Category Archives: Breeds

Update on Wild Horses, Roundups, Letters to Obama, Interviews with Madeleine Pickens

Dear Friends and Supporters,
Unfortunately, the BLM summer roundups have resumed and the current death count of the horses at Tuscarora is now nearly two dozen.  However, on the upside, it has been a really busy week in the media for our horses getting the attention they deserve. Saving America’s Mustangs’ spokesperson Jerry Reynoldson and I spoke on the Thom Hartmann Radio Show about the BLM roundups yesterday. The link to the video of the interview is below. Also, George Knapp did a fantastic investigative report into the Tuscarora Roundup. Please take some time to view both and please keep generating awareness to each and every person that you can.  Already this month we have had 10,466 letters sent out to President Obama and our government officials imploring them to suspend the roundups. Thank you all so much for joining us in this special cause! Let’s set a goal of 12,500 letters sent by the end of July. Please keep forwarding the Take Action links on www.savingamericasmustangs.org to your friends and contacts. The American horses need us to prevail… and we will do just that!

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Top KWPN-NA Breeders Share Their Secrets for Presenting Horses at Keurings

Breeder’s Achievement Awards Sponsored by Rabobank Will Recognize Success

Sutherlin, OR — Breeders devote their lives, energy and hopes to producing world-class sport horses that will compete at the top levels of dressage, eventing, jumping and driving. One of the best tools available to help breeders in their quest is the keuring, or inspection, of breeding stock. The 2010 KWPN of North America (Royal Dutch Warmblood Studbook) keurings will take place at 11 locations throughout North America and offer breeders the opportunity to have their bloodstock evaluated, as well as see the results of other breeding programs. The outcome of keurings can increase the value of horses and also provide excellent marketing opportunities. So how can you successfully prepare your horses to receive the best marks from the jury? Several top KWPN-NA breeders share their secrets for making the most of the keuring experience.

“My favorite things about the keurings are seeing the other breeders’ foals and offspring produced by different stallion and mare combinations,” says Julie Ballard Haralson, owner of Haralson Farm in Newnan, Georgia. “You see a lot of pictures and videos on the Internet, but it is not the same as seeing them in real life. This helps me a lot with future breeding decisions.” Julie has produced numerous first premium foals. She has foals by Indoctro and UB40 that will be joining her herd this year. “I look forward to the comments from the jury and their future breeding advice,” she continues. “Good, bad or ugly I treasure these comments to help me make better decisions in the future.”

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Madeleine Pickens & Wild Horse Coalition Call for Suspension of All Summer Round Ups!

First major wild horse roundup of summer proves deadly; critics claim Department of Interior’s public access restrictions censor truth about government wild horse program

(July 13, 2010) – Philanthropist and businesswoman Madeleine Pickens was joined today by the million-member ASPCA, the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign, and many other organizations expressing their outrage over the deaths of at least seven mustangs in a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup conducted Saturday in the Owyhee Complex in northeastern Nevada. The wild horses died of dehydration-related causes — including brain swelling, colic and acute water intoxication – as a result of being stampeded by helicopters for up to eight miles in 90+ degree desert heat.

In a sign on letter addressed to President Obama and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Mrs. Pickens and the groups also harshly criticized the agency for cracking down on public access to observe and videotape roundup operations. The advocates released footage of a BLM representative stating publicly that public video of a prior roundup caused the agency to have “a really hard time trying to explain what’s happening.”

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Seven Horses Die Following Day One of Nevada Roundup

Dear Friends of America’s Wild Horses,
These are remarkably trying times, considering the recent deaths of our wild horses in the West. Despite a public outcry against the massive and dangerous roundups of these treasured animals, the Bureau of Land Management is pressing forward, leaving the broken bodies of our mustangs in their wake. When we have unpreventable disaster like earthquakes and hurricanes, it is indeed frustrating to watch a man-made disaster unfolding on our public lands in the West against innocent wild animals who only want to live in peace with their families.

Despite our anger at being ignored by the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management, we must not let our emotions get the best of us. Any thoughts of violent actions or illegal behavior of any kind need to be put out of our heads. Instead, we must focus on legal methods to make a difference. Here is what you can do right now, today, and for the weeks and months that follow.

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American Shetland Pony Club Gearing Up for 122nd Shetland Congress Show August 2-6

Photo courtesy of Washburn Photography

Free Admission – Family Fun in Ardmore, Oklahoma

Morton, IL (July 12, 2010) – Small equines and fans from throughout the nation are preparing to attend one of the biggest events in their industry. This year the 122nd Shetland Pony Congress Show will be held in Ardmore, Oklahoma on August 2-6th at the Hardy Murphy Coliseum. Participants will have the opportunity to compete in classes for driving, halter, jumping, youth, and costume. Competitors will be looking to win not only National Championship titles and show off their versatile ponies to the world!

The Shetland Pony Congress spectators can enjoy a diverse array of Shetland Pony classes. Admission is free to everyone at the show and spectators will have the chance to learn more about the American Shetland Ponies.

