Newsletter V
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Edition V Hi Welcome to this month’s HorseConscious Newsletter. It’s been quite a month in the horse world with several important votes taking place in Washington. The email I sent out a couple of weeks ago concerning the transport and slaughter of horses caused much debate amongst our community here. Some of these issues are not always so black and white and there were arguments made both for and against euthanasia of horses, for example. What did become clear though through these exchanges is that whichever side of that particular fence people stand, the consistent message that is coming through is that you care deeply about the horses and care enough to make your voice heard. The more people who are truly on the side of the horse get involved in these issues, the more coverage and exposure they receive and this is what is needed. As I said at the screening of Stormy May’s movie The Path of the Horse in Mount Vernon, it will be a combination of grass roots activism and higher level influence by people who care that will win the day and get the message across. My personal aim is to try and free up some of my time in order to network and meet some of the people in positions of influence. It may be a long journey but as I mentioned in an email to the HorseConscious Members, one of the ideas that came up during the evening was to give a copy of The Path of the Horse to your local library, thus making it more available to more people. I think this is a fantastic grass roots idea and whilst I am here in the UK, I’ll be contacting libraries and the relevant authorities to find out about this and will let let you know how I get on.
I sent out an email last week asking for people to submit their number one question or problem about horses, horse handling or horse training and have received quite a few responses already, so may thanks to those who wrote in. My aim in asking is to try and bring as much value as I can by providing answers to these questions by the Teachers. So if you haven’t taken part yet, I would love to hear what your biggest area of challenge is. Please go to: http://www.horseconscious.com/guest/your-question to submit your question.
Have you read Michael Morpurgo’s book War Horse? The book has now been turned into a play and the production has just transferred in London from the National Theatre to the ‘West End.’ During the production, they use these astonishing, life-sized puppets of horses, which have to be seen to be believed. Kim McElroy drew it to my attention last week when she sent me a link to a YouTube video of a news item in the UK featuring the show (details below). As it happens, I am here in the UK at the moment and I managed to get tickets for this Thursday, so am very excited to see it. I shall post a review online. You can read a beautiful article by the author just below and also their is a link for the book near the foot of the newsletter.
It’s good to be back home after our trip and what a great time we had meeting Kim McElroy, Liz Mitten Ryan, Stormy May, Davina Andree, Connie Funk, Sandra Wallin and of course catching up again with Carolyn Resnick. If you haven’t by any chance seen any of our video travelogues, then here’s the link again: http://www.horseconscious.com/marks-video-travelogue.html Until the next time, I hope the weather is better with you than it is here in the UK, where it is currently – yes, you guessed it – raining. Best wishes |
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INSPIRED BY A HORSE: War Horse Opens in London’s West EndMichael Morpurgo I can remember clearly when I first found out that in the First World War, along with the dreadful toll of human lives, there were other casualties too – some two million horses. They were used as cavalry horses, for pulling guns and ambulances; in the battlefields of the Western Front they were essential to the armies on both sides. I discovered also that at the end of the war most of our surviving horses were sold off to French butchers. Here was a strong story, I felt, the story of how it was to be a horse in the First World War. And so I wrote War Horse, like most of my novels a book that is as much for adults as for children. Now, 25 years later, War Horse has been turned into a play. It would be difficult to imagine a production of greater ambition and complexity. Centre stage will be several life-size horse puppets. There is a huge cast, a design which serves to be the countryside of Devon and the battlefields of Flanders, and songs written specially for the production In my early thirties, in 1975, we moved from Kent to Iddesleigh in Devon where my wife Clare and I were setting up Farms for City Children, an educational charity which we hoped would enrich the lives of urban children by enabling them to spend a week living and working on the farm. We found ourselves living in a small tight-knit community of fewer