The FULL Rescue story of “Bubbles” wild foal in the Sundre Equine Management Zone April 18 2025

As wild life, and wild horse advocates, moments like this call for deep reflection.

There have been many publishments and articles regarding bubbles. however sometimes the details are missed, ignored, or misrepresented. I do not look at this one from one specific angle or another. I like to be thorough, and I like for all angles to be explored. so here i will explain all that I know in regards to the wild foal who was found alone and abandoned on April 18th by myself and my children. To start this off with a bit of background history here, which will play into my opinions and beliefs. i have studied equine psychology since my highschool years. starting with a course in equine science, followed by equid species psychology, ranging from wild horses to domestic, ponies to donkies and zebras. followed by equine welfare. my knowledge in the equid species is extensive, however my wild horse research studies began in december 2024 and since then, we have been working endlessly to help bring awareness and proper representation for the wild horses.

on April 18th we headed out for a 7 days and nights, to continue watching, studying, observing and photographing the wild horses in their natural habitat, my husband was due to meet us later that evening. we started the day in some lesser known areas, and worked our way into the sundre equine zone earlier afternoon between 11-1.

During this time we noticed a mare and foal alone in the tree line. we watched for a few minutes took a few photographs and then continued on our way, we seen a few horses a little ways up (200-400yards or so) across the road and mountain in the lower valley,, pulling off the road to sit and watch them for a little while also, we knew right away who this band was, as we have documented and photographed them previously. the blue eyed foal i have documented is also part of this band. Another band i keep a watchful eye on was also here, this is when i realized i could not see a yearling who i was keeping tabs on, noting it, it come back and look for her afterwards, while we continued watching this band. This is when another group of photographers showed up, being:Joanne king , Barbara Bostock, and Jamie Dear, well known wild horse advocates and photographers. This was my first interaction with these ladies, as in my months out there in the eastern slopes of the Alberta mountains, we seldom come across anyone on our journeys. They pulled up, asking who I was, and if I had signed the petition. Joanne, recognizing my name, gave me a hug and said “it’s nice to finally meet you” We stood together observing and photographing teddies band, when I mentioned the foal across the road, and Joanne informed me the foal was born earlier in the morning and she got to witness the beautiful birth, now having confirmation that that foal and mare across the road were in fact part of this band. They started heading down the valley looking for the other horses they seen, and we continued on our journey. we passed by the mare and foal again, to get to where we were heading next, and they were both still standing together, however this time we did not stop, in hopes not to disturb them in case the band came back for them. at this point i had a lot of thoughts and theories already going through my head. knowing stallions do not typically leave their mares or newborn foals. Yes, mares do typically stray a little to foal, however the stallion does not typically go further than he can see and hear them, however in this case they crossed a road and a valley to go down for water. my initial thought was maybe the foal was not quite able to keep up yet, however we left and continued on. after supper we headed out one last time for the day around 5pm. However we were now going looking for the yearling that I could not find earlier in the day. So we were heading back to where I seen the yearlings band earlier at the water hole. as we headed out we come across a band on the mountain side, instantly i recognized them. This was the band with the blue eyed foal, also meaning this was the band of the foal (Bubbles) who was born earlier this day. i was so excited! where they were now located meant they would have had to walk back past the mare and foal to get to where they were. So i initially assumed that this meant the stallion did in fact go back for the mare and foal. So I stopped and me and my kids started looking. However we could not find the foal with them. I noticed a mare that looked like the mom of the foal but I was not positive. At this point I still had hope the mare and foal were together, and I hoped I was wrong about this bay mare being her mom. we knew at this point the band did not take the foal back, and continued down the road. This is when we come upon the foal peaking out of the forest edge. I took a picture and sat and watched. during this time we were looking for her mom, and observing her behaviour, however we did not approach and where we were we could see her without having to get out of the vehicle.we sat at a distance till around 6-6:30. In tis time frame the foal was showing clear signs of distress. She was looking around, sniffing for her mom, squealing and whinnying for her mom and band. At this point I was fairly certain the mare was not here, mares do not ignore their foals. Now this confirmed that the bay mare i seen earlier on the mountain side was infact the mare of this foal, and she had left with her band across a mountain range, leaving the foal behind. Now for anyone wondering there as strict laws in place about touching, taking, disrupting and harassing wild horses. So in this time frame I kept my distance and