"I Took Care of Him"

"Something was wrong. He's the best horse I've ever ridden. I took care of him."
~ Kent Desormeaux, Big Brown's jockey after the Belmont Stakes

What did happen to Big Brown during the grueling Belmont Stakes? The simple answer is that he just "hit the wall." It's not exactly uncommon among athletes, equine or otherwise. But why and on this day of all days?

Desormeaux also said, "The track wasn't holding him up. He slipped." Thoroughbreds are are notoriously of such a temperament that something like that can throw them completely off their game - and this goes for even a relatively laid back guy like Big Brown.

Thoroughbreds are also notorious for having thin, shelly hoof walls, and Big Brown did miss some training time because of a quarter crack. Was that enough to make such a difference?

If Desormeaux had continued trying to place him, might Big Brown have had one of those catastrophic breakdowns for which fatigue is known to be a huge risk factor? Fortunately, we will never know the answer to that one, but it certainly seems well within the realm of possibility.

Have we not had a Triple Crown winner for 30 years because modern TBs are so inbred and have been bred for speed alone for so long that the lengthy Belmont Stakes, coming so soon after the Derby and Preakness, is too much for them to handle anymore? Especially considering that they really are just babies.

If so, how much has that contributed to the heartbreaking deaths of the likes of Eight Bells and Barbaro? In breeding for ever more refined (i.e. lighter) bone, have breeders past the point at which bone density and training can compensate for lack of pure size?

There have been many questions recently about track surfaces as well. Those surfaces are a part of the whole American style of racing - running faster and shorter on dirt, as opposed to slower and longer runs on turf which are much more in keeping with what horses are naturally adapted to do. Are American Thoroughbreds being bred to run faster than flesh and blood can cope with?

Honestly, I do not know. I don't pretend to know. Unfortunately, I don't think anybody else knows either. I've never followed racing much, and I certainly never watch. If I'd seen Ruffian or Barbaro or Eight Bells go down... Let's just say that those are images I don't care to have to remember. It makes me feel crappy enough as it is.

I do know however that the above questions need answers, and soon. And I haven't even mentioned the whole area of steroids - which Big Brown was getting once a month except for May - and other questionable drugs which have been in all too common use.

Personally, I wish Big Brown all the best. He's a good horse, and I hope he lives a long and happy life. Sure, we all wish he had won the Triple Crown, but, you know, he doesn't care at all. And since I think the horse must come first in everything we do with them, that's good enough for me.

For the sake of all the other racing horses, I do feel the issues that made so many headlines this season must be addressed - sooner than later. There are so many things wrong with racing at present, but, fortunately for Big Brown, Kent Desormeaux isn't one of them.

A Birthday And An Adventure

Indy and Ami had a very nice day on which to celebrate their birthday(s). Of course, the weather wouldn't matter to them as long as they got their gifts - apples and extra carrots. One must keep one's priorities straight after all.



It was a lovely day and Mr. Scratchaholic got a super birthday scratch. Ms Ami is not that crazy about scratches, but apples - she's that crazy about those.




Indy is 10 - May 28, 1998

Ami is 17 - May, 1991



I took a lot of pictures - like the ones on this post - and even made my first video. It's at the bottom of this post.



Indy and I had a very nice 30 min. ride the next day, and the day after that... We finally made the leap to riding out in the field. That's quite a story in itself...

On my first attempt at mounting the dang saddle turned. I'm not sure why, because I had it in the same hole as the day before. Indy hates this, and he had to stand while I loosened the girth, fiddled with straightening the saddle and re-tightening the girth. But, he did it. He stood stock still for the entire operation - a praiseworthy act in itself!

Then I remounted and walked him around. Since I was hoping to go out into the field, I was wearing the body protector I purchased some time ago for this occasion. After that excruciatingly painful rib bruise I got when I came off that #%&*#@! Wintec saddle, I didn't want to take chances.

As we walked around the paddock though, I got the uncomfortable feeling that the thing was seriously interfering with my balance. I guess these things are made for a different kind of saddle, because it kept hitting the cantle of my saddle.

