Image from Shagya France

Before moving to Brooksville, FL and starting E.N.V.I., I taught and trained in Pinellas Park. Still new to the area, Mrs. Susan, now a beloved friend and client, decided to give me a try and hired me to find her “dream horse.”

Susan is an aspiring dressage rider who loves Arabians. She had very clear specifications. She wanted a calm, bay Arabian, who would be successful at dressage.

She also had personality specifications, as this would be her lifelong pet. What a challenge!

Not An Easy Task

We literally looked at hundreds of horses! Susan was very organized and helpful, and had computer folders full of horses she liked and wanted me to look at to see if they would work. Of course, one was an Arabian, but gray, and hot. One was a bay, and built great for dressage, but not an Arabian. She was willing to consider horses outside her specifications, however the look on her face told the story that she really wouldn’t be happy with anything less.

A majority of the horses, just wouldn’t work for her. Susan is also very petite, and would benifit from a wider backed horse to give her more of a base, and stability in the saddle. That posed another challenge.

A Lucky Find

Well, low and behold, along comes Capri. All the way in Missouri. There was a 14.1hh bay Arabian mare. Her conformation was PERFECT for dressage and the owner posted extensive video of the six weeks of ground work and basic start under saddle she had put on her so it could be seen that she wasn’t too hot. In fact, she is quite calm. That was all I needed.

My experience told me “buy her sight unseen!” As long as she passed the vet check, everything else could be worked out.

An Even Luckier Coincidence

Well, it just so happened, that Susan and her husband had planned a vacation at a horse ranch less than two hours from where Capri was, that next weekend. They went and visited her, and found that she was quite affectionate, giving Susan lots of hugs, and when spooked, she would stop dead in her tracks, as opposed to more dangerous explosive alternatives. They made their decision and shipped her to Pinellas Park!

After she arrived, it was also observered that she has a wide back. So wide in fact, Susan had to purchase a custom saddle. She was happy to do this, and having paid only 15% of her original purchasing budget for Capri, she had plenty of “extra” money to do so.

Susan and Miss Capri

What They Are Up To Now

Currently, Susan and her husband, and Ms. Capri are here in Brooksville. Susan and Capri have their very first show ever and together this upcoming weekend.

Their progress has been steady as they are both willing and skilled students. We anticipate much success!

Spending the day at the TAB may be fun but now you can watch horse races online as well. Here are three sites you might like to take a look at.

No Tracks Nearby?

Can’t get to the track or the telly for a big race? If you can get to a computer or have a mobile phone with Internet capability, you can still see the races.

Here are three sites to check out.

BigPond Sport: Horse Racing

This free site loads quickly and has an easy-to-read menu. It also offers a print version of that day’s race card, including the number cloths of the horse and what position the horse will actually break out of the gate.

The racing odds and a lot of the tabled information is provided by Betfair, who also offer a betting service. There’s also horse racing news to sneak a peek at while waiting to watch the next race.

Watching the Past in High Quality

Unfortunately, it is difficult to find races that happened pervious to the current card. You have to practically scan the site with a microscope to find a miniature calendar icon with the tiny words ‘Change Date’ next to it. It can take several minutes for your particular race to download before it will play but the picture quality is admirable, even if you are watching from this writer’s old PC.

All in all, a good site with everything on offer that committed racing fans will need.

Australian Racing: Live video feeds

This is another free service, but this time you have to register with the site in order to get access to the videos which are in the “member’s area”. Race-goers will be used to these kinds of restricted zones; part of me thinks it is kind of cute of Australian racing; another part of me got a bit annoyed at having to fill out the form.

The registration form is about a standard page long and asks questions about your gambling habits within Australia. Expect to spend a good 5 to 10 minutes providing all of this information. At least you are not required to make a bet in order to watch horse races online!

Being a Member

At the top of the screen is a ‘replay’ tab, which you may need because you’ve possibly just missed your race in the time it took to fill out the registration form. (Have I mentioned that I don’t like the compulsory registration?). When you enter the video part of the site you are taken to a calendar and a drop-down menu which asks you what track you want to look at. Another browser screen opens which turns on your video software such as Windows Media Player or whatever your computer has.

It’s a comprehensive site and you certainly feel like you are part of an exclusive club once you get in.

