Starbucks & Courage

In 2024, Janelle went to a ranch in Nevada to pick up Libby. While she was there, she noticed horses in serious need of hoof care. We knew we had to do something to help, including take a portable hydraulic chute so Janelle could do some farrier work. Two mustangs had club feet as bad as Waldo’s: Starbucks and Courage.

One was a paint named Starbucks, who was born in Nevada. He was roped by a man when he was young and dragged behind a truck. He suffered terrible injuries, but survived. The BLM would have euthanized him had it not been for Carol, who spent her life saving wild horses. She took Starbucks, but because of very poor health, she is no longer able to care for all the animals on her ranch.

The second was Courage, a Nevada mustang. They’ve both been living with these feet for years without any intervention. Miraculously, they manage to get around. Many people would look at them and think the situation is hopeless, but we’ve been through this before. Dr Walker at Alamo Pintado is going to do the same surgery he performed on Waldo with great success. We have every reason to be hopeful that these boys will follow in Waldo’s hoof prints and live their best lives in comfort at Skydog.

Janelle and Meghan hauled them them home slowly with thick shavings and plenty of stops to rest. They're both nervous, but open to making new friends. Curious and sweet, it should be easy to gentle them and get those feet fixed sooner rather than later. I know they are going to do so well and can't wait to see them running the hills once they're healed.

We are so appreciative of Carol, who took care of them for years. We're grateful she reached out to us and for all she does for the mustangs she still cares for. We understand that sometimes other organizations or people have limits on the level of care they can provide. This is an expensive rescue, but thanks to everyone who donated, we will be able to cover their surgery with a little help from our Patreon funds. This enables us to take Starbucks and Courage over from Carol and help them through the next stage of their recovery. We are so thankful to all our patrons who give what they can every month to allow us to take on these more expensive and extensive medical cases.

We already had a special connection to this ranch via Libby and Boomer. Libby had a wild suitor who appeared every evening to court her at the fence. When he stopped coming, she sank into depression. Today, she’s taking in the sun and fun in Malibu. Boomer was an unwelcome visitor at that property when he kept jumping the fence to be with the mares. They’d catch him and release him far, far away, but he always found his way back for more.

#skydog…

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.