FAQ
What is Skydog Sanctuary?
Skydog is a 501(c)3 non-profit founded by Clare Staples in 2016. We provide life-long sanctuary to mustangs and burros who were rounded up from public lands by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and landed in bad situations. We currently have three locations: one in Oregon, and two in California. Our 9000-acre ranch near Bend is for the wildest equines that want to run free. The 220-acre ranch in Santa Ynez is for seniors, animals with special needs, those that want interaction with humans, and don’t like the Oregon winters. The ranch in Malibu is moving animals to Santa Ynez as we build out fencing. Clare has grown Skydog into the most loved and respected nonprofit wild equine rescue with a quality of care that sets the gold standard.
What is Skydog’s Mission?
Our mission is two-fold: To save at-risk mustangs and burros, restore their health and freedom, and give them permanent refuge in a safe, natural environment. Our priority is equines that are not suited to captivity or have suffered abuse and trauma, as well as seniors and animals with special needs. We reunite family bands that were separated during BLM roundups whenever possible. Equally important, we educate and raise public awareness to the plight of wild horses and burros in the Western United States.
Why do mustangs and burros need sanctuary, Why can’t they stay on public lands?
The Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act was passed in 1971 with the intention of protecting their right to remain wild and free in designated areas on public lands. The BLM, however, prioritizes the interests of the livestock and extractive industries that want those lands for commercial activities. Consequently, this has led to an unsustainable and cruel cycle of rounding up tens of thousands of mustangs and burros and placing them in a holding system that is neither transparent nor accountable. Today, there are more wild horses in BLM holding than there are in the wild. Some are adopted, most disappear without a trace, and many are funneled into the slaughter pipeline. Unhandled, wild equines are less likely to find good homes, so they are in desperate need of rescue and sanctuary.
What is the BLM?
BLM stands for the Bureau of Land Management - not to be confused with Black Lives Matter. It is a federal agency within the US Department of Interior. It was mandated by Congress in 1971 to protect wild horses and burros on public lands. Dominated by ranchers - who graze commercial livestock on publicly-owned land at taxpayer expense - corrupt BLM managers have always been hostile to wildlife. Known for giving for-profit industries control over decisions on public domain, the agency is sarcastically referred to as the Bureau of Livestock & Mining or the Bureau of Lumber & Mining.
What Is Sale Authority (SA)?
Sale Authority is a loophole created by the 2004 Burns Amendment to weaken the protections against sale to slaughter in the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horse & Burro Act. It allows the BLM to sell “excess” animals, which they define as 10+ years of age, or younger equines passed over for adoption three times. Sale Authority transfers ownership immediately to the buyer, so the BLM no longer takes responsibility for them as federally protected animals. Once sold (for $25), owners can - and do - haul the animals straight to kill pens and sell them for their meat price (around $430). This is a federal offense, but the BLM looks the other way. Sale Authority poses a grave threat to wild horses and burros as hundreds – if not thousands – are being funneled into the slaughter pipeline this way. Learn more
How can Donors be sure a sanctuary is legitimate?
Fraud rescues, sanctuaries, and mass bailers are popping up out of nowhere with alarming frequency. It’s a terrible thing to learn your money went into the pockets of scam artists, who profit off the suffering of animals. Donors have every right to demand transparency and accountability. We don’t hesitate to provide it.
GuideStar (now part of Candid) is a database of every IRS-recognized nonprofit in the United States. Candid assigns Transparency seals (Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) determined by the amount of information an organization shares. Skydog has earned the Platinum Transparency Seal, the highest level they award. To achieve this, we share strategic goals and measurable impact metrics; provide detailed financial information to ensure transparency; supply qualitative insights about our operations. Our financials are posted on Guidestar and our 990’s are available for all to see. Seals expire annually, so information must be updated each year: Look us up on their website
Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) is the gold standard in certification and involves an enormous amount of work to attain. It is a process that has allowed us to raise the bar in every single aspect of caring for our horses and running a nonprofit. They examine protocols and procedures for the horses in our care - fencing, feeding, watering, medication, vet treatment, hauling, horse handling, horse records, safety, succession, evacuation, five-year plans, budgets, introducing new horses, etc. etc. Renewals are done every three years and include onsite inspections by a dedicated and qualified professional, who takes the time to make sure we meet their high standards of excellence. Read the announcement of our accreditation.
