Update on the Wild Horses of Abaco:
Mimi has asked me to update this page and it is my sad duty to inform our friends that we are down to one beloved mare, Nunki. Our other two mares fell ill and died very quickly last winter and our beautiful bay mare Nunki is the only one left of her breed. Im going to ask you to let that sink in a minute…………………………….One mare left. One horse. The last of her breed.
As you can imagine, it was extremely difficult to share this information and for a while we really thought we might find either Hadar or Capella the stallions. There is so much more to this story and some of it is actually beginning to look positive. Let me share a bit more from an outsider turned insider perspective.
Going back two years, I was lucky enough to be involved beginning the fall/winter of 2011/2012 and again this past winter. I met the three mares and was able to see the aged stallion, Hadar WAY out where he hung out. This was totally unexpected and quite a thrill for me. Here is how it happened:
In 2011 we were on our boat in Marsh Harbour (in The Abacos/Bahamas) listening to the cruisers net which is broadcast every morning letting boaters and vacationers know what is going on in the area. Being a lifelong horse woman my ears perked up when I heard there were wild horses nearby on a preserve and they needed help. I contacted Mimi via e-mail and little did I know that I was going to meet my Horse Hero. I have been involved with horses my whole life. I have never seen or known anyone who has ever come close to making the sacrifices (some just plain dangerous) that Mimi has been making these past 15 or so years. I will save that for another post, but make NO mistake, this woman is the Real Deal.
Now the important part: if you have been following along, you already know how important and endangered this breed is. If you have not been following along, I urge you to go to ‘history’ on this site and read the short version of their history and the info on the DNA and designation of the breed itself. We are down to ONE mare. Think about if there was just on Thoroughbred left or one Quarter Horse left in the world through absolutely NO fault of their own.
Nunki’s story is VERY long and convoluted but the bottom line is her herd has been bounced around by man for the last 100 years or so and after I read and understood that story better Im surprised they didnt die out 50 years ago. Fires, hurricanes, slaughter by locals, poisionous chemicals, non-native toxic plants have taken a toll on top of the natural atrition of a wild herd. If you are like me, you are probably asking “Why didnt they do this?” or “why didnt they do that?”. I had a lot of questions at first and I would be glad to share my findings. The bottom line again there is………everything that could be done was done with the resources available. Think wild horses on an island in a third world country. Hurricanes, fires, uncaring humans, struggling government, and one woman virtually alone fighting to save them. Fighting fires, staying out on the preserve during the hurricanes so she could ‘be there’ once the storms past and help if needed. The story is long and hard fought.
Right now we have the attention of leading experts in the field of equine reproduction and DNA etc. Specifically the possibility of harvesting Nunki’s eggs, fertilizing them at a later date when the perfect stallion is found and saving the breed. All of this takes money and even now Mimi and her very small staff are literally living day to day to try to keep Nunki safe with proper fencing and food. Our world class repro expert is willing to come to the preserve and examine Nunki and see what he needs to work a miracle. Nunki is one of the relatively horses on earth to carry two of the very special genes for “Splash White” Pinto and the last of the Wild Horses of Abaco, also known as the Abaco Spanish Colonial.
Please consider donating to this effort, and even more importantly ask your friends to take 15 minutes out of their lives and read about Nunki and SHARE the request with their horse loving friends. We need contacts in high places and we need a few thousand $5 donations. If you know of someone in a position to help, please contact them and share our story. Have them contact us. We need help and contributions now. We are in the 11th hour.
Help Save Our National Treasure
Disclaimer: There are a number of other web sites claiming to be about the Abaco Wild Horses. We are the only site that is ‘on site’ in Abaco; we started the project in 1992.and have been working for the horses ever since. If you need up to date information, this is the place for it. Other sites only confuse issues and draw attention away from our critical needs. Thank you for your support.
