Congress has a prime opportunity to end the export of American #horses for slaughter. Learn more and take action: returntofreedom.org/take-action-...

The Bureau of Land Management this week completed a bait-and-trap roundup near Elko, Nev., in which 1,001 #wildhorses were captured and 16 killed: returntofreedom.org/1001-wild-ho...

"We are at a critical time to prioritize the conservation of our open spaces and natural resources that benefit #wildhorses and all wildlife. Together, we can ensure they remain protected, respected, and free.” — Ed Harris, actor and advocate Learn more: returntofreedom.org

There are new SAFE Act cosponsors in the House (now 230 total) and Senate (9). We need to keep pushing to build support for the stand-alone bill and anti-slaughter language added to the transportation bill. Take action: returntofreedom.org/current_acti... #horses

Visit our wild horse and burro sanctuary locations on California's beautiful Central Coast: returntofreedom.org/visit/ #horses

The USDA has restricted the export of live animals to Mexico — including the shipping of #horses and other equines to slaughter — due to the detection of New World screwworm in the United States. returntofreedom.org/usda-halts-e...

In addition to well over 400 rescued wild horses, our sanctuary is home to 48 clever, long-eared burros!

Call (202) 224-3121. Urge your representative to oppose any effort to remove the horse slaughter ban amendment when the surface transportation reauthorization bill comes up for a vote on the House floor.

Call (202) 224-3121. Urge your representative to oppose any effort to remove the horse slaughter ban amendment when the surface transportation bill comes up for a vote on the House floor. #horses

Meet Rowan! He lives on the Lost Creek Herd Management Area in Wyoming’s Red Desert. Rowan is the grandson of a well-known leopard appaloosa stallion, Looking Glass. Rowan, his brother, and their mother carry on the appaloosa coat pattern. #foalfriday Photo: Meg Frederick

We remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

🚨 Good news! The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee today passed a surface transportation reauthorization bill that includes a bipartisan ban on transporting #horses for slaughter: returntofreedom.org/breaking-hou...

BREAKING: The House Interior Subcommittee has included prohibitions against the government killing healthy #wildhorses and burros or selling them to slaughter in its Fiscal Year 2027 bill language: returntofreedom.org/update-house...

We’re so grateful that more than 200 people from 20 states, as well as the United Kingdom and Canada, joined us on May 9 to celebrate Spirit’s 31st birthday and the opening day of our programs season. See more photos: returntofreedom.org/spirit-of-th... #wildhorses

☀️ Join our herds! — Visit us for spring and summer programs among rescued wild horses and burros in the rolling hills of California’s Central Coast at our Lompoc flagship and San Luis Obispo satellite sanctuary locations! returntofreedom.org/visit/

🧵 Return to Freedom is strongly opposed to moves to remove protections from millions of acres of public lands and eliminate efforts to encourage conservation.

6,585 American #horses and other equines were shipped out of the country for slaughter during the first three months of 2026, a 10% increase from the same period a year ago. Take action ⬇️

The president’s 2027 budget proposal doesn't include standard language barring the Bureau of Land Management from using our tax dollars to kill healthy #wildhorses or sell them to slaughter. We must ensure that this important, bipartisan protective language is in the final bill.

Our sanctuary is proud to have been Spirit's home since the completion of DreamWorks beloved 2002 film "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron." Happy 31st birthday, handsome. We love you.

Spirit of the Horse: It's almost time for our event marking Spirit’s 31st birthday/opening day of programs season! It will run 2:30-6:30 p.m. on May 9 at our flagship sanctuary in Lompoc, Calif. Advance tickets required. 1/2 off for students! Get yours: returntofreedom.salsalabs.org/openingday20...

Peter Paul, a member of the "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" animation team, will be at our event celebrating Spirit's 31st birthday and the opening day of our programs season. Read a Q&A with him ⬇️

Spirit’s turning 31 — and we’re ready to celebrate! Join us Saturday from 2:30-6:30 p.m. at our flagship sanctuary in Lompoc, Calif., for a special Spirit of the Horse event marking Spirit’s birthday and the opening day of our summer programs season. Link ⬇️

Spirit’s turning 31 — and we’re ready to celebrate! Join us from 2:30-6:30 p.m. at our flagship sanctuary in Lompoc, Calif., for a special Spirit of the Horse event marking Spirit’s birthday and the opening day of our summer programs season. Link ⬇️

☀️Join us May 9 for the Opening Day of Return to Freedom’s 2026 program season and Spirit’s 31st birthday! returntofreedom.org/visit/

🧵 We’re disappointed to report that a bipartisan amendment led Reps. Buchanan (FL) and Schakowsky (IL) that would have placed horse slaughter ban language in the Farm Bill fell victim did not advance past the House Rules Committee. The House passed the Farm Bill this morning. ⬇️

🧵URGENT: Please call your representative today! — We have a rare chance to end horse slaughter by having language added to the Farm Bill! #horses How to help ⬇️

Read about our exciting new project combining sanctuary for rescued #wildhorses with regenerative agriculture: returntofreedom.org/santa-barbar... #horses

RTF, Front Range Equine Rescue and The Gila Herd Foundation outlined violations of federal law in USFS's decision to remove #horses that the agency classified as “unauthorized livestock” — an attempt to strip them of federal protections. ⬇️

Miss our recent webinar about the lives of #wildhorses on the range? — Check it out at returntofreedom.org/webinar-life... to learn more about new research on wild horse behavior.

