Meet Erin Phillips

We were lucky to catch up with Erin Phillips recently and have shared our conversation below.

Erin, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

I’ve always loved animals and always dreamed of helping those in need. I was about five years old when I first learned about wild horses through the Cloud; Wild Stallion of the Rockies docu-series. I became fascinated with wild horses, then saddened as I learned of their plight.

Each year, thousands of wild horses and burros (wild donkeys) are captured by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to make room for millions of privately owned livestock that destroy the land. The BLM captures mustangs and burros mainly via helicopter roundups. Roundups are cruel as many horses get injured or die during the process. Once captured, they are transported to BLM holding facilities across the nation where they are held until adoption/purchase or death. Over 60,000 wild horses and burros are currently sitting in holding.

When I learned about this, I was horrified and knew I had to do something. For the last several years, God has opened doors for me to volunteer with The Cloud Foundation, visit herds in the wild, educate the public, and now rescue at-risk wild horses and burros.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Mustang Mission is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting America’s wild horses and burros. I created Mustang Mission to make a difference by educating the public, advocating for wild horses and burros in freedom and captivity, and rescuing those in danger and in need of homes.

I train each wild equine that I rescue so they can live happily in domestication. Once trained, they are offered for adoption to loving, qualified homes.

Mustang Mission solely operates from donations to our organization. Often, our impact is as great as our funding. Please consider donating to support us in our work of saving wild horses and burros (donation link is at the end of this interview).

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I think patience is one of the most important qualities as a wild horse trainer/rescuer and a nonprofit founder. It can be easy to become frustrated at how slow a horse learns or how long a project takes. However, frustration usually makes the situation worse!

Perseverance is crucial! There will be times when you feel like giving up, but that is when it’s most important to keep on! It takes a lot of strength to push through difficulty, but I think the biggest reward comes when you’ve overcome that.

When training horses, you must know how to read their body language. It is their only way of communicating with us and signs of pain or fear are often missed or ignored until the horse is forced to explode – frequently putting themselves and their handlers in danger. I’ve worked hard on reading horses’ body language because I want them to be comfortable and in the best state of mind for training. Like humans, horses cannot learn effectively if they are stressed.

Is there a particular challenge you are facing?

Yes! The biggest challenge is trying to make more people aware of what I’m doing. It can be really hard to publicize Mustang Mission and inspire people with my work of rescuing wild equines. Subsequently, funding is largely impacted by this, so I’ve been struggling to raise adequate funds. Since I recently gained 501(c)3 nonprofit status, I am looking forward to seeing how that helps ease this challenge!

If readers are wondering how they can help, here are some ways:
-Pray for Mustang Mission (for guidance, provision, and safety!)
-Share about Mustang Mission with friends and family and through social media
-Donate to assist me in my work to save wild equines (ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE)
-Volunteer your time and skills (volunteers skilled in building websites through Wix and writing grants would be very welcome!)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mustangmission.blogspot.com/
• Youtube: https://rumble.com/c/c-1498331
• Other: Donate: https://www.givesendgo.com/wildhorserescueSubscribe: https://mailchi.mp/a1f1b249498b/subscribePatreon: patreon.com/MustangMission

Image Credits

Lauren Olivia Creations & Erin Phillips