"Walk On Washington-All American Walking Horse Alliance"

Howdy Folks, 

This Wednesday, June 18, at 1:00 the All American Walking Horse Alliance (AAWHA) will lead a gathering in Washington DC to bring awareness to our nation's top legislators of the horrors of soreing, and to encourage members of congress to support passage of the PAST Act (Prevent All Soring Tactics Act).

This gathering will bring Tennessee Walking/Spotted Saddle/Racking Horses to the U. S. Capitol Reflecting Pool on 3rd Street SW on Union Square to encourage legislative support for passage of the PAST Act and to alert the public to the urgency of this legislation. The horses will perform in an exhibition designed to showcase their innate abilities and temperament.

The PAST Act is an amendment to the original Horse Protection Act of 1970. Upon passage, penalties for soring will increase, enforcement will once again reside with the USDA and devices implicated in the abuse of soring will be banned.

AAWHA spokesperson Jeannie McGuire of Unionville, Virginia said, "We hope to bring public attention and legislative action to this bipartisan legislation. Endorsements have been received by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the United States Equestrian Federation and the American Horse Council. Other animal welfare organizations including the ASPCA and the Humane Society support the bill."

The All American Walking Horse Alliance is comprised of Americans from across the nation and from all walks of life, bound together by an abiding love for America’s gaited horses. They are committed to nurturing the future of these kind and gentle horses as America’s most treasured and cherished equine. Their mission is to bring an end to abusive training practices while creating a purposeful and productive future for these most beloved breeds.

The PAST ACT (HR 1518) presently has 286 co-sponsors in the U. S. House of Representatives which is 66% of the 435 members. The PAST ACT (S. 1406) has 54 U.S. Senators endorsing it, and S. 1406 was unanimously reported out of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on April 9, 2014

To learn more about this event and the AAWHA visit their Facebook Page - HERE 

And their website - HERE

Let's all help to get this important legislation passed, and stop the torture of innocent horses. Your help can give voice to the voiceless.

Gitty Up~ Dutch henry

Ginger Kathrens – The Cloud Foundation -

Howdy Folks,

This story was published in my Holistic Hall of Fame column in Natural Horse Magazine in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2013 issue. Of course it looks better there, and includes a side-bar written by Ginger Kathrens ... NHM is a wonderful magazine and I encourage you to subscribe ... Ginger's work, and the efforts of  The Cloud Foundation she founded to save our wild horses, make her story a perfect Feature Friday ... Please enjoy "They Taught Her What It Means To Be a Wild Horse." When Ginger proofed it she said, "You told my pre-Cloud story beautifully."

They Taught Her What It Means To Be a Wild Horse

Why is there a Cloud Foundation? Many people believe the spirit of the horse can touch us, guide us. Ginger Kathrens is one of those people. She also believes we owe it to them to help them remain free to be horses and roam their ancestral lands.

Ginger Kathrens in the Pryer Mountains - credit-Mario Benazzi

Her first experience with horses was a pony. Ginger Kathrens was about 5 when her parents brought her the little fellow. She admits she doesn't remember much about him. Next they gave her an ex rodeo horse who she does remember as being very quick. When Ginger was in 7th grade they gave her a palomino Quarter Horse, Sonny. He was a beautiful horse but totally green and many of their adventures left Ginger bouncing on the ground. She chuckles when she thinks about those days and wonders what her parents, who were in the registered Hereford business, were trying to tell her about horses. Looking back she realizes what she hadn't learned, because she had each of those childhood equine friends separately, was that horses have a remarkably tight family bond. A fact that would later influence her life on a grand scale.

 

As a young adult Ginger created her own small film business and was busy doing what a young entrepreneur needs to do to survive. She was happily going along making films and great friends. She even had the pleasure of filming for the United States Olympic Committee. Always being an outdoor person, and lover of nature, she began to miss the natural world, so when Marty Stauffer invited her to join his team at Wild America, Ginger jumped at the opportunity. Marty hired her to do research, writing and editing for the show. For the first time Ginger was able to combine her work and her love of the outdoors and animals, which made a tremendous difference in the quality of her work, and the intensity with which she applied herself. But he never allowed her to film.

