LaurenGallops

The response to the re-published “For The Love Of Horses” has been amazing, but the problem isn’t going to go away by itself. What are we going to do about the unwanted horses? I’ve been reading comments on Facebook, visiting various sites, and looking for answers. Here are several links and comments worth reading. These folks don’t always say what you might want them to say, but they make sense AND they’re speaking from the heart when it comes to horses.

Stephanie Diaz, who wrote a piece for The Pilot called “Seattle Stew? Thanks, But No Thanks”, admitted: “I hate, hate, hate the idea of slaughter…none of my horses would go that way, no matter how it is done. But for the unwanted, lame, old, etc…what to do? Before I had horses, I was a member of the internet social group that sprung up in the wake of a well-known horse’s injury…now, I see it as much more a quality of life issue. If there was a way for it to be done as humanely as possible, then I’d rather it be done swiftly and locally.”

"Straight Flush" by Riva Ridge out of SomethingRoyal, the same mare who produced Secretariat, received a "stay of execution" thanks to Stephanie Diaz, racing journalist, who "claimed" the then 24-year-old stallion from a feedlot in Texas with an internet "bid" of $200. "Daddy" as the gentle stallion was called lived out his days happily retired with Diaz until he was 32 and died peacefully in his sleep. Not all unwanted horses are this lucky. Photo Courtesy of Stephanie Diaz

Stephanie, by the way, knows the racing industry from the inside as a writer and quite often followed various horses’ careers as they moved around the country, changing ownership and often falling in class. You can read all about Secretariat’s Brother  – well, half-brother (both out of the great mare Somethingroyal) and most definitely one of the lucky ones.

Mary Howard has a lifetime of horse-keeping on which to draw. In Mary’s email to the editor of Sidelines, she commented on For The Love of Horses: “I get that human consumption of cattle, sheep, pigs, calves, turtles, sharks, prawns, fish, frogs, crickets, snakes, rats, dogs cats or horses is simply a result of social conditioning, traditions & norms.  What tantalizes
 one will horrify the other.  In Canada & the US – dogs/cats/horses long stopped being “working animals” such that their primary role now is to
 provide companionship.  What we eat and what we cherish does not make any real sense to my brain – all I know is that “doggy day care” and pet spas
 coexist with human enthusiasm over other animal body parts deemed “finger
licken good”.”

Mary admitted that she gave up consumption of meat for a while and beef for good about 15 years ago after she followed a cattle transport truck for 40 km (about 25 miles) along a Canadian highway. “The vehicle had 2 (or 3
?) decks stuffed with cattle, and emanated a stench that will never leave 
me,” she recalled. “It was mid summer; smoking hot and those souls had clearly been on the truck for a very long time. Since then I have learned that Canada’s horse slaughter industry is among the largest in the world. Horses are slaughtered in Canada primarily to provide horse meat to European and Asian countries where it is eaten as a delicacy. US bans enacted in 2007, spurred the sector in Canada, where the latest statistics show that equine slaughter has doubled every two years since 2005.”

Mary would like to see more care taken with management and horse handling practices at the abattoirs. She isn’t the only one. In fact, raising awareness of better methods and educating people involved in all livestock processing, according to the individual characteristics of the various animals involved, is the only way to go.

“I’ve decided that I sit in the “harm reduction” camp,” she stated. ” I have no real quarrel with the eating of one animal over the other, and focus instead on a) the quality of life and b) the humanity of the killing.  I do not 
believe that the planet will turn vegan or vegetarian any time soon, and to 
insist otherwise would drive the killing of animals for food even further 
from view, than it all ready is.  Modern society’s disconnect with its food 
supply is well documented with no understanding (let alone appreciation) of 
what needs to occur to land those ribs on a plate.  Food is no longer produced for human well being, but rather a “product” designed for corporate well being. My approach to the difficulty is not fewer killing plants – but more. Small scale, local, community operated facilities that would eliminate the need for long travel and overcrowding.  Such plants could be open to scrutiny by the consumer and rescue group providers alike.  I believe the reintroduction of cultural respect and some level of ceremony during the 
killing of animals for consumption would go a long way to ensuring our own 
humanity.”

That last phrase really appeals. Looking up humanity, definitions include human race, humaneness, and in its plural form learning and literature concerned with human culturs. Humanity has the following synonyms (words that mean exactly or nearly the same): benevolence, humaneness, compassion, understanding, tolerance, charity, consideration, kindness, sympathy, tolerance – to name just a few. We can certainly use lots of those synonyms in daily living, in general, but also especially when it comes to the options of what to do about unwanted horses.

United Horsemen has been working toward a solution, and one of their programs called Rescue, Rejuvenation & Slaughter actually offers unwanted horses yet another chance. Horses will be examined on arrival by vets and evaluated as to whether they can be restored to health and trained or whether the best option is slaughter, humanely conducted according to livestock handling and facility design by Dr. Temple Grandin. That’s just one of the programs and yes, UH will sell rejuvenated horses to new owners and processed horses, because anyone who has ever owned a horse knows that it costs upwards of $3,000 per year to maintain and support a healthy equine.  That’s not all that United Horsemen, a 100% volunteer non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, has planned. Memberships will help to fund their efforts, but are not necessary to access the information; however, you will be asked to register with your name, where you vote and a valid email.

This mare, posthumously named Spirit was discovered alive but frozen to the ground, obviously starving to death (March 2008). Rescuers in Oregon called a vet who euthanized her on the spot. She wasn't one of the lucky ones... Photo Courtesy of AMillionHorses.com

A Million Horses has been documenting abused, neglected and abandoned horses for years. The website offers a number of resources and a fair amount of facts on various pages, such as “What Is Causing The Situation”

There’s a lot of good and bad information floating around. It’s everywhere: in newspapers, on TV and on radio. Sometimes we have to look hard to find the truth because it’s so easy to slant facts whatever way they are most useful. Remember when the carriage horse in NYC made headlines when it died in harness? Well, read HORSE SENSELESS because  “An NYPD cop-turned-animal-welfare agent is stepping forward to charge that the ASPCA is cutting ethical and legal corners in its attempt to abolish the city’s horse-carriage industry…” It sounds as if some folks have got some explaining to do.

