From Starving to Safe — DaVinci Has Found His Forever Home! - Salt River Wild Horse Management Group

October 5, 2025 In UPDATES

From Starving to Safe — DaVinci Has Found His Forever Home!

Just a few months ago, a heartbreaking photo was texted to our hotline — a lone paint horse, abandoned in the forest, starving and scared.We knew immediately he wasn’t one of the Salt River wild horses, but we also knew he needed us. Our volunteers jumped into action. They found him starving, confused and ready to get out of the desert — and brought him to the SRWHMG Headquarters and safety.

Once at SRWHMG, he began the long journey of recovery: gaining weight, medical treatment, learning to trust again, and showing us the gentle, intelligent soul beneath the hardship. We asked for your help in naming him, and you chose the perfect one: DaVinci, for his painterly coat and beautiful spirit.

Today, we are overjoyed to share that DaVinci has found his forever home at The Hangry Donkey Sanctuary (www.thehangrydonkey.com )— a small, loving haven where every animal is truly cherished. When Simone spoke with Rose from the sanctuary, she instantly saw in DaVinci what we all did — a survivor with a kind heart.

After visits and heartfelt discussions, The Hangry Donkey offered DaVinci a permanent home. When he arrived, he was warmly greeted by curious new friends (including a little “mini-me”).

We want to take a moment to thank our amazing SRWHMG Care Team for their giving hearts and daily dedication. Their compassion and hard work make it possible for horses like DaVinci to heal, trust, and thrive.

We are deeply grateful to The Hangry Donkey Sanctuary for opening their hearts, and to every one of you who supported DaVinci’s rescue, care, and recovery.

YOU gave DaVinci the second chance he deserved — and now, a safe, happy forever home. Thank you. 💖

Welcome home, DaVinci. You’ll always be part of the SRWHMG family. #SRWHMG

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Salt River Wild Horse Management Group

Salt River Wild Horse Management Group2 days ago

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Salt River Wild Horse Management Group

Salt River Wild Horse Management Group3 days ago

📰 IMPORTANT UPDATE ON DISEASE OUTBREAK, SALT RIVER HERD (NO EHV1)
🫶 We know everyone is deeply concerned about the Salt River wild horses, and we want to thank you for caring. Our teams are out in the field every day, working tirelessly, while our app team is busy transfering pictures directly to our lists and our app. This ensures that if anything happens to a horse, we'll know it's last position and condition. We are collecting important information, but unfortunately, beyond monitoring, there is nothing we can do to ease their suffering, they are wild horses after all—the disease just has to run its course.

🎥 This video is of this morning of poor Emmy, daughter of Tilly and Biff, to show you what the first symptoms look like. You can tell she feels miserable by her low energy (lethargy), her ears down, her painful eyes, and the drooling and moving of her lips.

The two recent deaths—dear Red Wind and Tyrus—were confirmed with VSV, but they were NEGATIVE for EHV-1, which is very good news. While VSV may have made things worse for our two departed horses, it was not necessarily their cause of death. We do not have our full necropsy results back yet.

⚠️ Unfortunately as of this morning, VSV has now also reached the hills, or Northern Mountain Quadrant (NMQ) of their habitat. Because of proximity, we advise especially Goldfield Ranch horse owners to use plenty of fly spray at home and continue to follow the closure order for horseback riding. Your cooperation truly helps protect the herd and your own horses.

💛 However, we are encouraged to report that the first affected horses at the river are already greatly improving!

🦠 Below are some quick facts about VSV (confirmed in SRH) versus EHV-1 (NOT detected or confirmed in SRH):
• VSV: Causes painful mouth, tongue, lips, teeth, sheath and sometimes hoof blisters/separation. They can feel absolutely miserable from it, but it is generally not life-threatening, and it does not cause lifelong infection. VSV has been confirmed in Salt River wild horses.
• EHV-1: A contagious respiratory and reproductive herpesvirus that can sometimes become neurologic. It spreads through respiratory droplets and becomes latent for life, and can be fatal, but it has NOT been detected or confirmed in the Salt River wild horses.

🫶 We sincerely appreciate everyone sharing our updates—please click share and recognize our hard work. ⚠️ Some pages consistently use our content failing to acknowledge where they learned it from, or spreading misinformation that we did not post. SRWHMG works tirelessly to protect and humanely manage the Salt River wild horses, coordinating care and veterinary support, handling operations and logistics—all without government grants, which is not easy. Please share our posts directly or provide credit to SRWHMG—after all, it is a fact that no one would have Salt River wild horses to observe or talk about, without our many years of dedicated and costly efforts.

Thank you for your support!
SRWHMG.

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