We had to be careful in my previous post about the Unlucky 29 because the horses weren’t loaded and home. We still have to be careful to not say anything derogatory because we are hoping to recover the rest of the band…
In case you missed it, here is the original post about the Unlucky 29 older mustangs from the Twin Peaks gather who were sold to a person in Michigan. That person had hoped to sell these mustangs to people in her area for their breeding programs (sheesh). That didn’t work out… so she had 29 horses that she couldn’t care for properly.
The Mustangs were in small pens and were starving.
Even under these dire conditions, this person was unwilling to release her Mustangs to authorities. Instead, she spread them around Michigan. Some died. Nine were recovered at the time of the last post.
(Since then a few more have been turned over and are awaiting transportation donations to get home.)
NEW HOME
DreamCatcher Sanctuary in California offered to give the entire band (all 29) a forever home on their vast land.
The September Bucket Fund was set up to help collect money to put these unhandled 9 onto a safe transport truck. And, we did it! Enough money was collected in the first few days to guarantee that these 9 would make it to DreamCatcher!
THE PART WE DIDN’T SAY
The part we didn’t speak about before is that we don’t want to slander or say anything bad about anyone here for fear that the people who now have the surviving members of the band will not hand them over – just to be put on the firing line. It is much more important to ask for these horses to be turned over and right the wrong – instead of placing blame.
Besides, these new owners didn’t do the damage…
THE LIST
Here is a list of the surviving 9 who were turned over to authorities.
# 1765 Keeley – red spot appy mare with appy colt
# 1994 no name – buckskin mare – dun colt not coming
# 1981 Jewel – sorrel mare
# 1755 no name – drk grey mare w/black mane – colt not coming
# 2006 chocolate brown pinto mare w/white spot on left side
# 1598 Duke – light dun buckskin gelding
# 1557 Onyx – black gelding star & cropped ear
# 1523 Cortez – black gelding w/4 white socks
THE PROCESS
First the 9 were picked up and brought to foster care. In foster care, they were evaluated and treated. All were given proper nutrition so they could gain weight and strength for the trip back to California.
When these 9 were fit enough, several knowledgeable people had to figure out a way to transport them all safely – in a group.
They chose BOB HUBBARD TRANSPORT who offered a sweet deal at 50% off the normal price. Bob’s vehicle is huge, temperature controlled, has feed and water compartments and is large enough to carry all of them safely, untethered.
The next step was loading them… hauling them and ….
offloading them at the Sanctuary!
A PHOTO DOCUJOURNAL OF THEIR TRIP HOME
AFTER FOSTER CARE AND AWAITING TRANSPORT

This is the same horse from the first photo - after foster care. Note the long feet from not being able to run on the rocky plains of CA. Also note the halter mark on the black one...
PLEASE HELP THE REMAINING FEW ‘UNLUCKY 29’ REJOIN THEIR HERD!
Since these 9 were loaded and released, a few more of the original Unlucky 29 have surfaced.
Since there are only a few, DreamCatcher can hire a much smaller rig to transport them back to CA. Right now, these few are in foster care, plumping up.
Dreamcatcher hopes to wait a bit to see if any more of the Unlucky 29 are given up. In the meantime, we are continuing to collect funds through the Bucket Fund for the final few who remain in Michigan.
ISN’T THIS WONDERFUL END RESULT WORTH IT?! I think so… Thank you for your support and continued well wishes for these Mustangs.
This thermometer is for the few ‘Unlucky 29’ still in Michigan awaiting transport to join their herd in CA.
To watch the thermometer rise, click here.
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
Copyright
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

I’m so happy that these horses were rescued and released again. How sad for the other 20 or so that had to suffer and die. I wish the BLM would re think their situation and protect the wild horses instead of abuse them. I think of the native americans, when I view how we treat these beautiful horses, and how the ranchers just think the land should be used for them.
a huge thanks to Bob Hubbard for transporting these precious horses. I hope the rest can be saved soon. I love the shots of them being released to their new home.
This post made me cry. First at the sad state of the horses…I dont understand how anyone could display such neglect, even if you arent a lover of horses like we are…then at their transformation with a little love and food starting to show their true beauty…then seeing the first mare running off the trailer into freedom. It all makes me so sad and so happy at the same time. Thanks, Dawn, for helping us help horses in need. Thank God for the Bucket Fund!