SAOIRSE

Saoirse was rounded up in 2020, when she was 13 years old, from the Twin Peaks HMA (Herd Management Area) on the Nevada side of the California-Nevada border. Her herd was stampeded and driven into a trap pen by helicopter before being transported to the Litchfield Wild Horse and Burro Corrals. Shortly after, Saoirse was taken by a TIP trainer (Trainer Incentive Program) to the central Oregon coast along with dozens of other wild horses and burros to be prepared for adoption. Like many other TIP trainers motivated solely by profit, this trainer failed to meet any of the BLM gentling requirements such as training Saoirse to take a halter or pick up her hooves for trimming. She arrived at the sanctuary with the standard halter and rope that these animals leave the BLM corrals with, and that had been left on her face for several months. She arrived at the sanctuary ungentled, untrusting, and emotionally shut down from her ordeal. 

 

Saoirse was gentled and trained by our founder, Lara. She is affectionate and loyal with a quiet, sensitive disposition. While deeply bonded to her equine companions, sometimes Saoirse can be caught staring off into the distance as if remembering her old life in the wild and all the loved ones she was separated from. Saoirse lived in the wild the longest of any other member of the Wild Peace herd, and knowing her sensitive nature, we can only imagine the terror she must have experienced in being chased into a trap pen by a helicopter, separated from her family, and taken into captivity.

 

Saoirse will greet you by rubbing her head on your legs. She loves cuddles, dust baths, and food.​ Saoirse is pronounced SOR-sha), which means Freedom in Irish Gaelic.