Jack — when the helicopters came to my home at Twin Peaks this summer, my whole world changed in an instant.

I can still remember the ground trembling beneath us, the air thick with dust. Foals stumbled to keep up. Mothers cried out to their babies. Stallions like me tried to protect our families and lead them to safety. 

We ran faster than we ever had in our lives, and yet somehow, it felt like we couldn’t escape the helicopters chasing after us. Finally, I found a gap with tree cover, and I bolted.

In the chaos, I had managed to get away. But when I stopped running and looked around, I was alone. My family was gone. So, I did the only thing my heart could understand — I turned back toward the trap site, hoping I might find them.

I paced back and forth near the trap, calling out to them. I was desperate for a familiar nicker, a voice I knew. But none of them were my family. I’ll never know exactly what happened to them, Jack. 

What I do know is that what happened to my family will keep happening to thousands of other wild horses and burros unless someone stops it. That’s why supporting organizations like American Wild Horse Conservation this Giving Tuesday matters.

The humans at AWHC are trying. They fight for horses like me — and for the family I couldn’t save — but they can’t do it alone.

More than 62,000 wild horses and burros are currently confined to federal government holding. Many were taken during roundups just like the one I survived. My family might still be languishing there – lost among the thousands, separated from everything they knew.

Jack, I learned something from that fateful day: Freedom isn’t just running wild — it’s running together. And right now, tens of thousands of wild horses are waiting for someone to fight for the families they lost — and the freedom they deserve.

Will you help AWHC reach their $100,000 Giving Tuesday goal before midnight tonight? Please consider making a donation now to power their work to protect horses like me:

With gratitude,
River