Australia! Shoot them with DARTS, not BULLETS!
Can anyone imagine any of our cherished wild horses being gunned down, shot and killed from helicopters? What panic and suffering will ensue among these absolutely kind and loving animals. THIS is what our Australian friends are going through, and we want to help them. The Barmah Brumbie Preservation Group, Murray Willaton, came all the ...
Happy Mother’s Day!
"Thank you mom, for protecting me so fiercely, for showing me your wise ways, and for always putting my interests above your own." Wild horse mothers are called "dams" and they are among the animal kingdom's best and most doting mothers, along with primates and elephants. It is why wild horse herds thrive almost anywhere ...
Happy Birthday, Peanut!
Today is Peanut's first birthday!! Remember when we were frantically searching for his mother in the forest? Sadly we never found who she was, but we try to give our rescues a happy life, as close as possible to what they would have had in the wild; a real wild horse family. He is living ...
Cut Fences Cause Band of Horses on Hwy.
Constant public interference jeopardizes Mick's band. The USFS, AZDA and SRWHMG need your help. There has been a lot of interference in the humane management of the Salt River wild horses lately. The breaking of gates, the pushing of horses, the interfering with an ongoing project, placing water in dangerous areas and the cutting of ...
Rescued by the MCSO Lake Patrol Mounted Unit!
The MCSO Lake Patrol Mounted Unit rescued Judy today, who is a friend of the group. Judy is 80 years old and became separated from her daughter in the forest, and the two could not find each other. With rising temperatures the mounted unit located Judy and rode her on a horse out of the ...
Forest Fire Contained @ Tonto National Forest
UPDATE from Forest Service: As of 6:00 pm, the Wala Fire is 100% contained, and the finale acreage is 6.2 acres. The Wala Fire was reported at 2:15 pm, and was located just east of FS Roads 11 and 143 in the Four Peaks Recreation Area. The Wala Fire remains under investigation. No structures were ...
Mick’s Band Relocation
Last night, the Arizona Department of Agriculture, AZDA, successfully relocated Mick's band from the Butcher Jones area to the riverside of their habitat. This was something we had been attempting for a while, through the tunnels, but we were unsuccessful, because of public interference. We feel this move is in the best interest of this ...
SRWHMG gallery: healing in wild horses.
Images may be disturbing to some. All horses in gallery have recovered 100%. Our contract with the AZDA for the humane management of the Salt River wild horses, includes the monitoring of wild horses with injuries. In any herd of wild animals there is a natural injury and death rate, which is much higher than ...
Accusations from… horse advocates??
We were once so proud of horse advocates. Horse advocates, they stuck together for one common goal, but right now, we are ashamed, and we have to tell you why. As most everyone knows, we are humanely managing an incredibly cherished and popular herd of wild horses in the Tonto National Forest. Not one of ...
Tonto National Forest fire, 3 year anniversary
3 years ago today, Forest Service firefighters saved the Tonto National Forest. Between April 25th and April 30th of 2017, 825 acres of wild horse habitat burned down, and it was frightening. Below are some of the pictures we took. Ashes were falling on the horses, and on us, while we monitored and worked with ...
Happy National Volunteer Week!
National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to recognize the impact of volunteer service and celebrate that the power of volunteers can transform the world in many ways. Right now during this corona virus crisis, there are many volunteers at work in all corners of the world whom we want to thank. Likewise we want to ...
Earth Day Campfire Ban
Tomorrow on Earth day, April 22nd, a campfire ban will go into effect earlier than normal in all 6 national Forests, including the Tonto National Forest where the Salt River wild horses roam. Forest Fires are a constant worry for us during fire season. Great decision by the Forest Service. For more info, click this ...
Wild Snake Viewing Guidelines
For your safety and theirs, please keep a 50 ft distance at all times, even if they come your way! (pun intended) Please do note, we have seen a LOT of rattlers out right now, be careful, they are harder to spot than wild horses, and they don't politely get out of your way like ...
An episode out of: “As the River Flows”
Last month we told you about the sad end of King's band, after King's lieutenant stallion Gandalf was found dead. After we searched for all of Kings mares, we let you know that they were all accounted for, but in different places, and they were each with different young stallions. After 15 years of being ...
