How these magnificent horses came to live in Santa Barbara County is a story marked by greed, neglect, and strained resources, leavened with care, concern, and good intentions. Originally from Shoshone Indian land and the Virginia Range in Nevada, the impounded horses were strong and free before their transportation to and seizure in Santa Barbara County. That this travesty has continued in the very heart of Central California, is nearly impossible to imagine.

Our local authorities, led chiefly by the District Attorney and the Sheriff’s Department, have pledged support in saving these horses from what they’ve aptly described as “concentration camp conditions”. Together we’ve formed Wild Horses in Need (WIN) expressly to feed and care for the seized horses while this horrendous situation is under investigation by the County. The many people who make up WIN are drawn to by a shared sense of caring and compassion, and in the conviction that together we can help.

Warning: The photographs that follow are disturbing, but are necessary in order to comprehend the suffering these horses lived through and to see how far they have come.