The Equine Mind...

While I would jokingly say Chaos and Dayo both think: "Hay, grain, hay, grain, grain, hay, hay, hay... carrot?" I know they are much more complex than that. Horses mirror their riders, coaches and trainers - mine are mesmerized whenever my coach is explaining something, and will stand patiently for as long as it takes for me to understand. This article explains how, and illustrates what makes horses so marvelous, and sometimes cuddly :)

Take a deep breath and just relax!

Winter is a time to work through schooling issues, to develop balance, hone flatwork skills, and prep for the upcoming show season. This year, it has also been a season of working through frustrations and behaviours (largely associated with a long winter, too much ice, restrictions about riding in the sand ring, and poor turnout). It's easy to get frustrated, to over-think, and to worry about what's happening and why. Not surprisingly, when I stress about a situation, Chaos' behaviour magnifies it one hundredfold.

So we have been working on relaxing. Whether it's an issue in the cross ties, a refusal to stand still at the mounting block, a general friskiness due to restricted turnout, a piece of equipment that "wasn't there the last time", or a small drift of snow that has blown in through a crack in the east end of the arena wall (something Chaos feels is so evil that it has to be approached from the left, the right, and the centre with incredible trepidation, much snorting, balking and, if possible, flight), I have found that a deep, heavy and loud sigh, followed by audible chewing on my part, can help us both refocus, and relax.


The minute his body tells me something is not quite right, I stop what I'm doing. I take a heavy, deep and loud sigh, and I chew (think cows chewing their cud). If Chaos doesn't relax, I repeat the process until I get hear a heavy sigh from him, followed by chewing. His reaction is followed by a release of tension, his head comes down, his eyes soften. No frustration. No argument. Just a peaceful way to refocus him, to regain his attention. It also relaxes me, refocuses my energies, and helps me to problem solve for a positive outcome, rather than a reactive one.

Relaxing is a win-win. It eases tension and stress, it reassures, it helps us succeed in the task at hand. It builds trust and confidence. It centers us both, and enhances our ability to communicate.

A deep breath. It's the difference between this...

... and this

So the next time you ride, or you find yourself face to face with an evil snowdrift, take a deep breath and relax. Your horse will thank you, and your body will too.

$100 "hell horse" wins Tevis Cup

When the stars align and a horse finds his place/person magic can happen. Do you know of a horse circumstances are conspiring against - in a field, a barn, at auction, in a feedlot? What if that horse was one connection,. one circumstance, one caring person, away from excellence and a chance to thrive in life?

Many may know a horse just like this. We all deserve hope, and the chance to succeed. Would you take the chance, change his life, and yours?

$100 Psychotic Wild Hell Horse wins Tevis Cup

Sometimes we just need the right angel to come along show us how to spread our wings.

Who Says Ponies Can't Jump?

It's 1968. It's the Olympics, individual show jumping class. U.S. rider Bill Steinkraus and Snowbound take the gold. British equestrienne Marion Coakes and Stroller take silver, jumping one of only two clear rounds over a course that was described as the biggest course in show jumping history.

Marion Coakes is about 21 years of age. Stroller is about 18 years old. And, at 14.1 hands, he is a pony.

Stroller was born in 1950, a bay Conemara pony / thoroughbred cross. He was owned and ridden by Marion Coakes, who successfully convinced her father not to sell Stroller when she turned 16 and was ready to "graduate" to horses. Coakes and Stroller were formidable competitors, winning 61 international competitions.

At 20, Stroller won the 1970 Hamburg Derby. Coakes said, "When we sailed over the last fence, having completed the only clear round of the day, the crowd of 25,000 went crazy. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. We had completed the 50th clear round ever achieved on the course — and it was the first by a woman rider.”  And by a pony.

Stroller is living proof that it is not the size of your body, but the size of your heart and spirit that make you a champion.

Who says ponies can't jump?

Feeling down? Saddle up

Or at least, check out these very funny videos in celebration of the horse!

How to Hide a Horse (I Love Lucy)

French and Saunders: Ponies

And always remember, "A horse doesn't care how much you know, until he knows how much you care." Pat Pirelli

Faith and Spirit

Horses play an integral role in the history, and the present, of the Americas. In recent months, there have been a great many articles about the BLM's wild horse roundups, the treatment of retired racehorses, of neglect and cruelty. The issue of horse slaughter (which is currently banned in the United States, but allowed in both Canada and Mexico) is receiving tremendous publicity both for the inhumanity of the practices associated with it, and because of the practice itself. 

"Faith and Spirit came to the farm on April 20th 2011. We received a phone call from the local kill pen that a foal had been born in their holding pen. We worked desperately to raise funds to rescue mom and baby. Joel, one of our dedicated volunteers, donated what we needed to save these two. We estimated his birth date is April 10th 2011. This colt literally saved his mother's life. There's no doubt the slaughterhouse would have killed her, pregnant or not. Faith and Spirit will remain at Day Dreams Farm until Spirit is weaned and then Faith will be up for adoption. Spirit will continue to grow up at the farm and he will choose which direction he wants his life to go."

