Maverick

This old boy has a distinctive blaze that looks like a seahorse. He is not a mustang, he’s a quarter horse, and a beautiful example of how little domestication alters biology. He’s a different breed, but the same species that evolved in North America over 54 million years. He quickly fell back into ancient equine behavioral and communication patterns when set free.

Maverick is a popular member of his band and gets along with everyone. He’s kind, but confident and can defend himself, so we tried him out as a first friend for Boomer… Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all, but he’s not alone in that department as Boomer is a loner who doesn’t want to be with anybody else.

Maverick is close to Stetson, Anselm, Rusty, Apache, and his best friend, Ohbee. All are hard keepers, who come in together for extra meals and TLC. They need grain and warm mashes to keep their weight up in the winter. When the colts were here, they joined this band for gentle mentoring before going on to Saving Gracie’s Equine Healing Sanctuary in Utah.

We’ve brought Maverick back from several medical emergencies. He bounced back each time with more energy than before - and he’s dynamic. He has amazing moves for his age as he must be close to thirty now. He jumps and dances with delight at pretty much everything that happens to him, from meals being delivered, to visiting a friend in the barn, to heading out to nibble the sweet, green grasses in spring. He’s just a happy, happy horse and we adore him.

His blaze stirs up a hard, but important lesson I learned when I was 6 years. I’ve carried it into the work I do today. When I was growing up in England, we had a holiday house on Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. I spent most of my days snorkeling to explore the mesmerizing undersea world. One day, I spotted a seahorse swimming along with his little wings propelling him forward slowly. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I reached out my hand, gently enclosed him, and swam back to the shore where I put him in a plastic bucket. I took him home and spent the evening checking on and watching him. I loved him so much. In the morning, he had passed away and I cried for three days. I was so sorry I had taken him away from his ocean home. Now that loss feels profoundly symbolic as humans feel the need to capture or kill beautiful wildlife that should just be left alone.

On land, we’re driving wild horses from their native habitat into traps and captivity that they don’t understand or accept - and often can’t survive. I took my seahorse lesson to heart and do all I can to pass it along and hope it resonates and touches others.

#skydogmaverick 

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.