Bringing home Rhett
I know this is a long story. But, It is my story with a wild black stallion that grew up on this mountain we all love so much. He was gathered, and was set to go to Long Term Holding in a few weeks.
---
This is Rhett.
Rhett was born in 2012, The year I first started following these horses. I have been following him since 2013. I have had a lot of favorite horses, But this one has always been different.
I still vividly remember the first time I saw him, when he was a yearling. It was my birthday and we had gone up into one of the meadows on the mountain. When we got to the edge of the meadow, we stopped and sat for awhile, looking out. There was 100 or more elk laying out in the sun taking naps and grazing. After awhile the elk stood up and went into the trees, then many of them started bugling. The trees were filled with the most amazing musical sound.
Once the elk were gone, Three dark horses appeared in the trees. But, One of them was different... One of them I felt connected to. My attention went straight to him and locked on. I walked out to the middle of the meadow and sat on a rock for a few hours just watching him. There were two other people with me and I would just kept pointing at Rhett and say "Look at him!! ".
Him and the two bachelors raced around the meadow playing and having fun. I would come to follow him closely and many times each year I would just sit there and watch him. Every single year, On my birthday, He would show up at the top of the mountain and hang out near-by the entire time we camped. In 2014 and 2015, He was with a different group of Bachelors every time we saw him. He had a great love for playing, and would just keep jumping from group to group so that he could pick on everyone and play. No horse was ever a stranger to him, Chances are he has antagonized half the horses in the HMA. ♀️
By three years old he would herd these other stallions, practicing for his own herd of mares. The young bachelors he would teach and protect. On my birthday in 2015, In the middle of the night I was awoken by thundering hooves. It was pitch black out, save what the moon lit up. A herd of wild horses was racing around our camp, Singing their song through the night in joyous neighs. Then everything went silent. Quickly I sat up and looked through the mesh window of my tent and saw the moon lighting up the most beautiful white stallion. This stallion, many knew as Uno Corazon. Lurking in the shadows was a dark stallion peering back at me... Rhett.
That morning when I awoke, I walked up to their watering hole just in time to see them slip through the trees. I will never forget that night. May of 2016 I watched Rhett win his first two mares. Usually when a stallion wins their first mare, they will lose her before to long. This happens until they gain experience. I have also noticed that most stallions on the range do not win their first mares until they are around 6 years old. However, Rhett won his mares when he was just 4 years old... And he never lost them. His entire time out on the range, He never lost any of his mares.
He stole them from a red roan stallion that we call Gladiator, whom earned his name through his fights, and perseverance. Gladiator moved on to find new mares, and Rhett raised his offspring. The day that Rhett won his mares, He was in no mood to play. He went after any stallion that looked at him the wrong way, Chasing bachelors for long distances. His main focus was to protect his mares, so I watched from far away.
Now that he had mares, His new... Habits... would start.
Rhett started leaving his mares in a safe place, Then running off to go play with other stallions. From June 2016 on, We found him off playing with herd and bachelor stallions more often then we saw him with his own mares. His family would always be in sight, and he would often stop and look towards them to make sure they were safe. Sometimes when we were watching from nearby, he would leave his family over by us before running off to play. There is something special about such a wild creature leaving you to ‘watch over’ its most prized possession.
2017 started off the same way, I spent many evenings watching him play fight with other horses or watch him take care of his family. Sometime around May of 2017 he won his third mare, We decided to call her Aspen. For my birthday this year, He brought his first offspring up to camp, a little filly we came to know as Ahyoka. The name Ahyoka is of Native American origin and means "She brought happiness".
Make sure to read the photos for more stories and details about his timeline <3
2018 BLM announced that they would be gathering the Green Mountain, HMA. I knew that very second, that Rhett was probably going to be gathered.
Now, Before we get to far into this I would like to say that Green Mountain NEEDED gathered. The appropriate management level for Green Mountain is 170-300 horses.... There were over 1300 horses. That AML is not based off of how many animals that land can support during the summer, but how many animals it can support during the winter. Wyoming has 7 months of winter, and 4 months of nicer weather. Those 4 months of nice weather the Green Mountain HMA can support a LOT of animals, But for the other 7 months of the year there is 1-4 feet of snow covering the ground. Underneath it is dead grasses with barely any nutrients. This first spring after the gather, most of the horses came out of winter skinny, some of them emaciated and some did not survive at all. If the (approximately) 200 horses left after the gather did not winter well, Imagine the condition of the horses if they had been competing for food against an extra 1300 horses. Cattle are only allowed on the land during the summer months when the grasses are plentiful and the horses are fat. It had been 7 years since the last Green Mountain gather. From my own personal experience, Wyoming BLM did a great job taking care of the horses and bringing them in as safely as they could.