Harness Link

If you are into harness racing rather than flat racing or steeplechases, then your best bet is to go to Harness Link and download their free toolbar. This helps you find free online harness racing video, whether recorded or live streaming.

Unfortunately, they do not offer this service without a toolbar on their own website. Because of the nature of the Internet, live streaming races come and go at the drop of a hat.

The toolbar helps keep up with these changes so it’s really handy. Want to try and find these sites yourself? Good luck!

The following poem, one which I crafted just in time for Halloween, is based on Washington Irving’s fictional story, “The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow”. This short story that gained great fame and popularity is set in late 1700’s New York in a Dutch settlement named Sleepy Hollow.

Legend has it that the Headless Horseman is the ghost of a Hessian trooper who had his head shot off by a stray cannonball during the American Revolutionary War. It is said that he rides to the scene of the battle each night in search of his head.

One dark Autumn night the schoolmaster of Sleepy Hollow, one Ichabod Crane, leaves a party at the Van Tassel home. He is pursued by The Headless Horseman and meets an unknown fate. One can surmise from the story that the Horseman that night is a man named Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt, Ichabod’s rival for a young and wealthy lady named Katrina Van Tassel.

Ichabod mysteriously disappears from town and leaves the lovely Katrina to marry Brom Bones…

I Am The Black Steed

I am the black steed
Of Headless Horseman fame,
Upon my back did he do his deed -
But he can never hang his head in shame;

In a haunted Sleepy Hollow
A frightful sight we are,
Through the mists and fog we follow -
Ichabod, poor Ichabod, you’ve gone too far;

“Vengeance is mine”, my rider shrieks
(though for cannon or girl I cannot know),
“Ah, they think we are freaks -
So be it then, we’ll give them a show!”

He steers me hard
With reins of hate,
Ichabod, oh Ichabod, stay on your guard -
For this Hessian plans to seal your fate;

Ah, too late, he wants her for himself
Prideful though he has lost his head,
Ichabod, poor Ichabod, your bones now sleep on his shelf -
While the lovely Katrina sleeps in his bed.

I am the black steed
Of Headless Horseman fame,
Upon my back he did do his deed -
But he will never hang his head in shame.

Here is the second book review for a book written by Mark Rashid. I found that once I finish one book, I get a craving for another one that he wrote! Fortunately, he has written several…

Title: Life Lessons From A Ranch Horse
Publisher and Year Published: Johnson Books, 2003

Book Summary

Rashid’s fourth book is about his relationship with a special horse named Buck. Rashid gleans a lot of information about handling horses and life from the relationship and experiences with this particular equine partner. His horse calmly, patiently, and persistently challenges him to become a better trainer and ultimately, a better person.

He reminds us that great teachers are not just of the human kind.

Primary Lessons

In the first half of the book, Rashid skillfully lays out the 6 primary lessons which he has learned from working with Buck. These things that seem simple enough at first glance – like patience and consistency for example – are usually harder to put into practice than one realizes. Rashid delves into human and horse psyches in the second half of the book to help us figure out how to put this into practice.

Rashid is a gifted writer, and his love and respect for horses, especially one named Buck, shines through in this book. It is a refreshing look at “human training” from a horse trainer, one who can do it seemingly with a much smaller ego than one would think.

Another Great Title

I am about half-way through Rashid’s book Horsemanship Through Life, and I am enjoying it and learning from it just as much as his other books. I try to remind myself of common themes that run throughout his books – things like patience, consistency, and being non-confrontational – when I am working with my horse. And my kids. And other humans. Its good advice, and its one more example of why horses make great additions to our lives!

Hoof Rank

I am giving this book a rating of 4 hooves out of a possible 4!

More Mark

find more about Mark Rashid on his website and also see him in the inspiring and must-see film by Stormy May, The Path Of The Horse. Also be sure to check out Mark’s books & a Horseman Magazine Interview with Mark.

Image from Arrowmaker Ranch

In the last 20 years, DNA testing technology has become both equally complicated and commonplace.

Pair this ease of genetic testing with a rage for horses of exotic and unusual colors and the result has been previously unknown locations of the equine genome. One of these genes has been labeled the champagne gene due to its very unique phenotype (what the horse actually looks like).

