Merlin

One fall morning, advocates on the ground at a Colorado wild horse roundup spotted a tiny newborn foal being accompanied by, they assumed, her mother. But a closer look revealed that she was actually trotting alongside Merlin, a well-known local stallion. It turned out that the foal’s mother had been caught in a government roundup, leaving her all but orphaned on the range. Merlin, who should have been taking cover miles away from the dangerous helicopter roundups, bravely escorted that foal — badly in need of milk — all the way to the trap site where the pair was captured. The foal immediately received the care she needed, and Merlin paid the price with his freedom. That could have been the end of his story, but it wasn’t. The next day, Merlin took a huge leap of faith and jumped over the metal panels standing between him and the open range. Today, he still remains free and the foal, known as StellaLuna, is safe at the For the Love of Aria sanctuary in Colorado!

The two most important principles to any wild mustang are family and freedom. Merlin chose both. To this day, he continues to roam free on Colorado public lands.