Marty's worry was not the quality of her filming; rather it was his concern for her safety. She might get lost, cold or injured he told her. For more than 6 years Ginger stayed safe indoors writing and researching, but always her heart tugged her outside. During this time Ginger did venture forth, on her own, and filmed her award winning "Spirits of the Rainforest." Traveling to the Manu preserve in upper Amazon, she was the first to film a wild Jaguar! When Marty saw the film at Jackson International Wildlife Film Festival he called Ginger from the festival to congratulate her. He told Ginger she would always be remembered for this beautiful work.

Shortly after that Marty asked Ginger to do the research, writing and the filming of a show for Wild America about Mustangs. Thrilled with anticipation and excitement Ginger agreed. But when she hung up she worried that it would be a huge task to create a half hour show about a bunch of horses standing around. Armed with apprehension and excitement she set out to discover what she'd need to know about wild horses. She'd only known her three horses as a youth, and based on that, there wasn't much that would fill a show.

She dug into researching the behavior characteristics of wild horses, and was amazed she could find virtually nothing. She found a bit about history, and a study done about horses in the Great Basin, another on Sable Island, a bit about the ponies of Chincoteague and Assateague, but really nothing about their behavior. How would she begin to make a show about wild horses if there was nothing interesting enough to have ever caused anyone to write anything about them? So far she had nothing to build from.

Ginger headed out West on a location scouting trip to discover the best places to film wild horses, still troubled that she had no resources about behavior. Wild America shows were all about showing behavior. Her plan at the time was to load the show up with history, because obviously wild horses had no interesting behavior for if they did, someone would have written about it.

She and her sister, Marian, traveled together to remote places in Oregon to see the Kiger Mustangs, and to Nevada, and McCullough Peaks in Wyoming. They did find wild horses, but all they ever saw were horses running away in great clouds of dust when their vehicle was spotted. They would not even stand to be photographed, nothing interesting about that. Ginger became very discouraged and worried for her show.

By chance she got a tip from major wild horse advocate, Karen Sussman, about a great place to see wild horses called Pryor Mountains. Karen told her a paved road ran there and the horses had become used to seeing vehicles. Karen introduced Ginger to a retired minister, Floyd Schweiger, who knew the area, and the horses.

Ginger and her sister, Marian, met Rev. Schweiger who took them on the paved road where he introduced them to their first good look at wild horses. Ginger was surprised to see Duns, Grullas, such primitive and striped Spanish looking horses. This was becoming more interesting she thought. On the way back to the motel Rev. Schweiger told them he'd heard one of the stallions he called Raven, had just had a foal born 3 days ago, and after church in the morning he could take them to see it. Rev. Schweiger loved the wild horses in the Pryor Mountain; he knew and loved their history. He told Ginger that genetic studies were coming back proving they were perhaps the most Spanish of all the wild horses remaining in the U.S.

The sisters decided to head out on their own early, after all it's only 40 thousand acres and folks at the motel gave them directions to Tillet Ridge, the place where Raven ran with his band. Key to locating Tillet Ridge was, after hours of dirt roads, turn right at the old tractor. Imagine Ginger and her sister's glee when they actually spied the tractor. A good omen indeed. Confident and excited they continued on along the red road, the sun now rising above the buttes.

A patch of snow at the base of a butte drew her attention. In front of the snow stood a majestic black stallion. Carefully Ginger set up her camera and began filming the stallion eating snow. She noticed, out of the corner of her eye, her sister who was wearing a white jacket had begun walking down the road. The stallion saw the shimmering white jacket too, and began prancing towards her. His forelock reached the end of his nose, as he pranced it floated in the breeze. He stopped just 50 yards from Marian, shook his head, snorted and pivoted. At that snort the sage surrounding the butte became alive with fleeing horses, and Ginger spied the tiny foal leaping the sage as it dashed alongside its mother. They had found the newborn foal and Raven. Ginger had also experienced her first taste of wild horse family behavior.

She didn't realize it then, but she'd also felt the first tug on her heart to do all she could to keep these noble horses free.

