The Calico Mountain mustangs of Nevada inspired the mustang herds in my Phantom Stallion books.

When the Bureau of Land Management decreed a round up of these horses, I joined a lawsuit to stop them. When that failed, I witnessed the deadly winter helicopter round-ups and captivity which has led to over a hundred deaths.

Ghost Dancer and Shell Flower suffered facial and leg injuries, but survived to become friends. When BLM started clearing the corrals of Calico Mountain horses, these mares were placed on an Internet auction site.

The adobe and white mare is a Medicine Hat pinto. Her markings would have made her sacred to some Native American tribes. The Ghost Dance was a rite of rebirth.

Although it appeared that I was the high bidder on the two horses during the weeks of the auction, BLM told me that 90% of the auction bids were entered in the last five minutes! On that morning, I was prepared with eagle eyes and lizard-quick fingers, but I knew I would have to keep going back and forth on the auction site between Ghost Dancer and Shell Flower to make sure there were no other bidders. If there were, I had no way to guess how high bidding would go. I didn't want either of the horses to travel alone, so on the chance that I wasn't able to save both horses, I put a "safety net" bid on a little sorrel mare. No one in the country had shown any interest in her. High bid for her was : 0

In the last ten minutes of the auction, it became clear I wasn't the only one interested in Ghost Dancer and Shell Flower.

Which one should I try to save?

It had to be Ghost Dancer. She was a sale authority horse because she was over ten years old, and sale authority horses can't be adopted, they are sold to the highest bidder and that often means they are eventually sold to slaughter buyers. I couldn't let that happen.

When the auction ended, I was the high bidder on GHOST DANCER, but not Shell Flower.

And what about... yes!

I was still the only bidder on the little sorrel mare. She was captured on the same day, in the same place as Ghost Dancer. In fact, their conformation was similar enough that they could be mother and daughter!

These two mares, born in the wild Calico Mountains, have traveled a long, sometimes sad road. They've run the range, drinking the scents of sagebrush and cool water of desert springs. They've fled helicopters, watched as their families were torn apart and listened as some died. They've been shuttled from corral to corral, from a Fallon feedlot to the Palomino Valley wild horse center and their photographs have been on the Internet in hundreds of countries.

Now, these mustangs will no longer wear red cords and tags around their necks and be known by numbers. Sage and Ghost Dancer will move to their new home at the Wild Horse Sanctuary and meet other wild horses.

The real Phantom Stallion lives there, hidden from human eyes, but I like to imagine them meeting him. Maybe they'll snort, flicked their ears and roll their eyes as they discuss the odd two-legged who got them there.

People have asked if the horses need financial help. YES, any donations would be most appreciated.

The Wild Horse Sanctuary has a button you can click here CALICO HORSES specifically for Sage and Ghost Dancer.

To donate via Paypal:

You must be over 18 or have your parents' permission to donate.

Here's the address to mail a check:

WILD HORSE SANCTUARY
P.O. BOX 30
SHINGLETOWN, CA 96088

Follow the horses here: http://terrifarley.blogspot.com/

Questions welcomed! [email protected]

Yin / Yang: Terri Farley and BLM, going opposite directions on the same road
photo taken and captioned by Cat Kindsfather