PreviewHorsesForLIFEOct2008

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“Understanding How Form Equals Function”

“Holistic OnlineEducation for Every Rider” “Advanced Online and Practical Courses for Professional Students and Veterinarians” EQUINE SOUNDNESS INC 2

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Breaking News News Release from the FEI

FEI Executive Board Calls for Immediate Resignation of the FEI Dressage Committee 03/11/2008

The FEI Executive Board has requested the immediate resignation of the entire FEI Dressage Committee. The FEI Executive Board has taken this decision following a series of issues indicating the current Committee’s lack of flexibility on certain key matters. The Committee has been seen to work in isolation, not fully representing the interests of the Dressage community as a whole.

An interim solution is being discussed within the FEI in order to ensure the sound management of the sport whilst reviewing the strategic direction of Dressage. The names of the interim committee and their mandate will follow.

As the custodian of equestrian sport, the FEI will continue to maintain stringent level of transparency and professionalism meeting the requirements of a modern international sports governing body. ============================================================== This suprising and unexpected announcement leaves many wondering which subjects the FEI Executive feel have not been represented from the Dressage community as a whole.

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This month’s cover displays collection to the nth degree.

This is true classical collection, expressed in the powerful limbs and haunches of an American mustang stallion. The pelvis basculed, the stifle and hocks compressed, a most powerful spring. The back sloping upwards from loin to the raised withers, the chest almost appearing to climb into neck muscles that are truly engaged in a way we so rarely get to see. This expressive stallion can teach lessons that are difficult to find elsewhere.

But we choose this cover to highlight something very different. A difficult photo article on the most recent round-up. Here our cover represents how beautiful and proud freedom can be, the photo article representing sadly the other end of the spectrum.

All material copyright protected by Horses For LIFE Publications. Please contact us for information, suggestions, comments and submissions at equestriansquest@horsesforlife.com or 1-306-383-2588

Thank you to Carol Walker of Living Images for capturing this incredible moment in time, to live in our hearts forever more.

A piece of our equestrian history.

Horses For LIFE

The Path o A Documentary by

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of the Horse Stormy May

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The Path of the Horse A new inspiring DVD and documentary by Stormy May. There are many voices that share in this incredible journey. From Mark Rashid to Alexander Nevzorov, from Carolyn Resnick to Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling, from Linda Kohanov to Kim McElroy, to the experiences of Stormy May, the story teller through whose eyes we see all of this. Even more so “The Path of the Horse” is a documentary of all of us, of a fundamental change that is happening simultaneously all around the world. Some might say this is Storm’s path, her story, in reality this documentary is about each one of us. It is is our story.

Stormy found herself a successful riding instructor and judge, but knew somehow something was missing. Something had been lost. Where had the majesty, where had the freedom of the horses gone? Where had the connection that she had with the horses, as a child, gone?

She started an amazing equestrian journey, asking herself, if I could meet anyone in the world who would it be? She then went on that journey, one that took her around the world but required for her to give up everything, her ranch, her job, her income and her current life. Looking for those who had inspired her, hoping to find some answers. An equestrian journey where she had to admit to her own faults, an awareness of how wrong a path that she had been on, a frank openness that she bravely shares with us, so that we too, can see ourselves in this film.

She met with some astonishing horse people, men and women; people who had broken with tradition and focused more on what the horse could teach them, than on what they could teach to the horse.

First she went to Mark Rashid, someone who explained how he valued the softness to be found in the horse’s body. Who raised her awareness about whether we really wanted to be the alpha horse, who often lives a little apart from the rest of the herd or whether perhaps instead we really wanted to be the leader, the one with the life experience?

Mark Rashid is an internationally acclaimed horse trainer known for his ability to understand

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Horses For LIFE

Exclusive Inte with Philippe K

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erview Karl

Horses For LIFE

Exclusive Inte with Philippe K Interview with Philippe Karl

[HFL]: I so enjoyed the DVD that you did with Christoph Hess. I thought it was a wonderful thing for people to see. I’m so happy that you did it. My favorite part was when you walked up to the horse and ripped the flash off the bridle. I literally stood up and cheered. I think that made a real statement. Was this something that was hard for you to do?

