The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will meet on April 13, 2016 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and April 14, 2016 from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Redmond, Oregon.
Please take a moment to sign the petition asking this citizen advisory board to oppose the BLM’s barbaric, risky and invasive sterilization experiments, proposed to be conducted on captured wild mares at the BLM’s corrals in Hines, Oregon. These painful experiments will expose mares to risk of death by bleeding, infection and evisceration (a deadly condition in which the intestines protrude through surgical incisions). The majority of the mares used in the experiment will be pregnant and the procedure will cause many to abort their unborn foals. We have one week to gather as many petition signatures as possible, which AWHPC will hand deliver to the Advisory Board. Help us take a strong stand against this cruelty by signing and sharing today!
Matt and I had to do an unexpected rescue today. “Big Girl” is a 20+ (?) year old Percheron who weighs about 1600 pounds. She was for sale as a “riding horse” and we were told she just needed her hoofers trimmed. We were also told that even if you used a crop or whip, she would not canter. But it was fine to trot her.
As panic welled in my gut, we handed over the cash to “bail her” and bring her home. Did she even have enough back hooves to have a chance? Her front hoof was bare sole with the hoof wall well above where it should be. I cannot begin to imagine how uncomfortable it is for her to have to hold all that weight on such broken feet.
We are praying that there is not too much damage done for her to heal. When you think of the saying “NO HOOF – NO HORSE”, PURE PANIC COMES TO MIND!
We are asking for prayers and any help you can give to save this beautiful girl. She will need to be sedated to have her feet worked on as it seems to be too painful and hard for her to stand on 3 feet. We were told it takes 3 men and medicine to do her front feet, but you “cannot do her hind feet”. I lifted her rear hoof up today to try and see what damage had been done, but it was apparent that she was really uncomfortable and after that she was very wary of me.
She is settled in with Magic and tomorrow we will contact the vet and try to get her some help. No horse deserves this, and we can only pray we got to her in time. This is overwhelming, disheartening and simply devastating. But when God puts one of His creatures in front of you, there is no choice, you do whatever you can to help, so once again we are asking folks to join us so we can help this beautiful soul. Any prayers and help you would like to give and what you can comfortably do for “Big Girl”…. are so very much appreciated.
You can go to Paypal – Palominodancer@yahoo.com or go to our website www.chillypepper.org if you would like to help Big Girl, the horse with no hooves :(
You can donate via check at Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang, 34694 Sidebottom Rd., Shingletown, CA 96088
The BLM is accepting public comments on a proposal to remove all the wild horses from the Checkerboard lands within and outside of the Great Divide Basin, Salt Wells Creek, and Adobe Town herd management areas (HMAs) in Wyoming at the request of ranchers.
If allowed to stand, this action will place the fate of wild horses living on public lands throughout the West in the hands of private landowners who want them all removed. We have mounted a significant legal challenge to the BLM’s illegal Wyoming wild horse wipeout, and our case is currently being considered by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. While we battle the BLM in court, we need you to show the agency that “We the People” want our wild horses protected on our public lands. . . . Please take action today!
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking public scoping comments in the development of a ten-year management plan for the wild horses and burros in the Blue Wing Complex in northern Nevada. Under pressure from area ranchers, the BLM is likely to develop plans for perpetual roundups and removals of hundreds of wild horses and burros from the public lands in this area — unless they hear from you! Now is the time to weigh in for humane management of our wild horses and burros on our public lands. Please act today!
As the first American woman to fly in combat, U.S. Congresswoman Martha McSally (R-AZ), a retired Air Force Colonel, is a military hero. And now she is a hero for America’s wild horses as well!. This week, Rep. McSally asked the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to incorporate language in the 2017 budget bill that would prevent the BLM from turning over captured wild horses to other federal, state and local agencies for use as “work animals.” Rep. McSally is concerned, as are we, that this will provide a potential backdoor route to slaughter.
When our elected officials take action to protect our wild horses and burros, it’s important to let them know that we appreciate it. Please call Rep. McSally’s office at 202-225-2242 to thank her for acting to protect wild horses and burros from slaughter.
As I write this, I am remembering how quickly you get “baby brain”. The time when your brain turns to mush from lack of sleep.