So, right now, the big question is: what are you doing to improve the fate of unwanted horses? Are you volunteering a few hours a month or donating a few bucks directly to a local rescue shelter for large animals? Are you working with vets in your area to provide low-cost euthanasia and remains disposal to people who have horses who need to cross the rainbow bridge? Are you helping friends to understand that too many horses face a cruel fate much worse than slaughter when they suffer a long painful living death because they’ve been turned loose to fend for themselves/abandoned? Are you “pro horses” or one of those “out of sight, out of mind” thinkers?

To Be Continued…

The following is a story that I researched and wrote for Sidelines’ February 2011 issue. It was a very challenging story to write, because of the subject matter: unwanted horses in the United States. I love horses, but my work doesn’t have me laughing all the way to the bank. Neigh, I live on a tight budget and if I splurge on anything, it’s on having one pony and one dog. That’s it. They eat before I do. That’s the way it is.

But what about all the unwanted horses? Rescue organizations and shelters are maxed out. People are tightening their belts in general. The issue of unwanted horses provokes extremely emotional reactions. Facebook provides an “open mike” so to speak, and a number of people are very upset about the passing of the bill to reinstate horse slaughter in the US. Some people are saying that it means we will be eating horsemeat: that’s not true! Here, in its entirety, is part one of “For The Love Of Horses” and I really hope that it helps people to understand why  we must take responsibility for what happens to the unwanted horses.

FOR THE LOVE OF HORSES

By Lauren R. Giannini

In an ideal world, everything is perfect – no poverty, war, terrorism, famine or disease; no child abuse, domestic violence or rape. In an ideal world there are no neglected, abused or abandoned animals. Unfortunately, this world exists only in our dreams. Unwanted horses, about 100,000 annually in the United States, include every discipline and sport, from backyards and pleasure riders to OTTBs to show hunters and jumpers past their prime to abandoned and/or starvation cases. They pose a huge problem: quite simply, there are not enough adoptive homes to take them all in, and many are in such bad shape they can’t be saved. Too many horses are suffering more hardship and deprivation than horse lovers care to admit.

In 2008 Twiggy was close to death from starvation. Photo Courtesy of Middleburg Humane Foundation

During the best of economies, it can be challenging to meet the maintenance expenses incurred by healthy equids, let alone those with ailments, soundness issues, and special needs. Animal welfare proponents are seriously concerned about the fate of unwanted horse. From a livestock perspective, they become a liability when age, injuries or illness prevent them from fulfilling their job descriptions.

Shortly after Twiggy's arrival at the shelter she went down and stayed down for three days. With the help of local vets (Piedmont Equine & Dr. Andrea Russell) she made it through that rough patch. Photo Courtesy of Middleburg Humane Foundation

The ideal scenario, of course is re-homing, but even that isn’t always in a horse’s best interests. Yes, the responsible choice is euthanasia if a pasture-potato situation can’t be secured. But to an already-struggling horse owner, even calling in a vet to do the deed is expensive. Costs average from $150 to $350, more with a barn call fee. Then you have to do something with the remains. This is complicated by the high dose of concentrated barbiturate in the lethal injection, which can be administered only by a vet. The remains become an environmental hazard if buried or composted near a source of water and can’t be fed safely to carnivores in zoos or in the wild.

The economy has resulted in dire consequences for middle class people who own the majority of the nearly 10 million equines in the US. More find themselves facing difficult decisions about whether to pay the rent or mortgage and feed the kids or the horses. It isn’t ideal; it’s the current reality. Horses are actually livestock, but now that they’re more widely regarded as companion animals, the issue of unwanted horses gets agitated by emotion and anthropomorphized personal beliefs.

Frustrated & Overwhelmed

The recession’s impact on many equine rescues and retirement farms has been devastating. Many haven’t the money or the staff to take care of the animals.

Hilleary Bogley founded the Middleburg Humane Foundation, a farm-based, small and large animal shelter that specializes in the rescue and rehabilitation of abused, neglected and at-risk animals. MHF, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, relies on fundraisers and private donations which are 100% tax deductible. All funds go directly into the animals and programs, which include companion animal adoption, equine rescue, feral cat population control, and low cost spay & neuter assistance. Bogley, a licensed vet tech and court-appointed Humane Investigator for two Virginia counties with 23 years in animal welfare, leads a small core staff and many volunteers.

“We’ve gone from an average of 20 horses a year in our program for adoption to now we have 57 horses,” says Bogley. “For the first 15 years of MHF we never had more than 20 horses, unless we had a large seizure, but we would usually be able to place them pretty quickly. Horse adoptions are way, way down: because of the economy, and the fact that there is no longer much value in horses, people can’t afford to take on more horses. A lot of equine rescue facilities are closing, because they can’t keep up and they’re frustrated and overwhelmed – it’s just never-ending.”

Lifelong Commitment

Horses can live to be 25-40 years old – a big difference compared to the life span of dogs and cats: they live to be 15, give or take a few years. Even in the prime of their life, domesticated animals can’t fend for themselves. They depend on people, especially as they get older and develop ailments and special needs.

“First of all, be aware of your responsibilities in horse ownership before you take on a horse,” advises Bogley. “Don’t take on a horse if you can’t make a lifelong commitment. I ask people: do you know where your first pony is? Most people have no idea. Ponies just get passed and passed and passed. In their golden years, when they need that care, they usually end up in a bad way…”

Bogley knows where her first pony is. Stormy was older when she started out with him, but he stayed in the family and eventually went back to her mother. He was euthanized when he was about 45.

Educating Breeders

“We can start by educating people. If you increase the quality and decrease the quantity of the horses you’re breeding, everyone will benefit,” states Bogley. “That’s not going to happen overnight. They did a study many years ago and learned that it would take four years to see a higher quality, lower quantity. In the Thoroughbred, Arabian and Quarter Horse industries, people pay a lot of money to register a horse. It means nothing in terms of quality. You can register anything and it’s just more filing of paperwork.”

Savvy breeders slowed down on reproduction. They’re still feeding their mares, but they aren’t footing expenses for young stock that might not sell. Like real estate, it’s a buyers’ market out there.

