2022 Media Kit
ALL ABOUT WAR HORSE CREEK
War Horse Creek is a program under the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Living Free Animal Sanctuary. A program by veterans, for veterans, War Horse Creek is an immersive transition training program using rescued wild mustangs to assist veterans as they transition from military to civilian life.
OUR MISSION, VISION & VALUES
It is our mission inspire a sea of change in the way we, as a society, welcome our warriors home, and reduce the cost of military service on veterans and their families.
Our vision is to help veterans cope while changing the public perception of wild mustangs from tragic burden to highly valuable resource. It is fitting that descendants of the horses which carried our forefathers into battle will now help bring our warfighters home.
We value compassion and respect, diversity and inclusion, leadership and teamwork, empath and patience and building a supportive community.
OUR MUSTANGS
Mustangs are under siege across the West. According to the Mustang Heritage Foundation, currently there are about 50,000 wild horses that have been rounded up from public lands and now languish in Bureau of Land Management (BLM) pens. Recently, an advisory board to the BLM recommended all horses be sold off or destroyed. They rejected the recommendation, for now, but the clock is ticking.
Mustangs are ideal for equine-assisted reintegration training. They are, in effect, highly sensitive 1,200-pound biofeedback mechanisms. Horses respond to a person’s intentions and physicality, mirroring subconscious issues so they may be identified and addressed with oneself.
Here at War Horse Creek, we have rescued several mustangs directly from the BLM, and will continue to do so as our program expands.
Many mustangs that exist today were descended from horses bred for the military, and where then turned out when they were no longer needed. Only the strongest survived, due to their strength, resourcefulness and hyper-vigilance – characteristics they share with our veterans.
THE VETERANS
The War Horse Creek program utilizes “collaborative horsemanship” to teach veterans how to soften and slow down their reactions to new and difficult situations. The idea behind this type of horsemanship is to develop the skills necessary to better communicate with the horse, then transfer those skills to our daily lives. Horses are the modality used to soften and slow down reactions, to stop and think “How can I better communicate?” and “How can I better handle this situation?”
The Collaborative Horsemanship training model is very practical and accessible to veterans. Working with mustangs is active, challenging, and can only be successful if one earns the horse’s trust. Force or intimidation won’t work with a wild horse. To be successful, veterans must learn to control their emotional state, and practice patience, compassion, and kindness – characteristics that may have been dormant for a long time. Once they master these life skills with the horses, they can be transferred to other relationships.
OUR LOCATION
War Horse Creek is located on 155 acres of land belonging to Living Free Animal Sanctuary at 54250 Keen Camp Road, Mountain Center, CA 92561. We recently launched a series of funding campaigns to expand our mustang facilities, which will allow us to adopt more mustangs and provide services to larger veteran groups.
MEDIA CONTACT
WAR HORSE CREEK IN THE PRESS
Living Free Animal Sanctuary in need of help after snowstorm damage, KESQ News, Mar. 7, 2023
What is Collaborative Horsemanship?, Pet Companion Magazine, Dec. 16. 2022
Bright Colors and Brews, Palm Springs Life, Aug. 11, 2022
Local groups receive county funding, Idyllwild Town Crier, June. 28. 2022
Coachella Valley Horse Rescue hosting concert benefiting veterans’ programs Saturday, Desert Sun, Jun. 10. 2022
A stop at War Horse Creek for veterans in a covered wagon, Idyllwild Town Crier, May. 17. 2022
McClain, Fitzpatrick, and Salazar Applauded by Veterans and Animal Groups for Introduction of Veterans for Mustangs Act, Animal Wellness Action, Apr. 28. 2022
Living Free Opens War Horse Creek, Coachella Valley Weekly, Apr. 6, 2022
Horsemanship Program Completes Southern California Facility for Transition Veterans, March 15, 2022
War Horse Creek Expands with Camp Harris, Pet Companion Magazine, July. 26. 2021
Living Free Sanctuary opens pop-up shop at local mall, KESQ, Jul. 14 2021
Living Free animal sanctuary opens pop-up at Westfield Palm Desert mall, Desert Sun, Jun. 18 2021
Innovative Program Rescues Wild Mustangs for Veteran Transition Training, Global Newswire, Apr. 13 2021
WHC seeks funding to build Camp Harris, Idyllwild Town Crier, Apr. 14, 2021
Veterans attending War Horse Creek soon to have housing, Idyllwild Town Crier, Mar. 9. 2021
Filly Emmylou Fits Right In at War Horse Creek, Pet Companion Magazine, Nov. 23. 2020
The Perfect Visit To Charming Idyllwild, California, Travel Awaits, Jun. 26 2020
Interview with Gold Star Mother Cyndy Jones, Idyllwild Town Crier, May. 19. 2020
What the COVID-19 Pandemic Means for Animal Welfare Organizations, Pet Companion Magazine, Mar. 20 2020
Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke of Bad Company Visit Living Free Animal Sanctuary with Their Wives Cynthia and Maria, Pet Companion Magazine, Coachella Valley Weekly, Feb. 12 2020
Veterans speak at War Horse Creek Town Hall, Idyllwild Town Crier, Nov. 19. 2019
War Horse Creek to host Veteran Town Hall, Idyllwild Town Crier, Nov. 5. 2019
Veterans heal at War Horse Creek, Idyllwild Town Crier, Oct. 29. 2019
Inside the Living Free Animal Sanctuary, ABC News, Jun. 14. 2019
Care In A Crisis: Living Free Faces The Cranston Fire, Pet Companion Magazine, Sept. 16 2018
Horses That Heal, Pet Companion Magazine, Mar. 26. 2018
Fourth ‘Howl and Yowl’ coming to Living Free, Idyllwild Town Crier, Sept. 19. 2017
Living Free Animal Sanctuary describes evacuating animals during Cranston Fire, KESQ, Aug. 1 2018
Living Free opens doors to wild mustangs, too, Idyllwild Town Crier, Aug. 14 2015
Living Free: A Mountain Haven for Animals, Coachella Valley Weekly, Jul. 31 2013