Time to stand up for horses
January 25th, 2008 by adminToby Keith: Tell Congress It’s Time To Stand Up For America’s Horses
“When my friend, Willie Nelson, asked me to join him, his family, and the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) in the fight against the slaughter of American horses for human consumption overseas, I said ‘Absolutely, count me in.’ Truth be known, my sister and I had already been doing what we could to protect horses from slaughter for quite some time; one more case of great minds thinking alike.
“My family shares our 160-acre ranch in Oklahoma with many horses. I also have a 280-acre racehorse training facility nearby that is equipped with a
7/8 mile track with barns, paddocks, walkers, etc. My sister, Tonni, and I keep as many as 200 horses at any given time. A lot of them are retired and brought up here to live out their lives.
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Quarter Horse show the largest
January 23rd, 2008 by admin
SCOTTSDALE - Quarter horses, those most athletic of equines, are convening at WestWorld in Scottsdale Friday through Feb. 2 for the annual Arizona Sun Circuit, a combined competition that makes it the breed’s largest show in the world.
This year, the usual registration of 2,000 horses has dipped by 25 percent because hotel space was unavailable around the upcoming Super Bowl, said event director Jan Bruner.
Still, 1,500 of the versatile steeds, arguably the hardest working horses in show business, will compete in signature Western events, such as reining, roping and riding, in addition to pleasure driving, where the horse pulls a cart or wagon. There also will be halter competitions, which are judged on the horse’s looks and demeanor.
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Horses able to absorb fatty acids
January 23rd, 2008 by adminIllinois researchers studying the effect of nutritional supplementation with essential fatty acids (EFAs) reported that EFAs are absorbed systemically after oral administration and alter the normal pool of fatty acids in the bloodstream of horses.Administration of EFAs, including the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docohexaenoic acid (DHA)–the two acids most commonly found in EFA supplements–is known to have beneficial health effects in humans, particularly influencing blood pressure and heart disease.
According to study co-author Sheryl S. King, PhD, professor in the Department of Animal Science, Food, and Nutrition at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, the effects of EFA supplementation are less well-known in horses.
King said that scientists hypothesize that EFAs have anti-inflammatory and other properties that could be used to manage such conditions as equine osteoarthritis, lung inflammation, exercise-induced hypertension, lung bleeding, and breeding issues.
In this study 16 horses were fed a particular marine-derived EFA-containing supplement designed to deliver a combined dose of 0, 10, 20, or 40 grams of EPA and DHA per day.
“Results revealed that blood plasma levels of both EPA and DHA were significantly increased in supplemented horses compared to the control horses after only three days of supplementation,” said King. Peak concentrations occurred after seven days of supplementation and EPA and DHA levels decreased rapidly by Day 9 after the supplement was discontinued.
In addition to changes in EPA and DHA blood levels, administration of the supplement significantly altered circulating levels of a variety of other fatty acids normally found in horses’ blood.
According to King, “Orally administered EFA supplements are clearly absorbed and result in widespread alterations in fatty acid levels found in the circulation.”
Additional research is essential to determine the overall impact of EPA- and DHA-containing supplements in horses and appropriate doses.
The study, “Circulating fatty acid profiles in response to three levels of dietary omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in horses,” was published online on Jan.11 and will appear in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Animal Science.
Source: TheHorse.com
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Shooting wild horses outlawed
January 22nd, 2008 by adminEDMONTON - Snares, weapons and vehicles can no longer be used to capture wild horses, according to a change in the provincial Stray Animals Act.
The government changed the legislation after hearing concerns that wild horses were being treated inhumanely, said Eilish Lemieux, spokeswoman with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.
The amendments clear up any confusion about what methods are banned for the capture of wild horses, she added.
At least 21 wild horses have been shot in the past three years, said Bob Henderson, president of the Wild Horses of Alberta Society.
Henderson said his organization is not against the control of the wild horse population. “We know the numbers need to be managed.”
But right now, the province’s estimated 200 wild horses are spread over a large area and are unlikely to cause problems such as overgrazing, he said.