Twiggy turned out to be one of the lucky ones. After that rough patch the light suddenly came back on in her eyes, she started eating, gaining weight and getting healthy. She now lives the life of a spoiled princess on a farm with one of MHF’s wonderful volunteers. Photo Courtesy of Middleburg Humane

Educating The Public About All The Options

“Another solution is to educate the public about the necessity of humane slaughter of horses in the US which we can regulate and which is necessary because of the severe overpopulation problem,” says Bogley.

The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) are not pro-slaughter, per se, but on their website they state: The AVMA opposes the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (AHSPA) because it is, quite simply, a bad bill that ignores the real issue—what do we do with all of these unwanted horses? Eliminating an option for their disposition does nothing to solve the problem, it only adds to it.

“Between Bo Derek and her good looks and low-cut blouses, her television ads, and the kids writing letters to senators and congressmen, everybody was misinformed,” emphasizes Bogley. “The animal rights people were going to take away that option [humane slaughter regulated and monitored within the US], but they had no plan B for what people could do with these horses. The general public also doesn’t understand there is a huge over-population problem in horses, just like in cats and dogs, because there is no regulation of the breeding industry. Up until 4 years ago there was a market for horses – not only in riding horses or horses for sport, but also in horsemeat. Now, we’ve taken that market away, the value of horses has dropped [with the recession], and there is a dreadful overpopulation problem.”

The animal rights people used videos and photos of the rare occurrences of mishandling in slaughterhouses to their advantage in a massive shock campaign to gain support to outlaw horse slaughter. The last three slaughter facilities to close [in 2007 President Bush signed the bill that outlawed horse slaughter in the US] – Illinois and two in Texas – used a penetrating captive bolt, one of three methods of euthanasia recommended by the AVMA. The other two are lethal barbiturate injection and gunshot.

“Over 98% were done humanely with the captive bolt – when you’re slaughtering 300 horses or however many in a day, of course, you have occasionally a horse that doesn’t quite fit into the squeeze chute and throws up its head and the cowboy doesn’t catch him exactly where he’s supposed to,” explains Bogley. “Those are the videos that you see. HSUS, SPCA, all these big animal rights groups – they don’t show you the hundreds of other horses that went through on their videos for six hours, they pull out that one when something went wrong. Something always goes wrong in everything in life, nothing is certain, nothing is guaranteed.”

No Regulation

What is guaranteed now is that there are still 100,000 unwanted horses, far too many to be taken in by already over-stretched rescue outfits. The animal rights people crowed about their victory in reducing animal suffering by the US ban on horse slaughter; however, many experts in animal welfare disagree emphatically. The AVMA’s substantial FAQ about unwanted horses and slaughter (see end of story for link) expresses their concern that following the closure of the American facilities, regulated by the US Dept of Agriculture, horses are suffering far worse fates by being trucked to slaughter in Mexico, where the USDA has no jurisdiction.

“The stabbing and severing of spines is what’s happening in Mexico,” says Bogley. “If it’s not done exactly correct, it is very inhumane. There is no humane slaughter act in Mexico. We cannot regulate anything once the horses leave the US. They’re mass-slaughtering ten times the number of horses they usually did, because of the horses coming in from the US. They did not have that number of horses before [the shutdown of US facilities]. They’ve got horses just flowing into Mexico.”

Changing The Laws

“My thing was humane transport,” explains Bogley. “About 20 years ago, a friend who’s now an attorney in Kentucky and I took a year and we documented and videotaped all of the horrors of the transportation of horses for slaughter and we were able to introduce some new language into the federal transportation laws for horses.”

Their work changed federal laws. No more double-decker transporters, and the visually impaired or blind horses had to be led by hand onto the truck and loaded separately. Good changes were being sought by animal welfare groups in the years leading up to the legislation being passed in 2007 to outlaw horse processing plants within the US, but the plight of these unwanted horses has taken severe turns for the worse.

Realistic Solutions

United Horsemen is a 501(c)(3) educational and charitable organization with a plan for humane and realistic solutions to the excess horse problem. Two parts of the mission embraced by these dedicated urban and rural horse-lovers is the rescue and rehabilitation of horses with potential for re-training and re-homing. The third element involves recycling: the blunt term is slaughter, but the goal is euthanasia or humane death by captive bolt or bullet at a local, US-regulated facility.

Part of the success of this rescue, rehabilitation and recycle project depends on Dr. Temple Grandin, who was asked to design the horse-handling chute for the proposed Wyoming facility. She is an animal behaviorist and professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, author, and one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People of 2010.

Dr. Grandin, who is autistic with a special connection and empathy for animals, described the fate of horses shipped to Mexico where they are stabbed to sever their spines as her “worst nightmare and an example of well-intentioned but very bad unintended consequences. It’s only going to get worse because there’s no way to close that border. They just wave you through. I pulled some figures off the internet and something like 1200 horses a week are crossing the border from the US. The plant is under the European Union, which is getting very concerned about the drug residue problem.”

In other words, if the EU shuts down or reduces production in that plant, then horses from the US will go into local livestock plants and ‘neighborhood’ butcher shops and that will be even worse for the horses, due to no regulation of Mexican abattoirs.

“It will be an unregulated mess,” emphasized Dr. Grandin, “and nobody can go down there and inspect anything, because it’s too dangerous.”

A Better Solution

The growing horrors in Mexico add more weight to why a change in US laws to allow a humane horse-processing facility in Wyoming would save many thousands of horses from suffering on the road to Mexico and the ultimate indignity of a merciless demise. The horses would benefit from the federal transport laws, the facility would be regulated and managed properly. Most of all, the animals would handled with care. Moreover, the public eye would be watching to make sure that the horses were handled properly and that the humane code would be upheld to the best of everyone’s ability.

“I have the design,” says Dr. Grandin. “Once you have that in place, you want the horses to have quiet and careful handling outside, no distractions, and you have to have management that wants to handle animals right. If you don’t have management dedicated to doing things right, you’re going to have bad stuff going on.”

United Horsemen are committed to alleviating as much suffering as possible if horses must be slaughtered, which is why they contacted Dr. Grandin. Her many years of substantial experience as an animal behaviorist has led her to pioneer humane handling and appropriate facilities for livestock to be slaughtered here in the US and around the world. Animal rights organizations don’t agree, and the general public seem to be turning a very blind eye toward the transport of horses to Mexico – out of sight, out of mind.

