Oakley & One Ear

Two 26-year-old seniors, former kings of White Mountain, Wyoming, appeared on a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) internet auction. I can’t remember the last time horses this old were posted on the IA. Old guys always have my heart, but these two also heal my heart. By saving them, we are honoring the memory of Oregon, whose DSLD was so severe, the only way we could help him was to let him go peacefully and end his pain. 

Oakley, like Oregon, has dropped pasterns (DSLD). We hope that his case isn’t bad, that he’s comfortable, and able to move without pain. In the video from the auction, he wasn’t moved much at all, so they knew he had an issue, but chose not to mention it - just like they did with Oregon, who had the worst case of DSLD we’ve ever seen.

One Ear has two ears, but one is broken. We don’t know when or how it happened. Pat Doak posted some beautiful pictures of him on the range. In some, he actually has two normal ears. The injury likely happened in battle and we honor his fighting spirit. Sadly, he didn’t have any bids other than ours, so long-term holding would have been his next stop. He needed help and was perfect to travel with Oakley. They even look alike. They are the same color, but One Ear’s sole white sock is on the hind right leg, while Oakley’s is on the left.

It’s BLM regulation to geld all stallions, which I disagree with it for horses this age. I don’t believe it is necessary and know it can be lethal. We rarely find out how many horses die during this process. I was once at the BLM Burns corrals while they were gelding. The sound I heard that day, I never want to reach my ears again and I make a point of a avoiding the corrals whenever they do it. After the last South Steens round up, some staff told me they nearly lost a couple from bleeding out.

I am grateful to the BLM for putting them up on the IA instead of just shipping them to long-term holding, where we would never have seen them. One Ear and Oakley have a happy, golden future ahead and I can’t wait to give it to them. They are diamonds in the rough in their muddy winter coats in the dirt pens of holding, but we’ll soon see them shining with health and vibrancy.

You can put no price on the feeling of awe and wonder that comes from seeing mustangs free in the wild. Their value at auction was reduced to $25. To us, these boys are priceless.

#skydogoakley   #skydogoneear

American 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 2025 (H.R.1661 in the House and S.775 in the Senate). This bill would amend the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly known as the “Farm Bill”. There are several important provisions for animals in that omnibus federal law, including the Cat and Dog Meat Trade Prohibition Act. It is currently illegal to slaughter, transport, possess, purchase, sell, or donate dogs and cats, or their parts, for human consumption. The SAFE Act would extend the ban to equines and shut down the slaughter pipeline that sends some 20,000 American horses and donkeys to savagely monstrous deaths in foreign slaughterhouses every year.

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 and stop production of Premarin & other PMU drugs.

Bills from the previous 118th Congress that we hope will be introduced again this 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.