Mustang Rescue and Equine Healing
Sacred Tree of Life is committed to the rescue, rehabilitation, and reverent relationship with America’s wild mustangs—beings who have run alongside our people for centuries as kin, teachers, and healers.
Our Mustang Rescue & Equine Healing program was born from a vision to restore balance between land, spirit, and the four-legged relatives who once roamed freely across it. Today, thousands of wild horses face inhumane roundups, confinement, and slaughter due to broken policies and shrinking rangelands. We intervene where we can—rescuing mustangs from auction yards, kill pens, and neglect, and offering them a sanctuary rooted in peace, space, and purpose.
Our program provides:
Safe Haven on Sacred Land, where mustangs can live in herd-structured, open-pasture environments that honor their wild nature.
Gentle Rehabilitation, using trauma-informed, non-coercive methods to rebuild trust and vitality in horses who have experienced capture and fear.
Equine-Assisted Healing, where our rescued mustangs partner in therapeutic sessions with Indigenous youth, trauma survivors, veterans, and those in recovery—offering profound emotional mirroring, grounding, and restoration.
Cultural Education, teaching the spiritual and historical significance of the horse in Indigenous lifeways, from warrior societies to women’s medicine circles.
Adoption Pathways, when appropriate, to place healthy, connected horses in permanent homes aligned with our values of dignity and lifelong care.
In Lakota and many Indigenous traditions, the horse is Sunka Wakan—the sacred dog, a carrier of prayers and a guide between worlds. We do not “break” horses; we listen to them. We do not own them; we protect and learn from them.
This is more than animal rescue—it is a movement of relational healing, where horse and human remember their bond, return to balance, and heal in tandem. Through this work, we honor not only the mustang but the land and legacy they carry.