It’s been called

“The Hardest Act of Love

you’ll ever carry out,
and the toughest decision you’ll ever make.”

Of Greek origin, the word Euthanasia literally means
‘a good death.’

This week I had the good fortune to come upon the ‘End-of-Life Decisions’ Seminar produced by the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine. This topic has been on my mind as the owner of a 34yo horse. It was not easy to watch. I had only a rudimentary knowledge of how a horse is ‘put down,’ having seen one shot between the eyes many years ago.

I’ve talked only briefly with my vet. My greatest worry, after having to actually make the decision, was how will my horse feel when the initial injection makes her fall to the ground. How painful will hitting the ground the be? Will she be scared, confused? How long will she be conscious laying on the ground, possibly panicked, before the final injection?

Cornell has an excellent reputation, ranking 3rd in the list of 100 Best Veterinary Universities In The World according to vetreport.com while the National Library of Medicine ranks it 2nd in the US. And they did not disappoint with this excellent presentation. Exceeding my expectations, they put my fears to rest with their clear, thorough explanation of the process.

I recommend it to all horse owners.
Look for Past Seminars on the Cornell Equine Seminar Series page.

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March 1st was National
Horse Protection Day?

Unfortunately horses, both domestic and wild, have been subjected to neglect and abuse for decades.
In American horses have always signified freedom.
It’s tragic, the symbol for freedom is not free itself!

In 1971 the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act federally protected horses and burros inhabiting public lands in 10 western states. We see how well that’s worked out. They continue to be rounded up, abused, neglected, malnourished, and even slaughtered.
National Horse Protection Day, also known as. World Horse Day, was first observed in 2005 and we are still working to protect our wild horses and rescue, rehab, and rehome unwanted horses. Yes, National Horse Protection Day WAS March 1st but the need is so great EVERYDAY must be a horse protection day.

YOU can help:
•support a horse through a charity
•donate to your local horse sanctuary
•support organizations that protect and care for horses
•get involved in lobbying efforts to improve legislation on animal welfare

Follow Scott Beckstead, Animal Wellness Action.
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction/ and  https://www.facebook.com/scott.beckstead1

Photo: Hilary Halliwell 

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Birthdays….. funny as our outlook on birthdays changes as we age, from excited anticipation to dread, denial then just accepting the inevitable as one has to comes to terms with the ticking clock and the ravages old age can bring, no matter how slow. I can attest to this – I hit a significant birthday last year.

So we make the best of it, taking the best care of ourselves as we can – what else can we do?

And likewise, as our horses age we try to give them the best quality of life. We seek the best veterinary care but sometimes there’s just not much help. Take deteriorating teeth. As teeth wear down and wear out their chewing ability is comprised, often causing older horses to regularly spit out ‘quids’ -wads hay/grass they can’t chew fine enough to swallow, and unlike the ‘doggie dentures’ TV commercial from aways back, there are no ‘horsey dentures.’

It appears to be a sentiment among some horsemen that these horses do not need to be turned out in a grass pasture. “Logical” (business) thinking would seem to say ‘why give an old horse a spot in premium pasture space if they can’t actually eat the grass? Better to put a younger horse there who can benefit more.’

Isn’t it all about Quality of Life?

So the old horse is relegated to a barren ‘dry lot’ with a pile of hay and no opportunity for fresh grass. But something is being overlooked here: as well as the physical needs of an older horse, shouldn’t we provide for his psychological needs? We can supplement their nutritional needs, compensating for un eaten grass/hay, but horses confined to a dry lot are deprived of one of the key elements of being a horse: grazing. Nose down, slowly walking around, sniffing out those sweet stalks of grass. I believe there’s significant emotional satisfaction in smelling, chewing, and tasting the fresh grass, even if it’s not all swallowed.

That’s what I want for my horse.

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Of course you’re aware that there are many words in the English language that sound the same but are spelled differently and have very different meanings. I wonder if the same is true in other languages. Being monolingual, I don’t have a clue…. But that’s neither here nor there.
Take for example the words ‘tic’ and ‘tick’ – or don’t take them as they both undesirable, things you don’t really want to have.

In humans, a tic is basically an involuntary, repetitious movement. Some horses display repetitious, seemingly obsessive movements like ‘weaving,’ rocking their head and neck from side to side while their chest and front legs follow along, shifting from leg to leg. Weaving is a ‘stereotypy,’ a repetitive, compulsive behavior that serves no purpose. This would seem to fit the definition of a ‘tic.’ Unfortunately, there always seem to be one or two horses in the barn afflicted by this vice, the cause being unclear, some attributing it to confinement, boredom, or stress.

And there’s another affliction horses are prone to – ticks.
Tiny but mighty!

Nasty little creatures that crawl through the grass (they don’t fly) and grab onto horses, attaching themselves by burying their sharp little teeth into their prey while they feed on the horse’s blood. Ick.