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[PHILIPPE KARL]: Yes and no. No, because I knew in advance exactly what would happen.

For many years, I have had the opportunity to be in touch with show riding and the dressage scene people. And they are all the same: judges, trainers, and riders, everywhere they are the same. They are very dogmatic. They definitely have their system. And there is really no possibility to have a real discussion with them because they repeat their five sentences all the time and they don’t justify [what they do]. They have no explanations. So in a discussion, you can do whatever you want. You can put your question very clearly, but there are no answers. And you can see that in the DVD. And I thought “this is not useful and I know how this will run.”

So I was not anxious at all to do this.

But I finally accepted, thinking maybe it could open the eyes of many people. And to do it was difficult because I had to keep very cool and diplomatic, but [at the same time] nevertheless say what I think. And when I was discussing with somebody who never [answered] any of my questions, repeating the wrong thing, and contradicting himself all the time, it was really not funny. And afterwards in the show ring the comments he had for the riders were really not fair and not ok. It was really hard for me to keep cool. It was not possible to exchange a serious argument. But for people watching the DVD, either they are in the official scene and they are not interested in hearing anything else, or [they are] people who are wondering, and then [the DVD] can help. This would be good information for them. I’ve had a lot of very positive and enthusiastic feedback on it.

[HFL]: We did an article on it because I thought it was some of the best work that Thomas [from pferdia.de] had ever done. I think it’s an excellent DVD. I’m glad that you accepted it. I really am. I’m sure it’s going to make a big difference for many people. So you said that some 10

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erview Karl

of the comments weren’t fair. What comments were you referring to?

[PHILIPPE KARL]: [During] the exchange, there was no answer to any of my questions. Never.

[Except] only on this point about over-flexion - in the talk, he said he totally agrees that over-flexion is bad. But afterwards, he was showing a high-level horse which was constantly over-flexed even more in positions, in exercises, in which he should collect. And finally in the comments afterward he said, “Yes, good riders like that they know what they’re doing and that [eventually] the horses are in the correct position.” So he’s compromising all the time. I said that you can see in the photos of the horses in competitions, even at the highest level and in training, that the horses are over-flexed most of the time. And there was never an answer to any of my questions. So it looked like an exchange, but it’s really two monologues.

Two parallel monologues. But it was my idea to say to the person who organized it that it would not be only about the talk. [That we would] also have a practical part.

[HFL]: I’m so glad you did that.

[PHILIPPE KARL]: So, first showing the horse and then teaching unknown people. It would be even more clear for people because I purposely chose a student of mine who is very young and who is far from being perfect [who was] showing a very, very limited horse.

[This way] people can see and [verify] what I say. There are methods and philosophies which enable normal riders to ride to a high level with a limited horse. including jumping. I also wanted us to give a lesson to an unknown rider because they all have problems and this way you can see who has an effective solution and who has not. And this was very clear. In reality [in the demonstration], it was even more clear than on the Horses For LIFE

“I am impressed with the way Michelle Binder conveys ... the theory and practice of horsemanship.”

Claus Bergener, Grand Prix judge of the

German National Equestrian Federation

Available Internationally: NSTC/PAL Format

“This video does an outstanding job of introducting biomechanics ... (for) any discipline or riding style” Donna Longacre, USEF “R” Judge 12

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“New DVD.... Classic Information�

Watch the video trailer and the bonus feature at: www.relationalridingacademy.com

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What does your DVD “Relational Riding” teach people?

The video is designed to teach people about how a horse works naturally. Horses are built to work in a certain way that is good for them and that helps them stay strong and sound when they carry us. We used unique camera angles and interesting visual aids to help people understand these concepts. The video teaches biomechanics in a very understandable way AND teaches training exercises that help riders train their horses. It teaches people how horses work and then teaches them to communicate in a ridden language that the horse understands.

Correct fundamental training keeps the horse healthy, happy and sound, and can be applied by any rider to any horse with four legs a mane and a tail!