Defining The Unknown

Champagne colored horses have no doubt existed prior to genetic testing, but were often registered as a more common color such as palomino simply because that was the closest known match. After seeing a champagne horse it is easy to understand the confusion. In an effort to more accurately trace the champagne gene, The International Champagne Horse Registry was created. This registry has mapped the likely history of the equine champagne gene in addition to documenting known champagne horses.

Champagne Breeds

Champagne is not found in every breed, but a few that are include: Tennessee Walking Horses, Missouri Fox Trotters, Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses, Arabian crosses, American Saddlebreds, Quarter Horses, Welsh Pony crosses, American Cream Drafts and Miniature Horses. It seems, however, most prominent in the gaited breeds.

It should also be noted that champagne is a dominant gene so only one copy is necessary to have the full affect on the horse’s coat.

Champagne Characteristics

When looking at a champagne horse, the first thing usually noticed is that the horse’s coat has an incredible sheen to it. The champagne gene naturally puts a show sheen shine on the horse’s hair, more noticeable on the summer than winter coat. The gene also dilutes the horse’s base color to a whole rainbow of different shades. In each case, the coat color is lightened slightly with dramatic effect.

Image from Angie Marques

Those Eyes

Eye color is also affected by the gene. At birth, the eyes are blue but begin to change colors within a few weeks. Eye shades for the adult champagne horse are anywhere from green to a gold or amber color.

That Skin

Another characteristic of the champagne gene is a different pink hue to the horse’s skin. This is less noticeable on some horses and more on others. It is difficult to describe the difference in the pink skin of a paint horse and that of a champagne horse, but there is a notable difference in shade. The pinkish skin is most obvious on the muzzle, eye rims, sheath or udder and under the tail.

Also in these areas are freckles, another trait. Freckles are not uniquely characteristic of the champagne gene however they are almost always present in a champagne horse with few exceptions. Some combinations of dilute genes can produce a horse with few or no freckles.

The Colors

The base coat color of any horse determines the likely outcome a dilute gene will have on the horse’s color. For example, a sorrel or chestnut horse plus one cream gene will be a palomino whereas a bay with one cream gene is a buckskin. Likewise, champagne on a sorrel/chestnut horse is referred to as a gold champagne, on bay it is called amber champagne, champagne on a black horse as its base coat is a classic champagne.

The last color is called sable champagne. This color is based on an even newer gene annotated as Agoutit (At); phenotypically a “brown” horse. Test results on these horses will sometimes come back annotated with at least one “A” gene, though an actual agouti gene may not be present. A brown horse typically has little or no distinction between the body color and color of the points of the horse. If the horse is tested again for At and receives positive results as well as positive results for the champagne gene, it will be labeled as a sable champagne. Sable champagne shades will present with various shades of mocha colors.

Gene Combinations

Champagne is just another dilute gene among many like cream, dun, pearl, silver, etc. Many times champagne is inherited along with another of these dilute genes. These combinations produce double diluted horses and no two of the same gene couplings seem to the look alike. Many combinations have been documented by the ICHR such as champagne and dun.

Again though, the overall result for the horse’s color depends on the original base coat; so a grullo (black dun) champagne will look different than a red dun champagne even though both combinations of dilute genes are dun and champagne. Double dilutes including champagne can be silver, dun and pearl to name a few.

Another extremely small subset of champagne dilute combinations are triple dilutes. These horses have two genes in addition to champagne. Only 4 horses have been documented to have two cream genes with the champagne and only one with two cream genes, a champagne and a dun gene.

Conclusion

There are several animal genetics labs that test for the champagne gene including UC Davis and Animal Genetics Inc. All that is required is a sample of 30-40 mane or tail hairs with roots attached. Results come as quickly as an email a week after the sample is mailed. The exotic qualities of a champagne horse have it growing in popularity but large numbers of these horses can never depreciate the unique characteristics and ultimate sheen of a champagne colored horse.

Many Thanks

The world of color genetics is a difficult one to understand, so it is a fun treat to get help from someone who knows their stuff. Thanks to Karina for this thoughtful post, and for the images of her lovely perlino, champagne dun Morgan Dun N Stone. You can learn more about her & her horses on her website.

