The OLS Horse Herd

Since opening our sanctuary, we’ve been lucky enough to develop a wonderful herd of horses. Horses are social, and happiest when part of a herd.

Stormy

Stormy was a wild mustang under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) until she was two years old. She was then captured from the wild, broken, and sold to be ridden. She eventually developed osteoarthritis and her person also started having some health and financial issues, so they couldn’t ride her, keep her, or sell her (because she couldn’t pass the lameness test.) Stormy has a brand (“freeze mark”) on the left side of her neck, which is a sign that she was a BLM wild horse. She is very shy around strangers, but feels very comfortable with her horse friends. She is slowly learning to trust us. We are so glad we are able to return her to wild roots as much as possible.

Approximate Birthdate: 6/5/05

Arrived Home: 4/5/22

Strawberry

Strawberry was purchased by people who wanted to ride her and then couldn't afford to keep her anymore. She went to Serra Equine Rescue, who was looking for a new home for her. We had recently said goodbye to two of our senior horses due to medical issues, and that left Stormy without any horse friends. Even though our lovely cows made her an honorary member of their herd, it was clear that Stormy longed for the companionship of horses. That’s when we heard about Strawberry, who is close to Stormy’s age and bonds well with other horses. After a couple minutes of deciding who would be the boss, the two became best friends and are inseparable now. Strawberry is very gentle and loves human affection and being brushed. She has been helping Stormy come out of her shell too!

Approximate Birthdate: 12/3/08

Arrived Home: 12/3/22

Monte & Wizard

One of our sanctuary supporters had a dream of rescuing a horse. We let her know we had room in our herd after the passing of our senior boy, Stanley. She came back to us with a proposition, a bonded pair, and we thought that was a great idea! Wizard and Monte lost their first home because Monte can no longer be riddendue to a ligament issue. The second home then realized it was more expensive than he expected to have horses and wanted to find them another home together. However, many people wanted to adopt Wizard, because he is a mini-horse, but wanted to leave Monte behind. A rescue group stepped in to help make sure they found a good home together. Wizard definitely didn’t want to leave his best friend and protector behind. We are so happy that we have room to let them live out the rest of their lives together in peace. Monte quickly established leadership in the herd, but Wizard also proved that he is a small but mighty force, and could end up being the herd leader.

Wizard’s Birthdate: 3/10/04

Monte’s Approximate Birthdate: 3/10/03

Arrived Home: 1/28/23

Monte

Wizard

Magnus’s Rehabilitation

We rescued Magnus from a terrible situation of neglect and isolation. He was kept in a basement type barn with no windows, attention or exercise. He was severely underweight, had muscle wasting and pressure sores. He was traumatized when he arrived at the sanctuary and stayed close to our barn as a safety net, despite having access to 120 acres of land. He was also displaying a cribbing behavior where he would repeatedly bite on a metal bar. He must have developed that habit out of boredom when he was neglected. We took him on many walks to expand his horizons and encourage him to join the herd. Our other horses spent a lot of time by the barn so he would feel comfortable with them. Little by little, he started joining the other horses on their adventures. After about 2 1/2 months, he was grazing the property with the other horses full time. He eventually took over as herd leader and became a little too bossy and aggressive with humans, so he went to another sanctuary that put him in a foster home where he could get more one on one training. We miss him but are glad we got to play a part in his recovery.