What does the Relational Riding Academy hope to accomplish with each new horse?

Relational Riding Academy tries to bring each horse a level of health and soundness that allows them to return to a normal working life. Some of the horses return to show careers, some are put into the lesson program, some go to homes where they are appreciated and have light jobs like trail riding. We try, through a variety of treatment protocols, training and exercise techniques, to rehabilitate each horse on an individual basis.

What kind of horses do you work with?

We work with all breeds of horses. RRA took in a 13.2 hand pony that was a rack of bones with hair and had such founder feet that the toes curled upwards. She was 26 years old but after her recovery, she took her young rider to win the year end hi point in the walk/trot division of our local 4H. She was a wonderful lesson pony and worth every moment and every dollar her recovery required. She died a natural death at age 34, well loved and still missed! We have rehabilitated expensive show horses, Warmbloods, Arabians, Thoroughbreds, Appaloosas, Paints and ponies from many illnesses and injuries that had ended their competitive careers and whose lives were at stake. All have been able to lead useful lives, despite being given up on. That is why I tell people that “Every Horse is Worth It” Why do they come to train at RRA? Most of the horses we work with have already been treated by the veterinary community, sometimes with near heroic efforts. The horses that come to RRA come as a last stop. The training is part of the rehab program and we consider it an integral part of each horses physical therapy.

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What kinds of injury can a horse recover from?

Horses can recover from many kinds of injuries, illnesses and diseases to lead useful lives. We have worked with broken pelvis’s, torn tendons and ligaments, both chronic and severe acute laminitis, surgical recoveries including tendon repairs, various abdominal surgeries and colics, navicular disease, starvation and neglect cases, cancer horses and “crazies.” The most disturbing though are the ones that have been harmed by training methods like “hot-nailing,” “hyperflexion” and “beaming” or just plain poor farriery.

What training methods help horses to recover?

The training methods we use are ones that are horse friendly. The program combines the best natural horsemanship techniques with fundamental dressage training so we practice the best methods from two different worlds.

Our round pen work is very low key, and designed to build relationship, not overpower or intimidate. The video describes this unique combination of training techniques that helps these horses recover and that keeps other horses from needing recovery!

What is the message?

The message is for every rider with any horse. The video shows how correct fundamental training crosses the boundaries between the disciplines and bridges the gaps between the breeds.

When will “Any horse any rider” be available?

The video is available NOW… Where can I find a copy? online at www.relationalridingacademy.com for 24.95 or at your local tack store in time for Christmas!

Any thing else you would like to share ?

If you ride a western pleasure horse, ride the beautiful, natural gaits, don’t cripple the horse’s movement. If you ride a hunter, ride them straight and in front of the leg to the fences. If you ride a dressage horse, love the horse, don’t have a slave that does the movements. Above all, ride your horses safely, love them, and allow them the freedom of expression that makes every horse beautiful.*

Horses For LIFE

The Clic

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Limits of cker Training

By Ben Hart

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Having essentially remained unchanged for thousands of years, horse training has over the last twenty years been bombarded by new methods promising the earth when it comes to understanding our equines. Some of these new ideas have already fallen by the wayside, while others will stand the test of time.

Clicker training is something that most horse owners have heard about, however conflicting stories lead to images of either a dangerous offshoot of natural horsemanship, or the gateway to a long dreamed of connection between horse and owner.

To be fair, all training methods seem to experience this same fate, and either misinformation or over-enthusiastic selling often gets in the way of learning about the science and practical application of clicker training.

Many potentially good methods of training are often lost or written off because enthusiastic trainers sometimes over exaggerate the potential of a training method and owners are then unable to fully understand the processes involved, so the method becomes less effective and is eventually thrown on the scrap heap of “not quite good enough” training methods.

The clicker is often portrayed as a magic solution to every imaginable horse problem and, excitingly, the method has that potential. However, this claim of infallibility is the biggest danger to the success of clicker training as an equine training method. Clicker training is often sold as an easy, positive quick fix, through which anyone and every equine can succeed. If it were that simple, horses all over the world would have their lives transformed and many behaviourists would happily be out of business because there would be the wonderful situation of no more problem horses to “fix”.