Happy 75,000 Likes!
We were looking at celebrating our 75,000 milestone on our Facebook page, and noticed our recent stats which are pretty amazing! We want to thank YOU for your undying support, because without it, the Salt River wild horses would be nowhere. We want YOU to know that your "like" is not just an insignificant little ...
Kindness & how we name our horses
This is a follow up on our previous post. We decided to name him Kindness at the popular advice of our supporters, and also as kind of a sign of the times. We hope that we can all keep Kindness in mind at all times. Q and A: So why do we give wild horses ...
Have you ever seen something so peaceful?
The hard battle for their preservation, the ongoing struggle for their humane management, navigating through drought and strangles, coping with habitat reductions and dealing with drama and misinformation; it is very tough and it truly never ends, but it is all worth it. As you can see here, Arizona is preserving an incredibly beautiful and ...
Best Complaint Ever!
We received a complaint yesterday- it was serious; someone was very upset and explained that last year at this time, he got lots of pics of babies... and this year, he could not find even one. BEST COMPLIMENT EVER! 🥳 Last year, on this exact day, we had 25 foals on the ground - this ...
Today, this April 7th, is Arizona Gives day!
At this difficult time we plead with you 🙏, please do not forget about the Salt River wild horses and our important rescue program. Even now our rescues at our facility need to eat and our work needs to continue, because these horses count on us. 💶 Our programs do not get funded by anyone ...
Survival Mode
Survival. We are all in survival mode. Wild horses are always in survival mode so we can learn a lot from them. During this difficult time of donations we, as an organization, also have to survive. We really appreciate all of our loyal donors and we appreciate all photographers who give a percentage of their ...
Happy 4th Birthday, Pacman!
Watch the transformation! That's what humane management is all about. Happy Birthday Pacman!! (4 years old today!) Here are 10 ways YOU can help. At this difficult time we plead with you, please do not forget about the Salt River wild horses, and our important rescue program! Our rescues at our facility need to eat ...
Protect burros, protect yourself!
Diverting a little bit from our regular programming we want to see if our supporters would like to protect Arizona burros as well as Arizona wild horses. Today, in the spirit of April fools day, plus Coronavirus, plus burros, we made a humorous and relevant image that we hope you will share. Also, today is ...
Please support our cause.
The Salt River wild horses need your help and this April 7th it is Arizona Gives day! We are hoping that you won't forget about these Arizona treasures, during these difficult times for everyone. 🐴 In 2015 we saved the Salt River wild horses and offered better solutions as an alternative; we promised that we ...
Spring’s Story
This little horse may look like just a brown horse to anybody, but this Salt River wild horse has a story. Her name is Spring, and she is alive today because of humane wild horse management. She was less than 2 weeks old when she became separated and very far lost from her band. At ...
Program Highlight: Fertility Control
What we do for the Salt River wild horses and why we need your support In 2015, we saved the Salt River wild horses by "stampeding" Congress and the Forest Service while also offering solutions as an alternative; we promised that we could manage wild horses humanely, for the public and by the public. We ...
To all who believe in humane wild horse management, we love you
To all who believe in humane wild horse management, to all who can see clearly through the meanest of mudslinging elsewhere, and to all who take time out of their lives, time and time again, to give these sensitive, innocent, and beautiful wild horses a voice... we love you. While we were at the house ...
Open letter to Rep Kelly Townsend
At a hearing before the Land & Agriculture Committee you committed to amend your bill, HB 2858, to address the concerns that it would prohibit necessary, life-saving management activities for the Salt River wild horses. On March 9, you posted a press release informing the public that you were putting your bill on hold (while ...
Anti-Salt River Wild Horse Bill Advancing DESPITE Covid-19 LIMITS ON PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Committee Hearing is today, Monday March 16th 1 pm. From the safety of your homes, please take action online TODAY to stop this attack on the beloved Salt River wild horses. What You Can Do: Please send emails to the rules committee members, here are their addresses. After that please also post on their social ...
Herd News: Band falls apart after lieutenant stallion dies.
Good or bad, we bring you news about the Salt River wild horses, this time the news is sad. After a note to our fb page from a concerned citizen about a carcass in a remote area, our volunteers went out to search. They crossed the Salt River and hiked all afternoon until they found ...
