Return To Freedom is dedicated to preserving the freedom, diversity and habitat of America's wild horses through sanctuary, education and conservation, while enriching the human spirit through direct experience with the natural world.

Dear Friends,

As Americans make plans to celebrate the Independence Day weekend, the US Government is considering the mass murder of thousands of wild horses. On Monday June 30th, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at their Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting announced a proposal that involves the phasing out of long-term holding facilities where they house some 22,000 wild horses that they removed from the range. Though they can only find adoptive homes for some 2000-3000 wild horses each year, the BLM has continued for decades to remove horses by the tens of thousands. Faced with budget cuts and more horses than they can afford to care for, their “solution” to years of mis-management is to simply kill them. With additional round ups scheduled this year, up to 30,000 wild horses could face the bullet.

It is a perverse irony that this plan was announced at a time when Americans are celebrating freedom and our hard won independence. Wild horses have long been considered a living symbol of freedom. And perhaps more than any other species, they embody the rugged and indomitable spirit that gave birth to this nation. They have survived centuries of change and have been forced by industry and urbanization into the most remote and inhospitable areas of the west. But they have adapted and survived. These horses are our horses, they are our spirit. We need to be their voice.

Return to Freedom is working with other national organizations and key lawmakers to identify a solution-based proposal that protects America’s wild horses. We will keep you apprised at every turn and let you know how you can help support this critical effort. In the meantime, please take the time this week to contact the BLM, the media and your Congressional representatives who are in their home districts for the 4th of July Congressional Recess. We need to send a loud and clear message that the American people do not support this egregiously unethical proposal to murder some of our last remaining wild horses.

• Please call or write to your Representative in the House and both of your Senators. You can find your Congressional representatives at www.congress.org.
• Please write a letter to the editor of your local paper, calling attention to the plight of the American wild horse
• Please write to BLM National Director Jim Caswell:
  1849 C St NW
  Washington, DC 20240

On behalf of the horses, thank you!

Continued Lack of Rainfall Creates Hay Crisis

While the Mid-West region continues to be plagued by flooding, those of us out here in the west are facing an altogether different challenge. Severe drought-like conditions over the past two years have wreaked havoc on ranchers and farmers who are facing lower crop yields due to the lack of water. For sanctuaries like Return to Freedom that has meant a substantial increase in the cost of hay, which is becoming increasingly more difficult to secure in regions across the west. Couple that with the rise in fuel prices, and it is creating a real financial threat to horse sanctuaries in the west.

Return to Freedom urgently needs your help. Please consider making a donation today to help us purchase hay for our equine residents, or Sponsoring a Horse to help provide feed and care for a specific horse at the sanctuary.

• $25 will help feed and care for 1 horse for a week
• $50 will help feed and care for a mare and her foal for a week
• $100 will help feed and care for 1 horse for a month
• $250 will help to feed a small family band for 1 month
  

Policy Update and Action Alert

In a time when climate change and urban sprawl are having a demonstrable impact on the planet, it is clearer than ever that the choices we make can have devastating consequences on wildlife and habitat. Right now, choices are being made that could threaten the freedom, genetic viability and the survival of thousands of wild horses. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) are both in the process of accepting comments from the public on wild horse management plans. Please use your voice to help these agencies make the right choices for America’s remaining wild horses. Read more...

Welcome to our 2008 Tour Season!

Tours begin on Friday, May 2nd, 2008. Click here for descriptions of our tours and how to book.

Join Return to Freedom and the Rickman Family to preserve an American legend

Wild horses galloping across the Western plains is an image that has long been associated with the spirit and freedom of America, and in 2004 Americans fell in love with a legendary mustang, thanks to the Disney film Hidalgo.

The film featured the story of Frank Hopkins, a man who devoted his life to protecting wild horses, and his famous mustang Hidalgo. Descendants of Hidalgo still range free in Blackjack Mountain near Finley, OK, along side original strains of the Choctaw Indian Horse. Owned and overseen by Bryant Rickman, the horses have been able to range in hundreds of thousands of acres, until now. Having endured centuries of change, the survival of this herd is now threatened. They are facing their last stand.

The Oklahoma Land and Timber Company has, with very little warning, terminated the grazing leases on Blackjack Mountain. They have just sent a final notice demanding that the mustangs be removed by March 31st 2008 and then it will be handed over to the local Sheriff’s department who will take the horses to auction.

In an effort to preserve this historical herd, John Fusco, Bryant Rickman, Dr. Phillip Sponenberg (geneticist), Return to Freedom Founder Neda DeMayo, and other conservation groups have joined forces to launch an urgent rescue operation.