Clicker training does have fantastic potential to transform equine training, but only if people see that it works.

If its use is oversimplified and incorrect training causes it to be ineffective, horse enthusiasts will throw the clicker in the back of the tack room along with all the other gadgets, methods and equipment that have failed them in the last twenty years. {viewonly=special} Clicker training has been in existence in one form or another for fifty years, so it is not really a new training fad. One of the myths about clicker training is that it started with training marine animals, when in fact the science of clicker training started with B.F. Skinner during the 1940s. Two of Skinner’s students, Marian Kurse

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Horses For LIFE

It is cool here and slightly moist. The darkness divides itself, making room for the dancing of a crude oil lamp, its subtle light warmly illuminates the cramped, sacred space. I sit upon a bed of fragrant pine boughs and ready myself for the ceremony.

The venerable crone, adorned with dried seeds, braided horse hair, feathers, hollow bones and polished teeth makes haunting music with each poised movement.

“She of the Horse� prepares the sacrament, blesses it and presents it to me on the flat of her ochre stained hand. I gather her offering into my own palm.

The three dried mushrooms seem like strange living creatures as the flickering lamplight flirts with their twisted forms. I look to “She of 18

Sorraia Mustang In of North America

BY LYNNE GERARD

the Horse� for reassurance, but her eyes are fixed and de-focalized on the wall of the cave...she is softly chanting. I put my trust in the goodness of our intentions and ingest the sacrament, chewing each mushroom with slow deliberation and allowing myself to slightly sway with the rhythm of the chant.

Horses For LIFE

Nothing happens, at first...

And then, as the crone’s voice becomes louder and is joined by the chanting of her two male assistants, I feel their hands lift me. I am astonished to realize my legs have no strength of their own! I am carried into a deeper recess of the cave, where the light does not penetrate at all, and yet, strangely, I can see. I am placed upon another bed of pine, but instead of sitting, I am kneeling before a raw umber stained section of cave wall. I feel a bit disoriented and slightly afraid. The smell of yarrow and cannabis sativa wafts out from the small, ritual sensor the crone keeps with her always.

Its aroma soothes me. I regard the cave wall before me. There are deep crevices here and there and an evocative relief pattern to the otherwise smooth surface.

My skin is being pricked from the inside out by so many unseen thorns, but the sensation is not wholly unpleasant.

I hear the sound of hooves approaching.

A neigh pierces the air and echoes forever...

And then...there they are!

The horses!

How can this be?

Elegant forms of several dorsal striped, long-necked horses flow over the cave wall and play out a scene of a carefully executed equine dance, as if for my entertainment. These horses collect exquisitely on their haunches, performing poised leaps, joyful turns and rhythmic “on the spot” maneuvers. Before they dash off into the crevices within the wall, I hear the voice of one of them say, “Come, be with us, dance with us...share our world!”

“She of the Horse” strokes my face and I awaken in the dark, confused. One of the assistants brings forward flickering oil light, and there, painted on the wall are the dancing horses, floating free. They were not there before. Am I dreaming? I reach out to touch them and notice my hands and arms are covered in pigment. I trace a finger across the smoke20

coloured croup of one of the horses and look at the crone, questioning.

“You have done well here!”, she exclaimed. “The ancestral horses allowed you to paint them...this means you have been invited to their world, in flesh and in spirit. They will teach you now, as they have taught those who came before us and as they will teach those who have yet to come.” <<<<<<< I realize I have been looking too long at the Upper Paleolithic artisans’ fantastic images, captured in photos and printed in the pages of scholarly books on parietal art. My romantic flight of fancy into the prehistoric world of horses has taken great poetic license with piecing together a possible explanation for the exquisite renderings of equines we see all over European caves dating back as far as 30,000 years ago.

Thirty thousand years ago! Greek mythology pales by comparison!