did not disturb or disrupt what would naturally occur. However by 6:30 I walked up quietly for a closer look. Although I was not going up to see the foal, I went around the foal up the mountain to look one last time for her mom, in hopes again that maybe I was wrong.. but I was not wrong. Now this is where i had to really decide what to do. If you do not know wild horse country, it might be helpful to know that there is no service, you can drive 100km one way and not come into service in some areas. Now being out here for the majority of 6 months, we have come to know the land like the back of our hands, and I knew a ridge close by I could get up to for service. So we left and during this time I hoped the mare would return. i went up for service is was around 7. I have tried reaching out to Darrel and Bard from Haws many times over the last 6 months but I usually get an automated response, with little response back, so I texted a photographer I had met earlier in the day, Joanne King. in my message to Joanne I let her know I had found the foal alone and abandoned, I also asked for her her opinion, I said I was not sure what to do, and I wanted to let a more experienced wild horse advocate know. For anyone who does not know Joanne, she runs the Alberta Wild Horse facebook group long with Julie Birch and June Fox. I was asking for Joannes insight as to what to do if a wild foal is alone, and I said I dont have experience or knowledge in this area. i told her i would go back and sit at a distance to keep my eye on the foal and see how things pay out, in hopes her mom returns. Joanne responded very quickly to say she called Darrel at the help alberta wildies society and that they were on their way. Now at this point i knew they were on their way, however i did not know what would happen once they arrived, but at first i was quite relieved to have more experienced people coming to the aide. Now most people probably would have been really happy rescuing a wild foal, however I was quite torn. My initial hope was that darrel, barb, and Joanne would sit and observe with me, or come up with a plan, do we push the foal down the mountain across the ridge to her band? do we sit and wait on stand by ? waiting till the absolute last possible minute? should we have sat all night giving the mare a bit longer to come back?

I called my husband at this time, he let me know he was still a few hour away, and I let him know we were going back and where to find us. Then we headed back to the foal, again passing by the band, and now confirming the mare was with them, I sat and observed the Stallion and the mare for a couple minutes, trying to understand their behaviour and piece together what happened. Now for anyone who has horses, or knows horse behaviours, you will know the bond a mare has with her foal. Mares will stop at almost nothing to protect their foals, and if they loose sight of their foal it is constant squealing and whinnying to find their foal. The mare will put her foal above everything 90% of the time. however this is in domestic cases. Now the difference is very clear and very simple. When a domestic horse is bred, the stallion is typically removed after the mare is bred, and thus most stallions never meet their foals, not being able forming family bonds and band hierarchies. However where wild horses differ is their family bonds and family structures. the stallions are also protective of their mares and foals. In this case while watching them neither the mare or stallion acted out of the normal. The mare grazing peacefully, the stallion also grazing. Not once did i see this mare or stallion make any sign, gesture or attempt to look for the missing foal, the mare did not once whinny, nor did she even lift her head to try and look for her foal. This is the behavior that really struck me. This was not normal, this was not typical signs of stallion or mare behavior after foaling. I noted this and continued back to the foal, in wait for Joanne and haws. Now I continued to wait at a distance, until I noticed the foal start whinnying again starting to panick. The foal walked towards a spruce tree, she was consumed by a smell on the tree. i Imagine her mom had possibly brushed up near this spot, as it seemed to comfort the foal and she didnt want to leave this spruce tree. What happened next took me by suprize, the foal walked in amongst the spruce branches i heard a bunch of cracking and could no longer see the foal, this is when i went up the ridge to where i could get a better view, now full well knowing the mare was about a km around the mountain ridge i sat up against a tree, hidden out of sight but at least here i could see if she was okay after loosing sight of her. i sat behind this tree watching, she was stuck, this foal became entangled in the spruce tree. she tried to move forward, but could not , and she was not quite sure how to back her way out of the mess. However i knew in my heart it was not my place to intervene so I stayed behind the tree observing. The foal did not seem injured, she seemed afraid. I was not ready to intervene if she was not injured and still had a chance at a wild life, so again I let her be. Now I could hear something coming, I stayed behind the tree quietly watching. When 2 bands came out of the forest, one by one. about 10-15 horses amongst these two bands. Now i was filled with fear and joy here. The first band just happened to be the exact band we set out to look for originally, and my favourite yearling (Addison) was with them! so I was relieved by that. However the second band i am familiar with, and I know among them are a a few young bachelors, trouble makers to say the least. And the young stallion who i witnessed battle with a young w2 year old started displaying flehming response. A tell tale sign he has smelled something that peaked his interest. this alerted the lead stallion and another young bachelor who then started sniffing around, Now I knew it was 1 of 2 possibilities. 