Six Mustangs - One Forever Home [Guest Post by Erin Phillips]
Front to Back: Pryor mustangs River, Lady Jane, Absarokee, Rain (far right)
My name is Erin Phillips and I’m The Cloud Foundation’s Volunteer Coordinator. You may know me from my story of visiting the Pryors last year, or my recent story about starting my wild horse and burro rescue, Mustang Mission.
In mid summer of 2021, my family and I had the privilege of visiting six mustangs in their forever home. Each of them were born in the Pryor Mountains and were removed from the mountain home they loved, but each of their stories are different and unique. This was our second time visiting the mustangs (and their wonderful owner, TCF Board Member, Lisa Friday!), and we were very excited to be back!
I was especially looking forward to meeting Biloxi, who had been rescued from a livestock auction in Billings. Over the past year, he overcame a lot of fear in relation to humans, and now he is one of the kindest mustangs ever. You can watch his entire story here.
When we arrived, we were met by the official greeter, a beautiful Golden Retriever, Utah. He was eager to meet us and wanted a lot of attention! After saying hello to him, we moved to the barn where the mustangs had been moved for our visit.
First to greet us was the beautiful dun Biloxi (Baja and Washaki’s son) with his two-toned mane! In the same pen was Kicks-a-lot, a beautiful, shy dun mare (Bolder and Cedar’s daughter). Although they were interested in us, they went back to eating after looking up, unlike the Tennesee Walker in the next pen who wanted all the attention!
The highlight of the trip was getting to see Cloud’s daughter, Rain, again. Rain reminds me of her mother, Velvet, who has nearly the same amount of mane as Rain - very little! She seemed happy to have visitors, especially when we brought out treats.
River and Absarokee seem to have a very complex relationship. Sometimes they seem to be very bonded, but then will suddenly get upset at the other - constantly back and forth. They’re so much fun to watch! River is Flint and Feldspar’s daughter and Absarokee is Bolder and Cedar’s son (Cloud’s grandson).
Lady Jane was her typical, reserved self. She fits her name as she is so dignified and has chosen to retain much of her wildness - something we respect. She is a gorgeous mustang, and takes after her other full siblings; Maelstrom, Niobrara, and Okomi. Their parents are Jackson and Firestorm, two legendary Pryor Mountain Mustangs.
Lady Jane, daughter of Firestorm and Jackson, granddaughter of Cloud
When we left, the mustangs got let out of the barn and into their 100 acre pasture. They live a dream life and are very well loved and taken care of. The light in their eyes shows us that they’re very happy and well loved.
TCF Board VP and Director of Communications, Lisa Friday, Biloxi and Erin Phillips
We’re so grateful to Lisa Friday for letting us visit and for sharing her beautiful mustangs with us. I’m also so grateful for her dedication to our wild horses and for all that she has done for them. No matter what, each one of us can do something for our wild horses - whether it’s calling our senators and representatives, writing letters, meeting with government officials, volunteering our time, donating, and so much more! I’ve listed several links below for ways you can take action, and I encourage each of you to do something for our wild horses and burros today. Our mustangs and burros are worth it!
Ways to take action for wild horses and burros:
Demand a Hearing for Wild Horses and Burros
Call your senators & representatives
Donate to The Cloud Foundation
Volunteer for The Cloud Foundation
Set up a meeting with your member(s) of congress
Get informed here.
Erin and her Cloud
As a life-long lover of God's beautiful creation, Erin Phillips became a wild horse and burro advocate after learning about their plight through The Cloud Foundation and Cloud documentaries. In the beginning of 2018, Erin began volunteering for The Cloud Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving our wild horses and burros. She is 18 and lives on a small farm on 40 acres in rural south-eastern Georgia with her family and horse, Cloud—named after Cloud, Wild Stallion of the Rockies.
To learn more about Mustang Mission and support Erin’s work, you can visit her website: https://mustangmission.blogspot.com