Wow – it seems like the Rolling Foal Hospital never stops. We are so very pleased to be able to let folks know just how important this trailer is, and that it is constantly being used to save the lives of our beloved horses.
We left last Tuesday to take Seanna, Cicero and Go Go Boots to their new home in Idaho. We had to meet with Doc on Wednesday in NV to procure the proper paperwork and off we went.
We arrived to a stunning property and an amazing woman waiting for the babies. God has once again blessed us with the help we needed for these young horses. They have a wonderful place with a river, many streams, a clean and clear pond and wild life all around. They have space and will have folks to continue their training.
They have settled in well and although there was the usual heartbreak as we drove away, all was well and it was the best scenario we could hope for.
All the way there, and even prior as we were prepping the trailer, something kept telling me we would not be coming back empty. So I made sure we had our “new baby kit” well prepped. On our way back home, we received an emergency call. Shirley (my friend in NV who was caring for Velma), was in the hospital and we needed to come and pick up the baby. We are blessed as I am Shirley’s back up and she is ours if we have emergencies.
So we picked up Velma, (whom I had had quite a bit of time with the night prior to our vet visit with Doc), whose world was once again upside down. Although pretty scared at first, she traveled beautifully, and as always we took our time and gave her lots of rest stops. Here is the link for a short video of her enjoying one of her bottles. (Beware – this is cuteness over load at it’s finest.)
Velma is eating very well, and she eats every two hours round the clock. She has never been around any horses, as after she was born in the puddle she was immediately rushed to Shirley’s after her mama pretty much ignored her and continued eating. She will go through approximately a 40 pound bag of milk and then some every two weeks. She is healthy and although she was a tiny bit colicky after we picked her up she is doing well and settling in nicely.
Much to her initial dismay, we put Belafonte (our mini goat) in with her. She has no real manners as of yet as she had no chance to learn natural boundaries. But he will help her and is gentle, yet firm. She was very pouty after he gave her a tiny little headbutt when she was being inappropriate. She stood there with a look on her face like she could not believe what had just happened.
As always, things happen quickly. We took 3 babies and came back with 1, but that is the reason we do what we do, and why it is important to find homes for these kids once they are doing better and ready for the next chapter in their lives.
We are still looking for homes for the 40+ wild ones, and are so very grateful we have managed to keep them safe thus far. Please share far and wide so we can find them their forever homes.
We so appreciate everyone who is part of this rescue and helping us keep these horses safe. Please share far and wide so we can continue to find forever homes for these horses. We also have a possible home for more of the wild ones in Virginia. We are working on that – who knew there were angels everywhere? With so many people in the United States, we only need a few to step up and help us place the remaining horses. Together we CAN do it!!
If you want to help keep milk in that little bottle or with all the rest of the expenses, You can go to You caring – https://www.youcaring.com/let-em-run-foundation-for-55-wild-horses-orphaned-foals-415297 to help us save these horses.
You can go to Paypal – Palominodancer@yahoo.com or go to our website
www.chillypepper.org if you would like to help these horses.
You can donate via check at Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang, 34694 Sidebottom Rd., Shingletown, CA 96088
530 474-5197 If you are interested in visiting or adopting one of these beautiful horses.
Exciting news – We received a message yesterday that our new “Angels in Idaho” will be taking three babies. Seanna, (shown in photo), Boots and Cicero will all be heading to their new home this week.
Matt and I will be transporting them. We will need roughly $375 fuel for transport and a little for Health Certificates and needed blood work for transport. So we are looking at between $400 – $500 to secure these three great homes.
(Unfortunately it won’t reduce our monthly board as they have been at Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang and we do not receive any funds for “boarding” even though they were part of the 55)”. ) But it will certainly be a reduction for feed expenses and leave me more time to help gentle other wild ones and care for the upcoming orphans.) Finding them homes is the biggest blessing ever :)
IF we don’t get a call to Yakima or OR for orphans while we are out, it will be about 1600 miles round trip. We normally average around 10 miles to the gallon with a little less efficiency in the mountains, sometimes closer to 7 or 8 mpg. when pulling the heavy trailer. As always, we will be “camping” on the way whenever possible and cooking out of the trailer for the most part. The average fuel price in NV is about $2.25 a gallon for diesel, and although it is more here, we will be doing most of the driving going through NV.
