New Life, End of Another

I know some people refuse to see what is really happening in today’s world.  To be surrounded by only the good, to notice only the roses.  Or maybe just to push it under the rug and fall back on your happy ending while some horses live at the mercy of the slaughter houses, the kill buyers.  I know this blog is about Ink and Errika, but I try to bring up other important topics as well.  It’s my duty to my horses to defend their species, because I love them, that is when topics such as this come into play.  Although I have just scratched the surfuce in my understanding of horse slaughter, I do know that ignoring this or feeling that it’s not our problem to deal with as horse “lovers,” is a dis-honest service to our equine companions.  If you have a horse that is dear to you, would you have the heart to tell them that you know the fate of some of their own, but it’s not ‘your problem’?  What if you had room at your place and took a step out of the showing world, to give a neglected horse the love and good care it deserved?   Do you have the heart to say that if a mare you bred gave birth to a foal that didn’t live up to your expectations for whatever reason, didn’t deserve the same care and treatment of those who did? 

It is bitter-sweet to me.  Today I was greeted by my family over at the paddock where the foaling happens.  The mare that was over-due, finally had her baby.  A cute dark bay, leggy thing and it was hard not to fall in love with the innocent foal as it layed on the ground catching some rays.  It’s exciting to see a new addition, I will not lie, but I got mixed feelings.  Of course it’s not this little guy’s fault.  He was bred by pure luxury and human choice.  But in his place I saw the faces of the sad and neglected.  All the pictures on the internet of horses going to meet a horrible end, or painfully waiting for their time to come, it’s just hard to watch another horse be brought into the world, out of luxury.  All the horses Joe rescues and we say we don’t have room for them, but we have room to breed more?  Horse lovers, but not horse rescuers? 

I could understand the continuation of excellent lineage, no wait, I’m lying I don’t understand that concept in it’s full, I guess for the better of the breed, yes.  But for every horse person wishing to bring quality, well taken-care of, additions to their lineage, there are countless ones that breed because they can.  I’m not just talking about the ones that breed for no reason once-so-ever, I’m talking about the ones that breed more and more and more horses saying, “oh its a hollywooddunityankeedocthisathat.”  “Isn’t it just a nice looking horse, with a nice pedigree of over-bred, un-proven horses?”  “But hey it came out of zippodunhollamollayea!, his great-great-great-great-…….grandsire!”  Not the best example, but you get my drift.  So what happens to them if they don’t live up to their pedigree?  Not everyone has an answer for that.  Isn’t it true that none of Seabiscuit’s babies ever lived up to their sire?  I know there are some responsible owners that said, “hey let’s see what he WANTS to put his heart into,” when they don’t live up to what they were bred for, instead of, “hey if he doesn’t do what we brought him in this world to do he’s useless, lets send him off to auction.”  Do you have a plan to stick with your creation is something happens to it?  Anything is possible, you may not be able to 100% prepare, but by understanding that when you create this animal and bring it into this world, it’s your job to ensure it’s safety and care.  Here is a prefect example, Guns & White Roses.  Luckily the horse found a better home that it probably came from, but what would you do?  You doing the creating, start doing the answering. 

“I provide a service. People are revolted when I tell them I process horses for a living, but without me there would be thousands of starving horses living on our streets. On that girlie website of yours you wrote how I exploit horses. Wrong. I exploit alcohol. I exploit Burger King. But with horses I provide a service. I mop up. I clean up the mess left by morons who just have to breed their mare. A few years later no one wants the baby anymore, so I come in to mop up. How come you never write about those morons who just have to breed their mare? Every spring I send dozens of mares and new foals to the meat plant. And every spring there are idiots breeding more babies. All of your do right for horses cause they built America is crap. The only way to do right for horses is to stop breeding them.” - Horse Killer Manny Phelps. Posted on Joe’s blog April 10th.

A horse killer even recognizes the wrong in which the horse people themselves are contributing to. 

