jasper & Cotton

We received a call from a rescue in Central California asking for help for two mustangs who were at Animal Control in Stanislaus County. These two wild horses had escaped from their ranch, where they had not been cared for in some time and had gotten stuck in a drainage canal. They had incredibly walked for over ten miles on the concrete trying to find a way out. This boy Jasper had tried to climb the steep banks but continuously fallen back down on his knees. By the time people found them they were both incredibly tired and very sore. A huge group of kind and wonderful people came together to help get them out. The videos of those attempts are dramatic and heartwarming with cheers of joy ringing out when Jasper reached the top.

The owner relinquished them as she did not want them back. They were obviously very bonded and could not be separated without getting very upset. They were seen by a vet and then taken to Animal Control. However, upon feeling better both horses turned out to be pretty hard to handle. Their fate would have been a livestock auction or euthanasia.

Hopes Chance Equine Sanctuary asked us to take them and give them back their freedom. We said yes, but we were in the depths of winter. We asked them to hold on to them for a few weeks until we could transport them safely. Finally, a break in the weather allowed us to travel to Modesto to collect these sweet, sweet souls. We showered them with kisses, which them were incredibly happy to give. Jasper has one of the finest mustaches at Skydog and he offers it whenever I pass by.

Cotton lived an extraordinarily full life at Skydog. She helped Ladybug and Isabel raise their babies, Firefly and Wild Heart. She was a wonderful auntie with endless patience and a heart of gold. When we released their band onto open space, she led the way through the Aspen Grove. When age caught up with her, we brought her in for more care. A late-life romance blossomed with the handsome Draft Horse, Samson, before they both gently passed away.

Jasper is living his best life running with his wild buddies, Rowdy, Mesteño, Donatello, and Bobcat. 

#skydogjasper  #skydogcotton

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.