Shelby Mustang

Shelby Mustang was rounded up from Beatty's Butte, Oregon when he was a few years old. This year, we're focused on helping as many Oregon and Wyoming mustangs as possible. The BLM in both states is decimating their wild herds this summer, including Shelby’s.

When we saw the video of him in the killpen, he looked confused and worried as he tried so hard to be a good boy being ridden in spurs. They described the work he might still be able to do.  At age 25,  the last thing he needed was another "job", so we stepped in.

We usually look for horses that are the least likely to be adopted because of age, appearance, or condition. Shelby was skinny, but otherwise looked fairly healthy. Horses that can be ridden have a better chance of being picked up. But then what? Maybe he would have been worked hard a couple more years. What would his owners have done when the costs of his care increased with his age? There aren’t many people out there who want an old horse that can’t be worked, especially if he needs extra feeding to keep on weight. We weren’t going to wait for him to be worn down, neglected, and dumped back into the slaughter pipeline. I had not expected this to be a strong fundraiser as it’s not uncommon for people to prefer to donate for the most desperate cases. So touched my heart that so many of our donors stepped up to help Shelby. 

When a horse first arrives with no history, I have to be a bit of a detective and look for clues. It appears he was dumped a few months ago, judging by the crack in his front hoof that hasn't seen a farrier in a good while. His mane was a bit matted, but someone cut off a huge dreadlock, leaving a hole in it half way up. They do that at auctions to make them look a little less bedraggled and wild. His legs were covered with bot fly eggs - which we scraped off - another sign of neglect. Shelby knows what cookies are and is pushy to get more. This leads me to believe he was in a good and loving home until maybe four months prior.

There are so many reasons he could have been sent to auction: Death of the owner, divorce, the loss of a job. There is still some degree of ignorance about horse auctions and the predators who attend them. I try hard to give the benefit of the doubt, but horses are most often abandoned when they can't work as hard anymore, start needing more expensive care, and there is no sentimental attachment. Sad but true. I believe one hundred percent that every horse we save comes to Skydog for a reason. They are meant to be here and are all ambassadors and voices for the ones who didn't make it. 

I’d been saving the name Shelby Mustang for a classic and this boy has it all! He’s beautiful with huge, dinner-plate feet, large head, dun markings, and that beautiful, soft eye. For Libby, it was love at first sight. She ran circles of excitement when he walked by her pen and moved in next door. He looked from side to side as our kind hauler, Steve Egner, led him to his spacious, clean pen. With fresh water, good food, and happy neighbors, he began to settle in to his forever home with a good roll in the soft sand.

#skydogshelby

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 Senators and urge them to support these bills:

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.

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

See our How to Help menu for other actions to ban zebra hunting at US canned hunt ranches and stop production of Premarin & other PMU drugs.

Bills from the previous 118th Congress that we hope will be introduced again this year:

The Wild Horse & Burro Protection Act of 2023 (H. R. 3656) This bill will prohibit the use of helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft in the management of wild mustangs and burros on public lands, and require a report on humane alternatives to current management practices.

Ejiao Act of 2023 (H.R. 6021). 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.