Real Alternative

“If people tell me slaughter is terrible, I tell them give me all your ideas for alternatives,” says Dr. Grandin. “I’ve had people tell me what the horse rescue places are doing, some people want to make big sanctuaries. I say, ‘Fine – do it.’ Those rescue places take money. If you have a big sanctuary, they get filled up and if you exceed the capacity of the land you’ve got a real mess. I don’t want to hear should this or should that. Let’s talk about something that someone’s actually going to do.”

There’s an old saying: if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. The great efforts by individuals and small organizations to rescue and rehabilitate neglected and abandoned animals simply aren’t enough. The loss of US horse-processing plants resulted in a cruel blow to the horses themselves.

“I want to talk about doing. Not policy. Not ideology. What can we actually do?” asks Dr. Grandin. “When they contact me with their lovely hate emails, I say give me plans for alternatives that are real services. What service are you going to provide? They never reply.”

We all love our horses. Nobody wants to see any animal suffer or starve or be relegated to cross the rainbow bridge at a slaughterhouse – anywhere. Yet, the realities faced by the growing numbers of unwanted horses demand that we consider all the options. For some horses, there is no escaping the abattoir. Given that fact, we might consider that our ultimate kindness, even if it’s not the most preferable option, would be to monitor the work of a humanely run processing plant here in the US than to allow horses either to starve to death or to suffer that one-way ride to Mexico.

The fact is that many horses still face death somewhere, and that means we must do what we can to make sure it is as gentle and easy as possible. We all have a conscience. If emotion over-rules common sense, however, we must be prepared to pay the consequences: living with the knowledge that we allowed doomed horses to cross the border where humane regulations simply do not exist.

www.united-horsemen.org/

www.avma.org/issues/animal_welfare/unwanted_horses_faq.asp

END

The Royal – Nov. 4-13th in Ontario – is more than just a horse show, says our friend and colleague, Michelle C. Dunn, who for the past three or four years has handled both the Royal’s photography and PR. It is a celebration of the Royal’s motto – “bringing the country to the city” – and the livestock side of the show serves to remind kids of all ages that ‘real life’ means growing food to fill all those pretty packages that line supermarket shelves.

The opening night of the Royal offers spectators a double header of equestrian excitement. The uber-popular horse hockey returns with NHL legends Darcy Tucker and Mark Napier ‘facing off’ on horseback with Curtis Joseph and Darryl Sittler. We have been hoping for years to run away to the Royal to assist Michelle – maybe next year! This sounds almost as much fun to watch as indoor eventing – Rolex Kentucky 2006 being where we met Michelle for the first time, as numero uno photographer for Marty Bauman’s Classic Communications team in the Rolex 3-day event press center. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Indoor Eventing debuted at the Royal five years ago, and we wonder how much of an influence Michelle was in terms of plumping in favor of it…

The event riders get an opportunity to introduce their horses to the Royal's ring prior to the actual Indoor Eventing competition. © Michelle C. Dunn for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

Michelle says: “Good Crop Services Indoor Eventing takes place over opening weekend. The riders are allowed to acclimate their horses to the ring environment prior to the competition (as event horses don’t see a lot of the likes of the indoor ring at the Royal much in their lives!) It’s a mix of portable XC jumps and traditional show jumps, all set to rocking music… Waylon Roberts has won it more times than not but I suspect Mark Todd and Jessica Phoenix will give him a run for his money this year!”

Jessica Phoenix (CAN) is the 2011 Pan Am individual gold medalist, and Waylon Roberts (CAN) is following in his father Ian’s footsteps, making second international eventing a generational thing in that household. Mark Todd (NZ) has accomplished so much in his many years of riding for the Kiwis that not even retiring and then coming back can stop this iron man of the equestrian triathlon known as eventing. It’s definitely worth a visit to his website, Mark Todd Eventing, because his achievements read  like a walking (and galloping) equestrian history.

Anyhow, enough of our blab, Michelle’s photos cover different facets of the Royal far more eloquently than mere words. By the way, Michelle composed the captions, and we just tweaked them here & there…

The Royal is a year-end tradidion for all things equine - hunters, jumpers, equitation, hackneys & roadsters, the full range of 4 and 6-horse hitches… and it's where it's ALL laid on the line, including full traditional tack room displays. Nowhere else is the saying "mink & manure" as appropriate - everyone loves walking through the barns and checking it all out. © Michelle C. Dunn for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

We love the variety of photos expressing the various aspects of the Royal…

Equally as important at the Royal is the Agriculture or "Ag" side… just look at the standing room only crowd to see how popular the National Holstein Show is. It's huge business at the Royal. © Michelle C. Dunn for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

The exhibits fulfill dual purposes – they educate and entertain – giving families plenty of memories as well as conversational topics, whatever the age of the ‘wonder year’ kids.

The Royal is about much more than just horses though - it's truly where many city kids come to get their first tastes of agriculture. Sights, sounds and of course the smells… it's all part of the experience! © © Michelle C. Dunn for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

The Royal ring is spacious, capable of accommodating even four-in-hand coaches…

"One of my favourites," admits Michelle, "is the Green Meadows Coaching division, especially the "appointments" class where they display the traditional coaches and what would be carried on the coaches as part of the judging process. The detail is truly outstanding." © Michelle C. Dunn for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

To wrap up this post on a very red, white and blue note, here is the 2010 winner of the $75,000 grand prix jumping class.

Margie Engle who won last year's $75,000 Ricoh Big Ben Challenge, ending Michael Whitaker's three-year winning streak of the closing night class. © Michelle C. Dunn for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

You’re invited to join us at the Royal – virtually – thanks to awesome live streaming – all you need is a high speed connection and a comfy chair, no need to leave home or take off from work, but do try to look busy.

To enjoy the action, click here: Royal Agricultural Winter Fair and look for the box that says Royal TV Watch Here – it’s prominently displayed in the middle of the home page where you’ll find lots of information to help you enjoy the Royal even more!

Oh, we’re just a few days late for Halloween, but look at the size of this pumpkin from the 2010 Royal… how many pies do you think it would make???

