Saha, the story of the wild mustang

Saha, the story of the wild mustang

In 2001, I adopted her and two other wild mustangs from the Palomino Valley Wild Horse Ranch, just outside of Reno, Nevada. It took me from July to October this year to even touch them with a finger and get them to eat leaves from my hands. I was in love.

In October 2001, she was injured by one or both of the other Mustangs. I didn't know it was an injury. Instead, I thought she might have developed colic because she was laying on the floor and rolling and wouldn't get up. Colic can kill a horse...and it's not an easy death.

I called every vet in the phone book looking for one who would come out and treat a wild mustang. The answer was always “no”. This went on for two days until I came across a brave vet who said she would come out to see what could be done.

When the vet arrived, Saha had been lying on her side for two days. I was afraid we would have to put her down. It broke my heart, but I didn't want to make her suffer any longer than she already had.

The vet got Saha to roll over and then stand on her feet. That's when we found out she was injured instead of colicky.

Saha was in recovery from October 2001 to April 2002 when she started standing up on her own. Up to this point I had to roll her every day and then walk her in the desert to heal her injury and let her eat sage brush. According to the veterinarian, sage has healing properties for wild horses.

We never found out if the other horses stepped on her spine or pelvis. Either way it doesn't matter as the bottom line is that Saha is unsuitable for riding or breeding. She remains my very large furry pet.

In the 6 months that Saha and I walked together and worked to keep her well, we became good friends. I learned what toughness, trust and vulnerability mean from my beautiful, strong Saha.