Tag Archives: Horse Care

Breeds, Contributors/Press, Racing

Stakes Winner Polish Navy Euthanized at Old Friends

Leave a comment

GEORGETOWN, KY – JANUARY 6, 2011 – Polish Navy, the Ogden Phipps homebred and GR1 winner, was humanely euthanized this morning at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement facility in Georgetown, KY.  He was suffering from complications from a hip injury.

Michael Blowen, Old Friends President and Founder, made the announcement this afternoon.

“Polish Navy injured his hip several weeks ago and was taken to Hagyard’s where he received excellent diagnostic care,” said Blowen. “Unfortunately, he just never recovered. Dr. Doug Byars visited with this great old horse several times and, in consultation with Old Friends, advised us that Polish Navy’s time had come.”

The 27-year-old stallion had been pensioned at Old Friends since 2009.

Continue reading Stakes Winner Polish Navy Euthanized at Old Friends →

Contributors/Press, Publications/Media

The Space between a Human and a Horse, by Claire Dorotik M.A.

Leave a comment

While there is no debate that something clearly happens when people and horses come together, just what transpires has been described in a multitude of different ways. Some practitioners of equine therapy prefer to characterize the horse as a reflective mirror in which the person can see his/her own behavior carefully mimicked. Still others have alluded to the idea that horses “attune” to the physiological rhythms of people, thereby having a sedative affect on factors such as heart and breath rate. And others, who perhaps are just fond of horses, purport that they respond to people when they are in state of “congruence” and withdraw when they are “incongruent.” Yet for all the intrigue these often elaborate descriptions hold, do they really accurately capture what happens between horses and humans? They are, after all, our descriptions of animal behavior that is not akin to us. And perhaps in attempting to characterize the horse as something that makes sense to us, we have failed to miss the central point that the horse is a herd animal. His very safety depends of maintaining the sanctity of the herd around him, and his behavior, therefore, must make sense from that perspective. To be sure, the only equine behaviors that exist outside of this spectrum are those that we humans have created. Weaving, for one, is a perfect example. Weaving does not exist in a herd because it has no survival basis. It is not until we house a horse in a space that makes sense to us, for a time that we prefer that he begins this repetitious swaying, akin to the self-soothing rocking seen in autistic children.

So when we say that the horse “mirrors” us, we must define this from the basis of a herd animal. That is to ask, what would the survival purpose of mirroring be in a herd? Just how would this behavior preserve the contiguous nature of a herd? Reflecting another, after all, fails to send a direct message. And further, if all horses reflected one another, how would order be upheld?

Continue reading The Space between a Human and a Horse, by Claire Dorotik M.A. →

Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Healthy Horse Tip – The Power House for Our Horses Is Their Immune System

Leave a comment

Without the immune system we die!  When the horse’s immune system is not working properly it causes a lot of health problems for the horse and so it is up to us – the owners, trainers, grooms, and horse lovers – to do whatever we can to keep our horses’ immune systems strong.

The immune system’s job is to protect and eliminate external pathogens (bacteria, viruses, yeast, parasites, and allergens) and internal pathogens (cancer cells, toxins, metabolic waste, and damaged cells/tissues).

Approximately 70% of the immune system is surrounding the GI tract, leaving very little to protect the skin, respiratory tract, and all other tissues.  An unhealthy GI tract leads to an overloaded stressed immune system that can lose its ability to respond properly when challenged.

When the immune system over responds we see allergies (hives, heaves-COPD), autoimmune diseases, and/or inflamed tissues (laminitis, sore muscles & joints).  When the immune system is fatigued and can’t respond, the horse is more prone to all types of infections.

Continue reading Healthy Horse Tip – The Power House for Our Horses Is Their Immune System →

Art/Photography, Events, Fundraisers

Fundraiser for Beauty’s Haven Equine Rescue in Morriston, FL

2 Comments

This Valentine’s Day help rescue horses & a chance to win a beautiful oil painting of your horse or dog.

