Some food for thought

First of all I had a great but busy weekend.
The kids in my 4h club made $1200!!!! wowzers! The most we have made other years was $800. Most years average $500 We couldn't believe it!

I found a little kitten in the compartment under the stairs in the horse barn at the park. She was feral and totally terrified. Someone must have dropped her off during the week because there was a bag of food but no one would have found her. I know I would be terrified if I were a feral cat scooped up and brought out into a crowd of 1000 people. I got her a box and put her in the house office where she slept. Turns out the resident mouser, Alice died a few months ago so they did need a new cat. Cool! The rule is the animals they have need to be named after one of the homestead family. So her name is Olive. She is a cute little light dusty tortoise kitty. She warmed up pretty fast to us but is still a little shy with loud noises or sudden movements. I have pictures but they are on my friends camera. Later.

Anyway the whole point of this post. The five freedoms.


First horses. When stabling or caring for a horse we must consider his welfare and the factors most likely to influence it.

1. Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition- By providing a sufficient diet to a horse to maintain his weight and energy level.

2. Freedom from physical and thermal discomfort- By providing adequate shelter and a comfortable place to lie down.

3. Freedom from pain, injury and disease- By rapid diagnosis, prevention or treatment.

4. Freedom to express patterns of normal behaviour- Providing sufficient space per horse and animals of his own kind.

5. Freedom from fear and distress- By offering an environment that avoids mental suffering.

Now I think about this I meet all these needs for my horses these days. A wile back Indigo was getting really beaten up often. She became very spooky when other horses were around and would practically run me down to get away. I hated to see her like this so I changed her number five and shes back to her normal self. I should have seen it sooner.

Now how about horse owners. Do we have the big 5 freedoms in our current facility/boarding barn?

Here's mine.

1. Freedom to express myself as a trainer, rider, horse person- I want to experiment with my horses, figure out what works and try all sorts of methods of training. Sometimes it can get a little messy but we all work it out. Basically I want to train and not have someone hanging over my shoulder going "that's wrong!" or "don't do that!". I need to figure things out.

2. Freedom to have freedom- This one links quite well with number 1. I want to have one on one time with my horses. I want to be able to groom them when I want, where I want and to be able to ride them almost wherever I please within riding distance. I have that. I have big open fields, a round pen, the beach, roads etc. I only wish I had a paddock or even an indoor arena within reasonable riding distance.

3. Freedom to have control over my horses- I'm taking equine science in university to learn how to feed, manage, train and let my horses be healthy horses. I don't want someone coming in and saying what I should be feeding my horse. Though I am always open minded. I also don't want anyone to have control over where my horse is turned out or with who. If I want to turn her out with the big herd I can, if I want her to have grass I can.

4. Freedom to share my horses- Some of my friends are horse people, some are not. All of them enjoy and like horses but not all are "horse people". I want to be able to bring whomever I want into the barn and say "here's my horse!" and maybe even give them a ride. I know a lot of boarding stables are strict. I am glad I can bring my nephews out any time and let them ride or run around the barn and be kids.

5. Freedom for my horse- My horse must have as much of the 5 freedoms as she can get. I don't want her confined to a stall unless she is injured and I always want her to be out with another horse so she can be a horse.

What are your five freedoms? Are there any you would change? Need more of?

Contest: If you could change one thing...

Ok so I have been mentioning a contest, I have finally got around to posting it. It's 1am lol!
So I have been thinking about this for a long time. If I could change one thing about the horse world what would I change?

I really did not have to think hard about this one.
Being a student of equine science in University I have learnt a great deal about the anatomy, nutrition, genetics, behavioral, growth and many other topics on the horse. It's brought me a great insight on things that us horse people do that may seem kind, but are actually harmful to the horse. Not necessarily physically harmful but denying the horses right to be a horse. See the 5 freedoms. We often stall a horse for periods of time and sometimes its necessary. Most of the time it's a convenience for us. We like to know our horses are safe and not getting nicked up, keeping clean or escaping in the night.
It's proven that horses in training, regardless of age exhibit less behavioral problems when they are out 24/7 with other horses than when they are stalled, even for a few hours. I would believe it, that is why horses I train are out 24/7 when they are with me. I like a horse to be a horse. They are gonna get kicked and cut and scraped but thats ok.
My instructor said to me the other day "Horses have evolved to heal, if only allowed natural circumstances. One year of turn-out cures most lamenesses fully and inexpensively. Two years cures anything, they say. This most successful of all treatments is called "giving the horse the gate" Pasture rest cures horses. Stall rest is often counterproductive, not to mention beahviourally inappropriate." -Dr.Sid Gustafson. Took the words right out of the horses mouth.