Over 2 million views, have you seen it?
This is a beautiful and really close look into the bonding process of mom and brand new foal, and the rest of the band. It is the reason why we ask to give wild horses a respectful space. View the video on The Dodo Site's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thedodosite/videos/194870035156699 She was born on April 11th, 2019 ...
The spread and END of a Strangles outbreak in the Salt River herd
ALL CLEAR! A Strangles (Streptococcus Equi) outbreak started in July of 2019, which was discovered and confirmed in August 2019. It has affected a total of 49 Salt River wild horses, mostly the very young and the very old. We monitored each new case closely and quickly established that each new case healed in an ...
Fun Fact: A wild horse’s winter coat
The Salt River wild horses, even the babies, are perfectly equipped to deal with a rainstorm. This is one of the few foals we will see this year. We don't get a lot of rain but when cold weather does strike, you’ll probably notice the horse’s coats “standing up,” and making them look fuzzier, softer, ...
Drama; Woman pursues band of horses all afternoon
Drama; Woman pursues band of horses all afternoon, to hinder SRWHMG. Like we talked about in our previous post, we have a fringe group of "non fans". Sadly, they will not hear of reason and they manage to twist and turn everything we do for the horses, into a bad thing. It has gone from ...
Public record from the Forest Supervisor
Public record: This is a letter from Forest Supervisor Neil Bosworth about the current AZDA/SRWHMG project to bring Mick's band through the tunnel to the "safe side"; the legal Salt River horse habitat. This is NOT a plot by the Forest Service to get rid of any horses. There is no roundup planned of any ...
Lots of horses in one spot?
Lots and lots of Salt River wild horses. Have you ever noticed that on some days you find not a wild horse, and on some days it seems like you have hit the wild horse jackpot? That is because wild horses find safety and familiarity in numbers. They each have their distinct family bands, but ...
The “Safe Side”
This is an explanation of the current project on the border of the Sunflower allotment and the Salt River horse habitat. ***Please do not push, disturb or harass the horses that we are trying to get to safety.*** The Sunflower allotment is partially active and partially in non-active status. The allotment has a boundary with ...
Getting by with a little help from his friends
Bachelors, single guys, moved out of Mom and Dad's house, but haven't started their own families yet. They like to hang out, play jokes on each other and just generally have a good time. Sound similar to people at all? But they also take care of their own. See the littlest horse? He sustained a ...
Happy B-Day, Rosco & the Rescue Program!
Today is Rosco's 4th birthday and the anniversary of our Rescue Program. The significance of today is that 4 years ago, we did not have much. At that time we were about 15 people with big dreams of treating wild horses humanely and of course a determined leader. Today, our organization has grown to over ...
National Horse Protection Day
Today is national horse protection day. Protecting wild horses is a constant challenge, especially lately. We understand keeping wild horses off the roads, however, we have huge concern with the new cattleguards. We have expressed in writing, (all last year during a collaborative process), how important it would be to have horse-safe cattleguards in an ...
Doing the humane thing. Is it really up for debate?
What does the word "wild" mean, is it synonymous with "just let them suffer"? Do the critics have the same to say of some other local rescues like Southwest Wildlife who rescue any and all wildlife, or Liberty Wildlife who rescue birds? Does the rescue of one, make the rest of them any less wild? ...
Update! Bill HB2858 Loses Co-Sponsor
Good news! The bill that blocks humane management of Salt River wild horses, lost its co-sponsor. Rep. Kelly Townsend refused to add an amendment to her bill (HB2858) yesterday, offered by the only co-sponsor of the bill, Rep. Jay Lawrence. Following a committee hearing, Rep. Jay Lawrence, asked her to amend the bill to clarify ...
Kelly Townsend Has Sponsored a bad Bill: HB 2858
🚨ALARM: The sponsor of the original Salt River Horse Act, Rep. Kelly Townsend, has sponsored a bad bill, HB 2858, which would amend and potentially undermine the original Salt River Horse Act by limiting humane management. The bill as written will block life-saving measures that are sometimes necessary to sustain the health and well-being of ...
BREAKING: Fertility control is working!
