Rose was born wild and free in July 2020 on the Red Desert Complex, Wyoming. Rose was just 3 months old when she ran alongside her mother, Dahlia, and the rest of her family including her siblings Isabelle and her brother Little Romeo, as the BLM completed the removal of 1799 horses from the Herd Management Area. Separated from her family, she and 80 other foals went to government corrals to await adoption. Sadly, young foals like Rose tried to nurse off of their slightly older siblings.

Rose was captured at Arapaho Creek, also known as “the donut hole” which 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 Dessert Complex encompasses 753,000 acres and has very harsh climate with rugged terrain. The horses are very diverse in color, type and size.

Thanks to photographers who have long photographed this herd, RTF was able to reunite Rose with her older sister Isabelle and her brother Little Romeo in March 2021! The three of them are now safe at Return to Freedom’s sanctuary! Having arrived scared and wary, Rose has very quickly become the most social and confident of the three!

Rose was named for late animal advocate Betty White’s character on “The Golden Girls.”

RTF was again able to send the photographers to the holding corrals in search of the whole family band. In August of 2021, we were able to find and adopt Rose’s father, mother and the whole family band.

Your Sponsorship has a significant, positive impact on Rose’s life!

Photography by Meg Frederick:
Rose at RTF, Rose with her mother and Romeo, Izzy, Rose