#StopThemSally Campaign Causing Uproar On Social Media
Following is a press release from the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign.
Belmont, CA – August 25, 2016 – A massive public uprising is underway on social media over cruel wild horse sterilization experiments proposed by the federal government. Using the hashtag #StopThemSally, thousands of citizens have joined the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) in calling on U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, to stop the experiments and implement sweeping reform of the federal Wild Horse and Burro Program, which is administered by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Meanwhile, the BLM this week notified AWHPC and the Cloud Foundation that it was delaying the start date for the experiments from October 1 to November 16. The delay comes amidst public outcry and a barrage of legal actions, including a lawsuit/Motion for a Preliminary Injunction filed by AWHPC and the Cloud Foundation.
Launched on Tuesday, August 23, the #StopThemSally campaign to date has resulted in:
· 5,600 faxes sent to Department of the Interior Secretary, Sally Jewell.
· 33,000 views of an eyewitness video documenting the invasive nature of the controversial experiments to be conducted by the BLM in conjunction with Oregon State University (OSU) on 200 wild mares at the Wild Horse Corral Facility in Hines, Oregon this fall.
· Thousands of messages left on the Facebook Page of the Department of the Interior in response to the BLM’s management of the Wild Horse and Burro Program.
The History of the Missouri Mule
The Missouri mule is a well-known symbol of American strength and perseverance, thanks to its significant contributions both within the state and throughout the country. Today, the mule still serves as Missouri’s official state animal, so the connection remains strong. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has put together a great photo slideshow about the history of these iconic equines and their role in the Show-Me State—click here to see the full slideshow! (You may need to reload the page when you get there.)
AHC Work on Proposed Changes to Horse Protection Act Continues
This is an update from the American Horse Council.
Many members of the horse industry know that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently proposed changes to the regulations governing enforcement of the Horse Protection Act (HPA). The HPA was passed in 1970 to stop the cruel practice of “soring” horses that was occurring in some parts of the Tennessee Walking Horse, Racking Horse and Spotted Saddle Horse industry.
The proposed rule would make several changes to current HPA regulations with the goal of improving enforcement of the law and ending soring. However, the proposed rule has prompted some questions about its potential impact on the wider industry, particularly on other gaited breeds. The AHC has convened an HPA working group and has been engaging industry stake holders to answer some of these questions and draft formal comments regarding the proposed rule. The AHC has been actively communicating with industry groups including the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the U.S Equestrian Federation, the American Saddlebred Horse Association, the American Morgan Horse Association, and the Arabian Horse Association.
“The AHC has always opposed soring and supported the enforcement of the HPA. There is no question that soring is an abusive practice that should not be tolerated or allowed to continue. Because soring continues to be a problem in the Tennessee Walking Horse, Racking Horse and Spotted Saddle Horse industry, improvements to the HPA enforcement program are clearly needed and justified, “said AHC President Julie Broadway.
What’s New with Roll? Comparisons
When Rock and Roll came to me in 2010, they were both in dire straits. We were able to keep both of them sound from December 2010 to December 2011 and although Rock had a shattered hip, with our core strength postural training exercises, he only needed Bute 3 times during that year for a five-day stretch. Roll was able to graduate from the postural leading training to lunging in the round pen and later ground driving. He met his final goal of being ridden around the hayfield, but had a set-back with White Line Disease in his left hind foot that began in January 2016. Roll is now 23 years old and the White Line Disease is practically all grown out now.
I could not be happier with his progress! Today Roll got the shoes replaced on three of his weight-bearing feet and a trim on the left hind.
We put shoes on the three feet so that the balance of the feet would not be compromised as he tried to keep the weight off the injured foot. Our concern was the other three feet could become unhealthy if the weight was unevenly distributed.
Right Hind
The affected foot is growing out nicely and we figure we only have two more trims until he is completely grown out.
By paying attention to the weight-bearing surfaces, we were able to control not only the way the feet were growing, but the musculature in his body as well. He could very well have developed uneven muscle conditioning over the past seven months. Because of his core strength leading exercises and the changes we made in his body before he got the White Line, he was able to sustain his strength and good posture. At twenty-three years old, he continues to improve with each new day!
You Can Make the Difference
This is an Action Alert for the American Wild Horse Preservation.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is just a month away from endangering the lives of innocent wild mares in Oregon by subjecting them to egregiously invasive and inhumane sterilization experiments.