I rode back over to Mike and told him it wasn't going to work. I decided to just take it off and hand it over to him to put back in the barn. That is, I tried to take it off. The @#%&*! thing was so thick and hard and stiff that I couldn't get my arms back through the arm holes. Mike and I almost had to take the darn thing apart - think new Velcro rrrrriiiiiiipppppp! - to get me free of it. This while Indy stood quietly thinking no doubt that there was just no end to the nutty situations people got themselves into...

We then walked around the paddock a bit more. Indy was still perfectly calm, so TA DA! Mike opened the gate! And out we went.

Indy was really very good considering we were walking through clover up to his belly with grass even taller. I didn't expect - or even want - to keep him from noshing. I just wanted to keep him more or less moving - in the direction I wanted to go of course. I had him in his soft leather sidepull, and I was a little concerned about steering, but I needn't have been. He was quite responsive considering the distractions.

At one point however, he started to trot down the hill toward the front, and I'm afraid my reflexes took over. This was exactly what happened when I took that disasterous fall off the Wintec saddle - through no fault of Indy's - and I stopped him. I'm sure he wasn't going to take off bucking. After all, he didn't do that the first time. But... We'd been out for a half hour anyway, so I decided to end this first ride before my reflexes did anything else stupid.

Then, for the first time, Indy and I had a real difference of opinion. He didn't want to go back to the barn! The paddock gate was open, but he wasn't planning to go anywhere near it. When I put my legs on him to go forward, he started backing up. I turned him completely around in a tight circle, and asked him to go forward again. This time, he pawed furiously at the ground. I had to laugh, even though I didn't want him to know it.

Again I asked for forward. I had my hands planted with light contact. When he tried to turn away, I closed my fingers on the reins, and just kept my legs on. After only a few moments, I felt him relax - i.e. give up - and he strolled into the paddock just as if that was what he wanted to do all along.

I was impressed. As soon as we got inside the paddock, I leaped off and started telling him what a good boy he was to obey me even when he didn't want to. I gave him a handful of carrot bits and petted him even more as we walked back inside the barn together to untack.

I understandably gained a lot of confidence on this ride. Indy and I faced some tests we hadn't incurred before, and he passed with flying colors. Naturally, since we're both looking forward to our next trip out, it's been raining/threatening ever since, and today was extremely hot and humid. I'm afraid it will be a few days before that next ride happens.

Still, Indy and I are both enjoying the even closer bond that our little adventure led us to.



I love this picture, but somehow it makes Indy's back look much longer than it actually is... Oh well, it does show off his incredible coat.

Brain Dysfunction in Cribbing Horses Gives Researchers Something to Chew On

Here's hoping that this research will some day lead to a cure for this unfortunate condition.

clipped from www.thehorse.com In the first study of its kind, researchers from the United Kingdom have discovered that cribbing horses learn differently than horses that don't crib. Cribbing is a stereotypy in which a horse grasps an object between his incisor teeth and inhales air into the esophagus while emitting an audible grunting noise. It is the most common stereotypy among stabled horses. Previous research has suggested that changes in the chemical pathways in specific regions of the brain appear to be important in environmentally-induced stereotypies such as cribbing. In particular, cribbers reportedly have fewer types of dopamine receptors in a specific region of the brain referred to as the dorsomedial striatum. "Post-mortem studies have illustrated that crib-biting horses have differences in some brain areas," explained Matthew Parker, MSc, a doctoral candidate in the School of Psychology at the University of Southampton. "We wanted to see how this affected their learning." read more at http://www.thehorse.com/viewarticle.aspx?ID=11999&source=rss

Homes for Horses Coalition Launches Web Site

Another much needed resource for unwanted horses.

clipped from www.thehorse.com The Homes for Horses Coalition has launched a new Web site, www.homesforhorses.org. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), along with the Animal Welfare Institute and several other groups, formed the Homes for Horses Coalition last July. Keith Dane, director of equine protection for the HSUS, said the coalition was designed to support equine-focused nonprofits. read more at http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=11320

A Walk On The Mild Side

What a great couple of days Indy and I have had. On Saturday I rode him for about a half hour, and he was even more responsive to the sidepull than the last ride. I think he's figured out that if he's good in the sidepull, he won't have to wear a bit. Since he much prefers the sidepull, that's a powerful incentive!