Whether these Upper Paleolithic people looked upon the horse as a spiritual icon, a means of sustenance or a beast of burden is open to interpretation. What is certain is that the images of these ancestral equines figure prominently in most every area where mankind’s first forms of art have been discovered.

How remarkable it is that even now in the 21st Century we can find in our midst horses who exhibit the same characteristics as those portrayed by the sure hands of the first human artisans!

“A neigh pierces the air and echoes forever...”

Researchers continue to quibble over whether wild horses descended from just one ancient type or from more than one type. However it appears that Ebhardt’s classification, which divides ancestral horses into four distinct types, is presently accepted as the most probable. While many people are well aware of Przewalski’s horse (the wild Mongolian pony) which displays the characteristics of Type II, too few people know about the existence of a carefully preserved specimen of Type III. We find both types of these horses were documented in the artwork created by Upper Paleolithic peoples. For the purposes of this article, we are focusing upon Ancestral Type III. In his book, A HISTORY OF THE HORSE/Volume I: The Iberian Horse From Ice Age to Antiquity, Paulo Gaviao Gonzaga describes Ebhardt’s type III horse form thus: “Type III had a long head with a small narrow forehead and convex profile, a fine delicate muzzle, straight jaw, small teeth, long ears and eyes placed higher on the head, a long neck and clean throatlatch.

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Horses For LIFE

NUNO OLIVEIRA New!! DVD 1 & 2

A Piece of Equestrian History “Excellent...”

“WOW”

“I’ve been watching it again and again!”

“WELL DONE”

“What a treasure!”

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is... a dream come true to observe Oliveira at workâ&#x20AC;?

To order go to: http://www.nunobook.com

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The Truth in the Back

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nline at http://horsesforlife.com

By Stormy May

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The truth about backs, language, and who we really are.

With all the talk in “natural horsemanship” circles about learning the horse’s language, this aim can never be achieved when it begins and ends with a questionable premise - that a horse enjoys being ridden. In my studies, I have come to the conclusion that horses have learned our language far better and more honestly than we can imagine. This is why all the “new agey” books and teachers are talking about how horses are our mirrors. I’m not talking about horses understanding our spoken language to any great extent, but they are masters at understanding the language that we seem to have forgotten the language of our actions. As a veteran horse trainer, one of the things that most surprised me to learn was the science of what goes on in a horse’s back when it is subjected to a saddle and rider. Sure, I knew that horses occasionally got sore backs and needed treatment or a better fitting saddle, but I certainly didn’t understand Horses For LIFE

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Alphabet Ranch Studio Art and Photography Christina Turissini www.AlphabetRanch.com Horses For LIFE

The Mentor KarL Bergmann 1937-2008 The Mentor Karl Bergmann, 1937 – 2008

By Susan Medenica In the beginning, he often told me: “You think too much.” Coming from a teacher, this was somewhat of a surprise for me. After all, wasn’t the object of the teacher to get the student to think? Not for Karl. His goal was rather, to erase all notions of right and wrong, all hierarchal positioning, in short, all preconceptions, so that the student could begin to experience. In a way, Karl wanted an empty mind in the student so that the horse could enter and begin to teach. No doubt he had seen far too many stifled riders who got nowhere because their minds were stuffed with information.

And so, his lessons seemed endless. (It takes time, after all, for the mind to go blank!) Over and over, the same track, the same tempo, the dulling effect of repetition for its own sake, and all without comment. Clearly the lesson I was taking was not like anything I had imagined beforehand. Where were the words? The instructions? The explanations? I felt like Sisyphus, condemned to push the same pebble up the same mountain, only to have it roll back down again. And on into the eternity of the arena track I went, round and round, until I was numb.

