Edition VII

Hi

Welcome to this month’s HorseConscious Newsletter.

Wow, another month has flown by and we’re almost into October. Where does the time go?!

I was busy at the beginning of the month finishing off the edit on Kim McElroy‘s new DVD “The Secrets of Drawing Horses.” It was in fact just the test version of the DVD, which is being tried out by about 20 keen, would-be horse artists. The first results are now starting to come through and this is what one participant had to say:

“I just received your wonderful dvd last night and made special time to watch it today….

Introduction – I was so moved my your story and it touched parts of me buried so deeply I cried and cried. I had my husband watch it also and he cried as he saw my emotions. This is a really good thing in my mind because it shows the story is real and true art is when you forget what you are looking at and are taken inside the picture or story. The pictures and their presentation are AWESOME.

………I am very much enjoying the experience and thought the meditation was amazing too. I will write again after I practice the exercises but wanted to send my thoughts while they were fresh.”

To give you an idea what this lady was talking about, I invite you to take a look at the following short YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM0EYeUUKU0

The full version including some additional footage will probably be out in time for Christmas if not before. If you would like to receive some drawing tips from Kim, along with advanced notification of the actual release date of the DVD, you can sign up for the waiting list at http://www.horseconscious.com/kimdvd

I am delighted to report that the new HorseConscious social networking site, has been really well received and the number of members is growing daily!

If you haven’t visited and joined, I highly encourage you to do so and share with others as they post photo’s, videos, comments, chats, blogs etc.

Again, it’s free to join and you can find the site at its new name of http://www.HorseHonsciousCommunity.com

if you already have a Ning ID, you can use that.

Remember too to spread the word and invite your friends or mention the site on any other sites which you belong to or visit regularly.

Following the news last month about Linda Kohanov being forced to leave her beloved Apache Springs Ranch, I am very pleased to announce that Linda will be joining us on the 10th October for a special HorseConscious Members call-in.

This is a great opportunity to hear Linda’s plans for the future and ask her any questions you may have for her. If you are not yet a HorseConscious Member (as opposed to HorseConsciousCommunity member), this is your chance to not only gain access to the back catalog of calls with all the HorseConscious Teachers but to take part live in upcoming calls too.

If you join now, you can get a CD of all 6 of the Path of The Horse Teleseminar Series calls in MP3 format absolutely free, we even pay the shipping and handling! As this sells for $22.95 + S&H elsewhere on the site, this is a no-lose way to test Membership. For more information, please visit:

http://www.horseconscious.com/become-a-member

Also this month, I have been trying out Twitter for the first time. Do you use Twitter? If so, you can follow my ‘tweets’ at http://twitter.com/markmotts

You know, it’s because of the power of the internet and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter that America has it’s first African American President. Yes, the President Obama team were using all the latest internet tools to pull in voters and campaign funds and in so doing, he was able to wipe the floor with not only Hilary (who obviously had a direct link to the majority of the traditional Democratic fundraisers) but eventually also with the Republicans. An amazing result whichever way you look at it.

Well, methinks, if it’s could enough for President Obama, it’s good enough for our horse conscious community, right? So, over the coming months I am going to be starting a social media campaign using the online resources now available to primarily promote some of the issues concerning wild mustangs and transport and treatment of horses and other related subjects that nearly always seem to be on the peripherary of the main news but never quite make it onto the front page.

For example, through Twitter, I have already come into contact with a lady who is on the same path and drew my attention to the entry in Wikipedia for Mustang [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustang_(horse)], which is highly slanted towards the BLM and she asked us to take a look at it, which Tessa is now doing.

I would love to hear your comments on these issues too as the more we gang together, the more we can spread the word. The easiest way to do this is via Twitter or Facebook, so if you use either of these, please invite me as a friend at either http://twitter.com/markmotts or http://www.facebook.com/markmotts.

OK, that about wraps it up except to remind you of a few important dates coming up:

• TOMORROW – Wednesday 30th September:The first in the Horse As Teacher Teleseminar Series – see below for more details
• Saturday 10th October:HorseConscious Member’s call with Linda Kohanov
• Sunday 25th October:The re-arranged HorseConscious Member’s call with Maurizio Patti for Alexander Nevzorov
  Poor Maurizio arrived home a few weeks ago in time for the call, only to find all his power and telephone cables had blown down in a storm! Thank you to Anna (Twinney) for stepping in on that occassion and so this is the re-arranged call.

