Mustang A Day Challenge Painting #288 Spirit Fund Raiser Part 1

This is the first of two paintings I will be doing to help raise funds for this Beautiful American  Mustang: Read why  we are raising funds and "Spirit"'s story below. I will complete the second painting either tomorrow or Saturday.

"Spirit"
4 by 6  inches Watercolor
by LindaLMartin Artist
Prints Are Now Available. Click here: SPIRIT FUND

Spirit's Story:

He is a 14 year old, untrained Mustang stallion. He was born in a holding facility. He never ran free, but his mother was captured on an HMA in Nevada.

Spirit is currently in Delaware. His current owners adopted him, brought him home, took the halter and lead rope off, set him free in a pasture, and just let him be a pretty pasture ornament for the last decade. He is friendly and curious, but untrained. His owners are moving, can't take him with them, and were going to have him euthanized.

Thankfully Tracey McCartney-Snyder and Ellie Miller stepped up and are  working to find him a new home. He has a temporary foster home lined up and will be gelded soon, but he needs a forever home soon. He is free to a good home under contract. Potential adopters will be screened to make sure he ends up in the best possible forever home.

I decided to paint this beautiful animal because lately on the East coast more and more we are running into situations like this  where the mustang has been adopted, brought home and lived in comfort with the family  sometimes for years like Spirit. However because he has never had any formal training or handling the animal grows up as a pet with no real job or training and because of his size and maturity  he needs some one with experience to handle him.

"Spirit"
Reference Photography
provided by
Tracey McCartney-Snyder
Used by permission

Life circumstances do change.  These last few years especially in the USA we find that many people who were working toward the American Dream and had reached security of sorts, are suddenly  having to down size and move. This places the security of their animals at risk. A horse with no  or little handling  can not be placed just anywhere. They must have training to be safe for new owners, for vetting and for emergency situations. For the wild adopted mustang this is a double jeopardy situation.

This is a situation no one could have foreseen. Least of all his former owners. We do not want to place blame here, but we do want to use it as a learning moment. Every horse, in this day and age, needs minimal handling, if for no other reason but to keep it safe in an emergency situation, such as a natural disaster evacuation or life threatening injury.

Because Spirit is a stallion, he will need to be gelded in order to place him in training and into  a forever home.  Because of Spirit's lack of handling, the cost of a simple gelding procedure is going to cost $800.00. 

  You can help!  I am going to offer  this painting of  Spirit and several signed prints, plus a painting I will be doing tomorrow night, and prints of that one, to help raise the money to offset the cost of Spirit's operation. I will announce the time frame when the second painting is finished.  This beautiful Mustang is due to be gelded on the last day of March so the auction will be soon. Terms and conditions and the percentage to be donated  will be listed just prior to the auction's beginning.

Please alert your friends.  And watch this space for more information.

Special additional thanks to  Shawna Lynn who contributed to this story and to Cie Sadeghy who first alerted me to the situation.