Emerson & Lennon

I was asked to look at some wild horses for sale while filming some b roll for a documentary feature. I went to the Internet Adoption (IA) and randomly clicked on a black and white horse to watch his video. It just killed me to see Emerson’s panic and confusion. He ran around looking for a way out, trying to avoid the people standing nearby. The fear in his sensitive eyes spoke to me. As soon as we finished recording, I turned and said, “Now we have to save that guy.”

After putting a proxy bid on him, I totally forgot to be on there at the last minute and someone outbid me. I thought that was the end of it, but it turned out another rescue - @windwalker.ridge.mustangs - had bid on him. We ended up speaking and they asked us to take him and Lennon, a red roan senior they had bid on. I love working with other rescues for the good of the horses, so in the end both these boys went for $25 each.

Both are from Rock Springs Mountain in the North Lander Complex, Wyoming. The BLM in that state is determined to replace wild herds on public lands with the commercial livestock of private ranchers at taxpayer expense. In the summer of 2024, Emerson and Lennon were rounded up and survived a year in the miserable Wheatland holding facility. Then Emerson, at age 23, and Lennon, age 26, appeared on the Internet Adoption.  I am stunned by how many seniors have been on the IA lately. Older sale authority horses are the most likely to end up in the wrong hands as they often don’t take to domestication and are unable to be worked due to age or health. Even if their fate is being shipped to long term holding, that’s a black hole with no accountability or transparency. Their best hope was sanctuary and we gave it to them.

As they touched down on sacred Skydog ground, I couldn’t stop crying. They didn’t know it yet, but a beautiful new chapter of their lives had begun. They headed up into the trees to hide, as wild horses often do, and found their hay bins and water. One of the most important things after a long haul is to make sure that they’re getting lots of water to prevent any colic. The corrals informed us that Lennon was skinny and had been losing weight recently, but bringing mustangs back to a healthy weight is one of our specialties. We will fatten him back up with good nutrition and build his muscles on our hills. Come next spring, you will see him utterly transformed in his glorious roan coat.

A new bachelor band is taking shape nicely with Emerson, Lennon, Elliot, Wild Boy, and Hyas. These guys need peace and lots of room. When they are ready, we will release them onto open spaces to reclaim their wild wholeness.

Lennon is named for John, whose words of hope are echoing in my ears…

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

Welcome home Emerson and Lennon

#skydogemerson  #skydoglennon

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.