It wasn’t until many years later that I understood. No, it wasn’t the absolute obedience that Karl wanted in the student. It was indeed the blank mind. He, more than anyone, had fully realized the “necessity of doing,” and that it was a kind of super-reality to the human, only everyday to the horse. He understood that to be fully aware of the horse, the rider had to shut out the critical and the contemplative and just keep going. In this was peace; in this was stillness. In this was harmony between horse and human. “Just keep going” – like the horse. _____________________________________________ After months of going large and changing direction only across the diagonal, the arena sported foot high banks on the walls and appeared strangely pristine in its interior; no hoof prints, no uneven marks of travel, like my brain, it had gone blank. It did not register any deviation or indeed, any confirmed path except around its perimeter. It was then that I heard the words: “Down center line.”

I was startled into indecision. What center line? When? From this short side or the next? Should I plan for a halt at “X?” And at what gait do I continue?

Bravely, I made a decision and on the far wall, turned right down center line. Predictably I overshot the letter and had to correct for it. No further directions came so I continued over “X” at the trot and glanced up ahead of me to see – Heaven help me – Karl rooted exactly at “C.” I listened for directions but no words came. Karl was looming ever larger so I quickly made the decision to track left at Karl. I had done the right thing, I just knew

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Horses For LIFE

Susan Medenica

The Way of Dressage

“... unapologetically classical...”

“... a guide for transformation...”

To Order: Email: hermitagedressage@centurytel.net Mail Hermitage Dressage PO Box 62, Presque Isle, WI 54557 Or call 715-686-2047

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From “USDF Connection,” July, 2005 - “Feed your head.”

- “... the Zen of horsemanship.”

- “... unapologetically classical...”

From “Dressage Today,” May, 2005 - “... a guide for transformation...”

- “profound discourses...”

- “soaring descriptions...”

p.4 “Man is a part of nature,as nature is a part of man.” p.4 “...the classical principles arise from man’s longing to enter into the natural world through the horse.” p.4 “the horse is neither good nor bad; he is quite simply a horde.” p.7 “... the prime responsibility of the trainer is to never act unjustly toward his charge and to make it his constant obsession to become ever more just in his dealings through self=effacing refinement of his own self.” p.7 ...”the horse is a master of time and space.” p. 11 “Absolute symmetry is not “natural”; we always ride two different horses at a time.” p. 11 “All living creatures, without exception display an animate urge as they fulfill their lives.” p.18 “The ideal (of classical dressage) was one of partnership: a mutually satisfying government between two unlike creatures for the betterment of both.” p. 25 “The horse is here to teach us something: who we are, where we fit within the world, has to live in mindfulness and grace.” p. 35 “First comes ‘forward,’ then comes ‘round.’” p. 66 “When seeking to influence an animal, learn from another one.” p. 88 “The seat, then, is both an anchor and a compass.”

Horses For LIFE

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Sand Wash Herd Roundup

BY CAROL WALKER

Northwest Colorado, 10/18 -10/19, 2008 34

Horses For LIFE

With just a few wild horses left in this area, 425 horses in over 127,000 acres before the roundup, now only 120 have been released back into the area and all the mares have been treated with birth control.

In a time when there was a halt on roundups due to lack of funds at the BLM, and many caring individuals were doing everything in their power to halt this roundup, this herd was rounded up ironically because the Humane Society was doing a study on birth control.

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Horses For LIFE

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“After the media left, I witnessed two horrible wrecks that resulted from a large group of panicked horses being pushed into a very narrow passge into a horse trailer – because the contractor was a in a big hurry.”

Horses For LIFE

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THIS little grey mare flipped over and was trapped under the trailer and trampled by other panicked horses â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it took the cowboys fifteen minutes to get her out. She did finally get up and was loaded â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but at what cost?

Horses For LIFE

Dedicated to those who still run free.

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Copyright Carol Walker of Living Images http://www.livingimagescjw.com

Horses For LIFE

Wild Hoofbeats takes us deep into “Adobe Town” in Wyoming’s Red Desert and one of the largest remaining wild herds in America. With stunning photographs, Carol Walker convinces us to take the future of these elegant, exceptional animals to heart.

