It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the passing of my friend of nearly 30 years (and also my ex-husband) Jim Clapp (1944-2016), wild horse advocate and animal savior (once on the dark side). I will add my own special stories of Jim, along with photographs and video, to this page, so please check back. It has been said that no one is completely gone unless they’re completely forgotten. Jim will never be forgotten. —Laura Moretti
With 55 years of wild and domestic horse advocacy experience—including the rescue of wild horses and burros and the acquisition of dozens of government-relinquished horses and mules—Jim Clapp was dedicated to defending horses everywhere and anywhere he could—and he had an impressive resume to prove it.
A former government contractor, Clapp was the first to catch wild horses for the U.S. Forest Service. But after the animals he caught were destroyed, he decided to begin rescuing wild horses instead. Thus began his northern California Wild Horse Sanctuary, which he operated for more than three decades; the Sanctuary is still in operation today.
Clapp also had extensive experience in wild horse capture, transportation, care, shelter, and history. He was active on behalf of wild horses and their plight since the late 1970s. He was Founder and President of the National Wild Horse Rescue and Sanctuary, which oversaw the capture of 236 horses from the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in southeastern Oregon.
Clapp also retrieved government surplus horses from around the country, animals discarded from U.S. agencies after they became too old or injured for use. He has qualified for this distinction under the nonprofit organizations The Wild Horse Sanctuary, the Kern River Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Heritage Discovery Center—all of which are still open to the public and rescuing equines.
Clapp worked with The Animals Voice, Horse Nation, Shilo’s Inn, and other wild horse advocacy organizations, in saving the lives of thousands of horses throughout his lifetime.
