Cinder - Holiday

This is Cinder, branded Mustang mare saved from a kill pen on September 14, 2016 planning her day here at the sanctuary. As you can see in the photo this girl doesn't mind playing in the dirt.



Her personality has started to shine through and what a little spitfire she has become. On the flip side she also has a soft, sweet disposition especially with her barn buddy, Abby, and yours truly.


My treasures do indeed gleam in the sun and neigh in the dark.




(c)2016 Linda Sullivan - Simpson
Grey Oaks Equine Sanctuary
All Rights Reserved

Cinder (Part II)

Later that evening I was sent the most heart wrenching photographs of a very small Mustang mare clinging to life for all she was worth. She was not only beaten up it looked like she had either been drug or fallen in a trailer, she had skin literally falling off her legs. I was told that even after all she'd been through she was a loving, gentle little girl, although depressed and defeated.

I named her Cinder, meaning ' from ashes or little ashes.'

When the vet was able to come out and examine Cinder we received a surprise, Cinder was most probably in the flood at Baton Rouge, is why her skin was sloughing off her legs from the filthy water she was forced to stand in. Vet also aged her at about twenty five years old, yet the Coggins from the kill pen put her birth date down as 1980 which would make her thirty five years old. The truth most probably lies somewhere in between.

Cinder is too congested and fragile to make the trip to me this week, we are hoping she will be stronger next week so I can start spoiling her. She loves her hay but won't eat grain. She either was never fed grain or she just hasn't the taste for it, either way she will always have food in front of her.

She is more alert and whinnies when she sees Ashley. She received a medicated bath, antibiotics and lots of good old fashioned care and love. She fell asleep while being brushed her first night safe, possibly the first night in a very, very long time.

Friday morning, September 23, 2016 I messaged Ashley to check on Cinder and found out she is starting to eat a little bit of grain, is even more alert and her coat is starting to have a hint of a shine to it. Needless to say I was overjoyed! My little Cinder would enjoy the rest of her life after all. I was also informed she was ready for travel and would be arriving either Tuesday or Wednesday!

My trailer is ready, they will transport her to my vet for evaluation, I will then take her home to the comfort she always deserved.

(c)2016 Grey Oaks Equine Sanctuary
All Rights Reserved

The Story of Earth, Wind, & Fire

 

The Story of Earth, Wind, and Fire by Paula Drake 8.14.2016   Several years ago my animal rescue work led me down a new path. I met 3 branded American mustangs in 2007 as a result of a cruelty/neglect case in Kentucky. The Risner family of Cynthiana lived on a dirt poor farm where they thought they would “make a good living” breeding horses for sale. WRONG. They did nothing for the horses - just stuck them in a field, thinking they would get enough sustenance off the overgrazed hillsides. They bought at auctions - buying the low-enders in bad shape and they bought BLM (Bureau of Land Management) branded mustangs because they were cheap and the Risners believed since they needed even less than “regular horses” to survive. The neighbors finally convinced the state troopers to investigate. The horse non-profit with which I was involved at the time got involved as well. What was found on the property were piles of bones and horses in various stages of decomposition, as well as a sickly herd of survivors. The worst part of this crime was that though the local authorities had known about this for some time, they had chosen to do nothing. That’s Kentucky for you! Most people don’t know that Kentucky is ranked as one of the worst states regarding laws protecting the welfare of animals, especially horses. The non-profit gained possession of 5 mustangs. I was able to find them temporary pasture nearby where they would spend the fall and winter on a farmer’s cut alfalfa fields that were due to be reseeded the next year. 3 of the 5 were the only survivors of the Risner’s direct purchases from the BLM. We were told the other two were mustangs as well, but they were unbranded. We guessed they were offspring of branded mustangs. Those two were able to be handled and the farmer asked to keep them. The 3 branded mares had had enough of people and were very wary and aloof, especially the dark bay mare. I named her Fire. I named the red clay sorrel Earth and my favorite became Wind. I worked through the winter to find them a mustang sanctuary that would take all three since they were so bonded. I really wanted to take Wind, but Fire seemed particularly attached to her and I wanted to minimize her stress and make for an easy transition. I was particularly excited when the Black Hills Sanctuary told me they made room for them and a spring haul was planned. We fundraised for the vetting and hauling costs while unbeknownst to me, a man running a “new sanctuary” contacted the non-profit and convinced them that his sanctuary would be a better place for the mares. I was not told of the switch until the last minute. NOTHING felt right about this, but I was outvoted on the decision. I said my goodbyes to the mares and prayed they would have a good life at “Three Strikes Ranch”, a sanctuary “devoted” to branded BLM horses who had gone through the BLM auction process multiple times and had not been adopted: thus the term “Three Strikes”. This man also solicited mustangs needing homes, charging the owners a one time fee for "a lifetime of care and beautiful pastures". I asked about them regularly and the non-profit’s contact assured me they were fine. THEN, one bleak day, the horse sites on the internet were ablaze with the news of “scores of dead mustangs found on Nebraska ranch”. Yes, it was Three Strikes Ranch. To make a very long story short, the next couple weeks were hell as I worked to locate the three mares after the 220 survivors were moved to the local fairgrounds and catalogued. Former owners were asked to identify and prove ownership in order to remove their formerly owned mustangs. With the AWESOME help of Front Range Equine Rescue, I located the three mares, was able to secure the right to claim and move them, with the consent of the non-profit. I now owned three wild mustangs who wanted no part of humans. Again I was tempted to take Wind, but again, Fire’s attachment to her ruled. Lisa, my friend and owner of the boarding barn where my horses currently reside, always says, when there is a need, the Lord will provide. Just let it happen. HE DID. I found Eric Moltzan, an awesome rancher/hauler in Iowa who was ready and able to go to Nebraska to pick up three unhandle-able wild horses. I found an AWESOME sanctuary in Oklahoma with mustang credentials (thoroughly checked out by me) who had room for all three. Off they went to Linda of Grey Oaks Farm. Even though the con man swore he would never breed the mares, all three were pregnant. Fire sadly aborted her baby boy enroute to Oklahoma. Wind produced a healthy filly we named Breeze and Earth foaled a colt we named Sky. Little did any of us know three mustangs would become 5 almost overnight. Now years later, Wind, Breeze, and Sky are still with Linda, living a simple quiet life at Grey Oaks. Fire and Earth had peaceful ends with Linda, both having lived very long lives despite the cruel hands dealt them by man - first being removed from the range by the BLM, then at the hands of the Risners, and then at the hands of Three Strikes' Jason Meduna. I am so grateful they found love and care for their final chapter and a life as close to being free on the range as Linda and I could give them. Sky gave everyone a surprise. Before Linda had him gelded, he sneaked a rendezvous with Wind and they produced a baby boy Linda named Rain. I am forever grateful to Linda for stepping up, to the Iowa rancher for being willing to haul them, and to Front Range Equine Rescue for making it all happen!

