Bearing Witness

What does it mean to ‘bear’? While there are nuanced meanings to this verb, the first thing that comes to my mind is to hold or carry the weight of something. This could be literal, but for me it elicits more of an emotional feeling of heft or importance, dealing with something difficult in an enduring way. ‘Bearing’ a burden, being able to ‘bear’ a situation, ‘bearing’ of responsibility. All of these examples lead me to what I want to dive deeper into today, which is the act of bearing witness. 

Perhaps you have heard of it, perhaps not, but bearing witness is a very real practice. An undertaking that can invoke a sense of interconnectedness, of perceiving a situation as it truly is, without preconceived beliefs or ideas clouding the experience. It is human nature to see everything through the lens of our conditioned thinking, but when we start to shift to this practice of bearing witness, we suspend the churning of our analytical brain and move to a space of presence and acute awareness of what is happening around us. This bearing takes ability, willingness, and knowledge enough to simply begin.

This of course begs the question: “So?! Why do it? What are the benefits of bearing witness?

On a personal level, it unlocks us from our conditioned ways of thinking and allows us to connect with a place of real, and true empathy. Rather than simply observing the situation, we can become the situation. We allow ourselves to become intimate with whatever it is we are seeing… be it hunger, poverty, disease, or suffering… it invokes a sense of oneness, of direct connection to an ‘other’, a realization that suffering of any kind impacts us all in a real way. On a societal level, it opens our eyes to clearly see the entire web of causes and conditions that exist to create the exact situation you are bearing witness to, and then the hope is, that it motivates us to take effective action to improve the situation. 

I know a lot about the Horse Industry. I have read it all, watched countless videos, followed along as other rescues have gone to auctions and hoarding cases and even illegal slaughterhouses in the middle of Florida. I have talked to people about the realities encountered on the ground and it is tough to hear, watch, and think about even secondhand. And of course, being an empath, I can feel the pain and fear and sadness deep in my heart. But there is nothing like seeing something firsthand. Experiencing a situation in person, in real-time, and in the moment is a truly unique experience, a means to drive home a point in a way only being on-site has the ability to provide. 

In the context of Rescue Ranchito and myself, the practice of bearing witness is to be present, physically and mentally, in an effort to acknowledge something exists, and to what extent it still persists. It is to embrace the suffering we often encounter by way of third party, but instead live it first hand. I believe if I am to truthfully and accurately tell the stories of our Rescue Ranchito Residents, all our future equine intakes, as well as speak to the Horse Industry at large, I need to see what is going on with my own two eyes, feel all of it with my own feet on the ground. This will not be easy, but one of the reasons I started this rescue was because I was called upon to move beyond my comfort zone, to take part in a radical act of shining a light on the truth, experiencing it, and then translating that truth back out to all of you. 

We have all heard the Maya Angelou quote: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” I would imagine that rings true for many of us. I know in our hearts of hearts we all want to lead lives in which we are always striving to be the best versions of ourselves. For our kids, our spouses, our friends. And hopefully on an even grander scale, for others, for our collective consciousness. I believe this to be a vital mindset. To begin to think outside of yourself, to think of the impacts your actions have on the world around you. And so much of that starts with knowing. There is no excuse to ignore any sort of suffering, of turning a blind eye, of pretending it doesn’t affect you. If I can do better, facing the realities of the Horse Industry head-on, perhaps others will be inspired to follow in that path along with me. 

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.”

— Elie Wiesel

The Mustang

Perhaps you have heard the term ‘Mustang’ before? Especially if you have spent any time in the West, the wild horse or Mustang is a bit of a thing of legend. The horses you see, if you’re exceptionally lucky, free-roaming across the states of the American West are descended from equines brought to the Americas by the Spanish. In 1971, the US Congress recognized that “wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West, which continue to contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people.” That’s pretty high praise for some of the most majestic and hardy creatures roaming the landscape of 10 Western States (Oregon, Idaho, Montana California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico). A hundred years ago mustangs drifted freely across these areas with little to no human intervention. Nowadays, there are significant, and some might even hazard to say, aggressive interventions undertaken by the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro Program to limit the mustangs’ movements. 

This BLM program has established Herd Management Areas across the states populated with mustangs. These herds are (supposedly) overseen using sound science-based range management practices. The goal is to ensure there are enough resources, vegetation and water, for wildlife to survive (and hopefully thrive) as well as domesticated livestock such as cows and sheep. BLM land is technically public land, as in all of us taxpayers have a stake in what happens on said terrain, but the BLM leases out huge swaths of this acreage to ranchers to graze their animals and ‘share’ the space with the mustangs as well as other local wildlife, at drastically reduced rates. 

