In October 2017, a 26-year-old wild horse’s life was changed forever when government helicopters descended on his herd.
The horse, Goliath, charged at the helicopters, desperately trying to protect his herd. But it was no use—the Bureau of Land Management corralled the horses into a holding pen, and then began separating them.
The Bureau of Land Management regularly rounds up wild horses who live in the American West. They do this to give cattle ranchers more space for their herds to graze. Typically, the wild horses will be auctioned off, and in the best-case scenario, they’ll spend their lives at sanctuaries. Sadly, though, horse families are often separated during this process.
That’s just what happened with Goliath. Goliath and his mate, Red Lady, were sent to separate locations during the corralling process.
Goliath went to a holding facility in Utah, and Red Lady went to live on a farm in Colorado. The couple didn’t know if they’d ever see each other again.
Red Lady’s new owner tried to tame the mare, but she wasn’t having it. She was desperate to get back to Goliath, and soon, her new owner realized why: Red Lady was pregnant, and she wanted to be with the father of her foal.
Even though Red Lady’s owner loved the horse, she knew she couldn’t keep her. She needed to be with her mate.
Through the grapevine, the woman heard that Skydog Sanctuary in Oregon was trying to buy Goliath. The 9,000-acre sanctuary would be the perfect place for Goliath—he would have tons of space to roam and graze. The sanctuary was busy fundraising, trying to raise enough money to buy the stallion.
During this time, Red Lady’s owner got in touch with Chris Staples, the founder of Skydog. She told him she wanted to send Red Lady to his sanctuary:
“She wanted her to be reunited with Goliath so they could have their foal in peace and live forever together,” Staples told The Dodo. “We transported Red Lady and we waited for the adoption and we were terrified we wouldn’t win the bid.”
Thankfully, the sanctuary received the donations they needed, and they were able to adopt Goliath! The rescuers brought Goliath to the sanctuary, and he ran through the snow, so happy to be free.
Then, Goliath’s rescuers surprised the stallion by bringing Red Lady into the field. As soon as Goliath saw her, he ran right over to her, and they joyfully reunited:
“Goliath spotted her and ran half a mile to her side in the snow,” Staples said. “She trotted to him, tail high, floating through the snow, and he immediately put his nose to her belly as if he knew she was carrying his baby.”
SkyDog shared a video of the reunion on Facebook, and it quickly went viral. Everyone loved the touching moment Goliath put his head on Red Lady’s belly.
Red Lady gave birth to her foal in early April 2018. The foal is healthy and happy, and he’s well cared for by both of his parents.
The little family spends all their time together, grazing on the grass and simply enjoying being together. Red Lady and Goliath are teaching the baby everything he needs to know about being a horse, including how to protect himself.
After losing their home, these horse soulmates didn’t know if they’d ever see each other again. But thankfully, they’ve found a home where they’re safe and can raise their little one in peace. If you’d like to see more photos and videos of this family, check out Skydog Sanctuary’s Facebook page.
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