Victorian Brumby Association

17/10/2026

We have a big surprise coming soon!! Think beautiful Brumbies,
great fun, inspiring stories and more.....

Watch this space for more!

15/10/2026

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY VBA BARMAH PHOENIX!!

Its hard to believe that this dude is 2 years old already! We just love our 'Nix' so much here!!!

What a bitter-sweet day though. Phoenix was the last foal conceived in the Barmah National Park. A little over 2 years ago, the very last mob was slaughtered - gunned down by Parks Victoria. That day, Stallion Spook, Granny's stallion since about 2014 was shot along with the Brown mare, Granny's Three year old daughter by Spook and both Grannies and the Brown mares foals, both less than one year old. Poor Granny managed to get away. Heavily pregnant, traumatised and alone, Granny left Barmah, moving onto private land in search of safely.

Thankfully, the amazing folk who owned that property got word to Granny's long time friend, Barmah Brumby Hay Angels Kaye Moor . Kaye reached out to us to see if we could take Granny and then spent WEEKS trying to trap her. Once friendly and trusting, Granny came so very close bit simply wouldn't go into the yard Kaye had set up and time was running out . She was getting closer and closer to foaling and we know that if she went back into Barmah to have her foal, Parks Victoria would shoot her.

Finally, Granny entered the yards ave we received an weekdays call from Kaye. We left immediately for the four hour drive ave brought Granny home to Brumby Junction that night.

Not very long after, safe with her new family, Grant have birth to her last foal and Phoenix send the perfect name.

Phoenix today is brave, trusting, loving, quirky and absolutely adorable (Granny will live her forever too, with her new family)!

Happy birthday Nix! You make us laugh every day.

06/10/2026

SANCTUARY UPDATE

Its easy to forget how lucky we are, to share our lives with our incredible Brumbies. This afternoon was one of those glorious Spring afternoons where you just can't take it for granted.

Hanging with the mobs while we feed and check them is one of my favourite things to do - I tend to get so immersed that I forget to take phones, but here are a few of the mobs today.

Each of these mobs has a pair or trio of permanent residents that will spend their lives here at Brumby Junction. The remainder of the adults in these photos are looking a little scruffy right now but if you follow our Australian Brumby Challenge, you will get to see their glow ups!

You may notice one of the mares in Zorros mob is looking more scruffy than the others - that is Abbey Rose who is recovering from dental surgery and has put on SO MUCH weight that she has been able to rejoin her herd. She is now a permanent resident here.

You might also notice that there is a lot of colour difference between Zorro and Kings mobs. We didn't plan it that way but Kings mob are all from Kosciuszko, so there is a lot more range, including grey and roans. Zorros mob are almost all from Barmah, with lots more bay and browns!

The yearlings in the last photo are all going to their new homes through our upcoming Brumby Gentling Clinic.

Part of managing the Brumbies here - currently numbered at 61 - is observing them and planning for their futures. If we kept every Brumby that we had rescued since we formed in 2007, we would currently have 800 Brumbies on our Sanctuary! Rehoming those who are suited to it through one of our programs means that those who need us more get to stay here forever. It also means that other people get to have the joy of sharing their lives with a Brumby!

26/09/2026

‘THE PRICE OF A GREAT HORSE IS HEARTBREAK’
On Thursday, I lost my best friend. Many of you here know her and I have wanted to share this sooner but it’s been so surreal, I kept thinking it was a nightmare.
VBA Illinga was caught from Kosciuszko National Park on the 10th of July 2012 as a 6 year old. Along with most of her mob, she came to our Brumby Junction Sanctuary. Shortly afterwards, we held an Open day. On this day, I was doing a training demonstration and picked a mare who had been described to me by rangers as ‘small, plain and brown’ to work with. There were signs on her gate saying that she was looking for a home but after spending 20 minutes with her, there was no way she was ever leaving us. Several people approached us, offering to buy her but I knew that she had found her forever home. I thought I was doing her a favour. I had no idea that I was the one who lucked out that day.
Named for Illinga from the Silver Brumby books and known by all simply as Illie, this little Brumby was an old soul from the start. Illie just fitted in to our life here like this was where she was meant to be. Of course it was.
Illie and I adventured all over. We trail rode through mountains, attended Brumby Rallies in Melbourne, went to Equitana to showcase Brumbies and Illie was the ‘Anchor horse’ – the quiet and safe presence that shone through in every single Brumby Gentling Clinic we ever held. Every horse felt safe with Illie, as did every person. The special stuff though, the really life changing stuff was in the small moments. The way she always whickered when she saw me. The way she cantered in from anywhere in her paddock when I called her. The way that she showed me her role as the heart of our little herd of Brumbies. The way she always knew she was my ‘best girl’ and expected me to only pat our other girls if I was also patting her. The way that when I had huge self doubt after my back surgeries, she carried me so carefully and helped me find my love of riding again. The calm that I found in her presence. The way she rested her head against me – so gentle but so so full of love.
Two weeks ago, Illie got sick. We know that her liver failed her. Her huge heart didn’t though. She tried so hard to fight her way through her illness – all while putting up with bloodtests, many many medications and our desperate and in the end, futile attempts to save her life. We are still waiting on results of some of our tests but on Thursday, I saw how very tired she was and how much pain she was in. I knew she would keep fighting to the very end for me but I couldn’t do it to her anymore and we laid her to rest.
Heartbroken doesn’t seem like enough to describe losing Illie. I saw the quote above while we were fighting to save my Illie. ‘The price of a great horse is heartbreak’. If that is the price for knowing Illie, I pay it gladly. I just wish we had more time.
Thankyou for choosing me Illie. Thankyou for being my teacher, my companion and my friend. I will miss you every day until I see you again.
Thankyou so much to our amazing Vet Dr Taryn - your support and expertise has been invaluable and your friendship helped us thorugh this awful time.
Please be understanding as we try to navigate this loss. I will be back – for Illie - but I need some time. Colleen.