The rub here is that if you have ever seen much of this land it is arid, barren, and desolate. To begin with, the food and water resources are scarce and few and far between. The mustangs have adapted to such conditions, evolution having changed their very DNA to survive on little food, and not much water, and be physically robust enough to walk miles and miles a day on rough terrain. But there is quite literally only so much to go around, the pie only has so many pieces, and these resources are finite. And humans have this nasty habit of consistently valuing commodities that benefit themselves over things that do not. While the mustangs are an enduring symbol of this country’s resilience and tenacity, they also do not provide us (in the US) with food or materials (i.e. beef, wool). 

In turn, when the mustang herds grow in size, and reach levels that the BLM claim are unsustainable for the land, that is when the roundups begin. It is currently legal to use helicopters to forcibly remove Mustang bands from their native lands. Can you even imagine? Even thinking of a helicopter conjures images of war, eliciting worry or even fear in those of us who know what a helicopter is, but what about the horses? These are prey animals that flee when they feel danger is near, and these helicopters never let up, not until the horses are herded into makeshift pens, loaded into trailers, and transported to holding. These roundups are downright dangerous for these animals. Plus the terror of being ripped from your home, separated from your family, your baby… It is cruel. Pure and simple. 

The BLM refers to the pens where the mustangs are held post-roundup as holding facilities, both short and long-term. But let’s call a spade a spade, they are no better than the worst possible prison. These horses go from living freely within their family structures, on lands they have known their whole lives, to dirty, dusty, dingy corrals. I have been to one of these short-term holding facilities and it is nothing short of tragic. The mares separated from their stallions, from their babies, to just waste away themselves all the while eating up taxpayer monies. It costs somewhere in the $50 million dollar range to sustain this program of indefinitely holding mustangs, yet the intangible, negative impacts on each of those animals can hardly be measured in dollars or cents. 

There is so much that needs to be overhauled with the Wild Horse and Burro Program, and that is a fight that desperately has to be had at the policy level. This is especially true with the BLM’s adoption incentive programs. The BLM allows for private individuals to adopt mustangs from short-term holding facilities, paying a nominal fee to take a horse home. The catch is the BLM still ‘owns’ each horse for one year. Yet after those 365 days, the BLM will ‘title’ the Mustang, and then that horse is formally and officially released to their new owner. The hope is that each Mustang has landed in a safe, loving, and forever home. But as you can imagine, that is just not always the case. After that one year, with a titled Mustang in hand, an owner can legally sell a wild horse to an auction house. And that is where many tragically end up…

Because much is never known about these mustangs when they land at auction, they tend to find themselves in the loose portion of the sale. This is the section of the weekend where a horse is flagged into the ring, with no rider, no real information, and bidding begins. The biggest fear being that they end up selling to a kill buyer, worth only their weight, nothing more. Mustangs are never supposed to ship across the border to Mexico or Canada. But they do… 

In terms of Rescue Ranchito, we will always attempt to change the narrative, educate our followers, stand on a soap box, and shout from the rooftops about what is happening to our beloved wild horses, but we will also seek to make a difference, on the ground, for individual mustangs. For these amazing animals that are ripped off their land, or are perhaps even born in holding, we can make a real difference to them. We can save their lives, we can help them heal both physically and mentally, we can set them up for success, and find them forever homes. There is something so so special about these wild spirits, they represent something ethereal, an almost indescribable feeling of freedom and being grounded in the land. They trigger a feeling that all of us can remember if we spend any time around them. Something deep down in our souls that has perhaps been forgotten. I will always hold a special place in my heart for Mustangs. They speak to me on a very real level, this knowing I have that being connected to the land is where I belong, and spending my time with my family is the most important of pastimes. While we can conform and toe a line, our lives are meant to be more feral and fierce our stories rugged and rough, just like the land the mustangs should forever call home. 

We have rescued two mustangs to date: 

Coyote, our first Mustang. He was rounded up at about one year old from a now non-existent Herd Management Area in Northern Nevada called the Seaman HMA. He was born in 2009 so is now right around fifteen years old. We rescued him from the loose sale at the Billings Livestock Auction in Montana. Nothing was known of his past and he would have most certainly ended up shipping to slaughter in Canada. He is a sensitive soul, clearly his past has scarred him. I am grateful to have intercepted what could have been a terrible fate for him. He has changed my life in myriad ways, and he is safe with us at Rescue Ranchito forever. 

