Update: No horses for you, Frank MacKay!

Remember the story of the Edmonton lawyer who abandoned his horses on a pack trip and the huge effort made by others to get them to safety? Someone has sent me an update page:

http://www.fallingstarranch.ca/HorseRescuePage.htm#Update

So how cool is all of that? The horses have new homes and that insufferable asshat who left them to starve and freeze without even making a phone call to the authorities to try to get them help is never going to see them again! There is also information on that page on who to contact to ensure that charges are brought against Mr. MacKay.

That's what I call a happy ending.

So if you're in Edmonton and you don't support irresponsible animal ownership, make sure not to bring any of your legal business to Frank MacKay! Read all of his lame excuses for not rescuing the horses. "They survived, thank God," he observes. UH NO. Thank all of the rescuers who dug a fucking trench with their own hands in subzero temps while you were sitting, warm and cozy, somehow assuming that horses could live three months on eight liters of Gatorade and thirty pounds of hay pellets? I have one horse that eats thirty pounds of hay pellets in two days, Frank. Where in your tale of woe were you unable to alert the SPCA that you had left your horses in the wilderness? Was there some part about a crippling phobia of telephones that I missed?

No, Frank, you just didn't want to be embarrassed.

FAIL.

Fuel for the Gelding Bus!

Just listing some resources for funding for gelding procedures today...remember, the way to stop equine slaughter is at the root of the problem - with population control, particularly with regard to low-end horses who are highly unlikely to find good homes in today's world!

http://stalliontogeldingsupport.org/

Front Range Equine Rescue's Stop the Backyard Breeder Program

For mini donkeys:

(scroll down to find form) Missouri Miniature Donkey Association

Feel free to add more resources to the comments (HTML links work).

And have a great weekend!

Hooray for the Arabian Horse Association!

The saga began two years ago on the Arabian Breeders' Network Board:

"*Enea' story. My Grandparents bought *Enea in Spain 18 or so years ago. She had one foal for us and then she was bought by another breeder who then liquidated his horses and then you know how the story goes, she was sold multiple times.

Two weeks ago I got a phone call from a concerned friend telling me of a large herd of Spanish horses in trouble in Iowa. Curiously I looked up that owner on the datasource I was horrified to see *Enea's name on the list. Not knowing what to do and gathering more information. I realized we needed to get her out of there. I arranged to buy the mare back from this woman.

Sometimes out of the worst situations you realize how many wonderful people there are in the world. Two friends of mine volunteered to drive eight hours each way to get *Enea out of there as soon as possible and keep her at there place until she is well enough to travel home to California.

The story gets more and more disgusting. The horses are in deplorable condition and sick, many are not going to make it through the winter. There are many that are in far worse condition than *Enea. We all need to band together and help these horses.

Here are two pictures of *Enea the morning after she was picked up from
Amanda Boyle's Zalea Arabians. " (FHOTD in: I have posted one of them)

Oh, and a good show ensued on that message board! The horse starver, Amanda, responded as they ALWAYS do, arguing her innocence:

"Enea is 22 years old and has Cancer. WE were going to put her down, but Christie purchased her instead.

We REFUSED offers on the horses by the person who came. They are in fine shape, other than several older mares. One has EPM, another is half blind. Im not sure about the stunted colt thing, other than one filly who had a severe viral infection. THe other 2 foals were born in Sept and OCt.

I can furnish vet reports on every single horse on my property as well as photos. When your someones competition and they dont like you, or you dont do what they say. I think its wonderful the great things they say about you. I have contacted a Lawyer, these are all lies. AND I CAN PROVE IT! So perhaps before you believe this trash, come visit for yourself."

Blah, blah, blah, blah, BLAH! The condition of that mare speaks for itself. Of course, the excuses continued...she's an old mare, she has melanomas, she doesn't handle winter well. Blah, blah, blah.

Now, this is not an uncommon story. Enea, although severely anemic and dehydrated, was rescued by her former owner. This is a picture of her two years later, this summer. Gee, I guess she didn't have health problems preventing her from gaining weight, DID SHE? She's 24 now. Gee, what a hard keeper, huh? Boy, she REALLY needed to be put down two years ago, huh?

Oh Amanda. How full of shit can you be?

(Kudos to Chestnut Ridge Farm for being a brilliant example of what a responsible breeder/owner does - that mare looks awesome and you guys rock!) Correction: I misread the initial thread and it's actually Greengate Farms that has the mare. Sorry, getting old and blind!

