Elwood & Hallow

We purchased the ranch in Santa Ynez for seniors like Elwood and Hallow, and special needs horses who need extra care and medical attention. Twenty-year-old Elwood is all of these things and it was touch and go for him from the day we paid his bail. Weak, emaciated, and going into kidney failure, Elwood was crashing. We  sent him straight to a vet hospital in Oklahoma.

Thanks to the incredible work of the vets there, weeks of IV fluids, and many different meds - as well as shelter from the 110° heat, which went on forever this summer - he was saved. We booked Steve Egner to bring him home twice. The firs time, Elwood took a turn for the worse. The second, the heat was so bad there was no way we could transport him. So we juggled around hauls and kept waiting and praying as his vet bill climbed with the temperatures! Finally, we got a break in the heat and an all clear for him to travel. Best of all, we found a buddy for him so he wouldn’t be alone.

Hallow means "to make something holy, sacred, or to honor with great respect". I have no idea how anyone could dump this 24yo grulla in the slaughter pipeline, but he didn’t deserve to be there. The last thing he needed was to be worked harder with whatever strength he had left. We originally planned for them to travel together, but we weren’t sure that Elwood was going to survive. We decided to bring Hal as soon as the heat allowed.

Hallow is tall and magnificent. He’s gentle, soft, and looks so good for his age. He comes from Nevada, but I would have guessed he was a Utah mustang. Grullas can pop up anywhere, but we rarely see them. He is our first in Santa Ynez and there are three up in Oregon. He has taken everything in his stride, but I know he's loving the best hay and feed life can give him right now. I can’t wait for him to to get out to run around and enjoy his space with our senior herd.

The fundraiser for Elwood was huge with his $8000 medical bill. Our donors really came through for him and a very special person gave a huge amount for bail and QT. For Hal, we went into the Bonfire “Lily shirt” campaign funds, so we didn’t need to ask for a penny more. This would not have been possible without the help of our supporters.

When Elwood arrived, we took it slow and easy — the way he needs everything right now. Steve led him into his nice, clean stall with soft bedding, good food, and multiple buckets of fresh water. Thank goodness, he went straight to drinking - so important to keep his kidneys hydrated. Elwood has given me sleepless nights, so it was wonderful to see him step out of the trailer with confidence.  He may not understand, yet, that this is his forever home, where there will be soft hands, gentle voices, and plenty to eat at last, so he’ll never go to sleep with an empty tummy again.

Steve Egner and Hallow shared a sweet farewell. As he stroked him, he said in a soft voice, “Goodbye, friend. They'll take it from here. You're in kind hands.”

#skydogelwood  #skydoghallow

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 canned hunt ranches in Texas & Oklahoma, bringing an end to the BLM using Sale Authority to funnel wild equines into the slaughter pipeline, and stopping production of Premarin & other drugs made from pregnant mare urine.