EVEN BETTER NEWS – Our Angel (Kim) in Idaho is planning to take 10 of the Wild Ones that we are currently supporting in NV. This move is planned for approximately 2 months down the road, after they beef up their fencing on the large acreage. Then Kim told me of a rescue she did and it left me in tears.
“I drive truck, and while driving in North Dakota for the oil fields I parked at an auction where they were unloading a trailer full of horses. There were 5, one pregnant with a foal by her side. I walked up and said so they are auctioning off these horse today? and the man said yes, for 23 cents per pound. So I bought them all and leased 5 acres until I could make arrangements to get them here. Here’s where the rescue started. They were what started it all for me.”__
They have rescued and re-homed many horses since that day.
So you can imagine how excited I was when she said we could bring the babies now and 10 more in a month or two. This is what we need. To move these horses down the road to safe and loving folks.
Of course I have my own tears too. It is so heartwarming to find someone with such a beautiful heart, but once again I am taking my babies and leaving them with someone else. No matter how wonderful it is for them, it still breaks your heart when you have spent the time with them and have grown to love them so much. So it is bittersweet as always. You just can’t keep every one that you save, and this is what we do – find homes for them so they can have the future they deserve. But it still breaks your heart each and every time – even knowing that there will be more around the corner. How wonderful it will be when the day comes where there won’t be more around the corner, and we can all rest easy. That would be the miracle.
We so appreciate everyone who is part of this rescue and helping us keep these horses safe. Please share far and wide so we can continue to find forever homes for these horses. We also have a possible home for more of the wild ones in Virginia. We are working on that – who knew there were angels everywhere? With so many people in the United States, we only need a few to step up and help us place the remaining horses. Together we CAN do it!!
Hi, Sending out a quick update to keep everyone informed. We are in a “hurry up and wait” state, but thanks to y’all we are ready for that call.
I am happy to share some good news. Thanks to the wet weather, the roundups in Yakima, WA have been postponed. This is good for all the babies as they have a better chance of spending more time with their moms. Of course we are praying the roundups simply do not happen, but at least the older the babies are, the better chance they have of surviving.
So far, we have not heard any news about the Warm Springs roundups having started yet either. Once again, the weather is a big factor. PTL! So for now, we have been blessed. Please send your prayers that the roundups don’t start.
On the home front, we are still prepping for babies. Things can change in a heart beat, and you have to be ready to go. Prior to last year, our babies came locally in CA or from NV off the range. So although that is our normal source, we are now on board for the “slaughter babies” once again this year. We are trying to establish a “direct relationship” with the auction yard. Once these horses are brought in, they go straight to Canada as the gentleman running the operation has a direct contract with Bouvry Exports, in Alberta Canada.
In the meantime, we are also gentling and training the wild ones that are here. I am so happy to report that Lacy has made a huge break through and she is bonding up nicely. Prior to this she would bite and was very unsure and unhappy with any type of touching. She is going to make an amazing partner for someone and will be available for adoption. If you would like to see Lacy’s progress, you can follow the attached links. :)
“Seanna” has also made huge strides and her training is coming along nicely. “Go Go Boots” is just a tiny bit behind her, but we will be needing homes not only for these girls, but for Cicero. Cicero is from Yakima Washington and is coming on a year old. He will need someone with experience, but promises to be an amazing horse. He is very spirited and intelligent (shown below).
We so appreciate everyone who is part of this rescue and helping us keep these horses safe. Please share far and wide so we can find forever homes for these horses.
Earlier this month, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) director Neil Kornze told Congress that his agency was heading toward “spaying and neutering” wild horses on the range.
It sounds benign, but it’s not.
Using never-before-seen footage, AWHPC has just released a video that shows the type of risky, invasive and archaic sterilization procedures the BLM is proposing to conduct on wild mares.
It isn’t pretty, but it’s necessary to show the American public exactly what the BLM has in store for our iconic and federally-protected wild horses and burros.
We can’t let this happen. Here’s how you can fight back for wild horses and burros:
► Watch the video and become educated about the BLM’s barbaric plans.
