As you all know, the Virginia Range rescue of the 41 Mustangs went perfectly!
All were saved.
And, hopefully, there are talks to have the gov’t send the estray horses directly to the neighboring Rescues instead of sending them to the feedlot. We will see how that goes… but, if successful, this would be a huge endeavor but the best for the horses.
Anyway, today I wanted to bring you two stories…
The first is a ‘bonus’ of this Rescue. You see, there was an extra ‘sad pony’ that the group who were at the sale to buy the 41 Virginia Range horses could not leave behind. They bid on her and bought her, too.
They thought she was an older Shetland that had been released out into the wild and was gathered with the Virginia Range horses.
Well…
RAMBLES!
It turns out that the ‘older pony’ is actually a coming 2 year-old Virginia Range wild horse, too!
Amazing!
OK, here is the story:
The first photo is Rambles the Shetland, being escorted off of the feedlot into the safety of the rescue trailers after her purchase. At this point, everyone still thought she was a Shetland.

Rambles at the feedlot being moved into the Rescue trailer after she was purchased.
Then… someone’s wheels started to turn…
This horse’s blaze looked familiar. Hmmmmmmm.
One of the Rescuers pored over her photos and found these!!
Rambles wasn’t a Shetland… she was a filly born to the Virginia Range in April 2011!!

Here she is with her dam in April 2011!

Another pic of her as a filly

In the herd, lower right

The last photo of her on the range
This filly is safe and being cared for individually tonight. She is safe and comfy (being spoiled).
The woman who recognized Rambles gave this information:
Last year her dam was found dead with two broken front legs, apparently suffering some kind of accident out on the range. Rambles was not seen since then and it was presumed she had died – until she was picked up in very poor condition.??Rambles has turned out to be very friendly and somewhat needy. She is going to need special care and we may have an experienced rescuer who may take her in and who could afford veterinary expenses if she needs work on her legs. More will be posted shortly.??It was great that Hidden Valley decided to also pick up this “sad little pony” as it turned out to be a 42nd Virginia Range horse. How’s that for an ironic twist?
THE STAGECOACH 8 COME HOME!!!
The Horse and Man Group raised all the money to bail these 8 horses in early December. The townspeople of StageCoach garnered the land, built the fence and bought the hay – and we did one of those small acts of kindness that elevated their spirits to another level!
You can read their story here.
Anyway, the StageCoach 8 were part of the Virginia Range save of 41 – except these 8 had an immediate forever home!
The Rescuers were telling me that the horses were fairly easy to load from the feedlot (even though the weather was foul…).
But the big news was as the trailer reached their new old home, the horses became anxious and excited! They whinnied and called as soon as they knew where they were!
Releasing them was easy! They were very familiar with their new (old) digs and settled right in! The youngsters took dust baths and played. They all ate and drank instantly!
Warms the heart, eh?
Click this link to read the story and see some pics.
WONDERFUL!
And even more good news… there was donated money left over after the sale (Yay!) and the kind people actually asked me if it would be OK to geld the colts and buy a stock tank with the funds.
“Of course,” I said!
Win-Win.

After their release onto their old stomping ground, the horses relax… The townspeople of StageCoach secured the land and built a fence to house their precious band of wild ones.
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
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Rambles doesn’t even come close to looking like a pony. She looks just like what she is.