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
Ariat
This glorious red roan from Utah was a much loved member of the famous Onaqui herd. Red Birds Trust shared his story on their Facebook page and it’s beautiful. They lost track of him for a while, which was worrying, but were delighted to see him at the Burns corrals. They contributed to the donations for us to take him. He was with Metolius, Coyote, and Rogue, mustangs returned to the corrals after they soundly rejected domestication. He’s aloof and always slightly apart from the others, but moves with them. He has a mountain to climb, woods for shade, lush grasses, cool water from streams and springs - everything he could want or need to live unencumbered by human demands. More about Ariat
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
Fern
Born in 2018, Fern is the daughter of Dahlia, the granddaughter of Renegade & Lupine, and the great granddaughter of Calypso. We saved her from the pen with her baby, Rebel, so we now have five generations of this family at the Oregon sanctuary. With white streaks in her mane and forelock, she’s striking and oh so wild. Her high white socks and deep mahogany-colored coat identify her as South Steens Royalty. Grace under pressure, she has a majestic air that cannot be denied. When her friendly son, Rebel, comes up to humans for scratches and cookies, she hangs back, but I always feel like she admires his bravery. This splashy pinto has never taken the spotlight, but is one of the most beautiful mares at Skydog. You can see from this fabulous picture that she is a muse for photographer Scott Wilson. More about Renegade’s Family
Scarecrow
Scarecrow was rescued in 2020 when he was 7 years old. Along with Tin Man and Dorothy, he was in a Kansas kill pen, so names from The Wizard of Oz seemed fitting. The bond that formed between him and Tinman in quarantine has never been broken or even slightly bent. They remain inseparable. Scarecrow was rounded up from Divide Basin, WY, when he was 3 years old. As they say in the Emerald City, he’s “a horse of a different color!” An appaloosa, his coat is ever-changing. It’s like having four horses in one as he looks different in each season of the year. Like his namesake, Scarecrow is gentle, sweet, and can be a little goofy and playful. He’s incredibly curious and loyal. As much as he loves Mrs. Pastures Cookies, we don’t see him up close all that often. Tin Man prefers to be out of sight and Scarecrow stays by his side. More about Scarecrow
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
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
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
