Straight from the Horse's Heart

Commentary by R.T. Fitch ~ President of the Wild Horse Freedom Federation

The Wild Ones Have a Voice in the Court

Laura Leigh prepping for case ~ photo by Gordon Cowan

As the sun slowly peeks it’s glowing orb above the mountains and hills that surround Reno, Nevada it may just appear to be another day for most, but well out beyond those hills the few remaining wild horses and burros are going to be, virtually, crowded into a courtroom, today.

It’s January 26th 2012, a brisk and invigorating Thursday morning in northern Nevada, or at least I think it is morning.  I blasted into town well after midnight by my Houston biological clock but a quick call to Laura Leigh reminded me that the evening was still young, by local time, and she still had a lot of work to do.  Could I help her with that work, nope, just go to the hotel and get some rest in preparation for tomorrow, which is now today, and we would pool resources in the morning.  So here I am, once again with my mind exclusively on the horses and burros while sitting alone in a hotel room, wondering what we will be feeling twelve hours from now and what the future will look like for our four legged plaintiffs.  Perhaps, after drinking a pot of coffee, the most obvious statements that swirl around behind my forehead can be broken down into just two statements, the first is:

“Have we done any good for the horses and burros?”

We have to be so very carful with our plans as there are virtually no resources for litigation outside of our own personal funds.  Many of us have privately and personally donated our hard earned income to make these actions move forward as, to date, a big name in the animal welfare game has not come forward to shoulder the overwhelming fiscal burden.  So every penny counts, we need to pick our battles well and above all, the clock is ticking.

There is an urgency of time as each day we delay more wild equines are being swept from their rightful land and excruciating grief and misery befalls the family bands of our national icons.  Time is a wasting and at my age, I have no time to waste.

“It’s all about the horses and burros.”

That statement has never been more poignant than it is today.  Laura staying up late doing her own brand of “do-it-yourself” legalize.  Her attorney trying to wedge this all in while attempting to run a “normal” law firm.  Several folks, like myself, coming in from across the nation simply to be witnesses for the horses and burros, it’s not about us.  We certainly don’t do this for the money, as all we do is spend it, and we most assuredly don’t do it for the fame, as there is none and often when you raise your hand to do the right thing a target magically appears either on your forehead or your back, sometimes both.  Everyone does it for the horses and burros.

Today the judge will, hopefully, render some sort of decision on what we at Wild Horse Freedom Federation refer to as the “Humane Care Case”.  You all remember Laura Leigh’s video of Sun-J’s helicopter allegedly pushing a wild horse with its skid.  This behavior is nothing new and such abuse by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is well documented but this case was a little different; a judge noted the lack of humane care and the BLM’s courtroom arrogance was likewise stirring the pot.

So the horses are getting a shot at getting what is right, not completely as we adore the entire concept of pulling the wild equids from the land without science or fact backing up such aggressive forms of management, but…while we attempt to spotlight the broken system and program we can, at the very least, attempt to do what is best for the horses and burros and that is to establish a humane protocol for their subsequent handling.

So I wait for Laura’s call to meet at the law offices and then onward to the courthouse.  I have no idea how this shall go but the very core of my soul wants to see us win one for the horses, it is a burning urgency that will not subside.

Say a prayer, cross a finger as Laura Leigh and the Wild Horse Freedom Federation try to sink one for the team, it’s about time the horses and burros have a win.

Tape at 6.

Related articles

• Talk of Wild Horse Reform “has delivered nothing” (rtfitchauthor.com)
• BLM’s 2012 Wild Horse Management Plan Looks Like 2011 (rtfitchauthor.com)
• The Shame of the BLM (rtfitch.wordpress.com)