© Michelle C. Dunn for the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

P.S. Horse Show Junkies can catch the action of the Alltech National Horse Show at Kentucky Horse Park, Nov. 2-6, thanks to live streaming on the Alltech Ag Network For the schedule and information, visit the official website of the Alltech National Horse Show.

Continuing Equestrian Education (CEqE) – chapter 5: When it’s time to CEqE help:

Let’s face it, we’re DIY about lots of stuff related to writing and riding, but when we need help, sooner or later we ask for it. One of those moments took place his morning when Landgate Lord Peter, aka “you little s**t!” decided that it was all well and good to walk onto the two-horse ramp-load trailer, but when Bryan McDonald at The Fine Equine Stables (where our pony lives and where we spend a fair portion of our days, having changed from night person to morning person to accommodate said purebred Connemara to beat the heat and deerflies that prevail by 8 a.m…) decided to switch our trailer practice to the big (as in huge) trailer with the step-up, Mr. Minimal spoke up loud & clear: nuh uh, no way – fuhgeddit!

There was hay on the floor, so never mind the treats (hay-extender pellets) in our pocket, and the little bucket of Connemara Crunch – a great low-sugar horse feed for easy keepers, whatever the breed, which he loves. We make the approach and jump up, but our darling pony stops, looks at us, looks at the hay on the floor in front of his nose and says essentially, in that word-less but eloquent non-verbal way in which animals, especially smart equine, communicate: who? me? nuh uh, no way – fuhgeddit!

Just one of the many eloquent expressions by which Landgate Lord Peter communicates non-verbally. We might have used this photo in a past post, but so what? It's cute and makes us smile: sometimes a good chuckle can be a priceless remedy for all sorts of stress. photo © Lauren R Giannini

That’s when we threw in the proverbial towel and said to ourselves: time to call the Mounties. In this case, salvation came in the form (yet again) of Bryan who looked at the clock, announced he had 15 minutes and sent us up the road to the store at Clevenger’s Corner where we decided to treat ourself to coffee with lots of raw sugar with some half & half plus steamed milk and, omg, be still our heart – a chocolate eclair. We went out and sat in the car for a few more minutes to give the two Irishmen plenty of time for their ‘conversation’ before we headed back to The Fine Equine.

When we got there, Bryan came out of the barn and steered us to the big trailer. There, in the front compartment stood our pony, eye soft, placid and peaceful. Bryan showed us the drill and gave us a few words of advice, before returning to the barn to the client whose horse who has been in training at TFE.

Peter didn’t “who? me?” us at all. We turned to the trailer and he leapt into it like a veteran. Then stood there. Not once, but three times. It was effortless. No bribery with treats. Just lovely cooperation: oh, you want me to get in this thing? okay, can do.

Bryan returned, gave us both his mischievous Irish grin, closed up the trailer and returned again to the horse in the barn. Then, in front of his client, he asked for payment – above and beyond our appreciative thanks. So, pony in hand, we performed our best Ravenhill Academy deep curtsy (not quite a genuflection, but close), learned long ago for state occasions, such as audiences with the Reverend Mother, but most especially with the local Archbiship or visiting Cardinal…

CEqE and you shall find someone who can help you to be a better rider and horseman. It’s all about continuing education. We all need someone to scrape off the barnacles, who can help us to improve ourselves and our equines in every way, by taking us and our ponies and horses in hand – without making us feel like manure, without snarking or causing severe emotional pain, someone who knows how to instill and build confidence in both horse and rider and whom we trust to the nth degree.

When it matters so much – and with our horses, it all really really matters – each of us needs an experienced outside influence who isn’t hampered by emotion and personal involvement. We think of Bryan as the older horse-crazy brother we never had – we have siblings and we’re fond of them, but they aren’t horsemen – and we’re enjoying learning from him. He knows that we didn’t get into this whole ‘bring along an unstarted youngster’ for money: we’re doing it because we love Lord Peter and horses are our passion. Bryan might be a professional, but we’ve watched the patience and time he invests in every horse, be it a Thoroughbred off the track or a rescue or a young one to start or an older equine to re-start – whatever happens to come into his care and keeping.

One thing we have learned: we couldn’t be in a better place to CEqE.

Woodburn partnered with Phillip Dutton to finish 2nd at the 2010 Kentucky Rolex Three-Day Event, the year William Fox-Pitt (GBR) and Cool Mountain claimed the title. It was a great contest from the dressage test onward. Phillip and Woodburn improved from eighth after dressage to fourth after cross-country to second after their second double-clear jumping round,  but they couldn’t catch the winners who also jumped faultlessly. The top two finished on their dressage scores, separated by 4.9 penalty points. Woodburn and Phillip won the Pentacle Cup as the highest placed Americans, but there is only ever one Rolex winner.

Woodburn and Phillip also competed on the USA three-day team which finished fourth at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Woodburn made his four-star debut at Rolex in 2008, finishing in a tie for 9th – the same year that Phillip won with Connaught. In 2009 at Rolex, Woodburn and Phillip finished 12th overall and fourth of the US entries.

WOODBURN (1996-2011) & Phillip Dutton: "He’s an amazing galloper. He’s just a super horse." Photo © Lauren R. Giannini

Woodburn, who didn’t have an official nickname (unless he was like our pony and answered to ‘you little s**t’), was a New Zealand Thoroughbred owned by Annie Jones and Mardie Faucette.

What the horse gods give, they also take away. Woodburn was euthanized at New Bolton Center on Tuesday. Please take the time to read Phillip’s tribute to this great horse whose potential for greatness no one will ever know.

Phillip shares how it was a privilege to experience that “feeling of coming out of the start box on Woodburn with him rising up with confidence to take on each jump.” As partners, they never had a cross-country fault, an amazing feat which says a great deal about how special Woodburn was.

We feel very blessed to have watched Woodburn in all three of his appearances at Rolex and also at the Alltech World Games when once again he came out of the start box with Phillip to put in a stellar double clear performance on that testing world championship cross-country track.

Our sympathies and hugs go out to all of the Duttons, the owners, the staff, to everyone who was involved with Woodburn. Special hugs to Emma Ford, who was not just his groom, but also Woodburn’s best friend, according to Phillip himself.

We looked for something poetic for this tribute to Woodburn, and several things caught our attention, so here they are.