Henderson would like to see the horses taken out of the feral/stray category, which allows people to shoot them if they stray onto private land.
“We still strongly believe the horses need their own legislation,” he said.
But Lemieux said the department believes the horses are feral and not native to the area.
It’s believed some of them are descendants from horses used during the early 1900s for logging and mining. Some were turned loose, while others likely escaped, she said.
Henderson disagrees. He said wild horses were documented in 1855 in the Sundre area. And preliminary DNA data analyzed by the University of Texas shows the “horses are a unique breed within themselves.”
Source: Edmonton Journal
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Wants to end slaughter abroad
January 22nd, 2008 by adminLOUISVILLE, Ky. –
A Kentucky congressman is co-sponsoring legislation that would ban the transport, sale, purchase or donation of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption.Ed Whitfield, a Republican from the 1st District, said he considers the practice inhumane and wants to see it end.
Whitfield said his legislation is necessary because horses are being transported eventually to be slaughtered beyond the U.S. border.
“The problem now is that people are moving more of the horses to Mexico, where the slaughter process is even worse than it was in the U.S,” he said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 100,000 horses were slaughtered in the United States in 2006 - mostly to be used as food in Asia and Europe.
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304 Horses in US building fires
January 21st, 2008 by adminAn Ohio fireman who has collated media reports on fires says 870,984 confined animals died in fires last year in the United States, including 304 horses.Laurie Loveman, an officer in the Highland Hills Fire Department, in Ohio, described the fires as preventable, saying all government jurisdications should adopt a National Fire Protection Association standard for use in the construction of all new livestock facilities.
Mrs Loveman, a state-certified fire inspector, said her tally of 870,984 animals did not include the hundreds of companion animals and birds which died in house fires.
“As reported to the media in 2007, the United States suffered 203 barn and other animal facility fires in which animals perished,” she said.
“Of the 203 fires, only four were arson or suspicious. The remaining 199 fires were probably all preventable, since the fires in which the causes were determined were all preventable.
The largest numbers of animals killed, per fire, occurred in factory farms and took the lives of:
- 57,500 turkeys and turkey chicks
- 35,820 ducks, ducklings, geese and goslings
- 619,882 hens and chicks
- 4,902 pigs and piglets
In other livestock facilitiy fires, mainly dairy farms and horse barns, these animals died:
- 304 horses
- 423 dogs (family pets, farm dogs, puppy mill dogs, and dogs in animal hospitals, shelters, and pet shops)
- 387 cats (family pets, barn cats, cats in animal hospitals, shelters and pet shops)
- 664 cattle and calves
- 103 sheep and lambs
- 202 goats and kids
In pet shop fires, 487 small mammals, 70 birds, and 220 reptiles died.Twenty wild animals died in zoo fires, while in an unusual incident, 150,000 fish were killed in a barn fire at a fish farm.
Mrs Loveman, who has a science degree in fire and safety engineering from the University of Cincinnati, has more than 40 years experience in the horse industry and more than 20 years in the fire service.
“I know first-hand the tragedy of preventable fires. It’s my goal to help as many people as possible to keep their animals safe from fire.”
She believes all government jurisdictions in the US should adopt the National Fire Protection Association’s 2007 standard on Fire and Life Safety in Animal Housing Facilities for use in all new construction of livestock facilities.
Mrs Loveman has even set up her own website to provide information on fire safety in barns.
Source: Horsetalk
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Priscilla Presley adopts horses
January 19th, 2008 by admin
PALERMO, Maine - Two horses once destined for the slaughterhouse have a new home at Graceland, where they’re being adopted by Priscilla Presley.
Carol-Terese Naser rescued six horses including Max and his brother, Merlin, last summer from a family in Quebec. To defray costs, she and her friend, Cathy Cleaveland, enlisted celebrities to sign T-shirts to sell at auction.
Max and Merlin were lucky enough to catch the attention of Priscilla Presley, former wife of the late Elvis Presley. She tells the Kennebec Journal that horses are what made Graceland home, so she’s bringing them to Memphis.