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http://www.livingimagescjw.com/

Horses For LIFE

Torchlight: Downed by Colic

BY SUSANNAH CORD

Riding By Torchlight October 2008 Downed By Colic The Healing Power of Horses

It never rains but it pours. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been hearing that expression all my life and always thought it a 46

Horses For LIFE

sad, resigned and pessimistic cliché, one I would never resort to. Queen Polly Anna of the Silver Lining, I would never admit defeat for long, optimism and positive thinking always just a choice and a breath away.

Well. Life, like horses, has a way of putting your beliefs about yourself to the test. Lately I have had to admit, it’s pouring, it’s raining calamity - and I am soaking wet and shivering, beaten down and rebuffed, my silver lining subjugated to the steamroller of circumstances beyond my control. What, pessimistic!? Me? Yes, it got me, it got me!

Jokes and laughter makes problems smaller and that has always stood me in good stead. But laughing off my mother’s recent passing has not come easy, never mind how inappropriate it seems to the innocent bystander who may mistake it for cynicism and not an attempt at lightening and de-dramatizing a heavy load.

Then, after years of not so much as a whisper of it, in the past few weeks we’ve struggled repeatedly with colic. 3 cases in 3 weeks, all in young and healthy horses. One serious, one requiring hospitalization and one fatal, all of them terrifying, a horse owner’s worst nightmare. It didn’t help that the lovely young mare we lost after a long battle through a desperate night belonged to a dear friend, the second horse in the space of a few years that I have had to euthanize on her behalf. Making that call never gets any easier. How many times can you say “I’m sorry”? As I found out, repetition does not result in added effect. I think I cried more than her owner, grief and regret and ‘what ifs’ mingling in a toxic, and ultimately useless, cocktail.

Colic is a frightening and notoriously abstruse illness. Unless an autopsy is performed, we are usually left to wonder, till the end of time, the what and the how of this or that colic. That is the case with every one of these three colics. Because of their close proximity to one another, both in space and time – they all three lived together 24/7 in a 25 acre pasture with a good variety of native grasses and water accessibility – one would think we could gain a good idea of their causes. But all three followed their own pattern.

The first, in Curly, (my young horse who almost sold but didn’t quite fit the criteria of a new owner after all), came on suddenly and with evidence of much manure. We happened to have brought him in a few hours before to be stalled till I had time to work him that afternoon. My new ranchhand, somewhat inexperienced, had left him by himself in the barn with no ‘room mates’. I was riding and hadn’t paid close enough attention. When I returned to the barn, I found Curly on his knees, in a sweat, crashing to the floor only to jump to his feet, turn around and start over again. There were multiple piles of fresh manure mixing in with the shavings.

My immediate belief was that he was having a fit at being left by himself in the barn, though this was completely out of character for him. He is a cool dude who hangs about quite happily. Obviously, after a moment’s thought, this was not the case at all. I brought him out and turned him loose in a small paddock to see what he would do. He continued to roll and thrash about, periodically trotting wildly, entirely out of touch with his surroundings. I had never seen him act like this before for any reason. There were some gut sounds but they were erratic. There was no doubt we appeared to have a nasty colic on our hands.

As I called the vet I prepared a syringe of Banamine for an IV injection, and a large tube of Probi for oral application. Both administered, the vet asked me to give Curly 20 minutes to respond. Soon, Curly lay quietly in the sand, his breathing slowing, his eye softening. Half an hour later he got up and walked calmly off in search of grass and buddies. We had weathered a storm whose bark was worse than its bite, and we gave sincere and prolific thanks to all appropriate horse gods.

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The following week we were not so lucky. Paisley started out around 4 in the afternoon, the same way Curly had, as most colics do, sweating and rolling, but soon her case took a very different turn. After immediately administering the Banamine and Probi, she seemed to be calmed and more comfortable. She walked and stood quietly, her breathing and heartrate slowed, she almost stopped sweating. It wasn’t long, though, before it became apparent it was not enough.

20 minutes later she lay down again, then stood, but stood unnaturally placidly, her head hanging. For the next hour, as we waited for the vet – already out on two emergency calls and our other vet out of town – she never moved, was extremely reluctant to do so, except to express a desire to urinate which repeatedly failed but for once. We gave her more Banamine, more Probi. I performed several of the energy and nervous system related treatments I knew of. I wished fervently I knew more.

