Return to Freedom

Find more great items in our store: shop.returntofreedom.org and photo store: returntofreedomphotostore.com

Purchase your calendar today: shorturl.at/7B9w9

🧡 100% of the revenue from the calendar will go to support the care of wild horses and burros at our sanctuary and our advocacy work on behalf of #wildhorses and burros on the range and in government holding.

💫 Help wild horses and burros when you buy a 2026 calendar! Our suitable-for-framing calendar features Spirit and residents of two of our sanctuary locations on California’s Central Coast photographed by 10 talented photographers. ⬇️ #Horses

🧡 Learn more and donate today to help the nearly 500 rescued #wildhorses and burros in our care: returntofreedom.salsalabs.org/gt25

🧡 Make a recurring donation of $20+ to keep our herds fed and we'll send you a pair of limited-edition Spirit socks after your first two monthly donations!

Today is #GivingTuesday and recent, record-breaking rainstorms served as a powerful reminder of how urgently we need your help!

❣️ One-time gifts to help build more shelters for our sanctuary's wild horses and burros will be MATCHED up to $10,000!

✅ Tap Subscribe in our bio to receive e-news updates about wild horses at our sanctuary and on the range, including about the ongoing court case. #horses

The appeals court ruled for Return to Freedom and our co-plaintiffs, Front Range Equine Rescue, and photographers Meg Frederick and Angelique Rea, as well as other advocates that sued separately. A District Court judge must determine whether there is an appropriate legal remedy.

The Checkerboard in SW Wyoming includes the disputed Salt Wells and White Mountain Herd Management Areas, home to the only herds in Wyoming known to have curly-haired mustangs.

🧵 We continue to fight for the future of #wildhorses in Wyoming (including rare curly-haired mustangs like this foal). In July, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Bureau of Land Management broke the law when it removed 2 million acres from wild horse use.

🍂 We're deeply grateful to everyone in Return to Freedom's extended family around the world for donating, volunteering, partnering with us, and advocating for wild horses and burros. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at RTF!

Send a letter urging your members of Congress to support the SAFE Act to ban horses slaughter as stand-alone legislation and as part of the Farm Bill: returntofreedom.salsalabs.org/safeact2025

Buchanan cited a poll that found 83% of Americans support a horse slaughter ban, including 81% in rural communities. “Not only is horse slaughter inherently inhumane, but it also promotes a predatory industry that harms horse owners and makes rescuing horses more difficult."

Rep. Buchanan, GOP colleagues: Add slaughter ban to Farm Bill - Return to Freedom To take action for America’s horses, see the end of this post. Rep. Vern Buchanan and 19 of his Republican colleagues recently called on House leadership to include language banning horse slaughter in...

We helped gather signatures for the letter, which you can read at shorturl.at/uQcIz

Rep. Vern Buchanan and 19 Republican colleagues recently called on House leadership to include language banning horse slaughter in the Farm Bill. Read more / take action ⬇️ #horses

The webinar features Dr. David Stoner, Assistant Professor of Wildlife Extension and Lecturer in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University.

YouTube video by Return to Freedom Wild Horse Conservation RTF webinar — Relationships are Complicated: Predator Interactions with Wild Horses, Nov. 18, 2025

Watch the recorded Nov. 18 webinar: youtu.be/bfl4hYFrjK0?...

Missed our webinar about wild horses and predators? We’ve got you covered! Watch the recorded webinar for free (link in replies). #horse

🧡 Read more and donate to support our nonprofit's sanctuary, advocacy, education and conservation work on behalf of America's wild horses and burros: givinglistsantabarbara.com/2025/11/17/h... #horses

A group of rescued burros at our sanctuary photographed by Bari Lee Photography.

Attention: #SantaBarbara County friends!

The Giving List—Santa Barbara books featuring RTF and other local nonprofits have begun arriving in the mail 🙌

💕 Read our impact story and donate by tapping the link in bio (direct link in replies).

🇺🇸 Thank you to Reps. @juliejohnsontx.bsky.social, Tim Burchett, @rephaleystevens.bsky.social, Tim MacKenzie, and @repemilyrandall.bsky.social for becoming the latest to support the bipartisan SAFE Act to ban horse slaughter! #horses #yes2safe

How to support the SAFE Act to ban horse slaughter:

✅ Send a message to your members of Congress by tapping Take Action in our bio or at returntofreedom.org/current_acti...

✅ Spread the word: Please share this post!

Congress has also failed to pass a lasting federal ban on horse slaughter within U.S. borders. Currently, only language barring the hiring of horsemeat inspectors inserted into in annual government prevents the resumption of horse slaughter here at home. #horses

Until Congress acts, kill buyers will profit from shipping American horses from auctions to Mexico or Canada to be slaughtered. Last year, almost 20,000 #horses suffered that fate. That number may climb by upwards of 25%, according to government statistics.

96 representatives have declared their support for the SAFE Act, which would ban the export of American #horses for slaughter and impose a lasting ban on horse slaughter in the United States. More ⬇️

🧡 We’ll soon be providing information about how you can help us reach shelter goal on social media. and in our e-newsletter. See our bio to or returntofreedom.org/subscribe/ to receive news about #wildhorses at our sanctuary and on the range. 7/7

As we face more storms of unprecedented power, this work is a top priority as well as an ongoing financial challenge for our nonprofit. 6/7

Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of all of the rescued wild horses and burros in our care. We are constantly working to add shelters that ensure dry ground, improve footing for all of our horses and burros, and better the ranch’s infrastructure. 5/7

Shelters can mean the difference between life and death for our vulnerable senior horses in particular. At our Lompoc location, a third of our rescued horses and burros are 24-older. Many are in their lates 20s and early 30s. 4/7

We're blessed with beautiful weather on CA's Central Coast. But when rainy season storms strike here, they are intense: Sheets of rain turn adobe clay soil into wet cement that can suck your boots off. Flooding and mud slides can limit our team’s access to horses and burros. 3/7

Here’s why we hope that you’ll consider helping us with an emergency need: Devastating rains recently hammered our Lompoc, Calif., headquarters sanctuary. More brutal storms are likely on the way. 2/7