Back at the office she included filming at the Pryor Mountain Mustangs range in her outline for the upcoming Wild America show. She returned to Pryor Mountain for more filming several times, and each time Raven would appear, and with him his band. She began to recognize the mares and foals, and named them. But still she did not understand the basics of the wild horse behavior and she relied on what she learned filming in the Manu preserve, if she was going to get great shots, she'd need to hide.

Seeking the best possible footage, one day atop the Pryor Mountain she set up in the rocks at a snow fed water hole, meticulously camouflaged. Eventually a beautiful dun stallion, not Raven, and his three mares picked their way to the water hole. The mares began to drink, but the stallion looked right at her. He let go a tremendous snort, the mares exploded from the water sending water flying high. Within seconds even the horses she'd spied earlier were gone. She pondered the moment and realized hiding didn't work. She decided she would try the opposite. Sitting in plain sight to film.

So she began to sit in the open and even wave to be sure they saw her. Accepted her. That summer of 1994 she learned to understand more and more, and Raven and his band served as her teachers. But she watched many other bands too. She watched and learned as the mares guided the foals with gentle discipline. She began to understand their behavior. She began to recognize their snorts, nickers, whinnies and postures. She learned the band was a family. She learned there was a pecking order within a band and even between the bands. They leaned on, and needed each other for survival ... They were teaching Ginger what it means to be a wild horse

As she filmed the beautiful flowers, birds and other wildlife, Ginger also learned how important the wild horses are to the tapestry of life on their range. It was a glorious summer for Ginger, and the beautiful, full of life wild horses.

That beautiful world was shattered when she returned just a few months later in the fall. She witnessed her first BLM round-up. It was a horrible sight. Two of the new foals in Raven's band were killed. She had never witnessed such horror. She kept her camera rolling, in the hopes that perhaps her presence might shield the horses. The men doing the round-up on horseback showed no mercy, not even for Ginger, and they threatened her and lied to her. They also told her they would call Marty Stauffer, and she advised them to do just that. They drove her away, she called Marty, crying as she drove and told him they're killing the horses. He told her to go back and film it, including the dead bodies.

The "cover up" colt - One of Raven's mares was rounded up without her foal - BLM told her the colt had run away - later Ginger found out they had driven him over a cliff, and shot him ... Credit Ginger Katherns

She did go back, and found a foal in the trash. She also found Raven in a corral desperately trying to protect his mares and foals. They had told Ginger they would not round-up Raven. First of many lies. They had also brought in mares without their foals and other foals without their mothers ... Over the next months, throughout the fall Ginger watched as young horses tried in vain to find their mothers.

She spent many hours crying through her camera lens.

On a beautiful spring day, Raven brought his band out in full sight as Ginger filmed and she spied two new foals. She immediately named them Smokey and Mahogany. Those two fillies made her feel whole again.

Ginger returned with a friend to the Pryor Mountain on Labor Day weekend. To film, to show this beautiful land, and these marvelous horses to her friend. They were absorbed by the splendor and serenity of the moment when Raven and his band appeared, and with them a Palomino mare and her brand new pale palomino colt. Ginger named him ... Cloud.

Cloud - born May 29, 1995- credit Ginger Kathrens

In those 14 months from March of 1994 to May 29, 1995 Ginger had learned so much from the wild horses. She learned that they have strong family bonds, they are proud and are important to the lands they roam. And the wild horses should be allowed to roam free. On that day began the lifelong documentation of one very noble wild horse.

Later, Ginger founded the Cloud Foundation, a non-profit which is dedicated to preventing the extinction of Cloud's herd through education and media events. The Cloud Foundation is also committed to protecting other wild herds on public lands. Raven, his and other bands taught Ginger what it means to be a wild horse ... She is committed to keeping them that way.

Cloud today - credit Ginger Katherens

To learn all about how the Cloud Foundation is working to help keep wild horses free to run wild please visit their website www.thecloudfoundation.org

Gitty Up ~ Dutch Henry

Feature Friday-"Karen Pomroy – Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary"- "Noticing the Unnoticed"

Howdy Folks,

I hope you'll read, share and even print and hand out today's Feature Friday.