So after years of drama on this, what happens? Well, Amanda gets evicted. She abandons SIXTEEN horses on the property when she leaves. Some of the horses have been in stalls for so long with so much manure build up that the doors cannot be opened. Amanda takes some of her horses and merrily continues on. She has a web site. She even has a message board where she is stumping for money! Of course she is...And she's still breeding. She's moved to some mysterious location in Missouri, so if you're in Missouri, watch out. She's not going to stop until someone locks her in a cell and throws away the key and despite her numerous convictions, nobody's done that yet.

Frustrating to be sure. But I will tell you the part that is NOT frustating - AHA BANNED HER ASS!

"Boyle, Amanda L., aka Lea Boyle, individually and dba Zalea Arabians LLC of Sioux City, Iowa, has violated AHA Article 304.6, by mistreating and neglecting Arabian horses under her care, custody and control. Amanda L. Boyle, aka Lea Boyle, individually and dba Zalea Arabians LLC, or in any other entity, is hereby permanently expelled from membership in AHA and permanently denied all AHA privileges, including, but not limited to, denial of entry into any AHA programs and events, any AHA registration privileges, and denial of participation in any manner in any AHA recognized competitions or events. "

I LOVE IT! She apparently has 25 foals due this year (good LORD) and I am sure she will TRY to get around all of this by registering a LLC or getting some enabler to front for her, but damn, this is a good start.

So, okay AQHA? Let's see you do the same to Cleve Wells. Don't make me have to switch to Arabians just because their registry doesn't have their heads up their butts.

P.S. This story also ought to be a lesson to some of the more gullible posters here. This woman was originally convicted of animal neglect in 1994 and she has convinced many people that she had "cleaned up her act" or was "being unfairly persecuted" but a leopard does not change its spots. Period.

---

It's Friday so we have a Friday Featured Rescue! Here's a nice one - this 8 year old Thoroughbred mare, Broadway (reg. name Golden Glow Too) is available for adoption at Shiloh Horse Rescue in Nevada. Check out her page for lots of video under saddle. There isn't anything wrong with this one - sane, sound and ready to go. She looks a thousand times better then she did when they got her, a year ago. She is a beautiful mare who looks like she could easily be ready for this year's shows with some finishing.

Yeah, but what's wrong with her customers???

Here at FHOTD, we often see cases here where starving horses are blatantly put on the farm's web site. Even more often, I hear about beautiful web sites hiding bad conditions. In those cases, I tell the person to get pictures of how things truly are. After all, I need some evidence more than your word that things have gone horribly wrong at the facility.


In this case, a determined reader researched and researched until she found pictures showing what was really going on behind the pretty web site at this New Zealand facility. These scrawny horses are shown at "camp" on a cross-country riding vacation sort of thing. They are both underweight and the bay is certainly too much so to be ridden, but here they are - out on a four day trek, carting riders around and putting money into the pocket of the proprietor. Too bad she is not spending it on feed!


(You know, if I came there to ride and found this, I'd snap pictures and go straight to the SPCA. Why hasn't someone else?)

Of course, this lady also thinks it's just fine to "break in" the yearlings. Even for those of you who do ride your 2's, wouldn't one look at this tiny creature tell you it wasn't ready to hold weight? If it looks like a baby, LET IT BE A BABY. Good grief, I think that rider is about one third of its weight! No wonder its ears are back.







The proprietor brags on her main page that the horses are "safe" and "quiet." Well, yes, they typically are when they are this thin. Not much energy left to buck or run off, which may be the plan here. It would certainly not be the first time I have seen starvation used as a training substitute!

The one thing Sarah seems to be good at (clearly it's not feeding) is collecting money. Her newsletter notes that cans of soda are $1.00 and that you'll be charged $15 if you cancel a lesson. Uh, do you think you could throw some of that cash into hay purchases? I am amazed she is showing her horses. Hey, New Zealanders, does she show up at shows with horses who look like this, or does she feed the show horses and just starve the lesson/trek horses?

How does this continue? Well, by people continuing to patronize her - it sure sounds like business is booming - and, I am sure, accepting excuses for how the horses look. Oh, that one is thin because he's a cribber. You can't keep weight on an old horse. The one over there has bad teeth. When you accept the excuses and say nothing, you allow this to continue. I've already put up a guide to choosing a reputable trail/trekking facility even if you don't have horse knowledge, but I'm guessing most of the people at this barn have enough horse knowledge that they know things aren't right. Or they have already fallen into the trap of putting money into her pocket in an attempt to help the horses.

