I’m a bit at a loss on what to write because today was the day I had planned on telling our March Bucket Fund story…

BUT THE HORSES WE WERE SUPPOSED TO SAVE WERE ALL SAVED before I could write about them!

I’m so happy, I want to tell you the good news and the great story!

THE STORY (What was going to be our March Bucket Fund story…)

I was asked to help the Pleasant Valley 13…  These were 13 pregnant wild mares (with weanlings at their sides) that the townspeople of Pleasant Valley loved – who, on the sly, had been rounded up by the Nevada Dept of Agriculture and dumped into a horse prison.

Well, the surrounding neighborhoods were very upset.  Homeowners were up in arms.  Taking matters into their own hands, they had rallied.  They were gathering money to buy back these mares, they were looking for foster homes and trying to erect fencing on donated land… they were doing whatever they could in preparation to reclaim these mares before they foaled in their new prison.

And, the people of Pleasant Valley had asked The Horse and Man Group for help and I was ready.  The Pleasant Valley 13 was earmarked for our March Bucket Fund!

Beautiful mares and foals. Healthy and thriving.  You can see why the townspeople loved them…

HERE ARE PHOTOS OF THE SAME HORSES – GATHERED ON THE SLY AND PUT IN JAIL BY THE NEVADA DEPT OF AGRICULTURE

 

The mares are heavy in foal and the townspeople did not want them to foal behind bars…

RETURN TO FREEDOM WILD HORSE PRESERVATION & SANCTUARY SAVES THE DAY!

I was told that Return to Freedom arranged to facilitate their rescue!  The mares will not foal in prison and they will have a forever home and forever freedom.

Yehaw!

If you wish to thank Return to Freedom, or support them for this wonderful act, here is their donation page!

What an incredible establishment… The more I read about their goals and ideals, the more I like them…  Their herd management is quite studied…

Family herds are allowed to stay together.  Yes!

If you’d like to learn more, here is the RETURN TO FREEDOM WILD HORSE SANCTUARY Facebook page and website.

 THE WRITEUP ON HOW RETURN TO FREEDOM ACCOMPLISHED THIS SAVE!

Here is the writeup on how the Pleasant Valley 13/Rhodes Road horses (and others) were saved by Return to Freedom!:

Because of a pact with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, the Lompoc nonprofit Return to Freedom adopted 24 Virginia Range horses this week before the horses were sent to public auctions that may have sold them to slaughterhouses.

The Lompoc nonprofit Return to Freedom adopted 24 Virginia Range horses from the state of Nevada this week, rescuing them from public auctions that may have sold them to a slaughter house.
The adoption was possible because of an agreement made in March 2013, between Return to Freedom and the Nevada Department of Agriculture. The agreement gives the nonprofit first dibs on adopting wild horses gathered off Nevada state lands.
The horses adopted this week roamed the Virginia Range, north of Virginia City, Nev.
“Typically the horses that are running free on state land are picked up by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, held for 10 days so someone can claim them, and when they’re not claimed, they go to the auction and typically are sold to ‘kill buyers’ or rodeos,” said Neda DeMayo, president and founder of Return to Freedom.
She said wild-horse advocates often try to save the horses by buying them at auctions, but it is difficult to bid against buyers who purchase the horses with the intention of selling them to slaughterhouses for food in Europe or Asia.
Ms. DeMayo said about 2,000 wild horses roam state lands in Nevada. Return to Freedom has acquired 60 horses from the NDA since the agreement in March.
Of the 24 horses rescued this week, 13 were adopted by an undisclosed individual. The other 11 are being housed in temporary facilities operated by wild-horse advocates in Nevada while Return to Freedom searches for suitable homes.
Ms. DeMayo said one of the nonprofit’s top priorities is finding loving and responsible homes for the horses.
“We’re so full we’re out of land,” said Ms. DeMayo about the sanctuary in Lompoc. “We’re looking for people who are able to adopt.”
Return to Freedom also is seeking a wild-horse management agreement with the Nevada Department of Agriculture, which will manage the horse population through fertility control, building fences to protect the horses, and providing community education programs on how to live safely with wild horses.
Wild horses are captured by the state when there is a public safety concern, Ms. DeMayo said, and she hopes this new agreement will make safety issues less frequent.
“We can’t save them all,” said Ms. DeMayo. “We want to be called in to work with state and (horse) advocates on solutions to keep these horse from being captured so they can remain on these vast state lands.”
Ms. DeMayo is hopeful management agreement will be finalized this summer. Return to Freedom is already training employees on how to administer birth control to the horses.
“The horse is North America’s gift to the world,” said Ms. DeMayo. “We want to remind everyone that the horse helped build many civilizations. In America we are a horse nation.”
For information about Return to Freedom or adopting a horse, email equine@returntofreedom.org or call 737-9246.
email: ehamilton@newspress.com