Holding our horses. The Salt River wild horses are protected by the State of Arizona from killing, slaughter and harassment, but contrary to what most people think, the same bill does not actually protect them from roundup and removal, or habitat reductions. That is why we ask for your support all the time; we are ...
Born free on Valentine’s Day
Born free. How's this for an amazing Valentine's day story!? A local Frt McDowell (FMD) reservation member finds a wet newborn foal on the side of frt McDowell rd and Magyoda drive early this morning, Valentines day 2020. The gentleman, (we want to try to find out his name), does the right thing and calls ...
It’s been a long road on Bush Hwy.
It's been a long road. Before 2016 on Bush Hwy there was no sign that warned people that horses existed in this area. Wild horses could get onto the road just about anywhere, and the fences had not been maintained by anyone in 20 years, there was even question about who's fence it was in ...
2019 SRWHMG Herd Health Report
At the current time the Salt River herd is in excellent condition with body scores of predominantly 4's. Our supplemental feed program has greatly contributed to the overall herd health since the drought of 2018 when the health of the entire herd was in jeopardy. Forage conditions The year of 2019 started with good forage ...
![[ALERT] We are the target of a vicious defamation campaign.](https://saltriverwildhorsemanagementgroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/logo_circle_white-360x224.jpg){kind=logo}
[ALERT] We are the target of a vicious defamation campaign.
[Feb. 4th, 2020] Alert: We need your support. We are the target of a vicious defamation campaign. We have not responded to it so far, because we need to stay focused on our important job of protecting and humanely managing the Salt River wild horses, plus we have a policy of ignoring all negativity. The ...
An open letter to those who litter…
Dear litterer, So you came to the Tonto National Forest, maybe you stopped at a circle K to buy some sodas and a few beers. You had a great time, maybe with some friends, and you were able to forget about your worries and leave some of your troubles behind. It was getting late and ...
900 bike riders rally for the horses!
Protecting the protected Salt River wild horses. Wow, NINE HUNDRED riders (sign-ins) were in the Tonto National Forest to rally behind us and stand up for the Salt River wild horses today! Riders agreed- the river fence is ugly, it's terrible for wild horses, and we don't need it! The ride went off without a ...
Lancelot’s Legacy
What made Lancelot a rare horse was not only his character, but also his flat grey color like no other horse on the river. We called it groan, a combination of a grey and a roan. His sire was Bouncer, a light orange roan and very stocky horse, who disappeared in 2016. His dam (mother) ...
In Memory of Lancelot
We very much regret to have to tell you awful news. This afternoon, we found the much loved, gorgeous lead stallion Lancelot, deceased. We are absolutely distressed and have no idea what could have happened to him. He was a healthy, young and powerful lead stallion; they usually don't just turn up dead. We saw ...
Meetings at Tonto National Forest
NOTICE: Want to help? View our action plans here! [January 17th] We had some meetings at the Tonto National Forest yesterday. The first was about the draft Tonto plan and the second about the metal riverfence. We have some clarification on the gate/fence that will go across the river. It will not be barbed wire, ...
We want to be “HERD”.
NOTICE: Want to help? View our action plans here! Some of the news pieces are confusing and make it seem like we oppose all fencing. Luckily most of you know that we have been maintaining the fencing for years and have accomplished the many MCDOT safety improvements and are now crossing wild horses safely at ...
ACTION REQUIRED: Forest Service is fencing the lower Salt River!!
FOREST SERVICE IS FENCING THE LOWER SALT RIVER. MANAGEMENT GROUP WARNS PUBLIC OF DETRIMENTAL IMPACTS; SALT RIVER WILD HORSES TO LOSE HABITAT TUBERS/KAYAKERS TO BE HINDERED BY RIVER CROSS FENCE What You Can Do To Help We are declaring the week of Jan. 13th “Salt River Wild Horse Week” #SaveSaltRiverHorses please take one action a ...
In Memory of Prince
Rosy, Peanut and Prince, our rescued orphans, are the best of buddies and they play all day long. However, accidents can happen; either Rosy or Peanut, who are a little bit older, must have placed an unfortunate kick at Prince (although we did not see the exact moment it happened) and Prince has a severely ...