Thanks for your continued support and hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter!

Best wishes

Mark Mottershead

P.S. To show this (social) networking really works, I’ve just been contacted by a lady called Monika from Colorado, who has been helping Chantal Westerman to educate the public on the corruption within the BLM. They wrote to Jane Velez Mitchell and managed to get a short segment on CNN. Monika said the piece was “short, much MORE could have been said, but it’s a start…”

These are some facts and figures she sent to me:

Startling Statistics Enlightening on BLM Management of Wild Horse Program

Compiled by Laura Leigh, photo by Ginger Kathrens

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA, – In 1974 there were approximately 57,000 wild horses and burros actually counted on public lands.

Today – There are fewer than 36,000 wild horses and burros estimated on public lands.

In a December 1971 report to Congress the BLM estimated that there were about 9500 wild horses and 7500 burros on public lands.

In 1974 a ground count was done and found about 42,000 horses and 15,000 burros.

The next year, the BLM concedes there were probably considerably more than 9500 horses in 1971; probably closer to 28,000. (Allowing for the assumed 10% “overcount” still doesn’t reconcile the difference between 42,000 and 28,000. Nonetheless the doctored numbers are the ones generally offered to the public and the actual count isn’t acknowledged unless someone asks specific questions about the 1974 horse and burro census.)

*The 1974 census was limited to BLM and US Forest Service lands did not include several thousand horses and burros found within National Parks or US Fish & Wildlife Properties.

The present population figures of 37,000 circulated by BLM includes both horses and burros, approximately 20,000 head fewer than counted in the 1974 census.

Since 1971 wild horses and burros have been removed from 102 ranges (Herd Areas) representing a loss of approximately 13 million acres of land. (There were 303 original Herd Areas – now only 201 Herd Management Areas [HMAs] remain.

Wild horses and burros now reside on 34,549,570 acres of the 261,950,378 acres managed by BLM

Oct. 2008 GAO-BLM

In fiscal year 2007, the program was funded at $36.4 million under BLM’s Management of Lands and Resources appropriation. Forty-four BLM field units manage approximately 33,100 wild horses and burros on 199 Herd Management Areas (HMA) covering over 34 million acres in 10 western states– Arizona, California, Colorado , Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.4 BLM’s Nevada State Office manages about half of the land and animals in the Wild Horse and Burro Program

BLM permits far more cattle and sheep to graze on BLM managed lands than horses.

Specifically, in fiscal year 2007, approximately 567,000 head of cattle or sheep grazed BLM public lands. However, livestock are managed on 160 million acres of BLM lands, compared to the 29 million BLM acres that supports horses and burros.

BLM is currently compiling a history of how BLM field offices made the determination to manage wild horses and burros on the current 34.3 million acres, compared to the 53.5 million acres where they were originally found in 1971. According to BLM officials, they expect the review to be completed by March 2009.

This brand new series starts tomorrow, Wednesday 30th September and continues on the following 3 Wednesdays. If you haven’t already signed up for this totally FREE series of calls, you can so now by going to: Horse As Teacher Teleseminar Series

The series features all the authors from the first Horse As Teacher
book including Stormy May, Anna Twinney and Kathy Pike. who will be discussing how horses came into their lives and changed them for ever. How by learning to trust the wisdom of the
horse, they were inspired to help bring about change in the lives of others too.

Remember, not only do you have the opportunity to ask your questions in advance to this remarkable group of women but you also have the chance to ask your questions live to them on the calls. A golden opportunity not to be missed!

Please join us for this exciting new series by going to http://www.horseconscious.info/

Hello again, this is Tessa,

The last few squares are on their way to me, but if you want to take a peek, please visit our blog hcquilt.wordpress.com to see the wonderful work created by our contributors! Soon I will begin sewing these squares together into our quilt, it will then leave my hands for Kim to complete the quilting process.

This has been an inspired process. The words I created into blocks from our teachers will make this quilt truly unique. I myself have never done anything like this before! But I had good inspiration and coaching from Kim! You can track our progress at the blog.

Kim Male and myself wish to acknowledge and thank the following people for joining us in this endeavor: Connie Funk, Melody Golding, Mitzi Koch, Beth Schrang, Dianne Bartlett, Sally Leong, Betty Lucke and Deanna Opstedal.

Keep quilting!

