 This is a very difficult update to write. Just this morning I received a phone call that we lost two more horses. (Not we specifically, but everyone who loves our wild horses). This morning a mare and her foal were struck by a car on the highway in NV. The mare died on impact, but the baby lay suffering with a horribly broken leg until it could be humanely euthanized.
The reason I bring this to everyone's attention is this. Everyone wants to blame the government for rounding up the horses, but anyone who feeds the wild horses are responsible as well. Obviously this does not apply to folks who are part of official programs who are designated to help care for the wild horses and have authority to do so. (For the record, I do not agree with what is happening to our wild horses whatsoever, but we need to stop giving them more reasons to do more roundups.) However, every time there is an accident involving our beloved wild horses on the highway, it opens the doors and causes more horses to be rounded up. People need to take responsibility. DO NOT EVER FEED ANY WILDLIFE! There have been so many accidents, many involving loss of human life as well as the lives of the horses, and a HUGE PERCENTAGE of these accidents are due to folks feeding the wild horses. Not only is it illegal, but you are killing our wild horses. In prior years, before the recent epidemic of folks thinking it is "cool" to get close to and feed or pet wild horses, there were fewer incidents. But EVERY TIME you feed or pet a wild horse, you are teaching it that not only are humans safe, BUT THEIR VEHICLES ARE AS WELL. You are teaching them that vehicles mean food, and they don't understand that they mean horrific pain and death. If you are feeding the wild horses, you are taking their natural "life saving" fear away from them, and in the end you are causing their death or at the very least the "excuse" or need for them to be rounded up. I know that folks are not hurting the horses on purpose, but the fact is the damage is being done, and the mare and her beautiful little baby paid the ultimate price for thinking they were safe around cars. Then the circle comes back to situations like ours, where we are responsible for too many horses and have to fund raise to keep them out of the slaughter pipelines due to more and more being rounded up. We are grateful to the folks who have donated so we can get ready for the upcoming baby season. Unfortunately we are still in dire straights as far as the board and feed for the 42+ wild horses. We need serious help with them, and we need to find them their forever homes. (This is why sanctuaries should not be breeding indiscriminately, or at all for that matter, although there are one or two sanctuaries who are actually adding to the scientific studies - but these are where there is absolutely No human interference whatsoever.) Like everyone out there has experienced, the truck needed more repairs than initially were expected, but we simply have to have a safe vehicle to safely pull the trailer needed to save these horses. Another issue we had to face was weather. Due to the inclement weather and large amounts of mud, we were unable to round up the horses that were supposed to go to Colorado. In the meantime, that rescue stepped up for some emergency cases so we are in a holding pattern waiting to hear if we can still place horses at that facility. Many folks don't realize that it is not like with a domestic horse. You can't simply lead them through the mud and into the trailer. You have to be able to get the trucks and trailers "to the horses", and then it cannot be slippery or you will end up with injured horses. Even with the lowest energy possible, when you are rounding up or moving wild ones, they tend to move very quickly. If you try doing so when conditions are too slippery, you will end up with broken legs or other serious injuries and we simply cannot risk it. We are short about $3500 for the month of March for the wild ones in NV, and there is little to no money in the kitty for the expected emergency trips to pick up the little ones. My biggest prayer is to find homes for the 42+ horses we are helping take care of in NV, and that somehow the roundups will stop. But as long as there are people in this world, the feeding will continue, the highway "horses vs. vehicle" incidents will continue and so will the roundups. My heart is heavy and at the same time I am so very grateful for all of you who do whatever you can to save these lives. Whether it is donations, prayers or sharing the dire straights these horses are in, we so appreciate you. If you want to help You can go to You caring - https://www.youcaring.com/let-em-run-foundation-for-55-wild-horses-orphaned-foals-415297 to help us save these horses. You can go to Paypal - [email protected] or go to our website www.chillypepper.org if you would like to help these horses. You can donate via check at Chilly Pepper - Miracle Mustang, 34694 Sidebottom Rd., Shingletown, CA 96088 530 474-5197 If you are interested in visiting or adopting one of these beautiful horses.
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