🌎 Pause. Breathe. Repeat. Wishing you a beautiful day. Photo taken at our sanctuary by Lori Sortino.

🧵 Until Congress acts, the horse slaughter pipeline stretching from auction yards in the U.S. to foreign slaughterhouses will remain open. 4,188 equines were exported to Mexico or Canada in January and February — a 72% increase over the same period last year.

🧵 The president’s 2027 budget proposal does not include standard language barring the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from using our tax dollars to kill healthy #wildhorses and burros or sell them to slaughter. 1/3

Join us for tours, photo safaris, family days, and much more at our Lompoc flagship and San Luis Obispo satellite wild horse and burro sanctuaries on California's beautiful Central Coast! returntofreedom.org/visit/ #horses

Thanks to the Montecito Journal for highlighting our work on behalf of America's #wildhorses. Read the story here: returntofreedom.org/montecito-jo...

He’s a man of mystery ~ Spirit on a foggy morning back in March. Sunny spring weather has since arrived, and with it, very soon, will come our Spirit of the Horse event, May 9 at RTF's flagship sanctuary in Lompoc, Calif. We’ll be celebrating Spirit’s 31st birthday!

Join us at 2 p.m. East / 11 a.m. Pacific on April 20 on Zoom for a special webinar about wild horse behavior! Dr. Sarah King will highlight recent research on how #wildhorses spend their time and the intricacies of their social life and choice of reproductive partners. ⬇️

🛑 POSTPONED: Due to unpredictable weather, we’re pushing back an event celebrating a project at Babcock Winery & Vineyard near Lompoc, Calif. We look forward to hosting an event there at a later date. The project will combine a new home for our Alpine herd with regenerative grazing.

4,188 #horses were exported to Mexico or Canada in January and February. That compares to 2,344 during the same period in 2025, according to government statistics. Until Congress acts, the slaughter pipeline will remain open for business. Take action ⬇

Last week, we hosted the first of two photo clinics at our San Luis Obispo, Calif., satellite wild horse and burro sanctuary as our spring and summer programs season got underway. Learn more about visiting us in San Luis Obispo or Lompoc, Calif.: returntofreedom.org/visit/

Rescued from the notorious Bowie Auction in Texas, these #donkeys escaped certain death in Mexican slaughterhouses. Now they are resting with shade, fresh drinking water, and plenty of hay. After quarantine, they will live in our oak forest. ⬇️

BREAKING NEWS: The president’s 2027 budget proposal does not include standard prohibitions against the government killing healthy #wildhorses and burros or selling them to slaughter. Read more ⬇️

During 2025, a total of 25,050 American #horses were shipped to their deaths in Mexico or Canada — a 25.8% increase from 2024 and the most in half a decade. Learn more and take action: returntofreedom.org/watch-our-we...

We’re excited to share an update about our Alpine herd and its beautiful new home at Babcock Winery & Vineyard near Lompoc, Calif.! In all, 40 rescued #wildhorses will make their home on 95 acres at Babcock's vineyard. They remain under RTF’s ownership and management.

Monitoring #wildhorses on the range can be cold, lonely work. It helps to bond with a bachelor band of stallions. Read more: returntofreedom.org/field-notes-...

🧡 Happy Thursday, everyone! — Enjoy a little visit with the one and only Spirit. On May 9, we’ll be celebrating his 31st birthday and the opening day of our summer programs season on May 9 at our Lompoc, Calif., flagship sanctuary. For more information and tickets, see our bio.

🧵 Haloka — Choctaw for “sacred, beloved.” Born right here at Return to Freedom on April 1, 2009, this beautiful bay tobiano mare carries one of the rarest, oldest bloodlines in North America: the pure Choctaw Spanish horse.

🧵 An update on the Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act, which would place a lasting ban on horse slaughter in the United States and on the export of American horses for slaughter ⬇️ #horses

The new figures underscore the futility of business as usual. It brings the BLM's annual population estimate back to within 723 animals of where it stood five years ago — despite removing more than 63,000 #wildhorses and burros from the range since then. ⬇️

Happy St. Patrick's Day! — The mountains around our San Luis Obispo, Calif., satellite wild horse and burro sanctuary are called the Irish Hills, so named because several Irish families settled there. It must have looked a lot like home. #wildhorses

Join us at our Lompoc, Calif., flagship sanctuary as we celebrate the Spirit of the Horse, the start of our 2026 program season, and Spirit’s 31st birthday! Learn more ⬇️ #wildhorses