1 either they smelt the mare and her after birth, and were curious, or they were smelling the foal and looking for where the foal was.The first band continued their journey across the mountain, but the second band was lingering, clearly looking for something. This is where i had a split second to make a decision. This band of bachelors was coming directly at me, up until this point i did not make a noise, keeping my presence unknown up until this point. still quietly sitting behind the tree. This is when one stallion noticed me, gave a snort, and I then spoke quietly, now making my presence known, as not to spook them of have them come investigate. and I myself began displaying submissive behaviour backing and turning from them. this was enough for them to continue on their journey down the mountain and i took a sigh of relief. During this whole exchange this little foal was still entangled in the spruce and she stopped whinnying. she did not make a peep, or break a branch, she stayed absolutely still. Now i believe this foal knew also that it was not her band. However once the second intruding band left across the ridge i sat back down and continued to watch and wait. The whole time I knew this foal should not have been alone, her mom should have been there to ward off the intruders, her bands lead stallion should have also been there protecting his newborn foal..my sympathy truly went out to this foal. However again, I knew it was not my place to intervene. eventually the foal figured out her legs and was able to get out of the spruce tree, however she still stood near it, and began again whinnying for her mom. Again her mom did not call back or come anywhere in sight or ear shot. it was now around 8-8:30 when help alberta wildies society founders darrel and barb arrived with Joanne. Another relief, i was excited to be able to get insight and opinions on what was best to do here, however there seemed to be not much time to talk, Joanne jumped out greeting me and Darrel walked up asking where the foal was and i led them up the ridge to where the foal was, at this point Joanne introduced me to Darrel and he went towards the foal i stayed back talking to Joanne, about what i had witnessed, we both witnessed the foal drinking from the mare earlier, so we were not quite sure what happened, Joanne told me she believes it was atv activity spooking the mare. While we were talking darrel went up, picking up the foal and bringing her back down the ridge part ways, Barb was grabbing a halter and bringing this to him, this was bitter sweet to me, i was thankful she was alive and going to be okay but it was all happening so fast there was no time to try any other methods or give her more time, as soon as they showed up the rescue began, once darrel and barb had her haltered, Darrel said I could give her the bottle being i was the one who found her, i accepted, giving her time to taste the milk from the side before she was willing and wanting to latch to drink. I can say one thing for certain. This foal was hungry and really needing her moms milk, however she did not want human interaction and kicked out in refusal a few times while Darrel carried her to his vehicle, Now barb was making a second bottle and Darrel asked Joanne if the foal had been named yet, The foal had not been named. For those who don’t know wild horses are named and documented by researchers and photographers to help identify them. 2025 foals will start with B as a way to know in the future what year they were born. Now my daughter gets really excited about names and has a whole list of potential foal names. When Joanne said the foal was not named my daughter asked permission from Joanne and Darrel to call the wild foal Bubbles, a name she had saved for a while in case she witnessed a wild foal birth. Joanne agreed and her name stuck. now she goes by Bubbles. Before leaving haws said they would send us directions to their ranch so we could come check in on bubbles anytime. However after a few unanswered messages I no longer believe this to be the case. By their public faebook posts i can see that bubbles is okay, healthy and being fed, and I am truly grateful for that and for their care in keeping her alive and safe after the rescue/ capture. But if you are still following… this is where the real reflection begins. and that is, was this the right thing to do. Now upon getting back into service i could start piecing together the rest of the story. Debbie Mcgauren a wild horse advocate contacted me asking if she had permission to use my name in an article she was writing, i agreed and mentioned i was not out there personally i was out there for our photography and research at kanatawildhorses. Now she also commented on my post and filled in some missing details, a lot of chaos had disrupted after the foal bubbles was born, which she was witness to, she watched bubbles get stuck earlier in the day and watched the mare show protective motherly instincts when other horses got too close. Explaining the band left the mare and foal to go get water, and the foal made it about 100 yards from where she was born. This is the same spot I found her in hours later. Now i also started digging into cavelier the mare of the foal, and learned that she was taken into the band in the spring of 2024 which corresponds to breeding season. Now this is the psychology side of things that some do not understand, many know a foal that does not belong to the lead stallion often faces a death