OpEd by R.T. Fitch ~ author/pres of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
“We, as Americans, stand united in our defense of what is right…”
It was impossible to escape the bad news about the Boston bombings of several days ago. We were actually out on our horses, riding quietly on our trails when my iPhone developed a life of it’s own as it began to regurgitate one news flash after another
I asked Terry to stop for a moment, pulled the phone from under my chinks and scrolled through the many messages coming in about a disaster at the Boston Marathon.
Terry asked what was wrong, Moose did underneath me, too, as he could feel the tension in my legs and seat.
“Don’t know but something is not right, hold on.” I asked as I clicked over to CNN and hit the “Live” button.
There, while seated astride our horses in the beautiful quiet of a gorgeous, green, spring day I witnessed chaos, death and destruction.
I watched the tiny screen as Terry rode over to see what I was watching and was saddened, sickened and dumbfounded. I almost climbed off from Moose but there seemed to be a degree of strength and calmness that was oozing out of him, through the saddle and into my soul.
The smoke in the scene was everywhere but what I noticed above all else on that small screen in the bright Texas sun was the crowds of people running, swarming, struggling not in an effort to get away from the explosion but endeavoring to get to the scene of the incident…they were trying to help, they were putting themselves at risk and they were giving their all for the sake of helping someone else.
I put the iPhone away and we rode on, quietly at first and then we began to chat about we had just seen, about the evil that is mankind yet that overall the good far outnumber the bad in almost every aspect of human endeavor.
We were partnered with our horses so of course the discussion swung over to them and the plight of the American horse, both domestic and wild.
It is people and people only that cause pain and misery to the horse but it is also people who save them from their oppressors and the good outweigh the bad every time.
The management to extinction of our wild equines is perpetuated by a handful of corrupt government employees while the bulk of the U.S. population wants them left on their rightful lands and although the struggle to save the native, wild horses and burros is still going on it will ultimately be won by those who are good, rightfully following the law and of strong moral fiber.
On the issue of slaughter it is only a few, twisted psychopaths that desire to earn a bloody buck on the back of the horse not the citizenry of this great land, just a few who are ridiculously outnumbered by the good.
And in Boston, some perverted sick soul wanted to bring terror and death to a family activity that has brought joy and togetherness to so many over they years yet hundreds dove into the disaster in an effort to right the wrong and relieve the suffering of the afflicted.
The bomber may have taken several lives and maimed many people but the sick assailant’s plan backfired as not only did a city of good people come together but also our nation as a whole became instantly galvanized. Quickly, efficiently and with great grace we stand shoulder to shoulder against the evil few that want to spread their darkness. We are no strangers to pain.
We will win, we do outnumber the bad and we are not going away. Be it a bomb, a BLM helicopter or a captive bolt gun they are all weapons of the sick and twisted and we, as a nation, will not stand for the cruelty. We will right the wrong and free the innocent.
We will win and the evil few only strengthen our resolve when they attempt to test our metal.
We, as Americans, stand united in our defense of what is right, just and of tested moral fiber.
The good will always triumph over evil…we are the very evidence of that ongoing victory.
Keep the faith.
Categories: Horse News, The Force of the Horse
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Thank you R.T. You always have a way of saying exactly what needs to be said. You lift our spirits and give us courage to continue.
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Well said, RT. We stand united against evil. Long live our wild ones!
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I agree Miss Abbey, but sometimes what is evil is disguised as something good. So I am praying that each of us can see that what appears to be good can be a tool used by those who want to do us harm. Those who are very evil understand what it is about us that makes us good, so they use what they know we think is good in order to blind us to the reasons they are destroying our wild horses and burros. They think they will soon have the job done before the good people of America even have any idea why they did what they did. If the purpose for these actions were not to do evil, then the American people would know why the horses and burros must go. Instead these reasons remain hidden. it is the secrecy more than the actions themselves that the horse and the burro recognize as the predator.
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HoofHugs, what an incredibly wise observation about the dangers of secrecy, behind which lurks the foe.
Mary Baker Eddy, known for the Boston-based church she founded in 1875, observed of the claims of evil (which she often called by a popular term of the day, animal magnetism): “So secret are the present methods of animal magnetism that they ensnare the age into indolence, and produce the very apathy on the subject which the criminal desires.”
Elsewhere, she wrote: “Animal magnetism, in its ascending steps of evil, entices its victim by unseen, silent arguments. Reversing the modes of good, in their silent allurements to health and holiness, it impels mortal mind into error of thought, and tempts into the committal of acts foreign to the natural inclinations. The victims lose their individuality, and lend themselves as willing tools to carry out the designs of their worst enemies, even those who would induce their self-destruction. Animal magnetism fosters suspicious distrust where honor is due, fear where courage should be strongest, reliance where there should be avoidance, a belief in safety where there is most danger; and these miserable lies, poured constantly into his mind, fret and confuse it, spoiling that individual’s disposition, undermining his health, and sealing his doom, unless the cause of the mischief is found out and destroyed.
