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.
If you sponsor more than one horse or burro, you will get one hour with each animal when you visit.
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 (#skydogzebedee #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.
Skydogs who need sponsors
Bonbon
Great things come in small packages. This little pistol has a huge personality that cannot be contained by his little body. It bubbles over the rims and into the world as mini-mule mischief. Being adorably ornery and comically uncooperative is part of his charm. His short little legs are no hindrance to his shenanigans. An instigator, rabble rouser, troublemaker, this bolshy little ruffian wants to show everyone he’s the boss. It has never crossed his mind that maybe somebody else might be in charge. He doesn't give up and will never give in when he draws other equines into his games. Whether giving baby zebras their naughty lessons, or sunning cheek to cheek with his best friend, Waldo, his heart is open to all he shares space with. More about Bonbon
Little Girl
When asked if he had a favorite Skydog horse, Clare’s husband, Chris, had trouble narrowing it down to just one. “Little Girl,” he smiled, “She was a pistol.” In fact, it was Chris who named her. Born in 2004 in White River, NV, she’s petite and lithe. But this plucky mare has the strength, intelligence, and authority that make her a terrific lead mare for Buddy’s Herd. We saved Little Girl from a horse trader in California after she’d survived abuse in a Mexican rodeo (Charreada). In the only video we saw, the trader was riding her and she flipped him right off her back! For her cheekiness alone, she deserved to come to Skydog. She arrived in Malibu the day after we bailed her with a respiratory illness and a heart murmur. We had to keep her quiet as she healed. With time, she grew from strength to strength and moved up to Oregon to be the incredibly athletic, sinewy, muscled up, and spirited lead mare she is today. More about Little GIrl
Bruno
Warm Springs once boasted the last wild burro herd in Oregon. They were a unique and special group. It’s remarkable that these desert animals adapted to thrive up here in the cold winters. I have always believed they should have been protected and studied for the unusual physical characteristics they share. Lots of these donkeys have short stumpy ears, or one ear shorter than the other. Many don't have tails. It’s also unusual that some share the same double line on their back from their dorsal stripe. Perhaps these are signs of inbreeding, something the BLM used to care about back in the days when it managed for the genetic health of herds. Today, if they leave any on the range at all, it is in numbers so small as to prevent the genetic viability of the herd. We asked to take all 41 of the Warm Springs burros when they were rounded up, but they only let us take 10. Bruno is one of them and fairly easy to spot in a crowd with his dark coat and incredibly fuzzy ears! More about the Warm Springs Herd
Milo
Milo is 16 years old and our very first mustang from New Mexico. He was rounded up from Bordo Atravesado in 2011 when he was just a baby. We don’t know where he was all those years before he landed in a kill pen the first time. We do know he was “saved” by a fraud “rescue” and dumped in a kill pen a second time in Kansas. At some point, he was gentled. Janelle had no trouble haltering him and leading him out to the new pasture to make some friends. The plan was to turn him out with a wild herd after he’d settled, but he formed such a strong bond with Charlie Eyebrows. Charlie goes lame out on hilly, rugged terrain. He prefers the flatter, softer ground of his woody 40-acre pen with a view of Sheeps Rock towering in the background. He and Charlie are inseparable, so we’ll leave things the way they want them. More on Milo
Wookie
Nature has many examples of loving and nurturing parenting, but burros are often overlooked. These gentle, humble, stoic creatures possess a natural instinct to care for their young, creating a bond that is even stronger than what we see in mustangs. With their tender interactions from the moment of birth and protective nature, donkeys exemplify a level of parenting that showcases the beauty of the animal kingdom. When the last wild burro herd in Oregon was rounded up, we wanted to adopt the entire herd and keep them together, but were only allowed to take 10. So we spent a lot of time at the corrals identifying bonded pairs and families. There was Wookie with her baby, Biscuit, beside her. Mother burros tend to follow their offspring throughout their lives, rather than stay with their stud in the wild. Separating them is an unthinkable act of cruelty, so we brought mother and daughter to Skydog, where they will always be together. More about the Warm Springs Herd
RESCUED MUSTANGS
THERE ARE OVER 250 HORSES AND 50 DONKEYS HERE AT SKYDOG
Click on the photos to find out more or read their stories on our Then and Now Page.
RESCUED DONKEYS, MULES, Minis, ZONKEYS & A ZEBRA
