Ares is a beautiful blue roan pinto stallion (now gelded by BLM) who was born wild and free on Wyoming’s Red Desert Complex in 2007. In the fall of 2020, the Bureau of Land Management completed the removal of 1,799 horses from the Herd Management Area that was their home.

Ares was captured at Arapaho Creek, also known as “the donut hole. It used to be recognized as a Herd Area but after the completion of the roundup in 2020, Arapaho Creek is no longer a recognized HMA. The Red Desert Complex encompasses 753,000 acres and has a very harsh climate with rugged terrain. The horses are very diverse in color, type and size.

Separated from his family, Ares was sent to government corrals to await adoption or placement into long-term holding.

Thanks to his guardian angels, two photographers who had followed him and his family band on the range, RTF was able to adopt Ares. He arrived at Return to Freedom’s sanctuary on July 4, 2021, with another gelded stallion, Hotah, whom Ares knew from the range.

RTF was able to send the photographers to the holding corrals in search of his family. We were able to find and adopt Ares’ lead mare, now named Gracie. They were reunited after a year apart at Return to Freedom’s sanctuary in August 2021!

In November 2021, we were able to go back to the Bureau of Land Management’s holding facility and find two more of Ares’s mares. They were reunited with Grace and Ares in December 2021.

Your sponsorship has a significant, positive impact on Ares’ life!

Photos by Meg Frederick and Bari Lee.