HELP NEEDED – EMERGENCY CALL FOR NEAR STARVING STUD COLTS
This post is from Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang Rescue.
Several days ago we received a request for an emergency pick up in Idaho. We were told there were 2 stud colts who were well on their way to starvation. Their feet were horrible, they were “wild” (although they are domestic horses) and would strike if you tried to do anything with them, and they needed help asap.
Yesterday Matt drove about 12 hours and went and picked them up. They are in pretty horrific shape. Especially with the weather changing, we need to move quickly, (although we have to be extremely careful not to “overfeed” and make them sick). We have definitely seen and cared for worse cases, but under that hair they are very skinny and they have no muscle tone.
Luckily they have a pretty long coat which has helped them survive. It has also helped disguise their true condition. They have both been sick, and they are quarantined where the cannot have any contact with the other horses here.
They were both in a tiny pen in deep mud with absolutely no shelter or wind breaks. It has been pouring rain where they came from the last few days.
These babies are going to need lots of TLC and groceries, as well as some extra hoof care. This was an unexpected trip, but they definitely would not have survived if left in those conditions. They will also need vet care (ie. gelding) as soon as they are healthy enough.
SHADOW is doing awesome. She runs and plays in her tiny pen and we can’t wait to get her the space she needs. But I am so glad we chose life for her. She is a very happy little girl and absolutely gorgeous.
Action Alert: BLM Landscape Project Endangers Nevada’s Mustangs
This Action Alert is from the American Wild Horse Preservation Organization.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Carson City District Office in Nevada is accepting public comments on a “Landscape Project” that will directly impact the management of wild horses living in the Clan Alpine Herd Management Area (HMA), which overlaps with three livestock grazing allotments. The BLM is proposing to increase livestock grazing on these allotments while keeping the decade-old “Appropriate” Management Level (AML) the same. Worse yet, the BLM is proposing to geld stallions and skew sex ratios which destroy natural wild horse behaviors and social social organization of the Clan Alpine herd. There is a better way…and we must demand that the BLM change course.
USDA Extends Comment Period for Proposed Changes to HPA Regulations
The following is an AHC Washington Update.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced it is extending the public comment period on proposed changes to the Horse Protection Act (HPA) regulations for 30 days.
On July 26, 2016, the USDA published proposed changes to the regulations governing enforcement of the HPA. The HPA was passed in 1970 to stop the cruel practice of “soring” horses that was occurring in some sectors of the Tennessee Walking Horse, Racking Horse and Spotted Saddle Horse industry. The proposed rule would make several major changes to current HPA regulations with the goal of ending soring.
This is a proposed rule only and USDA will now be accepting comments now until October 26, 2016. USDA will then have to review all comments and release a final rule. The proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register and can be viewed here: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/07/26/2016-17648/horse-protection-licensing-of-designated-qualified-persons-and-other-amendments
The AHC opposes soring and will be submitting comments to USDA in the coming weeks.
Hands-on help in bid to improve lives of Tanzania’s working equines
MAWO, a non-profit organization, was founded by Johnson Lyimo in 2016, and its hands-on work with animals including rabies vaccination clinics, donkey vaccination and spay days and weekly dog dipping. But MAWO also contributes much of its time into educating the younger generations on animal welfare. We believe this is where the change will begin.
Johnson Lyimo stands proud in his community as an animal rights ‘activist’ but holds respect among others for the way he shows it. Education is key.
As of now MAWO is running hands-on animal welfare workshops in schools and communities; it is the tip of the iceberg but we are seeing a difference. We teach ‘stand proud and feel committed for your animals’. Take on responsibility.
Beside that we spin weekly and monthly, veterinary clinics (It’s Africa Time Anything Can Happen) in varied locations throughout Tanzania, one place being Lorborsoit. This was where I saw distress in an animals’ eyes I had never seen before. Not on a large scale, some were looked after but there were a few that were forgotten.
National Forest Trail Bill Approved by House Agriculture Committee
The following is a Washington Update form the American Horse Council.
On September 14, the House Committee on Agriculture unanimously approved the National Forest Service Trail Stewardship Act of 2015 (H.R.845). The bill, introduced by Congresswomen Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Tim Walz (D-MN), would direct the Forest Service to take several actions to help address the current trail maintenance backlog that is adversely impacting all trail users on many national forests, including equestrians. The American Horse Council, Backcountry Horsemen of America, and the Wilderness Society were significantly involved in the creation of this bill.
A June 2013, study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Forest Service has deferred trail maintenance needs that exceed half-billion dollars, and only one-quarter of the agency’s 158,000 miles of trails meets agency standards for maintenance. This maintenance backlog is causing access and safety issues for equestrians and all trail users on national forests.
