December! The last month of 2023…. We DID end the year with a BANG if I do say so myself! In December there were 45 Alpine Wild Horses dumped by Rail Lazy H owner Jackie Hughes herself at the infamous Bowie kill pen in Texas. Immediately after on the following weekend Rail Lazy H hosted an online auction of more Alpine Wild Horses!! This auction was mainly weanlings, with just a few adult horses.
After being unable to help with the large group of Alpine Wild Horses dumped at Bowie, we decided to TAKE ACTION and fundraise for two weanlings in the December Rail Lazy H auction. To no surprise, we were not approved to bid for a host of blasphemous reasons, the real reason being that Jackie of Rail Lazy H gets to decide who bids and who doesn’t and she is tired of the Alpine Wild Horses “being taken advantage of by advocates”. A maddening and insane statement by a person who dropped 45 Alpine Wild Horses off at the most notorious auction filled with kill buyers IN THE UNITED STATES with no concern for their future….
Anyways… we weren’t approved to bid but we continued to fundraise anyways knowing that we often are in contact with many of the bidders. First we ended up securing Birdie, the smallest weanling in the auction—
Then, we learned that this little girl’s momma was also in the auction! Her name was Swan.
We learned that Swan was one of Bear’s mares, a famous Alpine Stallion who captivated many hearts during his life in the wild! Salt River Wild Horse Management Group had been trying to purchase Bear since he appeared in the September Rail Lazy H auction, where NO rescues or sanctuaries were approved to bid so every horse in the auction went right back to Jackie. She decided to have a training competition with the horses, so they all were given to various trainers and trained for a competition in November. At the competition, Bear was defeated, depressed, and emaciated, even though he was being ridden.
All of the flyers for the competition advertised an auction of the horses following the competition, but once Jackie learned that advocates were waiting to purchase Bear she decided on a whim that this event would no longer have an auction afterwards!!! Bear was returned to Jackie yet again and it seemed grim that he would ever be with any other Alpine Wild Horses again or be anything more than a riding horse, prized for his beautiful color and defeated demeanor.
Luckily- Bear was FOUND on an online ad, and quickly Salt River Wild Horse Management Group purchased him so that we could reunite him with his family!!! The fundraiser for this endeavor was an amazing success, gathering the necessary funds to reunite Bear with his Swan and Birdie took only a couple of hours with the help of many Alpine Wild Horse Advocates who loved Bear and wanted to see him HAPPY, HEALTHY, and FREE once again, not dominated by man for his own pleasure.
Just in time for Christmas, Bear, Swan, and Birdie arrived home to Nirvana Mustang Sanctuary. They are one of the CLOSEST families I have ever witnessed. To see them all laying down together, Birdie in the center, napping peacefully in the sunshine is a sight that fills one’s heart with genuine peace…
BEAR AND FAMILY IN THE WILD
BEAR AND FAMILY AT NIRVANA
A HUGE Thank You goes out to everyone who made this possible for this beautiful little family by sponsoring, sharing, donating, or praying! We love our Nirvana Family!