06/09/2026

A huge thankyou to Barmah Brumby Hay Angel's for there continued support of our beloved VBA Barmah Granny and VBA Barmah Pheonix.
From the moment we saved Granny and the wonderful team who organised this - Kaye, Renee, Scott, Lisa, Anne-Marie and the rest of the wonderful BBHA team thankyou from the bottom of our hearts, you have no idea how much your support means to us.

02/09/2026

Yesterday was Vet Day and Dentist day combined here at our Brumby Junction Sanctuary.

We don't generally combine the two as our is pretty full on but we had a special case who required both our wonderful Very Dr Taryn and our Equine Dentist Maddison as well!

VBA Abbey Rose came to us last year with a group of Barmah Brumbies from the BBPG sanctuary when it closed down. We noticed at the time that she was in much poorer condition to the other girls she arrived with but put it down to stress. We feed her up and she picked up lots of condition before having her foal. As she raised Sierra Rose though, Abbey dropped a lot of condition again and we noticed her eating with her head on a funny angle. It is very rare to have Brumbies come in with shocking teeth but we knew that Abbey had Dental problems of some kind. Of course, she was also older and very much wilder than the other mares she arrived with!

With our vets, we made the decision that the best way to get a really thorough examination and review of her teeth would be under anaesthetic. With that in mind, since her foal was weaned, Abbey has been up on our smallest holding paddocks with her friend VBA Opal, being fed a high protein diet and learning to cope calmly in the confines of the race so that she could be medicated.

Our day yesterday started with super Vet Dr Taryn carefully sedating and then our amazing Equine Dentist Maddison from got to work. Incredibly, Abbey was found to be missing a molar on one side of her mouth and had a molar on the other side that was so wobbly, you could move it with your hand - eating must have been incredibly painful for her!

Abbey was agreed by Maddison at around 12 years old. Given her dentition issues and age, she will now live her days out here at our Sanctuary.

Madison removed the problem molar and lightly trapped a few sharp edges. Abbey then took time time waking up, got up carefully and spent the rest of the morning on her feet, dozing in the shade.

After Abbey, it was time to get to work and Dr Taryn gelded and microchipped yearling colts VBA Ajax and VBA Scout and 5 year old stallion VBA Mooney while Maddison did routine dentals for VBA Brave, VBA Maverick, VBA Illie, VBA Zephyr, VBA True and VBA Aurora.

We're so grateful to have Equine Professionals of this calibre to support us in keeping our Brumbies happy and healthy. We really appreciate Dr Taryn and Maddison!! Victorian Equine Dental Practice

Photos are of the day. I know out looks odd but we do leave the towels over their heads/ eyes as they recover from the anaesthetic to help them 'ease' into waking up!

05/08/2026

We were thrilled to be contacted by the office of Emma Hurst today. Emma is a NSW Animal Justice Party Minister and has been working hard to come up with a solution for our Brumbies.

This is a GREAT idea! We know that Angus Taylor the Federal Opposition leader is against the cull - this is our chance to work to get the state Liberal party on board too.

So many people asked us at the Melbourne Brumby rally what they could do - THIS is something real that stands to make a difference!

Please, it will only take 2 minutes (we checked!)! Head to Emmas page and you can take this opportunity to speak up for our Brumbies. You will find it here:
https://nsw.animaljusticeparty.org/email-libmps-support-brumbies

Remember - those against the Brumbies, those that WANT the aerial cull that is scheduled for the 1st of November are relying on Brumby supporters not standing up. We know how much you want to help though! Respectful, clear contact CAN make a difference!

Please share this widely - as we mentioned at the Rally - every letter is counted as TEN people having that opinion!

For the Brumbies, always.

Send an email to your local Liberal MP calling on them to change their position, publicly oppose the killing of brumbies, and support fertility control research and trials. It only takes 2 minutes.

04/08/2026

WELCOME!

We have noted lots of new faces since the Melbourne Brumby Rally and we’d like to take a moment to welcome you all here to our page, tell you a little about ourselves and what we do and thankyou for popping by!

