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Salt River Wild Horse Mgt Grp

@srwhmg

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Welcome to the official Instagram for the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group. Don't let them become history! 🐴
AZ 501(C)(3) Non-profit #srwhmg

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WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING TO THUNDER?! 🐴😂
Our once sleek grulla boy is suddenly looking a little scruffy, but we couldn’t be more excited about it!

Why? Because Thunder inherited the grey gene from his dad, Light Rain, and you’re getting a front-row seat to his incredible transformation. Those patches of dark grey are where he has already lost his foal coat. The gene will slowly turn Thunder grey, first dark grey and then progressively lighter, until he looks just like his dad several years from now. It’s a fascinating process we’ve watched with many foals over the years, including Light Rain himself!

This is just the beginning. He’s going to be absolutely stunning at every phase! 😍
Keep an eye on our little chameleon, because a few years from now you might not recognize him.

Pics by SRWHMG Christine Burkhart and SRWHMG Karen Carney.
#SaltRiverWildHorses #WildHorses #SaltRiverHerd #SRWHMG #SaltRiverHorses IStandWithWildHorses ManageThemHumanely by @srwhmg

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a day ago

Did you know every month Culver’s 🍨supports our mission by having a fundraiser?

Today, Monday October 5th, starts our fundraiser for the week!
Eat at Culver’s and they will donate 20% of your bill to the 🐴Salt River Wild Horse Management Group.
Just mention the fundraiser when ordering your favorite meal or snack.
At this location only - Culver’s 1263 S Crismon Rd, Mesa AZ, 85206

Thanks to all our supporters!!

#saltriverwildhorses #srwhmg #managethemhumanely #ride4saltriverhorses #IStandWithWildHorses rescuedfoal wildhorses by @srwhmg

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3 days ago

Stop by our SRWHMG merchandise table!!!

This Sunday 10/4/2026 from 9 am to 1 pm @ 300 W Apache Trail, Apache Junction, Arizona...
In front of Treasure Box II. (Right next to the large antique store)

We would love to see ya out there....

Thanks for your support!!! 🐴 by @srwhmg

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3 days ago

L👀k who’s out with the Salt River wild horses! 🐴
The legendary singer songwriter Rickie Lee Jones — who you’ll surely know from *“Chuck E.’s in Love”* — she is a guest of the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group today!

We’re talking wild horses, and why managing them humanely where they live, is a better solution than cruel and costly government roundups at taxpayer expense.

What a great day to share these beautiful horses and the work we do to protect them! 🐴

Rickie Lee is playing tonight and tomorrow night at the Musical Instrument Museum - MIM

Thank you Rickie Lee Jones !
SRWHMG. topfans
#saltriverwildhorses #wildhorses #saltriverherd #saltriver #srwhmg saltriverhorses IStandWithWildHorses managethemhumanely arizonasaltriverwildhorses saltriverwildmustangs by @srwhmg

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4 days ago

🧓❤️CELEBRATING ONE OF OUR OLDIES! 🐴

Seeing foals grow up wild and free is amazing—but there is something just as special about watching them live their lives through the seasons and grow old the way they were meant to, in the wild.

This is retired lead stallion Diego on the right, now at least 26 years old and becoming frail. ❤️ Walking along with him is Heath, his grandson out of Butterscotch, through his son Steven. Through our decades of monitoring of the Salt River herd, we know these horses, their family lines and their relationships—and we’ve watched Diego from his young bachelor days, to running a band with Shadowfax and later taking it over, to him retiring, and then roaming alone, as retired lead stallions do. However, this year, Heath has been staying close to his grandfather, keeping him company and protecting him. It is incredibly sweet to witness.

Diego has sired a strong line of offspring in the Tonto National Forest, including Steven and several other lead and lieutenant stallions, such as Carmel, Garrett, Scratch, Luna, Nugget and Solo. 🐴 Moonfire, who is almost a year old now, is his grandson through Garrett. With upcoming genetic research, it will be fascinating to learn and confirm just how much of Diego’s DNA runs through the Salt River herd today!

Long live the old Salt River wild horses—and cheers to keeping them wild and free for their entire lives. 🥂

SRWHMG, for every Salt River wild horse.

📷Pic by SRWHMG Christine Burkhart.
📌 Please share! We want to keep sharing herd information that we have researched for 20 years and it may be shared with proper credit, but not copied or republished as someone else’s work.
#SaltRiverWildHorses #WildHorses #SaltRiverHerd #SaltRiver #SRWHMG SaltRiverHorses IStandWithWildHorses ManageThemHumanely ArizonaSaltRiverWildHorses by @srwhmg

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5 days ago

UPDATE ON WIND 🌬️🐴
Watch his mane blowing in the wind! Wind is enjoying the cooler temperatures in Prescott! ❤️

Had we not rescued him, Wind might still be struggling in pain in the wild—or he might not be alive today without our help.

Listen to the Wind of Change. 🌬️ Treating all wild horses humanely is the change we need to see in this world!

Thank you for your support. ❤️
See Wind’s story in the comments.
SRWHMG.
#Wind #SaltRiverWildHorses #SaltRiverWildHorse #WildHorses #HorseRescue WildHorseRescue PrescottArizona ArizonaWildHorses SRWHMG ProtectWildHorses saltriverhorses by @srwhmg

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7 days ago

🐴 ADORABLE! DID YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?