“Other minds are made dormant by it, and the victim is in a state of semi-individuality, with a mental haziness which admits of no intellectual culture or spiritual growth. The state induced by this secret evil influence is a species of intoxication, in which the victim is led to believe and do what he would never, otherwise, think or do voluntarily.”
Your deep conviction that good wins is beautifully expressed, R.T. I appreciate the tribute paid to man’s basic goodness by both you and the other writers here. As the aforementioned Eddy put it, “Good thoughts are an impervious armor; clad therewith you are completely shielded from the attacks of error of every sort. And not only yourselves are safe, but all whom your thoughts rest upon are thereby benefited. The self-seeking pride of the evil thinker injures him when he would harm others. Goodness involuntarily resists evil. The evil thinker is the proud talker and doer. The right thinker abides under the shadow of the Almighty. His thoughts can only reflect peace, good will towards men, health, and holiness.”
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RT, thanks for your kind thoughts and consideration. Being half an hour from Boston, I can say with certainty that I never expected such terrorism here. We will now be more vigilant, and will watch for things that may be suspect, as well as those things that would otherwise be disregarded. I condemn the terrorists, who are so cowardly and despicable that they leave destructive devices targeting unarmed men, women and children. That is not power, that is scum.
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There is nothing to add except tears. Thank you again, R.T., for eloquently putting to word what we are feeling in our souls.
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Beautifully said. Thank you!
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Very uplifting and just when we really cannot give up.
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Thank you for your words. As a Bostonian, born and bred, I love this city. The people in Boston may talk “funny” and be brisk in their conversations, but when it comes to an outpouring of help and caring, you will see the true measure of Bostonians. The Boston Police and first responders were racing to the area before the smoke had even cleared. There were hundreds of acts of kindness, most unreported. If the monster(s) who did this think they accomplished their goal, they are wrong. The responders had no thought for their safety…they just knew people needed them. And…the horses need us too. The mustangs need our help in their own terror attack. Good will always overcome evil even if it takes time and the outcome unclear. We have to keep striving and keep going and realize that there will always be battles with evil, but that good will eventually overcome.
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We all love Boston and are a nation numb with grief.
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I, too, am a Bostonian born and bred. Like you, I love this city and I am heartsick on events that took place on monday,yet I am proud and grateful to the Boston Police, firemen and ordinary citizens who rushed in to help not thinking of their own safety. You said it all and very well. I am, also, grateful to RT and to the wonderful people who comment here. You keep me going on fighting the good fight for our horses. Do we talk funny??
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Very sad and well said R.T………
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My heart is breaking for 8 year old Martin who has passed from this earth because of some evil human that has no regard for life and his Mom has brain trauma and the sister lost a leg. I pray that God brings his vengance down swiftly to whom ever is responsible…I am mad and sad but I am praying
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May God, the angels and the Universe continue to shine their light on all the good. In the words from Sandy Hook-Newtown, CT, we choose LOVE.
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Amen! Truth and LOVE always win! That is what Gandhi said. I too believe together WE will win for our beautiful wild horses!
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I am so grateful for you and Terry in our lives. Your strength and conviction that doing good will lead us to blessings of peace and ultimately win over evil is precious.
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Oral sex caused Al Gore to lose the election enabling G.W. to seek revenge on a few men with box cutters by bombing people with nothing to do with it. Is it better to turn the other cheek or seek an eye for an eye? Not till we are all blind will we get it. Violence begets violence. Humanity needs the healing of horses and peaceful rides, not the slaughter of innocent beings.
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As the laws towards gun control continue to be watered down so that they become irrelevant, let’s continue to be outraged over those childrens’ deaths as well.
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Absolutely. The news that there was not enough support this morning even for a background check shows me there is not enough value happening in DC. Not even a background check – tell me why gun sellers or buyers would object to that! People cannot die as a result of our own complacency. We MUST take back these decisions.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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It sounds like we would also need background checks for backpacks and pressure cookers.
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Very well said. I want to thank you R.T. for all of you articles of hope and inspiration. I have always considered myself an extreme optimist and usually never succumb to negative thoughts. But, after discovering and now being consumed by our fight to save our horses and to engage the corruption and greed head on, my optimism has, to say the least, been very tested. I have always believed in the power of positivity and good, and for the most part, I still do. But, I just find it almost unbearable at times to realize just how corrupt and cruel people can be and also how cowardly. They often tend to prey on the helpless not having enough courage to stand up and look their opposition in the eye. Underhanded, deceitful, behind-doors-policy seems to be how they operate because they know we out-number them and will also, eventually, over-power them. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that we will win this fight. Then, we will have to unite once again to come up with more reasonable, appropriate solutions to bringing responsible horse ownership back to America and to ensure that we don’t mistakenly elect those that got us in this mess in the first place!