Social Media platforms (Patreon, Facebook, Instagram, X-Twitter, and Bluesky) allow us to post at least once daily so donors can see the animals their funds helped save. We document their journeys from holding, auctions, and kill pens, to quarantine, to the haul to Skydog. Once in our care, followers watch intake, vet checks, the progress of their healing until they are ready for release into the wild in Oregon - or grassy pastures in Santa Ynez Valley. If they need to be brought in to the barn for medical attention, we post about it. If they have to go to the vet hospital, we put up videos. We are happy to take requests from people asking to see specific horses and burros. If any have passed away, we never try to hide that - even though another sanctuary advised us to do so! Followers and donors who have been part of their lives should be able to have that closure at the end.
Are Your Equines gelded and spayed?
All the males are gelded. The BLM gelds all mustangs and burros after rounding them up before allowing them to be adopted. In rare circumstances, when they arrive at Skydog in tact, we have them gelded as soon as possible by our veterinarian. Wild jacks and stallions are difficult and dangerous to handle. On the range, they sometimes fight to the death over mares. We don’t want this at the sanctuary. While gelded males retain some of the behaviors, it is at a much lower level of intensity.
The mares are not spayed. In fact, we have saved several from the BLM’s experimental spaying programs. Neutering is much more invasive and risky for the females. With only gelded males at the sanctuary, we don’t have to worry about them mating.
The BLM wants to zero out wild horse herds with rare genetics, like the curlies in Salt Wells Creek. Do you have a breeding program to ensure their survival?
Sanctuaries that are accredited by GFAS operate under a strict No-Breeding policy. Sanctuaries exist to provide refuge, not to increase populations of captive animals. Legitimate rescues have limited space and resources for the animals they save. The last thing we want to do is breed more when there are so many that need good homes in the slaughter pipeline. It would be like an animal shelter breeding dogs and cats while millions of shelter animals who are not adopted are exterminated every year.
If you don’t breed, why are there foals at Skydog?
We rescue mares that are pregnant or had their babies with them when we found them.
DO YOU WEAN The Foals?
Not unless there are medical reasons to do so. Under normal circumstances, we leave it to the mothers to decide when they want to wean their babies. Donkey mamas tend to be insistent on weaning within a year. Mustang mothers differ, but some will nurse for several years. The record is held by Legacy, Maestro’s son, whose mother Gracie let him nurse until around 3 years old.
DO YOU TRIM FEET, Float teeth, or offer other medical care?
Yes we do. When rescues have spent a year or more in the terrible conditions of holding facilities, kill pens, or the neglect of bad owners, they are often in serious need of medical attention, farrier and dental care. After they’ve been released, we bring in all the herds - horses and donkeys - twice a year for foot trims (if needed), dewormer, and annual vaccinations.
Many of the horses trim their feet naturally on the rugged landscape as they would in the wild, but some need regular attention. Janelle does all the trims. If they are gentle, she can stand beside them and lift their feet. The wild ones have to be guided into the hydraulic chute, where they can be tipped on their sides and have their feet quickly trimmed with a power tool. It’s fast, easy, and they get used to it after a few runs, especially as they know they will immediately return to their friends.
We do regular herd checks to keep an eye on them and make sure they are all in good condition. If one is lame, has an injury, is losing weight, or seems to not be feeling well, we bring them in for care.
How is it possible to handle wild HORSES FOR medical TREATMENT?
We have two hydraulic chutes (aka hugging machines, or squeeze chutes). These innovative devices were designed by Temple Grandin, who discovered that the application of deep, even pressure reduces stress and anxiety in cows during handling. They have the same effect on other large herbivores. We gently push the equines into three bucking chutes, where they can be held until the first horse in the hydraulic chute is done. Once Inside, they can be squeezed between huge, thick, cushioned pads, even tilted onto their side. Doors can be opened to treat any place on their bodies or faces. We can float teeth like this, doctor wounds, or just deworm them. We have managed to treat every horse for any issue they’ve had. It’s an essential piece of equipment for dealing with wild horses and burros and protects both the animals and humans from getting hurt.
Do you ever use euthanasia?
Only on our vet’s recommendation when an animal is suffering and we have no options for helping them. We do whatever we have to do, and spare no expense, to avoid this if we know a course of treatment will end in a good quality of life. It is our policy that no animal will ever go through this alone. Skydog and veterinary staff are always by their sides, surrounding them with respect and kindness. We love them all dearly, so it is hard and emotionally draining to say goodbye and we’re grateful to everyone who has helped them pass gently in the end.
Do you have limits on how many animals you take in?
Yes, we d. As painful as it is to say no, we have to for the sake of those we have already saved. We never accept more than we have the resources to support for the rest of their lives. Beyond their initial bail, quarantine, haul, and intake at Skydog, there are never-ending feed and veterinary expenses, as well as unexpected costs. The numbers are determined by donors each time we so a fundraiser, and by consultations with our Board of Directors.
