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.
Arriving at the Litchfield Holding Facility at around 6:00 a.m., just before dawn, we were briefed by ‘Jeff’, a uniformed BLM representative on the rules of conduct. Most pointed: Disruptions or jeopardizing of safety would discontinue regular observation day. This was punctuated by 3 armed Law Enforcement officers; one, wore a Kevlar vest.
California doesn’t have many wild horses and very few wild burros left but that, along with a public outcry, has not stopped the Bureau of Land Management from rounding up thousands more of California’s wild equids. The BLM, responsible for managing most of the remaining wild horses and burros in ten Western States, are now running horses ten miles or more over rough volcanic terrain with helicopters. Horses bleeding from their noses in the thick dust, very young foals separated from their mothers, a mare with a broken leg and a colicking mare have been observed by a dedicated team of advocates observing the Twin Peaks roundup.
Park rangers say using helicopters to round up wild horses in California is humane and necessary. But animal rights activists tell Channel 4 News’s Sarah Smith the practice is barbaric.
Photo’s Submitted by Leslie Peeples during first Days of Stampede (Slide Show Updated) Related articles by Zemanta BLM Helicopter Stampede to put 50% of California’s Wild Horses and Burros behind Bars Forever (rtfitch.wordpress.com) Warning: Graphic Images — Dead Foal Found in Twin Peaks (humaneobserver.blogspot.com) Twin Peaks Roundup Starts […]
“I pledge Allegiance to the Mustangs
of the United States of American and to the Icon
for which they stand, one symbol understood,
undeniable, with liberty and freedom for all.” ~R.T. Fitch
Sacramento, CA (August 13, 2010)—The body of a wild horse foal was found near the site of the Twin Peaks roundup Wednesday by Craig Downer, wildlife ecologist and Cloud Foundation Board member, and Christy Davis, wild horse advocate. Davis, an experienced horse woman, examined the foal for any broken bones. What she found was an apparent rope burn on a rear leg as well as a gunshot wound.
A lawyer at the center of several legal challenges to wild horse roundups has written to the United States Attorney General asking him to ensure that the federal agency behind the roundups meets its legal obligations.
HOUSTON – (SFTHH) The BLM’s much contested Twin Peaks stampede began amidst a cloud of controversy on August 11th in Northeastern California. The aerial assault is scheduled to last 6 weeks with a total of 2,000 wild horses and burros set to be placed behind bars to endure a lifetime of imprisonment and potential sterility. Setting the stage paranoid BLM officials over reacted by calling in county Sheriff Deputies and Federal Rangers in the advent that a passive equine welfare advocate might “do something” to disrupt the roar of helicopter blades and stampeding horses. Much to their chagrin, nothing happened.
San Francisco, Calif. (August 10, 2010) – Today, as the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion to stop the roundup of half of all California wild horses, plaintiffs in the lawsuit are joining more than 54 members of Congress who are calling on the Obama Administration to halt the government roundup. Over 2,000 wild horses and 200 burros will be removed from the Twin Peaks Herd Management Area in northeastern California by helicopter stampede scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 11, 2010.
HOUSTON (SFTHH) – Yesterday, a federal appeals court rejected a plea to stop a planned Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup stampede of thousands of wild horses and burros in Northern California.
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