By RTF Team | Project Leader
As we've told you previously, in 2017 RTF rescued 117 members of the historic Gila Herd from a troubled sanctuary to keep them from an imminent auction at which they most likely would have been sold to a killer buyer and sent to a horrific slaughter.
When the horses were rescued from that unfortunate situation, Return to Freedom and The Black Hills Sanctuary stepped up to help Fleet of Angels with this effort and pledged to share the responsibility of providing sanctuary for the Spanish Gila herd, in an effort to maintain their bonded families and unique heritage.
Due to the declining health of the founder of The Black Hills Sanctuary, they were unable to receive the horses in 2017-2019. The entire herd has been protected and managed by RTF over the last few years on 1000 acres of leased pasture, and you have helped to make that happen.
Last summer the herd sorted themselves quite naturally into two large herds and 64 were relocated to a private ranch managed by RTF and the remaining 45 horses remained on the 1000 acres of leased pasture.
After the sad passing of Dayton Hyde, the founder of Black Hills Sanctuary, their director Susan Watt is now able to receive the horses. We are thrilled for the horses that Black Hills Sanctuary is now ready to welcome them to their permanent sanctuary.
On June 13, the RTF team traveled to Alturas, CA and spent the week preparing the 45 Gilas that remained on leased pasture for their final journey to Black Hills.
In Alturas 39 horses were prepared for transport. Forest Service staff came to help on their day off, bringing water and Jute fencing to help funnel the horses. It took 3 three days to catch them and once we were able to create the funnel we were able to get the herd into the corral area. The portable corrals were set up and our new hydraulic squeeze chute was utilized. Dr. Nicole Eller came to draw blood and look over the horses for their Health Certificates. All horses were wormed and then transported to the Dreamcatcher sanctuary nearby, where they are enjoying a 200-acre pasture while awaiting transport to South Dakota.
Six of the horses were brought to RTF’s Lompoc facility. Three are stallions who will be gelded, and one is an older stallion who will remain in Lompoc with a handful of other Gilas that live in our special needs /senior pasture.
After they recover from their gelding, two of the mature stallions, along with a mare and her soon to be 2-month old filly, will travel in separate compartments to The Black Hills Sanctuary and rejoin their herd who will arrive there ahead of them. One of the stallions we brought to Lompoc is a 3-year-old colt who will be gentled and available for adoption with a buddy to a safe, qualified home.
We will miss our Gila friends, who were always destined to leave us, but we are happy that they will never be moved again and will enjoy the protection offered by our colleagues in the Black Hills. Return to Freedom continues to manage a conservation program with the now 66 Gilas still under RTF's care in Northern CA and a dozen of their counterparts who remain with us in our Lompoc and San Luis Obispo sanctuary.
In addition, we are grateful to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for taking some of the young Gila colts to be gentled and adopted from their facility in Kanab, Utah.
Thank you for your help caring for the Gilas, and we hope you will continue to follow their lives and be an important part of them.
All of us at RTF
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