Hello and Happy Monday to everyone!

We hope you enjoyed your weekend!

Today’s blog is coming from a place of me feeling very disheartened, confused and also a little annoyed if I am being honest. 

We did it!  We saved a herd of wild horses.  I don’t know how many other advocates can claim this accomplishment without having to go to litigation.  We did.  It wasn’t easy.  It was highly stressful, and I know we are all exhausted.  I get it.

We can’t stop now.  If we do, we truly will waste all of the progress we have made over the last two years. 

Everyone seems to understand that we need to keep moving forward.  What I don’t understand is how we can’t seem to get donations to match the enthusiasm of both saving the herd and the desire to move forward with permanent protection for this herd. 

Meanwhile, other people and organizations have managed to raise over $40,000 to help place horses that DID lose their homes.  I am not in any way saying that there is anything wrong with that.  Those horses lost their freedom and do need a new home.  It is good to have that kind of help behind that effort.  The TRNP wild horses DID NOT lose their freedom.  They did not lose their homes, but it will take at least $40,000 to get them the federal protection they deserve.  The federal protection everyone wants them to have.  Why can’t the effort to keep horses in their homes match the efforts to find new homes for horses that lost their freedom?

And then there are all of the organizations claiming to have saved the TRNP herd asking for donations that do not benefit Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates, you know – the people DOING the actual work to save this herd.  This is why we always say be sure to ask how the money from your donation is being used.

I also have only heard back from one organization that I emailed almost 2 weeks ago asking for help to get federal protection for this herd.  The organization that did answer will bring the discussion on if they can help with the financial aspects of federal protection for this herd to their board.  The others, big and small, have not even acknowledged my email or let me know who I need to contact. 

Maybe this is as far as the fight goes. 

Like I said, I feel very disheartened, confused and annoyed.

I am doing my part.  I have written a grant proposal.  I am talking to people to firm it up and then will be looking for places to send that as well.  Please understand, most grants will take months to come through.   

I am in contact with Senator Hoeven’s office about this and other management concerns about the TRNP wild horses.  I am also in contact with our state legislators about what we can do next at a state level to help protect these horses. 

I can’t do this alone.  Donations have basically become nonexistent since the announcement came that the Park abandoned their Livestock Management Plan.  Thank you to those of you who have donated whatever you could to help get federal protection for these horses.  It is truly appreciated. 

The last couple of years have been extremely stressful.  There is so much more to all of this than I can discuss openly in a blog.  There has not been a day in the last 2 years that I have personally not done something to work toward saving this herd.  I have no problem continuing to work hard for this herd, but I can’t do it without your help and support.

I won’t continue to move forward with the stress and worry about if we will have the donations to match the actions everyone wants to see. 

Understand, if we walk away from this now, WHEN the park comes back and tries to take the horses, the fight will go back to square one and all of the momentum we have gained over the last 2 years will have been lost. 

None of us can guarantee that we will be here when “next time” comes to fight for this herd. 

I have always been open and honest with all of you.  And these are my raw and honest thoughts on where things are to move forward to really save this herd.  If we are moving forward, the time to do that is now. 

There are a couple of ways you can make a donation.  Just about any way that people have requested to donate is listed on our website: https://chwha.org/support-chwha/  I always say you can donate now by clicking here: https://secure.everyaction.com/FbY2_tNxQU6Ehc9K2RsjZw2 because this is the platform that charges us the least amount to collect donations.  They also do not take a month, like some other platforms do, to get the money to us.  We also have a T-shirt fundraiser underway.  You can place your order through May 16^th here: https://savetrnphorses.itemorder.com/shop/home/ We also have a beautiful print donated to us by Linda Wagner that every $10 donation you make to Chasing Horses Wild Horse Advocates gets you entered into a drawing to win. You can learn more and see the beautiful print on her website here: https://www.lindawagnerart.com/chasing-wild-horses-giveaway

Donations can also be mailed to us at:
CHWHA
P.O. Box 3562
Dickinson, ND 58602

I have to make decisions on if we are moving forward and in what capacity that will be.  The answers to those questions are directly tied to donations we receive.  There are over 100,000 people who follow us specifically across all of our social media platforms.  Can you imagine just $1 from even a quarter of you? 

Donations don’t have to be large to be impactful!  $5 donations from many people can help make a difference to our continued fight.  For most people, that would mean giving up your Starbucks for just one day this week. Also, if anyone is well versed in grant writing or knows of anyone we should contact to send our grant letter, please email us at info@chwha.org.

Thank you again to everyone who has helped in any way that you can. 

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