Products With Wisdom: helping the nature of your horse

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Eight Belles Toll For Thee, part III and conclusion

A lot of animal injustice is done in ignorance, but today with all of the information available so readily in books and on the internet there is no excuse for ignorance. I started out ignorant, getting back into horses in my adult life but with the concepts and ideas that had been formed in my younger days. I showed a wonderful Quarter Horse named Obie Gitano when I was in high school, and I was never cruel to her but she was constantly shod and lived in a box stall her entire life. For most of it she at least had an attached paddock, but it was small and of course she was never afforded the opportunity to just be a horse and graze with other horses. There was no place to do that where she was – it hadn’t been built with that in mind – and I did not know any better. I came into horses as a horse crazy 12 year old and ended up thinking all of that was “normal” and just fine for keeping a horse. Sadly, I didn’t even question it. She wasn’t even my horse, so I would not have had much say in the matter anyway, but still, it would have been a nice thing for her to occasionally graze some grass in a big pasture. I think she knew she was cared about deeply though, and I almost never missed a day at the barn throughout high school since I could walk right down to it. I hope that there are big pastures in horse heaven where she is bucking and frolicking around right now as I write this.
Fortunately, when I got back into horses, I found a wise soul named Sage that would not stand for living in a stall or having her stable mates changed too often and was always physically better when she grazed on grass. So I was forced to research, learn and adjust to what she needed - not just what was convenient for me as an owner. It took me seven years to learn what Sage and I needed to know, and to finally find the spot where she can be happy and a healthy horse, but the journey has all been worth it. In Joe Camp’s new book, The Soul of a Horse, he says that if you love your horse you will find a way, and I believe that to be true from experience.
I have spent hundreds of dollars over the years on supplements and healing modalities trying to get my square peg horse to fit into the round circle of normal horse care (it would have been easier had I had my own property but I wouldn’t have necessarily learned as much). The bond that we have created – based in large part on the fact that she knows without question that I care and will lead her to better and safer things – gives me a companion who comes to me from out in the pasture as soon as she sees me, away from her buddies and even food, has walked over a tarp with less than 10 minutes of practice, walks through water and deep mud, over large drain grates and plastic pipes and over bridges she has never seen, and more. All this has just happened in the last year or two, so it took me a while to get us to this point. Every step I took towards where I am today led my horse closer to me. Am I an expert horse trainer or an expert at natural horsemanship? No. I am simply someone who deeply loves, respects, and is a leader for their horse, leading her towards better horsemanship from her perspective. And she knows it.
Perhaps there are bells ringing somewhere right now for Eight Belles; maybe this article is my bell for her. And Barbaro. And the crippled mare who was bred one last time. And scores of others like them past and present. If just a few more of us listen, and act, then the world can be a better place for horses and humans alike.

Eight Belles Toll For Thee, part II

Of course, there are other kinds of sporting events with horses that have their fair share of crippled horses and abuses, and hopefully there will be an outcry in support of Eight Belles that will trickle over into those areas (ok, I am hoping for a gush but a trickle is better than nothing). And then there are all the horses that are not necessarily ridden too young nor whipped to perform, but they do not lead the ideal life that people are led to believe. Most people are shown the beautifully groomed horses and their huge box stalls - these horses in all areas and disciplines - and believe that they are pampered animals; what do you think the horse would say if you asked him?

Not all animal abuse is obvious – much of it is subtle and even goes unnoticed by the majority. One could say that it is abusive at some level - or at least an injustice - to put a horse in a box stall 12 or more hours a day. And its amazing how so many horses get “retired” as broodmares – have these people that do this never been pregnant and given birth themselves, not to mention raise a baby? Of course, these mares do not actually have to raise the baby for long since it will be taken away after a few months, and quite abruptly, as she will most likely be re-bred. I suppose if the horse is in great physical condition and happy and healthy, it is not such a terrible issue (except for the weaning – the examples I have seen of this have been heart wrenching and cruel in my eyes). I have seen too many mares, though, with physical conditions that take them out of the riding pool, forced to have baby after baby. One mare that I came across at a boarding facility a few years ago could barely stand – I believe that she had severe laminitis - yet she was bred to have one more baby before she was going to be put down. It sickened me, and I could barely look the owner in the eye the one time that I saw her; I wish that I had reported her to humane officials or said something to her. Neither of those things, unfortunately, would have probably done any good.