They are not insects as one might think, but arachnids, relatives of spiders, scorpions, and mites. Double ick. Tiny yet mighty, besides looking nasty, these parasites can be dangerous, transmitting serious illnesses like Lyme disease. Removing them can be tricky as you must be sure to pull the entire critter out without leaving the head behind, which can cause an infection.

Last week during grooming Pins was acting bothered, holding her left leg on the tip of her toe and the inside of her leg was sensitive. I always listen to what she’s trying to tell me and upon closer inspection I found something sticking out of her inner leg. It looked like a tiny beige plastic tab of some sort and was pretty well stuck to her. I had no idea it was a living creature– never having seen a tick feeding off a horse before. Luckily, we were able to successfully extract it intact, but I’ll never forget the unreal sight of it!

If you want more info on ticks horsehealthproducts.com has some good information.

The post Tics & Ticks appeared first on City Horse Woman.

Photo credit: Kimerlee Curyl Photography

Today we celebrate Veterans Day

By no means downplaying the debt we owe these brave homo sapien veterans, millions of equids also served, although not voluntarily. One of the most famous, ranked as one of America’s greatest war heroes for her deeds and named by Life magazine among America’s top 100 heroes in 1997, is United States Marine Corps 1st Division, 5th Regiment, Sgt. Reckless. This small Mongolian mare served during the Korean War, was wounded twice, and decorated with two Purple Hearts. She was one of the lucky ones who returned to the United States and lived out her days at Camp Pendleton until she died in 1968.

Horses and mules shaped American history in tall our wars at home and overseas. So on this day when we are honoring the humans who served, let’s take a moment to thank the equine soldiers who have contributed to our nation.

Sgt Reckless at work

*Poll commissioned by the Cohen Veterans Network
You can comment by clicking on the link at top.

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 Do You Believe

Horses Have “Rights”?

[Click the link above to comment]

Thinking about equine welfare – the ‘Freedoms’ that horses deserve stated in the last post – lead me to wondering if people believe that horses have ‘rights.’ ie. the right to be treated humanely?  

Dictionary.com defines humane as characterized by tenderness, compassion, and sympathy for people and animals, especially for the suffering or distressed. Of course, it’s we humans who’ve defined what is humane and we can color outside the lines if it suits us.

But what’s the horses’ perspective
on what treatment is humane?

My mare recently let me know how distressing it is to a mare when her foal is abruptly taken from her – the memory still remains with her some 25+ years later. Horses are social animals and in the wild family structure is very important. Mares instinctively know how to care for their young and weaning their foals, at around 8 to 9 months of age, is not stressful. But when this natural order is broken by harsh weaning methods in captivity, typically at 4-6 months, it stresses both mare and foal.

I board at a barn where they often have newborns and I’ve heard a mare and her foal calling for each other after being abruptly separated, and it was heart wrenching!

 

Of course man’s treatment of horses is often driven by the need for fast results, economics or greed and he’ll do whatever is needed produce the results he wants regardless of the horses’ welfare.

Methods of handling horses have evolved over the years. There was a time when the widespread belief was that a horse had to be ‘broken’ and dominated. People eventually saw the light and realized there was a better way and ‘gentling’ became widespread. And there’s a better way to wean foals. It reduces the risk of mastitis in the mare and reunites her with her foal, in 6 – 8 weeks, to continue the social bonding so important to horses. Called ‘progressive weaning’ it’s described in a Natural Horse World article https://naturalhorseworld.com/new-ways-for-weaning-foals/] Hopefully there’ll come a day when most breeders will be enlightened enough to use a better, more humane, way to wean foals.

Photo by Jamison Riley on Unsplash

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Do The Five Freedoms Cover It All?

Recently I read an on-line article “The Five Freedoms and Equine Welfare” by Dale Rudin https://www.horseillustrated.com/five-freedoms-and-equine-welfare

Rudin begins “Most of us have pondered whether our horse has a life he enjoys. Is there any way to find out?” and says “yes.”
He then describes the British Farm Animal Council standard for the humane treatment of equines as:

• Freedom from hunger and thirst, by ready access to water and a diet to maintain health and vigor.
• Freedom from discomfort, by providing an appropriate environment.
• Freedom from pain, injury, and disease, by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
• Freedom to express normal behavior, by providing sufficient space, proper facilities, and appropriate company of the animal’s own kind.
• Freedom from fear and distress, by ensuring conditions and treatment that avoid mental suffering.

Rudin concludes “When you follow The Five Freedoms, you can rest easy knowing your horse is living the great life he deserves.”

I disagree – I think he’s missing an important factor: feedback from your horse. And I don’t mean just her behavior. Yes, that can indicate problems but I want to know if she’s content, satisfied and even happy. My horse deserves to be truly happy, not just well cared for. I owe her that. I’m grateful that, through an animal communicator, she was able to confirm how happy she is.                  Click ‘The Five Freedoms’ to comment

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