New Venture Farm

12/13/2025

12/09/2025

For those that haven't seen the Salt River herd, this is what it looks like to watch them come up over the hills,at sunrise, to begin their day.

*Be the light that helps someone else find their way today. 😊

12/06/2025

⚠️ URGENT CLOSURE NOTICE FOR HORSEBACK RIDERS: Salt River Area ⚠️

The U.S. Forest Service and AZDA have issued a closure order affecting horseback riders throughout the entire Salt River horse habitat, due to detection of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) in Salt River wild horses.

SRWHMG has been paying close attention because of the current outbreaks, and immediately reported symptoms in several horses to AZDA. More than a dozen Salt River wild horses are currently severely ill, appearing lethargic, sweating, sometimes drooling, and showing lesions and scabs around their mouths and lips. (In the picture is Salt River Stallion Jake, who has already lost so much this year and is now alone.) We are working closely with AZDA to protect the health of both the Salt River horses and visiting domestic horses.

We have also had two unexpected, shocking deaths in one day. These horses are currently being necropsied for EHV and any other possible causes, so that we can provide accurate information about what may have caused these deaths, since VSV is not known to be fatal.

Closure Details:

Who it affects: Horseback riders only (horses, donkeys, mules)

Dates: December 6, 2025 – March 6, 2026

Penalties: Fines up to $5,000 and jail time

We will post more updates soon. In the meantime, please let your horseback riding friends know and contact SRWHMG if you notice sick Salt River horses. You may send pictures to our hotline: 480-868-9301. Please give sick horses space and respect.

Precautionary Measures:
Although not included in the closure order, we are asking visitors to change shoes between visiting the river and the hills, as no symptoms have been reported in the hills so far. The very old and very young horses are most at risk — and as many of you know, we have only one 2025 foal.

Thank you for sharing and helping protect the horses.
For the public and by the public, SRWHMG

12/06/2025

12/06/2025

12/04/2025

Wild Horse Conservation, sanctuary, advocacy and education.

11/26/2025

2 cases confirmed in Maricopa county.

10/10/2025

In the wild frontier of Arizona, sometime around 1878, stagecoach drivers rode through a land where the horizon could kill you faster than a bullet. Among them was a man folks simply called Briggs — quiet, steady, and known for never missing a delivery, even when the desert turned mean.
One night, his stage was hit near the San Pedro crossing. The air filled with gunfire and dust. When it cleared, the coach lay shattered and the passengers silent. Briggs should’ve been among them — but somehow, he lived. With a broken rib and a bleeding shoulder, he dragged himself into the desert, clutching his shotgun like it was part of his soul.
For three days he walked under a punishing sun, carving the names of the men he’d seen by torchlight into a splinter of wood. People later said he never spoke of what happened out there, only that when he returned, something in his eyes had changed.
Weeks later, one by one, the outlaws from that ambush were found dead in the same badlands they’d once ruled. No one proved who did it, but the stories grew — that sometimes, at night, travelers could see the shadow of a lone rider along the Tombstone trail, his reins steady as stone.
They said vengeance will burn a man hollow. But out here, in the Arizona dust, it’s what kept him alive.

~Old Photo Club

10/10/2025

09/08/2025

Famed rodeo entertainer Bobby Kerr has died at the age of 67 after a long battle with cancer. Even during treatment, he didn't let his diagnosis stop him from pursuing his passion for training horses and performing.
Learn more of his life and legacy, and watch one of his rodeo acts featuring mustangs and cow dogs, here: https://go.countryrebel.com/BobbyKerr

Photo credit: Susan Kerr / Facebook