R.T. Fitch’s life has been anything but ordinary. Straight out of high school, he joined the U.S. Air Force Band during the Vietnam era, and while stationed in Hawaii, he spent weekends at Sea Life Park training penguins, sea lions, and whales. His path through life has taken many unexpected turns—including more than a few lessons in love—until meeting his wife, Terry, brought a lasting partnership and a shared passion for animals.
Over the course of his adult career, R.T. worked internationally in multiple countries, gaining a broad, global perspective that colors both his worldview and his writing. Now rooted in Texas, he and Terry live on a small farm surrounded by four-legged companions with paws, claws, and hooves. Together, they have devoted years to equine rescue and wild horse protection.
An ordained volunteer chaplain and professional Santa Claus for a local historical society—with Terry by his side as Mrs. Claus—R.T. brings warmth, wisdom, and joy to every season. His work reflects a life of service, wonder, and connection to both people and animals.
He is the author of Straight from the Horse’s Heart, a moving collection of true rescue stories and spiritual reflections, and Fangs of Light, a supernatural tale steeped in symbolic and metaphorical storytelling. The first in a planned trilogy, Fangs of Light blends myth and mystery to explore themes of identity, redemption, and the power of empathy—offering readers not only suspense and intrigue but a deeper look at the light and shadow within us all.
Its fantastic and very exciting that so many people like my Children 4 Horses version of the postcard and are sharing it all over the place!! The Postcard Posse Campaign is a GREAT idea!! PLEASE remember you need to actually get the post cards to send to your legislators and fight for our horses!! My goal is to litter legislators desks with thousands of Postcard Posse postcards.
LAS CRUCES — The Roswell-area meat processing plant that sparked controversy with its bid to begin slaughtering horses for foreign consumption has been slapped with an $86,400 state fine for its handling of composted cattle remains.
The Humane Society of the United States expressed its concerns about the actions of the Bureau of Land Management after an HSUS executive witnessed a BLM contractor appear to hogtie and leave a lost foal in the path of stampeding mustangs at the Desatoya Wild Horse Gather near Austin, Nev. The continued negligence and inhumane treatment of animals in the field is at odds with the agency’s stated vision and goal of improving and reforming its wild horse gather procedures.
Imagine this: In another world where the animals ruled, they select a certain type of human with a special characteristic we would call epilepsy. The animals would use these epileptic humans to entertain themselves in a show called a rodeo.
NO HORSING AROUND: Seven super PACs opposing horse slaughter popped up over the weekend, including the American Horse Association, Oklahoma Horse Association, Texas Horse Association, Missouri Horse Association, New Mexico Horse Association, Arizona Horse Association and Alabama Horse Association. All are registered in Kaufman, Texas, with Julie Caramante, who’s lent her name to numerous horse rights and anti-horse slaughter organizations, listed as treasurer for each.
Roswell, New Mexico, August 15 — When the first applicant for an American horse slaughterhouse operation surfaced earlier this year, Front Range Equine Rescue (FRER) immediately investigated in order to determine the nature of the applicant’s business. FRER discovered that the applicant, Valley Meat Company, had a fifteen-foot high pile of dead cattle rotting on its property, creating a health hazard for the community and placing into serious question the operator’s ability to start up his new operation, slaughtering former American companion, work and competition horses for human consumption. Pictures of the pile taken by both state and federal officials showed a horrific sight. FRER determined that Valley Meat had been in violation of New Mexico law for years, specifically because its owners had been maintaining this massive public health and safety hazard on their property, without any proper or responsible abatement. FRER presented extensive documentation to the state Environmental Board, urging the state to take a careful look at Valley Meat’s operation. In response the state Environmental Board, and its Solid Waste division, undertook a detailed evaluation which this week resulted in a finding that Valley Meat was in grave violation of the solid waste laws, and that it should be fined $86,400 for what amounts to one of the highest penalties for a solid waste violation issued in New Mexico.
The Bureau of Land Management will begin roundup operations to remove wild burros from the Piute Mountain Herd Area, approximately 25 miles west of Needles in San Bernardino County, in which herds of wild horses and burros are not managed.
HOUSTON, (Horseback) – Little has changed in the federal Bureau of Land Management’s handling of wild horses under its Wild Horse and Burro Program, this in spite of the worst drought affecting Midwestern states since the dust bowl of the 1930s. What’s more, nothing will change, despite a threat from nature that could put thousands of animals in jeopardy.
SANTA FE – A family business in the Roswell area has suspended its plan to slaughter horses for human consumption in foreign markets, its attorney said today.
Valley Meat Co. has received no response from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on its application to slaughter horses and process the meat, said A. Blair Dunn, the attorney who represents the business. It had been pursuing federal approval since April.
The plant was supposed to open by summer’s end, employing four dozen people.
It might not have been the most appealing work: butchering hundreds of horses each day to fill dinner plates in Europe. But Rockville, Mo., population 166, needed jobs. So residents had embraced turning a defunct beef processing plant into the nation’s first horse slaughtering facility since 2006.
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