Room at the Inn
/Yellowstone actress Dawn Olivieri rescues mares and foals from kill pens
By Phoebe Warren
You probably know Dawn Olivieri from her work in the hit television show Yellowstone and related miniseries 1883. However, during the SAG/AFTRA strike of 2023, Dawn stopped telling neo-Western stories and started living one. She traded working with horses on-set to rescuing horses facing slaughter.
Wanting to be surrounded by greenery during her time without work, she moved onto land she owned in Mena, Arkansas. Always an animal lover, she intended to enjoy the quiet of farm life, taking care of her own horses and other animals in “The Natural State.” How, then, did the actress stumble into the world of horse rescue?
“It was not a planned thing, to rescue horses,” Dawn explained, “especially being out of work because of the actors’ strike. I certainly could not afford to take in more horses while not working.” However, when Dawn saw a post on Instagram about a kill pen full of mares and foals, she knew she had to try to save at least some of the animals.
Kill pens are the cramped, loud, and unhygienic pens where horses are held before being auctioned off for slaughter; horse meat is profitably exported to countries in Europe and Asia. Unwanted horses facing slaughter experience unimaginably horrific conditions and treatment, living their final moments in terror and pain. When Dawn posted on her social media, imploring her followers to help her save just a few horses from this fate, she had no idea what she was getting into.
“The community in Mena in particular has been incredible. From cowboys, friends, neighbors, vets, the feed store, and Mena Co-op, to volunteers bringing hay, feed, and just coming to clean stalls.”
“Suddenly, I found myself raising enough donations for roughly 50 horses, thanks to an army of amazing people through Instagram,” she said. “And it hasn’t stopped. Now, in two crazy months, we have officially become a 501(c)(3) [organization] in Arkansas, where the horses have a safe place to be nursed back to health, fed, and loved until we find them their forever homes.”
During the SAG/AFTRA strike, Yellowstone actress Dawn Olivieri founded a horse rescue in Mena, Arkansas. Moon Mountain Sanctuary and Rescue saves horses, primarily mares and foals, from being slaughtered. In 2022, just under 20,000 American horses were shipped to Mexico and Canada to be killed for meat.
Dawn’s operation in Mena is called Moon Mountain Sanctuary and Rescue. Here, she and others currently care for roughly 45 horses, two thirds of which are foals, saved from kill pens in Colorado and Texas. Dawn is not a hands-off rescuer; in fact, her current daily schedule is perhaps just as busy as it was in her days of acting.
“[Each day] starts with feeding chickens, goats, geese, dogs, cats, a fox, and a partridge in a pear tree,” she laughed. “Then the horses get fed, and medications are given as needed. We are building structures, cleaning pens, handling babies, halter training, and just basic ranching. I try to do a live [video broadcast] almost daily on Instagram to keep the community engaged and show the progress of the horses. Then, the same ranch chores and feed schedules begin for the evening.”
Along for the ride is Michael Lares, from Flying L Ranch in British Columbia, Canada, who has become a mentor to Dawn in this journey. Together, Lares and Olivieri have shared transport resources with a group called Soul Horse Rescue, and they recently partnered the Texas-based rescue All Seated in a Barn to save horses from a Bowie County kill pen.
The challenges of running this horse sanctuary are substantial. The entire operation relies on donations, and ensuring that the money doesn’t run out to feed and treat the animals is no small task. Aside from financial concerns, keeping the horses healthy is also an ongoing struggle. Most of the horses coming to Moon Mountain Sanctuary and Rescue have been exposed to pathogens that compromise the animals’ immune systems. Thankfully, Dawn has successfully rallied the community of Mena—and countless people and companies all over the world—to help her save the lives of these animals. She expressed deep gratitude for the community and all the generosity that has been shown to her cause.
“The community in Mena in particular has been incredible,” she said. “From cowboys, friends, neighbors, vets, the feed store, and Mena Co-op, to volunteers bringing hay, feed, and just coming to clean stalls. The community at-large on social media has gone above and beyond, sending gifts, making donations, and spreading the word. Families have literally shown up to build gates. Tractor Supply has generously given incredible amounts of supplies, Purina has shown up and become our official feed sponsor for the rescues, and Tartar has donated over 60 corral panels.”
Dawn’s journey can be followed via her Instagram accounts, @dawnolivieri and @moon_mountain_sanctuary. Sharing her story is a small but meaningful way to help her gain momentum in this movement. Concerned readers can also visit safe-act.org to learn about the SAFE (Save America’s Forgotten Equines) Act, which is a bill that will permanently ban horse slaughter in the United States and prohibit the exportation of horses for slaughter.
Moon Mountain Sanctuary and Rescue will have their horses ready for adoption soon, and adoption applications are available on their website: moonmountainsanctuaryandrescue.com.
Even though the work involved in saving these horses and finding forever homes for them is grueling, Dawn still finds reasons to keep going. The most rewarding part, she said, is “saving lives and giving second chances to beautiful, innocent animals who deserve a good life.”