he exhibited paralysis on the left side of his face from being tied to a patience pole. He’d be left without supervision for extended periods of time to teach him to stand, to break him. He had a broken tooth caused by trauma. He also had a club foot. Thankfully, his nerve damage was completely repaired by wonderful veterinary care and a lot of physical therapy that included reiki and craniosacral therapy offered by a generous volunteer. He’s a sweet, loving, and very friendly boy.
Panda has a beautiful black and white coat, a coloring that Clare adores. Quick and enthusiastic, he has an inquisitive mind and likes to learn new things. As with the other three, he loves being engaged in activities and his favorite thing is being around people.
Tux was the most traumatized by the severe “training” the colts were subjected to. Head shy and more standoffish with people, he was cautious, suspicious, and wary of humans. With time, love, and the example of his friends, he started coming in close for cookies. He needed extra time to relax and settle in, but it wasn’t long before he was giving kisses at the gate.
These two-year-old colts were able to stretch their legs to run and graze on grasses of their native land for the first time on our 9000-acre ranch. They needed time to be free and play like the youngsters they were. In time, we turned them out with Maverick, Anselm, Apache, Cisco, and Stetson to learn from the older boys about herd hierarchy and habits. It soon became clear that they would thrive in a loving home as they welcomed interaction with kind humans. They’d come to the fence hoping that people would stop to love on them. When photographer Scott Wilson tried to take pictures of them in the wild, they surrounded him for pets and scratches.
We absolutely adored these youngsters and would have loved to keep them all, but they were not candidates for sanctuary. We prioritize animals with the least chances of adoption: seniors and special needs equines that require more care, as well as those who cannot / will not be domesticated. Young and healthy, these four would thrive in loving hands, so Clare turned her attention to finding them an ideal forever home.
The hope of keeping these bonded friends together was realized in our partnership with the Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation at the Blue Sky Lodge in Utah. In the setting of the guest resort, the colts can make a connection with lots of people in a sanctuary that offers a platinum standard of equine care, including an in-house veterinarian. It offers visitors the rare opportunity to experience the powerful beauty of the mustang spirit in person. In an environment that protects and celebrates the magnificence of the American West, Boone, Lil’ Rain, Panda, and Tux are serving as ambassadors raising awareness to the plight of wild equines. We delivered the colts and joined in the Queen Bees dinner with Gracie’s Farm, and the Saving Gracie & Skydog Sanctuary Demonstration & Brunch.
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.