In November of 2025 a federal search warrant was served in Santa Barbara County. One of the individuals arrested left behind two horses, a dark bay mare and a bay gelding. After the owner's arrest, the horses were left in the care of his wife, who knew nothing about how to care for horses. The horses were located on a large dirt lot that had been used for storage of ranch and farm equipment. The lot had a ton of debris, trash and overall horse health hazards on it (harvesting plastic, irrigation tubing, cardboard, wire, bailing twine, old mattresses, etc.)



Animal Services was called out by concerned neighbors. The investigating office found that the wife was willing to cooperate and wanted what was best for the horses. The wife was being evicted from her home and had no way to care for the horses. She was willing to sign them over so they could receive better care, so the investigator put her in touch with Redwings. A few days later Redwings hooked up the trailer and headed south to pick up the horses.



We had to back the trailer up a narrow gravel driveway and into the storage lot where the horses were. The gelding was haltered easily, but the mare proved to be more challenging. We tried everything to gain her trust and allow us to halter her, but she wouldn't let us get near her. The storage yard was large, and she easily galloped away from us each time we approached. We knew the mare was very bonded to the gelding, so we loaded him in the trailer with hope that the mare would follow, but all she did was gallop around the outside of the trailer and whinny to the gelding.



We were starting to wonder if we would be able to get the horses moved that day and were already thinking about what to do if we needed to return the next day with more help when the mare suddenly stopped at the back of the trailer and took a deep breath. She turned and made eye contact with the equine care manager and then took another deep breath and we noticed her relax. Slowly the equine care manager approached the mare and was able to gently rub her shoulder. After a few minutes of gentle rubbing on her shoulder and neck the mare accepted a halter and loaded into the trailer with no further issues.



Once back at Redwings both horses were evaluated. The horses had been fed and neither horse was thin. They were both covered in rain rot, a bacterial skin infection, that needed treatment. The mare was skittish and fearful around people, but the gelding was gentle easy to handle. The gelding suffers from advanced DSLD, Degenerative Suspensory Ligament Desmitis, a painful condition that affects the connective tissue in the lower leg causing swelling, lameness and dropped pasterns. This condition is progressive and we are not sure how long we will be able to keep him comfortable.


We allowed one of our dedicated volunteers to name the horses. The mare is called Jupiter and the gelding is Reign.