Sahaja | I Am Herd

Sahaja is a very special wild pony, born wild in the Virginia Mountains of Grayson Highlands. His father is the famous wild pony stallion with the huge white mane, known as ‘Fabio’. His mother is a beautiful pintaloosa named ‘Apple’. Both of Sahaja’s parents still live wild in the mountains of Grayson Highlands State Park and are often seen by hikers along the Appalachian Trail.

Sahaja is our first and only member of the herd who has a full sponsorship team of 7! Thanks to Jaycee, Lisa Santacaterina, Denise Brooks, Andrea Williams, Julie Taylor, Lori Case, and Amber Jude, I AM HERD has the support we need to continue the work we do in caring for wild pony Sahaja.

Sahaja’s sire the famous Wild Pony Stallion Fabio!

Sahaja has a forever home at the I AM HERD Mustang Sanctuary thanks to HIS Sponsor Team of caregivers.

Read on to learn more about Sahaja’s story below …
(above) Sahaja at only two days old playing in a meadow in the Virginia mountains! You can see his mother, Apple, grazing in the background.

As a way to manage the wild pony population, some of the wild pony foals are sold at auction every the fall. Sahaja was one of these selected to be auctioned and thanks to his fee being sponsored by Espana Silk Grooming Products, we were able to secure his bid and offer him a forever home at the I AM HERD Mustang Sanctuary.

He was hardly 3 months old at the time (Sept. 2019) and very weak, not yet knowing how to eat grain. We were so grateful to our nanny goats who provided fresh goat milk for little Sahaja to help him transition into his new life.

(above) two weeks after we brought Sahaja home. He finds comfort with nanny goat “Beamer” and drinks her milk from a pan every day! By this time he was starting to figure out how to chew grain. He especially liked it in a milk mash 🙂

Once Sahaja became stronger we knew that he needed his own pony herd. He loved the goats, but there was clearly something missing for him. He needed pony companions as well. He needed to learn how to be a pony! We first tried putting him with our family pony ‘Squirt’. They are the same size and we thought it might work – but Squirt wanted to play too rough and Sahaja would come running to me (Mary) asking to be let out of the pasture. So his first visits with Squirt had to be supervised and he would go back to the goat herd at night.

Around this time a friend and I AM HERD volunteer told us about another wild pony that was in need of adoption. His name was ‘Rico’ and he was born wild on the beaches of North Carolina. He was a Corolla Wild Horse! – these wild horses are very small .. around the same size Sahaja will mature and Rico was especially small, standing only 12 hh full grown! Rico had lived as a wild stallion on the beach for his first 5 years and he loved taking care of foals! He was firm, but gentle with the little ones and already used to being around humans too. Rico had been adopted by another family, but it did not work out and he was in need yet again. We went to meet him and knew we had to adopt him and bring him home to I AM HERD.

Now Sahaja, Squirt and Rico live together as a new little Wild Pony Herd! Rico is the leader and helps Squirt handle his emotions when he becomes to ‘playful’ with Sahaja and Sahaja is feeling so held now by the support of them BOTH! The goats are still close and will always remain his friends too, but he now lives with his pony herd 24/7 and is healing more with each passing day.

Sahaja LOVES people and LOVES to be loved on. Scratches on his neck are one of his favorite things 🙂 We cannot wait to see him grow into himself in the coming months! We have all ideas he will slick out to be the same Silver Black color of his sire, Fabio! … and his mane already has thick ringlets. He is quite the amazing ball of fluff and we are so grateful to be able to offer him a forever home. … He might even join our Mustang visits to the schools and nursing homes one day! For now he is growing and learning what it means to experience life in a pony body, from his wonderful and kind teacher Rico, and his very playful friend Squirt 🙂

(above) Rico (left) Sahaja (center) Squirt (right) – resting together, quietly munching on hay on a blustery winter day.

I AM HERD Mustang Sanctuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit. We are able to offer these special horses and ponies a forever home thanks to Sponsorships from the public.

Below is Jaycee and Sahaja. Jaycee received a Sahaja Sponsorship as her Christmas gift from her Grandma! She came to visit him in person and Sahaja was as excited to see her as she was to see him 🙂

(above) Jaycee and Sahaja and Jaycee’s Sahaja doll.

Sponsoring an I AM HERD horse or pony is one of the most supportive things you can do for our work and mission. And the most amazing part is the way it truly connects the Caregiver TO the horse or pony they are Sponsoring! These wild ones just know and they are so grateful for Your help!

As a Gift of Gratitude for your Sponsorship, we will mail you professional print on archival paper of your sponsored horse! We send out additional Gifts of Gratitude throughout the year as well as send you personal updates from your horse or pony!

Above all, you will know that your donation ensures that we can provide the best of care to this wild one that you feel a connection to. Sponsorships are a monthly donation of $50, the cost of a bale of hay, and are a one-year commitment. You may opt to have your monthly donation withdrawn automatically or you may pay in full for the year either via check or online credit card. The annual commitment begins the month you begin your Sponsorship (so a Sponsorship initiated in Feb 2020 will run through Feb 2021)

or mail a check for the annual amount ($600) to

I AM HERD PO Box 3 Kelly, NC 28448

Blessings from this herd to your heart, there is truly a wild horse in all hearts that are drawn to them ~

Mary Miller-Jordan
910-712-4823
Programs@IAMHERD.org
I AM HERD
P.O. Box 3
Kelly, NC 28448
501(c)3 non-profit organization
EIN 47-3111624

(above) some members of the big herd at the Mustang Sanctuary
(left to right) Clarity, Rainbow, Gabriella, Sueno, Magic, Lindsay’s Faith, Unity, IAm, Helix, Isabella/Aurora