Inside a Blue Sky Utah event barn, singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell took the stage in a pair of 10-inch platform silk heels, acoustic guitar in arm. Three bandmates settled in around the West Virginian, each equipped with a folk bluegrass instrument. Friday’s intimate concert with the Grammy A ward-winning artist was the headlining event for a weekend fundraiser dedicated to supporting wild horses and their care. “When I heard about being able to come here and do this, I said yes immediately,” Ferrell told the audience. “I want … to use what I have in my life to be helpful.”  The evening kicked off the first-ever fundraising efforts by Wanship-based horse rescue Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation, founded by Blue Sky Utah owner Barbara Phillips in 2014. She said in the past 11 years, she hadn’t found the courage to host a fundraiser. But then she met Patricia Miller, the executive director of American Wild Horse Conservation, and her daughter, Alex Hudson, gave her a nudge. An intimate concert with Grammy Award-winning artist Sierra Ferrell was part of the Stay Wild with Gracie weekend. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record “If you don’t raise money, you can’t keep rescuing horses, and it’s something that I have to tell myself all the time because I don’t like asking for money, and I don’t even like asking for help,” Phillips said. “But you have to because you can’t do it alone, and you also have to set your rescue up for success.” She agreed to do the event in partnership with Miller’s national organization, and the Stay Wild with Gracie weekend was born. It was designed as three days of activations, rather than a simple gala, to “make a bigger splash,” said Phillips. In addition to the concert, attendees could participate in a silent auction and a live auction on Friday night. Saturday, a workshop at Saving Gracie’s demonstrated how the animals are cared for, and attendees could purchase tickets to a farm dinner at Gracie’s Farm held later that night. On Sunday, another tour showed the 150-acre property home to Phillips’ rescued mustangs. Miller said the decision to involve American Wild Horse Conservation was a way to encompass both sides of the wild horse issue. American Wild Horse Conservation has been working at the front lines of wild horse management in nine Western states, including Utah. There are two sides of the house, Miller said: one that works to change policy and another that works on management solutions, like operating the largest fertility control program in the world. Miller said the wild horse issue in the United States boils down to population control. In 1971, Congress passed the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, protecting mustangs, a free-roaming horse in the western United States, due to their status as important symbols of the American West. They’ve since been allowed to roam free on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Stay Wild with Gracie raised funds for protecting wild horses at both ends of the issue, from the range to sanctuaries. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordPatricia Miller, executive director of American Wild Horse Conservation, speaks at Friday’s event. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordAlex Hudson, executive director of Saving Gracie’s and daughter of founder Barbara Phillips, speaks at the Friday event. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordBarbara Phillips said in her 11 years with Saving Gracie’s, she never held a fundraiser. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record Because mustangs are federally protected, they can’t be killed. To limit populations based on their established Appropriate Management Levels for each individual Herd Management Area, land managers have used a system of rounding up horses by helicopter in holding pens, where they are then adopted out. Everyone agrees this system is broken, said Miller, and often it leads mustangs to the “slaughter pipeline,” a term for the industry that buys American horses and ships them into Mexico and Canada to be processed for consumption. But animal cruelty aside, it’s just bad business. A horse living on the range is free, Miller said, eating and drinking as part of wildlife. As soon as it’s removed and placed in long-term holding facilities, each horse costs $55,000 in taxpayer dollars over its lifetime. There are currently 70,000 wild horses in holding facilities.  American Wild Horse Conservation argues there’s a better way. “It costs the taxpayers $150 million a year in the current BLM budget, and over 75% of their budget is helicopters and long-term holding facilities,” Miller said. “We say pivot your budget, do more fertility control, and then you can keep the population managed on the range.” Not only does that solution save the United States money, but it helps out rescue organizations like Saving Gracie’s that are already at capacity.   Barbara Phillips introduces Comanche, a horse she rescued, during a workshop on Saturday. Comanche is treated for severe arthritis with special medication and cushioned boots. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record With the weekend fundraiser — the first extended partner event American Wild Horse Conservation has ever done — Miller said it was important to show the hard work of horse sanctuaries, which serve as the current, unsustainable solution. The work Phillips is doing is not cheap, she said. Phillips joked during Saturday’s workshop that sometimes Saving Gracie’s feels more like a hospital. She currently has 35 rescued horses, a third of them mustangs, including a group nicknamed the Lucky Nine, and others who were taken in from situations of neglect or crisis. After rescue, every horse at Saving Gracie’s goes through a recovery stage starting with a veterinary evaluation. And there’s always something wrong, Phillips said. With major issues addressed, the animals then receive a tailored rehabilitation plan. “They all have a story. They all have their own needs and their own personalities. And so we try to address every single one as an individual with whatever treatment they need,” Phillips said. That can be noninvasive therapies like sessions with a BEMER horse blanket, which uses magnetic pulsing to help with circulation. Some develop laminitis, a dangerous inflammation of the hooves, which requires specialized boots for treatment. Other horses need practice taking treats from strangers, while others are banned from receiving treats until they learn manners. There’s full-time staff, emergency vet calls and a lot of heartbreak, Phillips said. So while she’s not actively focused on policy change and advocacy, “it affects me at the end of the line,” she said. Prada, a horse at Saving Gracie’s, receives targeted massages to help release tension. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordBillie, a horse at Saving Gracie’s, receives treats from strangers as part of the rehabilitation process. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park RecordGiuliana Marple is a certified equine therapist who leads sessions at Saving Gracie’s to benefit horses and humans. Credit: Jonathan Herrera/Park Record Miller said right now is an inflection point, with strain at every stage of the current system. It’s why they’re starting to see a shift. She was able to sit down with President Trump himself to discuss the issues from the business side, and just two weeks ago had a historical breakthrough. On Sept. 21, the Bureau of Land Management announced a $30 million investment in fertility control. Before then, Miller said she’d only seen $1 million in fertility control. “Historically it’s been so adversarial: advocates against ranchers or against BLM,” Miller said. “We’ve tried a different approach this last year to say, let’s treat this like a business. Let’s come to the table as professionals. Let’s have conversations, even if we have a differing opinion or perspective. But if we all agree that the system is broken and we all agree we don’t want this taxpayer burden, then let’s figure that solution out.” Funds from the Stay Wild with Gracie weekend will be split evenly between Saving Gracie’s and American Wild Horse Conservation to support both groups’ efforts. It’s an “all boats rise with the tide” approach that Miller and Phillips each want to see more of. The post Stay Wild with Gracie weekend kindles a conversation around wild horses appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less