Kestrel, our red mare. There is a joke in the horse world that only a certain type of person is attracted to red mare energy, as they are known to be, well… intense! But this girl is just one of the lights of my life. She is young, only 7 years old, and was born in a holding facility in Nevada and her birthday is April 1st! Which is quite fitting for her personality. She is fun and spunky and oh so curious. The thought of her having ended up in different hands or with a story that could have concluded before it even started just about breaks my heart. She is in training now with a wonderful woman back in her homelands of Nevada and is thriving. We sure do miss her, but know she is in great hands and will come back to us fully ready to enter her next chapter!

Monkey: adopted 11/29/2023

Oh my sweetest, most precious, monster man Monkey! I have loved this pony since I first set eyes on him at All Seated in a Barn’s Bakersfield location. We were there to meet Sendero, but couldn’t help but walk the beautiful grounds meeting so many of the faces we had seen Tahlia rescue over the years. Then I saw him… the cutest muppet of a pony I ever did see! I took one look at him (as I do…), and knew this creature was meant to be in my orbit. 

I wasn’t able to commit to taking him on at that point, but I never forgot his face. Over the last year or so I would loosely follow his updates via All Seated in a Barn’s instagram page. Seeing him adopted, then seeing him back. Then seeing him adopted, then seeing him back yet again. After the third adoption fail, I sent Tahlia a message: that pony needs to be with me, he is a misfit and needs to be a part of our herd. Luckily my request was granted, and he found himself on the next transport to Utah. 

Monkey man was dumped at the same Texas auction as Sendero and Kestrel. He had foundered, a painful and debilitating hoof and coffin bone condition, that if not treated immediately can lead to the tragic need to put a horse down due to extreme pain and irreversible damage to the front leg bones (I will do a more in depth, yet beginners, dive into what this is… it is fascinating and can be scary!). He was having the hardest time walking and instead of treating him like a true family member, he was instead discarded at the auction. Tahlia found him in the direct ship pen (see my FAQ’s for more on what that means). My guess is she was just as drawn to him as I was… and thanks to her, Monkey’s life was quite literally saved. 

While he spent almost two years with All Seated in a Barn, and had a few false starts, he has landed in his forever, never-going-to-give-you-up, get-ready-for-the-most-unconditional-love-you-have-ever-experienced home. Our boy loves his humans, but not so much other horses or mules. But, that is what we do here… provide the space for each and every one of our equines to be exactly who they are, no pressure to be anything they’re not. 

*That* is what true safety looks like… and Monkey is nothing if not his own man!

Ernie: adopted 09/26/2023

 Ok so I have a not so secret crush on this mule. Well… I have a love affair with mules in general. Cholla, the mini mule and now Ernie a full-sized mule. What is a mule you may ask?! Check out the FAQ section for more info! But take my word for it… there is nothing NOT to love. They are hardy, yet sweet, stubborn, yet playful. I just cannot get enough. 

When Shaq was heading our way, I asked Barb if she had room for one more. For a built in buddy for Shaq, another life we could help keep safe forever. Barb was up for it, so I asked Tahlia… might you have a mule that needs a good home? I bet you can guess what she said?! ;)

She sent me photos and videos of Ernie and well I am sure you won’t be surprised to know, I fell in love. The ears, the face, his story. They all spoke to me in the way all my creatures stories have felt a part of me. My poor Ernie boy, he was dumped into the direct ship field at the Bowie, Texas auction house. He was tagged and chipped to be sent across the boarder to Mexico. Additionally, and perhaps the reason he ended up where Tahlia found him, he had a large and somewhat odd injury to his back left leg. It looks like perhaps that leg was caught in or wrapped up in barbed wire, but in the end we don’t really know. The back stories of these thrown away equines is almost always a mystery. 

Ernie was rescued over two years ago by All Seated in a Barn. And he waited oh so patiently for the perfect home, perfect situation, perfect life to open up for him… and I am perhaps quite biased, but his wait was not in vein. He is safe, he is cared for, he is with his best friend, and he is unconditionally loved by a whole lot of people. Ernie was also co-rescued with Barb of the Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation, and I will be forever grateful for her willingness to open her heart to her very first mule!!

Our boy is just the definition of handsome. Plus he has the personality to match. He is so attached to his best buddy Shaq, loves carrots and being involved with every little thing you are doing, he has a serious case of FOMO. But we never want to leave him out, not ever again. Ernie mule, we LOVE you!!

Shaq: adopted 09/27/2023

When we say we have a misfit crew here at Rescue Ranchito we mean it! Shaq is a huge, massive… puppy dog! Well more accurately, he is a Percheron. Perhaps you have heard of this breed? It is a type of draft horse, those large horses you see pulling carriages in cities and sleighs during winter, or even out working in agriculture, pulling heavy loads and tilling fields. Luckily we don’t believe Shaq, at only six or seven years old, did any of this hard duty. This exhausting work, day in and day out, can take a massive toll on the bodies of even the biggest draft horse. And the sad reality is once their bodies can no longer work at max capacity, they are replaced. Treated like machinery, not living, breathing beings. 