How Many Mustangs, Burros, and Herds Are At Skydog?
The number changes frequently, but as of March 2026, there are 300 horses at the ranch in Oregon. We have 5 in Malibu. The new ranch in Santa Ynez Valley is home to 12 horses - all seniors. We also have 57 donkeys, mules, mini-mules, zonkeys, a mini-pony and a zebra spread between the ranches.
There are over 20 different herds at Skydog Oregon. They include The Blue Zeus Herd on 1200 acres that they share with the Wild Donkey Herd. Buddy's - also known as 'The Big Herd' - includes The Maine 3. There’s Phoenix's Herd, Hawk's Herd and Bear's Herd. In addition, there's Champ's, Blaze's, the Boys Lower/River's Herd, the Boys Middle/Apollo's Herd, Samson's Pine Nut Herd, as well as Stetson's Herd - also known as 'The Hard Keepers'. In addition, on smaller areas, there's Maestro's Family, Goliath's Herd, Blue Moon's, Lightning's ,and Read's Herds, along with Finn's Herd, the baby donkey pen, and Boomer the Loner’s pasture.
HOW LARGE ARE THE AREAS THEY Live IN?
In Oregon, the first pens we put them in vary between a few acres to forty acres. This is where the new arrivals acclimate to their surroundings and get in the habit of being fed daily. When we consider them ready, and they’ve made some friends, we turn them out together on to large areas, depending on their needs and wildness. With 9000 acres, the spaces range from a few hundred acres for smaller herds, to over 1000 acres for large herds. Blue Zeus and his family, for example, share 1200 acres with a herd of wild donkeys. We are constantly fencing more of the lower ranch so we can comfortably house more mustangs and burros on healthy land.
How Many Staff Work at Skydog Taking Care of The Horses and Burros?
Currently, we have 12 in Oregon, 2 in Malibu, and 5 in Santa Ynez Valley.
ARE THE mustangs and burros COLD IN THE WINTER?
While we have some seniors and a zebra who prefer the mild winters in California, wild equines are used to much colder temperatures and harsher climates than we have in Oregon. To be accredited by GFAS, a sanctuary has to build a shelter in each area where the animals roam, but the wild herds prefer natural shelters and wind breaks provided by the land with trees and hillsides. When horses are cold, they burn calories to keep their body temperature higher, so you don’t see them shivering. This is our goal and why we send them into winter at their heaviest weight of the year. For more information on this subject: The Hardy Horse: How Horses Handle Winter.
HOW MANY BALES OF HAY DO YOU FEED IN ONE YEAR?
That is impossible to say as the number of animals is always changing, as are their needs. The donkeys are fed timothy or orchard hay. The horses are fed mostly orchard with some alfalfa. An enormous amount of hay - over 100 tons - is delivered to fill our hay sheds 2-3 times a year. It’s very expensive. The price of hay has tripled since we started and increases every year. At present, it’s around $150,000 to fill the hay barn, while fundraisers for feed only make around $5000. During Spring and Summer we let the horses graze the grasses on the range. How long they can do that is determined by how much it rains to make new forage and how dry the summer is. To help us with this, you can donate to our Hay Fund or become a patron on Patreon.
WHAT IS IN THE MAGIC MASH YOU FEED THE SENIOR HORSES?
For hard keepers, we feed up to 6lbs soaked Timothy pellets 4 times a day. For really hard keepers you can do 3 lbs soaked Timothy pellets and 3lbs soaked alfalfa pellets at each feeding. (Weights are before being soaked in warm water.) And 3lbs soaked Purina Senior Active at each feeding. (If the horse has good teeth the Senior Active doesn’t necessarily need to be soaked, but it doesn’t hurt.) We also add 2 cups Purina Amplify nuggets to the grain for each feeding to add extra fat. As the horse gains and reaches an acceptable weight, these portions can be cut back or eliminated at one of the feeding times for the day. If the horse is only on mash, and no hay, I recommend at least 3 feedings throughout the day so that they constantly have food going through their digestive systems. Horses that are fed hay or are eating grass are constantly eating throughout the day. - Janelle
WHAT KIND OF COOKIES DO YOU GIVE THE HORSES?
Mrs. Pastures Horse Cookies, which are quite hard and loved by all the animals with strong teeth. For the younger horses, or seniors with no teeth, we give A to Z Blonde Cookies, which are also amazing.
May I Visit The Sanctuary?
