Equine Minds...

From Jim: We say we like to get to know our horse. That usually means knowing more than their color and conformation. It means we want to know who they are. We want to know their personality. We want to understand them. All of that drives toward knowing their mind. It's pretty easy to try and apply what we know about our own minds to the critter. That's a real mistake. It's not fair to the animal. It's dangerous and inappropriate. Many horse people have been killed or injured by a horse doing what horses do and the person expecting human behavior. We all get too comfortable around these big old guys, but we are really at risk when we lose sight of how different from us they are. They are not reasonable. They are not bound by a higher sense of morality. They translate emotion to action very quickly and without regard to consequences. We've all see how quickly they can injure themselves or us with their instinctive flight response. Our vet says they're not into self-preservation. When you think about it, that's true. They are evolved to the survival of the herd. The organic nature of herd behavior shapes their mind and actions. You can train them and modify that behavior, but it still underlies the way they process information. Forget that at your peril! I've had folks tell me of their "bomb proof" horse, that would never, ever hurt them. Boy, it that's your premise when you're around a thousand pounds of lightning quick horse, Good Luck! I figure they're not mean or violent, they're just big and fast and subject to reflex responses that can get me hurt. I respect that. The horse's brain structure tells us their limbic system is well developed. They have significant olfactory structure, including a Jacobson's organ. The relationship to sense of smell, emotion and memory is pretty well established in research. That combined with the evolutionary mandate to flee from threats is an equation to be reckoned with. Horses are the animals we have come to love because of who they are. Their emotion and spirit and personality are functions of their minds. We can't make them "human-like" and it would be wrong to try. They're just fine being who and what they are. It's up to us to understand that. Oh, and go love on your horse. They won't mind at all.

Here's to Ears...

From Jim: Equine ears are pretty special. Not only do they work really well for hearing, they convey a lot of information about the animal's thoughts and mood. Their ears swivel somewhere beyond 270 degrees. They can work together or independently. Horses hear frequencies that are both lower and higher than we humans can perceive. They are highly capable of determining the direction from which a sound came. They are expressive. Whether peaked in curiosity, wavering in confusion, or pinned in anger, ears tell the tale. When you're around equines, it's a good idea to attend to what their ears are saying. When training a critter, the ears are useful in ascertaining the animal's comfort and understanding. Since horses and donkeys and mules relate to one another and, since they're pretty much non-verbal, body language is important. The ears play a big role in that. Ears pinned down flat should not be ignored. There's not much notice left before some serious acting out is likely. One ear up, one back, back and forth, and uncomfortable confusion is the message. Ears peaked sharply forward, big eyes, head up all reflect fear and apprehension. Ears swiveling with no obvious reason suggest a state of calm alertness. As you can imagine, equine ears are sensitive. Headgear, whether halter or headstall, flymask or sunshade should be carefully fitted and made of a material that's not abrasive or irritating. Touching an animals ears should be gentle, but not ticklish. Fingers down an ear will usually get a brisk rise of the head and disapproving look. We sometimes stick a finger in an ear to see how the recovery from anesthesia is going. It's a pretty effective wake up call. Ground work or onboard, checking on ear messages is a good idea. Any real concern about an ear should get referred to the vet. It's almost impossible to really examine a horse's ear without sedation. Twisting ears as a make-do twitch is not a good practice. They can get head shy quickly and it can be hard to undo. I suppose one of the best lessons our equine friends have for us is to listen a lot and not say much. I like that.

Horse Angels

There are people in this great big world who lift our spirits and make us glad for what we do. Beautiful Chad is alive because so many of you care.

Frankie was able to have his two cancerous tumors removed because so many of you care.
Kim is able to be with his little herd, even though he is very lame. All these animals and many more are alive and well because you care. Thank you to our January and February Horse Angels- Barbara R, Barbara Z, Becky R, Carla G, Chris M, Christina F, Debra C, Dorothy J, Edie D, Eileen G, Evelyn A, Glennis R, Kate M, Linda G, Linda K, Linda W, Lisette L, Lorie H, Mary R, Maurya F, Naomi J, Rae M , Rebecca F, Ron W, Ruth C, Susan R, Stephanie I, Tim D, Ursula C, and Valerie D.

Your generosity and support is GREAT!!!!!!

Dancer's bunch...

