SHALIMAR

Shalimar is a wild horse (mustang) who was born in 2017 and rounded up in September 2022 from the South Steens HMA (Herd Management Area) in southeastern Oregon, the same area Storm had been rounded up from two years before he was born. Five years old when his wild, backcountry herd was stampeded by helicopter, he was captured and taken to the BLM Wild Horse and Burro holding facility in Burns, OR. Aged incorrectly at 17 years by the BLM (12 years older than his actual age) he was automatically assigned Sale Authority (SA) status, which applies to all wild horses and burros over 11. Sale Authority animals immediately lose all the federal protections afforded to wild horses and burros that are eligible for adoption as they are are considered unadoptable due to their older age, and can be sold outright, no questions asked, for as little as $25.

Shalimar had been bought from the BLM Burns Wild Horse Corral by a woman in Canada who abandoned him at a trainer facility in Oregon. Marked as a senior horse, there was no interest from any other buyers so the trainer was looking for a sanctuary to take him. Agreeing to take him, it wasn't until several months later that we discovered his true age through a wild horse photographer. She sent us images of Shalimar as a foal in 2017, running with his backcountry herd in the South Steens HMA, proving his much younger age. Shalimar represents all Sale Authority horses, past, present and future, who have had their wild horse federal protections stripped from them and are at much higher risk of abuse, neglect, and the slaughter pipeline as a result.

Researching Shalimar's undocumented back-country herd, we identified his sire (father) as a Bay Tobiano Paint (Pinto) stallion known as Talon, and his dam (mother) as a Palamino Paint mare known as Honey. Shalimar is a Buckskin Paint with splashes of light tan, and striking dark gray streaks in his mane and tail. The South Steens mustangs are known all over the world for their beautiful Paint (Pinto) mustangs.

In August 2024, the BLM rounded up 869 wild horses from the South Steens HMA, killing 22 horses in the process. Their stated intention is to return 70 horses to the range; 35 stallions, and 35 mares treated with fertility control which will leave Oregon's iconic South Steens horses without a genetically viable future and, ultimately, extinction.

*Wild horses and burros over 11 years old, and those passed over for adoption three times, are considered unadoptable by the BLM and are assigned Sale Authority status making them eligible for sale rather than adoption. They can be sold at auction for as little as $10 with no screening or oversight as to whether the buyer is capable of handling a wild untrained mustang, has suitable facilities, or has a history of animal abuse. Unlike wild horses and burros that go through the adoption process and remain under BLM ownership for a year before title is issued and ownership transferred, SA animals lose all their federal protections and become the immediate private property of their "owner" at time of sale, receiving no follow-up as to the quality of their care or whereabouts. These are the animals most at risk of going to slaughter. Those who fail to be sold will be taken into long term holding where they are incarcerated for life.