Since you guys always seem to have the answers for everything...

Is there a web site anywhere with the AQHA World Show results from the 1990's? AQHA.com only goes back to 1999.

I am trying to remember a horse's name and it is making me crazy...you know how that works!

BUSTED!

I LOVE it when this happens!

Blogger Lusitano Epiphany alerted me several months ago that trail string horses at the Sparks Trading Post were in dire straits, and that she and others were trying to do something about it. They were still working on it and needed to get on the property so I didn't out the guy right off - I just blogged about how to choose a good trail riding establishment and survive the experience.

Well, they actually took action and alerted the authorities, and the asshat got busted! Busted and charged with animal cruelty! Read all about it! Seventeen cruelty charges!

Of course, Asshat's defenders are online whining about how he just has "a big heart" and not enough money. OH BULLSHIT! I'm so sick of hearing that! You do not have a big heart if you take in more than you can feed (and especially when you whore them out for trail string in this condition). You are a soulless, greedy asshat who (like many guys, sorry guys but this is a common feature of the male mind) wants to believe he is a "nice guy" and wants other people to believe that about him. Peter Sparks, you are not a nice guy. Hopefully you will soon be a convicted animal abuser and have to get into a different business where the inventory doesn't starve and suffer when business is bad!

P.S. If any of you Sparks defenders think it is soooooo haaaaard to put weight on old horses, hand us one of them. I will bet this blog's readers can foster and fatten up any of those Sparks horses to normal weight in 60 days. I'll make you any bet you want to make on that.

Update: Remember the foal from the Enumclaw yard?

You may remember this shocking picture and entry on the blog. I can talk about the situation a bit more now. These horses were seized by Snohomish County and were being "boarded" (OK, what-fucking-ever) at the auction yard. When people saw them during an auction, people (understandably) freaked. They came from a typical Krazy Kolor Breeder, Jean Elledge, who was producing lots of gold and cremello Saddlebred and NSH horses and, you know, not feeding them. Like, a dead horse was lying in view of her house and she somehow, lalala, managed to go about her daily business and not be concerned about that. Here's my original blog about her.

Most of them landed in the care of Save a Forgotten Equine and most were successfully rehabbed. The County is now offering them up for placement with any qualifying 501(c)(3) but if you are interested in adopting outright, you can do so through SAFE.

The amazing thing here is the quality. Several of these horses are straight Egyptian/Al Khamsa Arabians. I have to laugh because when I saw them, my reaction was "Wow, that chestnut filly is REALLY good quality" and I was right. She is. I gotta be honest, the Saddlebreds pretty much looked like inbred colored yaks to me. (They do look better now that they have had some actual food and care.) The Arabian filly...I just went, wow, what are you doing here?

Anyway, they do need homes and if you're a fan of Egyptian Arabians, this is just a fabulous opportunity to get a horse for a fraction of its value.

Info and pictures

#1 horse is O Bahira Majidaa AHA 597511. Granddaughter of Nabiel and The Mistril.

Her foal is sired by Wajiih El Nefous, a grandson of Thee Desperado. Her foal is REALLY nice. I have seen this filly in person and she is a little superstar with a ton of show potential. Her dam was not as emaciated as some of the others and this filly does not appear to be stunted or harmed at all...I am sure she will be just fine. She does have a hernia that needs to be fixed.

#2 horse is La Zhara AHR 481748. Granddaughter of *Ibn Moniet el Nefous and Abenhetep. She is the dam of Ella, the filly who was down in the auction yard.

I am sorry to say that while Ella survived several months after the day at the auction, and did gain weight and look much better (pictured left), the internal parasite damage was too great and her body failed. I just learned about this myself; I'd seen her a few months ago and she looked great so I had no idea she didn't make it. I am sad to hear it, but glad she received good care for the few months she did have.

This is a good reminder to all about how important early deworming is. Here is a good schedule online of when to deworm your foal and what to use. As I learned last year, orphans may need more frequent deworming! Ask your vet.

