When a herd of wild horses is running, the lead stallion frequently falls behind to help his group find food and water safely.
So when Cassidy drops behind the herd of rescued wild horses, Clare Staples, the founder of Skydog Ranch, an animal sanctuary in Oregon, can’t help but giggle.
Cassidy, who is named after singer David Cassidy, is not a wild mustang at all, standing only 39 inches tall.
Cassidy is actually a “mini hinny,” a cross between a miniature horse and a tiny donkey. He doesn’t let the fact that he is several feet shorter than the horses with whom he has formed a relationship or that he was miraculously rescued from a sad situation stop him from having a very high opinion of himself.
“We tried to put him with the donkey herd several times,” Staples told The Dodo, “and he just goes under the fence and back to his wild mustang herd.”
Cassidy was saved with a mustang from a kill pen in Waco, Texas, back in 2016. Kill pens are where unwanted horses, donkeys and mules are sent when no one wants them anymore; if they aren’t saved from these places, they’re sent to slaughter in Canada or Mexico.
“I know we are a mustang sanctuary,” Staples wrote on Skydog’s Facebook page just after seeing Cassidy’s photo and deciding to rescue him, “but sometimes when you are rescuing a mustang a little creature manages to win your heart … Cutest little boy just couldn’t be left behind.”
Cassidy’s life was spared, but Staples had no idea how his life would turn out in the refuge. He was introduced to other donkeys on every single occasion, but it never worked.
He wanted to hang out with full-size horses rather than donkeys from the time he arrived, according to Staples. And as soon as the little hinny came, the horses showed signs of being rather inquisitive about him. When he initially arrived to the sanctuary’s Malibu outpost, Buddy was the first horse he encountered. As he arrived, “[Buddy] was trying to say hi,” Staples recalled.
At the refuge, Cassidy has prospered on his own terms. He now considers himself to be a powerful mustang and resides in freedom at our refuge with a herd of wild horses, according to Staples. Despite being barely 39 inches tall, he believes himself to be big.
Cassidy also takes pride in playing a particular role in the social structure of the herd. Cassidy is the one that investigates and alerts the others if the herd of mustangs is afraid of anything or a new horse appears, according to Staples.
On the 5,000 acres of sanctuary property where they reside, Cassidy somehow manages to keep up with the herd despite having short legs. He even claims to own two mares, according to Staples. He merely approaches them and makes an effort to act as though they are his girlfriends.
But even Cassidy sometimes feels like hanging out with someone his own size — so he socializes with Barkley, the Great Dane.
Staples thought, “From a kill pen to where he is today is a great leap for a small creature.”
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