Bear the Alpine Gelding's Story:
Bear has one of the most heart wrenching stories of ALL the Alpine Wild Horses! Bear has lost his family band not once, not twice, but THREE times.
When the round ups were announced & began in October 2022, there was a shooting where 48 Alpine Wild Horses were brutally massacred, and Bear lost most of his family. Of course he gathered a new family, by joining up several of the members of other bands who lost many of their family members, but again tradgedy struck and his whole new family was caught in the trap. Bear jumped out, regaining his freedom, but losing his family for the second time. Bear once again gathered a new family from remnants of those Alpine Wild Horses lucky enough to evade the trapsite, but then again they were all caught. This time Bear stayed with hi family, but was ultimately separated from them and each member was individually put through the infamous Rail Lazy H Auction.
Many Alpine Wild Horse Advocates contacted us along this journey to see if we could pull him from the auction, but absolutely NO ONE in our group of rescues, advocates, or outside individuals were approved to bid in the Rail Lazy H auction due to one heinous reason or another. We watched painfully as the auction ended with no bids, and every single horse went back to Rail Lazy H owner, Jackie Hughes. It was decided that the horses from this auction would be used for a training competition followed by an auction. A mere month later, his spirit being broken and his body ridden, he was showcased by his trainer at Camp Verde.
No auction followed the competition as promised, even though multiple Alpine Wild Horse Advocates were present and ready to purchase Bear following the show. He was lost once again, and his future seemed to be the most grim....
In December 2023 we were able to save one of Bear's original mares, Swan, and his last foal, Birdie, from another one of Rail Lazy H's auction's! After the auction, we learned that we actually already had Swan & Bear's yearling, Flamingo, at our sanctuary from a previous group of various Alpine Wild Horses that were rejected last minute by the sanctuary they were supposed to go to. Immediately, we were motivated to find Bear and reunite this portion of their family!
Through our partner Salt River Wild Horse Management Group and a lucky spotting of an online sale ad, Bear was FOUND! We were able to pull off a Christmas Miracle for this family that has been torn apart, separated, and subjected to the madness of contractor Rail Lazy H and various trainers, for MONTHS.
They are all three now reunited at Nirvana! Bear is the most gentle father and he is never more than a few feet from his little girl Birdie! Their affection is incredible to see.
Bear is healing from his trauma of being "trained" and is very curious about humans. When I sit with them he comes over, hands his head and droops his lip, taking a peaceful nap in my presence. This is the first step to realizing no human will ever again harm him or touch him in a way he does not want!
Since coming to Nirvana, we have reunited THREE of Bear's mares with him! He is the most loving & caring band leader we have ever seen. He and his daughter Birdie remain extremely close and bonded. Solstice, a young Alpine mare from Chargers family band, has also joined Bear's family!
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The Alpine Wild Horses of the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest have one of the most harrowing stories of all time.
Historians confirm that accounts of the presence of horses have been made in the Alpine Herd’s homeland since Francisco Vasquez de Coronado’s expedition through the area in search of the Seven Cities of Gold in the 1540’s! These horses are remnants of the Spanish horses brought along on the expedition. Many of them carry heavy primitive markings, characteristic of old Spanish breeds!
In 2022 the US Forest Service, who manage wild horses living in National Parks, deemed that the Alpine Wild Horse Herd was further endangering an endangered ground mouse, and declared their complete removal.
Shortly after the removal announcement, there was a mass shooting where over 50 Alpines were shot dead in the forest. Several horses that now call Nirvana home watched in terror as they lost their families, including brave Guardian, who took in two orphaned babies after the shooting- one of which had been shot in the jaw and survived for many months afterwards. Several other hoses survived with injuries, wondering why they fell prey to such a madman. The people responsible were never caught, but it is easy to see that it was likely local ranchers who graze their cattle on the very same public lands where the Alpine Wild Horses lived wild and free. It was interesting that the cattle were still allowed to graze the area regardless of the endangered mouse….
The round ups officially began in late 2022 and the horrors the Alpines experienced only continued. Though we are grateful these removals were conducted via bait and trap instead of treacherous helicopter round ups, there was lots of suspicious activity and volunteers would often find horses dead with broken legs and bullet holes dumped not far from the trapsite. It was apparent that lots was going horribly wrong as the horses were pushed in the corral or into the trailers that came periodically to empty the traps and take the horses to the Rail Lazy H facility, resulting in broken legs and lots of suffering, with the gunshots that were meant to provide a faster end, often missing vital organs and resulting in more suffering.
By 2025, nearly all of the Alpines had been removed. Visitors to the forest have had a hard time finding any horses, and the last one seen was wondering alone, calling out trying to find any other horses he could join up with.
We are so grateful to be home to so many of these special, historic horses- providing them a future that otherwise would have been stolen from them!