We’ve already appealed to the BLM and Oregon State University, the agency’s research partner, to drop plans to rip the ovaries out of wild mares in a procedure that veterinarians call “archaic” and “barbaric.”
Now it’s time to go to the top… to the person who can stop this.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewel is the person ultimately responsible for the BLM and its mismanagement of our wild horses and burros.
The buck stops with her and it’s time to send her a strong message….Americans from all walks of life are counting on her to stop these egregious experiments on our cherished and federally protected wild horses.
Land & Life Challenge and Severly Injured Baby Coming
This is an update from Chilly Pepper-Miracle Mustang Rescue.
The “Land & Life Support Challenge” is going very well. We are over half way there and have received donations of all sizes towards this amazing goal. We are so appreciative as we are going through over $1000 per week with Foal Lac Pellets, grain etc., not to mention hay. We still need a little over $2,000 so we can achieve success. SO PLEASE LET’S MAKE THIS HAPPEN!
So THANK YOU!!! to all the folks who have stepped up to help us accomplish this. We have received some amazing donations and are so grateful for each and every dollar. Again, I apologize for the slow “thank you’s”. We have literally been working every day ’til nearly dark as we try to achieve the best set up possible here.
Together, since we came here in June, and THIS WAS POSSIBLE ONLY BECAUSE OF Y’ALL, we have saved the lives of 25 babies and 12 adult horses. You guys are amazing. We are currently sitting at 2 babies in Shingletown, 11 here and two more arriving Friday. So every time we adopt some out, more come in.
Another Augie and Spuds Adventure: Ground Drive Hayfield
“Hey, Augie! The sign says, ‘Beware of the Ass,’ but I say, ‘Beware of the Ass Trainer!’ We might actually have to do some work!”
“It’s nice to have a “Header” to follow right out of the Tack barn! That way we can start out on the right “feet!”
“One, two, three, four…one, two, three, four…I wonder where we are headed today, Spuds?!”
“Oh, WOW! We get to go to the hayfield, Spuds. Wide open spaces are FUN!”
“Be sure to stay in sync, Spuds! One, two, three, four…one, two, three, four…”
“Gotcha, Augie! Boy is this grass GREEN!”
“Great halt, Spuds! Now remember we can’t move or we won’t get our oats reward!”
“Aah, what’s this, Augie!”
“It’s just a culvert so we don’t have to jump the water in the ditch anymore, Spuds!”
“This is A LOT easier, Augie!”
“I guess we’re headed for home now, Augie!”
“Another wonderful adventure, eh Spuds?! Maybe we really don’t have to ‘Beware of the Ass Trainer’ after all!”
To learn more about Meredith Hodges and her comprehensive all-breed equine training program, visit LuckyThreeRanch.com or call 1-800-816-7566. Check out her children’s website at JasperTheMule.com. Also, find Meredith on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
© 2016, 2017, 2021 Lucky Three Ranch, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
California Minimum Care Standards for Equines
The University of California at Davis published a guide to help educate animal control officers when they are called to interpret and apply animal cruelty standards in the state of California. The document, prepared by the Center for Equine Health establishes clear standards for water, feed and body condition, shelter and space, health care, transportation. Click here to view the guide.
Burkina Faso halts massive donkey meat exports to Asia
This is a repost of an article from Deccan Chronicle.
The government adopted a decree on August 3 “regulating the slaughter and banning exports” of donkeys as well as horses and camels, said Adama Maiga, director for public veterinary health.
All slaughter will have to be done in “officially recognised” abattoirs, Maiga told AFP, adding that the legislation is designed to keep the donkey population at a sustainable level following the boom in international sales.
Donkey meat is popular amongst some communities in Burkina Faso, but exports of the animal’s meat and hides have soared in recent years, mostly to China.
Exports of hides rose from 1,000 in the first quarter of 2015 to more than 18,000 by the last quarter, Maiga said.
He added that the nation’s reserve of an estimated 1.4 million donkeys — used by many farmers for transport in one of the world’s poorest countries — was being “over-exploited”.
While the roaring trade has brought wealth to some as prices for donkeys have soared, it has also brought controversy to Burkina Faso.
Last month residents of the village of Balole, on the outskirts of the capital, ransacked an abattoir set up by a French and Chinese consortium in protest at the stench it was producing, as well as air, land and water pollution.
Full Circle Program: A Safety Net for Morgan Horses
The following is from the American Morgan Horse Association.
