07/13/2026
Last winter in the forest near Mammoth Lakes I stepped off a snowmobile & was faced with dozens of wild horses trapped by deep snow. While the rest were fearful, trapped in a tiny area with no food/water for weeks, one horse was different. A black foal with a white blaze came down the narrow, packed trail. He walked directly toward me, touched his nose to me & began to lick & chew before blowing out a long breath, releasing tension. I had never had a wild horse approach me like this, but from my years with my mustangs, I understood the language. In that moment, I saw a young horse brave enough to approach & trust me. He was asking for help. I promised I would do anything to save him & his trapped family. I reached USFS Mono District Ranger Stephanie Heller Stephanie Heller with the information incl coordinates. When they pushed the horses out through the deep snow & trapped them, I bet you it wasn’t pretty. I’m sure they lost some in the process. Ask Joey Swisher Joey Swisher if he was ordered to shoot any horses? I went to the USFS corral, praying for black foal with a bad feeling in my gut. I was invited in until Stephanie realized I was there & I was met with law enforcement & removed, treated like a criminal for my concern for a herd I had alerted them to. Stephanie stares at you blankly & I stared at her with tears in my eyes as I pressed for answers. I was assured the foal was fine by one of her team. They wanted me off the public road. Sound familiar? Hours later, the tribe told me the black foal had just been euthanized, along with others, shortly after I left. That little black horse took a piece of my heart with him. You can tell a lot by looking someone in the eyes. That day, I knew I couldn’t trust them. This is my experience, but you don’t have to take it from me, they just did it again. This is how they operate. They move fast while they think no one is watching. When concerned public show up asking for transparency, they push them away & make them feel like criminals for asking questions. The most incredible part is that they actually wonder why we don’t trust them.