The National Forest Service Trail Stewardship Act would direct the Forest Service to develop a strategy to more effectively utilize volunteers and partners to assist in maintaining national forest trails. It will also provide outfitters and guides the ability to perform trail maintenance activities in lieu of permit fees. Additionally, the bill would address a liability issue that has discouraged some national forests from utilizing volunteers and partner organizations to help perform trail maintenance and would direct the Forest Service to identify and prioritize specific areas with the greatest need for trail maintenance in the national forest system.
In the current fiscal environment it is unlikely Congress will appropriate additional funds to directly address the trail maintenance backlog. This bill will help improve trail maintenance without the need for additional funding.
The AHC is pleased the House Committee on Agriculture has approved this important legislation.
The bill must now be considered by the full House.
URGENT ACTION ALERT: Stop the Mass Killing of 45,000 Wild Horses & Burros
Update: The Bureau of Land Management responded to public outcry on Wednesday, saying that the department has no current plans to kill the horses and will continue caring for any horses that are not sold at auction. The department has not yet formally replied to the advisory board’s proposal, but will do so at its next meeting, Reuters reported.
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Please take the time to make your voice heard and stop this tragic decision. The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign has information to contact your Senators and Representatives.
On September 9, the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board voted to recommend the killing of as many as 45,000 captured wild horses and burros in government holding pens as an “emergency” measure. The agency wants to clear the holding pens so that it can round up 40,000 more wild horses and burros from their homes on the range.
The danger is imminent, but can only become reality if Congress and the Administration authorize this mass killing.
Take a Stand Today! Tell Congress and the Administration NO killing or sterilization of America’s mustangs and burros.
Our innocent and iconic wild horses and burros should not pay the ultimate price for the BLM’s continued mismanagement. Please send your emails today!
Favorable Tax Depreciation Rules For Race Horse Owners Remain in Place for 2016
This post is courtesy of the September AHC Tax Bulletin.
On December 18, 2015, Congress enacted the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the “PATH Act”), which extended various expiring tax depreciation rules that are applicable to the horse racing industry.1 Importantly, the PATH Act extended two important depreciation provisions that allow taxpayers who place a race horses into service during 2016 to recover their costs for such race horses in a more expedient timeframe. First, the PATH Act maintained the rule allowing taxpayers to depreciate the costs of a racehorse over a three-year recovery period. Second, the PATH Act retroactively extended the 50% bonus depreciation available for taxpayers that place race horses into service through December 31, 2019.
BREAKING NEWS: BLM Announces Plans to Kill Thousands of Wild Horses
This is a cross post from the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign.
At their meeting in Elko, Nevada Thursday and Friday, the Bureau of Land Management’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board discussed what to do with nearly 45,000 wild horses they consider unadoptable.
The board’s recommendation: Euthanasia.
The Elko Daily reported that the board recommended the Bureau of Land Management follow the stipulations of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act “by offering all suitable animals in long and short term holding deemed unadoptable for sale without limitation or humane euthanasia. Those animals deemed unsuitable for sale should then be destroyed in the most humane manner possible.”
The only member voting “NO” on the Advisory Board was Ginger Kathrens of the Cloud Foundation.
They also discussed putting more pressure on the government for additional funds to do more “gathers” in order to control the population.
Ben Masters, 27, recommended an ultimate goal of using birth control methods to control the population. According to the Elko Daily, “a representative of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign said the BLM is not using the contraceptive porcine zona pellucida in a way that is managing the population. Sterilization was also called invasive and barbaric and the board was asked to abandon it in favor of funding acceptable forms of contraception.”
The advisory board also recommended a focus “on the prioritization of the sage grouse habitat when removing excess animals.” Board member Ginger Kathrens abstained on that one.
The Humane Society condemned the board’s recommendation to kill the 45,000 wild horses, saying they would not be in this position if they had been more responsible in using fertility control in the first place:
“The decision of the BLM advisory board to recommend the destruction of the 45,000 wild horses currently in holding facilities is a complete abdication of responsibility for their care. The agency would not be in this situation but for their long-term mis-management. Alternatives to this proposal have been ignored for over 20 years. The HSUS stands ready to implement these alternatives at any time.”
Over the past 20 years, the BLM has maintained round-up and removal as a primary management strategy for wild horse and burro populations on America’s western rangelands – an effort which has led to a financially unsustainable Wild Horse and Burro Program. By focusing massive efforts on removing horses and burros from the range, without treating those horses remaining on the range with any form of fertility control to limit population growth, holding facilities throughout the United States have become overburdened.
In fiscal year 2015, BLM spent $49 million maintaining these horses in off-range facilities, which constituted 46 percent of the entire budget of the agency’s wild horse and burro program. Such a large expenditure has limited the agency’s ability to properly manage wild horses on the range. The HSUS has long recommended the humane and sustainable option of implementing fertility control programs throughout the West.
“Ride a Rescue” equestrian show division features only rescue horses
An Albemarle County horse-riding center spent part of Sunday afternoon shining the spotlight on rescue horses.