Creation Of The Mustang

         The Creation of the Mustang

By Janet Hickman

When the Lord was creating mustangs, he was into his sixth day of overtime,

An angel appeared and said, “You fiddling around on this one”

The Lord asked, “Have you read the description on this horse?”

A mustang must be able to trot for miles a day with the herd or carrying a rider that a domestic horse could never hold up to.

They have to be able to move at a nanosecond’s notice and not think twice of the danger their lives are in from predators.

They have to be able to eat sagebrush and scrub grass and stay in top physical condition at all times, 

they must be surefooted for the terrain they are to live in, and have wings on their hooves to outrun the cougar.

The angel sadly shook her head “Wings on their hooves…. No way”

“Its not the wings giving me the problems” Replied the Lord “It’s the three pairs of eyes a mustang must have”

“That’s on the standard model?” The angel asked.

The Lord nodded. “One pair that sees what is ahead of the herd and where they are going to drink next. 

Another pair here in the side of their head to see their herd members and keep them safe.  

And another pair of eyes in back so they can look for predators waiting to jump on them from behind.”

“Lord” said the angel, touching his sleeve. “Rest and work on this tomorrow.”

“I can’t” said the Lord, “I already have a model that can carry a 200 lb person over 20 miles a day, 

and will be ready to do it again the next day.”

The angel circled the model of the Mustang very slowly, “Can it think?”

“You bet,” said the Lord. “It can tell you where danger lies in the trail ahead, and can recall hidden water holes in their sleep.  

And all the while they have to keep their wits about themselves.  

This Mustang also has phenomenal sense of caring, so they can be gentled by the person they pick to make their own. 

And still they rarely get the recognition for what they can do from anyone, other than a fellow mustang lover.

Finally, the angel ran her finger across the cheek of the Mustang.

“There’s a leak” she pronounced.

“Lord, it’s a tear.”

“What’s the tear for?” asked the angel.

“It’s a tear from the bottled-up emotions for fallen mustangs.  

A tear for commitment to their chosen person.  

It’s a tear for all the pain and suffering they have encountered at the hands of mankind. 

 It’s a tear for their forgiveness for the suffering and cruelty of man.

And it’s a tear for their commitment to caring for and loving their humans!”  Said the Lord.

“What a wonderful feature Lord, you’re a genius” said the angel.

The Lord looked somber and said “I didn’t put it there.