Tessa & Kim

“Good friends are like Quilts. They age with you, yet never lose their warmth

Keeping Weekend Warrior Horses Fit

Horses that are mainly ridden on weekends require special care and training to avoid injury.

Some humans do it all the time: Pack a week’s worth of activity into a weekend with pickup basketball games, long hikes, or marathon sessions at the gym. And while most people expect to pay for their exercise spurt with achy muscles, stiff joints, and risk of injury, many horse owners don’t realize that their equine partners experience the same risks and discomforts after a long weekend on the trail or in the show ring.

According to Jose M. Garcia-Lopez, VMD, Dipl. ACVS, assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, equine weekend warriors run the same risks for injury as humans, such as bone bruising, inflammation, and tendon and ligament damage. And just like humans, horses whose most strenuous activities take place on weekends require regular body conditioning in order to avoid injury and long-term damage.

“You wouldn’t think of running a marathon without conditioning,” says Garcia-Lopez, who focuses on equine sports medicine, orthopedic surgery, and respiratory issues at Tufts. “Even if you have a ‘backyard horse,’ you’re asking him to be an athlete.”

That’s because so-called backyard horses are often asked to perform in a variety of disciplines, from dressage to jumping to three-day eventing to daylong trail rides. Each one of those endeavors puts stress on a horse’s joints and soft tissues.

Problem Areas

Foot soreness – A horse’s feet can become sore with excessive exercise or with exercise over terrain that the horse is normally not conditioned on (i.e., hard or rocky ground). This is a common condition in the weekend warrior, and it occurs because the soft tissues of the foot are essentially encased in a hard shell that is composed of the hoof capsule and the sole plate.

Duncan Peters, DVM, MS, Certified ISELP (International Society of Equine Locomotor Pathology), heads the Sport Horse division at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Ky. He notes, “If these soft tissues tissues of the foot (laminae, sensitive sole, blood vessels ) become inflamed from excessive pounding of the foot from the ground surface, these tissues swell within the rigid confines of the hoof and cause pain. There can be bruising or shearing effects that leads to soreness and lameness that can be difficult to control.”

Muscles – Peters describes muscle soreness as one of the most common issues seen in weekend warriors. “Sore muscles develop from overexertion and the buildup of metabolic byproducts that, then, lead to inflammation within the tissues,” he explains. “Unfit horses are especially prone to this occurrence.

“Severe muscle inflammation, or ‘tying-up’ (exertional rhabdomyolysis), in the weekend warrior can lead to muscle tissue damage and the release of myoglobin (the oxygen-transporting pigment of muscle tissue), which is then taken into the bloodstream and filtered through the kidneys,” he continues.

“Unfortunately, myoglobin in large amounts can be toxic to the kidneys and cause potentially fatal consequences.”

Joints – Horses that work hard infrequently commonly develop sore joints. “The front leg fetlock and coffin joints, as well as the hind leg hock joints can become sore in the unfit horse with overdone exercise,” notes Peters. “The supporting soft tissues of the joint (ligaments, joint capsule, and synovium) become inflamed due to the repetitive nature of the exercise and the tissues not conditioned enough for the load. This leads to pain, heat, and swelling of these joints and resulting stiffness or lameness of gait.

Located at the end of a horse’s thigh, the stifle corresponds most closely to a human’s knee. And like human knees, stifles carry significant weight when a horse moves–even at a walk. Garcia-Lopez explains, “You have a 1,000-pound animal, but the amount of weight coming down on the joint is really 3,000 pounds. That joint is not supposed to do the job by itself. The tendons, ligaments, and lower back (lumbar area) and gluteal (butt) muscles are there to support the joint.”

Tendons and Ligaments – When a horse’s gluteal, lower back muscles, and other muscles are weak, the horse runs the risk of lameness due to bone inflammation and bruising. Likewise, when the ropelike soft tissue structures that connect muscles to bone (tendons) and bone to bone (ligaments) are overstressed, a horse is at risk for tendon and ligament tears. Tendons and ligaments tend to weaken and become prone to injury with repetitive overloading exercise. Over time, tiny tears can worsen to cause serious lameness issues in unfit horses.

