Bo Derek on horse racing board
July 16th, 2008 by admin
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger named actress and animal rights activist Bo Derek on Tuesday to a state commission overseeing horse racing.
Derek, 51, was appointed to fill one of two vacant posts on the California Horse Racing Board, a position requires confirmation by the state Senate and pays $100 per diem.
Derek is a horse lover who has lobbied Congress for the past five years to ban the slaughter of the animals. She also owns the pet care products company Bless the Beasts, which sells such items as dog shampoos, conditioner and fur polish.
She also wrote the book “Riding Lessons: Everything That Matters in Life I Learned from Horses.” Her Web site said the autobiography links her life lessons with her understanding of horses.
Her first board meeting will be Thursday at the Del Mar racetrack. She joins Jerry Moss, the co-founder of A&M Records and a prominent horse owner, on the board.
Also appointed was writer and TV producer David Israel, whose credits include “The Untouchables” and “Midnight Caller.” As a former syndicated sports columnist, Israel covered the Triple Crown victories of Seattle Slew and Affirmed in the 1970s.
The seven-member racing board supervises horse racing and parimutuel wagering at racetracks in California, enforces laws and regulations, and sanctions violators.
Source: AP
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BLM to move 1100 wild horses
June 28th, 2008 by adminn an effort to save their lives, the Bureau of Land Management will start an emergency gather to remove 1,100 horses from the Nevada Wild Horse Range.
Since the grounds do not have the water or foliage to support the horses, the 15 to 20-day roundup will move them to a facility in Ridgecrest, Calif.
Officials said the number of horses will be brought down to an “appropriate management level,” a term used to describe the number of animals the landscape can sustain. The rest will be moved.
Crews will use water trapping to gather the animals and, once trapped, will feed, water and inoculate the animals before relocation.
Many of the animals will be available for adoption or sale about 45 days after they arrive at the new facilities in mid-August.
Source: FoxNews
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Miniature horses and Donkeys seized
June 28th, 2008 by admin
McClellanville — Thick, matted hair concealed sharp bones along the backs and hips of miniature horses and donkeys seized Thursday from a woman authorities said didn’t comply with orders to improve their care.
The shaggy coats were a sign that daily brushings had not been done, said Kay Hyman, director of outreach and communications for the Charleston Animal Society. Distended stomachs likely indicated parasites, she said, and one animal needs dental work.
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21 malnourished horses seized
June 28th, 2008 by adminAnimal control officers have seized 21 undernourished horses from a boarding facility in Riverside County, authorities said Thursday.
The officers, acting on a tip that the horses were being neglected, seized the animals Wednesday and took them to a private ranch where they were being cared for, the county Department of Animal Services said in a statement.
“These horses needed immediate veterinary care from what appears to be severe neglect,” animal services director Robert Miller said. The horses included Arabians, draft, quarter horses and paints.
The Menifee horse seizure follows a similar raid earlier this month at the Equus Sanctuary in Los Angeles County, where 15 sick and undernourished horses had to be euthanized. About 100 horses were taken to other facilities.
Authorities posted a notice on the Menifee property, citing a section of state law that allows an animal control organization to seize animals that appear to be neglected. The owner of the facility has ten days to respond.
Source: MercuryNews
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Evacuated horses back home
June 28th, 2008 by adminAll the horses evacuated from the Trabing Fire are finally safe at home.
“It was utter chaos,” said Marguerite Nicholson of the fire that swept through Larkin Valley June 20.
The rescue effort was “very unofficial,” she said, and “just a matter of trying to help friends and neighbors in times of emergency.”
Volunteers joined with Santa Cruz County Animal Services to save 220 horses and livestock, including llamas, goats and a mini-horse, by sundown the day of the fire. The animals were evacuated to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville and to the Graham Hill Showgrounds in Santa Cruz.
Animal Services was on the scene within an hour after the fire broke out after getting calls from frantic people who couldn’t get to their property to rescue their animals.
“We already had control officers in the field, and we called and told them to drop everything and sent them to the evacuation zone,” said Tricia Geisreiter, Animal Services coordinator. At the fairgrounds, “we were so busy keeping track of the horses that we lost track of how many volunteers showed up,” she said. “They’d say, ‘how can I help?’ And we’d say ‘here, feed the animals hay.’”
The last horses and volunteers returned home Sunday morning.
The most recent fire brings to light the necessity of having more people trained in equine evacuation, said Linda Murre, a volunteer.
Source: MercuryNews
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Michael Caine will never ride again
June 25th, 2008 by adminOscar winner Michael Caine has revealed that he vowed to never ride a horse after his friend Christopher Reeves got paralysed in an equestrian accident. Contactmusic.com reports that Caine thinks he is a bad rider and was lucky to survive a horse riding scene while filming “The Last Valley” in 1970. After Reeves’s accident in 1995, Caine told his agent to ignore all horse-based movies. Reeves died in 2004.