► Share the video far and wide to spread the word.
► Sign the petition and share it with your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. These are ourwild horses, they live on ourpublic lands, and the American public overwhelmingly does not want our national icons treated in this horrific manner!
Our wild horses and burros need your help, and they need it now.
The federal government is trying to hand off captured wild horses and burros to states and local governments, which will be able to do whatever they want with these national icons. That means one thing — slaughter!
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) director Neil Kornze admitted in Congressional testimony this month that his agency’s 2017 budget proposal contains no protections from slaughter for the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of horses the BLM wants to turn over to other agencies, ostensibly for use as “work animals.”
Kornze also told Congress that “it looks like” BLM is heading toward wide-scale sterilization of wild horses on the range. The BLM wants to subject these animals to risky and invasive surgical procedures that will endanger their lives and destroy the very essence of what makes them wild — their natural behaviors!
As step one of its sterilization plan, the BLM is poised to conduct barbaric, invasive and dangerous sterilization experiments on over 200 captured wild mares — most of whom will be pregnant — at its Burns Corrals in Oregon. The experiments will cause many of the mares to suffer abortions and others to bleed to death or die from infection.
We’ve hired a lobbying team that includes a former Congressman. We’re mobilizing the grassroots through a powerful public education and social media campaign. And our top-notch legal team continues to wage the battle against sterilization and slaughter in federal court .
This is happening RIGHT NOW on Capitol Hill. Please click below to help us stop the sterilization and slaughter of America’s wild horses and burros. Thank you!
Baby season is here, and all around the country mares are giving birth to their new little ones. Meet VELMA, the newest baby in Shirley Allen’s nursery in Dayton NV. The following is her update:
PLEASE Keep Her in your prayers. She’s doing so well it sort of scares me. She came in just a few hours old and the first 3 days to a week are ALWAYS very stressful with watching and monitoring every single little thing she does and move she makes. As always we’re praying that NOTHING unforeseen raises it’s ugly head. We are in the so far, so good mode and SHE is nothing but a TOTAL JOY. She was born in the very early morning and because of the rains and weather we had she was unfortunately born basically in a puddle. She was totally wet and shivering with hypothermia setting in fast. Her Mom, although interested in her didn’t seem to have that motherly instinct and went back to eating. Thank goodness, the girls happened to be out there that morning or we wouldn’t have the little sweetie. We had rain, snow and wind coming in again that morning and she would not have made it much longer in those conditions being wet and no way to get her dry. Mom sort of tried a couple of times to get her up to nurse apparently but basically gave up and went back to eating her breakfast. Velma at that point was unable to get on her feet because her little legs were too cold and wet already to make her muscles work. It took a little while to get her dry and warming slow to get her up so circulation could get to those tiny legs. Now that she’s doing well, she has just started yesterday running and playing a bit. We had a play session this morning at 3am right after her 2:30 feeding. Please send good energy for Velma, we’re holding on and doing our best to get this little kid happy and healthy. Will try to update soon. HUGS ALL !!
THIS IS THE HAPPY SIDE OF FOAL RESCUE. HOWEVER, I LEARNED SOME UTTERLY DEVASTATING NEWS THIS LAST WEEK.More
Tax Court Finds Riding Arena Repairs Not Deductible
The taxpayers, husband and wife, purchased in 2006 a 10 acre parcel of land in Santa Ynez, California, on which they built their residence and various other structures. These structures include three barns and a horse riding arena used in a horse boarding and sales business operated by Santa Ynez Valley View Farm, LLC, a California limited liability company the taxpayers formed and at all times wholly-owned.
Construction of the riding arena was completed in early 2007 at a cost of $150,000. As it turned out, defects in the construction of the riding arena required taxpayers to expend more than $100,000 in 2007 and 2008 in order to remedy the defects. They sued the original contractor for defective construction and in 2009 settled the lawsuit for a payment of $50,000. The taxpayers reported on their 2009 tax return an itemized deduction of $69,100 as a casualty loss deduction resulting from the repairs to the riding arena.
The IRS disallowed the casualty loss deduction taken by the taxpayers on their 2009 return on the grounds that it was not a “casualty” as that term is used in the tax code. The taxpayers did not agree and took the disagreement to the U.S. Tax Court. The husband represented himself and his wife at trial.
