Build a Hay cover for 300-Plus Wild Horses, Burros

HAY, HAY EVERYDAY…

While we’ve been busy making sure the RTF horses’ hay is protected from the elements, we have also had to scramble to keep hay in it!

To those who have already chipped in for the Hay Shelter, our sincere thanks! 

Most may not realize it, but by donating here for the repair and completion of the hay shelter, our supporters also help us feed horses by freeing up our other funds for hay. It’s a double benefit. 

So a double thank you is in order.

Some needs pop up unexpectedly, and some arise just occasionally, but horses, like us, eat every day. And the only way that has happened dependably for 20 years, is that our RTF supporters chip in what they can, when they can, to fill our hay shed and give us freedom to work on big-picture issues.  

Some thoughts about the hay your hay shelter donation helps to protect….and why your donation to the shelter also helps us buy more hay…

Aside from water, hay is the single most precious commodity for a horse sanctuary like this one. RTF’s main location in Lompoc is not large enough to grow hay, and the recent years of drought have decimated what little forage there would have been in the past. Although our San Luis Obispo satellite location is larger, this past winter was very dry and we will need to begin supplementing their meals earlier this year with the bales of “green gold”. 

And every minute we have to devote to finding funds to buy hay is a minute our work to protect the wild horses still on the range and in government holding slows down. While we care deeply about them—ALL of them—the horses to whom we’ve made individual promises of lifetime care have to be cared for first. They are right outside our office door. 

As a business reality, the more money we have in hand when we call the hay supplier, the better we can stretch our donors’ hard-earned dollars. We are always aware whose money we are spending, and we honor that trust fiercely. 

Keeping that hay dry and protected is as important as buying it, and that’s where you can help now.  Winter will be here before we know it, and the weather will be less forgiving of an almost-complete structure. We still have building supplies to buy and laborers to pay, but if we can raise the rest of our goal quickly, we can get the shelter secure and sturdy for the less mild season ahead.

Whether helping to build the protective shelter or filling it, it’s as if you are on the truck with us, rolling through the pastures as grateful horses gather around excitedly for their much-awaited feast. 

As we continue our work to complete the indispensable hay shelter you are helping to make possible, we hope to “see” you on the hay truck, today, tomorrow, and as long as wild horses need us. 

With gratitude,

All of us at RTF

While we have been using the new Hay Shelter for some time, we have reported that there are repairs and upgrades still to come. We have located and priced the material and equipment rentals necessary to do the work, and it will be completed when finances allow. Due to drought and other considerations, we have had to spend more time raising funds to keep hay in the shed than repairing it.  But we look forward to having both, thanks to the generosity of our supporters.

Hay is the fuel for the sanctuary residents. Our program activities not only help to raise funds to feed horses, but fuel the creation of new advocates for them and those still on the range. 

A bit down the trail from the Shelter is where our programs, designed to instill appreciation of our wild ones and to show a path toward advocating for them, take place. Registration is now open for Return to Freedom’s summer programs, including a new lineup of Youth and Family Day events.

On the first Saturday of the month, now through August, RTF will host special events for children ages 8-16 and their parents. They will find out what it takes to run a wild horse sanctuary–including the chance to groom a tame burro or wild horse–and learn Native American songs and blessings among the herds.

Also on RTF’s program calendar are tour days on the last Saturday of each month, from May-August, at our 300-acre Lompoc sanctuary, Photo Safaris at the Lompoc sanctuary and a number of engaging workshops, including: photography with renowned equine photographer Tony Stromberg, natural horsemanship with Carolyn Resnick, and Reiki and animal communication classes with Cindy Rackley.

Our Volunteer days are held on the last Saturday of every month all year long. Every non-profit depends on their volunteers. There is too much work for staff alone, and RTF’s volunteers are among the best and most dedicated.

With the teamwork of RTF staff, volunteers and supporters, the Hay Shelter will continue to provide nourishment for the deserving residents of RTF’s American Wild Horse Sanctuary. 

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