Peters says, “The flexor tendons and the suspensory ligaments are the major tissues that can be damaged with overwork in the unfit horse. These are major supporting structures and frequently they will just develop some local soreness or heat if they are overstressed. This usually subsides in a few days with supportive care. If they are damaged significantly with fiber ‘tearing,’ then lameness and swelling are predominant signs. This can become a long-term problem, which may take months for healing and return to adequate function. A veterinarian can certainly help you assess the extent of the condition and the proper treatments.”

Garcia-Lopez uses radiography and MRI to diagnose bone inflammation and bruising and other injuries. Conditions such as a slightly bowed tendon can be so subtle the horse’s owner might not notice visible signs other than an obvious lameness. Still, horses have ways of letting their owners know when their joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments are overstressed.

What Your Horse is Telling You

In additional to local soreness and heat, affected animals might adjust their gaits to compensate for bone bruising, such as avoiding a canter lead or consistently cross-cantering. “If you’re cantering (on your usually calm, straightforward, obedient horse) and it feels like you’re on a bucking bronco, or you need Velcro to stay in the saddle, your horse is telling you something is wrong,” Garcia-Lopez notes.

If a horse hesitates to respond to a rider’s call for a transition to another gait, pins his ears, or seems crabby, it could be the horse is telling the owner something is wrong physically. Don’t just chalk it up to laziness or moodiness, even though these can sometimes be the cause.

“People
who know their horses know their moods and characteristics,” Garcia-Lopez explains. “They should notice these signals.” If inflammation occurs, veterinarians might prescribe cold therapy, support bandages (for inflamed joints), medications (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as phenylbutazone, or Bute) in limited doses that might reduce inflammation and discomfort, and rest. “A conversation with your veterinarian may benefit to determine more specific approaches to decrease the the soreness in the joints,” notes Peters. “Treatment with cold ice baths, bandages, and medications can help to reduce the inflammation and soreness within the hoof.”

Garcia-Lopez advises horse owners to consider their horses’ body conditions relative to physical exercise in the same way they do their own. That means adopting and sticking to a consistent schedule of exercise.

Get Moving!

Even though pastured horses move an average of four miles a day, they are probably not challenging their muscles, ligaments, and tendons enough to gain the strength and flexibility necessary to prepare for strenuous weekend activities. Horses that spend the majority of their time in stalls are even more in need of conditioning.

“Even if stalled horses get regular turnout, they aren’t going to move enough outdoors to build the muscles in their backs and glutes or condition their tendons and ligaments,” Garcia-Lopez says. “Even though it’s a matter of (finding) time for most people, owners should regularly exercise their horses three or four times a week for 30 to 45 minutes each time.”

Flatwork-riding at the walk, trot, and canter–helps build muscle, especially in horse’s hindquarters. Meanwhile, ask your horse to climb small hills or move over ground poles or cavallettis to strengthen tendons and ligaments. Garcia-Lopez recommends that owners ride their horses during exercise sessions whenever possible. “Longeing is useful, but it’s better to work your horse with the pressure of the saddle and rider,” he says.

Don’t Overdo it

Peters notes, “It is important to not overdo the exercise on an unfit horse if it is only exercised intermittently.” However owners exercise their horses, it’s important they are mindful that they are in charge of regulating workout duration and intensity. Pushing horses too far or too fast during exercise sessions can cause the very injuries owners are working to prevent.

“If you or I were walking to exercise, we could regulate how long and how far we would walk,” Garcia-Lopez says. However, he reminds us, we are in charge of the workout duration and difficulty. “Don’t go all out the first time you work out your horse.”

While regular workouts are crucial, there’s more to a weekend warrior’s body conditioning than exercise, according to Carey Williams, PhD, equine management specialist and associate director of the Equine Science Center at Rutgers University. Horses require a sensible diet to perform safely and well. “Most weekend warrior horses are light-working horses. Some actually need to lose weight in order to tolerate increased exercise,” Williams says. “But many people think their horses are being exercised more than they are and need more calories than they really do.”

Williams advises owners against adding calories and protein to a horse’s diet during show, eventing, and trail riding seasons. Horses consuming high-quality hay and good pasture are already getting the 8% to 10% protein they require to maintain body weight even when activity levels rise. “I advise that owners know the content of their hay and understand the Henneke body condition system (download a free chart by going to (bcs-poster.pdf) before adding protein or calories to their horses’ diets,” Williams says.