South Florida artist Karla Smith is offering an oil painting to the winner of the Valentine Fundraiser for Beauty’s Haven Farm & Equine Rescue in Morriston, FL. The drawing will be held on Monday, February 14, 2011 at 6:00 at Beauty’s Haven. For only $10.00 suggested donation you can buy a ticket to help many horses in need and have a chance to win a portrait of your horse or dog. The winner will receive an oil painting portrait done of his or her dog or horse on a 14 x 18 inch wrap around canvas (no frame). The winner will need to supply the artist with photos of the subject, which will safely be returned upon completion of the painting.

This will make a wonderful gift to yourself or friend and will be truly helping out so many horses in need. Beauty’s Haven Farm & Equine Rescue does an incredible job of taking in horses in desperate need of care, love and medical treatment. The dedication, care and love everyone at Beauty’s Haven gives the horses in need are amazing. They get horses in dire circumstances and very poor health from starvation, no health care, etc. and they do everything they can to change all that. When the horses start improving from medical care, food, shelter, and love, you can see in their eyes how grateful they are. For more information about Beauty’s Haven please go to: http://www.beautysequinerescue.org/.

For examples of the artist’s work please go to: http://www.sapphireartstudio.com.

Contributors/Press, Products/Services, Publications/Media

Do Horses Really Mirror People?

Leave a comment

Claire Dorotik M.A.

In the world of equine facilitated psychotherapy, the fascination of working with an extremely large and often frightening animal, especially in a way that offers insight, and possibly healing, has held an exclusive allure for those who have come to know of this powerful therapy. Not unlike the almost magnetic draw that a great racehorse can bring to even those not familiar with horses, the art of healing through horses offers an often imperceptible gift, housed in a mysterious package. And while people lucky enough to have experienced the strange feeling of wellness, calm, and centeredness that a horse can bring have struggled for words to describe this feeling, practitioners of equine therapy have put many labels on just what it is horses can do for people. Certainly these terms have allowed some insight for people for whom horses are foreign; however, they have also struggled to accurately describe just what happens between a human and a horse. Possibly the most rudimentary of these descriptions of horse healing is that horses actually mirror people. Almost a given in the world of equine facilitated psychotherapy, the concept that horses mirror people has become so popular that it is now quite difficult to find any description of horse healing that doesn’t include this term. Yet, is there any documented research behind this idea? And if not, where did the idea really generate?

Continue reading Do Horses Really Mirror People? →

Contributors/Press, Rescue/Protection Sources

Wyoming Horse Slaughter Plant Plan Grows More Nebulous

1 Comment

January 3, 2011 – Chicago (EWA) – In an interview on January 1st with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, horse slaughter promoter Sue Wallis announced yet another change in plans for her proposed Wyoming horse slaughter plant. The plant will not use facilities in Cheyenne. It also won’t sell horsemeat for human consumption, it won’t be designed by Temple Grandin, and won’t open this year as previously announced.

Wallis had initially announced that she planned to open a horse slaughter plant to provide horse meat to Wyoming state prisoners and school children. When that plan was criticized it began to change.

On April 28th of last year, Wallis had announced in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that she was negotiating to take over the Cheyenne Stockyards as an “intake facility” for a mobile slaughter operation. She claimed the plant would be designed by renowned slaughter plant designer Temple Grandin even though Grandin normally designs complex fixed facilities that specialize in reducing stress and fear in animals before they are slaughtered. The apparent discrepancy was not explained.

Continue reading Wyoming Horse Slaughter Plant Plan Grows More Nebulous →

*Featured/Spotlights, Contributors/Press, Diana de Rosa

Tip of the Week – The ABCs of Quality Hay

Leave a comment

Many people grow their own hay.  If you, like most horse owners, cannot grow and harvest your own hay, how do you ensure that the hay you are buying is of good quality with the proper nutrition for your animals?

Traditionally good hay is green and leafy, smells and tastes sweet and should be without mold, dust, weeds, bugs or rain damage.