Yes, Elledge is being prosecuted. But she's a crazy old bat and I'm sure one of our idiot Left Coast judges will feel sorry for her and give her a slap on the wrist. I, of course, want to send her to that judge who put the guy on a piece of bread and a cup of tea daily so he could see what starvation felt like! (Hey, is it too late to nominate that guy for President? I'm not thrilled with either of our existing choices...)

Very good link - Bad rescues and faux rescues!

http://missyshopeequinerescueresource.freehostia.com/rescue_warnings.htm
Check it out. It'd be great if someone could help her organize it in table form by state or something like that, but it's still a great compendium of faux rescues/bad rescues/MeSue type scammers to avoid!

This one would have merited a Fugly Field Trip!

If only I had seen it sooner! This is a horseshow that took place in Wisconsin based upon the "horse-human relationship experience." Can't you just imagine me covering it like one of those Jerry Springer eps where they go direct to the trailer park to film it all live and in-person?

Hell, I can't even read this without snorting diet coke out my nose!

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Classes are judged by a panel of horsemen who have a commitment to natural horsemanship. They use a scorecard developed by licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Nikki Cohen-Wichner, a lifetime horseman who saw the parallel between evaluating horse/human relationships and the assessment she does when she first meets a new couple in therapy.

FHOTD in: In my experience, most women pursuing natural horsemanship are doing it because their horse is walking all over them as if they were a doormat. If you encountered a human relationship involving that much bullying, you'd tell them to get a divorce. P.S. The horse doesn't want to fix the situation, and doesn't see where there's a problem. OK maybe that part sounds familiar...

In response to emails sent by people interested in attending the series' shows with horses that have been shown on regular show circuits, the In-Hand classes are now open to horses that have had show clipping done this year - as long as such clipping has not "balded" the horse's ears, eyes and muzzle. The show still hopes to help owners think deeply about the growing concern over removing horses' natural defenses. One of the show's founders said, "Nature gave horses their whiskers to keep them safe from bug bites (in ears), as well as face and eye injuries. We want to encourage horsemen to make healthy choices for their horses, especially in competition. We hope courageous exhibitors and judges carry this tradition into other competition venues and more horses will be saved from such injuries. We want folks to think about how we can change traditions to keep up with growth in human awareness."

Sweetie, in nature, horses may have fuzzy ears but when they break a leg, they get eaten by a mountain lion or they starve to death. That's what nature does for horses. If I clip out their ears and buy them a fly mask that covers their ears, I am hardly a horse-injuring psychopath.

All English and western performance classes at this show will consider both horse and rider, judged as Pleasure/Horsemanship with emphasis (specs) first on the relationship connection, then manners, performance, suitability and quality. These classes, like In-Hand and Trail classes, are divided according to how many years the horse/human team have competed together.

And you think people are going to be honest about that? Have you EVER worked in a show office? I've had people come back to the second show of a series at the same barn and try to tell me they haven't won three blue ribbons when they went highpoint at the previous show WHICH I ALSO RAN!

P.S. How exactly do you judge the "relationship connection" in a pleasure class? Do you ask the horsey in the lineup if he loves his mommy?

In support of safe show experiences, there will be three walk-trot classes judged by the same specs. New classes were added for the May and August shows in response to conversations with potential exhibitors. The 3 Leadline classes were added so riders of all ages can experience riding away from home in a safe, structured setting. The May and August shows offer 7 fun classes: Costume, Bribe Your Horse, Ride A Buck, Egg & Spoon, Dizzy Cowboy, Catalog Un-Race and Walk-Trot Tandem Bareback.

WTF is the Catalog Un-Race? Do you win for being the slowest?

"Trail-In-Hoof" is a class where the horse can enjoy watching the human race through an obstacle course while the horse stands ground-tied. This is a timed event with time penalties added similarly to canine agility courses - including time penalties for each step the horse takes while ground-tied.

I'm sure my horses wouldn't move a muscle. They'd be mesmerized by the sight of their mom making an ass of herself.