The Court noted that to be deductible a casualty must be from “unusual and unexpected events *** caused by sudden or destructive force.” Accordingly, the court found that expenses paid or incurred to correct damage caused by faulty construction methods are not deductible as a casualty loss.
A bill in the Arizona State Legislature to protect the famed Salt River wild horses has been amended and now has the AWHPC’s full support. Previously they opposed HB 2340, because it asserted state ownership of this cherished herd, which resides on federal land in the Tonto National Forest near Phoenix. However, the bill’s sponsor, State Representative Kelly Townsend, amended the legislation to remove the state ownership provision and better protect the horses. Last week, the bill passed the Arizona House of Representatives and is now in the Senate.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Neil Kornze testified before Congress regarding his agency’s budget request, which includes language that opens the door to sterilization and slaughter of America’s wild herds. The BLM wants to turn over captured wild horses to local and state government agencies, many of whom lobby for the mass mustang removal and slaughter. In his testimony, Kornze confirmed that his agency’s budget proposal will not include protections from slaughter for these horses. Alarmingly, he also indicated that the BLM is poised to implement a broad-scale sterilization program on the range.
This is a grave threat to our remaining wild horse and burro herds, and we, the people are are quite literally the only line that stands between our wild horses and burros and doom. . . . Now is the time to demonstrate massive grassroots opposition to the BLM’s catastrophic plans. If you have already signed the petition to Congress – thank you, now please share it widely. If you have not yet signed, please add your signature today. The budget process is underway and there is not a moment to waste. If you want to save wild horses and burros, please take action now!
The following is an excerpt of an Op-Ed by Christopher Ketchan for the New York Times titled “The Bison Roundup the Government Wants to Hide”.
THE National Park Service is set to begin its annual roundup of wild bison in Yellowstone National Park today. A portion will be slaughtered to reduce the number of animals that migrate beyond the park’s borders.
This culling is done largely outside of public view. Journalists have been barred in the past from watching the roundup, though it takes place on public land. The reason, according to the park service, was “for the safety of the public and staff” and also for the bison’s welfare.
This year, in response to litigation, the park service will allow a glimpse of what goes on. But only a glimpse. Access for journalists will be severely limited.
Let’s be honest here. This isn’t about “safety and welfare.” The real reason the park service doesn’t want journalists to view the roundup in its entirety is that the brutality of the cull would be revealed.
The buffalo is perhaps the iconic American mammal. More than any other animal, it is emblematic of the American frontier.
It also symbolizes the savagery with which we have treated the natural world. Tens of millions were slaughtered in a few brief decades during the 1800s — for their hides and fur and, not least, to subjugate restive Plains Indians by eliminating their food supply.
By 1900, out of a population once estimated at as many as 60 million animals, as few as 700 bison remained in private herds, and only 23 at Yellowstone.
Under the protection of the park service for almost a century, the bison have multiplied to an estimated 4,600 animals in Yellowstone.
So why would the park service, whose mission includes preserving “native wildlife species and the processes that sustain them,” opt to help kill one of its most historically and ecologically important wildlife populations?
I’ve covered the controversies over bison management in Yellowstone for almost a decade. The explanation, I’ve concluded, has nothing to do with ecology and everything to do with politics.
In 1995, the state of Montana sued the park service to control bison that roam outside of Yellowstone’s boundary. Montana stockmen feared that bison could infect local cattle populations with the disease brucellosis, which can cause cows to abort their calves. For years, the Montana Department of Livestock had killed bison that left the park.
In 2000, a court- mediated settlement resulted in the Interagency Bison Management Plan, which remains in effect today. It basically requires the park service to do the bidding of Montana stockmen. The park service, in cooperation with the state livestock department, captures bison inside the park and ships them to slaughterhouses. This effort has cost an estimated $50 million since it began 15 years ago. Ninety-five percent of that funding has come from the federal government.
Animal epidemiologists have long noted that the risk to cows of brucellosis infection from wild bison is remote. Not a single instance of transmission has ever been documented.
