Eight furry, brown bodies prance through white snow, majestic and full of strength. Once shy and scared, these young horses, now curious, approach the humans near the house. Just months ago, they would have never dared come close to the foreign structures, wild as they were. 

These baby foals were brought to the Wasatch Back in December by Saving Gracie Equine Healing Foundation, founded and run by Blue Sky Ranch co-owner Barbara Phillips. Using funds raised during their Live PC, Give PC fundraising efforts, the animals were rescued from a slaughter pen in Texas, earning their nickname, The Lucky Eight.

Taken from an Indian reservation likely in Arizona, these babies had undergone a terrifying journey. Now in the care of Phillips, they would begin the process of healing emotionally and physically.

Shortly after the horses were brought to Saving Gracie’s, Phillips organized a blessing from Forrest Cuch, a Shoshone Indian elder. During a short ceremony, Cuch blessed the horses, who had been brought into a smaller enclosure, burning sage as he spoke with them and welcomed them to their new lands.

With the approval from Cuch, Phillips gave the eight horses Indian names. Since then, Cochise, Sequoia, Mezcal, Kai, Koda, Rosebud, Cheyenne and Wynonah have slowly adapted to their new home.

At first, the eight foals preferred to huddle together on the farthest and highest point of their enclosure, a rocky, sage-brush covered area that might’ve reminded them of their old homes. Now, in just over two months, they spend 95% of their time on the lower part of the pasture, near the house, said Phillips.

Once the baby foals were more settled, Phillips decided to give them company.

“I put three other rescue mares, older mares that I rescued quite some time ago, and I brought them to show the babies not to be afraid. I thought it might enhance the progress if I had some horses out here that trust me,” said Phillips.

Without their own mothers to look up to, the babies began to look to these mares for guidance and quickly learned they were safe. They began to spend more time closer to the house on the lower part of the pasture.

To get them comfortable with humans, Phillips began to do a lot of that work on her own.

“I’ll just go out and do chores and then sit down sometimes on the ground even in the snow just to make them feel like I’m not threatening, and I’ve gotten them to come up to me and approach me, and gradually I’ve been making a lot of progress with just a few of them,” she said.

Three of the babies, the more confident ones, grew comfortable fast. These aren’t afraid to be pet, Phillips said, and one in particular, Cheyenne, has become a leader to the others. 

“She might be way up on the hill, and she’ll see me come through the gate and she’ll lead the entire pack to come down to me,” Phillips said. “But she would then be the only one to walk over to me, so she’s been extremely brave.”

Another way Phillips has coaxed the young horses to trust her is through homemade treats, made with oats, molasses and applesauce.

Despite their progress, Phillips said she is still waiting to put a halter on them because of how young they are, the vet estimating they were barely four months old when they arrived to her ranch in Kamas.

“I decided I was going to do it organically, gradually let them make the decision that they wanted to be pet and touched, and so it does definitely take longer, but it’s starting to work, and so I’m really pleased with it,” said Phillips.

As for the snowy winter, they seem completely unbothered, Phillips said, the horses having already grown long winter coats.

“They have been playing a lot, especially in the early morning. They run through the snow, and they’re kind of rearing up and playing with each other,” she said. “I really do think that horses like the snow, especially as young as they are. I think they enjoy playing … and rolling in the snow.”

As the horses continue to adapt and grow more comfortable with people, Phillips said her goal is to keep them in the Blue Sky family.

“My goal is to keep them, to train them, to get them to a place where someone could ride them,” she said. “I want people to hear their story. … if they stay with me, I can continue to tell this story … and people can see that yes, you can make a difference, too.”

Keep track of The Lucky Eight’s progress on Saving Gracie’s Instagram @savinggraciefoundation_.