The IMMEDIATE and URGENT need is to safely relocate the horses to a 300 acre tract of land owned by the Rickman family, and to provide feed and veterinary care for the herd. More...

Make a donation to this historical effort via paypal or call (805) 737-9246 to make a donation over the phone.
Please note: Choctaw Horse Conservation on all donations.

February 27, 2008: Update on Scout

A couple of weeks ago I emailed you about Scout, our 15 year old “miracle horse” who needed emergency surgery. I wanted to let everyone know that Scout’s surgery was a tremendous success and she has returned home to the sanctuary where she is recovering next to her pal Comanche.

Her surgery ended up costing over $12,000, which is quite a financial challenge for any non-profit. Return to Freedom asked our supporters to help and were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and generosity. We were able to raise all of the funds to cover Scout’s medical expenses! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who made a donation, sent a kind note or just kept this mare in your thoughts.

Job Opportunity At Return To Freedom: Equine Manager

Return to Freedom is looking for a full time, live-on Equine Manager to join the team. Candidates should have experience managing large numbers of horses, including handling and working with young and/or challenging horses, as well as the ability to communicate effectively and articulately with the public. Interested parties can contact (805) 737-9246 or email admin@returntofreedom.org for more information.

71 Burros Shot by State Employees at Big Bend State Park

As you welcome the new year, please keep in mind the plight of America’s wild horses and burros. Round ups are ongoing, with more wild horses now living in captivity than in the wild. Moreover, over 9000 wild horses remain threatened with slaughter. We must continue to let our lawmakers know that the American wild horse is our living heritage, and worth saving.

We need to send the same message to the land management agencies that are entrusted with the care of our wild horses and burros. Sadly, over 70 wild burros were recently shot to death by State employees at Big Bend State Park in Texas. More...

Foster a Horse

Although Return to Freedom does not maintain a formal adoption program, due to the constant need to find safe, permanent homes for some of the horses that cross our path, we do place horses through a strict and formal application process. Learn more...

Support Return to Freedom when you shop at Ralphs

You buy your groceries, we get a donation: Return to Freedom can now be linked to your Ralphs card so that each time you purchase groceries, Ralphs will donate between 1 - 4% of your total bill to us. It only takes a moment to link Return to Freedom to your card. Follow these easy steps:

1. Go to www.ralphs.com/ccprogram.htm and click on Participant.

2. Register your Ralphs card number (if you don’t know it you can call 800 660-9003).

3. Choose Return to Freedom: NPO number is 90094.

4. Hit Submit.

Want to help protect America’s wild horses?

Download our “Take Action Packet” today. You can help Return to Freedom raise awareness about the plight of our remaining wild horse herds by sharing the Take Action Packet with friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. Also, please consider making a donation today! Your generosity helps us provide sanctuary for over 200 wild horses and burros.

Did you know that our wild horses are actually a re-introduced native wildlife species?

Traditionally, horses were thought of as an exotic species that arrived on this continent for the first time with the Spanish in the 1500s. However, advances in molecular biology prove that the modern horse, Equus Caballus, actually evolved on this continent and migrated across the Bering Land Bridge. Though the horse disappeared on this continent between 11,000 and 13,000 years ago, when the Spanish brought horses back to North America they were simply returning home. Click here to read more.

Viggo Mortensen speaks out on behalf of our wild horses:

Click here to watch his PSA. Special thanks to Midthunder Productions

And while you're surfing... visit www.frankhopkins.com, the official tribute site to America's great distance/endurance rider and early-day champion of the Mustang horse: Frank T. Hopkins.

Who we are

Return to Freedom is home to The American Wild Horse Sanctuary, a non-profit animal sanctuary and educational retreat. We provide a safe haven for animals and offer educational programs that are based on direct contact and sensitive observation of the natural world.

What we do

As a solution-based organization, we address the plight of America's Wild Horses through a three-tiered approach of:

• Sanctuary
• Conservation
• Education

• Take a moment to learn about the horses at our sanctuary and some of the rare breeds that we are preserving.
  
  
• Help Return to Freedom protect America’s wild horses by sponsoring a horse or donating items on our wish list.
  
  
• Learn more about The American Wild Horse Conservancy, and how you can sponsor an acre of land to help us achieve this vision.

We would like to thank the ASPCA for their very generous grant commitment of $300,000 over 3 years to help Return to Freedom realize its mission to protect and preserve the American wild horse through Education and Conservation.

© 2003 Return to Freedom
P.O. Box 926
Lompoc, CA 93438
Phone: 805-737-9246
Fax: 805-800-0868