At one point when I was younger and before I knew Errika was as old as she was, I thought about breeding her.  Although I know that I would do my best to make sure that foal was well loved and taken care of, I knew that there was no point other than my own feelings for creating another horse.  Though Errika would probably love to have a foal again.  I don’t know how many times she’s been bred in the past before I owned her, maybe 2?  I’m sure Errika would love it just as much, if not more, if I went out a rescued an un-registered, $250 auction horse.  At this point, with the surplus of slaughter bound equines, it’s more than that.  It’s more than breeding because you “might” have a winner, or you want to have a foal, or you think your mare would like being a mommy for the 10th time.  Take your money, take you time and save the species you love so dearly. 

“I got a gelding with a tattoo and he is 8. He has one shoe and he needs at least 100 pounds. A lady in Vacaville gave him to me. What a witch. She has all these horses, and when her little boy came to say hi she screamed and cussed him out. Told him to quit bothering everybody. I am going to give you this gelding Joe. He is sweet. You just have to cover transportation costs from Vallejo. Call Maggie, and she will have him ready at the south gate.” - Brent Sanchez, Horse Killer.  Posted on Joe’s blog, April 10th 2008. 

I’m not putting all breeders into this category.  There are good breeders who wish to better the breed in which they are contributing to, and take FULL responsibility for their foal creations.  Not leaving it behind when it can’t live up to it’s expectations or when something awful happens to it and then throws it into some-elses hands to do the clean up. 

“As a breeder of Arabian horses I am faced with a unique problem. Over 60% of the registered Arabian horses are in their late teens or older. Breedings are declining each year. While that may seem good to the rest of the horse lovers, from the point of science it is bad.

According to genetists, the Arabian horse has the most closed gene pool of any breed, The smaller the gene pool gets, the more dangerous it is for the presevation of the breed.

So when I make the decision not to breed mares with valuable bloodlines, I am affecting not only my farm but even the future of the breed. ” - Comment from Mikael - Arabian Horses

If you managed to read this post through, thank you.  Please leave a comment with your opinion and why you breed or what your thoughts are on this subject. 

What Scares Your Horse?

Maddy over at Pony Tail Club posted “What Scares Your Horse?”

So what scares Ink?  I’m sure if you’re a regular reader of this blog you know that Ink’s biggest fear is, cows!  Yes he is quite scared of the beasts next door.  The cows are very curious and friendly, that live next door, but if one moves too close or they run off, anything quick, Ink starts pacing, snorting and trotting off with his tail up in the air like Errika.  He is also scared of trail markers on the trail, but at home nothing else (other than cows) scares him. 

I have to say that Ink would probably be the same way as Maddy’s horse Moon, if we were in Africa and let alone a lioness came at us!  Happy to hear that the horse and rider got away.  That is amazing considering the strength and power of those animals.

Oh so Interesting..

I had a good announcement to make.  I’m writing a book, horse-related of course.  I’m really getting a hoot out of it and I can’t wait until I’m finished.  I really want to have it published, eventually and since it’s my main project right now I’m adament in finishing it by the end of the summer.  But what I ment by “had” a good announcement, is that well, something very odd happened today at the barn. 

The trainer left.  Just up and left.  There is more to it, probably more than I will ever know and care to know, but his own horse was gone when I got there and soon it became apparent that he left, without any notice.  Ink was due to get his back shoes re-set today by the guy and wouldn’t you know it, Ink’s back one was off today when I got to him in the field.  Just great, I don’t have a back-up farrier and it’s very important that shoe go back on soon because we’re trying to grow the hoof back after it was worn short when he was bare-foot.  But it’s just weird.  You know the trainer who was helping me, M*?  Well do you remember when I wrote about her bringing her horse to the barn for the guy to work with?  She paid him for this month and he just up and left, took the money and that was that.  He has clients he was training for and didn’t even contact them. 

Well I’m off to put my ad in.  If you’re in my area and can reccomend a farrier please contact me via email : inkeq at yahoo dot com

Our Senior

I seem to not be able to write very well lately.  I started writing a post about senior horses, but I just don’t have the steam to pull through making it what it should be, right now. 