We had a great ride - heck, it wasn't even hot, not even for Indy. For some reason, Ami got quite perturbed every time she looked up and Indy wasn't immediately in sight. She would come crashing into the barn so she could look out the back window and see us around the corner. I could tell Indy was thinking, "What's with her?" I guess it could have been the fact that Mike was mowing with the tractor, plus the kids next door were racing their ATV all over. Whatever, it didn't bother Indy. As usual.

Yesterday, I decided to take him out into the open field for only the second time - with the first time being over three years ago. With me on the ground for this initial time. I wanted to make sure I knew what he would do if Ami started throwing fits. After the way she acted the day before, when we were just in the paddock like always, I figured his going outside might bring on some real fireworks.

Ami did not disappoint in the fireworks department - she threw a real hissy fit! Running, bucking, squealing, you name it. Indy was startled enough to look around when she started, but ignored her completely after that. I guess I found out what I wanted to know!

Indy was just about perfect on this tour. Oh, he was scarfing down the edibles, but I couldn't blame him. The pasture is almost ready to cut, and there was clover that was knee high. I considered trying it myself...

He never pulled on me or tried to go his own way, and he came back inside the gate with no fuss at all. Of course, as I was trying to get the gate completely closed, he was trying to push it back open with his nose, but all was well and he let me secure the gate. I think he felt better about the whole thing when I started telling him what a good boy he'd been.

I rode him for just a very few minutes, and he didn't try to insist on going out again or anything. He was just his usual self - "What, me worry?"

Next time we ride out. I know, I know. I've had Indy for 6 years, he is Mr. Cool, and we still haven't ridden in the open field. It's incredible to me too. I intended to go slow, but not this slow!

Sigh.... Many factors, most of them quite unlikely, went into this delay. But, that's a whole other post.

Remembering the Horses of War

A Special Memorial Day Report

By VIVIAN GRANT
May 2008

Following the end of the Civil War, many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war and as a memorial to those who died.

It is estimated that 1.5 million horses died in the Civil War.

Not included formally, but most certainly in the hearts and minds of the cavalry, were these horses.

That was far from the beginning, and certainly not the end, of the use of the Horse in War.

Introduction

Horses have been used in human warfare for millennia, probably since the time of domestication of the horse. Horses were specially trained for a variety of military uses, including battle, individual combat, reconnaissance (scouting), transport, and supply. The term war horse usually refers to horses used for fighting, whether as cavalry in battle or in individual combat. The best-known war horse was the destrier, ridden by the knight of the Middle Ages. However, even horses used for purposes other than direct combat played a critically important part of successful military ventures. There are still some uses for horses in the military even in today's modern world. Source

World War I

Horses were heavily used in World War One. Horses were involved in the war's first military conflict involving Great Britain - a cavalry attack near Mons in August 1914. Horses were primarily to be used as a form of transport during the war.

When the war broke out in Western Europe in August 1914, both Britain and Germany had a cavalry force that each numbered about 100,000 men.

In August 1914, no-one could have contemplated the horrors of trench warfare - hence why the cavalry regiments reigned supreme. In fact, in Great Britain the cavalry regiments would have been seen as the senior regiments in the British Army, along with the Guards regiments, and very many senior army positions were held by cavalry officers.

However, the cavalry charge seen near Mons was practically the last seen in the war. Trench warfare made such charges not only impractical but impossible. A cavalry charge was essentially from a bygone military era and machine guns, trench complexes and barbed wire made such charges all but impossible. However, some cavalry charges did occur despite the obvious reasons as to why they should not.

I March 1918, the British launched a cavalry charge at the Germans. By the Spring of 1918, the war had become more fluid but despite this, out of 150 horses used in the charge only 4 survived. The rest were cut down by German machine gun fire.

However, though a cavalry charge was no longer a viable military tactic, horses were still invaluable as a way of transporting materials to the front. Military vehicles, as with any mechanised vehicles of the time, were relatively new inventions and prone to problems. Horses, along with mules, were reliable forms of transport and compared to a lorry needed little upkeep.

Such was the use of horses on the Western Front that over 8 million died on all sides fighting in the war. Two and a half million horses were treated in veterinary hospitals with about two million being sufficiently cured that they could return to duty. Source

World War II

Though formal mounted cavalry began to be phased out as fighting forces during or immediately after World War I, cavalry units that included horses still had military uses well into World War II.