Have you ever seen a foal rapidly open and close its mouth when meeting another horse? Its pretty adorable behavior and is called clacking, also known as snapping or champing—and it has an important message.

Foals often do this when encountering an unfamiliar or higher-ranking horse, especially when they feel a little intimidated. In simple horse language, it basically means: “I’m little, I’m innocent, I’m not a threat, please don’t hurt me!”

🔬 Researchers generally describe clacking as an appeasement behavior. Interestingly, foals may even initiate an interaction and then clack, so it isn’t necessarily a response to aggression—it can be a way of communicating that they are not a threat.

❤️ This adorable video of little Thunder is a perfect example. Thunder daringly walks up to Tado, a stallion from another band, and begins clacking at him. While Tado could have hurt him, he seems to understand the message perfectly and responds by being very gentle with the little guy. It’s a beautiful example of how horses communicate with each other!

Sorry that the video is a little blurry, it was in the dark from far away! Thank you to our volunteer Christine B for catching this, and thank you everyone for watching and thank you for sharing!
SRWHMG.

📌 Please feel free to share our posts and information to help the Salt River wild horses! It is encouraged and we appreciate it. However, SRWHMG’s original content, research, expertise and herd information may not be copied or republished as someone else’s work without proper credit to SRWHMG.

#SaltRiverWildHorses #WildHorses #SaltRiverHerd #SaltRiver #SRWHMG SaltRiverHorses IStandWithWildHorses ManageThemHumanely ArizonaSaltRiverWildHorses SaltRiverWildMustangs Saltrivertruth by @srwhmg

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8 days ago

💻PLAGIARISM — when your work becomes someone else's story.

🔎 COMPARE THESE TWO POSTS AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF

✍️On July 17, 2026, one of our content volunteers, Pam B., published our post about Sapphire—her complete heterochromia, the role of melanin, her history with Shadowfax, her offspring and her family relationships.

🔜 Low and behold, barely two months later, on September 15, John Mack "" published Sapphire as “HIS” Tuesday Tribute on his "Salt River Truth" page, where btw we can rarely find any percentage of the Truth.

🟰 The post is: Same horse. Same unusual characteristic: complete heterochromia.
Same explanation involving melanin.
Same connection to Shadowfax.
Same focus on her offspring and family relationships.
(The only difference is him closing with a WRONG assumption of a connection to Rascal/Citrine, who has a blue eye, but no genealogical relation to Sapphire.)

🚫 But we can find no credit to SRWHMG—or anyone else—as the source.

🐴 Now imagine dedicating your life—more than 20 years—to fighting for these wild horses, organizing their histories and documenting everything you can about them. Imagine designing an app to preserve that information because you know it is important for their protection. Imagine seeing every one of them born, watching many of them die, being there when they are injured or in danger, feeding them through drought, raising the money to care for them, and doing it year after year because without this work, they could not continue to exist here.

Continued in the comments below ⬇️ by @srwhmg

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9 days ago

I am happy to be a supporter of many animal rights groups, and am privileged to be able to visit one of them next week while I am touring in Phoenix—check out the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group @srwhmg

American Wild Horse Conservation @freewildhorses fights to save horses from the guns of the Bureau of Land Management.

End of the year, if you have ten or twenty or a hundred bucks you can throw their way I know they would both be grateful.

📸 @shelleypaulsonphotography

🎵 Oct 1 & 2 @ Musical Instrument Museum by @srwhmg

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11 days ago

A little glimpse into Thunder’s young life…
Growing up wild and free, there is so much to learn, discover, and experience!
Enjoy this little compilation of videos we capture while monitoring him and his band. Every day, we make sure these beautiful wild horses are safe and thriving in their natural home.
He is such a beautiful boy, and we are so grateful to be able to watch him grow.
If you haven’t already, please subscribe and follow our page. Your support helps us continue managing the Salt River wild horses humanely, because it is not easy nor cheap.
For Thunder.
For his band.
For the entire Salt River Herd. ❤️
SRWHMG
Video by SRWHMG Christine B,
Edits by SRWHMG Simone N.

#saltriverwildhorses #wildhorses #saltriverherd #saltriver #srwhmg saltriverhorses IStandWithWildHorses managethemhumanely arizonasaltriverwildhorses saltriverwildmustangs by @srwhmg

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13 days ago

Mori’s Big Return!

For eight long weeks, Mori had one very important job: stay in her stall and heal from surgery. ❤️
She took her job seriously. She napped, she snacked on treats sent by all her wonderful supporters, she went on walks, and she played games with her caregivers. She watched the other rescues have what appeared to be far more fun out in the arena.
Every day, Mori would peek out and think.... soon.

And then, one morning, her caregivers finally said the magic words:
“Mori, you’re ready to go back with your friends!” 🥰

Of course, after eight weeks of waiting, we weren’t about to turn Mori loose and let her celebrate all at once! We’ve been slowly reintegrating her into the arena with her friends. It’s a gradual process, but taking it slow helps keep everyone safe, happy, and comfortable.
Mori may have spent eight weeks waiting for this moment, but she’s proving that good things really do come to those who wait.

Welcome back to the fun, Mori! 🎉

If you would like to sponsor Mori, or one of her friends, please see the link 🔗 in our bio to our Website to become a sponsor. Thank you for your support!
#srwhmg #saltriverwildhorsemanagement by @srwhmg

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14 days ago

Please check our comments section for details about this video.
Thank you. by @srwhmg

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14 days ago