Denver

The Eugene Four

Denver is from the Coyote Lake HMA in Oregon. She was named for John Denver. She was one of the first four mustangs we rescued as a sanctuary. At the Eugene Auction, she and Leigh were in one stall. Jackson and Lisa Marie were in another. We got the other three and bid on Denver, but they pretended not to see our bid. They sold her to a Washington kill buyer right under our noses - one who had also wanted Jackson, whom he described as “meaty”. Many times auctions, kill buyers, and fake rescues work together to make money off these beautiful beings.

Denver and Leigh had been together for 15 years before ending up at that horrible livestock auction. Leigh was depressed and listless without her friend. We tracked her to the cynically named Sunnyside Kill Pen, a place that ships horses to slaughter daily. Wild and uncooperative, Denver wouldn't load for two weeks of trying, but we were finally able to bring her home to Leigh and they’ve been inseparable ever since.

The Oregon Ranch wasn’t ready for them yet, so we brought them down to my ranch in Calabasas for the rest of the summer. Denver started off wild and untouchable. With time. she softened, but seemed torn between enjoying being stroked and being wild. Some days, there were quiet moments of bonding, but just as often, she walked away. She came around to taking carrots from our hands. She enjoys being stroked and loved on, but will not be haltered. Leigh has still never let us touch her and that’s fine. This is a sanctuary and some of our rescues need to be truly wild. We completely respect that and love them for it.

Now in their twenties, Denver and Leigh remind us of a couple of old ladies, always together, sometimes bickering, then making up.  Wonderfully, they watch over each other at night, taking turns to stand guard as the other lies down to sleep. It is a joy to see the close bond and love they feel for each other. Denver and Leigh are the key to each other’s happiness and they shall be together for the rest of their days.

#skydogdenver

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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 Senators and urge them to support these bills:

Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act of 2023 (H.R. 3475 in the House / S.2307 in the Senate). This bill will 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. 3656) This bill will prohibit the use of helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft in the management of wild mustangs and burros on public lands, and require a report on humane alternatives to current management practices.

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.

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

See our How to Help menu for other actions to ban zebra hunting at US canned hunt ranches, stop production of Premarin & other PMU drugs, and defund the Adoption Incentive Program.