than 200 people. Here we settled, and began our project. I had written one or two books already but now for the first time I came across a subject that I felt I could write from the heart. I was in the pub, the Duke of York. "Are you writing another book, Michael?" said the old man sitting opposite me by the fire, cradling his pint. I told him that I’d come across an old painting of a cavalry charge in the First World War. The British cavalry were charging up a hill towards the German position, one or two horses already caught up on the barbed wire. I was trying, I told him, to write the story of the First World War, as seen through the eyes of a horse. "I was there in 1916," the old man told me, his eyes filling with tears. "I was there with the horses too." He talked for hours about the horse he’d loved and left behind at the end of the war, how the old horse had been sold off to the French butchers for meat. I determined then and there to tell the story of such a horse. But how to tell it? I had to find a way that didn’t take sides. So I conceived the notion that I might write the story of the First World War as seen through a horse’s eye, a horse that would be reared on a Devon farm, a horse that goes to the front as a British cavalry horse, is captured by the Germans and used to pull ambulances and guns. But I had yet to be convinced that I could make this work, that the horse might respond credibly, might understand the needs and anxieties of the people he came to know. One incident in particular persuaded me that I could pull it off. A young boy from Birmingham came to the farm with his classmates some 25 years ago. Billy, I was told by the teachers, had been fostered by several different families, was withdrawn and so tormented by a stammer that by the age of seven he had given up speaking at all. One evening I had come to the farmhouse to read to the children. As I came into the stable yard behind the house I found Billy standing under the stable light, talking freely to one of the horses. He spoke confidently, knowing he was not being judged or mocked. And I had the very strong impression that the horse was listening, and understanding too. It was an unforgettable moment for all three of us, I think. It was that extraordinary moment that gave me the confidence I needed to begin writing War Horse For more information, visit: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ See the clip on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fng2alUmfB8&NR=1 |
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Volunteers Wanted!Kim McElroy and I are just in the process of putting together a new DVD for her new art course entitled Secrets Of Drawing Horses with Kim McElroy – Part 1. Kim’s approach to teaching and the one she used to develop her own horse art is not at all the traditional way of leaning to draw and is a real liberation in itself. This is what one lady wrote in response to Kim’s recent HorseConscious call: "As you were describing your new DVD about learning to draw… and drawing feelings… you mentioned the word "joy"… and what would that look like… I immediately saw myself drawing a bright yellow sun… splashing with gorgeous yellow rays coming from it… At one point, you mentioned drawing a horse…and I saw myself drawing a line from the top of a horse’s head… the withers… down the back… with lots of lines for a tail!!! My very own spirit sketch!!!!!… And as you know, I’m one of those "stick figure" drawers… or at least I thought I could only do that. Yeah!" Although Kim has been teaching art for years, this is the first time she has put her methods onto DVD and so we are looking for a few people to trial the course and provide us with feedback before the full version is released. This Beta version of the product is therefore at a specially reduced price for this trial and all volunteers will receive a complimentary copy of the full course when it is released. If you would like to be one of the 15 volunteers only, go now to: http://www.horseconscious.com/products/courses-workshops |
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Seeing Things Differently: A Horse Eye View
If you have a horse of a different color, chances are your horse knows it–although he might not be able to say if he’s red or green. New physiological and behavioral research by various teams across the globe has added weight to the hypothesis that horses can see a wide range of colors but they don’t see them the same way humans do. "Virtually all the data agree, first, horses do have the ability to see colors, and second, in suggesting that they have only two kinds of … cones, as opposed to the three that humans have," said Canadian Brian Timney, PhD, professor of psychology and neuroscience at The University of Western Ontario and co-author of a recent review on vision and hearing research in horses. "This means they would confuse more colors than a human with normal vision would."
