Traveller

What a story this boy could tell, some of which we will never know. He was spotted for months living wild in the Santa Ana river bed in Riverside. He survived dog attacks, wildfire and countless attempts to chase and rope him. He became a curiosity on social media as sightings of him would be brief before he galloped off across a golf course or into the thick brush. Night and day, we saw photos of him on Facebook. When I read about him, I hoped for the best and that he would land in a good spot, but never dreamed he would be coming to Skydog.

As his health started to deteriorate, Animal Control wisely decided to set a bait trap and capture him. He was taken in by an outstanding local rescue called TIER, who enlisted the help of a horseman with a lot of mustang experience. What he discovered was horrifying: cigarette burns on his body, rope burns from tripping on his legs. This horse had been horribly abused and tormented and now was traumatized by any kind of human contact. The trainer, Mike, said the terror in his eyes was a direct result of what people had done to him.

After months, Gail at Tier knew that this horse needed sanctuary. We were asked to take him and we were happy to. Traveller isn't a mustang, but he is one of the most worthy candidates for sanctuary we have seen. There is no other situation where he will find peace and heal far from humans in the company of a herd. Mike drove him safely to Oregon from California.

Cisco and Koda welcomed him when he arrived to let him know he had friends and that things were going to be different from that moment on. He stepped out of the trailer with some trepidation, but handled the introduction like a champ. Then he was off, eager to explore, and he took his new friends with him.

He’s a beautiful horse with dapples. He spent a blissful summer in the wilderness of Spring Valley. When the Legends of the Fall arrived from Wyoming, he led them out to see this wonderful place. He may not be a mustang, but the instincts that helped him survive in Riverside enable him to run with some of the wildest horses at Skydog.

#skydogtraveller

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.

Ejiao Act of 2025 (H.R. 5544). 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.

See our How to Help menu for other actions to ban zebra hunting at canned hunt ranches in Texas & Oklahoma, bringing an end to the BLM using Sale Authority to funnel wild equines into the slaughter pipeline, and stopping production of Premarin & other drugs made from pregnant mare urine.