I don't teach about horses, the horses do the teaching...if only we would listen to them.
Donna DeNoble
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, December 19, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Equine Education Balances Econimic Woes
I need to step away from the issue of rescue horses for a moment. I believe with all my heart that they way to reduce equine "abuse" is to educate novice horse owners about what it really takes to keep a horse well and safe. If education can be achieved, and issues of the economy aside, perhaps horses will not suffer at the hands of ignorant people. I do not mean that in a rude manner. Ignorance, then embarassment for hurting the horses, and then anger becuase people do not like to be told , or arrested...
For every horse owner you meet there are 100 opinions about how to care for horses.
The problem is only exacerbated because the internet provides so much information that sounds plausible and sensible for people who want to do the right thing.
Professional horsemen are always learning and comparing and trying things to make their operation the most efficient and keep the horses the most healthy. I do not understand why some people resent horse trainers or individuals trained/expereinced in horse husbandry. I have been told on more than one occasion, "You trainers are all alike, you hoard the information and Lord it over us, dole it out for a fee. I can just get the information on the Web, and it contradicts what you tell me."
However, the irony is lost on those 5 or 6 people out of the 300 some people I have had as clients, when they are telling me about their anger as they have the horse on the trailer to come back to me because what they were told by two more internet trainers did not fix a problem....
I cast this out to the blogosphere..
How about a novice horseman series of classes this winter at a nice covered barn area or an indoor pet/feed store...Or a list of reputable horsemen that novices can turn to for information before, and during the first years of horse ownership. Boarding horses is a great option, but I ran across several Pony Clubbers who did not even know what their horses ate every day and what sort of feeding schedule. This type of horse ownership does not create lifelong horsemen.
I seem to be controversial in these last few posts, and it troubles me. I guess it is because I see so clearly that proper education and practice would help children and their parents keep horses smarter, cheaper, and more efficiently, and reduce the number of horses dumped on the market in harder times....or turned loose in the woods...
Your opinions are welcomed.
cadencecenter@hotmail.com or comment here. You need a blogger account to comment.
For every horse owner you meet there are 100 opinions about how to care for horses.
The problem is only exacerbated because the internet provides so much information that sounds plausible and sensible for people who want to do the right thing.
Professional horsemen are always learning and comparing and trying things to make their operation the most efficient and keep the horses the most healthy. I do not understand why some people resent horse trainers or individuals trained/expereinced in horse husbandry. I have been told on more than one occasion, "You trainers are all alike, you hoard the information and Lord it over us, dole it out for a fee. I can just get the information on the Web, and it contradicts what you tell me."
However, the irony is lost on those 5 or 6 people out of the 300 some people I have had as clients, when they are telling me about their anger as they have the horse on the trailer to come back to me because what they were told by two more internet trainers did not fix a problem....
I cast this out to the blogosphere..
How about a novice horseman series of classes this winter at a nice covered barn area or an indoor pet/feed store...Or a list of reputable horsemen that novices can turn to for information before, and during the first years of horse ownership. Boarding horses is a great option, but I ran across several Pony Clubbers who did not even know what their horses ate every day and what sort of feeding schedule. This type of horse ownership does not create lifelong horsemen.
I seem to be controversial in these last few posts, and it troubles me. I guess it is because I see so clearly that proper education and practice would help children and their parents keep horses smarter, cheaper, and more efficiently, and reduce the number of horses dumped on the market in harder times....or turned loose in the woods...
Your opinions are welcomed.
cadencecenter@hotmail.com or comment here. You need a blogger account to comment.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Slaughterhouse closures fuel horse abandonments
By WILLOW WILLIAMSON,
AP
Posted: 2008-06-21 13:17:56
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) - Royal Gigolo, or Gig, wandered slowly around the yard, sniffing for a bit of grain, his skin hanging lankily over his ribs. Chunks of his hair have fallen out, and his hooves, though recently trimmed, show the cracks of neglect.
Gig's new owners, Garen and Don Albert, have wrapped his legs and used a salve to help heal the scabs on his ankles.
The Alberts, who own 11 horses that are mostly adopted, recently took in Gig. Garen Albert believes Gig's previous owners could no longer afford to take care of him.
Buhler Police Chief Bill Tracy said the department had received several calls about this horse. However, he was told by officials from the Reno County Sheriff's Office, which has jurisdiction in area, that Gig was just a case of an old horse who could not eat very well.
"I haven't put a thing under his nose he hasn't eaten," Garen Albert said.