New Zealand PhD candidate in psychology Tania Blackmore of the University of Waikato co-authored the latest equine color perception research. Her findings, which will appear in an upcoming issue of Behavioral Processes, support an evolving international theory that horses see colors much like a human with red/green deficiency would. Focusing on specific wavelength measurements, Blackmore’s research showed horses can discriminate yellow from blue, contrary to older research, but that "green wavelengths may be more difficult for horses to see," she said. Wavelength studies help resolve the "brightness problem" in color research–the risk that subjects might be perceiving brightness variations instead of color differences during tests, Timney said. Wavelength studies also test the fineness of their color vision. A 2006 study led by British researcher Carol Hall, PhD, senior lecturer and program leader in equine sports science at Nottingham Trent University, showed a direct link between activity in horses’ cones and their discrimination of colors presented to them. The horses in her study were consistently able to distinguish any color from grey, as she suspected they would. "I had a horse that would ignore white lines on the road but had a real ‘spook’ if she came across yellow ones," Hall said. "Hence when I read that one study … (which) concluded that they couldn’t tell the difference between yellow and white, I felt strongly that this was not the case." American researcher Joseph Carroll, PhD, assistant professor in ophthalmology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, led a physiological study of the equine eye in 2001 that confirmed the presence of two distinct cone types, classifying horses as dichromatic, as opposed to being trichromatic, like humans. Carroll’s research provides an "anatomical base" for the behavioral research and allows equine professionals to work constructively with their dichromatic partners, he said. "One could imagine designing easier-to-see jumps, for example," he said. Christa Lesté-Lasserre, thehorse.com |
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One With the Herd Life Changing Workshop – Liz Mitten Ryan
Liz has just finished the first of her Understanding the Infinite Workshops and has released a video showing the experiences of the participants with the help of the practitioners, Liz’s herd of 17 horses and the pristine, magical landscape of beautiful British Columbia: http://www.horsebc.com/2009video/OneWithTheHerdWS.html The next workshop is already sold out but there are still a few places left for the workshops starting August 2nd, 16th and 30th. For more information, please visit: Liz Mitten Ryan Workshop |
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Which Trees Are Toxic to Horses?
It’s hard to imagine that a natural part of our environment could possibly be harmful to our horses. However, many plants are not only poisonous, but potentially deadly to horses. Many plants and trees have strong medicinal qualities; early medicines to treat numerous medical conditions–from lowering a fever to stimulating a strong heartbeat–were often derived from plants, shrubs, and trees. It therefore should be no surprise that the substances in many common trees can be quite poisonous if consumed by our herbivorous friends in raw form. In this article, we will discuss the most poisonous trees, how to identify them, and how to prevent your horse from becoming a victim of their toxic ways. Black Walnut TreeOne of the most dangerous of poisonous trees is the black walnut. Although prized by humans for its delicious nuts and beautiful wood, the tree itself can be very dangerous to horses. Exposure to the horse is mainly through shavings used as bedding. Exposure to the tree in this manner results in laminitis or founder to varying degrees. Originally, the tree was thought to produce a toxin in the leaves, bark, and nuts. However, more recent research suggests that only the heartwood of the tree contains the toxin responsible for causing laminitis in horses; but to be safe, horses should never be allowed direct access to these trees. After exposure to black walnut shavings, a horse will usually begin to show the hallmark signs of laminitis within 10-12 hours. The lower legs of some horses will begin to swell, and they will be reluctant to move. Other horses might just shift their weight from one front foot to the other, or rock their weight backward. If asked to move, they will try to bear most of their weight on their heels instead of walking flatfooted. These are all classic signs of laminitis (except for the swollen legs). Other signs that might be present include a strong digital pulse and/or palpable heat within the hoof. If you see any of these signs in your horse, whether or not you suspect black walnut tree poisoning, contact your veterinarian at once as an acute episode of laminitis is always an emergency. If you suspect that your bedding is contaminated with black walnut wood shavings, remove your horse from the bedding at once. Most horses have a