1. You are a unique and special part of the herd.

2. Bachelors and boys come and go, but the love of a horse and herd lasts forever.

3. People will try to round you up and pen you in; don’t let them fence your spirit.

4. Respect is earned.

5. Loyalty is a gift, not a given.

6. The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, but the poop is the same color.

7. Sometimes it’s a long journey to the next watering hole, but don’t give up; sometimes its right around the bend in the path.

8. The valleys might have the best grass, but climbing the mountain affords the prime views.

9. Pick your friends well: it can be a life or death decision.

10. Stick up for your friends, and they will be there when you need a good back scratch.

11. The tall, rich grass may be satisfying, but it can also be a cover for hidden dangers.

12. Its nice to be pretty, but a good roll in the dust or mud can deter the flies.

13. If you are too busy gossiping at the water hole, you might miss the predators watching you from afar.

14. Balance, balance, balance.

15. At the end of a show, it isn’t the number of ribbons you carry home but the quality of the effort you put into it that counts.

16. If you focus too much on the flies, you might miss that big pile of poop you are standing in.

17. Take time to play.

18. Mares rock!

Book Title “A Good Horse Is Never A Bad Color”
Publisher and year of first publication Johnson Books, 1996
Author Mark Rashid
Website www.markrashid.com

Underneath that coat, your horse can be good as gold, so treat him appropriately

When it comes to sentimental movies and a few well-written novels that I have read over the years, I admit that it is not all that difficult to bring me to tears with a good story.

I was surprised, however, when it happened in the midst of the first chapter in a book written by a horse trainer.

A Great Storyteller

It might have had to do a little with the story of a young palomino filly pelted with a bb gun and denied food and water. Or perhaps it was in the saga of the terrified horses in with Warren and the boys with their shovels and whips.

However, when I reached the final chapter entitled “The Gift”, I realized that I was simply but profoundly moved by the overall heartwarming message in the book, of what can be accomplished when domination and cruelty take a back seat to patience, respect, and synchronization between man and horse.

Rashid’s First Book

The book is actually a follow-up to Rashid’s first book titled “Considering The Horse”, and it is full of stories of “bad” paints, Arabs, Appaloosas, Palominos, and more. At their very core, these were not bad animals to begin with. However, they all developed sometimes dangerous habits because of their owners and trainers and all the buckets of misunderstanding and abuse these horses were often forced to drink on a daily basis.

The book speaks to what is missing in a lot of relationships between horses and mankind, with the “kind” in mankind frequently being quite a stretch of the imagination. Rashid skillfully weaves his messages of patience and respect for the horse into a blanket, one that he hopes readers will continue to wrap themselves in long after they have closed the cover and passed “the gift” onto others.

Words of Wisdom

“A Good Horse Is Never A Bad Color” is about how to achieve harmony with horses in lieu of sovereignty and subjugation. If you are looking for a book to list the steps to train that green horse in your backyard and all the fancy tack, tools, and exercises needed to do it, this isn’t it. But I wouldn’t reach for a horse training manual without having first read this book, filled with Rashid’s words of wisdom that have been passed down through the ages.

Hoof Rank

I am giving this book a rating of 4 hooves out of a possible 4!

Links to More Resources

Mark’s website
All of Mark’s books
Horseman Magazine Interview with Mark

Image from DawnVGilmorePhotography

What Would Hippocrates and Hahnemann Think About Modern Medicine?

In conventional medicine, where doctors are sworn to obey the Hippocratic oath that includes the mandate do no harm, the suppression of symptoms is the norm, not the stimulation of healing.

Perhaps I was able to open myself up to the possibilities of homeopathy because I was daily in my job reading about the side effects of the drugs that I was selling, the drugs that needed to be used chronically because they were not curing the patients but merely suppressing symptoms. The side effects then needed a new prescription for a pill to suppress the side effect.

If you were lucky enough, you sold a drug that took care of that side effect in addition to the primary drug.

I found it amusing from the start of my career that the majority of these drugs had a statement in their prescribing information that the method of action of the drug was unknown. Note to self: if my doctor does not understand how this drug is acting upon my body, how can he or she understand the long-term effects of it on the various systems in my body?