penalty. however the stallion did not kill the foal. My belief here is that the mare did not allow anyone near her foal in order to protect her foal. I also watched back videos from Joanne, Jamie, and barbara, and Debbie on the foals birth which they made public on the Alberta wild horse page. one moment in particular caught my eye of another mare Bengee sniffing the foal. Bengee seemed curious however her body language in this is very telling. It is almost an interogation. now this could be an experienced mom being nosey and curious, or a well experienced mare knowing this foal does not smell like their band stallion.Truly i wish i was there for the day to watch and observe if i knew what would have taken place, as an equine psychologist it is very hard to read pieces and clips and not see the full thing play out, horses speak through subtle quite almost unnoticeable behaviours that if missed, it becomes almost impossible to understand. now there are a few possible theories. that i wouldnt mention unless i truly believed there was a possibility of this being the cause, i know others may disagree. i think the most likely option is a mix of 2 seperate problems. 1 i do not believe this foal was the band stallions foal. i believe when he picked up this mare in spring she was most likely already in early pregnancy. second i believe this mare did not have the knowledge or experience in what to do, as a young mare her saftey is with her band, her connection is with her stallion and her band mares. I believe the key missing details are what happened when the band crossed paths with the mare and foal around 4;45-5 this is the piece that would explain it all. However upon seeing the mares behaviour and seeing how unbothered she was across the mountain without her foal, i believe the abandonment was intentional by the mare and stallion. Now this mare did not instantly reject her foal. I truly believe she wanted to be with her foal. However the stallion leaving them unprotected was the first tell tale sign that he had no interest in protecting this foal. Now i imagine, and this is speculation, that something occured as they crossed back in front of the mare, and i believe her band instincts, herd instincts, kicked in. i believe she followed after her band leaving her foal. knowing she left her foal. being why she never made any further attempt to locate of find or call out for her foal. it is hard to grasp a mother leaving her baby. However a young inexperienced mare wants to stay safe under the protection of the stallion, and guidance of the lead mare. possibly the foal was napping, possibly the foal just could not keep up, however a good band will wait for the slowest member. and most of the time leaving a horse behind is intentional. Now again it could have been atvs spooking the mare, however to make no attempt to find her foal is where the concern and psychology of it all lies.

Now i have confirmed by the haws team that Bubbles has been adopted out to someone in Ottowa. now my concerns are serious. the last public post made by haws in march 23 2025 was that they did not have a valid capture permit, however now they are saying the do have one, however they refused when asked to provide proof or dates of that permit. i am also wondering what their adoption fees are. and how much darrel and barb and the haws team were paid of giving Bubbles to this woman in ottowa . he says he chose them because he is “ a good judge of character” however i wonder if proper protocol and screening took place to check if its actually a suitable home for a wild horse. 6 feet fences? knowledge in wild horse care? enough land for a wild horse to roam? I tried contacted darrel personally and was greeted with a message telling me i am out of line for asking basic questions and then he said he would ignore all further messages from me…sure sounds like transparency…right? i asked haws for information how how they pick their adoption homes and if they follow protocols to ensure it is safe for a wild horse, and i was told i am out of line for asking, as the one who called them to help. i am out of line for asking follow up questions. I also asked how much they charge for adoption fees. i was told i was out of line for asking this as well. and to top off the cherry on the cake, when i asked if they filed paper work ith the government and if they even had a capture permit, they denied showing proof, and all they were willing to say was darrel sent off paper work later that weekend…how reassuring….i am personally starting to believe everyone is out there for selfish exploitive, money making purposes. However you would think as a public society they would have transparency in these areas as every time a wild horse is removed from its natural habitat a piece of Canadian history goes with it… especially when they accept public donations. but refuse to keep us in the light as to what is really going on. I think a small group of people are trying to make the wild horses theirs, their money, their donations, their profit. since when do they belong to anyone? if this society is to protect and advocate for wild horses, why do they shut down the concerns and questions of other wild horse advocates? and my main concern is adoption fees. if they can charge people to pay an adoption fee, that is cause for concern. because that gives them personal financial gain for removing wild horses and selling them for profit. Now at first i thought my beliefs on help Alberta wildies society were wrong. i was skeptical, but chose to believe they had the wild horses best interest at heart, now due to the personal response i received from Darrel I am no longer skeptical, nobody gets that worked up unless i hit a nerve with one of my questions. i