Hello and Happy Monday!

It’s been a while since we checked in with you!

How are you doing?

Things on Planet Earth have been (insert your favorite adjective here)!

The news is nonstop and it seems like there is always something new happening EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!

It can get quite overwhelming!

And yet somehow, we start a new day, every day.  We work on finding the balance between moving forward and becoming numb or suffering burn out from riding the same ride every day. 

How do we work to not be consumed by the chaos? That can be a real chore!

We work to contribute to the change we want to see.

I have said before that I struggle with our advocacy for wild horses at this time in our world.  There are so many other things happening that make you wonder where within the hierarchy of issues in our world do wild horses currently fall? 

I read this yesterday and it is part of what prompted this blog today:

“Revolutions are not built in a single viral moment.  They’re built by people who figured out how to sustain themselves through the long arc of change, who kept showing up after the trending hashtag faded, who found their people and stayed connected to them through the noise.”

FINDING YOUR PEOPLE!

What a simple concept!

How do we find our people?

These are the people who feel the same way about an issue as you do.

They are the people who are passionate about the same issue(s) as you are.

They are the people who are angry enough at what they are seeing to DO SOMETHING about it – not just talk about it.

I get emails all the time from advocates asking if our organization is helping this herd or that one as issues continue to come up. 

The honest answer is we are such a small group, there is no way that we can singlehandedly save every wild horse in the world. 

BUT

Over the years we have absolutely found our people!

People who know more about specific herds or are in better positions to help them.  People we can support without having to feel a need to take the lead on the issue. 

We have found so many wonderful people that we know we can count on when we call out for help!

And I would like to believe that they have also found us!

People like Oregon Wild Horse Organization, Wild Horse Education, The Wild Beauty Foundation, American Wild Horse Conservation, The Cloud Foundation, Western Watersheds Project, PEER, The Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, and so many others.  Individuals like Mary Koncel, Frank Kuntz, Scott Beckstead, Linda Greeves, Sandy Sharkey, Jen Britton, Ginger Fedak, Carol Walker, Sandi Sisti and so many others working to make a difference in whatever big and small ways they can!

We are all here, in our “people” group, because we are passionate about wild horses.  As long as the conversation always goes back to how we can work together FOR THE HORSES, I don’t see why any individuals or organizations would be battling each other. 

I also want to remind everyone that our organization started officially in 2021.  I can also tell you that at that time, my knowledge of ANYTHING wild horses was extremely limited!

I asked questions.  I educated myself.  I started building relationships with my state legislators and with the staff and elected officials in my congressional offices.  I worked on building relationships with the press. 

I also started finding “my people”!

I still ask questions.

I still work to educate myself, which includes staying up to date on issues as they come up.

I still work to have relationships with state and federal legislative offices.  Remember, there are frequent staff changes, so it is good to stay in touch!

I still check in with the press from time to time, even if there is no story for them to cover. 

What I personally did, ANYONE can do! 

Start small!  Pick any of the above and take one small step forward. 

Just remember the part of the quote I shared about “sustaining yourself through the long arc of change”

That arc of change can take time.  Pace yourself!  Over the years I have seen us lose many wild horse advocates to burn out!  Take care of yourself first and be sure to take breaks when you need to. Your people will be here waiting when you come back!

And if today you want to just DO SOMETHING, I have two things for your To-Do list:

1 – Contact your members of Congress and ask them to support the SAFE Act!  We made this easy for you in our one-click Call to Action: https://secure.everyaction.com/u03aYtruHUGtS3Tor74EnQ2

I know there has been a lot of talk and disappointment about this not making it into the Farm Bill.  If you listened to our Horse Talk with Astrologer Anne Ortlee, she said this time was about finding new ways to get things done.  This includes looking at a second option to reach our goals, not being so fixated on the ONE WAY we wanted things to be done.  You can watch Anne (and all of our other talks and presentations) on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeyTpwa2Y1yUsTaJ4TU-eNw

2 – Contact your Congressman and ask that they join the Wild Horse Caucus!  We made it easy with another one-click Call to Action for you: https://secure.everyaction.com/uY5xsp3SKEyHSiIt62hDeA2

The bigger ask:  Don’t just DO these one-click Calls to Action – once you complete them, make sure you follow up!  If you don’t already have relationships with the staff in your congressional offices, use these as talking points to start those relationships. 

If you get a form letter response – don’t be afraid to respond to that and ask for clarification!

Our elected officials work for us!  It us our job to let them know the work we want them to do!

Thank you for your continued support and THANK YOU for being part of our group of PEOPLE!

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