Peters summarizes how to avoid common weekend warrior injuries: “First, have your horse conditioned adequately for the task at hand. Secondly, rest frequently if you start to recognize your horse is getting tired from the work. Get off and walk beside your horse for the remainder of a trail ride or stop the activity if at a competitive event. Thirdly, try to encourage your horse to drink in order to rehydrate and aid in kidney function for the removal of metabolic byproducts. Fourthly, eating will help replenish essential electrolytes and nutrients for muscle tissue repair and, ultimately, decreased soreness.”

After the Workout

Well-fed, well-conditioned weekend warriors typically step into the trail riding and show seasons with ease. But their special care shouldn’t end at the trailer or after the last competition class. Like their human counterparts, horses’ heart rates and muscles need to return to resting levels after strenuous exercise. Walking horses for 15 to 30 minutes after a long ride, a strenuous class, or a day of showing helps return body temperatures and heart rates to normal levels and prevents stiffness by maintaining blood flow to muscles.

“The heart rate will come down within five minutes, but you still don’t want to put a horse in a stall where he’s going to do nothing and probably become stiff,” says Garcia-Lopez. After a cool-down, owners can also use grooming or massage techniques to help horses relax, keep muscles supple, and prevent post-activity stiffness. Post- activity massage encourages horses’ muscles to release lactic acid, the enzyme compound that causes the “burn” that horses and humans feel during strenuous exercise.

Deep equine massage is best left to professional practitioners, but owners can easily learn and perform basic massage, says certified massage therapist Jill Deming, MA, of Integrated Animal Therapies in Spotsylvania, Va. Massage is no substitute for appropriate veterinary care for a horse whose owner suspects has sustained performance-related or other injuries. But performed regularly, massage can help maintain soft tissue conditioning levels achieved during regular workouts and mitigate post-activity stress on muscles, ligaments, and tendons. “Horses really tighten up once you take the saddle off,” Deming says. “Massaging their lower back and in the rump area loosens up those muscles.” Owners can massage their horses’ backs and hindquarters by applying gentle pressure as they move their index, middle, and ring fingers together in clockwise small circles to relax muscle surfaces. Scratching back and forth along both sides of the spine also promotes relaxation and invites horses to stretch their backs.

To encourage horses to stretch their legs after a strenuous workout, lift the horse’s leg about three inches off the ground while applying light resistance against the leg. “You’re not pulling on the leg, you’re setting a resistance limit. Eventually, the horse will push beyond the limit and stretch his leg,” Deming says. The technique can be applied to all four legs, but Deming warns the degree of leg elevation is key to avoiding injury. “Lifting the leg more than three inches will push the front leg, for example, right into the horse’s shoulder,” Deming says. “So, you have to be in a squatting–not standing–position to perform this technique.”

Take-Home Message

Garcia-Lopez cautions owners to use common sense whenever they ask their horses to perform, even after a short period of inactivity. Avoid marathon trail rides, multiday events, and long days at horse shows early in the season. Stay consistent with training and fitness regimens even after horses become accustomed to regular weekend activity schedules. Maintain weekly body conditioning workouts during the off-season. “Horses are magnificent, beautiful creatures,” Garcia-Lopez says, “and they’re not fragile. But they do need care if they’re going to be able to accomplish all the things we ask them to do.”

thehorse.com, by: Pat Raia July 01 2009, Article # 14449

NEW ARTICLES ON HORSECONSCIOUS

Horse Training Systems – Stormy May

A little while ago I began a series of articles with one entitled “Primum non nocere – Do no harm”. The aim of this series is to re-evaluate what we’re doing with horses. This way each person can have the information they need to decide whether or not they want to continue in a traditional way with horses, or to make the leap to a way which doesn’t compromise the body or spirit of a horse.

This article’s focus is on training systems. For whatever reason, for over 20 years, my horse-training livelihood had been based on starting young horses for competition and pleasure careers. In the beginning, I learned how to start horses from other trainers, books, and plenty of experimentation.

Even though it seems that there are hundreds of trainers and training “systems” out there, their fundamentals are the same in nearly all cases. Each might employ different exercises and tools to achieve the goals, but in order to truly know a system we must first strip it down and ask, “What is the horse’s motivation?”

To read the compete article and more of Stormy’s articles, visit The Path of the Horse

Waterhole Reflections – Carolyn Resnick

This DVD is designed to awaken your senses enabling you to be truly present and to put you in the right state of mind before you start work with your horse. Through appreciation of the world of horses by viewing this DVD and having a heart-felt connection with your horse, you will strengthen your relationship.