Looks can be deceiving!  A proven method of evaluating forages without an agronomy degree is to obtain the RFV number.  RFV (Relative Feed Value) measures digestibility and the amount of energy potential available to the animal.

RFV is measured in a six tiered scale with a range between zero and 150.  A value of 100 represents average good quality hay.  The tiers are as follows: Prime – over 150; Premium – 125-150; Good – 103-124; Fair – 87-102; Poor – 75-86; Reject – under 74.  The higher the RFV, the better the digestibility of whichever hay you purchase.

Continue reading Tip of the Week – The ABCs of Quality Hay →

Breeds, Contributors/Press, Events, Racing

“Hats Off to the Horses,” the Online Derby-Hat Auction Benefiting Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement, Continues January 1st

Leave a comment

Stunning New Hat Honors Retiree Creator

GEORGETOWN, KY – DECEMBER 30, 2010 – Bidding opens January 1st on “The Creator,” hat number three in the six-part “Hats Off to the Horses: The Road to the Derby,” an online fashion auction benefitting Old Friends, the central Kentucky organization devoted to racehorse retirement.

Handcrafted by milliner Sally Faith Steinmann of Maggie Mae Designs, the hat will be on the block from January 1st through January 11 2011.

Steinmann, who owns the Massachusetts-based Maggie Mae Designs, is donating the six magnificent millinery creations to raise funds for Old Friends, the 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that cares for more than 100 retired Thoroughbreds.  Each hat is inspired by one of the retirees at Old Friends and will be auctioned monthly from November to April, leading up to the famed First Saturday in May. One hundred percent of the online proceeds goes to Old Friends.

To celebrate the New Year, Steinmann has created a magnificent chapeau in honor of Old Friends’ 25-year-old retiree Creator, one the first horses acquired by the organization from the breeding sheds of Japan.

Continue reading “Hats Off to the Horses,” the Online Derby-Hat Auction Benefiting Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement, Continues January 1st →

Contributors/Press, Rescue/Protection Sources

Horse Summit Comes under Friendly Fire

Leave a comment
Brogan Horton (left) meeting with President Bush in 2006.

December 30, 2010 – We have all shot ourselves in the foot, but seldom does an entire organization take up automatic weapons and form itself into a firing squad for that purpose. Such is the case with the organizers and sponsors of the upcoming Summit of the Horse to be held the first week of January in Las Vegas.

In fact, one has to use the term “sponsors” carefully because quite a few of those listed as sponsors on the event’s web page were not even aware of their lofty status until struck by painful ricochets from the summit firing squad.

The list of “sponsors” has dwindled as these organizations have become aware of their listing and requested their names be removed. Even the renowned slaughter plant designer, Temple Grandin, has informed Equine Welfare Alliance that she has instructed Ms. Wallis to stop using her name.

In an interview with Horseback Magazine, Dr. Grandin said, “They kind of were misrepresenting my involvement.” When I read this, I thought, “Welcome to Wallis World.”

Continue reading Horse Summit Comes under Friendly Fire →

Contributors/Press, Rescue/Protection Sources

Absence of Logic

Leave a comment

December 28, 2010 – It is said that you cannot teach someone common sense.

This is the case with the mantra of illogical statements we hear from horse slaughter supporters. The statements, spoken with such authority, in fact either lack common sense or amount to nothing more than finding a piece of jello they can nail to the wall.

The “unwanted” horse stories would lead the country to believe that millions of horses are running loose in our streets. Every sound bite and every article warns of unwanted horses. Another favorite is to start articles with “since Congress banned horse slaughter” or “because of the slaughter ban.”

When the unwanted horses are combined with the ban on horse slaughter, it provides a powerful statement in favor of horse slaughter. That is, until you look at the facts. One need not be a horse owner to see the lack of logic behind the statements of slaughter supporters.  This illogic is as easily detected by a New York apartment dweller as a seasoned horse owner.

Read more> http://www.horsesinthesouth.com/article/article_detail.aspx?id=12848