How it works
By committing annually to a $100/month sponsorship of a mustang or burro, you help us enormously by supporting our existing rescues so we can continue saving more.
SPONSORSHIP INCLUDES:
A personalized Certificate of Sponsorship with a photo of the horse or donkey you choose and your name.
A 60 minute one-on-one visit to Skydog Ranch to meet the horse or burro you are sponsoring, spend time hanging out with them, take photographs and ask questions of our staff.
If you sponsor more than one horse or burro, you will get one hour with each animal when you visit.
To visit your sponsored equine, you must be a sponsor for at least 9 months. Anyone who wants to see them sooner will have to pay for 9 months ($900) in advance of their visit. We regret that this has become necessary. We need to discourage those sponsoring for one month in order to visit the ranch, then canceling because they don’t actually care about supporting the animals or our work. These tours take up a lot of time from our staff and the important work they do caring for our rescues.
Choosing a Mustang or Burro to Sponsor
You can search for posts about individuals on Instagram or Facebook with a hashtag that combines the word “skydog” with their name (#skydogzebedee #skydognugget). You can also go to the Then & Now page on the website to see their photos and read their biographies. (Note: their pages are currently being updated.)
Sponsor a SKYDOG on Patreon
A great way to sponsor a Skydog is by becoming a patron on Patreon and signing up for the $100/month Lead Mare level. This automatically makes you a sponsor and gives you access to exclusive content that we don’t post on other social media platforms. Each new episode of the Horse Love Podcast is released there, as are special offers on merchandise, and breaking news.
Skydogs who need sponsors
Bruno
Warm Springs once boasted the last wild burro herd in Oregon. They were a unique and special group. It’s remarkable that these desert animals adapted to thrive up here in the cold winters. I have always believed they should have been protected and studied for the unusual physical characteristics they share. Lots of these donkeys have short stumpy ears, or one ear shorter than the other. Many don't have tails. It’s also unusual that some share the same double line on their back from their dorsal stripe. Perhaps these are signs of inbreeding, something the BLM used to care about back in the days when it managed for the genetic health of herds. Today, if they leave any on the range at all, it is in numbers so small as to prevent the genetic viability of the herd. We asked to take all 41 of the Warm Springs burros when they were rounded up, but they only let us take 10. Bruno is one of them and fairly easy to spot in a crowd with his dark coat and incredibly fuzzy ears! More about the Warm Springs Herd
Dundee
Dundee is absolutely massive, standing a good 16 hands high. When he was gelded, he collapsed on top of a BLM staff member, who consequently had to have knee replacement surgery! When we first saw him, he had pushed his way into the chute at the Burns corrals. We were picking up Memphis and he seemed to sense this was a ride he needed to catch. He was trembling and sad, but we couldn’t take him at that time. I told him we might come back for him - and that’s what we did. Dundee didn’t hesitate to load into our trailer. He threw a massive kick as the trailer door closed behind him - perhaps his way of posting a review of his time with the BLM. He needed minimal time in the barn to settle in. This boy just wanted to start making up for lost time. It must have felt so good for his hooves to hit rugged terrain again. He stretched his legs into a full run with the wildest mustangs and headed to the wildest places on the ranch. More about Dundee
Dorian
Dorian is an 8yo, gorgeous sorrel mustang. He was part of the Kaufman 15 Sale Authority emergency. All 15 were saved and Dorian was one of two very wild horses to come to Skydog. He is named after John “J.D.” Dorian, the narrator and main character of the Scrubs series played by Zach Braff - one of our Wild Ambassadors. Zach has been incredibly supportive of Skydog, has visited the ranches in Malibu and Oregon to meet the horses, get informed and involved. Dorian was terrified of humans when he arrived, but integrated easily into a small band of geldings, who had a calming effect on him. It didn’t take him long to sense that he is in a safe place and has nothing to fear. When they are ready, these boys will be turned out into Wild Boy’s herd, where older mustangs are wonderful about taking the younger horses under their wings. More about Dorian
Driggs