I will tell you that my senior horse (I say senior because she has the wisdom and graciousness of humans and horses alike in their older years), Errika now 24, makes me smile all the time.  My mom and I spent a good time grooming the happy mare yesterday.  She stood for us for about an hour while we groomed her from head to toe.  Some people wonder why we like to spend hours primping her, when she’s isn’t going to a show.  Well first off Errika enjoys this detailed grooming time very much.  You don’t have to know her to know how much she likes it.  I usually like to find a nice quiet place to do this with her.  I don’t like to tie her up unless it’s at the wash rack for a bath.  Normally we do this in her field, to her discretion.  I’ll bring all the supplies out and walk them back and go to her.  Yesterday we did it however in the round pen.  I am very happy that I do have the time to dedicate to her.  But it’s always been something I’ve strongly believed in.  That when you take on a horse you dedicate yourself completely to it.  All horses are special, I’m just lucky enough to say I have my own special one to take care of.

I just don’t feel that because a horse is not showing or because a horse is not a show horse doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be treated great like one.  The majority of the ’senior care’ post I was working on focused on the fact that senior horses should still continue to get just as much love and attention that they got when they were winning ribbons.  

On another topic I’m just synonymous for getting cancelled on.  I was going to ride that horse yesterday but the owner said she forgot and well I ended up not riding.  I’m not worried about it though, I’m flexible enough where if people’s lives require their time suddenly, I can accomodate.  But hopefully soon I’ll ride :). 

I hope everyone has a great weekend :). 

Errika Research - Pt 2

I did a little research on Errika’s pedigree and this is what I came up with, for now.

 Errika’s Sire : *Erros 1973 Chestnut Stallion  AHR#167694 (Polish)

 

Imported Pure Polish - El Paso x Eskapada

1978 US National Reserve Champion

*Erros’ Sire (Errika’s Grand-Sire) : El Paso 1967 Bay Stallion #128871 (Polish)

1976 US National Champion

Errika shares similar markings to her Grand-Sire, El Paso.  He has a smaller star and snip, while Errika’s are larger.  His strip is larger, while Errika’s is more refined and nearly connects the star to the snip.  They both also have one sock, but her’s is on the right hind. 

 More to come…

 

Imaginary Wings

If we cannot speak to horses, how do we speak to them?

My dear, horses speak a language, different than you and I.

What is that?

My dear, they speak with their heart.

How will I know when they do, speak to me?

My dear, you’ll know, because your heart will reply.

How?

My dear, the heart is the truest form of communication.

How do I know if he will love me, trust me?

My dear, there isn’t a horses who isn’t capable of that.

But when will I know, when he does?

My dear, there are many great questions that take time to answer. 

This is one of them.

How do I show him, I love him?

My dear, you speak with your heart, your soul and the honesty that lies within you.

Do they know dis-honesty?

My dear, they are honest, much like the sun that always shines.  The rays may be broken to earth, by clouds and storms, but they will always be shining once the darkness is lifted away. 

Lies are clouds, don’t hide a ray.

Why do some say horses fly?  I see no wings.

My dear, they take us places, only that of imaginary wings can. 

Facing Horse Slaughter - 2

Horse slaughter starts with the irresponsible breeders and then owners.  We have so many horses in this world, in this country that need the love of those who are advocates for their safety and well-being. 

If you are a true anti-slaughter advocate, might you consider your actions as a horse “lover.”  Because the answer to a horses life being saved is in your hands.  Although the irresponsible breeding needs to be addressed foremost, we must also recognize what we are doing as horse “lovers” for the current in-need equines. 

If you have the time, room and love to give, consider taking in one horse, otherwise doomed to a haul to slaughter.  Might you consider why you continue to breed yourself, when we have so many horses here in the United States that need our help.   

Facing Horse Slaughter & Other Updates

I adopted Ink from Joe, who blogs everyday at http://www.tbfriends.com

Joe adopts Thoroughbreds off the track, mostly, but not limited to auctions and other random rescue cases.  He’s a god-send. 

Well he announced today that he will be posting pictures of killers, without names, on his site.  “Soon I will be showing who NOT to give or sell your horse to. I will take pictures at upcoming auctions. Horse killer Manny Phelps has said he will gladly pose. If you advertise your horse for free or cheap, and Manny Phelps comes to your house, you can tell him to get lost. (feel free to use other phrases) You can protect your horse,” As Joe said on his site today. 

I will post the rest of his entry below, because he does not have archieves or anything. 