We are not open to the public to protect the animals from intrusion, but we welcome our sponsors to visit once per year to spend time with the horse(s) or burro(s) they support. A tour requires at least an hour, pulling staff away from their daily tasks of feeding, mucking, nursing, checking water sources, and doing herd checks. With special needs equines, there is also bandaging, medical treatments, administering medications, not to mention training and gentling wild horses who need handling. We work very hard to keep our social media feeds full of updates and take requests from people who ask to see a certain horse or burro. We also offer a weekend or a day at Skydog as a benefit of certain tiers on Patreon, as well as in our online fundraising auctions.
How Can I Follow the Lives of The Animals after they’ve been saved?
It’s very easy to follow them on our social media platforms. We post at least once daily so supporters can see how the animals are doing. Our handle is @skydogsanctuary on Instagram, Facebook, Patreon, X-Twitter, and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to our Youtube for videos, our short films, and episodes of the Horse Love Podcast.
What is the difference between a donor and a sponsor?
Donors donate any amount as many times as they want. There is no commitment on how much or how often they give. All donations help us and are deeply appreciated. When a lot of people give small donations, it really adds up. To learn more: Donating to Skydog
Sponsors commit to donating $100 a month for the animal of their choice. The expenses for this operation are enormous and our sponsors help us continue rescuing wild horses and burros by supporting the ones we’ve already saved. Sponsors also have the opportunity to join us at the ranch, meet the crew, and spend an hour with each animal they support. To learn more: Sponsoring a Skydog
I've Fallen In Love With A Skydog. Is It Possible For Me To Adopt?
Once the animals reach Skydog Sanctuary, this is their forever home. That said, there are so many wild horses and burros at risk and in need, so please don't let that hold you back from rescuing your forever animal. If you would like help finding out how to rescue one from either the BLM or a kill pen, we have information pages on both that you can request by email: contact@skydogranch.org
How Do I Rescue A BLM Mustang or Burro?
Please check out the BLM WEBSITE for a detailed "how to" list. Some other useful links are the REQUIREMENTS and APPLICATION.
What Is The Difference Between A Burro And A Donkey?
No difference at all! Wild donkeys tend to be referred to as burros historically - and by the BLM - but they are the same animals. Learn more: Skydog Burros & Donkeys
Do you save horses and donkeys exclusively
We also save hybrid equines - mules, hinnies, and minis. Because of the Canned Hunt Industry, “exotic” wild equines and hybrids - zebras and zonkeys - are also showing up at auctions and kill pens. Exotic babies are bred at canned hunt ranches. Some are raised for hunting, but others are taken from their mothers when they are just weeks or a few months old to make money by selling them at auctions at very high prices.
What Is Canned Hunting?
Canned Hunts have become a big business and there are no federal laws regulating the practice. So called “hunters” pay thousands of dollars to kill native, exotic, and even endangered species on for-profit game ranches so they can take home heads, horns, or antlers as trophies to hang on their walls. They are called “canned hunts” because prey are kept in fenced enclosures with no chance of escaping or fighting back. Many of the animals bred at the ranches have been raised, even bottle fed, by humans, so they have no fear of them. Ziggy the Zebra and Zebedee the Zonkey were byproducts of this vicious industry, in which cute babies are pulled from their mothers and sold at auction when they are just weeks old. Learn more and sign our petition
Do Zebras and zonkeys make good pets?
No, they do not. Zebras are wild, not companion animals for riding or work. They require specialized veterinary care with astronomical medical bills. Zonkeys - a zebra / donkey hybrid - tend to take the DNA from their zebra fathers. The adorable babies become increasingly wild as they grow. Captivity makes both miserable, aggressive, and confused. Often adopters don’t realize this until a child or other animals get injured. This is why we are finding them in the slaughter pipeline.
Stetson is not a mustang, Why is he at skydog?
Some of our horses are ambassadors to raise awareness of other abuses horses suffer today. Stetson is our ambassador for Premarin Horses. Drugs like Premarin are made from pregnant mare urine (PMU) to relieve the symptoms of menopause in women. To produce these drugs, hundreds of thousands of mares are hooked up to machines in a perpetual state of pregnancy for the estrogen content of their urine. Foal after foal is discarded as a byproduct, which is what happened to Stetson. This goes on despite the development of generic, synthetic, and bioidentical alternatives that have eliminated the need for Premarin-type drugs all together.
Is it possible to look up the STORY OF ANY HORSE OR DONKEY?
Yes. On Instagram and Facebook, you can search for all past posts and videos of any of our rescues by adding a hashtag + skydog in front of the name. For example, you search for Phoenix by writing #skydogphoenix. You can also look for them on our Then And Now page on this website. Click on their photos and it will take you to the Bio Page that tells their stories.
HOW DO YOU READ THE BLM BRAND?