The most famous example was the under equipped Polish army, which used its horse cavalry in World War II to defend Poland against the armies of Nazi Germany during the 1939 invasion.

Other nations used horses extensively during WWII, though not necessarily in direct combat.

Hitler's armies reportedly used more horses and mules in WWII than the German armies used in WWI.

LoneSentry asserts:

Despite highly ballyhooed emphasis on employment of mechanized forces and on rapid movement, the bulk of German combat divisions were horse drawn throughout World War II. Early in the war it was the common belief of the American public that the German Siegfrieds of Hitler's Blitz rode forth to battle on swift tanks and motor vehicles. But the notion of the mechanized might of the German Wehrmacht was largely a glamorized myth born in the fertile brains of newspapermen. Actually, the lowly horse played a most important part in enabling the German Army to move about Europe.

Public opinion to the contrary, so great was the dependence of the Nazi Blitzkrieg upon the horse that the numerical strength of German Army horses maintained during the entire war period averaged around 1,100,000. Of the 322 German Army and SS divisions extant in November 1943, only 52 were armored or motorized. Of the November 1944 total of 264 combat divisions, only 42 were armored or motorized. Source

Both the German and the Soviet armies used horses until the end of the war, not only to transport ammunitions and equipment, but also for reconnaissance and counter-insurgency efforts. The British Army used mules in India and Southeast Asia as pack animals.

While the United States Army utilized a few cavalry and supply units during the war, there were concerns that in rough terrain, horses were not used often enough. In the campaigns in North Africa, generals such as George S. Patton lamented their lack, saying, "had we possessed an American cavalry division with pack artillery in Tunisia and in Sicily, not a German would have escaped." Source

Last Charge

The last American mounted tactical cavalry unit in combat was the 26th Cavalry (Philippine Scouts) in Philippines, stationed at Ft Stotsenburg, Luzon, 1942, which fought both mounted and dismounted against Japanese invasion troops in 1942.

On the Bataan Peninsula, the 26th Cavalry (PS) staged a mounted attack against the Japanese on 16 January 1942. The battered, exhausted men of the 26th Cavalry climbed astride their horses and flung themselves moments against the blazing gun muzzles of Japanese tanks.

This last mounted pistol charge was led by Ed Ramsey in command of G troop, 26th Cavalry. It was the last mounted charge in America's annals, and proved the climax of the 26th Cavalry's magnificent but doomed horseback campaign against the Imperial Japanese Army during the fall of the Philippines in 1941-42.

According to a Bataan survivor interviewed in the Washington Post (10 April 1977), starving US and Philippine troops ate all the regiment's horses. Source

Horses in War Today

Today, formal combat units of mounted cavalry are in almost all cases a thing of the past, with horseback units within the modern military used for reconnaissance, ceremonial, or crowd control purposes. The only remaining fully horse-mounted regular regiment in the world is India's 61st Cavalry.

Organized armed fighters on horseback are occasionally seen, particularly in the third world, though they usually are not officially recognized as part of any national army. The best-known current examples are the Janjaweed, militia groups seen in the Darfur region of Sudan, who became notorious for their attacks upon unarmed civilian populations in the Darfur conflict.

Although horses have little combat use today by modern armies, the military of many nations still maintain small numbers of mounted units for certain types of patrol and reconnaissance duties in extremely rugged terrain, including the current conflict in Afghanistan. Hungary, some Commonwealth countries, Balkan countries, and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia maintain cavalry units as part of light infantry and reconnaissance formations for use in mountainous terrain or areas where fuel supply may be difficult. Source

Monumental Oversight

It is said that there are more horse statues in Washington D.C. that in any other place in the United States. They do seem to be everywhere.

What you will not see is a memorial to the horses who gave their lives in times of war.

One was created in London in 2004, not just to honor horses, but all animals conscripted into the service of their country.

My dream is that some day one will stand in Washington D.C.

Vivian Grant,
President

The Fund for Horses
Become a Member
WH&B Project
Donate to the Fund
Donate to Charities
Visit Our Website
Tuesday's Horse
Contact Us

Int'l Fund for Horses is a Member League of OIPA
Organisation Internationale pour la Protection des Animaux

OIPA is an NGO associated to the UN Department of Public Information