very good chance of recovering with treatment once removed from the toxin (bedding). The black walnut tree is a tall hardwood tree that can reach 90 feet (27 meters). Not a common tree, its habitat ranges from North Florida to New York and west to Texas and North Dakota. Its bark is dark brown with deep ridges, and its dark green leaves are long and spindle-shaped with tiny saw-tooth ridges at the edges. The nuts of black walnut trees are first green, then turn dark brown or black. Red Maple TreesRed maple trees are some of the most spectacular trees to behold in the fall. The deep crimson leaves are beautiful, but toxic, particularly to horses. The leaves while alive and on the trees are not poisonous, but once they fall off the tree and wilt, they can be deadly. Horses are most often exposed as the leaves fall from the trees in the fall, or if a branch is blown off of a tree into a pasture by a storm and the leaves wilt on the broken branch. The toxin present in these wilted leaves is unidentified at this point in time. Despite that, we know very well the damage it can cause. Once ingested by the horse, the toxin begins to destroy the horse’s red blood cells. As the red blood cells continue to burst, severe anemia (lack of red blood cells) can occur. The destruction of the red blood cells causes other problems–once a red blood cell is destroyed, the hemoglobin from inside the cell is free in the bloodstream. The hemoglobin is filtered by the kidney, but the kidney is damaged in the process. Therefore, horses poisoned by the red maple toxin are battling severe anemia (which hampers the ability to carry oxygen to their body’s cells) and kidney disease. If a horse eats red maple leaves, he will begin to act depressed and weak within two days. As the horse’s body begins to have trouble transporting oxygen to the cells, his heart and respiratory rates will rise. Affected horses will also have icteric mucous membranes (a yellowish tinge to their gums and sclera, the white around the eye). A horse which has eaten wilted red maple leaves is treated supportively, but has a poor prognosis for survival. He is given intravenous fluids to flush his kidneys (diuresis) in an effort to keep them working. He might require oxygen, and if he’s severely anemic, he might receive blood transfusions. One reference cites that as little as three pounds of wilted leaves can be fatal to an adult horse. Of course, the best treatment is prevention. Once the offending tree is identified, simply ensure that your horse is not exposed to the wilted leaves. Remove storm-blown branches from paddocks or pastures immediately. If these trees are close to your fenceline, it might be prudent to remove the tree. The red maple or scarlet maple is found throughout the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. This tree is a tall hardwood with green leaves that have three large "fingers" or points and five prominent veins in the leaves. The leaves of this tree turn a brilliant crimson and sometimes yellow in the fall. Cherry and Plum TreesCherry trees were brought into the spotlight last year with the mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS) in Kentucky. One theory during the investigation was that black cherry trees might have been a source of cyanide that led to early and late foal losses. Nothing has been proven in research to this date. Cherry and plum trees and their relatives contain cyanide-containing compounds, which are found in the leaves, fruit, and pits of the trees. The plants are most toxic when drought or frost stresses them, and young, rapidly growing trees are thought to potentially contain a higher concentration of cyanogenic compounds. Wilted leaves are also quite toxic. Horses become poisoned by ingesting the leaves or seed pits of the trees. Once the plant material is chewed and exposed to the acid within the horse’s stomach, hydrogen cyanide is released and rapidly absorbed into the horse’s bloodstream. Cyanide works as a poison in that it prevents normal cellular uptake of oxygen. As a result, an affected horse’s blood is bright cherry red because it is overloaded with oxygen that cannot be utilized by the horse’s cells. Horses with cyanide poisoning usually are found breathing heavily with flared nostrils. Their respiratory rates and heart rates might be quite elevated. Diagnosis is often by these clinical signs and the bright red color of the blood. Some horses are found dead from cyanide poisoning, and in those cases tissue samples can be tested for the presence of cyanide. If found in time, the affected horse can be treated with chemicals that: 1) Remove the cyanide that is bound to the red blood cells and unblock cellular oxygen transport; and 2) replenish natural stores of a compound that can bind the remaining cyanide and render it harmless. Cherry and plum trees are present throughout most of the United States, and there are numerous varieties of each species. Their showy flowers in the spring and fruit during the summer is the best way to identify them. Oak TreesOak trees–more