Wild Horse Preservation League

It was 2001 when Two Socks, the biggest, toughest, and one of the oldest, about 14 years old, stallion on the Mark Twain Estates range, in Dayton, Nevada, got captured in a bait trap. He and a yearling could not resist the fresh hay and water in the steel barred trap, in the heat of summer. Fortunately, they, the Nevada Department of Agriculture, but most notably Mr. Pederson, did not get them all! As such, on that hot summer day, I got a call from Bobby Royale, President of Wild Horse Spirit, in Washoe Valley, who driving down Highway 50 E. through the Dayton Valley. She said Julie you have to get up and go to a trap near the corner of Brandstetter Avenue and Six Mile Canyon Road. “They caught Two Socks and one of his yearlings, she said” I got on the phone and called Bonnie Matton and her husband, Chuck, immediately and told them they had Two Socks. We met at the trap and Bonnie said, "this cannot happen! He is too old and if they geld him, he could die!" Bonnie and Chuck went home and called Laura Tenant, Editor of the local Dayton Valley newspaper, and her and several other people they called came to the trap. I have pictures and newspaper articles about it all. I remember standing there with my foot on the railing while he's on the other side of the fence trying to get out and it broke my heart. Before I went to the trap, I called Mr. Pederson and begged him to let Two Socks go, but he refused! He said if I went to the trap, there would be an armed officer there and I would go to jail. I told him, “I guess I’m going to jail, today.” I called my husband, who worked in Lake Tahoe, and said “you better come home, I’m going to jail today.” Bonnie and Chuck came back to the trap, along with the other people, and we formed the Wild Horse Preservation League. They initially made me President and Bonnie Vice President, but it was too much for my hands and arms, so Bonnie became and remained President for many many years, working tirelessly the rest of her life. We lost a good friend and wild horse advocate when she passed away a few years ago. However, when the trapping happened, myself, Bonnie, and the others knew we had to act quickly so we filed the necessary paperwork for a 501C (3) nonprofit organization, had an immediate spaghetti feed to raise the money to get Two Socks out of jail and to a member’s house as a rescue, and, I believe, saved Two Socks life. I had made a 2001 calendar of Two Socks and his band, because he and his father Socks were so well known by the locals for many years. Plus they roamed all around the range. Plus, I was already trying to get reflectors put up on the highway to keep the wild ones off, so they would not get rounded up. My friend and wild horse Ecologist, Craig Downer, who contributed to my calendars, had a brochure in his garage about a way to do just that. They are called the Strieter Lite Wild Animal Highway Warning Reflector System and I wanted to see if they would work. So, at a public forum, I convinced the Nevada Department of Transportation to conduct a test, on Highway 50 E., with the reflectors on the horses, and they worked beautifully! So many people and emergency agencies were grateful, I’ll never forget it because I got a lot of hugs. So, I thought this League would be a great way to also make people aware the plight to save wild horses. The reflectors were a way to keep them and most all other wildlife off the dark highways from dusk to dawn. They had been up for almost 30 years in many other states and a couple of other countries and worked very well in keeping not only dear and small animals off Highway 50 at night, but wild horses as well, which were getting hit a lot. That is the story behind the League and what I am most grateful for is the many years of hard work all the people in the surrounding area have contributed to keeping the effort going. You are angels! You are the true heroes! All these years later! Thank you so much. I love you and appreciate you, dearly.
Julie Anna Keller, Honorary Board Member and Founder of the Wild Horse Preservation League, 4-23-22