By the time our vet arrived, her belly was silent as a grave in all 4 quadrants. She was oiled and medicated, though we had more or less maxed her out on Banamine already. A small dose of Rompun was administered to aid in relaxation. All we could do was wait, our best hope a bowel movement sometime the next morning.

The vet waited with us for a good 45 minutes till we could determine some gut sounds coming from one quadrant. I pointed out a slight beginning sweat but we felt it could well be caused by the medicine. Her vital signs were all excellent except for the lack of gut sounds. Our vet left, feeling assured there was a good chance we were on the right path, but also making it clear he was on call and on his way should we need him. I worked on her some more, trying to stimulate her nervous system. Lo and behold, shortly after she delivered a small pile of manure. We felt hope take wing.

A few hours later, we were trying to load her to go to the hospital, but she was incapable of moving. The vet was called back again. In the meantime, the slight sheen of sweat had surreptitiously developed into a soaking cold perspiration, Paisley drenching 3 sweat sheets including a wool cooler before the end of an increasingly dire night. In spite of the balmy night air she was ice cold and shivering, her hooves frozen to the ground or taking small, faltering steps. Her heart rate and respiration had skyrocketed and her gums were now turning an ominous purple. Another small dose of Rompun gave her a paltry 15 or so minutes of relief.

We knew Paisley had taken a sharp turn for the worse and was in deep trouble before the vet arrived.

Somehow, somewhere, despite our best efforts, our non-stop attention, and all our combined know how, something went terribly, terribly wrong. The vet confirmed that Paisley had become toxic, her bloodstream poisoned, the exact reason unknown, the possible causes numerous. Paisley’s chances were now slim to none, but a 10% chance of a literally miraculous recovery held us back from the final injection. Phone call after phone call to her owner gave her the blow by blow, and they fell harder and deeper with every call, on both ends of the line. The ultimate decision was clear. We were ready with the lethal injection.

The final hours will remain burned into my memory despite my earnest desire to erase them forever. The vet napping in his truck. My husband and I bundled up in chairs in Paisley’s little paddock, our ranchhand bringing us coffee and tea. A flashlight on hand to shine on her and check on her condition, which never seemed to change from simply awful, leaving us a sliver of hope until the last minute when it became lethal.

But worst is the memory of her 3 ½ year old frame aging within a few hours to that of an old and feeble horse. Only that morning she had been a vibrant and spirited filly, kicking up her heels in the cool morning dawn. Now she dragged along with her head hanging off a drooping neck.

Worst was the feeling of utter helplessness as we watched her continue on with non stop but tiny and faltering steps, her stubborn shuffling along the perimeter, stopping only to paw with pathetic determination, as if

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Horses For LIFE

Editorial: The Trus the Horses

S

itting in the house, the sounds of thundering hooves were so loud in the afternoon sun that somehow I knew that something was wrong. It was the wrong time of the day for running, it was drowsy siesta time. A time when one could find the horses in one of their buildings, heads down, tails flicking away lazily. There was a frantic earnestness to the sound of the pounding hooves that I just couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t dismiss. I raced out, my own adrenaline on high alert. There they stood breathing sharply, shrill intakes of breath, as they took in oxygen as quickly as they could in preparation to keep going. Keep going even though they were at the end of the long run way from the pasture, keep going, in this case would mean going through the fence, there was no place left to go.

To say this was unusual behaviour... well let us say there was a reason my adrenaline was on high alert.

I ran into the pasture looking around to see what could possibly have caused the horses to react this way. I was not expecting something evil, I knew that more than likely it was something that was strange, but strange as in unusual, not strange as in hurtful. Looking around I could see nothing but the fall grass browning, blowing in the gentle breeze and the sweet smell of a fall day. It was so beautiful I had to grab my camera along the way. With the horses yet poised to flee, I waved to them as I wandered down the lane way, as I went to investigate all by myself, knowing full well that my brave horses would gladly let me go all alone.

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