whiskey

Whiskey is a stunning red dun pinto from the Conger Mountains in Utah. He was rounded up as a yearling and went through several trainers by the time he came to our attention at age 7. Super reactive, he had seriously injured his owner by bolting. Understanding and accepting that this boy could never be domesticated, the owner tried everything to find him a good placement before coming back to us again and again.

I’m reaching out to you in hopes of finding placement for my Mustang Whiskey. Whiskey is a seven-year-old gelding from Conger Mountain Utah HMA. He seemed like he had a decent start. However, he was very fearful and very reactive and had a tendency to bolt. Whiskey was in training for five months before I brought him home. However, he continues to bolt with me. When he’s afraid or put under pressure he becomes a locomotive and cannot be stopped. I have fallen off twice and been injured pretty significantly. I’m hoping that you will consider adding Whiskey to your herd and letting him live out the rest of his life wild and free.

On Giving Tuesday 2021, the donations came in so fast that we were able to welcome Whiskey to Skydog. He started off in Malibu with Gris before the two of them moved up to Oregon and amazed us by how smoothly they integrated back into wild herd. Whiskey runs with band led by Atsa, where he’s bonded with truly wild spirits like Metolius, Rogue, Bo, Bobcat, Pony Boy, and Ariat. He’s smart and his natural instincts are solid. This leads him to the side of a steep, southern-facing slope to graze on all the native bunch grasses his heart and stomach desire. It also reminds him to zigzag down a snowy hill to keep his balance when it’s slippery.

Each year, before we turn the big boys herd out for summer, we check every horse. We want to be sure they don’t have any issues that running on rugged and steep ground would exacerbate. We noticed Whiskey was off at the trot and had also been wearing one hoof down weirdly, as if he was dragging it. So we brought him in, checked him out, and decided to put him in with other boys in need of special hoof care, most of whom have ring bone.

In this enclosure, Whiskey met BonBon and the baby zebras. He found his place with this group just as easily as he had with the wildest boys. Soon he was hanging out with Reno and Rusty and grooming with Charlie and Gabriel. We bring him in any time there are signs of lameness to give his legs a rest and release him when he’s ready to run the hills again. This is working well and he’s happy moving seamlessly between two groups of friends. #skydogwhiskey

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.