Remember, the horse can't call for help. You may be the only chance he has. And sometimes all that's needed is for the authorities to put a little pressure on someone and the care improves. Most (sane, non-hoarder type) people do not want to be driven out of the business or have their horses seized, and I've seen people who are good riders/competitors simply have huge holes in their horse care knowledge that lead to these situations. No, the person who gets reported won't love you if they find out it was you, but ten years down the road they may be a much better horseperson because of it.

It's up to you...I can talk about this stuff all day but ultimately we need whoever is local to have the guts to report. Do you have what it takes to do the courageous thing for the horses, or will fear of discovery or of being yelled at (oh noooooooes) keep you silent?

P.S. Yes, I know some horse abusers/neglecters are batshit crazy and I do understand trying to find someone else to intervene if you are their next door neighbor and they have guns.

Horses and Highways: Not a good combination

So my mailbox is full of the story about how the guy who was traveling across the country in a horse-drawn wagon got hit by a semi. Video (non-gory, prior to the accident) at the link. Another news story.

While this is a sad story and I hope that he and the remaining horses will recover, it brings up a point I almost brought up again when we did the carriage horse story -- which is that I do not believe horses and cars are ever a good mix. I mean, look at the video -- it looks like an accident waiting to happen, and it was.

Sure, many of us grew up in the days when it was safe enough to ride your horse to town for an ice cream cone. Even today, I have a neighbor who rides his horse down the road. We all know to watch for him, slow down and pull wide, and nobody on our street drives like a fool. But it's a 35 mph in the country - not a highway with semi trucks!

Riding or driving a horse on heavily-trafficked roads is a recipe for disaster, in my never-humble-opinion. Look at the dangers we face on the roads. Drunk drivers? Everywhere. Stoned drivers? Check. People jabbering away on cell phones, texting, arguing with their spouse or trying to discipline their kids in the back seat? Everywhere. The only reason I feel semi-safe on the roads is the large hunk of good old fashioned metal that encases me and helps protect me from the idiots. On a horse, I would have no such protection - and neither would the horse.

Every time a car and a horse tangle, the horse loses. That's a fact.

Putting a vehicle that travels 3 mph on roads with vehicles that travel 60 mph is a very bad idea. You can scream all day that it's legal and that other drivers should simply be more careful, but that doesn't change the reality that you've set yourself up for a bad accident. At least with the carriage horses, everybody is going slowly, in downtown traffic and there is a lot of pedestrian traffic as well, so drivers are more likely to be on the lookout for obstacles. (I'm still not crazy about it, but it's not as bad as driving them down a 60 mph highway)

The world is full of arenas to ride horses in, and trails of all sorts - well maintained or rocky and challenging if that's more your speed. There are wide fields with no vehicular traffic. I simply don't understand the appeal of riding or driving a horse around cars, when we all know how people drive and what kind of damage a typical car can do to flesh and bone (much less a semi!).

"Bob Skelding, 49, was driving his team of horses on a stretch of roadway that had little or no shoulder. Two 18-wheelers traveling side-by-side crested a hill, and one of the trucks hit the RV from behind."

Yeah, I feel sorry for him. But I feel more sorry for the horses, who did not sign on for this ill-considered journey and now are dead or suffering as a result. And I feel sorry for the semi driver, who had no reason to believe he was about to encounter a vehicle moving way below the speed limit over the top of that hill, and now has suffered a traumatic accident that I am sure will haunt him forever.

C'mon people...it's 2009, not 1909. There are better places to ride and drive your horses. Stay off of busy roads! If you want to "slow down" your life, WALK across the country.

P.S. For any newbies to the blog, I've posted before that I care about horses' welfare much more than I care about human feelings. Horses are innocents who cannot protect themselves, and humans do not die from hurt feelings. So feel free to tell me I'm just horrible to criticize a man who's in the ICU but it won't change my feelings on the matter.

OT: It's the middle of the week...

And I know everybody needs a good laugh so...be grateful you're not dating these guys!

Psychotic Letters from Men

The latest from the guy behind "Why Women Hate Men" and I think it's even funnier. You can't make this stuff up!

Our WTF Equine Product of the Day!

