Above: Even though there have been mass removals under the Antelope/TripleB “gather plan,” there are still wild ones that live there. Their simple presence is a reminder of the resilience of our wild ones.

There are so many events and issues all of us are dealing with in our own lives and as advocates. Many of you are sending us notes and, from past experience, we know that means many of your are having the same feelings and have not written. We want you to know that we hear you.

All of us are drawn to wild horses and burros. We are united in our passion to protect and preserve our wild ones. As advocates, we spend so much of our time focused on all that is wrong; logically, the only way to fix anything is to identify what is wrong in order to set it right. It is a heavy load for all of us to carry.

Above: Burros at Blue Wing in the wild place that defines them. A family of desert fox seems almost entertained as the burros move through as the sun rises on another day. 

However, our wild ones can also provide a place to ground ourselves in gratitude as well as inspire us to carry on the fight. Our amazing wild ones draw us to them by their sensitivity, resilience, beauty, and so much more.

This holiday season let us remember a tip directly from our wild ones: check in on each other. 

Throughout each day the lead mare will check in on each member as bands move from water to grazing ground. In times of stress, you can hear her calling her inventory more often. Each band member checks in and the stallion is always listening.

Safety, trust and respect are the things that create connections within a herd. Every herd will experience hardship. The connections built on trust are what see the herd through. Band members vocalize to each other simply to say: “Neigh, I’m here.” This interaction is scientifically proven to create complicated hormonal responses where just “checking in” builds connectivity that improves the wellbeing of the herd and each member.

The expression of that trust can simply be a “nicker.” 

Remember to check in on each other this holiday season.

We want to thank you for taking a stand for our wild ones and for keeping WHE in the fight.

The next roundup begins after the new year. We are working on a review of all that has happened in 2024 but wanted to share a peek at some of the peaceful moments our team experienced.

Our team is really busy this week wrapping up some of our litigation as we move other cases forward. Our legal team will publish an update soon.

In 2025, we will push hard to gain enforceability of welfare standards, fight hard to gain transparent and fair on range management, pull back the veil on closed to the public facilities and continue the fight against the loopholes landing our wild ones in the slaughter pipeline. 

End of year funding is critical to keep our team in the field reporting to you and all of the other work we do like investigations and litigation. Without your support, none of our work is possible. Thank you!

Calendars are now 40% off on our Zazzle storefront! 100% of all proceeds of product sales support the work of WHE.