The AMHA is proud to sponsor Full Circle, a program to encourage individuals to provide a “safety net” for horses they bred, owned, trained, drove, cared for, or just admired. The initiative is modeled after a similar program first introduced by the American Quarter Horse Association.
The Full Circle program allows, at no charge, anyone with interest in a Morgan, to record his or her name and contact information in the AMHA record of that horse. If that horse should ever become unwanted, the individual with custody of the horse at that time can contact the AMHA Registry Department to see if the horse has been enrolled in Full Circle.
By enrolling a horse in Full Circle and providing your contact information for that horse, you give AMHA permission to provide that information to an individual inquiring as to the horse’s possible Full Circle enrollment. If you enrolled a horse, this is the point where you could be contacted by that individual, not AMHA, to help. From there, the options are up to you and the person contacting you; AMHA has no involvement or stake in the outcome.
Options may include taking the horse back, recommending or facilitating adoption or alternative career options, or providing funds or care or training. The choices are varied and up to you and the current owner or contact person. If your situation has changed and you can’t help, there’s no obligation on your part by enrolling the horse. You can also delete your name from a horse’s Full Circle enrollment at any time, also at no charge.
Prey or Predators?
Are equines prey or predators? Although some trainers base their methods on the idea that equines should be approached as “prey,” this blog post by Sara Annon explains that the answer may not be that simple.
An excerpt:
The real lesson in this is that the predator/prey model of horsemanship is inaccurate. Rodents are prey animals. Horses are herd animals. Their enemy is the weather (click here and here). Horses die from hypothermia in winter, drought in summer, and starvation when grazing is scarce. Weakened animals are picked off by the occasional courageous wolf pack or lion. I say courageous because it only takes one quick smack with a hoof to break bones, and for a predator that is a death sentence.
BLM Summer Roundups Underway
The American Wild Horse Preservation has a detailed list of the BLM summer roundups. Please visit their website to read more about each of the locations and impact on these groups of equines.
Triple B HMA and Silver King HMA bait/water removal, Ely, Nevada
Estimated Start: July 27, 2016
The BLM is planning to remove up to 100 “excess” wild horses from outside the Silver King HMA, and to remove 130 “excess” wild horses from in and around the Triple B HMA.
As of August 8, no horses have been captured. BLM reports that it is acclimating the horses to the bait traps before commencing capture operations.
Blawn Wash Roundup, Western Utah
Estimated Start: August 10, 2016
The BLM plans to conduct a helicopter roundup to capture and remove approximately 150 wild horses from State, private, and BLM lands in the area of the Blawn Wash Herd Area located in Beaver County. The BLM “zeroed out” this area for wild horses, after giving away the most productive habitat area to the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA), and then determining that the remaining habitat area could not support horses. SITLA leases the land for livestock grazing and in 2015 sued the BLM seeking more wild horse roundups.
Three Fingers HMA Helicopter Roundup, Vale, OR
Estimated Start: August 23, 2016
The BLM plans to capture 100 wild horses and return 50 horses — 25 studs and 25 mares — to the range. The BLM’s current “appropriate” management level is just 75 to 150 wild horses on 61,000 acres of public land and the estimated current population is just 202 mustangs. The BLM is claiming that the roundup is necessary because wild horses are grazing outside of the HMA in areas affected by the 2015 Soda wildfire, which burned close to 280,000 acres in Oregon and Idaho. The agency claims that the horses are interfering with restoration plans in the fire area. However, the agency’s own decision record states that only 15 wild horses from the Three Fingers HMA have roamed outside the HMA.
The agency also claims it wants to “prevent further deterioration” of rangeland resources by removing 50 wild horses while continuing to authorize the grazing of over 1,600 cattle in the two allotments that overlap and surround the HMA.
Of interest: The permittees for these grazing areas provide beef, via the Country Natural Beef coop, to Whole Foods, a company that claims to source its meat products from humane and environmentally responsible sources. Captured horses will be sent to the BLM’s Wild Horse Corrals in Oregon, where many of the mares are expected to be used in the BLM’s gruesome and controversial sterilization experiments.
ACTION ALERT: Support Humane Burro Management in Arizona!
This is an urgent action alert from the American Wild Horse Preservation.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is accepting public comments on an Environmental Assessment for a humane PZP fertility control pilot research program for 
wild burros in the Black Mountain Herd Management Area located near Kingman, AZ. The program will be a public-private partnership between the BLM and the Humane Society of the United States.
