September 7, 2009 7:08 AM
After centuries of people making decisions on what should happen to wild horses to benefit themselves, some are making an effort to do what is best for the horses. The Return to Freedom sanctuary in Lompoc has been making a valiant effort to save wild horses from slaughterhouses, domestication and harmful outcomes from government wildlife management since 1997.
The Return to Freedom is a program that was initiated and created by Neda DeMayo, 49, to protect and preserve the remaining wild horses, of America, through sanctuary, education and conservation.
"I've always wanted to do this. My mom said my first word was 'horsey' and for me the passion was always there," Ms. DeMayo explained. "I remember watching a roundup on TV when I was little and being so upset about what I saw and decided that when I grow up I want to do something about it." When the wild horse issue blew up in the 1990s Ms. DeMayo was in a transition period of her life. While she had always planned to own a ranch when she got older, she decided "now is the time."
"I researched [the government agencies] and what's not being done for these herd animals," Ms. DeMayo told the News-Press. "It's important to secure a place on the American range land for these wild horses and to do that you need to educate people on the issue," she added. Processing her plans to create this education program, Ms. DeMayo decided what the key issues are and asked herself the following question:
"These are social animals, herd animals... (so) how can I educate people without putting these horses in corrals and being able to show people the society and social structure within the horse culture?" Ms. DeMayo explained to the News-Press that the horses "need the older horses [in the herd] for a healthy and balanced herd society and to shape the character of the younger horses -- behaviors that are destroyed in corral scenarios or when horses are separated from the herd and auctioned off to ranchers.
"These animals were wild before they were domestic; it doesn't serve us or them to disregard their natural design," Ms. DeMayo added. The mistreatment of the wild horses is why Ms. DeMayo started her model sanctuary.
In 1997 Ms. DeMayo, with the help and support of her parents and sister, bought a 300-acre parcel in Lompoc and began her dream to help the wild horses. In 1999, the first horses to live at the sanctuary arrived, in their original social groups, after they were removed from their range at the Hart Mountain Refuge in Oregon.
Starting off essentially on her own, Ms. DeMayo has invested her life into Return to Freedom and today the sanctuary has grown to include eight employees, a biologist and volunteers. The sanctuary also serves as the home of 200 horses including bands of colonial Spanish mission horses; Sulfur Springs horses; and horses of Spanish descent that are related to the horses used by the Choctaw and Cherokee nations, which were used on the Trail of Tears.
The Return to Freedom also offers a "spectrum of experiential programs where people can learn through sensitive observation of the natural world," according to Ms. DeMayo. The sanctuary is also devoted to conserving rare bloodlines that define the American wild horse of today.
Ms. DeMayo said the horses that reside at the sanctuary are separated into different pastures according to their genetic origins. Also, the horse populations are managed by vaccinating the mares with Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP), a non-hormonal and reversible birth control. In addition to preventing pregnancy and controlling the horse population, the non-hormonal vaccine also allows the mares to continue their natural behavior.
The Return to Freedom is a non-profit organization. which is able to function through the support and funds from the ASPCA and corporate sponsors. Many of the rescue missions that the program provides are funded by benefits and fund-raising as well as their corporate sponsors. The community is also given the opportunity to support Return to Freedom, by sponsoring a horse, for $45 a month or sponsoring a whole herd for $2.700 per year. Sponsors receive a picture and a brief biography of their horses and certificates.
The organization also spreads its mission all over the country to horses in need. If the sanctuary is at full capacity. Ms. DeMayo works with other sanctuaries in Texas and South Dakota to find homes for horses in need.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, the fourth annual Spirit of the Horse event will be held to benefit the Return to Freedom. The event will be held at the Bella Vista Ranch in Carpinteria, 2800 Via Real, from 1 to 6 p.m. It will include Native American dancers and drummers with Choctaw horses representative of Native American culture. There will also be flamenco dancers, Brigitte Huber on her Lusitano gelding and Haut-ecole dressage demonstration to represent the Spanish culture. The layout of the benefit will be set up like little villages with Native American, Spanish and Old West themes.
Vendors will will sell saddles, jewelry, clothes and much more. Tickets are available for $60 per adult, $45 per child or $200 for a family of four. All proceeds from the Spirit of the Horse will go towards the Return to Freedom sanctuary and program. For more details, visit www.returntofreedom.org or call (805)737-9246.
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