And Allah took a handful of southerly wind, blew His breath over it, and created the horse…. Thou shall fly without wings, and conquer without any sword.  Oh, horse.

~Bedouin Legend

The hooves of horses!
Oh! witching and sweet
Is the music earth steals from the iron-shod feet;
No whisper of lover, no trilling of bird,
Can stir me as much as hooves of horses
Have stirred.

~Will H. Ogilvie

We had to include this invocation, plea, exhortation – whatever you want to call it wherein R. B. Cunningham Graham speaks for many of us in a letter to Theodore Roosevelt in 1917:

God forbid that I should go to any Heaven in which there are no horses.

Which leads us with a heartfelt Amen back to Woodburn:

Somewhere in time’s own space
There must be some sweet pastured place
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow
Some paradise where horses go,
For by the love that guides my pen
I know great horses live again.

~Stanley Harrison

Well, sooner or later every rider buys a ‘cheap’ piece of real estate and we’re no exception. We were in a jumping lesson on Saturday (only yesterday, seems more like a week, but we’ve got our nose back to the wordsmithing grindstone and time takes its own line…) and Lord Peter was acting spooky – noticeably so, compared to his relatively calm demeanor for the past three months, truth to tell. Later we realized that the last time he was on this sort of sensory alert (stallion on the lookout for danger to his herd) was last summer when… oops, getting our tongue over the bit in terms of this anecdote.

Peter might belong in the “Minimal” category, according to Bryan, because he’s smart-lazy, but he’s a powerful quad. No doubt about it. Check out this photo, taken when he was three and the big horse flies attacked his sweet hide. Note the steep ascent on that slope at Ridgetop Connemaras, Marynell and Walter Eyles’s farm on picturesque Middlebrook, midway between Staunton and the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington.

Landgate Lord Peter as a three-year-old (July 2006), bolting uphill at Ridgetop Connemaras when big horse flies target him in the gelding herd. Talk about vroom, vroom: he's got plenty of horse-power, that's for sure, but he's currently a work on progress in order to develop that engine and all its components. Photo © Lauren R Giannini

We love this photo – it’s the quintessential image of pony power, which we have been working on the flat to harness so that it’s available whenever we want and/or need it. Anyhow, getting back to the point of this post, we got to The Fine Equine Saturday morning in time to join a jumping lesson and we warmed up while Bryan and Brandy dealt with vet Todd Burdick coming out to do a pre-purchase on one of their horses. Anyhow, Peter was a bit spooky about the bushes and undergrowth outside the ring fence, but we just did flat work until Bryan came back.

About 25 minutes into the lesson, yours truly needed to hit the homeopathic tincture for wheezing. We moved to the rail, trying to catch our breath and calm down (shortness of breath triggers anxiety, which aggravates the situation) and let the remedy get to work when Peter did his rocket launch impersonation and propped what felt like a 180, blasting out of walk into mach 2. We were asleep at the wheel, so to speak, paying no attention whatsoever to pony boy, whose powerful change of direction propelled us out of the saddle.

Now, in retrospect, we wish we had called Jake Carle and begged him to come over and play with our number-one camera and sports telephoto, but noooo, we refrained, not wanting to be pushy. Would have loved motor-driven 9 frames per second series of pictures capturing our extreme effort to cling like rain-forest tree frog to equine moving at rapid rate of knots in opposite direction to the rider’s trajectory. It would have been a hilarious set of images for this post. Words fail to recreate. Actually, video would have been even better, because we recall bellowing, ‘stop, you little s#@t, stop’ until we finally couldn’t cling a moment longer and dropped to the ground.

Mind you, we still had the reins and we held on, but now Peter was backing away, dragging this familiar but noisy thing when all of a sudden sanity returned and he halted. We scrambled to our feet, thinking – hmmm, wheeze or no wheeze, we gotta pay attention when we’re in the saddle…

Bryan, poker-faced for sure, came over to ask us if we were all right, but we heard later that he told the other rider and his wife Brandy that that was one interesting emergency dismount. Yep, we agree wholeheartedly. It was also total pilot error.

We finished up the lesson and, although tired, conducted ourselves well over the liverpool, which turned out to be our final fence. Peter’s a joy to jump – if we’re doing our job, that is.

Then we started thinking about the circumstances and the last time that pony acted mindless about anything coming out of the bushes or undergrowth was last summer. He had spent the summer at a friend’s place in Middleburg. Sometime in July or August, two bears came through. They were sighted by various motorists as they traveled eastward through farms and along Rt 50. Peter was ‘loaded for bear’ for days afterwards. So, it was probably wild life of some kind. Not deer – he’s so accustomed to deer that when BZ went racing after some white tails in his pasture, he couldn’t be bothered to pick up his head as they all dashed by him. Something else.

Just counted up the days he’s been ridden in 2011 – 38, most of them since May 20th. Peter’s doing really well, all things considered. Our goal is consistent work. This means making Peter the priority first thing in the morning and getting to the barn before it gets hot and buggy.

Such an easy call: even when that pony’s bad, he’s great. He just needs his rider to step up to the plate and keep him moving forward, literally and figuratively.Bryan’s going to see to that – we have our ‘marching orders,’ so to speak.

It’s all about CEqE – Continuing Equestrian Education – and the pressure isn’t even on Peter – it’s on us, because the partnership is horse and rider. Remember that next time you want to blame your horse or pony for something that was probably triggered by pilot error and/or failure to handle that flying machine properly.

my bad…

Sorry, Peter, we’ll do better – that’s a promise!

CEqE rocks at The Fine Equine in Amissville, VA!

Bet you thought that we (Lord Peter and yours truly) had gone to ground in turns of our Continuing Equestrian Education. Oh no no no! We’d been up to our ears in the spring fever of deadlines, trying to eke out a living and, of course, when it came to work, Peter got pushed to the bottom of the list. But not anymore: our pony is our priority, and we’re working on getting to the barn by 8:30 or earlier (method to our madness, more on early mornings in due course).

Peter had his first jumping lesson on May 21, but it wasn’t about jumping per se, it was about getting Mr.Minimum, as Bryan McDonald puts it, to stop being ‘smart-lazy’ and move forward from his engine. Our big little boy (14.2hh with a round barrel and bone of a bigger horse) has an okay trot and a lovely canter, but he walks like a pony. PS About six weeks later – he’s walking much better, tracking up, now we’re working on his trot.