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Thank you for this column about Boston and the Marathom. Just my opinion, but this was probably the worst target in America and the runners in Boston one of the worst targets that anyone who could want to undo what makes America great could have chosen. Bosten is the site where one of the greatest uprisings against tyranny ever took place; it is this act that triggered the birth of a new nation was born. “Give me liberty or give me death.” “Don’t tread on me.” and other difiant statements of freedom loving Americans originated here. I have walked the seven miles of the Freecom Trail, and read the time warn words enscribed on the tomb stones outside of some of Boston’s historic churches. One cannot spend a few days visiting Boston’s historic sights and come away without an appreciate that we are a free people today because some very brave individuals were willing to die for what was then and now the ideal of America, this new country.
We are an imperfect country but we are unique in that we believe that our rights come from God, not government. It is our believe in the rights of the individual to pursue happiness and that every individual shares this same right under God to pursue his or her own dreams that have made our nation the greatest nation on Earth. The only conclusion that could be drawn from the bombings in Boston yesterday is that this is no time to disarm Americans.
If we truly are wild horse and burro advocates, we should all be well-informed enough to recognize the incongruence between known federal laws protecting wild horses and burros herd management areas provided through legislation that was passed unanimously by Congress and the many violations of this law and other federal land management laws, NEPA, the Administrative Procedures Law, and the Quality of Information Act to know that something very, very wrong is in play here. Wild horse and burro advocates have no financial stake in the outcome of these decisions. Therefore, our heads should be free from the type of thinking that is tied inherently to our family’s ability to earn a living from the land.
Our horses and burros are native North American mammals. I will not classify them as to their domestic or wild state because my research tells me that this is not a particular important part of the genetic debate. Furthermore, as an adoptive care taker of both a domestic foundation breed and a wild mustang from the West, as well as having seen wild horses become domesticated in very short amounts of time, I find the differences between the way the horses reveal whether they were once wild or have always been domestic so small that one nearly has to be a student of the wild horse to even know what to look for. For example: if a large threatening sound is made on a farm where both domestic and wild horses live together, one might notice that the domestic horses start neighing loudly to communicate to each other that danger is near while those horses who were once wild keep their heads down, remain quiet, but scan the area with their eyes. It is fascinating to see these small differences in adaptive behavior in action, but for me understanding the wild horse better has helped me understand my domestic horse. And understanding how my domestic horse adapts to changes helps me understand better what I can expect from my wild horse—maybe not today, but at sometime in the future. Therefore, I put very little emphasis on whether a horse is domestic or wild. However, the horse and burro living in the wild should be considered a valuable resource for humans to study in order to thoroughly understand an animal that has survived and adapted through multiple ice ages, warming periods, and can adapt physiologically to eating a variety of plants or dough and seeds as they did when they lived in the desert with the Bedouins. The only ecosystems wild horses cannot adapt to are the ones where man prevents them from being able to get adequate water or keeps them in numbers so small they either inbreed or refuse to breed at all.
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“Thank goodness for good dogs.” (Brian speaking of the Golden therapy dogs….) and me echoing that praise, along with the thankfulness for kind human beings and wonderful, kind horses who are in a class of their own. Thank goodness for the beauty in this world!
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First RT, TERRY AND ALL IN TEXAS, please check in and let us know you are okay. We don’t need to know where you live or even what county but just let us know you are okay.
Geez this week has been one of disaster after another. Maybe it’s always like this and it’s CNN making such a buzz. I don’t know. Today we hear about ricin letters? Good grief.
I have less of an issue with someone owning a handgun than AR. Of course both can and will kill. But our Founding Fathers made sure each of us had the right to bear arms. I don’t believe that individuals need to have cannons, AR endless clips in their homes. I do believe in this crazy mixed up world we live in we need to know who has access to weapons and who doesn’t. I’m not talking about violating someone’s HIPPA. More like this scenario. Person A is found to have some kind of disturbance. So associated with his social security number and/drivers license number is a check. It doesn’t say why. Only a box that says something to the effect of “NO WEAPON”, is checked.
This won’t stop all violence. I know that. But personal responsibility went out the window when people decided that it was somehow cool to shoot schools up and then rather than man up they kill themselves. Now we have a southern state that said the other day that even convicted felons have the right to bear arms.
This is going to go straight to the heart of the matter. If you have intentions of taking someone out because of whatever reason you’re coming up with; do society and your family a favor. Take yourself out. No muss no fuss. You probably won’t be missed for too long. I have no problem with someone committing suicide under these circumstances but I get involved when you involve WE THE PEOPLE.
Personally I’m beyond sick and tired of people shooting, blowing up and creating all kinds of violence because they had no self control.
Sorry for the rant RT. I guess I just needed to vent. Feel free to pull this if you feel you need to.
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