Though officials from the Reno County Sheriff's office were unavailable to comment specifically on Gig, Wayne Baughman, patrol captain at the sheriff's office, said officers often receive neglected animal reports and when they check on it, the animal is just old and looks unhealthy.
He said if the reports turn out to be a true neglect or abuse case, they take action.
"Around here, for the most part, people take pretty good care of (their horses) even in the winter," Baughman said.
Gig's previous owners allegedly told police he was 30 years old, which could account for his poor condition, but Garen Albert believes the horse is about 15 years old - still relatively young for a horse.
"It is a very tough call between is this horse neglected or is this basically a rundown old horse," said Dr. Ron Keeler, with Ninnescah Veterinary Service.
Keeler, who often checks on possible neglect cases, said he does a series of tests, which will hopefully show whether a horse is unhealthy because of its age or because of neglect.
Don Albert said it can be difficult for anyone to afford a horse with the rising prices of feed and fuel.
"There's more pressure on the average income," he said.
The Alberts said it costs nearly twice as much to care for their horses than it did five years ago. Grain alone costs them about $60 per month per horse.
Along with the feeding prices, Keeler said, his clinic, like most other businesses, has raised prices. He said it costs about $300 per year for typical medical care that every horse should receive, such as vaccinations.
Jane Harder, director of Reins of Hope, a therapeutic riding school in Hutchinson, said she has felt the pinch of the rising prices.
"It's tough because feed prices are going up," she said. "We depend a lot on donations."
Harder said she has had enough money to continue running Reins of Hope without program cuts, but some students have been unable to continue the program because of high fuel prices. She also has seen other horse owners struggle with higher prices.
"Feed prices are going up," she said. "People can't feed their horses, and the horses are starving."
Though the prices for certain food items are high, such as corn and grain products, there are some alternatives.
Greg Farney, manager at the Farmers Coop in Hutchinson, said he works with livestock nutritionists to create feed mixes that are healthy and less expensive. Farney also raises, breeds and trains horses, but he has cut back because of high prices and because the horse market is down.
"We've got a decent market built, but the horse market's been in a definite lull for several years now," he said.
The economy is hurting the market, but Farney said the recent closure of all U.S. horse slaughterhouses in the past two years is another reason for the market's lag. The American Quarter Horse Association reported there were roughly 90,000 horses sent to the slaughterhouses each year.
"There is a population of horses out there right now that normally would have been sold in the slaughter market that are now just waiting in a pasture to die," Keeler said.
Keeler said he has also seen an increase in the number of horses being euthanized in his clinic, which he said could be linked to the number of horses and the financial difficulties of horse owners.
The Alberts said they were aware of more people having trouble caring for their horses, and they pointed out there are many people who will adopt horses, as long as owners take the time to look and advertise.
"If you can't feed them, give them away," Garen Albert said.
"These animals didn't ask to be born. They didn't ask to be on this earth."
Information from: The Hutchinson News, http://www.hutchnews.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
06/21/08 13:15 EDT
AP
Posted: 2008-06-21 13:17:56
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) - Royal Gigolo, or Gig, wandered slowly around the yard, sniffing for a bit of grain, his skin hanging lankily over his ribs. Chunks of his hair have fallen out, and his hooves, though recently trimmed, show the cracks of neglect.
Gig's new owners, Garen and Don Albert, have wrapped his legs and used a salve to help heal the scabs on his ankles.
The Alberts, who own 11 horses that are mostly adopted, recently took in Gig. Garen Albert believes Gig's previous owners could no longer afford to take care of him.
Buhler Police Chief Bill Tracy said the department had received several calls about this horse. However, he was told by officials from the Reno County Sheriff's Office, which has jurisdiction in area, that Gig was just a case of an old horse who could not eat very well.
"I haven't put a thing under his nose he hasn't eaten," Garen Albert said.
Though officials from the Reno County Sheriff's office were unavailable to comment specifically on Gig, Wayne Baughman, patrol captain at the sheriff's office, said officers often receive neglected animal reports and when they check on it, the animal is just old and looks unhealthy.
He said if the reports turn out to be a true neglect or abuse case, they take action.
"Around here, for the most part, people take pretty good care of (their horses) even in the winter," Baughman said.
Gig's previous owners allegedly told police he was 30 years old, which could account for his poor condition, but Garen Albert believes the horse is about 15 years old - still relatively young for a horse.
"It is a very tough call between is this horse neglected or is this basically a rundown old horse," said Dr. Ron Keeler, with Ninnescah Veterinary Service.