From Jim: My morning almost always starts with a greeting from Dancer, one of our OTT Thoroughbreds. She's close to 30 now and still absolutely beautiful. She is the main mare to Star Man and Dunny. These boys are a part of the greeting crew. Nickers all around! It's the food, you know, but I like to kid myself that they're glad to see my smiling face. Yeh, Right. Anyway, these three and Chad, who shares a turnout, but has his own stall make up the front yard herd. Dancer was rescued from a slaughter pen. She had a fractured rear cannon bone from being crowded into a defective fence. She was severely underweight. This proud girl had won 10's of thousands of dollars, is permanently registered in the Breeder's Cup and had been a productive brood mare. When she could no longer be bred, she was tossed away. Wow, how could anyone do that? Talk about a mean spirited industry. Star Man is a fine old gentleman. He's a Tennessee Walking Horse, a gorgeous black with a white snip, flowing mane and tail, a real beauty in his own right. He has a congenital spinal stenosis that causes an occasional weakness in his hind quarters. There's nothing to do for this and his working days are over. When he came here from an auction where he was rescued from the Killer/Buyers, he was very lame in the rear. Our vet thought maybe he would have 3 or 4 months. That was over 3 years ago. He is a real love, likes to give kisses, and always enjoys a pet. Dunny, a stunning Quarterhorse, has congenital cataracts. His vision isn't all that great, but he does fine. He's a gentle and willing boy. He and Star often play together. Both are respectful of Dancer's authority. Chad hangs out in the general area of these three, but at his advanced age, dozing and quietly passing the time is more to his liking. The others generally go along with this, but, sometimes, Dunny can't resist giving Chad a little playtime. These friends are my morning faces. They stand and anxiously urge me to get on with the feeding. They welcome a pat on the nose or scratch behind the ear, if it doesn't take too long. If Donna has the grain bucket, not so much. Chad has to have sack feed as his teeth are worn out and the others need a token scoop as a gesture of fairness. I can't compete with that. I wish everyone could start their days with the same enjoyment these critters give me. As the rest of the feeding goes on, there's over 70 more to be fed, I have the smile that Dancer's bunch passed along. Take some time to love on your critters, It's good for you and them!

What to do with unwanted horses?

From Jim: There's a lot of "unwanteds" in our society. They're not all the same species. Some are dogs and cats, some horses and mules and donkeys, some people-old, young, and in-between. I'm not real sure how we came to be in this place. It seems the nature of who we are as a people may have changed. Maybe it has something to do with scale, there's just too many of us, or maybe our core values have changed. Whatever it is, we aren't what I remember when I was a kid. We worked very hard, but so did everyone else. We felt a big responsibility for others, for our friends and neighbors. We were more hooked together as a community. The social ills we suffered, bigotry and ignorance and such were terrible. There were economic problems and all. We had the war in Viet Nam and Watergate and recessions and savings and loan scandals. But, it felt like people worked together. The tone was one of shared responsibility and a notion that, if we worked together, we'd fix the problems. Seems that now all people do is take sides and fight and get angry and refuse to find any middle ground. The sanctuary gives a home to some unwanted equines and some other critters. We know it's just a drop in a huge bucket, but it's something. It makes a difference to the animals that are here. It doesn't stop the rampant overbreeding, the abuse and neglect, the bad practices of those that are using horses for gambling, abusive competitions, and so on. The solutions for those things will take a commitment from society. We'll need to work together to fix that stuff. I don't know if that's in us anymore. The pro-slaughter folks don't seem to get it. The BLM doesn't. A lot of our politicians who need welfare-rancher votes don't. What to do with unwanted horses? The answer for that lies with the answers to a lot of other things. Maybe the real question is, "What to do with us, as a society"? Are we just an unhappy, angry, selfish rabble, or are we something better? I imagine time will tell. Right now? I'd say the jury is out. We still have a bunch of really good folks in this country. We see them all time. Man, I hope there's enough. I hope they can help us get past the mess we're in.

Thanks...

From Jim: We are working hard to find a way forward for the sanctuary and many of our supporters have been there with donations and suggestions for fundraising. We'll sure look into all of those and any others that we find. In the meantime, the work goes on and the herd lives their lives. Sometimes you just have to do things a day at a time. We still will need to see some of our very old residents off to a peaceful end. That's always been a part of our obligations and we accept that. The need for adoptive and foster homes for unwanted horses seems to grow all the time. Our dear friend, Tawnee at Horse Plus, recently rescued a whole bunch of yearlings, over 20 of em, 14 were in one trailer. I sure hope these babies get a chance to have a good life. They were from a situation of starvation and neglect. Dang it! What's wrong with some people? Irresponsible breeders are the source of a lot of suffering and there's not much that can be done to stop it right now. Wish we would find a way to regulate horse production and insure the lifetime care of critters that people put on the earth. Of course, that would offend some folks notion of freedom. Me? I was a soldier and and a cop and I'm not real sensitive to the freedom of bad people. You earn that by responsible behavior. Please keep us mind for a donation. We have a long ways to go to meet our critters' needs, but we're going to give it everything we've got. They're simply too precious to toss away. Thanks! I really mean that!

Mia Culpa...

From Jim: The last few days around here have not been full of giggles. The hard realities of my failure to inspire enough support to keep our herd alive has been very hard to swallow. Several kind folks have responded and we truly appreciate it. We'll use the donations to keep as many of the critters alive as we can. The numbers are just not good. I have spent many hours thinking about how I might have done better. When your failure results in the death of others, it's a hard place to be. The response from those who offered their support and sent donations meant a lot. We will go forward from here, as best we can. Our old mule, Juan, who is a great soul and is always willing to share his peace with us came to see me yesterday while I was filling his watering tank. He placed his beautiful head on my chest, as he's done so often, and in his clearest voice said, "Please don't kill us". I know, you probably don't believe that an old mule can do that and that I'm simply projecting my own feelings. That's not who I am and that's not what I do. You come talk with Juan if you think I'm wrong about this. I suspect, it you're willing to listen, he'll share with you too.