I immediately knew if Rhett came in, I would want to adopt him. I knew that years before I even know the gather date.
August 6th 2018.. We set up camp. We would be observing all but 3 days of the Green Mountain gather. Every day I watched to see if he came in. August 7th.. 8th..9th...10th...11th... He was still free. Every day I went up the mountain to see him. Then came the last day I would ever spend with him up on top of that mountain. We just sat together as he grazed with his family. None of us moved until the sun was gone and the moon replaced it.
August 15th, The last herd we watched get brought in, the last day of the Green Mountain gather. I watched the helicopter slowly bring him down the mountain.
Rhett had been doing his typical thing, off playing with a group of bachelors while his mares were up tucked away somewhere. The helicopter brought Rhett in with that group of bachelors, And his entire family stayed wild and free.
After the gather I went and saw the horses in the temporary holding pens that they were taken to for sorting. After we left he was loaded and transported to a facility in a different state. I spent 7 months trying to track him down. In the end, I was told that he was sent to Long Term Holding.
------
Fast forward to a few days ago, After receiving a few emails I wrote this status. It sums up what all happened fairly well.
“Not going to lie, I am feeling a bit sad right now.
Many don't know, but this horse is a wild stallion I called Rhett. I followed him in the wild since he was a yearling in 2013.
I spent a lot of time out there in the wilds, following him every single year. I watched him earn his first mare, and watched his family raise his first foal. I even watched the helicopter bring him in.
I knew I wanted THIS horse before the gather was even scheduled, long before he was ever brought in. If anyone has ever felt a strong connection and pull towards a horse, then you know what I have with him. It is not something I even have with any of my own horses. I even downsized 2 of my horses so that I could bring this one home, just in case, before the gather even happened.
I spent 7 months tracking him down after the gather, and because of a mix up I was told that he went to Long Term Holding. At that point I had to acknowledge that I would never be able to adopt him. So I moved on and adopted Malakai, and brought Darktanian home. (For those that don’t know, Malakai is a Green Mountain yearling that also got brought in during this gather. Darktanian is a mustang we pulled out of a kill pen earlier this year after he had been stolen from his adopter.)
Well, Turns out he hasn't been sent to LTH yet. I was just asked by the facility if I would like to adopt him, and if I am not interested they will go ahead and send him to LTH.
It is so hard for me to be offered this horse that I want so bad; Knowing I cannot get him without selling one of my current horses, Non of which are going anywhere.”
---
I started getting an outpouring of messages and comments... “ What’s one more??” ... “Don't let your heart horse get away!”.... "you can't miss this opportunity, there is a reason this opportunity came around" .... “The hardest thing we do is make decisions and while we should do so with both head and heart, sometimes we need to just go for it and listen to our hearts...” ..... “ if he is your heart horse then you really should get him or you will regret it for the rest of your life.”
But, How could I do it?? This had come on very suddenly, I had no idea he would become available. We have to order our year supply of hay in two weeks... TWO WEEKS! In 14 days I would have to find a way to afford not only transport to go and adopt Rhett (1034 miles), but also his entire year supply of Hay.
People started suggesting a GoFundMe, Saying they would donate if I did.
.. I figured, “Why not?” at least I would know that I tried. So I set it up. My friends did not disappoint, they are the absolute BEST!! However we are still only half way to our goal. If anyone would like to help keep this amazing horse out of Long Term Holding, Please consider purchasing a photo or donating. I don’t know if he will come around to domestic life, But I owe it to him to try.
All photos of Rhett and his family in this post are also available for purchase, just ask and I will put the image you want on my site.
My site:
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/mariah-sharee.html
My GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/bringing-home-rhett
Paypal:
[email redacted]
If you have made it this far, Thank you so much. Words cannot describe the support I have received on my journey to Rhett.