“We are excited to bring the American Shetland Ponies to Ardmore. Each time we come to a new show venue we are able to share our ponies with a new local audience. Since admission is free and classes run all day and into the evening, the Shetland Pony Congress is perfect entertainment for families, horse lovers and children of all ages,” says Johnny Robb, Director of Marketing for the American Shetland Pony Club.

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Doubt Cast on Pilot Valley “Estray” Horses Rounded Up by BLM

July 7, 2010 – CHICAGO (EWA) – On June 23, 2010, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Elko District office buried on its website a notice that  approximately 175 “abandoned, domestic, estray” horses located within Pilot Valley, NV, were scheduled for impoundment beginning June 25. The round up was expected to take 3 – 4 days with corrals set up on nearby private land owned by Simplot Land and Livestock until the horses could be transported and placed under the jurisdiction of the State of Nevada.

According to Nevada laws, an estray is a horse that is found running loose on public lands but shows signs of domestication and the owner is unknown. A horse is considered “feral” under Nevada law if the animal was domesticated or is the offspring of domesticated horses and has become wild with no physical signs of domestication. The state of Nevada owns estray and feral horses. Wild horses and free-roaming Mustangs are protected by the BLM under the 1971 Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

Nevada authorities plan to sell the horses rounded up by the BLM at auction on July 10. The horses will be available to all buyers and are therefore at risk of ending up at slaughterhouses in Mexico or Canada.

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Western Radio Addresses Unwanted Horse Issue

The Horse Radio Network’s Western Radio Show Explains the Dilemma of Unwanted Mustangs

Horse Radio Network at www.horseradionetwork.com

Lexington, KY – One of the Horse Radio Network’s newest shows, The Western Radio Show, takes a look at the controversial mustang situation in a way that anyone can understand.  With the help of Dr. Don Hoglund, author of Nobody’s Horses, The Dramatic Rescue of the Wild Herd of White Sand, hosts Alan Moorhead and Jymmy Kay Cox guide you through the history, the controversy and the possible solutions to this topic.

There are over 34,000 formally free roaming mustangs currently in holding pens across America. The disposition of these horses has been the subject of heated debate and emotions recently. This two part series on the Western Radio Show at www.westernradioshow.com offers a better understanding of the mustangs’ displacement and disposition alongside the options currently available.

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Live Video Coverage of American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup

The American Quarter Horse Journal, June 29, 2010 – Live video coverage will be available for spectators wanting to watch this year’s American Quarter Horse Youth World Cup July 3-11 in Oklahoma City.

With teams made up of American Quarter Horse Youth Association members from 16 countries, spectators from all over the world can enjoy the exciting leadership and educational clinics, and Olympic-style competition thanks to America’s Horse TV.

To watch the Youth World Cup, visit www.americashorse.tv/youthworldcup.html for free live-streaming videos starting Saturday, July 3, through Sunday, July 11. To view the schedule of events, including clinics and competition times, visit www.aqha.com/youth/activities/ywc/2010/YWC_schedule.pdf. Please note trail will be judged “at-will” on Thursday, July 8, and Saturday, July 10. Video coverage of all trail competitors will be replayed 30 minutes following the last class each day.

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USEF to Award USEF Shetland Member High Point Awards at 2010 Shetland Pony Congress Show

Johnny Robb (right), the Director of Marketing for the American Shetland Pony Club, and Lori Nelson (left), USEF Assistant Executive Director, National Affiliates are excited for ASPC members who attend the 122nd Shetland Pony Congress Show this year.

Morton, IL (June 21, 2010) – Small equines from all across the nation who attend the 122nd Shetland Pony Congress Show this year will not only compete for National Championship titles but will also have the chance to win one of the new USEF Shetland Member High Point Awards provided by the United States Equestrian Federation. The Shetland Pony Congress Show, August 2-6 in Ardmore, Oklahoma, will feature some of the best Shetland Ponies in the country competing in classes such as driving, halter, jumping, youth and costume classes.

“A USEF staff member will be present at the 122nd Shetland Pony Congress and award Championship and Reserve Championship ribbons to the high point winners with USEF membership in certain divisions,” said Lori Nelson, USEF Assistant Executive Director, National Affiliates. “The USEF is looking forward to honoring these members. The American Shetland Pony Club (ASPC) is a USEF recognized breed association and has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the USEF.”

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AQHA Launches Full Circle

Formerly known as Greener Pastures, the program serves to reunite horses and previous owners.

America’s Horse, June 21, 2010 – American Quarter Horse owners love their horses – past, present and future – and many want to keep track of those horses even after they are sold.

The American Quarter Horse Association developed the Full Circle program to reunite breeders and previous owners with horses they remember well. Through the free Full Circle program, AQHA members will be able to indicate on a horse’s registration certificate that if the horse ever becomes unwanted, unusable or simply ready for retirement, the member will – if possible – assist in providing or finding a suitable home.

Originally dubbed Greener Pastures, the program has been renamed Full Circle and enhanced. The Full Circle name more accurately reflects goal of the program when horses that were once sold by their original owner come full circle back to them, often times after lengthy careers enriching lives of multiple riders. Even in the program’s short existence, AQHA has received success stories from customers who have been reunited with horses they once owned. To read more about Full Circle, visit http://www.aqha.com/fullcircle.

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