Henry

Henry was pulled from a kill pen to honor Tulip, a sweet mustang mare, who had been starved for so long that she did not survive quarantine. It broke our hearts. The first thing I did was scour the kill pens to find a mustang in dire need, with foot or medical issues, that we could save. We found Henry. There is no better way to respectfully honor the loss of a mustang than to help another in their name.

Henry’s eyes were swollen shut and he was extremely lame on one of his hind legs. His feet are so messed up. He appears to have an abscess at the top of one hoof. He’s going to need some corrective trimming and plenty of rehab. He seems like a good old boy, so gentle and willing. At some point, he must have been in a good home or ridden. His life obviously took a terrible turn for him to end up in a kill pen so neglected.

While he was in quarantine, we found a lovely 24-year-old mare to accompany Henry on the road to Malibu. Sunflower’s family discarded her in a kill pen in Oklahoma when she could no longer be used for riding. They have so much in common. Well-trained, sweet horses who were betrayed by the humans they served. As soon as Sunflower loaded into the trailer, Henry settled down.

When they arrived, the couple checked in to private accommodations with ocean view in the 5 star quarantine at our first ranch in Malibu. Henry has an arthritic knee, long, bent, and clubby feet, along with a divet in his flesh that tells of trauma. It appears he may have impaled himself on a T-post, which is why they should all be capped. He is showing some food aggression, which is common for horses, who have known hunger, never knowing when the next meal is coming.

Henry’s story will always be linked to an old mare I never met or stroked, but I love her dearly. As well as to one that joined him on his Skydog journey, where I have the pleasure of loving on them both. Once they’re cleared, they’ll move into Skydog senior assisted living at the second. Their retirement will be every bit as kind, gentle, and beautiful as they are. That’s a promise, Henry. 

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.