When I reported on the brucellosis question for Vice magazine last year, even the park service acknowledged to me that “there is recognition by both disease regulators and wildlife managers that the risk of brucellosis transmission from bison to cattle is minute.” A retired park service biologist, Mary Meagher, who studied bison for 37 years, told me then that “brucellosis is a smoke screen.” She added, “The real issue is that ranchers don’t want bison out there on the land.”
Federal bison policy, in other words, has been captured by the politically powerful livestock industry.
Last month, represented by lawyers at the University of Denver Law School and the Animal Legal Defense Fund, I filed a lawsuit with Stephany Seay, media coordinator of the nonprofit Buffalo Field Campaign, to compel the park service to allow journalists and the public to have reasonable, nondisruptive access to the capture and cull.
In response, the park service has agreed to allow us to observe the activities on four days of the service’s choosing. But this is wholly inadequate for a culling operation that takes place over several weeks. We’re skeptical about how much we’ll be allowed to see.
Bison should be managed like so many other populations of wild animals — with seasonal hunting. Let them roam beyond Yellowstone’s boundaries year-round in Montana. Scrap the Interagency Bison Management Plan. Repeal the authority of Montana’s livestock department to slaughter bison. Get cows out of the way and allow wild bison to restore themselves — through their ancient instinct to migrate — on their native landscape.
In December, Montana took a long-awaited step in that direction. Gov. Steve Bullock proposed allowing Yellowstone bison to roam in certain areas beyond the park’s boundaries throughout the year. This modest move must still be approved by various state and federal agencies. Hopefully, this will lead to broader changes in way the animal is managed.
Despite this progress, the annual cull will still take place. The sad irony here is that in order to allow Montana ranchers to graze their cattle, the park service is helping to slaughter a native animal so iconic that it is emblazoned on the park service’s own logo.
The best ways a rider can reduce the risk of fatality is to be in tune with their horse, manage him properly through the ride, and voluntarily withdraw when their horse is not performing as expected, Schott said. Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse
“Endurance” is an aptly named riding discipline. The sport requires horse and rider to complete more than 50 to 100 miles of trail in a single day. Depending on the competition type, terrain, and climatic conditions, horses might be actively working anywhere from six to 24 hours. Because of the nature of the sport,dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and heat stress can arise, sometimes leading to fatalities.
To investigate causes of fatality in endurance horses, Olin Balch, DVM, MS, PhD, of North Fork Veterinary Service, in Cascade, Idaho, and Hal Schott II, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, professor of large animal medicine at Michigan State University, reviewed 13 years of endurance ride veterinary reports. Schott presented their findings at the 2015 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 5-9 in Las Vegas.
For their study, Balch and Schott compiled results from American Endurance Ride Conference post-ride surveys and veterinary reports from 2002-2014. During this time there were 96 fatalities out of 270,070 horses entered in endurance competitions—that’s 0.32 fatalities per 1,000 starts. Of the fatalities, 69 were euthanized and 27 died. Eighty-seven had participated in the ride, while nine others died or were euthanized due to injuries sustained by escape from an enclosure, kick injury, or colic unassociated with the demands of endurance exercise. There were no differences among sex or age and the number of fatalities did not differ over the years studied. Although there were no statistically significant regional differences, the Southwest had more fatalities than the West, which had more than the Mountain region, which had more than the Northeast.
“Despite veterinary oversight, which is arguably the highest of any equestrian sport during competition, fatalities do occur,” remarked Schott, who presented their findings. During endurance rides, horses must stop at mandatory rest points for examination by a ride veterinarian to determine that they are “fit to continue.” At the finish line exam, horses must again be examined and deemed fit to continue in order to receive a completion and placing.
Balch and Schott’s study included all fatalities that occurred over the four-day period from check-in the day before the race to two days following the competition. If a problem developed at the ride, then they investigated that horse’s outcome beyond those four days. “An increase in ride distance often leads to gastrointestinal problems and metabolic compromise,” Schott explained.
They determined that 26 deaths (30%) in competing horses were not fatigue-related. These resulted from falls, catastrophic injury, gastrointestinal disorders, or sudden death, and one horse was lost and later found dead. There were 61 fatalities (70%) attributed to the demands of endurance exercise, including consequences of severe muscle cramping and exhaustion.