Driggs was rounded up from Saylor Creek, Idaho. He was 16 years old when we saw him on the internet adoption, where he was adopted in 2021. It’s harder for older wild boys to adjust well to training, but for those who can, we want them to have that chance.. At first, he was coming along in his gentling, but then went to a TIP trainer. After that, he sadly regressed to being fearful of people again. His family loved him and saw that he was unhappy, so they wrote to us about giving him back his freedom. Driggs met the Skydog wild boys with great confidence. All those years on the range served him well. In 2024, we had to bring him in for lameness. It turned out he had a fracture of the coffin bone and needed barn rest in a cast. When he had healed, we turned him out with Cooper in a small pasture to monitor him for a few days. He ran amuck, kicking up heels in joy at no longer being confined - and more of the same when he went back to his herd. More about Driggs
Lakota
Lakota was rounded up from South Steens as a baby, adopted out, and sent for training. He had a serious sheath infection, which was made much worse by hornet bites. After training, he wasn't worked with, so he reverted to being semi-wild. He was given for free to a woman, who wasn't told about his medical issues. Over time, the infection got worse and she didn’t have the funds to have it treated aggressively. Attempts were made to retrain him, but he snapped and reacted aggressively, badly injuring several people. After doing so much to try to help him, his owner finally reached out to us. She absolutely loves him, but at the same time, she wanted wav more for him than she knew she could provide - and that's truly selfless. Lakota wants to be free and, after he receives veterinary care, we feel he has a good chance of that here at Skydog. More about Lakota
Maia
Maia is a beautiful Onaqui dun mare from Utah. Her herd has faced numerous brutal roundups, despite being so loved and photographed while in the wild. The first photo we saw of her was taken at the Delta BLM corrals, where she had a badly injured eye. Injuries are common at the corrals. Usually, they euthanize these horses, but incredibly, they removed Maia’s eye and let her live. She was extraordinarily lucky. The baby that was with her when she was rounded up was adopted by a good home, but Maia was pregnant. She had her foal, Minx, in safety at another rescue, but sadly, they were unable to keep them. We said yes to mother and daughter coming to Skydog and decided to add them to Blaze’s and Hannah’s little family. Their little girl, Belle Star, was around the same age as Minx and Blaze took to them right away. He is very protective of his band, which is amongst the most elusive at the Oregon ranch. Having one eye has not diminished the quality of her very wild life one bit. More about Maia.
Wookie
Nature has many examples of loving and nurturing parenting, but burros are often overlooked. These gentle, humble, stoic creatures possess a natural instinct to care for their young, creating a bond that is even stronger than what we see in mustangs. With their tender interactions from the moment of birth and protective nature, donkeys exemplify a level of parenting that showcases the beauty of the animal kingdom. When the last wild burro herd in Oregon was rounded up, we wanted to adopt the entire herd and keep them together, but were only allowed to take 10. So we spent a lot of time at the corrals identifying bonded pairs and families. There was Wookie with her baby, Biscuit, beside her. Mother burros tend to follow their offspring throughout their lives, rather than stay with their stud in the wild. Separating them is an unthinkable act of cruelty, so we brought mother and daughter to Skydog, where they will always be together. More about the Warm Springs Herd
Xanadu
5-year-old Xanadu was born in holding after her mother was rounded up from Goshute, NV. She was held in the BLM’s Palomino Valley holding facility until February 2026. Along with eleven other mares and three geldings, she was shipped to an adoption event in Livingston, Texas. The paperwork shows they were purchased SA on February 28th by two couples from Pollock, Texas, who drove the animals directly to Last Chance Direct Ship Horses in Kaufman. These horses came to be known as the “Kaufman 15” - all were saved and two came to Skydog. A fiery red mustang, she represents the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse, as well as the Sale Authority emergency burning hot around wild horses. Xanadu is named for the lost Mongolian paradise, a place of mystery, beauty and easy living. What was lost in legend, has been found at Skydog, where she’s joined a band of marvelously strong and wild mares. More about Xanadu
RESCUED MUSTANGS
THERE ARE OVER 250 HORSES AND 50 DONKEYS HERE AT SKYDOG
Click on the photos to find out more or read their stories on our Then and Now Page.
RESCUED DONKEYS, MULES, Minis, ZONKEYS & A ZEBRA
