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.
Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and Director of The Cloud Foundation, Ginger Kathrens, is working hard to save wild horses in their native Western states, including California. She will speak at the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento June 11-13th.
His nickname is “Kudo”, his real name Richard Couto. His self made occupation, hero for the animals. Perhaps you have heard of him already. I had been following his progress for months and noticed he got quite a bit done in short periods of time. The CNN segments kept coming on his ARM (Animal Recovery Mission) website. I invited myself for a visit to see about the illegal horse slaughter business in Florida and how he was single-handedly combating it.
I am concerned about the fate of Calico complex wild horses now in captivity north of Fallon as well as those that remain living in the wild in the five HMA’s from which the former where captured. I recently flew over southern and central portions of Black Rock East, Black Rock West, Calico Mountain, and Granite Range HMA’s in a light plane. In this very open area I was only able to observe only 31 wild horses in several bands, while during this same flight I observed 350 cattle. There was a reasonable spring green-up of the landscape and the open treeless character of the terrain permitted a high degree of horse detection.
June 3, 2010 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Bob Abbey announced that his agency plans to take the Wild Horse and Burro Program in a new direction, and in so doing he is requesting public comment on the document that implements Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s Wild Horse and Burro Initiative (Salazoo).
Ole “Slaughterhouse” Sue just doesn’t know when to call it quits. Wyoming State Rep. Sue Wallis, head “Horse-Eater” and cleaver sharpener, was recently interviewed by David Sparks, Ph.D. of Aginfo.net about why she felt that her idea of opening a federally unlawful horse slaughter plant has met so much opposition. “DOINK” In a halting, disjointed reply “Slaughterhouse”, once again, falls off the reality wagon with her pat comment,
“I think what we are seeing here is a quite successful campaign by the major animal rights activists who are working toward enforcing a vegan diet on the whole nation”.
Houston (SFTHH) – El Paso Corp. denies recent news stories that claim their controversial $3 Billion Ruby Pipeline is “delayed over concerns about cultural sites and endangered species.”
Lately, a lot of time and financial resources have been focused on opposing legislation to eliminate horse slaughter. Since 2005, AQHA has spent nearly $1 million to fight the passage of HR 503/SB 727, bills proposing to criminalize the transportation of horses to processing for human consumption.
The U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee chaired by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.VA.), a staunch supporter of protections for wild horses and burros, has launched an investigation into the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion that has resulted in the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and will also examine the administration’s offshore oil and gas policy.
Many young people, just as I once did, trust in their government to such an extent that they pledge to die for their country and then swear allegiance to a supreme commander who has never made such a commitment nor worn the uniform. These, our the young Americans, who to this day defend you, me, our country, it’s laws and all of the icons that represent this great land of ours. From sea to shining sea, the plains, the mountains and all the creatures that make our country so special. One of those great and powerful icons is the horse, both domestic and wild as their ancestors carried the likes of Paul Revere, George Washington at the birth of this land to set us free from former oppressors. Without the horse, the United States of America would never be.
Houston, TX – (SFTHH) To the delight of environmentalists and wild horse advocates the construction of the $3 billion Ruby Pipeline has been delayed. The pipeline is slated to run through pristine wilderness from Wyoming through northern Utah and Nevada to Oregon. The project has been the reason that wild horse advocates claim the BLM has been gutting the publicly owned northern Nevada ranges of their native, American wild horses.
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