specifically, their acorns, buds, leaves, or blossoms–are toxic to all livestock, including horses. Oak poisoning is not very common in horses, but is seen more commonly in cattle and sheep, which are less discriminate eaters. The acorns, leaves, and blossoms contain tannins, which when digested are converted into toxic metabolites inside the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants and horses. Horses with oak poisoning can develop colic and bloody diarrhoea. They also develop renal disease as the toxic metabolites of the tannins damage the horse’s kidneys. Treatment of oak poisoning is aimed at maintaining hydration with intravenous fluids and protecting kidney function. The good news is that horses must eat a large quantity of acorns to become ill. Prevention is better than treatment–remove oak trees from your pastures or paddocks. Oak trees are found throughout the United States and Canada. There are many different deciduous and evergreen varieties of oak trees found in the United States. The acorns they produce in the summer can identify these trees, along with their leaves, as most deciduous oak trees have leaves with seven to nine lobes and the evergreen varieties have elliptical leaves. While the trees discussed here are the most common poisonous trees in the United States, there are other less common trees such as black locust that can cause problems in horses. However, there are far more poisonous plants in our environment than just trees. If you are unfamiliar with the plants in your area or are unfamiliar with your horse’s habitat, check with your veterinarian and your local cooperative extension agent to see if any plants might pose a problem. by: Christina Cable, DVM, Dipl. ACVS thehorse.com April 01 2002, Article # 3411 |
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NEW ARTICLES ON HORSECONSCIOUS
Night Run Insights- Kim McElroy All my life I have been fascinated with the unseen, with spirits, and with hidden images in aspects of nature. I grew up in the city of Long Beach – where the only touch of nature was a calm breakwater beach bereft of shells, or digging clams in the mud by concrete piers. The weather a mild sunny constant and the rain only smelling of wet pavement. Then my parents bought vacation property on the Hood Canal in Washington State. In contrast, Washington was a lush wilderness that filled me with fascination. I loved the dense mysterious woods, miles of oyster beaches and the tide pools, rivers, and waterfalls. The gentle rain had the smell of green, and the sky was as complex a world as the woods, with its dark cloud formations in layers of light and shadow. The sunsets lit up the clouds over snow-capped mountains, and reflected on the brilliant water. There I reveled in Nature’s mysteries of the salmon spawning, and eagles and deer were a common encounter. To read the compete article and more of Kim’s articles, visit Kim McElroy |
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How to learn to tie a horse – Carolyn Resnick I like to tie my horses to a post because I think it is a fabulous way to develop a more dependable horse. Before I tie a horse, I prepare the horse how to stand still at liberty on command using the Waterhole Rituals. If it is a foal, I make certain that foal would be happy being separated from its mother and vice versa. From being tied, a horse learns that when I leave him he is responsible for standing still and not fussing. At the beginning of the training, I tie him with a knot that I can pull loose immediately he might suggest he would try to pull back. The theory is that in early training if a horse never experiences pulling back, he will not choose it as an option later on when he is fully trained. So, let’s say I have a baby foal that has a foundation with the Waterhole Rituals and this baby foal watches his mother regularly being tied to a post and he sees how much she enjoys it and how happy she is. He thinks to himself, “Gee, I never get tied to that post”. To read the compete article, visit Carolyn Resnick on horse training |
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VIDEO – Anna Twinney: Excerpts from the Feb 2009 Clinic – Part I
Join Reach Out to Horses’s Anna Twinney demonstrates some of the Reach Out horsemanship methods to help you create a trust-based partnership with your horse. In the first of a series of videos, Anna shows some trust building exercises teaching massage and body awareness techniques to help create focus and yield. To view the video, click Anna Twinney on HorseConscious N.B. The 3rd in the series of Anna’s conversations with Mark about her approach to horsemanship is now available online for HorseConscious Members. This call covers Animal Communication. |
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GREENING UP: Creative Recyling in the Barn
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HEALTH CARE: Anhidrosis [No Sweat], Altered Thyroid Function a Potential Contributor
