Chela is a beautiful blue roan mare who was born free in 1998 in the vast remote western ranges of Nevada’s Great Basin. She is from the Black Rock West HMA in the Calico Mountain Complex, Northwestern Nevada.

Chela is a survivor of the 2009 Calico Roundup, where nearly 2000 wild horses were captured and over 140 horses perished because of the roundup. Chela lost her family, her foal and her freedom on December 31, 2009.

Chela is now safe and has permanent refuge at Return to Freedom’s American Wild Horse Sanctuary. In 2010, RTF took in 100 wild horses from the Calico roundup, most were over 10 years old and slated for long-term holding.

The Calico herd is a testimony to the enduring spirit and hardiness of the diverse strains of horses that helped develop our Great Basin Ranchos, which later mixed with breeds used for the Cavalry. They have adapted to the rugged and remote terrain and returned to a natural state over the last two hundred years.

Chela is a reserved, calm and attentive mare. She shares a pasture with more than 70 mares, who also survived the roundup.