will be looking into this and filing to have their adoption fee on Bubbles made public knowledge so all can know how much they made off this wild innocent and helpless little foal. and if they truly have the wild horses interest at heart it. However i know every question i have asked has been denied an answer or very basic answers that dont actually help relieve these concerns. the typical response would have been to answer questions, as i am not a stranger, i am the one who found the foal and met them in person at the rescue, as the one who found her and trusted haws to be transparent about their job, i have found the exact opposite to be true in my opinion. I have been left in the dark and quite frankly told it is none of my business what happens to the foal i found abandoned. I quite frankly will not be calling for the aid of haws again, as my personal opinion by experience has not been great. how can anyone help support and advocate for these wild horses if haws and the niche group do not allow others to help, or advocate. I know i am not the only younger wildlife advocate out there, and many are feeling the way i feel. Like a few select advocates deminish the work of the others. Did you know the majority of us photographers have to ask for permission to give a wild horse a nickname? i find this bizarre. a few select get to name the wild horses , while we ask for permission. i am truly starting to detest the way people are advocating for wild horses. i believe laws need changing societies need dissolving. and people need to be out there who understand that none of us own these wild horses and we cannot claim zones or areas. it is unrealistic.they need to be looked at as a whole, nobody has the right to decide what they’re called or which companies get permission to remove them from the wild. every one seems to be fighting for their own profit and their own recognition. But who fights for the wild horses? pardon me, i mean who gets to fight for the wild horses without having personal incentive and again from it…? I almost quit advocating for wild horses due to the unwelcoming feeling from other more experienced wild horse advocates. and it makes me wonder. how is this possible? how has it come to a point where we cannot all agree to work together to help the wild horses. However in my 6 months of doing this i have realized those who do it now, do not want anyone else doing it. they want the say and the control over the wild horses. and i say hand it over to the people. the public. not one or two select groups or a niche of friends who run the show. Why cant we all advocate, and all have clarity and transparency. with the people of our country. Now again this is my personal opinion. However i do believe it needs to be shared i believe there needs to be an end to these groups, societies and gate keepers. have we all forgotten these wild horses are on treaty 6 land? have we forgotten they belong to the land and the first nations way of life, who settled here in and amongst the wild horses? These horses are wild to the province to the people. Everything regarding the wild horses should be transparent. Funding, donations, profits, adoption records, however every question has been a door slammed in my face by saying my questions are out of line. which if you know me.. only makes me have more questions. like i said i thought i had found a community of other wild horse lovers and advocates….as it turns out that’s not the case at all. its truly a select few groups trying to control the narrative.

further note there are a few people who i know have managed to get on the bad side of haws founder darrel.… (now including myself for asking questions?) these are the people i am asking to please personally reach out to me by email at kanatawildhorse@gmail.com i am truly trying to fill in missing pieces and understand what is really going on here….and it is proving to be quite difficult with all the secrecy.

however this is the full scope of everything i personally witnessed since april 18th 2025 regarding bubbles, the rescue/capture and my experience with trying to get transparency from the help alberta wildies society. I will continue my work as a wild horse researcher and advocate, no matter how many of these niche groups come at me for doing so. However the longer i am put here, the more clearly i see the truth. These wild horses need help. From people who love wildlife and people who do not want or need personal benefits from doing so. these wild horses need Canadians. not some society. they need hard working honest canadians to come in and fix what is broken and give these horses the rights they deserve as wild and untouchable. shame on anyone who profits off of capturing a wild horse. it was supposed to be to help a foal. not make personal and financial gain from doing so, we will continue our work in fighting for the rights of wild horses. and banning all capture permits!!!! for good!!!! I truly believe these horses need to be left untouched and allow God to take care and control of the population as He sees fit. I regret Calling for help on april 18th and i feel sorrow for the uncertain future bubbles holds now. she was never meant to be someones pet. or someones price tag. or someones show piece. and if anything i will take this as a personal life lesson, as to why we are there to observe and not intervene. removing her from the wild was really sentencing her to a life in a cage so to speak. because a corral is a cage to a wild horse. to picture her being broken and ridden for someones personal gain and joy also saddens me. she was meant to be wild, and i was not in control of her fate that day. Now i know to let nature take its course. .again all personal opinion here.