Ripples In Pools, Footprints On Sand

Interestingly enough, one reason that homeopathy is ridiculed is that it is not completely understood. Most people are not prepared for an understanding of energy footprints and the fact that the higher potencies of remedies are actually thought to have none of the original material in them.

The poet in me grasps onto that concept as the ripples left in a pool of water from a stone breaking its surface, or the footprints left on a beach in the wet sand.

The Placebo Effect

If you read some of the negative commentary about homeopathy, you will also find that the placebo effect is frequently given as a reason to explain why homeopathy works. There is, mind you, very often a huge placebo effect in the world of pharmaceutical drugs, too, that tends to be ignored when it is convenient. When I was selling a migraine medication, for example, some of the data showed that 30-40% of patients given the placebo would be relieved of their migraine. (At $15 a pill, I’ll take the placebo to try first, please).

Image from ausphoto – heritagefutures

Not understanding the mechanism of action of a drug is apparently still better than attributing healing to a placebo effect, especially when you have spent millions of dollars bringing this drug to market and studying it on, say, 200 people, giving you real data and not quantum physics magic. The results of the studies can then be extrapolated onto the population at large because the drug will have powerful approval, marketing, and acceptance by the general public.

Besides, you cannot patent homeopathic remedies and energetic footprints.

I find myself thinking that even if the placebo effect is alive and well in both homeopathy and the world of pharmaceutical drugs, it is not so terrible a thing if people are getting well by it. It also speaks powerfully to the concept of the mind in the healing process.

However, how does one then explain the power of homeopathy when used on my horse or other animals? I would have had to communicate to my horse that I was giving her something to help her get well. This is perhaps not too terribly far-fetched, but it is still quite a stretch – even for me.

Racing To Labor: It Gets Personal Again

Since that first dramatic encounter with homeopathy and my horse, I have used homeopathic remedies on myself and on my family with great success. An unforgettable example of the power of homeopathy when correctly dosed and linked to a person’s physical, emotional, and mental symptoms came when I was actually induced for labor with my first child by my naturopathic doctor. I was two weeks overdue, and within 30 seconds of being given a remedy my water broke, right then and there on the chair I was sitting on when answering the questions to determine the correct remedy.

As a side note, the remedy was one based on a material that used to be given to race horses to make them run faster. How appropriate; like heals like, and the doctor was comparing me to a horse.

This Law of Similars would reveal itself to me years later with my horse again, this time even more intricately involving me, but that is another story for another day.

If you haven’t already, be sure to read part one.

Resources For More Information

To find a veterinarian trained in homeopathy, go to the AHVMA

National Center for Homeopathy
National Institutes of Health Center for Complementary And Alternative Medicine

Additionally, two superb books for learning about homeopathy (and much more) are Dr. Martin Goldstein’s The Nature of Animal Healing and Dr. Mary Brennan’s book Complete Holistic Care And Healing for Horses.

Image from aftab

Quackery, Cliffs, And Leaps Of Faith

When you find out that your horse’s death is a very real possibility, it becomes easier to make giant leaps of faith off the cliffs of indecision.

I was a brainwashed pharmaceutical representative at the time I first came across something called homeopathy, and as such I was darned skeptical of it. Homeopathy was a little mysterious and not completely understood by me (or many others), but there had been little improvement for my horse in a severe impaction colic episode after two emergency vet calls over the space of a couple of days.

I had nothing to lose by trying this particular “quackery”.

And so it was that I entered the mysterious realm of homeopathy, handing over $5 to a local naturopath for a vial of tiny pellets. I had briefly read up on homeopathy the night before and found the name and dosage of the recommended remedy for impaction colic. A few years earlier I had been introduced to it by a fascinating book about animal healing by Dr. Martin Goldstein, but I had not been ready to try it on any of my animals or myself. It would take a crisis to move me in that direction, and it is a crisis that you face when your horse has impaction colic.

Image from incurable_hippie

A Witness To Magic

I did not fully understand what the little pellets would do, but from what I had read it seemed very promising as well as fairly harmless at the recommended dose that I would be using. Besides, I was out of options: my veterinarian had just instructed me that afternoon to make an appointment with the equine surgery hospital an hour south of our location.