Despite the fact that 20% of racehorses in the southern United States are affected by anhidrosis–the inability or decreased ability to sweat–the underlying causes of this medical condition remain unknown. Sweating is the primary means by which exercising horses dissipate heat. Anhidrotic horses are typically exercise intolerant, have an increased body temperature, and recover from exercise more slowly than their sweaty counterparts. Some suggest hypothyroidism, the decreased production of thyroid hormones, might be a mechanism for anhidrosis. This theory came about after one study reported an improvement in clinical signs in anhidrotic horses supplemented with iodine (iodinated casein). To determine if thyroid function was indeed altered in ahidrotic horses, Babetta Breuhaus, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, from the department of clinical sciences at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, evaluated the thyroid function in 10 client-owned horses with clinical signs consistent with anhidrosis and 10 normal horses (controls). Breuhaus hypothesized that all horses included in this study would have normal thyroid function. But she found anhidrotic horses had a significantly different thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) response to thyroid releasing hormone (TRH) than did control horses, particularly in the winter. It should be noted, however, that resting concentrations of thyroid hormones and TSH as well as the thyroid hormone responses to TRH were not different between the two groups of horses. In the published report, the author cautioned readers that the biological relevance of these findings is not clear at this point and further research is necessary. Breuhaus suggested that the take-home messages are:
The study, "Thyroid function in anhidrotic horses," was published in early 2009 (Volume 23) in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine by Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc February 28 2009, Article # 13697 |
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RECOMMENDED READING
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Click images for more info & to purchase |
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YOUR OPINION MATTERS, HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO STAND UP FOR HORSES!OUR MISSION is to raise consciousness among the horse industry and to improve the lives of not only our horses but all horses. If you feel compelled, please take action! Long Rider’s Guild Seeks to End Mongul Derby Bitless Bridles for Competition Rider Banning Jumps Racing in Australia The United Organizations of the Horse The mission of the American Mustang Foundation (aka Legacy Ranch) is to educate the public about the history and plight of the American Mustang to improve the mustang’s quality of life on the range and in captivity. http://www.mustangfoundation.org/solutions/solutions.htm
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DIARY DATES: |
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August 2 |
Carolyn Resnick – WRIC member telecall 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 7pm GMT / 8pm CET |
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August 3 |
Carolyn Resnick – WRIC member telecall 7pm Pacific / 10pm Eastern / Tue 26th 12pm NSW, Australia |
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August 15-16 |
Linda Kohanov – Taking the Reins: Horse Sense for Challenging Times, http://www.taoofequus.com/ws_intro_epona.html#Reins |
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August 16 |
Carolyn Resnick – WRIC member telecall 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 7pm GMT / 8pm CET |
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August 17 |
Carolyn Resnick – WRIC member telecall 7pm Pacific / 10pm Eastern / Tue 26th 12pm NSW, Australia |
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August 20-22 |
Kathy Pike – Friday Night: Lecture and Book Signing for Hope . . . from the Heart of Horses followed by Weekend Workshop: Explore Your Authentic Self Through the Wisdom of the Horse, http://www.coachingwithhorses.com/calendar.html |
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August 25-31 |
Kathy Pike – Self-Realization through the Wisdom of the Horse http://www.coachingwithhorses.com/calendar.html |
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August 2-7, 16-21 |
Liz Mitten Ryan‘s Life Changing |
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Various dates – Please quote HorseConscious when booking |
For details of all of all Anna Twinney‘s events and workshops click here |
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Various dates – Please quote HorseConscious when booking |
Kathy Pike‘s calendar and clinics can be found here |
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Various dates – Please quote HorseConscious when booking |
Details of Epona workshops by Linda Kohanov can be found by clicking here |
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Remember: HorseConscious Members can promote their own events here too! |
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