Basically what I am getting at is there has been a lot of big changes in horsemanship, especially in the last 5-10 years. People are reading up and studying equine behaviour instead of just "getting on them and riding the bucks out". People let their horses be horses. They strive to understand them, give them as natural care as possible. It's wonderful. My horses are outside 24/7. People comment all the time on how unflappable and mostly calm they are on trails or at events. I do not put so much on my training abilities so much as letting them be horses and getting lots of the 5 freedoms. I am pointing out specifically #3 in this case. This is what I would change.

"Freedom from pain, injury and disease- By rapid diagnosis, prevention or treatment. "

My horses are bitless as you might have noticed because the URL and name of my blog says so. Why did I go bitless? Well although my horses were wonderfully responsive to bits and never had problems going around in a flexible rubber Mullen mouth snaffle, possibly one of the "kindest" bit's, I wanted something more for them. I wanted to upgrade my equitation and my horses training and prove to myself and them that pain did not have to be part of our relationship.
I went bitless. At first it was a little bumpy. I got criticized constantly, you need a bit in that horses mouth, he is gonna run away with you, wait until you gallop, something spooks your horse she is gonna be unstoppable, your crazy, the horse only listens because hes a good horse, he only listens because you had him since a baby, it's never gonna work, bit, bit, bit, bit, bigger bit, more bit, BITS! I hated them at that point. Why should I stick a piece of non flexible steel in a sensitive part of my horses body that has more nerve endings and soft, malleable (not to mention damageable) tissue than any other part of his or her body? I shouldn't. My professors backed my research on bits and the harmful effects of them 100%. They were surprised themselves and even took the leap to bitless.
Of course this is my dream. I've trained more quiet horses without the bit than with. Some were green as green, others old timers with some supposedly "ingrained" bad and dangerous habits that were fixed within the first dozen rides being bitless. Others were like my poor old mare Naigen that had a medical problem that was not recognized until a bit was placed in her mouth. I try not to imagine the pain she was in just trying to breathe and hold a bit at the same time.

So what would I change about the horse world. Just one thing. Well I would make it so bits were not allowed. Make it so those so stuck on the bit had to do training to achieve the control they have with pain and a bit. I hope in my lifetime bits will become a thing of the past. After all bits were created and refined when Ghengas Kan was a ruler and the world was believed to be flat.
Today it's round and today I am bitless. My horses are happy. I do not need a bit to control any horse I ride or train. Today is my day because if I can make a difference in just one horses relationship with humans without a bit to do it. I have climbed another mountain. Maybe one day I'll be on the Mt.Everest of bitless. I can only hope some bitless horse is there to guide me along the way.

So that is what I would change.

This contest I want to know what you would change, if you could change just one thing about the horse world.
Maybe you would make it illegal to run a stable without taking a training course.
No slaughter all together.
No shoes.
No harmful things such as soaring

If you don't have a horse or are not connected to the horse population what would you change about the world in general.

Please post here, or if your post is too long to put as a comment post it on your blog and link me.
Oh, btw you don't have to have a blog to participate in this one. E-mail is fine.
Leave me a way to contact you in your comment. I'll be using a random generator to pick the winner.

Of course a contest would not be complete without prizes:
A nylon nurtural bridle(minus reins), your choice of size in either black or brown (see site link below for pictures of brown nylon)
(Images property of nurtural horse)

Another prize is a hand made dream catcher, made by me. What will I be making this dream catcher of? Well out of an old horse shoe of course! They are wonderful. I've been putting dream catchers in the fair for 15 years now and not even once has mine had a second place ribbon. This one pictured was a christmas present for a friend of her passed pony. I found his mane hair on the paddock fence. She bawled when I gave it to her. I am glad I could preserve her lovely companion. I have a lot of Canadian goose feathers I have painted various subjects on. They will be part of it and if you have a horse and want your horses hair attached to it like in the one pictured (but not the one you are getting, sorry D: ) I can definately do that if you can send me the hair.
Oh someone in my pay it forward has one of these babies going in the mail ASAP. Look for it ;)

Who doesn't like free stuff?

So leave a comment, blog about it, tell some friends, get back to me. What would you change about the horse world, or just the world? Feel free to open discussion, this contest officially ends the 29th of July at 12 midnight, Eastern time.