strongheart & Hera

We were unaware of these spectacular mares when they were free and wild in the Red Desert, Wyoming. After they were rounded up, Strongheart was the first to be brought to our attention. We learned:

“Strongheart always kept her distance from humans and moved quickly away into the hills. Stallions fought for her, but she remained loyal to her band stallion and delivered their foals in late fall. Through the bitter cold winds and deep snows of the harshest Wyoming winters, she kept her young strong and in good health. She had gorgeous colts, some of whom still roam the desert freely. When foals were separated from their mothers on the range, she and this stallion took them into their family to raise. She never showed anything but love and care for orphans, equal to her own babies. As her stallion's health failed, she was finally taken by another stallion. So strong was her spirit that he also allowed her to continue taking in orphaned foals.

She was captured during the 2020 helicopter roundup and deteriorated in the Cañon City holding facility. After 10 months there, she was so small, thin, and beaten down. Younger horses had chewed off her mane and tail out of hunger and stress. Her spirit was so visibly hurt that those of us who knew her in the wild feared she would not survive. She needed a good, safe home where she could live untouched, not one where humans would try to gentle or force domestication on her.”

Several people asked Skydog to take her. One wrote: “I am SO extremely thankful that you are taking her into your heart and Sanctuary. Short of never being taken from her wild home, this is the best thing we can do for this one-of-a-kind wild mustang mare. I hope you can help heal her heart - it is an incredible spirited heart."  When she arrived in Oregon, that heart was broken. She didn’t want to eat, make eye contact, raise her head, or move. We did everything we could to help her, but it was touch and go. It felt like she had lost the will to live.

Then heaven moved to send us her guardian angel. We had not intended to take more horses from Cañon City’s Red Desert herd, but when our hauler went down with Covid, we had to organize a different haul with our trailer. This one had an extra compartment. The only tag number we had from that day was Apollo’s mare, Hera. We asked for her and she was approved.

Hera, a stunning cremello, was scratched up, but proud and defiant. She had been in the same band for several years with Strongheart and immediately went to her. Hera’s presence literally breathed life into her old friend. Strongheart started to return to herself, slowly regaining weight. Hera was protective of her and gave her the strength to carry on. When she was strong enough, we placed them in a pen with mother mares and their babies, where they fell right in to being watchful aunties.

We had rescued Hera’s former stallion, Apollo, and his son, Aslan, to whom he was very bonded. We decided to try reuniting them with Hera and Strongheart in another pen. They recognized each other’s calls and raced around together. It briefly looked like it might be a perfect solution until Aslan decided to steal both mares. Apollo trailed sadly behind them, Hera and Strongheart both showed signs of stress, so we knew other placements would be better for them all. The boys returned to the very wild Boys Herd, where they have been happy with Hermes, another son of Apollo.

The girls went back to the mothers and babies until they were all ready to be released for the summer. Given Strongheart’s maternal nature, we thought they’d stay in this band with youngsters, but something entirely unexpected happened. They met Pete the Zorse. A cross between a zebra and a horse, the wild side of both species governs his desires. He claimed a beautiful palomino mustang mare named Soleil and whisked her away with Hera and Strongheart to the wilderness behind Sheeps Rock. Natural springs flow there and nurture the grasses they love to devour. There are lots of trees for shade and shelter. Best of all, to their way of thinking, it’s as far as they can get from humans, who have to hike long and hard to do herd checks. When we find them, the mares stop for a moment to stare at us before vanishing into the brush with Pete bringing up the rear like a true band stallion. They are four of the wildest beings at Skydog, who have healed each other’s incredibly spirited hearts.

#skydogstrongheart

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.

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.

A bill from the previous 118th Congress that we hope will be introduced again this session:

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.