Shaq was dropped at the Texas auction (same place where Sendero was rescued) by his former owner who could no longer care for him. She had brought him in along with his companion believing that sending them through this auction was a safe bet. Of course, they would find wonderful homes, while she could pocket a few thousand dollars. 

While all horses at these auctions don’t necessarily find themselves in dire straights, like the direct ship pen (see FAQ section for more on this), not every ridable horse ends up with a fairytale ending. While some do, and that is amazing, some end up purchased by traders. Now a trader is a person who attends auctions and bids on horses they believe could fetch a higher dollar at the next auction. So a horse could be purchased at a Texas auction, trailered to another auction in Arizona, flipped to another trader, taken to yet another auction, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. This happened to Cholla. It can lead to such a stressful time for these horses. It can lead to injury and sickness, and of course can end with the horse finding it’s way into not so kind hands when the merry-go-round finally stops. 

That was the fear with Shaq. This gorgeous, ridable Percheron would be ripe for the trader pickings. And then that terrible cycle would have begun again with yet another innocent life. Tahlia just could not stand it, so she bid on Shaq and his friend. They made their way to California to All Seated in a Barn’s headquarters where saw the vet, the farrier, had their teeth checked and were then allowed to relax. Just what they both needed. 

Then one day in October I received a video message from Tahlia. In it she told me she felt compelled to send me her thoughts on Shaq. She felt very strongly that he was meant to be with me. Meant to be a part of my family. She trusted me with this particular soul and who am I to say ‘no’ to such a calling… And, needless to say, not having any experience with a draft horse did not stop me! 

My first call was to my dear friend and fellow equine rescuer Barb Phillips of Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation. The timing couldn’t have been more aligned as she was open to and had room for Shaq (and Ernie too!) at her amazing facility. I am forever grateful for Barb for opening her heart to this big puppy dog. We have begun his under saddle training and we are just so looking forward to seeing him come into his own. He is *living* his life, and we so enjoy having his energy in our orbits. 

Kestrel: adopted 05/23/2023

When you know, you know. This is just how it works with me and rescue animals. It’s a connection I can’t explain, but it drives me to do… well crazy things! It’s just plain and simple how I roll. Kestrel is an undeniably gorgeous mustang from a northern Nevada herd, rounded up, as they do with mustangs nowadays. Standby as I will be doing an entire blog on the situation concerning the American Mustang, trust me, it is not what you think it is… 

It was actually Kestrel’s mother who was rounded up, most likely with the cruel use of helicopters, into a holding pen, pregnant with Kestrel. Our girl was born in captivity, never getting to experience the wild her herd called home before their fate turned bad. She was adopted out, with most likely with the best of intentions to someone who taught her to trust humans, wear a halter, load in a trailer. But not much else.

Most unfortunately, through no fault of her own, she ended up at a Texas auction, a nasty place that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Let us never forget that horses are an industry. Capitalism leaves nothing in its wake. Horses are worth money, and so they are weighed and traded and sold and resold, their fates so scary it keeps me up at night.

But not for her, not for my girl. She was rescued and given a second change at life. Thanks to the wonderful women who spotted her and thought: no, not this one, she won’t be another number in a trailer heading for the boarder.

She is now safe, and stuck with this misfit crew forever. Hopefully she likes us?! How could you not?! I know I’m deeply in love.

Sendero: Adopted 12/ /2021

Sendero, Spanish for ‘path’, is one of the most stoic and introverted horses I have ever met. Perhaps that is his innate personality, maybe it is a function of his life before he made it to us, but either way, we have opened our hearts and our herd to this gentle boy. If you ever want to feel grounded, need a moment of calm and serenity in your day, just being in this horse’s company will do that for you. 

He is also a horse that found his way, by unknown trails, to the direct ship pen at the auction in Texas. His past a total secret. He does have what appears to be an ear notch on his right ear. Those notches are used to mark possession of livestock, to indicate ownership of a cow, pig or apparently a horse. While this may sound strange, horses are still classified as ‘livestock’ (like sheep, pigs, cows, goats), and are in turn granted the same, very limited protections under our legal system. Maybe Sendero was a trail horse, a work horse, a cow herding horse… but whatever he was before, he was thrown away when he was no longer useful to his previous ‘owners’. Worth maybe a couple hundred dollars, based on his weight. 