Twelve-year-old Taylor Thomas was one of the riders.
She’s been riding horses for four years but it was only just last Christmas that she was united with Amber, a rescue from Hope’s Legacy Equine Rescue.
“She was skin and bones and covered in lice but she was a sweetheart and Taylor fell in love with her,” said Keena Thomas, Taylor’s mom.
“She’s a good girl,” said Taylor. “She does anything I ask, basically. I bathed her and got most of the lice off and then trained her basically again.”
Since her rescue, Amber has gained more than 100 pounds and is now winning ribbons along with the best of them.
“I am extremely pleased to be able to be the first one to judge it,” said equestrian judge, Davera Ackenbom. “I have goosebumps.”
International Aftercare Forum Set for 2017
This is excerpted from a post at Bloodhorse.com by Tom LaMarra.
Groundwork continues to be laid for an international conference on racehorse aftercare that has been scheduled for October 2017, according to Godolphin, which in late July held three days of meetings as part of the planning process.
The international forum is designed to “bring together the official and national operations based around the world that facilitate and promote the retraining of racehorses,” Godolphin said Aug. 1. The leading breeding and racing organization unveiled the effort at its recent “Lifetime Care for Thoroughbreds” meetings in England.
The International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses is expected to include representatives from Australia, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, and the United States. Godolphin said IFAR will work with the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities and act as an assembly for discussion to facilitate growth of aftercare programs despite “geographical and industry differences.”
Multiple programs, including the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in the United States, have sprung up in recent years around the world. The IFAR “will enable these experiences to be shared, for best practices to be adopted, and for advice to be given to all racing jurisdictions regarding caring for and the retraining of former racehorses,” Godolphin said.
Alabama Couple Brings Hay to Lousiana Flood Victims
This story was originally posted on wideopenpets.com.
One Alabama couple is making a special trip to bring a large donation to the farm animals left homeless by the Louisiana floods.
Over the course of the past two weeks, Louisiana floods have devastated homes, farms, and land. The floods caused major evacuations, with many pets and animals being displaced. While evacuating family pets can be done fairly easily, it’s far more difficult to evacuate and care for the many That’s why one Alabama couple has decided to step in and help.
Lorna Revord and her partner, Dennis MacArthur, both own horses and understand how much hay is necessary to feed them. They plan to take their trailer, loaded with 2,400 pounds of hay, to the Louisiana bayou to assist farm animals in need. They will be traveling from Carbon Hill, Alabama, and hope to complete the trip in a single day.
Equine Welfare on the Rise in Minnesota
This is excerpted from an article by Kyle Kuphal in the Lakefield Standard.
The condition of Minnesota’s horses is on the rise after a dramatic increase in investigations into horse welfare during the Great Recession. To continue the positive trend, experts encourage people to learn what it takes to care for a horse before purchasing one.
Between 2008 and 2013, the Humane Society was called in to investigate the conditions of an average 1,400 horses a year, a 400 percent increase over previous years, according to the University of Minnesota (U of M) Extension. The number of horses in the state has remained level at over 92,000, but the number of investigations into their welfare has decreased in 2014 and 2015 to an average of 894. Horse experts in the state attribute the improvement in horse welfare to an improved economy, preventative measures and education.
“Education is really important,” said Krishona Martinson, U of M Extension equine specialist. “The more research they can do, before buying a horse, the better.”
Horses can live into their 30s, so purchasing one is a long-term commitment. Martinson said basic nutrition and health needs can cost between $1,500 and $2,000 a year.
“I think it’s a shock to people how much they eat,” said Nancy Turner, president of the board of This Old Horse, a non-profit horse rescue located near Hastings, noting that a horse can eat around 20 pounds of forage each day.
Horses also require adequate space and accommodations. Martinson said a minimum of 400 square feet per horse is recommended for an outdoor dry lot or turn-out, and access to shelter and shade is a must. Extension also recommends two acres of pasture per adult horse.
What’s New: Spuds & Augie in “Learner’s Permit”
Everyone loves learning to drive and miniature donkeys, Spuds & Augie are no different! Watch their progress as Meredith puts them through their paces.
Tell BLM Citizen Advisory Board to Support Humane Wild Horse Management
The following is an ACTION ALERT from the American Wild Horse Preservation.
Wild horses near Elko, Nevada that the BLM wants to round up. Photo | Kimerlee Curyl
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will meet on September 8-9, 2016 in Elko, NV. If you can attend this meeting, click here or see below for details. The public also can attend a public tour of the Antelope HMA on Wednesday September 7.
If you can’t attend, you still can participate by submitting comments to the Board. The BLM’s cruel and destructive plans for mass roundup and sterilization for our wild horses an burros are imminent and it’s vital that we all take a stand at this time!
You can submit your comments directly by emailing them to whbadvisoryboard@blm.gov (subject must be “Advisory Board Comments”) or find the link below.
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