January 13th

1.12.22, he was eying a mare/filly pair that he just might win over!

Poppy was born in March of 2014, he will be 8 this March. His dam is Posey, who most of you know as Coyote’s mom, so Coyote and Poppy are half brothers.

And yes Poppy’s sire is Shadowfax. Posey was in Shadowfax’s band for 2 years before she and Poppy got “stolen” by Maverick’s band and then again stolen by Nugget’s band, where Posey still is today (with Coyote.) Because both of his parents are grey, if he would have offspring, they would likely be greys.

When Poppy lived in the Butcher Jones area, he was shot with buckshot in several different places on his body. He still bears the scars today. He was just a year old and had a very hard time with awful deep holes on his right hip and shoulder and hind legs. Today if a horse was shot, we would probably help the horse, but back then we were not authorized to do anything. They were terribly cruel injuries, but luckily he survived. We can post pictures if anyone is interested, but they are very graphic.

If Poppy stays in the safe zone, he has a great future. Unlike many other herds in the country where it’s just a guess if they will be rounded up and removed, Poppy’s freedom is protected, and his humane treatment guaranteed. He can roam anywhere he wants on the 20.000 acres where he has a legal right to live. (As long as he doesn’t cross the road to the dangerzone).

This arrangement for their continued freedom is only possible because of the Intergovernmental agreement between the Forest Service and the AZDA and the contract we have with the AZDA for the humane management of the horses.

It is a little bit complicated because we deal with guidelines and rules from both the federal government and state government, but for horse advocates who follow other herds around the country, we do not have to tell you how very rare our arrangement is.

The AZDA is a hands-on partner and the Forest Service has spent a lot of money on keeping the Salt River wild horses safe from the road and is working on solving this last challenge we are having. The Governor’s office is still involved as well, and we just want to state how thankful we are.

Because so many agencies are working together, the Salt River wild horses will be here for future Arizonans and all Americans to come..Thank the AZDA, the Forest Service and Governor Ducey and come visit our beautiful spectacular Tonto National Forest, where the wild horses still roam free.

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