Casey saw a picture of Sendero online and was immediately drawn to him. We even made a trip to California to meet him, ride him, get to know him. But it was his honest energy, the look in his eyes, his kindness, buried deep down in there somewhere, that made the decision for us. 

It has taken Sendy a long time to settle in, while he was accepted as part of the misfit herd much quicker, he has taken his time to open up to us humans. We never rush any of our equines. They can take whatever time they need to learn to trust. But we believe some of his stoicism is a wall he has up, one that has most likely been erected to protect him from pain. And part of me thinks he might have been through a lot. 

It brings tears to my eyes now, even thinking about that, the thought of anything but beautiful things happening to this wonderful horse is quite unthinkable. But I do see it. His personality emerging, his trust growing and his enduring nature beginning to shine right on through. 

Our love for him only deepens day in and day out. Our herd would be incomplete without him. 

Cholla: adopted 09/02/2021

The man, the myth, the legend! This mini mule has so much personality. Like, SO MUCH personality. He should, in fact, have his own social media account. He is the herd protector, court jester and sweetest love bug.

We first saw is picture, listing minimal information, on the Facebook page for a smaller auction in Southern California. This auction, while modest, does not have the best reputation. And of course, no matter the auction, there will always be people in attendance that perhaps do not have the animals best interests at heart. This was my fear for Cholla. He was ridable, and totally tame, plus he has quite the unique coloring, all the perfect storm for the trained eye of a trader. 

The last thing I wanted for Cholla was to find himself changing hands over and over again. So, as the auction started, I tuned in remotely. When his number was called, I saw him enter the ring being ridden by a full sized man. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was… ridiculous. And while I had every intention of getting that mule, I was even more motivated after seeing that. 

Long story short, I put in my bid, and I won. Cholla boy was now safe, never to be used nor abused again. We did come to find out, after, that we were to be Cholla’s 5th home in his six years of life. The poor guy had in fact changed hands over and over again. But now he is a permanent fixture in our herd, never to be displaced again. 

Oh and in case you are unfamiliar with the Cholla (pronounced: choh-ya), it is a very unique cactus that is native to the Southwestern United States. And it is a long time symbol of both resilience and protection. Both things our amazing boy has is spades. To know him is to fall in love, over and over again. This misfit herd would be incomplete without his presence. And we feel lucky, daily, that he found his way to us.

Coyote: adopted 12/10/2021

It all started with a picture. A photo of Coyote tied up to a fence, looking straight at the camera. The photo was posted on Facebook, his current owner letting the world know that if nobody online wanted him, then he was heading to a livestock auction in Montana. Since not much was known about him, he would been run through the loose sale. Now that portion of the weekend can easily lead to a scary fate for horses. With nothing noted about them, and no one riding them into the ring, it would be a real crap shoot for a random individual to bid on them, making them prime targets for traders and kill pen buyers. But once I saw that snapshot I knew… that horse wasn’t heading anywhere but here, he was meant to be with me. 

Sure it sounds dramatic to say he changed my life, but when something’s true it’s true. I’ve had plenty of people ask me: why Coyote? What made you pick him, in particular? And the answer is simply: I had to. I saw his picture and in that instant I knew I would move mountains to bring him home. Plus, I have always felt a pull, a special connection with that forever symbol of the west, the epitome of freedom and power, the mustang. It’s important to me that we never forget Coyote’s heritage. Once roaming the northern Nevada desert. He was a wild horse rounded up as just a baby. His life a total mystery from then until that day his photo landed on Facebook…

And so began our story. An ever evolving, ever deepening relationship. You know that joke that goes around about adopting / rescuing animals… ‘but who really saved who?’ (FYI a better question has never been asked…) My *very* easy answer? He saved me, and I am forever in his debt. 

Lola: adopted 12/23/2015

Lola was our first foray into the world of equine kill pens. She was posted by a wonderful women who would walk a feed lot in northern Washington State, taking photos of horses, post them to Facebook, trying to help get them out of that dire situation before they were loaded up and shipped across the boarder to Canada. Casey saw her picture and reached out for more information. It turned out Lola had been on that feed lot for close to six months, which is VERY unusual. Horses ship out weekly or at least bi-weekly in most cases. Perhaps it was fate, but Casey paid her bail and got her out of there.

She has spent the last many years with us learning how to be quite the jumper, taught countless young girls how to ride and love a pony, and has shined a light on so many hard truths about the horse industry. 

Lola has been with us for over eight years now. She is our matriarch, she is the one who opened our eyes and hearts to rescued equines, and she forever changed the way we think, interact and represent rescued animals. Our love for Lola runs deep, now and forever.