The Long Rescue Journey BEGINS...

     In May 2000, an old friend who had been rescuing BLM wild horses for many years from Wyoming, Montana, Idaho & California and even from auctions called Wild Horse Spirit asking for help. His horses were in immediate danger of being confiscated  by Montana county officials, which meant auction & slaughter. Health, financial problems &  failure to segregate stallions from mares prevented him from properly caring for his harem that had grown to approximately 114 horses. Together with Redwings Horse Sanctuary & Colorado Wild Horse and Burros Coalition (CWHBC), we began orchestrating a rescue.  Interim hay & veterinarian care were provided while horses could be moved to safety.  Mares & foals who were the most critical were moved first.  Between May 20^th & August 25th, Betty from Wild Horse Spirit, pulling a horse trailer, journeyed over 10,000 miles, making over 4 different trips between Nevada to Wyoming, Colorado & Montana. 
 

 FIRST TRIP to Montana...May 2000 (see photos above and below)

     On May 20th, Betty left Wild Horse Spirit on the first trip to Montana, and returned (see below) on 5-27-2000 to Nevada with the "Grey Family"...Grey, Mica, Jonni Rose, and Katy (below below).  The "Grey Family" would be the first of an eventual 114 previously adopted wild horses rescued between May and August 2000.

SECOND TRIP to Montana...June 2000 (see photos below)

     On the 2nd trip (see below), Betty returned to Montana for Sarah, the 5th member of the "Grey Family", and
Ellie and her 4 week-old baby, Beauty.  Unknown at this time, Sarah, 3y/o, was about one month pregnant
 with Miles.  On the return trip to Nevada, Betty made an emergency vet stop in Wyoming to have Beauty
examined.  She was weak, malnourished, and not doing well.  Her mother, Ellie, too, who was malnourished
with no milk, never stopped eating during the entire trip.

     Beauty would not have survived if she had remained any longer in Montana.  The vet was great with
Beauty and Ellie.  Beauty was examined, blood work obtained, and was given initial IV's.  The vet
felt her main problem was malnutrition.  He also felt she would be OK to continue her travel, but
would require subcutaneous glucose and oral electrolytes every 4 hours on the return trip to Wild
Horse Spirit.

THIRD TRIP to Montana, then to Fruita, Colorado...July 2000 (see photos below)
     On July 4^th, Betty, returned to Montana and transported an extremely malnourished bay mare (Diamond) whose foal had died, an orphaned foal (Cheyenne, named after her mother who had died) and a paint mare (Curly) and her paint filly foal to Toni Moore, Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition, in Fruita CO.   Earlier in June, CWHBC had also transported 4 mares, their foals and 10 yearlings to Fruita CO for care.  Thanks to Toni and her husband, Don,
a vet who volunteered his professional time, all horses (22) taken to Fruita CO were nursed back to health with special assistance from Toni’s and Don’s children who not only provided physical work but lots of TLC.  Also in June, Redwings Horse Sanctuary had transported an additional ten yearlings and two geldings (Coyote and Buffalo) and one stallion (Sport) from Montana to Jackson CA for care.  
 

FOURTH and LAST TRIP to Montana - August 2000 (see photos below)
     Late in August, Betty returned for the 4^th and last time to Montana.  On August 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th, the Montana Back Country Riders, Montana Large Animal Rescue and Betty made several trips between Crooked Creek MT and Custer MT transporting the remaining 70 wild horses safely to a large ranch in Custer MT (see photos below).

   AUGUST 23, 2000, Wednesday -Crooked Creek Ranch to Custer MT. 

   AUGUST 25, 2000, Friday - Crooked Creek Ranch to Custer MT.

         JUNE, transported alone, was the last horse to arrived at Custer MT Ranch
         and the last of a total of 114 Montana wild horses rescued. 

     Early morning of 8-25-2000 (see photos below), Betty transported the last horse, #114, June, to Custer MT.  The day before, 8-24-2000, June kept kicking the other mares in the small corral while waiting to be loaded into the trailer.  To prevent injuries to June and other mares, we removed her from the small corral.  Betty would transport her alone the next day.  Over the previous 3 days, June had witnessed all of her friends and family members loading into trailers and leaving.  She knew she was now alone.  On the evening of August 24^th, after returning from Custer MT, Betty backed the trailer up to the small chute.  June willingly and hurriedly, without any coercion, almost trotted nonstop into the small corral, thru the chute and into the awaiting trailer – as if she had done this a million times before. June was ready to make the last trip to Custer MT to join the others.  We arrived at the Custer MT ranch on morning of 8-25-2000 where June joined the others. This seemingly impossible rescue was accomplished because people cared and worked together.
 

   (Please understand that if our Montana friend, who could no longer take care of these horses and had not
   rescued these BLM wild horses over the years, some of these beautiful horses would never have been
   and others would have surely ended up on the dinner tables in European, Japan and Scandinavian countries.)

The Montana Rescue Journey ENDS 8-25-2000

STORY UPDATE:   Once Beauty and Ellie was stable and healthy enough for travel to California, Galen and Barbara from Redwings transported both to Redwings Horse Sanctuary.  Later Galen, Barbara and Sport, Coyote and Buffalo made a stopover at WHS from Montana to rest before they proceeded to Jackson CA.  The Grey family will remain at their home at Wild Horse Spirit.  Both Jonni Rose and Katy are thriving and will likely turned gray, like their mothers and sister, Sarah.  Both Grey and Mica have gained mucho weight with all the food and are feeling quite at home.  We feel that Mica is not pregnant, but we are unsure about Grey at this time.  But, Sarah, a now 4y/o whose mother is Grey, is definitely pregnant and due any day now.  On 3-11-2001, Bobbi said her foal is active and kicking her mother’s tummy.  Sarah is gentle, calm and wants to be brushed all the time.  When the little-to-be foal kicks, Sarah jumps and looks around at her flank.  We understand that the little-to-be foal is "not yet ready to walk and run at her mother side". Then on 4-8-2001 at 10:30PM, Sarah's foal was born.   Update--Grey and Mica were not pregnant.  Katy, Jonni Rose and Miles inherited the dominant gray gene and are turning gray.
 

UPDATE ON THE GREY FAMILY...PHOTOS and SARAH'S BABY as he has grown and is now changing colors...graying-out like his family. 
 

(left) ........July 2001, Katy, now 14-months old, showing off for Alf. 
(middle)...Jonni Rose  posing for the camera. 
(right).....4-9-2001, Sarah, one day after Miles was born. She is very content as Miles nurses.
 

(left).......July 2001, Miles and Sarah eating together. 
(middle)...9-3-2001 Miles running miles and miles. 
(right).....9-3-2001 Miles, now 5-months-old and color turning from his black color at birth to gray like
               his mother and grandmother, Grey, is posing for the camera.  Sarah in the background.
 

Wild Horse Spirit Ltd.
25 Lewers Creek Road
Carson City, NV 89704
(775) 883-5488
website: http://www.wildhorsespirit.org

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