“Exhaustion was commonly associated with decreased intestinal function due to a long period of decreased blood flow to the intestinal tract, as blood was diverted to the exercising muscles during exercise,” Schott explained. “Affected horses showed a poor appetite and colic signs, attributable to ileus (poor intestinal motility). A disastrous consequence was stomach rupture in several horses, with no apparent relation to stomach ulcers, while others developed renal failure and/or laminitis.”
Another important finding, he said, was that 20 of these 61 horses actually finished the ride and received completion awards, yet developed signs of exhaustion after the ride with fatalities developing over the next couple of days.
“This finding emphasizes that riders must monitor their horses closely after the ride and seek veterinary attention when any concern over recovery arises,” he said.
“Finally, it warrants mention that owners of 19 horses that ultimately died or were euthanized declined fluid therapy and/or referral to a hospital for further care when recommended by veterinarians at the ride site,” Schott added.
A donkey can increase a family’s income by up to 500%.
Out of sight, out of mind. This is often the harsh reality for working equids, while owners and veterinarians in developed countries are busy caring for their own horses. But, argues Derek Knottenbelt, DVM&S, Dipl. ECEIM, MRCVS, these animals serve a very important role across the world and need our attention.
A longtime equitarian (volunteer veterinarian on trips to developed countries) and professor of Equine Medicine at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Science, in Scotland, Knottenbelt described the working equid’s plight as well as importance during the 2015 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 5-9 in Las Vegas.
His philosophy, he said, is that by improving working animals’ welfare, we are in turn relieving human burden.
More than 100 million families in rural communities worldwide depend on working equids for transportation, farming, economic value, and social value. “They play a fundamental role in individual family prosperity and in the local and national economics,” Knottenbelt said. “Indeed, it could be said that if the working horse or donkey were to be removed from society, the economy of the world would collapse.”
Unlike in the Western World, however, where equids generally come at a high price and enjoy quality veterinary care and legislative protection, working equids aren’t blessed with trained veterinarians, well-educated owners, or government support. They’re victim to ill-fitting harnesses, malnutrition, and preventable diseases, such as tetanus and rabies.
This is not, however, because their owners don’t care about them. “A donkey can increase a family’s income by up to 500%,” Knottenbelt said, so it’s in a family’s best interest to keep it healthy. It’s because they’re caring for these animals the only way they know how, while doing all they can to care for themselves.
This is a notice from the ASPCA Pro website. Please visit them for full information on the grants available and to learn how to apply.
The ASPCA Equine Fund provides grants to U.S. nonprofit equine welfare organizations and other animal welfare organizations that care for horses, mules, donkeys and ponies in alignment with our efforts to protect all equines. The ASPCA Equine Fund grants program seeks to award equine organizations that strive to achieve best practices both in nonprofit management and equine care. Unsolicited grants are generally awarded in amounts from $500-$5,000 and seldom exceed 10% of an organization’s current annual operating budget.
ASPCA Equine Fund will consider grants to those organizations whose focus and expertise are concentrated on reducing the suffering of equines who have lost their homes or been cruelly treated. Applicants must have already received their 501(c)(3) determination from the IRS or be a governmental/municipal agency in order to apply. Equine rescues and sanctuaries must care for at least ten equine concurrently to be considered for funding.
This is a very difficult update to write. Just this morning I received a phone call that we lost two more horses. (Not we specifically, but everyone who loves our wild horses). This morning a mare and her foal were struck by a car on the highway in NV. The mare died on impact, but the baby lay suffering with a horribly broken leg until it could be humanely euthanized.
The reason I bring this to everyone’s attention is this. Everyone wants to blame the government for rounding up the horses, but anyone who feeds the wild horses are responsible as well. Obviously this does not apply to folks who are part of official programs who are designated to help care for the wild horses and have authority to do so. (For the record, I do not agree with what is happening to our wild horses whatsoever, but we need to stop giving them more reasons to do more roundups.) However, every time there is an accident involving our beloved wild horses on the highway, it opens the doors and causes more horses to be rounded up.
