lightning
Truly Lightning’s story is one of the most heart breaking and horrifying I have ever heard and when I first read the email from a volunteer at the rescue he was at I just knew we had to help him. This beautiful wild horse was born in Utah in the Conger Mountains and then rounded up as a baby. He was adopted out to who can only be called a sociopath. He took this baby horse and put him in a 10 x 10 foot pipe stall attached to a pole barn and did not geld him. He was stuck in this tiny space within feet of mares and grass he couldn’t reach and constantly tried to run at the bars of his cage to get out. Occasionally the man would throw a mare in with him to breed which I find horrifying. The space was never cleaned and the muck piled up so high that Lightning’s head hit the roof of his tiny corral. The story goes that one day the man decided to ride Lightning and the horse threw him off breaking some of the man’s bones. When he got home from the hospital he went into the house and got a gun and shot Lightning in the head. He must have pulled his head back but still has a deep scar across his forehead under his mane to show what happened.
We knew we had to save him but he was in North Carolina, the furthest place we could imagine picking up a horse from but we knew we had to make it happen. Our hauler Marlene had some horses she was taking there in April so it was a miracle that we only had to fundraise for the return portion of the trip. Then the pandemic hit and donations were down and we were losing sponsors for the horses we had. We were uncertain whether we would be able to raise enough money for the haul but then suddenly #givingtuesday put on a special day for non-profits who were struggling and we knew it was a gift from the heavens. We managed to get some matched funds from incredible people like Gerard Butler, Gary Dourdan, Arielle Kebbel and Beth Behrs and suddenly we were flying. Our fundraiser for Lightning was so successful that we managed to also save five Kill Pen horses who were awaiting shipping to slaughter. Lightning truly was an angel for so many others - Leonidas, Aspen, London, Gabriel and Mary all were saved thanks to this beautiful unicorn mustang. He is now home and well and happy and we cannot wait to see him continue to blossom. #skydoglightning
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.