Joining the ranks of crazy horse-related contraptions like the No Buck Trainer, we now have the EZEE WEAN Halter and Strap.

Yes, it's what you think. It's a baby halter with PRONGS on the nosepiece to keep the mare from allowing the baby to nurse!

"When the baby attempts to nurse, both animals are made uncomfortable because there are several soft flexible prongs (blunt ended) that touch the mare in the flanks and it also bumps the baby in the nose."

WTF?

Here's a video of it supposedly working. I only see a very annoyed mare, who finally gives up and lets the baby nurse anyway.

A quick look at the web site copy reveals just who this product is being marketed to...the same middle-aged, overly emotional ladies who give Pat Parelli their life savings because they want to have a relationship with their horse and be their horse's friend.

"Most often the caregiver is reluctant to start the weaning process because of the undesirable symptoms that occur when using the abrupt separation method. The heart wrenching whinnying is very disturbing for the passionate caregiver."

Heart wrenching whinnying? I'm sorry, weaning doesn't exactly wrench my heart. I have been around for plenty of it. Most babies whinny a little. The real wimps whinny for a day. Two days out, they are all hanging with their baby friends and have forgotten Momma ever existed. "Forced separation" as this overly-dramatic web site calls it is actually quite a bit kinder than nature, in which Momma gets fed up with baby eventually and starts chasing him off of her with bared teeth.

I can only imagine how Momma will feel about future foals nursing after she gets poked about a zillion times by the rubber prongs on this thing. Nurse mares are expensive!

And yes, a few paragraphs down, we see proof that this person is yet another Natural Horsemanship Wacko:

"I feel the application of “natural horse savvy” to a foal will increase the animal’s marketability. Horses that have been imprinted at birth and with continued handling using natural horse savvy techniques are commanding and obtaining high prices."

THEY ARE NOT. What are you smoking? I can show you hundred horses that can do 684 levels of Parelli that nobody wants because you can't walk, trot, and canter on them without drama. They know every game in the book but they don't have manners and aren't ready for any competitive discipline. Please, please, please show me where a horse trained this way has commanded a "high price." I've never seen it.

"The first time horse owner has a greater chance of having a positive riding experience when natural horse techniques are understood and practiced."

The first time horse owner has a greater chance of having a positive riding experience when they TAKE LESSONS so that they can stay on, discipline the horse, and the horse can't WALK ALL OVER THEM.

(Please refer to Mugwump for further clarification on this)

"Owners using their animals for competition have reported a greater improvement, overall, believing the results are directly related to the use of natural horse techniques."

OK, those of you who seriously compete - how many of you would agree with this statement? Can someone please point to a single World Show top ten or Nationals top ten horse trained with "natural horse techniques?" (Or weaned with a freaking prong halter?)

The lunacy continues...along with the bad spelling.

"When separation of mother and baby is too soon and granny mare was not available, I have found the foal will typically mature having a personality of either extremely aggressive or extremely timid. As an example, can you remember your horse be attack by another horse for no apparent reason while you were moving along peacefully on a trail ride? Your horse didn’t make a single wrong move and the other horse came, ears pinned and bearing teeth. That’s an aggressive personality."

Yes, and it's not caused by early weaning, it's caused by a rider it has no respect for. Do you know what I'd do to a horse who thought he could attack another horse while I was in the saddle? Again, refer back to RIDING LESSONS.

"Can you remember when you had to hand feed a horse separately? It stayed off to the side and it would not move up to the feeding area with the rest of horses. This is a timid personality. I believe both of these examples are typical of horses that were forced from their mother to soon."

Well, you believe wrong. I've seen both personality types in horses that were NEVER weaned and grew up with their dams...particularly in hoarder/BYB cases. I have worked with numerous horses who were never separated from their dams or even handled until 8-10 years of age, and their personalities were...middle of the herd. The idea that traditional weaning causes personality extremes is just plain silly.

The truth is that the mare's personality often dictates the foal's personality. An alpha mare will tend to raise little alphas who are bullying the other babies from day one. A pushy mare will raise a pushy baby that will be a little harder to teach manners to. A timid, spooky mare will transfer her fears to her foal who will often be the bottom of the pecking order his whole life. This isn't true 100% of the time, but it's true more often than not.

Another truth is that separating mares and foals using SAFE fencing and ideally getting them out of earshot of one another works just fine. However, that's a method that doesn't put $75 in this chick's pocket!

Unbelievable. I wonder how many people will actually fall for this one?