It all started with a horse named Buddy who liked the Hollywood Hills.

Buddy, a mustang, had a mark on his neck indicating he was part of a family of mustangs. Identifying his heritage led Clare Staples, of Malibu, California, to learn about Champ, Goliath, Blue Zeus, Sheldon, Pine Nuts and Blaze.

She reunited these horses with their mates and even some of their offspring and moved them up to a 9,000-acre ranch she purchased near Prineville. Called Skydog Ranch, the horse and donkey sanctuary built by Staples’s nonprofit cares for 260 wild horses and 60 wild and rescued burros. Most of these run free, but some, who are injured or old, are cared for by a team of about 100 volunteers and six staffers.

Skydog Ranch is among the largest of all the horse and large animal sanctuaries in Central Oregon, with seven herds divided in the upper and lower ranch areas. About a half dozen such groups take in the unwanted horses and burros, said Catherine Hayden, co-owner of Rags to Rescue, a Sisters animal rescue.

“We realized we could buy more land in Oregon,” Staples said. “We unloaded a trailer with 70 horses at a former elk ranch. We give horses back their lives. We take horses with special needs that would have been euthanized because of health or training issues.”

Staples started her sanctuary with 12-15 mustangs and a couple of donkeys in her Malibu ranch, but soon realized there was a big need to provide sanctuary for more horses. She first searched in California, but soon realized her money would go further in Oregon and landed on the ranch in Crook County in 2016.

A former entertainment producer, Staples soon discovered that far too many wild horses, and horses no longer wanted, needed a haven, a place where they could live out the rest of their lives free to roam and connect with others who shared their bloodline.

“We get calls and emails daily from people trying to rehome their horses for a variety of reasons,” Hayden said. “Skydog is unique because it’s the largest of rescue ranches. She does a good job of getting horse families together that were separated.”

Finding and funding the ranch

The ranch is divided into upper and lower areas. The upper area, about 5,000 acres, is grazing land for the seven herds.

When Staples saw the ranch in 2016, she was struck by the history that dotted the landscape. Homesteads in varying states of decay spoke of the people who had lived there before. The land was rich with natural springs and creeks for the horses to drink from.

“When I was looking, I looked at the ranch in every season,” Staples said. “I was blown away by its natural beauty. It looks like a movie green screen. It was a wonderful full circle moment, when I could see wild horses on this land.”

It’s because of the place that Staples has made it a mission to take on horses that were originally from Oregon. The region is rich with a history of wild horses, she said.

“My job is to save the horses that would be euthanized in the BLM roundups,” Staples said, referring to the Bureau of Land Management. “I’m not trying to change policy, I’m educating people. We want to help the horses and make sure they’re cared for. That’s our focus.”

She has figured out how to match up the horses by families by matching the animals to pictures taken by wildlife photographers, Staples said. In the case of Blue Zeus he recognized a mare that he mated with, she said.

“When I go to the auctions, I’m looking at the spot on the ear, the markings on their bodies and matching them to photographs,” Staples said. “They call me the wild horse detective.”

Much of the funding for Skydog Ranch comes from donations, according to public IRS documents. In 2020, the most recent year IRS forms are available,, the nonprofit earned $887,162 in contributions and grants, according to the filing.

It costs $185,000 a year to feed the horses, for a total of $645,000 for horse and veterinarian care, according to the 2020 documents.

When young mustangs come to the sanctuary, Staples said, sometimes, they’ll be adopted out by working with other rescues and sanctuaries to train the horses, according to the filing.

Protecting and reuniting

Many wild horses are rounded up on U.S. Bureau of Land Management land. At one time, there were more than 2 million wild mustangs roaming the countryside. Now there are fewer than 50,000, according to Skydog Ranch’s website.

In the United States it’s unlawful to slaughter a wild mustang, but they are auctioned off after horse gathers. Some are taken to Mexico and Canada for slaughter, Staples said.

Sanctuary organizers from around the country have urged Congress to prevent this movement across the borders with a measure called the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act. Such a measure, if passed, would prohibit the slaughter of horses in the United States for human consumption, as well as the export of live horses for the same purpose.

When Staples was learning about Buddy’s background, she learned he had a sister. She found his sister in Utah and when reunited 17 years later, the two horses bounded across an open field to be together, Staples said.

“I always got this feeling that Buddy wanted to find his family,” Staples said. “That’s why we have an emphasis on families. Buddy was lost from his family. Horses have deep bonds with each other. Their family unit is extraordinarily strong.”

Staples tells a story of reuniting Goliath, a large black, curly mustang who lived at the Delta Utah corrals. He was reunited with Red Lady, a mare he had been mated with and had been separated from during a Bureau of Land Management roundup, according to the ranch’s website. Under Skydog Ranch’s care, the two horses were reunited in 2018 and now live together on the ranch near Prineville.

Hayden, co-founder of Rags to Rescue, praised the work that Staples has done to reunite the horse families. Hayden’s rescue operation consists of 30 animals she houses on her family’s 170-acre ranch. There are five horses, mini mules, a sheep and cattle that she fosters.

It can be expensive to care for these animals, Hayden said.

“She follows these auctions really well and connects the family of horses,” Hayden said. “Behind the scenes she does a lot of investigative work. When she brings them to her sanctuary, depending on where they were and how much they can tolerate humans, they either get to be domesticated or out in the wild.”