R.T. Fitch
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.
Our engaged, reading public has not heard much out of us the past several days but that is not all bad news. We have been traveling in an effort to bring you, our honorable readership, the latest up to date information on the plight of our American icons from several locations at once. Terry is in one spot and I have been traveling, internationally, to get to another. By tomorrow night, we may have some news for you, Monday for sure.
I do not advertise where I am for a variety of reasons but suffice it to say that in the past 30 hours I have put 24,000 miles under my belt with a few more to reconcile with in the morning.
HOUSTON, (Horseback) – When Horseback Magazine asked the federal Bureau of Land Management for a report on the number of horses suffering from laminitis after being stampeded by a roaring helicopter, we actually expected an answer. What we got instead was a tap dance.
It’s important to note the generosity that made this observation possible: a Horse & Burro Sanctuary, that offered both home and haven for the duration of this stay.
The voice of the American horse is being heard across this great land; from the vanishing cries of the terrified wild ones to the death screams of the horses headed across the border to slaughter, their voices are being heard. Those voices are reaching a new volume because the vocal cords for the horses are you, each and every one of you who care about the welfare and safety of our national treasure are making a difference by standing shoulder to shoulder in defense of those who cannot speak for themselves. But the very passion and power that fuels this movement could also be the instrument of its demise if it loses focus and turns inwards upon ourselves versus outwards toward the enemy.
Portland, OR (August 18, 2010)—The Stinkingwater wild horse herd of Southeastern Oregon is slated for a near complete removal in a summer helicopter roundup scheduled to begin today. Concerned citizens in Oregon and across the country have been calling for a stop to this unnecessary and costly action.
We have spent so much time addressing the inequities, injustices and cruelties surrounding the roundups, we sometimes forget to notice there is a beauty within all this ugliness, the reasons why we fight the fight.
On Aug 17th federal officials released a report stating that the holes in the carcass of a young foal found by wild horse advocates probably came from scavenger birds and not gunshot wounds.
Two days after the remains were found by concerned U.S. citizens a vet from the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service examined the carcass and stated that the cause of death could not be determined due to advance stages of decomposition according to BLM spokesperson Jan Bedrosian.
Our friend George Knapp called me over the weekend to inform me that the BLM is at it again. As we covered in our ATSNews Video series, the BLM has been rounding up the Federally Protected Wild Mustangs because they claim the range can’t sustain them.
Babies screaming for their mothers, lame horses, horses down and this is all for the good of the wild horses?!?!?
The Custer National Forest awarded a contract on August 6, 2010. It calls for the building of new, bigger, stronger, longer fence to prevent the Pryor Wild Horse Herd from grazing on their mid-summer through fall pastures atop their mountain home. The first question I am always asked is “Why?” To answer honestly, I am not sure what is pushing this kind of expensive and unwanted project. But, to even try to answer the question requires a bit of a history lesson.
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
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