Pegasus & Rocky

Thanks to the Sand Wash Basin Advocate Team that took photos for the Internet Adoption, we saw Pegasus and Rocky. They were rounded up from outside the Sand Wash Basin boundary in Colorado - most likely closer to Adobe Town, Wyoming - unknown to the people who follow, name, and identify the wild horses on the Sand Wash Basin HMA. They wrote:

It’s possible Pegasus has never encountered humans before, and certainly not the scary, noisy world he has been thrust into. He was in flight mode and looking for ways to get away and escape. The fence was 7 feet tall, and the gate he jumped was close to 6 feet. Pegasus was stressed and afraid, and decided he was going to leave sooner than later. We watched as he galloped towards the gate, jumped it, and joined the other geldings.

When we saw that, we knew this mustang’s wings should fly him to Skydog.

Rocky “The Mystery Horse” was rounded up from the same area as Pegasus. They had lived so far from humans, it was especially traumatic to be captured and confined. The loud noises, tiny spaces, gates, chutes and bars that contained him were an insult to everything he cherished. By the looks of his video, he was terrified - drenched in sweat as he ran back and forth in a panic to escape. We bid on him at the end of the Internet adoption as there had been no interest in him as he was an older mustang. It was meant to be as he and Pegasus are so deeply bonded.

We let them settle down in a roomy, wooded pen. They were so wild, fearful, troubled, bothered by people that distance was their comfort. Rocky would hide behind the thinnest tree, convinced that made him invisible to humans. They were first friends to Atsa, another totally wild, deeply traumatized mustang. Their small band grew until the time came for their release with Ariat, Rogue, Metolius, Coyote, Suede, and Pony Boy. They disappeared into the woods, but a short time later, I found most of them rolling in the pond. It was a baptism back into wildness, shedding themselves of all the filth and smells of captivity before racing up the hill to their new life.

In addition to the winged horse in Greek mythology, Pegasus reminds me of the horse in Charlie Mackesy’s beautiful books about The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse. He is a force to be reckoned with. Wild as the wind, he prefers to remain that way. I've spent time watching him from a distance and I can tell you that this guy doesn't miss a thing. He's alert and aware of his surroundings at all times.

Rocky was listed as a brown horse, but is actually a silver bay with a star, a snip, and a beautiful tail. I suspect some of our followers take photos of his gorgeous mane to their hair salons and say, “Make my hair this color.” I can't explain what it feels like to exchange energy with a wild horse like this, to sit in the wild flowers and have him walk towards me in curiosity and peace. To see him calmly think about the person in front of him, who he has now, with time, decided means him no harm. It's beautiful, it's a gift, and it's a sacred exchange.

Pegasus and Rocky  were  turned out onto a gorgeous area of the Oregon ranch. This area is enormous and other geldings live there, but these two have chosen to stay together, away from the others. They know every foot of this land, the paths up the hill carved by their huge hooves. They drink from fresh springs that bubble up out of the ground into troughs and taste so sweet and fresh. The vistas and forage are endless. It’s different terrain from what they once knew, but it's enough. Asked nothing of and left in peace, their spirits have healed and they will live free for the rest of their days.

#skydogpegasus  #skydogrocky

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.