Caine said: “I am absolutely useless. I act as though I can ride. In ‘The Last Valley’, I led a charge. If I’d have come off, they’d have all run over me. But since Christopher’s accident, I say, ‘If there’s a horse in the script, don’t even send it to me.’ I’m never getting on a horse again.”
Source: ThaiIndianNews
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Reno Rodeo Collision
June 25th, 2008 by adminThe start of the Reno Rodeo was delayed for about 15 minutes tonight when the horses of two members of the Reno Rodeo Flag Girls Drill Team collided in the middle of the arena.
Rhonda Barnes and Sherry Davis were knocked from their horses and Davis’s horse, Love, also went down.
After several minutes, Davis was able to get to her feet.
Barnes was placed on a backboard and evaluated in the on-site medical center. She was transported to Renown Regional Medical Center, Reno Rodeo Medical Director Alan Tom said.
Tom said late Monday that X-rays of her neck and spine showed no injuries, but there was swelling on her face and concern about a broken jaw and MRI tests were pending late tonight.
The injured horse was placed in the Flying U Rodeo Company’s animal care unit and taken to Comstock Large Animal Hospital. It was walked at the hospital with no signs of trauma, rodeo officials said.
Barnes’ horse, Shorty, suffered bruises, but was walking at the rodeo grounds.
The Flag Girls Drill Team consists of the best riders of the Reno Rodeo’s Flag Girls. The group a few days earlier won its division at a drill team competition.
Source: rgj
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Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling
June 24th, 2008 by admin
Klaus F. Hempfling may just be the best horse-trainer in the world. I have never seen anyone be with horses in such a natural way and in such harmony. And I have never seen horses move so beautifully and willingly as they do with Hempfling.
Hempfling was born in Germany, but has lived a great deal of his life in Spain with wild horses. He is trained in communication and has a background in theatre and dance.
The first time I read his book “Dancing with Horses”, I found it rather difficult to understand. It was all a completely new way of seeing things for me, not anything like what I had learned about horses and riding, being taught by military-people in my early years. I felt I had to be able to perform some kind af magic in order to do the things he does. The second time I read the book, things began to dawn on me though. I do not believe Hempfling is a magician, but I do believe he possesses a certain inner peace, a very deep understanding, an attitude and awareness that appeal to horses. But I also believe that most people, if they really want to, can reach the point where they have the same inner peace, deep understanding, attitude and awareness and will be able to achieve the same harmonious togetherness with their horse. In order to reach that point, I think most modern horse-people will have to work a great deal with themselves, I know I did, and that can be a long and sometimes rather difficult road.
For me, it´s not the things Hempfling achieves with his horses; there are many excellent trainers who achieve the same things (almost), no, it´s the look and willingness of his horses! The way his horses look content and happy, the way the whole attitude of his horses scream: “Yes! finally someone who knows what I´m all about, I love it!” The way he lets his horses be horses, the way he lets them be free, THAT´S amazing!
I have been working with my horses using Hempfling´s methods for some time now. It´s hard work, timeconsuming and sometimes frustrating, but it certainly works and it certainly is worth the effort. My horses have a better life, I have a better life, and the time I spend with my horses has become so much better, it is harmony, friendship and joy on a whole new level.
I would urge any horse-person to read his books, especially “Dancing with Horses” and try his training-methods! You just might discover a whole new and better world for you and your horse.
Hempfling also has a training set of 7 DVD´s coming out this winter, I, for one, can´t wait.
If you live near Denmark, you can visit and learn at Hempfling´s training school. For more info, go to his own site: Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling
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Brumbys to Dubai
June 18th, 2008 by admin
An oil sheik billionaire has started flying wild mares and stallions from remote WA to Dubai to create a “super breed of endurance racehorse.
Thirteen of the animals have arrived at plush stables in the United Arab Emirates from Lake Gregory, south of Halls Creek in the Kimberley, Peth Now reports.
The deputy ruler of Dubai, Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, sent his personal Australian veterinarian Alan Post to hand-pick them for breeding and racing.
He was alerted to their plight by a website run by Broome woman Libby Lovegrove.
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Wear a helmet when riding!
June 13th, 2008 by admin
Gary Hornstein understands the motivating power of tragedy.
That’s why he refuses to give up his tireless fight for a law that shouldn’t need fighting for: requiring kids under 16 to wear a helmet when riding a horse on public land.
Hornstein, of Loxahatchee, knows well what can happen to young riders who don’t wear head protection. His 12-year-old daughter, Nicole, died in June 2006 after 20 days in a coma, succumbing to head wounds sustained when a speeding car spooked her horse and she was thrown to the pavement.
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