Captain, Sawyer & Fletcher

It was a heart-wrenching sight: Two senior mustangs born in 1997 and 2000 in a kill pen facing shipment to slaughter. Very bonded, they had been together for decades, so not only did we want to save them, we were determined to not let them be separated. We had no history or story as to how they landed in the slaughter pipeline, but we did know they needed a soft landing and gentle retirement.

The response from donors was so strong for these two that we decided to add one more to the freedom ride. Fletcher, a 28-year-old mustang, was at a kill pen in Kansas. We decided to bring him down to Oklahoma to travel with Captain and Sawyer to Skydog.  

Sawyer looks like an elder statesman with so much dignity and pride still in tact. He's huge and muscled up, but you can tell he's tired and has been worked hard. He stepped out of the trailer with Steve Egner and calmly explored the new pasture.

Captain has more energy and seems a little flighty. As he ran around his new home, he instantly looked ten years younger.

Fletcher is also a sweet guy, but not the kind of horse who gets attention at livestock auctions or kill pens. A senior bay mustang, not skinny enough to shock anyone, no story to pull at the heart strings. He probably has Cushings, few teeth, and some arthritis from being worked hard.

When old work horses can no longer do their jobs, they are often sent to auction. Some owners would rather wring a few hundred dollars dollars out of what’s left of their lives than give them the peaceful retirment they have earned. Seniors are easily passed over as walking vet bills. The soft mash and grain they will likely need to eat cost money. But we saw them. We cared. And we were honored to welcome Captain, Sawyer, and Fletcher as the first new rescues to the new ranch in Santa Ynez.

The climate here is perfection. A cool breeze blows all afternoon to counter the warm autumn weather. We’ve been busy fencing, building barns and paddocks. Soon they’ll be able to go out to the shade-filled white oak gullies where Spanish moss hangs gracefully from the branches, a magical place. Three more lives have already been saved thanks to this new sanctuary, where we can accommodate more seniors and special needs equines.

With the government shut down, we can't get any answers to our questions about them from the BLM. Truly, it doesn't matter. They are home now. Welcome to Skydog, Captain, Sawyer, and Fletcher! Welcome home!

#skydogsawyer   #skydogcaptain   #skydogfletcher

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 two Senators to urge them to support these bills. 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

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.

The Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act of 2023 (H. R. 4356) The bill would eliminate the use of helicopters in rounding up wild horses and burros, and require a study into alternative methods for humanely gathering the animals.

Ejiao Act of 2025 (H.R. 5544). 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.

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.