People need to take responsibility. DO NOT EVER FEED ANY WILDLIFE! There have been so many accidents, many involving loss of human life as well as the lives of the horses, and a HUGE PERCENTAGE of these accidents are due to folks feeding the wild horses. Not only is it illegal, but you are killing our wild horses. In prior years, before the recent epidemic of folks thinking it is “cool” to get close to and feed or pet wild horses, there were fewer incidents. But EVERY TIME you feed or pet a wild horse, you are teaching it that not only are humans safe, BUT THEIR VEHICLES ARE AS WELL. You are teaching them that vehicles mean food, and they don’t understand that they mean horrific pain and death. If you are feeding the wild horses, you are taking their natural “life saving” fear away from them, and in the end you are causing their death or at the very least the “excuse” or need for them to be rounded up. I know that folks are not hurting the horses on purpose, but the fact is the damage is being done, and the mare and her beautiful little baby paid the ultimate price for thinking they were safe around cars.
Then the circle comes back to situations like ours, where we are responsible for too many horses and have to fund raise to keep them out of the slaughter pipelines due to more and more being rounded up.
For more than 500 years, this rare population of Spanish Colonial mustangs has survived hurricanes, nor’easters and encroaching development, but these cherished horses may not survive the genetic crisis they now face unless legislation is passed to protect them.
Please take action today to ask your Senators to pass the Burr-Tillis Amendment to the Energy Policy Modernization Act.
The Amendment will protect the Corolla horses by increasing the allowable size of this herd to a more genetically sustainable level.
Birth defects are becoming more frequent in this herd. Tiny foals are suffering and the future of the entire population is in jeopardy!
The Burr-Tillis amendment may come before the Senate for a floor vote as early as today. . . . There is not a moment to waste to save these historic mustangs.
Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue is planning for their 2016 Cabin Fever Auction (March 6-13) and are accepting donations of artwork, jewelry, gift baskets, gift cards, tchotchkes, hand- made items, services …anything you think someone might enjoy and be excited to bid on. Donated items do NOT need to be donkey or animal related. Contact them though their website to arrange for donations. Below is an update on Stan, a donkey they recently rescued.
“We recently took in a 35-year old donkey who’s long-time buddy passed away. Stan came into the rescue in pretty rough shape. He was not at all friendly and wanted nothing to do with people or the other donkeys. He was covered in burrs and his poor tail was so matted it looked and felt like a club. His forelock and flanks were chock full of burdocks stuck tightly to his skin. He was examined by our vet and it was discovered that he is blind, with large cataracts in both eyes. He was also in dire need of dental work – it’s doubtful that he had ever had dental work in his lifetime. He had such sharp points on his molars that they actually punctured his tongue, and he had so much tartar build up on the outsides of his molars that the inside of his cheeks had become ulcerated. Every time Stan moved his jaw he must have been in excruciating pain. No wonder he was not friendly!
Dr Lea Warner sedated him and floated his teeth, my helpers Annie and Hannah worked on getting the burrs out, and our farrier, Matt Caprioli, worked on getting his feet trimmed while Stan was in la la land.
Well, in the weeks since then Stan has blossomed! He is a new man! He must feel so much better! He is now friendly and seeks attention. He did not want to be touched when he first arrived and now he enjoys being groomed and has a big honk for me in the morning when I go out. He gets on very well considering his age and disability.”
Matt and I had to do an unexpected rescue today. “Big Girl” is a 20+ (?) year old Percheron who weighs about 1600 pounds. She was for sale as a “riding horse” and we were told she just needed her hoofers trimmed. We were also told that even if you used a crop or whip, she would not canter. But it was fine to trot her.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Neil Kornze testified before Congress regarding his agency’s budget request, which includes language that opens the door to sterilization and slaughter of America’s wild herds. The BLM wants to turn over captured wild horses to local and state government agencies, many of whom lobby for the mass mustang removal and slaughter. In his testimony, Kornze confirmed that his agency’s budget proposal will not include protections from slaughter for these horses. Alarmingly, he also indicated that the BLM is poised to implement a broad-scale sterilization program on the range.
THE National Park Service is set to begin its annual roundup of wild bison in Yellowstone National Park today. A portion will be slaughtered to reduce the number of animals that migrate beyond the park’s borders.
Please take action today to ask your Senators to pass the Burr-Tillis Amendment to the Energy Policy Modernization Act.