Libby

We took Liberty - affectionately called Libby - from a wonderful ranch in Nevada that has helped so many mustangs. The woman who’d devoted a lifetime to saving wild horses and lovingly caring for them was now in poor health and could no longer manage them all. Janelle noticed when she picked Libby up that a number of horses needed farrier care and we made a commitment to helping with this - Starbucks and Courage would come from this same ranch.

A wild stallion from the Virginia Range had regularly appeared at the gate to spend time with Libby. One day, he stopped coming and she fell into depression as she waited for him day after day. Then, when a double rainbow touched down at the ranch, Libby followed it to the other end at Skydog.

When she arrived, we tried placing her with an elderly mare, Amelia, who made it clear she didn’t want to share her space with another mare. Since a stallion had been courting her, we thought she might find her place in Blue Zeus’ herd, but she stood by the gate and couldn’t wait to come back in. The wild life was not for her. On the way to and from her various placements, she passed Boomer. They knew each other. Libby came from the Nevada ranch where Boomer, when he was free, got into trouble by jumping the fence to breed the mares. She’d stop at the fence to talk to him and they were happy to see each other.

Many people wanted us to try putting her in with Boomer, but that was easier said than done. Boomer came to us because he would not be gentled and was dangerous to people and other horses. He proved right away that he was a loner, who wouldn’t play nice with others. What he wanted was a place of his own, a bachelor pad, and he didn’t want to share it with anybody. How could we safely bring him and Libby together? We started with meetings on neutral turf in the aisle. They smelled each other, shared breath, he grinned with the Flehmen Response as he memorized her scent. Wherever she went, he followed and he welcomed her to his pen. For a little while, it seemed like the perfect solution, but they lost interest in each other.

Libby needed a blanket when the weather got cold. She was a gentle soul who enjoyed human attention and loved it when Morgan groomed her and braided her hair. Malibu was a better place for her. She moved to sunny California where volunteers pamper her, Gary Dourdan serenades her, and she couldn’t be happier. Boomer who? Libby finally found her pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and is blissfully happy.

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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.