PETE THE ZORSE

Pete came to Skydog after his owner / trainer @briankangal tried everything she could think of for over a year to make him happy. The Dodo made a video about their journey.

Pete is a Zorse, a cross between a quarter horse mare and a Grevy zebra. As exotically beautiful as they are, these hybrids lean to the wild side of their DNA and do not make good pets. Hybrids like zorses and zonkeys can be mixed up and aggressive. Many people breed or buy them for their appearance. When they find them to be untrainable, unhandleable wild animals, they choose to euthanize them or sell them into the slaughter pipeline. Thankfully, the woman who bought Pete from an auction loved and respected who he is. She saw that training made him sad and he only felt happy being with her mare. It was clear he needed freedom with a wild herd. When placement with another sanctuary didn’t work out, she brought him to Skydog.

We really didn’t know what it meant to be a zorse - and Pete was figuring that out, too - so we gave him options. We placed him with wild mares and burros to see where he felt comfortable. He visited with the donkeys, but he quickly bonded with Soleil, a beautiful, golden mustang mare. When we released them onto open space, they encountered two of our wildest mares, Hera and Strongheart. Along with Soleil, he whisked them off to the hills, where bunch grasses, shady trees, and fresh springs provide everything they need in the warmer months. When we tracked them down for herd checks, they looked as surprised as we were that we found them! They ran away with Hera leading the band in front and Pete bringing up the rear like a stallion would do.

We bring the wild herds in for winter so we can supplement their diet. If they need extra care during colder months, we can reach them. The first winter, Pete and his wild girls couldn’t be tempted through the gate, but now they understand there’s good food waiting and they’ll be released again in spring.

Pete doesn’t want people to touch him, so we were amazed by his behavior when his former owner came to visit. He recognized her, walked up and let her stroke his neck. From the day she saved him from drunks throwing beer cans at him at auction, to the 16 hour drive she did to deliver him to Skydog, he has always known her intentions are good and they are friends.

#skydogpetethezorse

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 two Senators to urge them to support these bills. 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

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.

The Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act of 2023 (H. R. 4356) The bill would eliminate the use of helicopters in rounding up wild horses and burros, and require a study into alternative methods for humanely gathering the animals.

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.

Ejiao Act of 2025 (H.R. 5544). 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.

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.