Harking back to May 21: we have not been that pleasantly surprised in a very long time. Bryan is a sleeper as a trainer and a coach. He seems to be in his own little world, but misses nothing. It’s almost scary, but it’s also very reassuring.

The first words out of Bryan’s mouth were along the lines of: “Okay, time for you to come out of your comfort zone…” and he proceeded to spell out chapter and verse what we would be working on. He has a gentle way of delivering constructive criticism. We never felt we had to run for cover and lick raw, gaping wounds. We listened, nodded, tried to slow down our over-adrenalized brain (deadline buzz becomes a state of being if we aren’t vigilant and we haven’t been, truth to tell). We also had to stop over-analyzing the exercise.

We trotted into a small vertical, just like a cavelletto, with a few ground rails. Without going into uber-detail – mind you, this took place nearly two months ago – the whole point was to encourage Peter to stretch out his stride and really use himself to track up. This was mostly by voice, and as we made a small circle, Bryan put together another cavaletto over which Peter could pick up his feet or hop, whatever the pony decided.

By the time we had done 30 minutes, our pony was not perfect, but he was paying attention and he was trying. Getting Mr. Minimal to maximize is part of the process and, of course, simultaneously we are working on our bad habits. Bryan got our attention, that’s for sure. He’s more than just a jump jockey, he’s a real horseman and an eventing champion in his home country of Ireland – that link will take you back to an early post when we introduced Bryan in CEqE The Basics & Build From There.

This morning, we were totally in luck that Jake Carle needed a freshly charged battery for the camera we loaned to him, because he stopped by The Fine Equine and took some pix of our flat school. He missed Bryan stripping away our excuses: no more weak lungs, allergies, out of breath, boo hoo, now that Peter’s stepping up to the plate, his rider must do likewise with even greater effort and consistency.

What greater incentive to improve one’s horsemanship, what great stick & spur to be told that our pony deserves the best we can offer!

Landgate Lord Peter starts to use his engine and abs as Bryan McDonald amps up our CEqEing to be the best we possibly can. Of course, we can point out all sorts of improvements for the rider, but Bryan will scrape all the barnacles off in due course. Photo © Jake Carle

We’re being pushed and pushing ourselves, but what a glorious feeling today, when Peter’s shoulders loosened and his stride lengthened and his abdominal muscles worked with his engine.

Although our program for the next couple of months includes three or four days on the flat, we have fun over fences, too. On June 29th, we jumped our first rolltop in the ring and a few days later out in the back 40 we jumped our first coop. We’re very excited about what we’re learning – and very grateful to the horse gods for landing us in the perfect place for both pony & rider.

Bring it on, Bryan McDonald – we’re looking forward to the next session…

Well, we are really behind this morning: we got up uber-early and galloped through a gazillion photos from Saturday. We missed a few of our favorite classes, but were fortunate to snag some pix on the run, so to speak, of the Silver Foxes (Piedmont Invitation) winner and third place, but totally missed the Family Class (we’ll probably beg a photo of the winners for print coverage), and the rains came after we shot Connemara Mare and Stallion (purebred) champions, but not before we turned in time to catch Tracy Weinberg and Larone scorch to the win in the $10,000 Junior/Amateur Jumper Stakes – they’re trained by Joe Fargis.

Jeanne Blackwell, keen polo player & Sidesaddle rider, presents the Madcap Farm Perpetual Trophy and championship tri-color to Penny Denegre and Garnet - their third consecutive win. Garnet seems more interested in the bowl: looking for a celebratory swig of champagne, no doubt. © Lauren R Giannini

Tracy Weinberg and Larone scorched the jump-off in the $10,000 Junior/Amateur Jumper Stakes on Saturday to take first. Tracy placed 5th with her other horse, Wild Card - she trains with Joe Fargis. © Lauren R Giannini

Earlier in the day we watched the Ladies Sidesaddle, a tradition in the main ring under the oaks. Penny Denegre and Garnet won the flat class and the hack, pinned second in the Hermen Greenberg Memorial Side Saddle Stakes. Penny, Jt-MFH Middleburg Hunt, and Garnet won the SS Championship for the third year running. The reserve champion won the Side Saddle Stake: Rock Star and Gillian King (Malvern, PA) whose website declares: “I was “born to ride; I am a 5th generation rider on my father’s side and a 3rd generation rider on my mother’s side. Rumor has it I sat on a pony the day I came home from the hospital.”

Gillian King and Rock Star after winning the Hermen Greenberg Memorial Side Saddle Stakes over fences - and harvesting the reserve championship. © Lauren R Giannini

Lead Line was adorable, of course. The 1-3 winner was Madison Michael Bodmer on Rowfantina Apollo. Sophie Bell aboard Foxfor Roundabout won the 4-6 Lead Line.

Betty Oare reported that the vote was unanimous for Patty Heuckeroth to receive the J. Arthur Reynolds Horseman Award in honor of her father.

Scott Stewart was Best Hunter Rider, taking home the Charlie Weaver  Memorial Perpetual Trophy and piloted Empire to the Grand Championship and the Sallie Sexton Challenge Trophy. Tori Colvin earned Best Child Rider aboard Touchdown – trained by Scott Stewart.

Meredith Darst picked up the title of Best Child Rider (pony hunters) with Dr. Betsee Parker’s Enchanted Forest, trained by Richard Cunkle.

There’s so much more: check out horseshowsonline.com for the results and be sure to visit www.upperville.com

OMG – look at the time – wrap this up & head to Upperville!

Upperville: ask any show rider who lives somewhere in Virginia about the Upperville Colt & Horse Show and you’ll get chapter and verse about what it means to compete under the hallowed oaks or across John Mosby Highway in the jumper rings. Upperville is Mecca – it’s not the only version of Mecca, but here in Virginia, it’s a showcase for horses and riders, a country atmosphere that retains its unique and individual voice, a place where the shops offer goods ranging from tack and horse-related supplies to high fashion to riding fashion to jewelry to whatever might capture your fancy.