There is a very real horror out there for tens of thousands of pregnant mares standing tethered in stalls, unable to lie down, for up to 6 months, in "pee-lines," with catheters attached and deprived of sufficient water so as to produce rich urine used to make dangerous hormone replacement drugs for women. The cancer risks and other dangers of these drugs to the women who use them have been known since the '40s. The fate of the innocent tiny foals born is most often slaughter. They and their mothers are the "unnoticed" byproducts of a horrible industry ... Karen Pomroy and  Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuaryare doing all they can to help and rescue the unnoticed - and spread the word of the horrors and dangers of pregnant mare urine farms and the drugs produced. - My story "Noticing The Unnoticed" was published in my Heatbeats Column in Trail Blazer last June. This is the story of folks trying to help ... Thank you Karen and Equine Voices.

 "Noticing the Unnoticed"

Gulliver is 9 years old and frolics with other happy horses at Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary in  Southern AZ. But he, and they, are a few of the lucky ones.  Born on a pregnant mare urine (PMU) farm he was a byproduct of the industry that produces hormone replacement products. Sweet Gulliver was destined for slaughter and had Karen Pomroy not discovered his and his 3 herd mates' plight, that destiny would have been fulfilled. As it is for thousands of unnoticed, unwanted foals born each year to thousands of mares forced to stand months and years on end in what has come to be known as, "Pee-Lines." Pregnant mares tethered standing in stalls, unable to lie down, for up to 6 months, with catheters continually attached to collect their urine, made rich by water deprivation. This was the birth place of sweet Gulliver. And is the birthplace of tens of thousands of sweet Gullivers each year.

The year was 2004 and Karen was working at a wild horse rescue in CA when one day she learned more than she wanted to know about PMU farms. That very night she searched the internet for more information and discovered a PMU farm in North Dakota that had lost its contract to produce pregnant mare urine and the horses needed to go. Anywhere. Gulliver was not the most handsome horse, and his destiny was slaughter. Karen's heart immediately connected with young Gulliver and she made arrangements to rescue him. Even though they had not yet met in person, Gulliver touched her so profoundly she knew, from him, she'd found her purpose.

She'd already been on the search for a place to relocate her 2 rescue horses and now the additional 4 PMU foals. She found the perfect location tucked in the foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains in Southern AZ. She settled in, had Gulliver and his 3 herd mates trucked to their new home. Once they were all relocated she realized she could do more, and charted her mission. She would begin to do all she could to help save these foals and their mommas, who are forced to live a nightmare, while at the same time try to raise awareness of this practice. She would devote herself to finding ways to not only raise awareness, but also to educating about alternatives to the drugs produced with pregnant mare urine. The cancer risks and other dangers of these drugs to the women who use them have been known since the '40s. Karen wondered if the women prescribed these drugs knew not only of the potential dangers to themselves, but what the horses endured to produce those drugs.

Karen's inner being wrestled with the idea of such a huge but necessary commitment. She sat with Gulliver and discussed with him the reality of saving more of his friends. Karen had spent years in the corporate world and knew of risk taking, the disappointment of failures and the exhilaration of success. She set out for success. She incorporated Equine Voices in '04 and became a Non-profit 501 c-3 in Feb of '05, with a dedicated focus on PMU foals and mares. Since Gulliver found Karen, and raised his plea for help, Equine Voices has helped rescue over 400 mares, foals and other horses. Mostly PMU mares and foals but Equine Voices is there to help any horse in desperate need.

During the height of the PMU experiment there were reported to be 450 PMU farms in the US and Canada and each farm could have as many as 1,000 horses. So you can imagine how many darling foals were born each year just to be unnoticed, unwanted and discarded. Many are/were shipped overseas for slaughter for human consumption. These darling babies are born just to die, to produce a product that is potentially harmful to the millions of women who use it daily. There is suffering on both ends. The suffering of the women who may realize the very negative side effects of breast and ovarian cancer, blood clots, diabetes, and other harmful medical conditions. Courts have awarded millions to women who have been harmed.

In China today there are tens of thousands of mares forced to stand for more than 6 months at a time , catheters inserted,deprived of the ability to lay down or even enough water, they want the urine rich. Their feet grow long, their muscles atrophy, their babies slaughtered. It's not only china, there are PMU farms still in the US and Canada and many other countries, just to produce a faux medicine that has been proven to kill women.

