We recently connected with Erin Phillips and have shared our conversation below.

Erin, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your organization?

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always loved all of God’s creation, but especially horses. When I was very young, my family and I watched the Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies docu-series. These documentaries follow a wild horse stallion in Montana throughout his life and showcase the plight of mustangs in the West. Through these documentaries, I learned how each year mustangs and burros (wild donkeys) face immense pressure in the wild from the government and livestock industries. Removed by the thousands, their existence is galloping to extinction. Once captured, the mustangs and burros are placed in holding pens where they may spend years in cramped, unhealthy conditions. Currently, there are over 60,000 wild horses and burros in holding facilities, costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year. These horses are often available for adoption. Although a lot go to wonderful homes, far too many fall into the wrong hands and are neglected, abused, or sent to slaughter.

After learning this, I was inspired at a young age to help wild horses and burros. At 13 years old, I began volunteering for The Cloud Foundation, an organization dedicated to keeping wild horses and burros free. Over the past seven years, I’ve written articles for magazines and newspapers, helped start a management/identification database for the Pryor Mountain Wild Horses, coordinated volunteer projects, and more. I’ve learned so much about wild horse advocacy and education from the TCF team, for which I’m truly grateful!

Early on, I decided that I wanted to rescue wild equines someday, so three years ago, I started Mustang Mission. On February 25, my very first mustang arrived. Since then, it’s been an ongoing adventure! God has blessed my efforts and given me many wonderful opportunities and learning experiences!

Erin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Mustang Mission’s focus is rescuing, training, advocating, and educating. My desire is for Mustang Mission to be a valuable resource for anyone in the wild horse world. Currently, I am working on a brand new website with a lot of educational content that I feel will be very helpful to people wanting to learn more.

While Mustang Mission is not a nonprofit yet, I am currently working on obtaining a 501(c)3 status. It’s a lengthy process, but I hope to get it soon!

My goal in rescuing wild equines is to change the lives of those I can save and raise awareness of their plight by telling their stories. The mustangs I’ve rescued who were deemed “unwanted”, are incredibly special horses. One mustang, Ember, was in a livestock sales lot as an untamed three year old – her next step was likely a slaughter pen. However, I was able to rescue her, and she has been the easiest mustang I’ve trained. She loves attention and being in the middle of work projects at our farm (especially chewing on tractors). Ember also participates in educational field trips for 100+ students and their parents. She is loved by many people and is an example of why every animal deserves rescuing.

Unless a mustang or burro is rescued by a sanctuary where it can live in freedom again, gentling and training must occur. I use gentle and effective training techniques to ensure the horses I rescue have a solid foundation and are prepared for life in domestication. After gentling/training, each horse is available for adoption to a loving, caring home.

One of my main focuses is advocating for the wild horses and burros still on our western rangelands. If each wild horse and burro born on the range was allowed to stay free, there wouldn’t be abused and neglected ones, in need of rescuing. I am dedicated to fighting for their freedom.

Recently, I have been working to protect Georgia’s small herd of wild horses on Cumberland Island. These horses are in danger of being permanently removed from the island, due to people thinking that they are destroying the island and suffering from a lack of forage. However, their real need is simple and ignored by those seeking to “help” them. I encourage you to learn more about the Cumberland Island Wild Horses by clicking the link at the bottom of this interview.

I am very passionate about educating people on wild equines. Although wild horses and burros are nationally protected wildlife (second only to the bald eagle), many people have not heard about them. I write articles, educate at events, create videos, and more. I believe change can only come when everyone is aware and can fight for it together.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The horses I’ve worked with have greatly impacted what I do! I have learned many lessons from them, and they are my constant inspiration. It’s amazing how God uses His creation to teach us so much. Looking back on the past few years makes me very grateful for all that God has taught me and helped me with throughout starting this rescue.

One book that helped me align my advocacy goals is Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West. Since reading this book, I’ve shifted my focus to working to end ranching on public lands. Sadly, most ranching on public lands is not managed correctly and the cattle and sheep are allowed to utterly destroy the land. Not only does it affect the mustangs and burros, but all wildlife and the environment. Currently, there are approximately 700,000 to 1 million cow/calf pairs authorized by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) to graze public lands today. Cattle originated in wet climates, so they are not suited for desert conditions. Because of that, they tend to stay where there’s water – often drying up or contaminating the water source.

Horse trainers who have greatly impacted my training methods are Lindsey Partridge, Madison Shambaugh, Emma Massingale, Sam VanFleet, Kelly Wilson, and Amanda Wilson. I have enjoyed learning from Amanda Wilson because she focuses a lot on showing that most “naughty” horses are really in pain. I’ve used her equine bodywork techniques to help my horses, which has helped tremendously.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

It’s hard to pick a story that stands out above the rest! I’ve had a lot of adventures in these first years of rescuing wild equines! One that comes to mind is when I was gentling an older mustang, Rocket. He was relatively easy to train at first – I was able to touch his entire body, halter him, and teach him to lead within the first few days. I later realized that I was able to make so much progress because he was more mentally shut down than I had thought – he was tolerating what I was doing instead of accepting it. It is very common for mustangs to get to that point after being in holding.

The day came to move him from his gentling pen into the field with my other horses, and I really thought he was ready! I opened the gate, and he stood quietly next to me. Then, I think his mind suddenly snapped out of the shutdown state he was in when he saw open land in front of him. Rocket (perfect name, isn’t it?!) took off and spent the next seven hours running around our property, then onto a neighbor’s property (hundreds of acres). My family was very kind to help me bring him back – I couldn’t have done it without them! I will never forget the moment when we finally got Rocket back in a pen – I was exhausted, very hot, sunburnt, but so relieved!

Understandably, that event made me apprehensive about ever taking him out of a fenced-in area again! A few months later, a trainer spent the day working with my mustangs and me, and we took Rocket for a walk. I was so nervous at first, but he did very well. That has been one of the biggest confidence building moments for me yet. I learned so much through his escape and training process afterward. He has been one of my greatest teachers, for which I’m thankful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mustangmission.blogspot.com
• Other: Donate: https://www.givesendgo.com/wildhorserescue Subscribe: https://mailchi.mp/a1f1b249498b/subscribe Video Channel: https://rumble.com/c/c-1498331 Patreon: patreon.com/MustangMission Cumberland Island Wild Horses: https://www.change.org/savecumberlandshorses