Oliver

Oliver is named for Oliver Twist as he twisted and turned in defiance of domestication. He had been returned to the corrals after the last Trainer Challenge competition for being too wild and crazy. I was sent some photos online of his training and although they made me sad, they reinforced our decision to take him. After two years confined to stand in bare dirt pen and manure, the only option for Oliver and Dundee was long-term holding. These horses need sanctuary.

Oliver is a beautiful South Steens paint with classic markings that look like a map or jigsaw puzzle pieces on his coat. His rescue was particularly poignant as it followed a horrendous helicopter roundup that removed all but a handful of horses from the range. After reaching its stated removal goal of 760, the BLM inexplicably went back to deprive 120 more mustangs of their freedom. The contractor claimed there were 70 horses still in the wild, but when photographer Shannon Phifer, who knows this herd well, went out to look for them, she only found 9. This included a foal that had been separated from its family and left alone on the range to fend for itself. I went to the corrals to take video of the lame, injured, and traumatized horses, which was viewed 100,000 times on the first day alone and has been shared thousands of times. None of those horses will be available for adoption until the stallions have been gelded and foals weaned. In the meanwhile it helped our broken hearts to save Oliver.

Oliver came to our attention back when we were picking up Memphis from the Burns corrals in 2023. He and his bonded buddy, Dundee, followed Memphis into the chute and we felt so sad about leaving them there. “Maybe we’ll come back for you,” I said to them at the end of a video about Memphis that was still recording after I thought my phone was turned off. We never forgot about them - and neither did followers who heard me say those words! Over the next eight months, when we were picking up injured or special needs horses, we always found the two of them together, waiting patiently. Finally the day came when I kept my word and we were able to go back for them.

With a huge parting kick from Dundee while loading onto the trailer, the boys relished no longer being at the corrals. They needed just a little time to relax and decompress before going out to join a small band of very wild mustangs. As they approached the open gate to the spacious pasture, Ford and Tesoro stepped into the road to welcome them. Then Oliver and Dundee took off, stretching those long legs into a full run, feeling the rough terrain beneath their hooves. As they raced up the hill toward shady trees, where more wild mustangs waited, I think we heard them neigh, “Maybe we’ll come back for you!”

#skydogoliver

Memphis’ Loading: A Poem to the Cadence of The Night Before Christmas

‘Twas Memphis’ loading, when at the the corrals,

He entered the chute with a couple of pals,

A dun who was massive, at least hands sixteen,

A beautiful paint from the famous South Steens,

As Clare was recording them both with her phone,

she knew - at that time - she could not take them home,

The trailer door closed with with a thunk and a clack,

“Maybe,” she called, “for you two we’ll come back!”

Oliver Twist and his best friend Dundee

longed in their hearts to be wild and free,

To swim in a pond and relax in a thicket,

Skydog, they sensed, would be their golden ticket,

With patience they waited as Clare and Janelle

Returned for the needy and injured as well,

When it was their turn their loading was quick,

Without looking back Dundee threw a huge kick,

A nod to Apollo, the god of the sun,

No time was wasted so these boys could run,

On Ford & Tesoro! On Noble & Drifter!

On Aslan & Hermes to run even swifter,

On Spartacus! Koa! Bowie and Gatsby!

Hitting full gallop so fast and so aptly,

On to Olympus and Boys of the Fall!

Now Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!

Back at the gateway, Clare watched them depart

with a tear in her eye and great love in her heart,

As Dundee & Oliver faded from view, they neighed:

“Maybe later, we’ll come back for you!”

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

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.