Onaqui the Mustang
Onaqui the Mustang is still overcoming his fear of humans & their strange world. Most domestic horses see humans from virtually the moment they are born. But mustangs are born wild. Their first significant interaction with humans is typically being rounded up in a sometimes brutal way, taken from their homes, separated from their family, friends and all they have ever known, while being branded and confined.
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In addition, thousands are sent to slaughter each year, while many more, like Onaqui, land in abusive or neglectful homes.
Onaqui survived the roundups only to land in a home so neglectful that his pasture mates starved to death. He was seized by authorities, and landed at a West Virginia rescue before coming to us. We named Onaqui for a famous mustang herd which roams tribal and public lands. At Joyous Acres, he roams the hills, patrolling and watching over his herd mates, displaying the behaviors of a protective “lieutenant stallion” in wild herds. Though his traumatic past still haunts him, his love and trust for his human and animal family grows each day. As he gallops the fields freely, his unbreakable spirit gives us so much hope and true joy.