To read the compete article, visit Carolyn Resnick on HorseConscious

Life is a Creative Process- Kathy Pike

I often hear clients say, “I am not a creative person,” or some other variation of that sentence with a similar meaning. This has become a source of amusement for me. When I hear these statements the detective in me emerges and I become curious to find the creative side within that person. Every single one of us is born with creative potential. It doesn’t mean we are all artists. It means we see, feel, hear, and experience the world in our own way. We create our life every moment. When we are free of self-judgment and limiting beliefs we have the capacity to share those interpretations through creative expression allowing the true authentic self to emerge.

During my most recent program: Flying on the Wings of Horses: A Shamanic Journey with Horses to Ignite Creative Expression, I watched each participant access their creative expression through engaging with horses. Some highly creative individuals expanded into greater levels of freedom of expression. Others worked through their limiting thoughts and beliefs to gain ownership of their abilities.

To read the compete article, visit Kathy Pike on HorseConscious

Food for Thought:

September 26 was National Wild Horse Adoption Day

In light of the recent gather by the BLM, there was an interesting article in the LA Times that sparked some debate…….

LA Times Cowboys Up But Loses Rodeo in Bizarre Horse Editorial Deanne Stillman

Will
this era see the end of our great partner and icon, the mustang (not to mention the great road trip car named in its honor)? Given the misleading media coverage, the real thing may soon be heading off a cliff, spurred one step closer in the July 27th Los Angeles Times editorial called “Wild Horse Sense.” A long and well-placed piece fueled by gov, beef biz, and hunting lobby talking points, the editorial seeks to take down an important new bill which cleared the House by a wide margin but hasn’t even been introduced in the Senate.

When it comes to the wild things, the Times generally gets it. As I see it, our disconnect to wilderness is at the core of our problems, and it matters that a major newspaper understands that we are losing pieces of the natural world every day. But in this case, something is deeply amiss. For the Times to go after legislation that has not reached critical mass with so much ferocity is puzzling – and makes me wonder exactly why and how the decision to run this piece was made. As we shall see in a moment, it certainly was not by following its own editorial mission.

Quick backstory: wild horses are indigenous to this country, linked by mitochondrial DNA to the horses of the Ice Age. They died out during the Pleistocene era, were reintroduced by conquistadors, and flourished on the American range. They were pressed into service to blaze our trails, fight our wars, carry our mail, serve as transportation. By the end of the 19th Century, there were two million mustangs. Many of them were again sent off to war, culled for chicken feed or pet food, moved off by cattlemen, or massacred. By the middle of the 20th Century, they were on their way out, reduced to perhaps 60 or 70,000. To this day, many ranchers see them as pests that steal food from livestock, and often refer to them as “feral” or “weeds,” not unlike the Times editorial, which ignores the very language of the law that protects them – and also fails to understand the frailty of its own argument: if everything that’s feral were removed from the land, all of us except Native Americans should leave.

But the fact is this: wild horses are called wild by the law, which is the Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act, signed by Richard Nixon in 1971, primarily assigning wild horse protection to the Bureau of Land Management, which is tasked with carrying out annual round-ups in designated “Herd Management Areas” provided that proper population and range impact studies were conducted regularly. For a variety of reasons, they aren’t – a fact that the Times editorial does not mention.

For decades, various constituencies have tried to take down the law. In recent years, they nearly have and wild horse populations are under siege across the West. In fact, contrary to the editorial’s assertion that there is an “overpopulation” on the land, their numbers are dwindling. Where there is an overpopulation however is in government corrals, now crowded with at least 30,000 wild horses – more than are on the range. Many of these horses are awaiting adoption through the BLM’s adopt-a-horse program, but there are far too many horses for too few adopters, and to alleviate a problem which the government itself created, the BLM recently raised the idea of euthanasia.

As if the corrals weren’t crowded enough, the government periodically wages “emergency gathers” during a time of drought, stating that it would be “cruel” to let horses die of thirst – a response that the Times agrees with in its attempt to take down the ROAM Act, which seeks to broaden protections for wild horses. Curiously, no other wild animals are ever removed from the range during a time of drought, and when given a drink of water, the “rescued” mustangs are not returned. The real problem is the fencing off of water sources inside herd areas – a situation which needs serious investigation, again something not mentioned in the Times editorial.