FHOTD (http://fuglyhorseoftheday.blogspot.com/) also had some words to say about the matter; http://fuglyhorseoftheday.blogspot.com/2008/02/love-it-joes-going-to-go-for-it.html

Yesterday FHOTD had this to say before Joe announced he would be posting pictures; “Joe seems to be afraid of legal action and/or of upsetting/offending the hordes of children who read his blog. (Who as far as I am concerned, had better learn about the realities of life NOW before they get old enough to contribute to the irresponsible breeding/ownership problem).“

The above quote came from this post ; http://fuglyhorseoftheday.blogspot.com/2008/02/dealers-who-ship-horses-to-kill-lets.html  If you know of any Killers in your area or abroad, go ahead and post them there. 

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Joe’s Post on http://www.tbfriends.com

Friday, February 29th… If mail and phone calls were the deciding factor, I would not post pictures of horse killers. Over 80% of readers (keep in mind, our readers are mostly young girls) tell me to leave it alone. Focus instead on the romance of thoroughbreds.

Advice has come from 3 different lawyers. If I show you horse killers I must not include their names. Cathy and I could be sued for damaging the reputation of a person. For slander. And for stopping the everybody in America has a right to earn a living process. I am told there are precedents. At first I thought Presidents, and said sure, how dumb do you think I am? But no, we are talking precedents. You are not allowed to interfere with someone trying to earn a living.

And I must tell you, money earned by horse killers would make Donald Trump jealous. A cattle trailer filled with horses sold to slaughter can bring over 15 thousand dollars. The driver does not need health certificates to leave our state. He does not need health certificates to enter Canada or Mexico. Drives me crazy.

I wrote a billion letters. Did the protest thing in front of feed lots. Hounded horse killers with my usual charm. Trying to stay legal, because I doubt prisons serve fresh strawberry cheesecake. Or praline ice cream. There are more horses from Northern California going to slaughter than ever before. Nothing I have tried has ever worked. All I have left is to show you the men and women who make money from killing horses.

I sincerely hope I do not lose you as a reader. Your mail and phone calls tell me there are people all over the world who tune in each day to my gunk. I love to share with you the magic of horses, especially thoroughbreds. To show you pictures of our horses finding new homes. A whopper of a feeling. Letters come from girls who 11 years ago adopted a horse from us, and still the horse is number one in their life. Their happiness beats anything I have ever experienced.

Soon I will be showing who NOT to give or sell your horse to. I will take pictures at upcoming auctions. Horse killer Manny Phelps has said he will gladly pose. If you advertise your horse for free or cheap, and Manny Phelps comes to your house, you can tell him to get lost. (feel free to use other phrases) You can protect your horse.

If you send your horse to a livestock auction, and you recognize from Tbfriends a horse killer bidding, you can outbid him. And then search other options for your horse.

America is slow dancing this slaughter business. Crossing both borders with large trailers carrying doomed horses is done 3 and 4 times a week from Northern California. Sometimes more. We need all horse lovers to recognize horse killers. And road block their journey. Take away their earning power. Take away their ability to exploit our horses.

An extra day in February, and we could be 72 degrees. Enjoy your beautiful Friday, and be sure to hug your horses. The coffee is Folgers Deluxe, and pastries come from Costco. There are many of you who deserve special hellos, and a giant Thank You. I am way behind on computer things, but this weekend I hope to catch up. I appreciate your patience…

Joe

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Don’t forget folks to enter the TEI contest!!  http://inkeq.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/tei-contest-image-time-lapse/

Entries will be accepted from now until 3/11!

A New Adventure for Errika

I like to think of Errika as the “gift horse.”  When I was 14, she was given to me by a kind hearted older lady who knew something about the ability of a horses love.  And the life-changing impact it can have on young girls.  I now look back at all our memories, the good, the bad and how it all came together.  I can’t help but smile.  Errika was a good disciplinarian.  To that I am thankful.  To her love, I am always grateful.  Unfortunately I don’t have the great heart like the kind lady who gave her to me, because I won’t ever give my horse up.  But for some reason something has been pushing me to do something with the “gift horse.”  God is telling me that Errika and I can help someone else with their dreams.  So what came to mind?  The idea of “leasing” Errika out isn’t too fond to me.  I really am afraid to step into a legal issue or something of that sort.  In the back of my mind I kept piecing together a puzzle of a person ideal for their own growth, through Errika.  I told you in yesterdays post about that Oprah show I watched.  You make vision boards with things you want, not “shallow” things or things from the “shallows” but truly good things.  So I created a vision board in my head about someone who wants, maybe even needs a horse like Errika in their life.  Here’s my list.