Max arrived at Graceland this month, and Merlin is due to follow this spring.
Source: The Seacoast online
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More horses taken from rescue
January 19th, 2008 by admin
All of the horses have been removed from The Flying Ah Ranch near Jefferson as of Jan. 15, according to a Park County Sheriff’s Office press release.
A total of 35 horses were voluntarily surrendered by ranch president Carol Martin after Park County Animal Control officers investigated allegations of animal neglect.On Dec. 26, 12 horses were voluntarily surrendered to Animal Control officers. Ten more horses were seized on Jan. 9, including a 4-month-old foal and a 2-year-old filly. Both animals were living in the Martin house, according to the release.
The filly was left in a veterinarian’s care while the rest of the horses were taken to a horse rescue facility in Pueblo.
The remainder of the animals were taken on Jan. 15.
“I don’t think they are bad, evil people,” said Park County Undersheriff Monte Gore.
He believes Martin was trying to build body mass on the horses, but too many horses were placed in the ranch’s care while it lacked the resources to handle a herd of that size.
Martin said many of the animals in her care came to her in terrible conditions, but they all were given enough to eat.
She said she voluntarily surrendered the horses because she felt it was in the best interest of the animals on her ranch.
“The cold weather conditions aren’t getting any better. The best thing for the horses is to get them to where it’s warm,” she said.
A necropsy conducted on four dead horses picked up on Dec. 26 revealed that the animals had died of starvation.
Martin said starvation can be caused by a number of things, including sickness. One of the horses had been suffering from cancer, and two had been recovering from surgery. It didn’t necessarily mean the animals died because of lack of food, she said.
Animal Control officers used the Henneke body condition scoring system, which is based on “visual appraisal and palpable fat cover on six major points of the horse. It is based on a scale of one through nine, with nine being the highest”, according to the release.
“The foal scored a 1.5 body score, which is noted as ‘extremely thin’. The 2-year-old filly also scored a 1.5, and Martin’s veterinarian is unable to determine what is wrong with the filly. All horses that were seized scored a 3.5 or less.”
Those horses were transported to the same facility.
“Animal Control loaded them up today and took them to a horse rescue in Pueblo,” Gore said.
The animals would have been taken sooner, but nasty weather kept Animal Control from getting to the ranch to take the animals.
At 8 a.m. on Jan. 15, the county’s Road and Bridge Department was working on plowing the roads so the sheriff’s office could get equipment to the ranch, he said.
“They put a lot of time and effort to plow us a trail out there,” he said.
Gore left open the possibility of more charges for Martin and her husband, Keith Synnestvedt. They are currently facing seven counts of animal cruelty.
“This is a continuing investigation,” he said.
Even though more charges might be on the way, there isn’t much the Sheriff’s Office could do to keep The Flying Ah Ranch from accepting more horses in the future.“It’s not a regulated industry,” Gore said. “From our standpoint, there isn’t a whole lot we can do.”
Gore believes Animal Control plans to monitor the ranch if it stays open.
Martin has been cooperating fully with Animal Control officers, he said.
As to whether or not The Flying Ah Ranch will continue, Martin said she wasn’t sure yet.
“We will continue in one form or another, and we’re trying to figure out how to restructure,” she said.
“I will definitely, personally continue to work for legislation that protects horses and horse welfare,” she said.
Source: The Flume
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Freedom through Horses
January 18th, 2008 by admin 
A local horse trainer wants to offer freedom to those who have fought and paid the price for hers: wounded soldiers.
Owner, instructor and trainer of Little Spring Academy of Equestrian Arts since 1988, Noel Martonovich wants to use therapeutic techniques in horse vaulting as a way for soldiers to recover from combat afflictions at her ranch in Golden Gate Canyon.
Martonovich’s ranch covers over 10 acres and is home to a combination of draft and thoroughbred horses.
Initially used to teach cavalry members how to ride a horse, vaulting combines standard riding with gymnastics to create feelings of comfort on a horse and adapt people to their rhythm of their movement.