The Black Mountain wild burro population is one of the largest and most genetically healthy burro populations remaining in the U.S. The BLM is doing the right thing in this case by prioritizing humane burro management despite vocal calls from some state and local officials for large-scale roundups and removals….One county supervisor even called for opening a hunting season for burros in this area!
Please take action to support this humane management program by clicking below.
Comments are due by August 15, 2016.
Sadie Wins PATH Intl. Equine of the Year Award
HUGE congratulations to Sadie who has won the prestigious PATH Intl. Equine of the Year Award for Region 10 (CO, UT, WY, AZ, NM) and is also up for the International Equine of the Year award! We are so proud of Sadie who’s been one of our four-legged therapists since 2006! Next time you’re at Hearts And Horses, be sure to give her an extra pat!
Standardbred Retirement Foundation Urges Caution
This is a repost of an article from harnesslink.com.
Uncle Milt
The Standardbred Retirement Foundation (SRF) says its recent spring follow-up of all its adopted horses led them to the pain and suffering of one, and the missing of three others.
The 22-year-old gelding, Uncle Milt, had been in a home for nearly 3 years and the SRF had always received a prompt veterinary follow-up form every spring and fall, until this past season. SRF asked a long-time volunteer to visit after several attempts to reach them by telephone and mail had failed.
The horse was found in poor condition. A relative of the adopter later called and explained that her uncle, the adopter, had passed and they were caring for the horse but were having trouble keeping weight on him. The SRF tried to work with the family but a visit again resulted in removing the horse from their care. Ironically, the horse was accompanied in the field by another horse in great weight.
Non Profit Pairs Rescued Racehorses with Special Needs Children
Joelle Dunlap’s non-profit rescue, Square Peg, was recently featured in an NBC news story that highlights the new life of the rescued racehorses. The racehorses are paired with children with special needs, primarily autism.
TCA Awards More Than $535,000 in Grants
Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) announced grants totaling $535,851 have been awarded to 71 Thoroughbred industry-related non-profits that work to uphold TCA’s mission. Grant recipients from the last three years can be found here: tca.org/about
TCA distributes grants to several categories of Thoroughbred related nonprofits including retirement, rehabilitation and rehoming organizations; backstretch and farm employee programs; equine-assisted therapy programs; and research organizations. Grants are provided to organizations that successfully meet the criteria set forth in TCA’s annual grant application. Grant applications for the 2017 grant cycle will be available in early January.
“We are grateful to our donors who make our grants possible,” said TCA president Mike McMahon. “We employ an extensive application review process because we strongly believe in being outstanding stewards of the funds entrusted to us. We are thrilled to support so many organizations doing outstanding work on behalf of Thoroughbreds and those who care for them.”
Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang Matching Fund Challenge
The folks over at Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang Rescue have been given a matching fund challenge by a supporter to purchase land for the rescue.
We just received GREAT NEWS from one of our Angels. We have a wonderful donor who is throwing out this challenge.
She will purchase an adjoining 3 acre parcel for Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang so we can continue to help save the wild horses. IF, folks will step up and match the $5,000 needed to buy the land, she will “git ‘er done”!
Her donation of $5,000 will buy the land and the “matching funds” will feed the horse kids through August.
You can donate – Please put in the notes “For the Land & Life Support Challenge”. (If you can’t donate, please share far and wide. You can still be part of saving these lives).
We need a bit over $5,000 for the month of August to feed and care for the 25 horses here in NV and the permanent residents (plus two orphan foals) at our facility in Shingletown.
We are feeding about $1000 worth of hay in NV for the month (11 adults – 5 of them pregnant mares), one nursing mare with a foal and 14 orphan foals. We have several babies who are spoken for and waiting to go to their new homes, but lots of beautiful babies for adoption.
Two of the babies are in really rough shape, so they need extra prayers, as well as groceries.
The average cost for a new foal is about $300 month for milk and feed, and we have 14 of them here in NV. So that is about $4200.
The good news is that a few of them are older so once they get to a healthy weight their costs won’t be quite as much.
“Saving them” is just the beginning. Now the real work begins to feed and care for them, get them healthy and find great homes.
We so appreciate all the folks who are going the distance to save these horses. We are willing to do the work, but simply don’t have the funds we need without amazing folks like you. THANK YOU!
One of our mares that is pregnant. She was nursing the foal who belonged to the mare that was shot in the head.
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