A beautiful wild horse has been rescued from experiments, and spotted for the first time since 2018.
The horse is now living comfortably, experiment-free, at a ranch. What makes this story truly unique is the one-of-a-kind markings on this remarkable horse.
They're not nearly as common as they were in decades past — population booms and widespread development have shrunk their habitable land — but groups of them can still be found.
Someone from the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC) spotted four mustangs near the high desert of Burns. One of the horses had incredible markings along the side of her body.
"As [the horse] moved, the white markings of the horse moved with her, complete with a portion of white mane flying," AWHC communications director Grace Kuhn told The Dodo. "It was something so beautiful and remarkable."
According to the AWHC and Montgomery Creek Ranch Mustangs (MCR), these horses have been victimized by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). MCR writes that the mustang, Cirrus, was set to be used in surgical sterilization experiments.
The AWHC states that the BLM uses helicopters to "brutally stampede, capture, and remove wild horses and burros by the thousands from Western public lands," before stockpiling them in holding facilities.
Cirrus is now in the good hands of the people at Montgomery Creek Ranch, a wild horse sanctuary in Northern California. By all accounts, it sounds like this beautiful horse is enjoying life at the sanctuary.
“While she, of course, has an opinion and gets a little ‘snorty’ when something happens that she doesn’t like, she is measured, careful and even a little curious,” MCR cofounder Ellie Phipps Price said.
Of course, Cirrus is still a wild horse and doesn't want too much human contact. But the ranch is able to facilitate this kind of life for wild horses, so her life seems secure.