But perhaps the most misleading aspect of the Times piece is its reduction of the debate over mustangs to one between “horse advocates” and various other groups. A wide range of citizens are in favor of the ROAM Act. They come to my book talks around the country and they are Republicans, Democrats, mustangers who regret their role in the decimation of our herds, Native Americans, rodeo heroes, you name the persuasion – they’re at my gigs. They understand what’s at stake if we lose our great partner and they do not have a problem with using their tax dollars in this regard – contrary to the expense canard rolled out in the Times editorial.

As the 1971 law states, “wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; …they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.” It’s a statement not unlike the Times own editorial mission: “Freedom is our core value…an abiding commitment to preserve the nation’s natural treasures is also in keeping with our western roots.” In both cases, the word “natural” is key.

The Eco Friendly Farm, part 1

Go green with your farm to make your horses healthier, the environment cleaner, and even improve the neighbors’ opinion of your place.

There’s a lot of buzz about “going green” these days. From installing energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs to carrying reusable grocery bags, we’ve made steps in our households toward impacting the environment less and improving the global climate. Managing horses is generally not forgiving to the environment (visualize brownish streams coming down the hillside from the manure pile in the rain, and fly spray chemicals rinsing down the wash stall drain). In this article we offer ways we can adjust our management to be more environmentally friendly.

GETTING GREENER

Joyce Harman, DVM, of Harmany Equine Clinic in Flint Hill, Va., and Alayne Blickle of Horses for Clean Water in Maple Valley, Wash., suggest the following additional tips for going green:

Soil, water, and general farm health:

• Install gutters and downspouts on all buildings. This diverts clean rainwater away from high-traffic areas, and it reduces the amount of sediment that gets into the surface water.
• Plant trees as barriers, i.e., dust barriers and protection for the banks of streams and ponds.
• Run fecal exams on resident horses and deworm only the horses that need to be dewormed. By doing this you will minimize the chemical load that goes into the pastures.
• Use organic fertilizers and natural mineral compounds, such as rock phosphate.
• Mow weeds when you’re about to rest a pasture; most can’t withstand mowing and will die out. Also, the grass tends to shade out the weeds and it grows better, preventing erosion.
• Use biodegradable and nontoxic products around the barn (shampoos, cleansers, etc.). Channel wash water into grassy areas so it can be absorbed into the soil.
• Use nontoxic weed spray or a weed eater. Mowing tall weeds helps keep mosquitoes down.

Pest control:

• Install bird houses specific for the type of bird you are encouraging (such as purple martins, bluebirds, barn swallows, violet-green swallows, and tree swallows). Some of these creatures can eat several thousand soft-bodied flying insects per day. Set out shed or trimmed dog and horse hair so bug-loving birds can use it for building their nests.
• Avoid using ivermectin and moxidectin dewormers during the summer months (Or always compost all manure for 24 hours after deworming. Any active dewormer will bind with soil and become inactive in a short period of time during the compost process.) Active dewormers in the manure or soil tend to prevent the natural breakdown of manure and deter dung beetles (read about dung beetles in article #5851 at TheHorse.com).
• A barn attracts fewer flies and other insects if it’s kept fairly
  dark inside during the day. A strong fan or breeze can help, and fly
  masks/sheets are excellent nontoxic insect controls.

Also good for your horse:

• Test the well water to see what your horses are drinking, and filter city water that they drink.
• Offer organic feed to your horses. Although, Harman says, “Quite honestly, horses need mostly hay, water, and a simple grain mix, and probably some vitamins and minerals.”

Conserving energy and resources:

• Put the lights (converted to energy-saving fluorescents) on timers.
• Convert lights on the farm to solar power. Harman knows farm owners who have installed solar-powered lights in the indoor and outdoor arenas and in the barn.
• Install automatic waterers that are powered by geothermic heat; this keeps the water cool in the summer and above freezing in the winter, and no electricity is required.
• Reuse is just as important as recycling. If you are tearing apart one structure and building another, reuse wood that still might be in good shape.
• Build with lumber from sustainable forests, or go with locally sourced wood and labor.
• Use bedding made from wood byproducts (such as wood pellets or straw pellets that compost easily), rather than virgin wood. (Always avoid black walnut shavings because of potential laminitis complications.) -Stephanie L. Church

thehorse.com, by: Stephanie L. Church, Copy/Features Editor July 01 2008 Article # 12425

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