Mustang Sanctuary
CLOSED 9/3/2021
In November of 2004, Indiana Horse Rescue began taking in small groups of wild mustangs which totaled 63 wild mustangs (over a period of time) from a rescue situation in Santa Yeezy Valley, California where Slick Gardner had accumulated over 500 mustangs allowing them to continue breeding and then ran out of funds and they were all slowly starving. We were just one of many rescues across the nation who stepped up and took several loads of these wild mustangs. We took in many and adopted out most. There were a few that had just “had it” with humans. One in particular was named “Jiggs” While many could have been trained with the correct methods we didn’t have the funds or the trainer to send them to at the time. So we decided to let them continue to live out their lives in as natural a setting as possible. Jiggs never did fully trust anyone, the first time I ever touched him was the day he died. We are now housing just 2 mustang mares that are great to look at and learn from, but they are not for adoption. They are well fed and they keep their hooves trimmed naturally (Thank God for that) and we are able to deworm them by giving them a treat of grain with extra molasses and the de-wormer in it. We need funds to help to feed these two girls. They don’t eat much, but still require care. They have pasture and shelter and water and mineral and appear to be quite happy and content in their environment. Do you want to come visit the mustangs – call ahead to see what the ground conditions are as we have to go through some mud to see them sometimes. They are not available to pet, groom or give them treats. We update their photos usually twice a year but I will be posting some recent pictures soon! Sadie and Kira can be sponsored at any time.
5/19/17 We all know how hard it is to lose a horse, well Thursday a volunteer was mowing grass. Saw all the mustangs grazing in the pasture as she went up the hill. She mowed the top and was coming down only to see one of our wild mustangs gone. Ariel was in her mid 20’s – 30’s we estimate, and thanks to you she had been with us since prior to 2004 – over 14 years. You allowed her to remain her wild self, let her be free and made sure she was always fed, watered and had shelter. Your donations allow us to feed and care for the remaining 3 wild mustangs in our care. So Thank You! Thank you from Sadie and Kira, and all the horses that we continue to care for and hope to be able to continue with your support!
Sept 3, 2021 I got a call – Come to the barn, Jiggs is down. I was out the door and to the barn. Before I got to his area, he was gone. I checked to made sure, so many loved this boy from a distance. He was regal, never knew he was gelded, and guarded his herd till his last breathe. He is now free, totally free.
We let Kira and Sadie take their time mourning their friend. But horses don’t hang on like humans do, in the wild things are different. I believe it was sometime in December that we put Milo (a BLM Mustang) out with the two girls to see how things would go. All was good. We have put different horses with them and they have integrated fine, but we decided since they are older, to just leave the 3 mustangs to themselves. We know Milo is close to 20, estimate Sadie close to 30 and have no clue on Kira. They have earned peace and they are doing just fine for now. Should we need to rearrange horses, we know they will do just fine.
5/20/2022
We no longer take in wild mustangs, as there are other groups that are able to do that. We are selling the current farm to downsize our rescue due lack of donations and ability to find dependable volunteers. We are not closing, just downsizing! Our hearts will always be in rescuing horses.
