Lifesavers, Inc. Mustang Rescue

Lifesavers, Inc. - Wild Horse Rescue is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to prevent American Mustangs from suffering abuse, neglect and slaughter. Lifesavers rescues unwanted and discarded Mustangs, rehabilitates and trains them, if necessary, and places them into new loving homes with adopters who will make a life commitment to care for the horse. Lifesavers provides sanctuary for crippled and aged Mustangs for the lives of the horses. Lifesavers also aims to educate the general public on wild horse issues and to promote the image of the American Mustang to ensure their continued protection and preservation.

The Bureau of Land Management is appointed by the Dept. Of Interior to manage the herds of wild horses on our public lands. They do this through the Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program under the Wild Horse and Burro Act of 1971. Their job is to protect the wild herds and control their populations so they don't over breed and run out of forage and water. Each herd management area has a limit to the numbers of horses the area can sustain. When the horses grow beyond this limit, the excess horses are gathered by the BLM and offered to the general public for a nominal adoption fee.

The BLM retains ownership and title of these adopted horses until the adopters are approved to receive title from the BLM. This usually occurs one year after adoption. At this time the BLM relinquishes any rights to the once wild horse and transfers all right, title and interest to the new adoptive owner. The owner may sell or transfer their Mustangs as they please. This is when Lifesavers steps in.

Due to an undeserved poor public image, the Mustang horse is not in great demand. When offered for sale, it is often passed over leaving the owner with only the choice of either keeping the horse, or taking it to the livestock auction. At the livestock auction, the same problem exists. There are too many horses available, and the Mustang is the last one to get a good home. The slaughterhouse buyers end up with most of these horses.

Lifesavers attends these livestock auctions looking for ex-BLM Mustangs. Whenever possible Lifesavers will outbid the meat buyers and bring the otherwise doomed horse home to its ranch. From there the horse will receive whatever treatment and training it needs and will be adopted into a qualified, committed home that will love and care for the horse for the rest of its life.

This organization is also active in the rescue and adoption of Nevada's estray horses sometimes referred to as Comstock horses or Virgnia Range horses. These horses were once federally protected horses but wandered across border lines from federal land to private land in and around the Virgina Hills near Reno, Nevada. The state of Nevada has control over their management. At this time it is estimated that the Virginia Range is supporting nearly 1000 horses. The state feels that this number of horses is twice what it should be and wants to remove about 500 horses from the range. Lifesavers is working closely with local Virginia Range wild horse groups and the Dept. of Agriculture in the protection and adoption of these horses to ensure that none of them are captured and sent to sales yards where they could be bought for slaughter purposes. Since these horses don't have a federal law to protect them, extra care must be taken to make sure that they don't slip through the cracks.

Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue offers adopter support and mentoring by holding "Wild Horse Boot Camp" workshops. These workshops feature wild horse clinicians who demonstrate and instruct wild horse adopters and other interested participants in safe and humane methods of gentling wild horses. It is a hands-on educational format that has proved to be a welcome resource for those who have adopted or will adopt wild horses. Through the efforts of the Boot Camp, the Adoption Program and their direct mail campaign, Lifesavers is actively helping to promote the image and welfare of the American Mustang.

Lifesavers was organized in July of 1997 and is in its fourth year of operation with a board of 5 officers and directors, many willing volunteers and a mailing list of thousands that spans across the United States.

Lifesavers operates solely on donations and contributions from the public. Funds are raised through direct mail, ranch events, and Internet exposure. Public support is growing rapidly as more and more people learn about Lifesavers' programs.

Lifesavers owns and operates on 46 acres in Lancaster, California and supports more than 130 equine residents. Lifesavers also owns a 160 acre parcel in Twin Oaks of Kern County, California. It is home to the Born To Be Wild Mustang Sanctuary. On that wilderness property a small group of rescued mustangs are allowed to live freely as nature intended.

Lifesavers takes the stand that America's wild horses have played an important role in American history. The American rangelands have been the home for wild herds since the Spanish Explorers re-introduced horses to this continent back in the 1500's. It was only in the 1800's that the wild horse numbers were estimated to be 2 million, now sadly, there are only about 25,000 wild horses and burros left. They deserve to remain there. They will do so if the public continues to fight for their freedom. This will only be achieved through education. Lifesavers aims to educate the public about wild horse issues.

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