For obvious reasons I really wanted to find someone who would be dedicated to her.  Of course the lease would be only 3 days out of the week, but still, I wanted someone who would want to be with her and love to share their day with her. 

- Dedication

Secondly I wanted someone who just wanted to experience a horses love, riding and otherwise.  Not someone who was/is driven to the show ring, or someone who just cares about their riding. 

- Love

Now third was someone who wanted to learn.  If an awesome Dressage rider came along and wanted to have a little project and enjoy Errika came along I would love that.  However, I doubt Errika would be their first pick. I only say that because most Dressage riders are out doing more, riding, showing, things.  Errika needs the whooole other part of it too, so that wouldn’t work unless the rider was really inclined.   

- Desire to Learn

Fourth I wanted someone who just wanted to have fun.

- Enjoyment

I think ideally it would be an older woman or a younger girl.  Like an older woman who wants to get into riding or something like that.  Or a younger girl who wants to treat a horse like her own, ride etc.  With some or no riding experience.

In an interesting way I found a perfect candidate.  My parents know her mom, she works for my dad AND she really wants to learn to ride and just be around horses.  My parents and the mom someone got into a conversation regarding horses and my mom and dad told her about me, Errika and riding etc.  I ran into her mom today while I was at my dad’s work and she seems really eager to have her daughter come ride with me. 

If this works out, I will have the girl over one day a week for a lesson on Errika and then if she likes her I might just see if she wants to lease Errika over the summer while she’s out of school. 

I think this will be great for both Errika and the girl. 

Equine Inspiration

The following came from TB Friends, the place where I adopted Ink from and Joe, the owner and dedicated horse advocate writes every morning.  Here is what he wrote today:

Thursday, February 7th… This tiny little website, and there are dozens of requests each week. Also dozens of questions, mostly from young girls, and they want to know about thoroughbreds. Many of our readers ask who am I voting for? Do Cathy and I go to church? How do I handle the depression when visiting feed lots? Just how big is my nose?

A question the other day came from Kristy, she is 16, and lives in Sacramento. Kristy wants to know who do I admire most in this world?

A toughie. And I would hate to offend someone by not mentioning their name. Cathy and I are associated with amazing giving people, who never hesitate to put others first. Who never hesitate when a horse needs help. If you are a regular reader of this morning journal, you know who these people are.

But when one person is responsible for saving gobs of horses, when one person takes on a billion dollar company and puts a halt to their expansion, it is time to give credit. We call her Michelle, and she works at the race track.

You should wait and see what Michelle has planned next. If successful, she will rock this world.

During early morning hours, while horses are working out at the race track, Michelle takes pictures with her cell phone. She has photos of horses about to be euthanized. There is a picture of a horse who during a workout completely lost his left front leg. There are pictures of grooms beating a terrified horse. Many pictures of horrific injuries, and they are difficult to look at.

Last year a company called Magna wanted to build a new race track in the town of Dixon, which is not far from us. A date was set for a special vote. Citizens of Dixon would decide if Magna, a billion dollar empire, could build this race track.

4 and 5 nights a week Michelle would walk the streets of Dixon. She knocked on doors. She stood in front of a burger joint in the middle of town. And she showed those pictures taken on her cell phone. Terrified horses in trouble. And Michelle would ask citizens of Dixon, do you really want this in your town?

And all the time Michelle would hear the same reaction. Voters had no idea. They told Michelle her pictures changed their minds. They thanked her. More than once Michelle was invited into a home for supper.

The vote was close, but the billion dollar company lost. No new race track. The empty land is now for sale.

One person can make a huge impact. Anything is possible.

Michelle has written a book about life on the race track. She has a publisher, but the book will not be for sale until Michelle has quit her job.

We often hear from young girls who want a thoroughbred. Who want a job. Who want a car. Who want their lives to be better. If it is in your heart, you can do it.

Enjoy your beautiful blue sky Thursday, and be sure to hug your horses.

Joe

 I think that pretty much explains it.