Eight Belles Toll For Thee, part I

So I wrote this article today...something to do with horse racing and animal injustices...and I am going to post a little of it here each day until I am done. Maybe it was Eight Belles speaking to me to write it for her, but whatever it was I felt compelled, so here goes:

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee..." John Donne
The great poet John Donne believed that we are all diminished when anyone dies, and I think that we are all diminished in some way by Eight Belles’ death. Or perhaps just every other living horse is affected since they are all connected to her in horse-kind, but one could argue that if a horse is affected then his owner is affected. When I read the story of Eight Belles' last run, I felt the pangs of loss even though I had never known her, in fact had never even known of her. You see, I stay away from horse racing (and I cannot say that I follow any sport that involves the use of animals) ever since I went to a horse race several years ago - my first and last - and saw horses refusing to enter starting gates and being whipped through to the finish. I am just not one to stomach most of the things that I hear about, see and read when it comes to the use of animals, especially horse racing.

New award offered in poetry contest

I received word recently of support from the folks at Mystic Horse. The second place winner in the poetry contest will receive a bottle of flower essences described below:

COOPERATION BLEND: "Helps horses to work better with people by increasing their ability to communicate and understand. Also great for horses who are aggressive or demonstrate "naughty" behaviors.

Developed exclusively by Mary Ann Simonds, Natural Vibrations Flower Essences are designed to be used alone or in combination with each other. Natural Vibrations' blends of flower and mineral essences are based on hundreds of case studies and combine essences that have successfully helped the most common issues horses and riders face. Each remedy has 20 - 40 different essences that work synergistically on the mental and emotional attitudes that cause undesirable behavior."

But what I want to know is, does it work on husbands and kids...

Sage By Nature holds its first poetry contest!

Young wordsmiths ages 13 to 18 have a chance to win a couple of great autographed books to keep for themselves or give as Mother's Day presents! All this while helping to promote natural horse and pet care. So hoof it over to the Sage By Nature website and check out the poetry contest rules and details. Entry deadline is May 9th so don't delay!!

Only nine more days to go...

Wow, second post in one day, but I just remembered something important coming up. Joe Camp's new book, The Soul of the Horse, is set to release on April 29th, so you have until then to pre-order and get the book 1/3 off - its less than $17 for a brand new hardcover book that you are sure to enjoy and learn from. So don't wait, go to the Sage Bookstore and order it through Amazon today!

Looking for a new career working with horses?

Check out the Equine Natural Movement series - "bodywork that honors the horse's structure and spirit" - and maybe you can become an equine bodywork expert. I mentioned this program in an earlier post talking about Mary Ann Simonds, and then I recently had some work done on Sage. I noticed immediate improvement with Sage after her very first session; she moved like I had not ever seen her move before in the seven years of watching her muscles move while being exercised. Sage has not been ridden very much but she has a lot of built up muscle issues probably due in part at least to tension and ulcer pain - although I got her at age two and immediately had problems with her diarrhea and muscles. Mary Ann Simonds recently joined the staff for this program, so I believe that they genuinely care about the "spirit" of the horse as well as the structure. I feel lucky to have such people in my neck of the woods!

Are boarding stables just mini zoos?

I am not going to rant about boarding here, especially since I am, unfortunately, a horse boarder myself . The norm for boarding stables is just not natural for a horse. There may be exceptions here and there, and for that we should be grateful, but I think that they are far and few between. Fortunately, I just recently found a great spot for Sage after several moves trying to find her a good "fit". Check out the new article on my website by Joe Camp, author of the new book "The Soul of a Horse (I have not read this yet because it isn't released yet, but it sounds like a must-read). It may make you stop and think about what you are doing with your "domesticated wild horse". See also Joe's website, the soul of the horse. His book is being released on April 29th, and you can buy it through my Sage Bookstore.

Life is sometimes a teeter-totter

Can't we all use a little more balance in our stressful day to day lives? I first bought this product from Mystic Horse for my horse, but I found that I thoroughly enjoyed the scent and essence of it so much that I got another bottle for myself (I must have needed some balance but with two small children who could blame me...). Then I started adding some of it to a small spray bottle to mist my children with; we call it Happy Spray :). Anway, all I can say is that my brain likes it. It would make a wonderful massage oil but I use it after a shower very sparingly.

Also of note for today is that I just received my Spring catalog from Chamisa Ridge. I love their assortment of animal and human products, especially all the horse and celtic jewelry. Its all the kind of natural herbal stuff mixed with books, cds, and celtic jewelry that I just love to look at even if I have to restrain myself from buying right now.