Nora was born confident, smart and curious – and let’s not forget beautiful! Nora was born at Return to Freedom’s American Wild Horse Sanctuary on December 16, 2018. Nora was named in honor and memory of Nora Rose Hines, one of Return to Freedom’s long time youth ambassadors who tragically left our world too young. Her sire is a rare Cerbat stallion, Amante and her dam is Stella, a beautiful grulla mare from the Sulphur Springs herd. Nora looks exactly like her mother Stella and displays the unique Iberian type which she has inherited from both her Sulphur and Cerbat ancestry.

While Nora’s mother Stella is more wary of humans, Nora has inherited her father Amante’s confident and social personality. Curious about everything and everyone she will not hesitate to greet visitors to her pasture and explore the unknown with her brother Fuego and her older sister Amber whom she adores.

Nora’s sire, Amante is the sanctuary’s only Cerbat stallion, who was captured by the BLM from the Cerbat Mountain range outside of Kingman Arizona. Nora’s mother is Stella, a beautiful grulla dorsal striped mare from the Sulphur Springs herd. Stella looks like her father, Running Bear, who was captured from the Sulphur Springs HMA in Utah.

When Nora’s father Amante came to Return to Freedom in 2003, a decision had to be made about what mares to pair him with. Cerbat horses are rare to find, since there are less than 70 Cerbat mustangs remaining in the wild and there are rarely any roundups there because of predator populations. Amante was paired with mares from the Sulphur Springs herd at the suggestion of equine geneticist Dr. Gus Cothran.