The BLM uses the International Alpha Angle System to create freeze marks on the left side of the mustang’s or burro's neck. This system consists of unique symbols representing numbers that make a permanent identification marking. You can learn how to decipher these symbols on the BLM’s website: Freeze Marks. There is also a Public Dashboard where you can enter your freeze brand numbers or microchip number and it will give you background information about your mustang or burro.
WHY Do some of the mustangs have number brands on their hips?
The hip brand is the four numbers of their tag number and is put on there to mark them for BLM long-term holding or off-range facilities, to identify them easily from a distance.
CAN THEY EVER BE ROUNDED UP AGAIN AT SKYDOG?
No, never. We own the land they live on and they are safe forever. Our ranch is entirely perimeter fenced and cross fenced to keep them safely inside.
IS BABY BLUE THE SON OF BLUE ZEUS?
No, but royalty just the same. Baby Blue is the son of Blue from the Pine Nut Mountains, Nevada.
WHO ARE THE LEGENDS OF THE FALL?
They are a group of older geldings from the Red Desert, Wyoming who were rescued alongside Blue Zeus: Apollo, Hermes, Drifter, Noble, King, Joker, and Gandalf. We took to calling them Legends of the Fall and it stuck.
DO YOU ONLY RESCUE FAMOUS AND FLASHY HORSES?
This is a total falsehood. In fact, the opposite is true. Anyone who says this is spreading a malicious rumor and has not bothered to look at our social media posts or website to see 50 shades of bay and sorrel. Most of the 300 horses we have saved are neither flashy, nor famous. Very few were named on the range before they came to us - Goliath & Red Lady, Maestro & Gracie, Blue Zeus’ family, Cruiser’s Family, Apollo’s Family, the Pine Nut band, Blaze & Hannah, Spartacus & Gatsby, Renegade & Lupine. Regarding color, we have way more Bays, Browns, Sorrels, and Black horses than Paints, Palominos, Roans, or Appaloosas. We don’t pick for color. We prioritize those in the greatest need and least likely to be adopted. Most are kill pen and auction saves, trainer / owner relinquishment’s, special needs, seniors, or Sale Authority mustangs. What is true is that even totally unknown horses in the wild achieve a certain degree of celebrity after people start following them on our social media.
WHERE DOES THE NAME SKYDOG COME FROM?
The name Skydog comes from a Blackfoot legend about how horses were perceived the first time the Tribe saw them. They were large dogs sent as a gift from the sky from the Creator creator. Read the story: Why “Skydog”?
How does the BLM remove wild horses and burros from public lands?
Two methods are used to catch wild equines: bait & trap and helicopter roundups. The most humane - and least often utilized - is the bait and trap, which involves setting up a temporary corral with food and water to lure the animals inside. The gate closes and the animals are trapped, loaded, and hauled to holding. The second option, the helicopter roundup, is the BLM’s preferred method. Violent and cruel, low-flying helicopters chase terrified herds over long distances and stampede them into the narrow chute of a trap. Roundups always result in injuries and deaths with animals being shot in the traps or dying later in holding from the trauma. Helicopter roundup contractors make millions of taxpayer dollars providing this service for the BLM.
WHAT are KILL PENs and Kill buyers?
A kill pen is an auction that is frequented by kill buyers - horse traders who contract to ship a set number of live horses and donkeys to slaughter plants in Mexico and Canada. Many kill pens or “feedlots” have Facebook pages where they advertise the animals that are available. Kill buyers are predominantly men - usually old cowboys - who view equines as livestock and nothing more than a way to make money. They also answer craigslist ads for free horses and convince the owners that the animals will go to good homes.
Do you ever mass bail from kill pens?
Never. Mass bailers prey on the sympathies of donors by showing photos of sick and desperate animals with urgent pleas for money before they ship to slaughter. Donations pour in and they bail large numbers of horses and donkeys from kill pens. Then send them to anyone who’ll take them without vetting the facilities or following up to be sure the animals are in good hands. In addition to fraud rescues, there are people with good intentions, who get in over their heads and fail because they don’t have the ability or sufficient funds to care for animals they take in. Mass bailers pocket donor money, while legitimate, small rescues struggle to raise funds for hay, veterinary care, or even the smallest expenses. Consequently, many of these equines end up in situations just as bad - if not worse - than the kill pens. This has a terrible impact on legitimate animal nonprofits that are called in to clean up their messes and help the starved, neglected animals that had supposedly been “saved”. Mass bailing doesn’t solve the kill pen problem. It’s a business, often in collusion with kill buyers, that fuels a vicious cycle of cruelty and abuse.