River is a 9 year old dark bay (or mahogany bay) mustang gelding. He was rescued in 2020 by Ashley DiFelice after being born in a government holding facility after his mom was rounded up and locked in a pen with dozens of other horses. River's mom was free at one point but River has never known what freedom is like. Even though he was born in what basically amounts to a jail cell, he was still pretty wild. I have no idea what became of his mother, but River was pulled somewhere and somehow and years later eventually went to Ashley at Twist of Fate. According to an old post of Ashley's, River came with a lot of trauma and it made him a little standoffish. Prior to coming to his new home at TOF he was with a trainer for about a year learning how to trust humans and become more comfortable around them.
There was only that one post about River on the TOF Patreon, so I don't know anything else about him, like where he was for 7 or so years before he came to Twist of Fate, and I don't know anything about the year or so that he spent with Ashley prior to everyone finding out that she had been purposely neglecting and starving her animals that she had at one time claimed to love. However...
Despite claiming to love him, Ashley starved River nearly to death. He was very thin when he was rescued from her and had a body score of only 1-2, and you could see his protruding hip bones and count his ribs. He was found in a dirt lot with no food, no water and no shelter in 100+ degree heat (roughly 38 in Celsius). In comparing his photos he actually looked way better at the government holding facility - how embarrassing for Ashley. Despite what she put him through he still had some courage to engage with humans and accepted the help that was offered to him on that day in July, sniffing their hands and walking into the trailer to be taken away from this former so-called "sanctuary" forever.
After his rescue the plan was for Jamie of the Wild Lands Wild Horses Fund (@wlwh_fund) to take him in as a foster and to find him a permanent home, but he first went to Triple 7 Rescue & Rehab (@triple7rescueandrehab) for his initial care, like getting the dreadlocks out of his mane and tail and getting him to a healthy weight. They also wanted to give him a refresher in handling so that he could once again spend time learning how to trust humans and to be more comfortable around them because a few humans at Twist of Fate failed him so deliberately.
River came home to Jamie in October and on his first day there it was discovered that he had a major medical issue - he doesn't have the sphincter skin on his butt, and where it should be is just a gaping hole where you can see inside. Most likely this happened because of a previous infection that was never treated. Additional theories is that maybe it prolapsed and was never addressed and the skin/tissue died off. It could have abscessed once it prolapsed. Or chronic diarrhea could have added to an infection if it had prolapsed.
River was sedated and some blood was taken for tests. The vets were stumped as to how this happened, but what is known is that his sphincter is still attached with a big gaping hole above it where he had been passing manure instead of the sphincter. The hole is just smaller than a baseball, which is about 3 inches (7.6 cm) in diameter. The plan was for him to undergo minor surgery at a clinic to see what tissue is viable to close back up and that the surgery would most likely have to be completed in 2 stages. This marks the THIRD horse that Jamie pulled with major medical issues that would need surgery after what Ashley did to them or rather in this instance, what she didn't do for them. The Twist of Fate cruelty case at this point and undoing or fixing everything that Ashley did to the three horses was totaling $30,000, which is for lack of better words, disgusting and unbelievable.
One of the saddest things about this is that River had been in a lot of pain for a long time. Either no one noticed this issue of his, or they did and simply chose to ignore it. This wasn't a recent injury since the skin around the hole was already healed, this had been an ongoing issue for months prior to his rescue, maybe even years. So many people could have helped him.
Initially Jamie was told that there might not be anything that the clinic could do for River's condition, but after spending all night thinking of possible solutions one vet said that she had a couple out of the box ideas, like trying to rebuild the tissue. Until they could try one out though River was given the all-clear to be integrated with other horses, and so River got to slowly and happily meet his new herd and family. In the end it was determined that nothing could be done after all for River's condition, and so Jamie continues to monitor him. He is overall doing very well though and doesn't seem to be in pain.
A quote from Jamie in December of 2022: "He's on his road to recovery and starting to enjoy life. Although he'll never know the smell of sagebrush and the thrill of a herd running as one, we believe he will find his special place in the world".
Because Jamie was still looking for a forever home for River, he was sent to a friend of Jamie's named Paulina in February for a few months of training for him to learn the skills to help him feel at peace. Jamie visited him there in April and remarked at how relaxed he was. At the end of River's time with Paulina Jamie decided to keep River and make him a permanent resident with her. Here he gets to spend time with Yuma*, another TOF survivor, among other horse and animal friends. Jamie describes River as incredibly goofy and sweet, and he continues to live a happy and content life.
If you would like to support River, please give him a follow on both of Jamie's IG accounts (@wlwh_fund and @thismustanglife). Also, River needs a co-sponsor! Co-sponsoring him will help pay for his vet, farrier, feed, and more. Please contact Jamie via Instagram or with the contact form on the Wild Lands Wild Horses website to inquire. Another great way to support River as well as the other animals is to make a monthly donation by joining Patreon! Or if you prefer you can make a one-time donation through PayPal (@wlwhfund) or Venmo (@wlwhfund). You can also send the animals something from their Amazon Wishlist, or WLWH also has cute tees, tanks and sweatshirts available on Bonfire.
Jamie is an AMAZING photographer and often photographs animals in sanctuaries as well as the wild horses in Theodore National Park and the public lands that the Bureau of Land Management controls. Regarding the BLM, they determine how many wild horses can live on the land, taking into account the other animals on the land as well as the interests of the ranchers* and the National Park Service. If the population goes over a certain amount, then the government conducts a roundup and it will remove the horses. Those wild horses are then offered up to the public for adoption. According to Jamie, if a wild horse is offered to the public three times and no one adopts him/her, then the horse can be sold for $25 without limitations, which means that anyone can just pick up a horse and do whatever they want with them - this leads to the slaughter pipeline and kill buyers are looking for these deals where they can pick up free or cheap horses. Jamie has adopted several of these "3 strike" horses and brought them home to her sanctuary. She posts her photos on both of her Instagram accounts, and you can view more of her beautiful photography on her website. She also sells her stunning horse photos as prints!
Wild Lands Wild Horses (@wlwh_fund) is a nonprofit that Jamie started that raises funds and awareness for wild horses and burros through film, rescue, education, and more. Please check out their website and Instagram, and if you'd like to support her work in saving wild horses, you can make a donation through PayPal (@wlwhfund) or Venmo (@wlwhfund) or their GoFundMe. You can read more about the work that Jamie is doing here, and another way to support ALL wild horses is to sign the petition, 'Save the Wild Horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park'.
You can watch 'Pass SAFE Act Now - a film by Skydog Sanctuary and This Mustang Life' which is narrated by Daryl Hannah on YouTube, and you can also check out WLWH's official YouTube channel. To read more about The Safe Act to save and protect horses, please click on their site here. There are links on the site to donate to that cause too, as well as tips on how you can help.
*Just a reminder - the main reason why the BLM is rounding up horses is to make room for even more cattle/"beef" farmers, which means that the cost of your steaks or burgers is not only that of the lives of the cows, but also the lives of most of these wild horses and burros as well. Please learn about where the animals that are used for your food come from and what they have to endure, as well as the effects on the surrounding animals and environment. To learn more about the best way that you can help ALL animals along with a long list of resources, please click here.
*Yuma had his story shared about a month ago and you can read it here.
Thank you all so much for being here!
Ashley DiFelice's next court date still has not been announced. I have emailed the prosecution team a couple of times already to see when it will be scheduled or why it is being delayed but so far haven't heard anything. I'll update as soon as I know anything though! Please continue to share the petition in the meantime. Thank you!