The Relationship Show Series awards will be given at a Potluck campfire celebration following the August show at the Interstate Horse Center, a 10-minute drive from Showtime Arena. The awards will recognize both "hipoint" achievers and those caught doing "Random Acts of Kindness."

OK you're giving an award for it and you don't think those are going to become deliberate, premeditated Acts of Kindness, much like making a showy contribution to the offering plate at church while you behave like an immoral, unethical shithead the rest of the week? I can't wait to see how this pans out.

A special gathering of exhibitors and volunteers at the end of each show has held a respectful energy as nomination forms have been read and surprised recipients excitedly picked their awards from a table full of special prizes.

Okay, if you're experiencing respectful energy at your exhibitor's party, you need to open a few more bottles of booze! Do you people ever have fun?

The FAMILY HERITAGE EXHIBITION CLASS is a way to share your and your friends' "families" of horses and the stories of what brought them together. Certainly, some entries will represent horses related by blood; thus providing breeders a great forum to show off their breeding programs. Yet entries need not be related by blood. Just as in human families "of choice," we believe horses become family simply by relationships formed through time spent together. Entries can be any equines that have been "friends" or lived together at least five years. The human in charge of each entry is asked to share the story of the equine family's history. Stories are limited to two minutes.

I've tried to tell my old mares they're all family and should get along but they still chase each other off the first pile of alfalfa at feeding time. Do you think going in this class might help them form a healthier bond including better table manners?

The STORYBOOK ROMANCE EXHIBITION CLASS is your chance to share the story of your relationship with a special horse. You can show your horse for two minutes in the arena in whatever manner seems to best show off your relationship.

HOLY SHIT, better make sure you don't take any entries from Doug Spink or Tom Durfee or y'all will get arrested!

Again, a two-minute limit is set to keep the show moving along. These shows will allow humans and horses to celebrate the love and respect they have for each other while striving to attain their personal best in a nurturing competitive environment.

Horses do not love people, certainly not in a "storybook romance" way. Horses love food and scratches which they may come to associate with certain people. If you really think that a horse gives a rat's ass about striving to attain his personal best, Nikki, you need some therapy of your own.

"Sound horsemanship and quality training/riding will not be compromised, rather they will flow more naturally in this setting where emotional "safety" will be as important as physical safety."

See if y'all didn't think you were having storybook romances with your horses, you wouldn't be so worried about your emotional safety. OMG, he bucked me off! He doesn't loooove me anymore! *runs off and bawls*

This statement was made by the creator of the Relationship Show concept and co-founder of Healing Horsemanship Foundation, Nikki Cohen-Wichner, LMFT. She says the concept grew from a conversation she had last summer with a 4-H leader concerned about the high-stress environment at many shows. Nikki thought about the fun times she'd had at Showtime's Winter Fun Show Series developed by Pam ***** and started considering how to give such a series a new "twist" honoring the paradigm shift that she and her husband (Bob) have made the past seven years. They now view the horses who share life with them as "colleagues" who graciously volunteer in Horse Assisted Learning and Family Therapy programs held at the Interstate Horse Center.

Nikki, your paradigm shift seem to be from a serious competitor to batshit crazy. Your horses are not colleagues or volunteers! They're animals you own and require to work for you. You keep them fenced in, don't you? Do any of them raise their heads to evade the bit? Blow out their gut to keep you from tightening the girth? Sidestep when someone is trying to mount? Volunteers, my you-know-what.

This is the same kind of stupid bullshit as when a company starts referring to their employees as "partners." Um, if I have some low level shit job where everybody can tell me what to do, it is painfully obvious to me I am not a "partner." A "partner" is the guy with the jet.

All profits will help support the Healing Horsemanship Foundation, Inc (HHF). HHF became a legal corporation with a Founding Board of Directors in 2007 with the intention to be a non-profit, 501(c)3 charitable organization (IRS determination letter pending).

Translation: We're not a 501(c)(3) but we sure would like some money! After all, look at our good intentions!