Within 30 minutes of giving my horse the tiny pellets, she pooped and drank water and started to graze. Then we put her in a round pen and she started trotting around as if this was a normal afternoon. I was completely in awe. I remember telling a friend of mine at the barn that day to remember what had just happened; she had been a witness to something amazing.

At the time, what had happened seemed like magic. I would come to understand that it was amazing only in the sense that a pharmaceutical representative entrenched in the medical world would try something scoffed at and ridiculed by the majority of conventional doctors.

That colic episode had a happy ending due to homeopathy, and I was baptized a believer on the spot.

Image from taberandrew

Homeopathy and The Law of Similars

Homeopathy is a type of medicine developed over two hundred years ago by a German physician by the name of Samuel Hahnemann. It is believed to stimulate the body’s defense systems, encouraging the body to rally its troops and to heal itself. Hahnemann found that a substance that produces a particular set of symptoms in a healthy person can cure a sick person who is having those same symptoms. This is the concept of like cures like, and it is called the Law of Similars.

The concept itself pre-dates Hahnemann, going back 400 years before the birth of Christ; it is ascribed to the Father of Medicine himself, Hippocrates. There is evidence that Hippocrates thought “through the like, disease is produced, and through the application of the like it is cured.”

The results of homeopathy may be subtle or dramatic, and it can be used for acute as well as chronic illness.

Be sure to tune in next week for part two.

Resources For More Information

To find a veterinarian trained in homeopathy, go to the AHVMA

National Center for Homeopathy
National Institutes of Health Center for Complementary And Alternative Medicine

Additionally, two superb books for learning about homeopathy (and much more) are Dr. Martin Goldstein’s The Nature of Animal Healing and Dr. Mary Brennan’s book Complete Holistic Care And Healing for Horses.

About HorseNet

HorseNet Horse Rescue (HNHR) is a 501(c)3 equine rescue & sanctuary with two locations in Maryland- New Windsor and Mount Airy.

HorseNet is a no-kill, anti-slaughter horse rescue that currently cares for about 100 horses.

HNHR is also 100% volunteer-run organization with no paid staff, so they’re always looking for new volunteers and donations!

Adopting A Horse

HorseNet has many lovable and beautiful horses currently available for adoption, both ridable & companion animals. Anyone in the state of Maryland or anyone that resides 2.5 hours away from their facilities are eligible to adopt. An adoption contract and appointments are needed before adopting any horse.

You can easily learn more about adopting and see movies of the available horses.

Sponsoring A Horse

All HorseNet horses are available for sponsorship. Sponsors receive a photo and history of their horse along with being acknowledged on the web site. Sponsors are also welcome to go to HorseNet and visit their horses. You do not have to live in the state of Maryland in order to sponsor a horse.

Learn about sponsoring a horse.

The Blind Herd

Lend A Helping Hand

HorseNet is always in need of donations, since they care for many horses, donkeys, miniature horses, etc. 100% of all donations received, go directly to the horses, so you know where your money goes!

The Wishlist

Here is a list of some of the items needed at HorseNet, and of course they can always use a couple of helping hands too.

• Waterproof blankets, sizes 66 through 84
• Aloe vera juice, alfalfa pellets & allstock
• Black oil sunflower seeds & ground flax seed
• Hay – timothy/brome, orchard grass
• Mineral salt & salt blocks
• Senior feed (Dumore Sr, Senior Glo or Nutrena Sr)
• Straw & pine shavings
• Weight builder/Fatt Cat
• Betadine solution, triple antibiotic ointment & thermometers
• Duct tape & vet wrap
• Bute & epsom salts
• Satin Star cotton sheeting, gauze pads
• Tack of all kinds (from saddles to lead ropes)
• Dewormer, fly masks & fly spray
• Water buckets & double ended snaps
• Wheelbarrows, pitchforks & towels
• Fence posts (4×4), board fencing & plywood
• Generator, hoses & a water pump
• 1/2 ton pick up truck (4 wheel drive)
• 2 horse xtall, xwide step up stock trailer

Here is their complete wish list.

Make Friends

It’s easy to keep track of HorseNet, find them on their website www.hnhr.org, follow them on twitter @HorseNetRescue, friend them on facebook, view their youtube, or check out some pics on their flickr.