Willie Nelson has rescued more than 70 wild horses that now roam free on his ranch in Texas. His ranch is called “Luck,” and in 2019 he told KSAT that the horses that live on his ranch are “the luckiest horses in the world.”

Many of the horses on Nelson’s ranch were rescued before they were sent to slaughterhouses. Now, “they get hand-fed twice a day,” and “they’re happy horses.”

Nelson is passionate about protecting wild horses, but he knows he can’t rescue all of them at his ranch. In an effort to try to help more wild horses, Nelson wrote a powerful letter that was shared on Return To Freedom, Wild Horse Conservation’s Facebook page. In the letter, Nelson started by saying plainly, “Wild horses need our help today.”

Nelson went on to explain, “Fifty years ago, Congress unanimously voted in protections for America’s wild horses and burros through a law called the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.” He says that since then Congress has passed mandates that now allows wildlife to share land with livestock. Now, the Bureau of Land Management is rounding up wild horses when it thinks there are too many of them.

Nelson went on to describe why rounding up wild horses is a bad thing. He wrote, “Wild horses, like other wild animals, were meant to be wild and free. Historic family bands are broken as the horses are separated forever.” Then he proceeded to list what happens to the horses after they are rounded up. There are multiple options. He explained, “Some are adopted or sold, and many thousands more end up living in crowded corrals or leased pastures, exposed to the elements. Some end up slaughtered for human consumption overseas.”

It is important to Nelson that wild horses remain wild and free. He doesn’t want them to be rounded up or slaughtered. He fears that otherwise wild horses will no longer exist.

Nelson urges anyone who agrees that wild horses should remain wild and free to call “your members of Congress today through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urging them to support all efforts in Congress to end the massive roundups of wild horses.”

He is urging Americans to put aside their differences to come together to protect wild horses. He wrote, “Our elected officials must know this is a priority for the American people. Let’s heal our divisions by coming together for this common purpose.”

Do you support the freedom of wild horses?