Rappaport To The Rescue

One on one with the great horse whisperer Buck Brannaman!  And he is joined with the founder of Return and Freedom’s wild mustang mama herself- Neda DeMayo!

BIO:

Buck Brannaman

For over 30 years, Buck Brannaman has been working with horses and their owners and today is one of the world’s leading practitioners of handling horses based on classical concepts from the California vaquero tradition; working with the horse's nature, using an understanding of how horses think and communicate to train the horse to accept humans and work confidently and responsively with them. One of his stated goals is to make the animal feel safe and secure around humans so that the horse and rider can achieve a true union. Buck travels most of the year doing horsemanship clinics in the United States, Europe and Australia & New Zealand. When not on the road, he lives with his wife Mary and their horses in Sheridan, Wyoming.

Neda DeMayo

Neda DeMayo, president and founder of Return to Freedom, has worked for over twenty years on wild horse and burro issues with a focus on solutions, and is a recognized authority on wild horse behavior. Neda works nationally to elevate the status of America’s wild horse and burros through advocacy, education, media, programs, and events.
With a vision to create a sanctuary model to explore minimally invasive wild horse management that could be viable on the range, she founded Return to Freedom in 1997. She speaks at national press conferences, educational venues, rotary clubs, public and private venues, and she has held government contracts to remove horses on horseback to sanctuary so they would not be dispersed or slaughtered.

In 1998, Neda began developing Return to Freedom’s American Wild Horse Sanctuary on a 300-acre ranch located in the rolling, coastal hills of Lompoc, California. With the help of family, friends, and volunteers, she was able to launch a model for minimally intrusive wild horse management and ecotourism to build a small support base. After a few years, Return to Freedom was able to hire staff and, with limited funding, maintain a high standard of equine care and ranch management. The facility, once run down and used for chicken breeding and cattle, has been transformed into a humble but enchanting sanctuary and educational center hosting over 1,000 guests annually and reaching tens of thousands of people every year through advocacy, programs, and events.

Today, Return to Freedom (RTF) provides care and refuge in three locations for over 400 wild horses and 29 burros who have been captured and removed from state or federal lands. RTF has pioneered minimally-intrusive, natural management of wild horses utilizing Native PZP fertility control, a method that has allowed the sanctuary to maintain horses in their natural social bands.

Neda is currently focused on strengthening Return to Freedom’s educational programs on and off the range, and establishing a self-sustaining Wild Horse and Burro Conservancy and Wilderness Preserve with the support of the RTF Board of Directors and friend and actor Robert Redford.

 

"Rappaport to the Rescue" Theme Song Written & Produced by Mark Winter
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