Thunder
Thunder is a horse who went through so much before he came to us. He was adopted 8 years ago and then spent a few years being passed around from person to person each trying to break his spirit and train him to be a riding horse. This process was abusive and cruel and led Thunder to mistrust people and be terrified of them. Eventually a wonderful old lady took him in to keep him safe. He stood in a stall for four years and was gentled again by a wild horse trainer who tried to make some progress but eventually said that he would never accept humans and needed to be in a sanctuary. We were asked by his current owner to take him and we said yes. Thunder is a defensive and nervous boy but with time and consistent love and patience he will learn that we need nothing from him, only to let him be a horse again without fear or worry.
Thunder in the small pipe stall he lived in
Thunder decompressing in our arena at Skydog Oregon
Mustangs & 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.