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Seriously, did anybody go to this silly thing? I cannot even imagine. I'd never have kept a straight face!

Another day, another missing horse

I ran across this story and thought now would be a good time to feature it. I know we have a lot of Canadian readers and perhaps someone knows where this boy is. It's obvious to me this owner will take him back at any age in any condition. Have you seen him?

"Harley is a dark bay thoroughbred gelding with a small star and large snip, and with socks to mid-cannon bone on his left front and both hind legs. He is a foal of 1989, stands 16.3 hands, and has a lip tattoo that reads S02075."

In 1994, the horse, who was only sound for light use on the flat, was free leased on verbal contract to Sue and Chuck Leedy in Howard County, Maryland. The Leedys sold the horse without permission in 1996 to Izabela Jedral, who sold him within the week to a dealer named Zelko Krcmar.

Krcmar told the original owner that he sold the horse to a lawyer in Toronto, Canada and the horse was stabled at Elderberry Farms. This was in 1999. Elderberry Farms confirmed that the horse had been there (quite a relief, as Krcmar is known to be a slaughter buyer as well) and had been owned by a woman named Catherine Wilson, but that she had recently sold him.

Wilson refused to divulge the current whereabouts of the horse to the original owner. Why, I don't know. Bitch. That was in 1999, and the trail goes cold after that.

Original owner is very upset and is worried that since the horse was unsound that he has gone to slaughter or wound up in bad circumstances. If you are in the Ontario, Canada area and know the whereabouts of Harley, e-mail Siobhan McGowan-DeLancey.

OK folks, start your engines!

I'm giving you all a Friday project.

There are a LOT of missing horses listed on the Internet. Some were stolen. Some were sold by later owners and now the earlier owners are flipping out. Some were sold and now the person regrets it. Some were sold and the previous owner is just dying to know what happened to them, where they are, if they're safe.

I want you all to read the following links today and see if you know any of these horses. If we get one horse and owner reunited, the project is a success. Maybe we can get more than one.

I still want to do the web site for this purpose, but I haven't had any time to work on it and the software I thought was going to work didn't. Well, I can't get it running, anyway. I have not given up on the idea, but in the meantime, see what you can all do with the existing information that's out there - let's see if we can create a happy ending this weekend! And of course, post the successes!

1) This is a 1,000+ horse list I made up from posts on the Chronicle of the Horse Forum of OTTB's. If you have one of these horses and can update a previous owner, please head over to COTH and PM them! I just have their COTH screen names on this list.

2) Missing horses on DreamHorse Really great update here on an AQHA stallion named Doc's Candor.

3) Stolen horses on Netposse.

4) Missing horses on Netposse.

5) Horses that were not illegally sold, but old owners are just looking on Netposse.

6) More missing horses. This is out of date (from 2003) but wouldn't it be cool if someone recognized one now?

7) More stolen horses.

For today's Friday Featured Rescue, I found a story that is just ... mindboggling. Panhandle Equine Rescue did a great job of rehabbing this colt after he was found hanging from a makeshift sling with an injured hind leg. As they say on their site "He was emaciated, dehydrated, anemic, lice and parasite infested and had several pressure sores from the makeshift "belly straps" that he was forced to stay in for several days. Also, his "privates" were so swollen from the pressure of the bands, he couldn't properly urinate."

Fortunately, charges WERE pressed against the owner AND x-rays show no permanent damage was done. M&M is a yearling and is available for adoption. Ties, loads, clips, etc. This is another rescue that actually trains their horses. Amazing! And admirable. They really changed the course of this little guy's life and now he just needs that special person to ensure he never falls into bad hands again. He is in Florida, if you're interested! They also have a lot of TWH's if you're looking to adopt a rescued Walker.

Have a great weekend everybody! If you're in the PNW, don't forget that the SAFE benefit horseshow is in just two more weeks and we'd love to see you there. This a perfect, perfect, perfect schooling show for green horses and riders. Don't worry if you're not perfect yet - just come out, get experience, have fun and support a good equine rescue!