Wild Boy

This is an incredibly deserving wild horse who has been waiting a long time to come to Skydog. An intact stallion with no BLM brand, he was rescued from the Stroud kill pen in Oklahoma by an amazing woman in Florida. Michelle had other rescues and hoped to have him trained before bringing him home, but he proved way too wild to tame in Quarantine. After exhausting all possible efforts, she did not want to send him back or sell him as he would only have ended up in another bad situation. When she first approached us, I explained it was our policy not to take wild, unhandled stallions, but I have never communicated with anyone who wanted so desperately for a wild horse to land softly. She cared deeply and knew he needed a safe place to run free. After a year of her asking, we agreed that if she could get him gelded and bring him to Skydog, we would give him sanctuary. That first condition was darn near impossible, but she finally found a vet to do the procedure! She was an incredible advocate for him.

We know next to nothing about the origins of this horse. For an unhandled stallion to end up in the slaughter pipeline without a BLM brand suggests he might have come from a reservation, but we really don’t know. His torn right ear hints at former battles. He does have a brand on his shoulder with the letters WB, which prompted Scott Wilson to name him Wild Boy - and so he is and ever shall be.

There is an ethereal quality to this extraordinary being, who is a natural leader. When new mustangs join his band, he floats above it all, undisturbed. He behaved this way with arrival of Elliot, Felix, Emerson, Lennon, Ford, Tesoro, Hubbell and Tucker. Hyas surprised us by settling down with this group after jumping fences to steal mares and trying out other living arrangements that gave him no peace. Wild Boy’s calm helps them regain their balance and feel safe. The older boys feel no need to pick on the youngsters. The herd’s hierarchy is welcoming and inclusive - the more the merrier.

#skydogwildboy

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.