Be a Light - or Luminaria* - Honoring Chance’s Life

CHANCE'S STORY

Chance was also known as Last Chance, because of the once-poor prospects for his future. In the summer of 2019 this small, elder mustang was rounded up from public lands. As with any older mustang, Chance’s prospects for thriving after removal from the range were limited. Sky Mountain Wild was likely his last chance to live and be free.

Chance was adopted and given his freedom back on the Sanctuary. We stood shocked as he pranced off the trailer and up to his new band mates, then took off with them at a full gallop as if they were already a family band. Watching him stretch out his legs after standing in a holding facility for months was pure joy.

For his first months in sanctuary, Chance wanted nothing to do with humans. He hid in the trees whenever visitors approached, and the only way to know he was there was by listening for his snorts coming from stands of juniper. After eight months of living free and unthreatened, Chance stepped out of the trees. Upon spotting him, one staff member sat on the ground and finally got a look at him as he approached warily.

As he aged, Chance let himself be seen, always from afar, enjoying his golden years of freedom at the distance of his choosing. In 2025, Chance died a natural death, in peace on the Sanctuary. We miss this elusive horse, a mustang who lived the power of choice that comes with true sanctuary.

You can help honor Chance’s memory . . . by choosing him.

*Luminaria is Spanish for a special light or lantern which guides by illuminating the way. Be a light for forever freedom for a mustang of Sky Mountain Wild Horse Sanctuary ~ where mustangs belong only to the sky, the mountains, the wild, and each other. Thank you for being a Luminaria for mustangs.