And there is suffering on the beginning end in the PMU farms. Not only are those tens of thousands of sweet little foals born each year just to die, unnoticed. But their mommas, too. The poor suffering mares forced to stand in the "Pee-Lines" for years. Every mare Karen has rescued, or helped someone adopt, was in the same tortured condition. Feet that had lost their natural shape, legs that hardly worked, and a blank look in their eyes. The look of a once noble horse who had lost its soul. The empty eyed look of the standing dead. She wonders if the doctors who prescribe this type of hormone replacement drug ever looked into the eye of a sad and broken mare. Or touched an unnoticed foal who was born just to die … She wonders if the women prescribed these drugs are made fully aware of the suffering that's part of producing them, or the potential harmful side effects of using them. Were they ever told of the natural and synthetic alternatives to pregnant mare urine therapy?

Karen and the 150 volunteers, at Equine Voices, who last year racked up over 16,000 volunteer hours saving and rehabilitating mares and foals, have as their mission to inform as many women as possible  about not only the suffering, but the alternative treatments for hormone replacement products, natural and synthetic. Alternatives such as, Bio Identical hormone replacement therapy which is natural hormone replacement, and many natural herbal treatments used and found effective for hundreds of years. There are also new synthetic drugs made without pregnant mare urine. Karen suggests women ask their Doctors about alternative treatments. Equine Voices has many alternatives, and much more helpful information, listed on their website http://www.equinevoices.org/horses/.

At Equine Voices, Karen has designed wonderful programs where folks who have always wanted to know horses, but never had the chance, can meet horses and learn basic, and even not so basic, horsemanship skills from qualified staff and once discarded horses.

Their volunteer program is specifically designed to not only rehabilitate the unnoticed horses, but to teach horsemanship to anyone who would like to learn about life with horses. Volunteers also learn important life skills by helping to fund raise, handling the adoption process for rehabilitated horses, and pitching in to help the never-ending list of chores that are part of a busy horse sanctuary.

Another wonderful program is the Youth Corral. Each summer dozens of youths come and take part in activities designed to enlighten young people to the plight of the American horse, provide physical activity away from computers and television, and teach responsibility, teamwork, compassion and the innate connection between humans, horses and nature in a way that will change their lives forever.

Equine Voices also partners with The Youth Center of Southern AZ, allowing young people of all ages to spend time at the farm, learning by helping. They discover new skills and ambitions inside themselves by interacting with other volunteers and the horses. Friendships that will last a lifetime are formed and the thread that connects them is the love of life that cradles Equine Voices.

These and other programs at Equine Voices create fun and exciting adventures and learning opportunities for children and adults. And the teachers are those once unnoticed, unwanted horses who are happy and grateful for the chance to help.

Endless suffering ...

Rescuing, feeding, and rehabilitating these wonderful horses is rewarding on so many levels, but expensive, too. Fund raising is an ongoing effort to meet operating costs. One of the opportunities for volunteers is learning how to fund raise and write grants.

There are fun ways you can contribute to Equine Voices efforts to help Gulliver spread the word about PMU farms, their suffering mares and foals … Did you know Gulliver has a fan club? He does. You can join his fan club for just $10 a month. You'll get newsletters, a cool sticker and be part of something wonderful helping to change lives, animal and human. To find Gulliver's fan club go to www.equinevoices.org . While you're there check out all of Equine Voices terrific programs, success stories and links. Check out their horses and foals ready for adoption.

You can rest assured your support, contributions and gifts will be going to a well run and respected organization. In March 2010 Equine Voices became the first equine rescue and sanctuary in AZ to be recognized and certified by the "Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries" (GFAS), the nation's premier organization providing standards for identifying legitimate animal sanctuaries.  "Equine Voices is exemplary in so many areas, it is hard to choose just one to highlight," said Patty Finch executive director of GFAS. "But clearly laudable is their work to help pregnant mares and their cast-off foals, cruelly exploited for urine collection, used in the production of estrogen-replacement drugs. And their efforts to educate the public and medical community about the cruelty inherent in procuring them."

Karen and Gulliver Enjoying the day

Gulliver, we thank you and Karen for helping so many to notice the unnoticed.

Gitty Up

Dutch Henry