How it works
By committing annually to a $100/month sponsorship of a mustang or burro, you help us enormously by supporting our existing rescues so we can continue saving more.
SPONSORSHIP INCLUDES:
A personalized Certificate of Sponsorship with a photo of the horse or donkey you choose and your name.
A 60 minute one-on-one visit to Skydog Ranch to meet the horse or burro you are sponsoring, spend time hanging out with them, take photographs and ask questions of our staff.
To visit your sponsored equine, you must be a sponsor for at least 9 months. Anyone who wants to see them sooner will have to pay for 9 months ($900) in advance of their visit. We regret that this has become necessary. We need to discourage those sponsoring for one month in order to visit the ranch, then canceling because they don’t actually care about supporting the animals or our work. These tours take up a lot of time from our staff and the important work they do caring for our rescues.
Choosing a Mustang or Burro to Sponsor
You can search for posts about individuals on Instagram or Facebook with a hashtag that combines the word “skydog” with their name (#skydogdream #skydognugget). You can also go to the Then & Now page on the website to see their photos and read their biographies. (Note: their pages are currently being updated.)
Sponsor a SKYDOG on Patreon
A great way to sponsor a Skydog is by becoming a patron on Patreon and signing up for the $100/month Lead Mare level. This automatically makes you a sponsor and gives you access to exclusive content that we don’t post on other social media platforms. Each new episode of the Horse Love Podcast is released there, as are special offers on merchandise, and breaking news.
Our Giving Tuesday 2024 rescues
Mustangs & burros Who Need sponsors
Drifter, Dumplin’, Hunter, Little Girl, Oliver
Drifter
Drifter is one of the Legends of the Fall: Wyoming senior geldings selected at Cañon City to come to Skydog with Blue Zeus. He’s a magnificent bay, who takes your breath away whenever you see him. This mustang truly is a drifter by nature. His happiness depends on having wide, open spaces to wander freely. He tends to keep some distance from the band he’s with. What attachments he forms never prevent him from drifting off to visit other herds in other areas on the ranch. Drifter is a the big, strong, silent type with deep wisdom and experience. If he could talk, he could tell us so many incredible stories, but would choose to keep them to himself. His mystery is part of his tremendous charm. More about Drifter
SPONSOR DRIFTER:
Dumplin’
Dumplin’ lived wild and free on the Pine Nut range in Nevada, the mare of the stallion Samson. Her life was followed by over 50 thousand people in a Facebook group dedicated to the hoses in this herd area. Thanksgiving weekend 2019, the BLM bait trapped them on private property. Thousands of people signed a petition supporting their release back to their range to no avail. They were separated, processed, the males gelded, and the entire family put up for internet adoption to the highest bidder. The Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates asked the public not to bid on these horses in order to keep them together at a ranch or sanctuary. We said yes to taking them and, with the group’s help, a very soft, safe landing was made possible for this incredibly close-knit family. Dumplin arrived with her foal, Sam, who was not fathered by Samson, but he raised him as if he were his very own. This group includes FOUR generations of a family and is a shining example of the deep love and devotion that wild horses feel for their friends and families. More about Dumplin’
SPONSOR DUMPLIN’:
Hunter
Hunter - named for our wonderful board member Rachel Hunter - was one of the first 20 mustangs saved by Skydog as an official sanctuary in 2016. Rounded up from Fox Hog HMA in California, she ended up in a Louisiana kill pen at the age of 5. Skinny, confused, and terrified, she wore a halter made of cheap, yellow bailing twine, so at odds with her remarkable beauty. This dappled buckskin has knee-high white socks, a star, a snip. and eyes the shade of the palest gold. Hunter did a few laps before committing to a herd. She was one of Buddy’s mares, then joined Champ’s expanding band. After a fling with Bear, she settled into the inner circle of mares loyal and true to Phoenix, where she seems to be very content today.
SPONSOR HUNTER:
Little Girl
Little Girl is diminutive in body, which is why she was chosen as a tripping horse for a Mexican rodeo. The smaller the horse, the easier it is for cowboys to bring them down. Horses are injured in these cruel events, often fatally. Little Girl is great in spirit, which is how she survived the abuse. When we saw her in a video at a California kill pen being ridden by a horse flipper, this mighty mare threw him off her back. We immediately adored her. Today, she is Buddy’s lead mare. She decides when the herd should move to water to drink, or head to the shade to rest. She keeps an eye on the youngsters. If she senses danger, she leads the way to safety with Buddy bringing up the rear.
SPONSOR LITTLE GIRL:
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. This beautiful South Steens paint first came to our attention when we were picking up Memphis from the Burns corrals in 2023. Oliver and his bonded buddy followed Memphis into the chute. Trembling and sad, we felt awful about leaving them there. “Maybe we’ll come back for you,” I called to them at the end of a video I posted, not realizing my phone was still recording. We never forgot about them - nor would our followers have allowed us to. 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. We brought them to Skydog, where they needed minimal time to settle. When we released them with other wild boys, they ran like the wind. It felt like they were calling back to us, “Maybe we’ll come back for you!” More about Oliver
SPONSOR OLIVER:
RESCUED MUSTANGS
THERE ARE OVER 250 HORSES AND 50 DONKEYS HERE AT SKYDOG
Click on any of the photos to find out more or read their stories on our Then and Now Mustang Page.
RESCUED DONKEYS, MULES, ZONKEYS & ZEBRA