The Victorian Brumby Association was formed in 2007 after several years of informal Brumby rescue. We’re a registered, not for profit charity and we take what we do really seriously. We have three core aims. Firstly, we are here to Rescue and rehoming Brumbies that have been removed from the wild through recognized Wild Horse Management Programs. Second, we work to Educate the Australian public about our Heritage Brumbies and the dangers that they face (mostly humans!) and finally, we’re committed to Advocating for our Brumbies continued presence in the wild and - should they be removed - humane management through every step of the process. We do this through our work with Government bodies and Parks Associations.

Since 2007, we have taken in just over 800 Brumbies and rehomed most of them through our various programs. Every single Brumby that we take in will have their full health and Veterinary needs assessed and provided for. Yes, that means we geld all stallions and colts. Geldings have a much calmer, less stressful life than stallions and we’re welfare driven at all times. Our rehoming programs include homing our trained Brumbies, also running Brumby Gentling Clinics, where people can come along to our sanctuary and choose and train their very own Brumby under our guidance, taking them home at the end of our clinics. We are also proud to run the Australian Brumby Challenge – a wonderful event in which approved Trainers take home an adult (aged 4-10 years old) Brumby to train for 150 days. At the end of that time, we all come together to showcase their achievements over that time.

In addition to our Rehoming, we have our Sanctuary Brumbies. These are Brumbies that we have, for a variety of reasons decided are not suitable for rehoming. Some may have been too old, too wild or any other reason. Those Brumbies will love here at our Brumby Junction Sanctuary for the rest of their lives.

We are situated in Glenlogie in Western Victoria, on our 150 acre property which is owned by the O’Brien family. Currently, we have 58 Brumbies here on our property, in every stage from completely wild to ready to find their own homes.

We hold regular Open Days, Volunteer Days and Events and welcome everyone to come along, meet some of our Brumbies, take the opportunity to watch our wild herds living their best life and learn about our Brumbies and our activities here.

One thing that we need to be really clear on. We’re a Pro Brumby group. That doesn’t mean that we want to see every Brumby remain wild no matter what. We understand that Brumby populations need to be managed. We also expect that any management is done with the highest welfare standards in min and in consultation with Brumby advocacy groups. If you’re not Pro Brumby, this is probably the wrong page for you.

We are also Pro kindness. You won’t see toxic posts or character assassinations happening here. We speak and share the truth respectfully and we are supportive of other groups who are also making positive efforts to help Brumbies – even if we don’t do everything the same!

For the Brumbies, always.

Photos are just a few of our beautiful Brumbies here at our Brumby Junction Sanctuary over the years. Thankyou to Kelly Wilson for some of these photos.

01/08/2026

What an amazing day!
We're home safe from the Melbourne Brumby Rally with our precious Brumbies!
Huge thankyou to the one and only Mandy Fanelli for organising this huge undertaking, culminating in 18 Rallies Australia wide!
Here in Vic, thanks to Shannan and Maggi for getting the ball rolling for the Melbourne Rally.
To all of you who turned up to the Rally and to those who stopped by in Melbourne - more than 200 in total - we can't tell you how much we appreciate your passion, your curiosity and your support for the Brumbies.
A special special thankyou to to our glorious Brumbies who attended. All three were wild caught from the Kosciuszko National Park: VBA Illinga ridden by Colleen, VBA Braveheart handled by Bridie and VBA Zephyr, handled by Sam. Watching to way that people connected with our Brumbies was just so incredibly special - it really brought home all that we face losing!
A great big Shout out to Graham for turning up at 8am to block out parking so we could get in with our horseplay- what a legend!!
Kate Campbell - gosh you set the scene so well with the decorations, posters and banners!
To helpers on the day: Heather, Savanagh, Tasmin, Sarah, Lesley, Anna and so many more who helped out, the Rally was a huge success because so many of us pitched in!
Thankyou Mary, Grant, Debra and Lisa for your kind donations - they will go to feeding the rescues Brumbies at our Brumby Junction Sanctuary.
Last but most certainly not least, to Bridie and Sam for cheerfully jumping in again to be there for our Brumbies!
Again - thankyou to all who came along or stopped to chat!
We will be sharing lots of information in the coming days about what we do here at the Victorian Brumby Association, what is going on with our wild Brumbies in Victoria and NSW and how you can help, so stay tuned!!

30/07/2026

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Is there anyone who could volunteer to help out at the Melbourne Brumby Rally this Saturday? We have taken on the task of running the Rally this afternoon and we will need some helpers!
We will have three of our own Kosciuszko Brumbies at the Rally and want to make it a huge success. The Brumbies surely need it!
Please get in touch via PM if you could help.
How often will you get the chance to see wild born Brumbies in the C*D of Melbourne? It is going to be amazing!!
PS: If you're waiting on anything from our team right now, please be patient until Sunday (except you, Heather - we've got your Hoodie ready to go!!)! Taking on the Rally has thrown us into a dash of chaos and we're pretty stretched for the next few days!