Tori Colvin won the $25,000 Welcome Stakes, sponsored by Windsor Farm and Friends, on June 10th. Barely 14, Tori partnered with Monsieur du Reverdy, owned by Rivers Edge Farm, and they nailed their second round in the time of 36.800 seconds (time allowed: 55 seconds), besting the field of eight who qualified for the jump-off, including her trainer Ken Berkley, Callan Solem, and Aaron Vale. © Lauren R Giannini

The ultimate jewel in the crown that is Upperville happens to be the Grand Prix. On the way to Sunday’s finale are classes that allow horses to get into the T. A. Randolph Grand Prix ring: the grass ring is a rarity in the show world. To help improve footing it now has French drains and other improvements are in the works (more on that in the next few days).

For horses accustomed year-round to the artificial surfaces of indoors and outdoor arenas, it must come as a total shock to the system to jump on grass. Plus, the Randolph field is all-natural terrain: the lay of the land rolls, and it’s far from flat. You can bet that factor gets used by course designers: a line set on a slightly downhill or uphill cant can test the adjustability of any horse as well as quiz the rider’s eye.

We first wrote about Tori (Victoria) Colvin six years ago when she was a pony catch rider from Loxahatchee showing on the Florida circuit. She was maybe 7 or 8, a pony-crazy kid who loved riding and showing, but business-like about doing her best and getting the best possible performance out of each pony. Sometimes she didn’t know the ponies very well at all – after all, that’s the meaning of catch ride – and had only minutes to suss out a new mount before going into the ring. In the pony hunters she learned precision, rhythm, and balance. She may have counted strides, but in the course of riding thousands of courses she also developed her eye.

Tori Colvin and Monsieur du Reverdy scorched the jump-off, besting the field of eight who scored clear first rounds in the $25,000 Welcome Stakes. It's hard to see, but she's already turning her horse in mid-air to make a quick roll-back to the oxer in front of the announcer's stand. The phrase "she's only a kid" gets replaced by 'Dang, that kid can ride!" © Lauren R Giannini

That’s an old-fashioned concept you don’t see too much of these days and it comes in really handy in the jumpers where clear rounds against the clock decide the winner. Tommy Lee said it at the end of a long Friday Under The Oaks: “Tori has a great eye – she rode that last fence off her eye, she didn’t count strides.”

Pow – she nailed it. All those rounds on ponies and junior hunters, all uncountable hours in the saddle are paying off. Literally. The win earned a paycheck of about $8,500. Not a bad few hours’ work, but make no mistake: Tori Colvin has a lifetime of experience already and has earned her success the hard way – with hard work and determation.

By the way, Tori scored her first Grand Prix win on the same horse at the Equestrian Sport Productions Spring 6 Horse Show (April 19-23) in Wellington (FL) in a field of 32 entries.

Welcome Stakes winner Tori Colvin and Monsieur du Reverdy. © Lauren R Giannini

The action continues with a full schedule of hunter and jumper classes at Upperville. More later…

www.upperville.com

With that old saying in mind that one picture is worth a thousand words, you all must make do with pixies as yesterday was a very long day and we collapsed as soon as we got home and fed our dog, who also collapsed after a long day accompanying us via golf cart on both sides of John Mosby Highway at Upperville. Because Upperville is too huge for one person to cover with a camera, we decided to concentrate on the jumpers on Thursday, because that’s part of the soul of Upperville and there is a committee to raise funds to improve the jumper rings similar to the hunter side which boasts great footing. Upperville show manager Tommy Lee Jones told us to speak with committee leader, rider/trainer  Joe Fargis, and we caught up with him early Thursday evening. More on that later: if we don’t post photos and get out of here pdq we won’t get to ride our pony and that is one of our greatest joys…

So, here are a few pix and ‘deep captions’ to describe Thursday at Upperville.

Allen Richards and Copper Futures in the Adult Amateur Jumper class where they placed 2nd to Alison Wichman riding Mrs. Mary B. Schwab's Candide: both trained by none other than Joe Fargis. Allen and his wife Jennifer are dear friends and it's great to see him riding so well. No, they did not pay us to post this photo - it's here out of pure friendship for the Richards and sincere admiration for Joe Fargis - we still want to ride like Joe! Plus, we missed Alison's round trying to be in two places at once - really sorry about that, Alison! © Lauren R Giannini

Don’t you love the smile on Allen’s face! That’s what horses are all about – moments of shameless joy, mixed into 24/7 devotion and dedication and lots of work, but that’s all part of the picture…

Okay, all you sharp-eyed folks: help out Metro Golf Cart – they’re missing cart 1982. It’s around somewhere, but they can’t find it. If you have it, take it back and/or check in with them. If you see it, tell someone right away. If you ‘borrowed’ it and were thinking of keeping it – BAD BAD BAD karma will haunt you!

Upperville defines the meaning of the word “hospitality” – on the hunter side there is morning coffee with donuts and yoghurt, thanks to – oh, phooey, can’t find that note, but we’ll make it up to them later with a photo from Saturday morning. On the jumper side there is the rider’s lounge with a lovely water cooler and chairs and air conditioning, sponsored by Charles Owens, the helmet people. The tent on the west side of the permanent grandstand on the hunter side offers hospitality from 4:30-6:30, hunter-side: Thursday’s “Happy Hour” from 4:30-6:30 was sponsored by the Woodhall Gang, who were showing in ring 2 – the buffet by Back Street Cafe featured scrumptious fried chicken, among other things. Today, “happy hour” moves over to the TA Randolph Grand Prix ring for the $25,000 Welcome Stakes, 5-7 pm.

The jumps are scrumptious affairs by Belle Grey Farm – check out their signature fence in the TAR Grand Prix ring…

Belle Grey Farm's gorgeous jumps are getting a great workout at Upperville. © Lauren R Giannini

We gotta dash out the door to ride, but more later from Upperville, but check out this young rider who is already whupping some long established veteran in the jumpers…

Tori Colvin placed 3rd in the $10,000 1.40meter Jumper Stakes with Monsieur du Reverdy, owned by Rivers Edge Farm - Aaron Vale pinned 1st and 2nd, Joe Fargis placed with Lariat but results aren't posted yet. Wakefield School is what the red & white W stands for - one of the sponsors of the Upperville Colt & Horse Show. © Lauren R Giannini

www.upperville.com

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