Keeler, who often checks on possible neglect cases, said he does a series of tests, which will hopefully show whether a horse is unhealthy because of its age or because of neglect.
Don Albert said it can be difficult for anyone to afford a horse with the rising prices of feed and fuel.
"There's more pressure on the average income," he said.
The Alberts said it costs nearly twice as much to care for their horses than it did five years ago. Grain alone costs them about $60 per month per horse.
Along with the feeding prices, Keeler said, his clinic, like most other businesses, has raised prices. He said it costs about $300 per year for typical medical care that every horse should receive, such as vaccinations.
Jane Harder, director of Reins of Hope, a therapeutic riding school in Hutchinson, said she has felt the pinch of the rising prices.
"It's tough because feed prices are going up," she said. "We depend a lot on donations."
Harder said she has had enough money to continue running Reins of Hope without program cuts, but some students have been unable to continue the program because of high fuel prices. She also has seen other horse owners struggle with higher prices.
"Feed prices are going up," she said. "People can't feed their horses, and the horses are starving."
Though the prices for certain food items are high, such as corn and grain products, there are some alternatives.
Greg Farney, manager at the Farmers Coop in Hutchinson, said he works with livestock nutritionists to create feed mixes that are healthy and less expensive. Farney also raises, breeds and trains horses, but he has cut back because of high prices and because the horse market is down.
"We've got a decent market built, but the horse market's been in a definite lull for several years now," he said.
The economy is hurting the market, but Farney said the recent closure of all U.S. horse slaughterhouses in the past two years is another reason for the market's lag. The American Quarter Horse Association reported there were roughly 90,000 horses sent to the slaughterhouses each year.
"There is a population of horses out there right now that normally would have been sold in the slaughter market that are now just waiting in a pasture to die," Keeler said.
Keeler said he has also seen an increase in the number of horses being euthanized in his clinic, which he said could be linked to the number of horses and the financial difficulties of horse owners.
The Alberts said they were aware of more people having trouble caring for their horses, and they pointed out there are many people who will adopt horses, as long as owners take the time to look and advertise.
"If you can't feed them, give them away," Garen Albert said.
"These animals didn't ask to be born. They didn't ask to be on this earth."
Information from: The Hutchinson News, http://www.hutchnews.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
06/21/08 13:15 EDT
Horses and the Economy Continued
The shock value of the last few posts were, I admit, perhaps, over-the-top. The point I was trying to make was that the problem of too many horses and what to do with horses that are no longer useful is many-faceted. There are no easy solutions. I was wondering if it would be worth starting a group in the Central PA area to assist pleasure horse owners down on their luck. I saw a segment in the news today about a young girl who started a movement, freekibble, to feed dogs who are victims of natural disasters.
Why couldn't we start something like that for horse owners who have lost jobs or homes...You know, be part of the solution? That might protect good family horses from ending up in the auctions.
As far as the broken racehorses, lame horses, old horses and horses abandoned I am still horrified with enormity of the problem.
Feel free to comment below each blog post. I would like a discussion to develop.
Also, think about an equine "food bank" idea. Anyone have extra hay to donate, stockpile for winter months?
I guess one of the lessons herein is: do not have a horse if you can not afford to keep it up. Average horse maintenance costs run upwards of $3000 per year if done right with foot care every 7 weeks, proper nutrition, dental care once a year, blankets, worming, shots...Perhaps it is up to those of us who sell horses to new people coming into the industry to educate new families BEFORE selling the horse to them about how much each horse requires.
So, fellow horse lovers, ponder these postings and let me know how you feel.
Why couldn't we start something like that for horse owners who have lost jobs or homes...You know, be part of the solution? That might protect good family horses from ending up in the auctions.
As far as the broken racehorses, lame horses, old horses and horses abandoned I am still horrified with enormity of the problem.
Feel free to comment below each blog post. I would like a discussion to develop.
Also, think about an equine "food bank" idea. Anyone have extra hay to donate, stockpile for winter months?
I guess one of the lessons herein is: do not have a horse if you can not afford to keep it up. Average horse maintenance costs run upwards of $3000 per year if done right with foot care every 7 weeks, proper nutrition, dental care once a year, blankets, worming, shots...Perhaps it is up to those of us who sell horses to new people coming into the industry to educate new families BEFORE selling the horse to them about how much each horse requires.
So, fellow horse lovers, ponder these postings and let me know how you feel.
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