Controlled by a handler, or lunger, the horse moves in a circle with two handles on the saddle for the rider to hold on to.
Feeling the rhythm and movement of the horse can sometimes be the closest feeling to walking for paraplegics, Martonovich said.
Basic vaulting maneuvers include raising one or both arms, kneeling on the horse and swinging arms and legs, creating a whole body motion.
Therapy through horse vaulting is nothing new, however.
In August 2006, EQUUS magazine published an article about soldiers helping soldiers by using horse riding to strengthen their mind and body.
The article cited that the motion of the horse helps with core strengthening of the lower back and hips while taking pressure and pain off the end of amputated limbs.
Martonovich’s project proposal to help local wounded soldiers has been sent to The Home Front Cares Inc., a nonprofit that delivers assistance to wounded veterans through collaboration with military support centers, such as the Army Community Service at Fort Carson.
Negotiations are still ongoing, and Home Front Cares has yet to develop anything concrete with Fort Carson, said Mindi Bogue, who is a contact of Martonovich.
“Many soldiers returning from Iraq are wounded emotionally and/or physically,” Martonovich states in her project proposal. “Vaulting can provide a fun setting. … Vaulting improves agility, strength, power, coordination and flexibility.”
Perhaps more profound is rebuilding trust.
“Trust is a big issue for soldiers,” Martonovich said. “There’s that bonding with horses. Through movement of the horse, there is one way that soldiers can recover from post-traumatic syndrome.
“I figure soldiers are perfect for vaulting because they’re physically active and they’re motivated,” she said.
Vaulting is safe as an equestrian sport, Martonovich said, adding many children participate — some as young as 2 years old.
“I like it because it seems like prehistoric gymnastics,” said one student, Monnya Silver, 22. “Vaulting is cool because you can do it after your high school career.”
Silver, a gymnastics teacher, has vaulted for a year and half. She was drawn to the activity from conversations with previous students.
She finally had a chance to try it and found a personal connection with the activity.
“There’s just a lot of things that tie it together for me,” she said.
Martonovich was drawn to vaulting when her eldest son, Eric, began vaulting when he was a child.
Wanting to enhance the experience by using specifically trained vaulting horses, she started Little Spring.
She became interested in helping soldiers after a conversation she had with one who was going to serve in Iraq.
Wanting to help support the troops, “the soldier asked me, ‘What are you going to do?’ And I thought about it,” she said.
Shortly after, she submitted her proposal to use Little Spring as a place where soldiers could use the therapeutic vaulting program.
Vaulting is also a professional equestrian sport with international competitions in which the riders are grouped by ability, not age.
Martonovich has been present as the U.S. representative to the World Equestrian Games in Italy, Germany and Spain.
There are compulsory competitions in which the rider executes a set group of exercises and freestyle competitions set to music where the rider chooses their own movements.
“If you’re good enough, you can transfer whatever you can do on the ground to the horse,” Martonovich said.
Source: Mile High News - Photo Credit: Emily Mehring
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Horses Abandoned
January 18th, 2008 by adminForeclosures are hitting families in the Valley. Now some horses are feeling the pinch of the personal financial crisis. Rescues in the state are full and the department of agriculture says some horses are being left in the desert to fend for themselves.
Holly Marino is helping them. She has been fighting to keep horses healthy and give them a good home for 12 years. Right now, she’s housing 60-horses because families who once owned these animals are moving on.
“They’re losing their houses, they’re foreclosing and getting rid of their horses,” Holly Marino says, she owns The Horse Rescue of North Scottsdale.
Marino’s horse rescue is full with no room for more animals. The Arizona Department of Agriculture says she’s not alone; all the state rescues are nearly full. Ed Hermes with the state agriculture departments says there are two main reasons; the mortgage crisis and rising hay prices.
If Marino doesn’t take the horses in, the state says many are abandoned in the desert. In 2006, the state found 454 stray horses and in 2007, 528.
Marino’s says her job is far from over, but then again, she says her work is her life.
“I can’t sleep at night, if they don’t find a good home, it’s my calling,” Marino says.
Source: AZ Central
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