Help Care for the Rescued Gila Herd

Dear Friend of the Gila Herd,

The Gila herd, which Return To Freedom rescued in 2017 from a troubled living situation, are still substantially with us these five years later. What we thought to be a brief stay has turned into a permanent home, and that's fine with us. Taking them in greatly increased our expenses, and we've only been able to serve them with the help of many kind people who love, value and respect them as we do—including you.

The Gilas who are at RTF headquarters in Lompoc, CA, are there for more specialized care. As horses kept at our satellite locations age and acquire special needs, we bring them in closer to us to keep a closer eye on them.  

The Lompoc Gilas—

Thor and Company—Thor is 22. Always calm, no matter what is happening around him, he has been an invaluable educator to two young stallions, Cole and Little Ears.  

Cole, six, is a shy, stunning coal grulla stallion of the Spanish Iberian type. He and Little Ears have grown up together. They are short but strong, and remind us of the horses on the Mongolian Steppes!

Little Ears, six, is a bay dun stallion, dominant and very competitive with other males. He patrols his fence lines and burns a lot of energy.

The “Special Needs Three"—

Isabella is 12. In 2016/17, Isabella was one of 903 horses impounded by the state of South Dakota. She was extremely undernourished and struggling to survive in the heavy winter. She was nursed to health by a volunteer and then sent to RTF’s sanctuary in Lompoc. She continued to have problems gaining and maintaining weight and suffered from chronic ulcers and diarrhea. 

She. along with Aragon and Watcher, were kept together in a large corral area for special feed and care. But after a few years of diligent special care by RTF’s equine team, Isabella, Watcher and Aragon were released into a pasture with seniors and other special needs horses.

Aragon is six. Before she was even a year old, this filly nearly died. Freezing in the South Dakota winter, undernourished, her tail was frozen solid. During rescue efforts, she was scheduled to be euthanized, but a devoted volunteer took her to Arizona and nursed her back to health. Aragon is beautiful, friendly and loves attention. She is now living happily in the hills at RTF’s Lompoc sanctuary with her friends, Watcher and Isabella!

Watcher was also rescued by RTF with over 116 other Gila horses in 2017. He was gelded and later taken to RTF’s sanctuary in Lompoc, CA for special care. He suffered from chronic diarrhea and had a hard time keeping on weight. Extremely alert and beautiful, Watcher assimilated well with Aragon and Isabella, and now sticks close to them.

The really great news is that all three have maintained their health, and are now out in the rolling hills with the front-hill herd!

As well as the Gilas at our headquarters in Lompoc, CA, the 62 herd members who had been boarded at a satellite ranch in Northern California, cared for by our Ranch Manager, Jason, were recently moved to another boarding facility up north. They continue to do well there, thanks to our friends at Dreamcatcher Sanctuary, who have allowed them to be housed on their rangeland. 

Looking ahead, there are a few very senior Gilas in the herd who may drop pounds this winter, so we are adding alfalfa hay to their feeding program to keep them at a good weight.

Speaking of hay, this is a particularly challenging time—hay prices have exploded in the past year by 41%, and to make things worse, it's even harder to find. There is more competition globally than before, so we are challenged more than ever. As in all negotiating, having the money in hand to bargain gets us the best deal possible. We really need and appreciate your help to meet these skyrocketing costs! You can't know how much your generosity is appreciated and needed, especially now.  RTF does many things to help horses, but feeding them is #1!

Thank you for sticking with the deserving Gila Herd—they lost so much, but thanks to caring people like you, we have been able to give them a happy life in spite of how human needs and politics have taken away their original home.

To the Wild Ones, and those who stand with them—

All of Us at RTF

Links:

• Visit the RTF Website

Dear Friend of the Gilas,

As someone who has helped care for the Gila herd, rescued by RTF in 2017, you are a permanent part of their herd history, and the reason they had somewhere to go when they lost their previous sanctuary home in 2017.

At present, there are 11 Gilas at our headquarters in Lompoc, CA. Four are here because they were not doing well in the larger herd, two are younger stallions and five were younger colts brought down to Lompoc for gentling and adoption-—Bandit, Nathani, Casey, Jaden and Seven are waiting for their forever safe homes. The 62 herd members who had been boarded at a satellite ranch in Northern California, where they had been cared for by our Ranch Manager, Jason, were recently moved for now to another boarding facility up north.

Although RTF uses a non-hormonal and reversible birth control regimen to keep our sanctuary population stable, a few mares prove to be non-responsive, and so there is the occasional beautiful foal who joins us. When these foals are no longer as dependent on their mothers, some of the friendly ones undergo some gentling and training to make them candidates for careful adoption. 

One of RTF's part time trainers, Thomas Smittle (Native Horseman), worked with five Gila boys consistently for a few weeks to this end, and they learned a lot very quickly. Haltering, tying, leading, picking up feet, and learning about saddle pads and ropes will allow them to interact safely with their eventual new guardians. They are far from trained, but they are on their way. 

As we just mentioned, we are pioneers in a form of birth control which does not change herd behavior and which obviates the necessity of most gelding to control the size of our horse population. 

Here is a short recent report from our RTF Biologist, Celeste—

"The 62 Gilas spent the winter in Northern California, in the sagebrush hills of a ranch south of Alturas. It was a mild winter, but snow did fall and the herd seemed to enjoy playing and rolling in patches of snow.  A week ago, I ventured to the ranch to administer an immuno-contraceptive vaccine to the mares (PZP), and to check in with the ranchers overseeing the day to day care of the horses.

"We started the work day with updates about the herd and which pastures they could utilize as the winter snows melt away and portions of the ranch difficult to access during winter become available again.  The horses had been brought down off the hill pasture to an area near the barn.  A happy crew of local ranchers helped me quietly move the horses through narrowing alleyways and into a livestock chute for thorough examinations and safe hand-injection of the vaccine...  

"The Gilas’ coats were fuzzy, but I expect soon they will be slick and shiny.  Everyone was energetic, alert, and had a healthy weight.  Some of the young colts were beginning to get a bit rowdy out in the pasture, playing and (play)"fighting" with one another, then chasing one another through the mares and older stallions.  A few of the foals from years ago, perfectly proportioned when they were born, were leggy and awkward looking.  They'll begin to fill out and mature this summer.

"After the horses had made their way through the chute, we let them stay in a large paddock with hay on the ground so that we could slowly walk through everyone and make certain all was well.  Some of the older stallions are showing their age, moving a bit slower than they used to, or choosing to stay out of a fracas, but all in all, the herd looks as they always do: vibrant and strong and together. "

This is good news, and more evidence of the excellent care we've been able to provide to this rescued herd, thanks to supporters like you.  We never expected the Gilas to remain in our family permanently, but we guess it was meant to be, and we're not sorry. What might have been a burden without so many caring people chipping in has instead been a rewarding experience for all of us, our sanctuary visitors and, of course, the Gilas themselves.

To the Wild Ones, and those who stand by them,

All of Us at RTF

Links:

• RTF Websie