Return to Freedom hosts weekly volunteer days at our LOMPOC sanctuary location! Please bring your own lunch. Recommended minimum age is eight years. Light refreshments are provided. Wear closed toed shoes, hat, sunblock and bring your water bottle!

For local and regional residents who want to volunteer on a regular basis, we will schedule a general safety training! To participate in our next Volunteer day; please contact volunteers@returntofreedom.org. You will receive a short application form so we can learn more about you and then schedule a safety training!

After volunteering in Lompoc and completing a safety orientation, you may want to join us to volunteer at our satellite sanctuary in San Luis Obispo. Projects there include; water trough cleaning, star thistle eradication, fence maintenance projects, clearing old barb wire, wood and other debris!

Join our volunteer email list to receive volunteer updates. Let us know if you would like to volunteer for fundraisers or tabling events! For more information, email us at volunteers@returntofreedom.org.

Participate in the everyday activities of running a wild horse sanctuary: feeding, cleaning, checking fence-lines, observing herds, equine recordkeeping, pasture maintenance and management, nutrition, foal watch, night checks, and assisting our staff veterinarian. Conduct daily herd observation. Depending on your skillset you may also work with our advocacy team, social media, events, development and administrative support!

In-Residence Applications are accepted throughout the year on a rolling basis, but limited space is available in the program. After you complete the entire application process, you may be invites to schedule a Skype interview. If you are accepted into the program, you will be eligible to stay onsite at the sanctuary. Accommodation is rustic. In-residence volunteers are required to stay a minimum of one month to three months. On a limited basis, there is also the possibility to extend your program for a longer term.

Return to Freedom Wild Horse Sanctuary partners with Experience International, a nonprofit whose mission “promotes leadership development and technical and cultural exchange in fields related to agriculture, forrestry, fisheries, and natural resource management and conservation.” International applicants are encouraged to contact Experience International to learn more about long-term work exchange VISAs when they apply for this program.