Willamina

Willamina was born on May 4th 2014, in a herd of wild Calico mares. Willamina was found alone and abandoned shortly after birth. She may have been rejected by her mother, or stolen and then rejected by another mare in the herd. For her safety and survival, she was then bottle-fed and cared for by Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang for 4 months until she was transported to the sanctuary in Lompoc, California. Willamina is named in honor of William DeMayo – Co-founder of Return to Freedom – as she was born into this world the same morning as Bill DeMayo left this world. Willamina means determined protector. Her feisty spirit has made her a survivor, battling colic, severe infections and abandonment when she was only a few weeks old. She spends her days horsin’ around with her best friend, and fellow orphan foal, Little Blue.

Wild horses in the Calico Mountains Complex of Northwestern Nevada originate from 500 Spanish Barbs that were brought to the region during the 1860’s. Over the years, ranchers allowed saddle, carriage, and draft horse breeds onto the open range, which interbred with the original Spanish Barb stock. Thoroughbred studs and pinto mares were also introduced to the area, to “upgrade” the local wild horses. As a result, today’s Calico horses prove to be a colorful and genetically unique herd. In 2010, the BLM launched one of the largest (and deadliest) wild horse roundups in recent years, and removed 1,922 wild Calico horses from their homeland. Return to Freedom adopted over 100 of these horses, who are now safe and cared for, and live a life as close as we can give them to the one they knew in the wild.

Our Sponsor a Horse program is an automatic monthly donation program. It only takes a moment to sign up and your debit or credit card will be automatically billed each month. You can cancel at any time. Will you help Return to Freedom by sponsoring Willamina?