Midnight

We found Midnight at a kill pen when we were looking for a travel buddy for the elderly Mr. Parker. Having a friend on the road makes the haul less stressful. This beautiful dusky mare in her twenties was lovely, halter-trained, and followed a lead, so I can’t imagine how she ended up there. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, she boarded the freedom ride to Skydog.

She and Mr. Parker didn’t hesitate to jump out of the trailer and into their spacious, clean pen with trees, grass, fresh water, and bins with nutritious food. One of the first things they did was go over and say hello to little Shasta and Frosty, who clacked to tell them they are babies.  Their mothers and aunties watched calmly as the newcomers walked the fence line with the welcoming youngsters. A day later, they washed off the bad smells of their pasts by rolling in good, clean Skydog dirt. Midnight has the funniest roll I've ever seen. She lies on her back with her head up and legs a kicking like she’s riding a bicycle - this may be her signature move.

Midnight and Mr. Parker had very different personalities and speeds. They found their future happiness in different placements. Midnight was stand-offish, pushy, and a little manic. She clearly needed space to be wild and free. We introduced her to Flash, a former South Steens stallion, who was Cruiser’s lieutenant on the range. It seemed like love at first sight. As they explored the ranch, they met several herds that didn’t work out, but Midnight was loyal and chose to stay with her man.

We put them in a pen together and started fencing in an area where Flash could have a family band of his own. A small group of mares shared a fence line, where Midnight spent a lot of time watching and sometimes calling out to them. So we let the couple in with Nova, Lacey, Blossom, and Wren. The mares were excited to meet them, but Flash wasn’t interested and ran Midnight to another end of the pen. He became more possessive of her and she grew tired of it. Both of them are wild and want space, but if Flash doesn’t want to accept other mares, it wasn’t the right place for Midnight, so we put her back with the girls.

Next, we turned them out together with Priscilla’s small herd, which consists of her son, Dalton, daughter, Shasta, Snow and her baby, Frost. We could see how close-knit the five mares had already become. They ran through the other horses, found each other, regrouped, and came back together to run some more. Midnight looked stunning as she led her friends. It's stimulating and enriching for the whole band to have new members to shake things up. It was everything I hoped for and the final confirmation that we did the right thing by letting Midnight stay with her mare friends. She is very happy - and don’t worry about Mr. Parker or Flash. They found their perfect placements, too!

#skydogmidnight

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.