The inhumanity of the kill pen, and the tragedy that faces horses who find themselves there, is illustrated in a wonderful video of a foal born in a kill pen while his mother waited for slaughter (http://youtu.be/WODPAmME1e8). There is a happy ending for them both, thanks to Day Dreams Equine Rescue and Therapy (http://www.daydreamsfarm.com) but there need to be many, many more. Horses, because they have outlived their usefulness in one role, should not be thrown away. They can certainly be retrained for another purposes. Like all domesticated animals, they have an important relationship with people, and one that is mutually beneficial. The unspeakable things we do to dispose of them reflects our respect for humanity as a whole, and it is time we step up for the human race, the animal population, and the planet. 

The issues around the treatment, management and slaughter of horses are complex, but the realities seem to be simple and come down to an all too common denominator - human greed.  Horses are expensive to keep, and if they are wild, can be inconvenient to have around. Crushing economic conditions have exacerbated poor conditions for many farmers and horse owners, with more and more horses suffering from neglect as owners are unable to keep them. A reduction in horse races and purses, and an increase in irresponsible breeding, have resulted in a glut of unwanted racehorses, many of whom have earned significant money before being consigned to the kill pen because their racing careers are over.  Rescue organizations are stretched, and advocacy groups fight an uphill battle in the face of a glut of unwanted horses. And, it is important to remember that, in North America, horses are not raised for human consumption, and the sale of horse meat is prohibited by the FDA for health purposes.

Please advocate to stop horse slaughter, and to address the root causes of this issue. And please, support your local rescues, shelters and therapeutic riding centres!

The Horse - grass eating herbivore or meat-eating monster?

Every night, I pull information on horses, horse welfare, the equestrian world. Usually the links are specific, related to articles, facts, research. Tonight, my eyes caught the headline "The Ponies of the South Pole: The Forgotten Story of Antarctica's Meat Eating Horses."

I have long subscribed to the belief that horses are prey animals, herbivores. Their teeth include 12 incisors in the front, ideal for biting and tearing grass and other vegetation. They have 24 premolars and molars at the back of their mouth, which help them chew to break down the grass and other vegetation. I work with horses in a therapeutic riding environment, and know them to be sensitive, compassionate, caring animals. I am keenly aware of the sensitive nature of their digestive tracts. And, while I have certainly experienced my share of aggressive equine behaviour, I have always attributed this to nurture, a need to communicate dissatisfaction, stress, anxiety, pain, anger. The concept of the horse as flesh-eating monster was always firmly entrenched in the realm of myth, told in stories like the Mares of Diomedes and the Man-Eater of Lucknow.

Intrigued, I began to read. The article, written by the founder of the Long Riders' Guild, CulChullaine O'Reilly, pulls together a fascinating array of stories and evidence to support the theory that horses can indeed be the flesh-eating animals of myth. Evidence that includes details of Shackleton’s expedition to the South Pole, of the blood-eating horses of Tibet.

What if the myths were grounded in fact?

O'Reilly has spent more than 30 years studying equestrian travel techniques. He has experienced the world in a way which I certainly have not, and he has seen and participated in events and activities that are likely beyond my sheltered understanding. He is the founder of the Long Riders Guild Academic Foundation, dedicated to the creating the world's first comprehensive hippological study. The Foundation's goals are:

• To maintain the world’s first open-source academic website devoted to the study of all aspects of hippological influence in the arts and sciences.
• To invite the participation of all humans, regardless of race, national origin or native language to share their horse-related wisdom with others.
• To provide a forum, free of commercial influence, wherein equine-related articles are provided free to scholars, students and equine enthusiasts.
• To publish every major work known to man dealing with equestrian wisdom and history.

His book, Deadly Equines, purposes to debunk the idea of flesh-eating horse as myth, and explores the possible reality that our 21st century understanding of the horse is two-dimensional at best, a sanitized and Disney-esque view that prevents us from understanding the true nature of the horse.

The website for the Long Riders Guild Academic Foundation (http://lrgaf.org) is a fantastic compilation of stories, news and articles about the horses. Horses in history, int the military, and today. I realize, reading through it, that my belief that horses are herbivores is based on the physiology of the horse as I understand it. And I am intrigued as to why some horses would be flesh-eating (man-eating!) while most remain true to the animal of prey who uses flight to escape danger.

I remain committed to the belief that horses heal, and the the relationship between man and horse is mutual, inspiring, positive and whole. But, I am reminded of Robert Sullivan’s “The Flight of the Reindeer - the True Story of Santa Claus and his Mission”.  As with Sullivan’s book, I find that the website, the articles, take me to a place where I am willing to suspend disbelief. Nothing will shake my firm belief in the horse as friend, companion and ally, and I do not find it distressing that horses may be, or have been at some point, carnivores. After all, dogs certainly are, and the relationshihp between man and dog has not suffered because of this. I find I want to read the book. And the rebuttals. CulChullaine O’Reilly has opened up for debate a subject that will likely be discussed for some time, in the face of real or supposed evidence on both sides. The “myth” of the horse as herbivore is firmly entrenched in Western thought, and it will be interesting to see what comes of the Foundation’s researches.

To read more about CulChullaine O’Reilly’s work, check out:

http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/features/meateatinghorses-190.shtml

http://explorersweb.com/polar/news.php?id=20323

http://www.lrgaf.org/deadly_equines.htm

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