Earthly Equine Evolution

[SteveA]

Sounds like the two of you are getting along just great

I saw this video and thought it was cute. It appears to be an improvisational version of riding a horse on a merry-go-round

[labelwench]

Sounds like the two of you are getting along just great

I saw this video and thought it was cute. It appears to be an improvisational version of riding a horse on a merry-go-round

Very cute, Steve.

The video depicts two young males practicing their dominance techniques, without aggression. Horses play and posture using speed and height advantage to establish whom is the boss, more often than actually 'duking it out', especially among youngsters.

Males play 'sabers', which these two do briefly at the end, each trying to get in a nip on the other without getting 'tagged' in return.

Adult horses, likewise, enjoy episodes of play, and on a frost morning, it takes very little to set them in motion, performing funky acrobatics as a means to stay warm and express their exuberance of the moment. I frequently play with my horses in such manner when it is not good weather for riding, and they seem to enjoy the interaction immensely.

[labelwench]

The following article is of interest to horse lovers everywhere and a sad reminder that our world is 'shrinking' daily in light of the long term survival prospects of many species, in this case, the feral horse.

We are just another 'species' competing for habitat and natural resources, I would suggest, despite our lofty claims to greater intelligence, compassion and empathy.

North Carolina wild horses face uncertain future
By TOM BREEN - Associated Press Writer

COROLLA, N.C. — On a stretch of barrier island without paved roads, some of the last wild horses in the eastern United States are seeing their world get smaller each year.

A boom in vacation homes in the last 25 years in this remote place has seen the descendants of colonial Spanish mustangs confined to a 7,500-acre sanctuary on the northern tip of North Carolina's Outer Banks. And now the herd itself may shrink along with its habitat.

A plan backed by the federal government would see the herd reduced from about 115 horses today to no more than 60 in a bid to stop the animals, designated North Carolina's state horse this year, from competing with federally protected birds for increasingly hard-to-come-by resources.

http://www.thestate.com/2010/09/20/1...rses-face.html

The following link to some spectacular images of wild horses set to rather unique music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWmeCjwMk3A

[Graybeard]

FYI

CLICK

CLICK

cool bananas ... greg

[labelwench]

Great links, Greg.

I shall reply with some of my understanding of the stresses in the life of a horse, but at the present, I am too tired as I have been up for 20 hours. I'm rather certain that I can do a better job of it after a meal and a long sleep.

Later,

Lorrina

FYI

CLICK

CLICK

cool bananas ... greg

[labelwench]

Perhaps the first significantly traumatic event that happens to a foal (or human) is when it is expulsed from the womb into the world of constant changing activity and sensation. The immediate exacerbation of every sense must be quite a shock to the awakening consciousness, which until now has been active in a primarily 'monitoring function', in relation to the biological bits, most processes either being autonomous or commanded remotely by the mother's systems.

Lying in a puddle on the ground, folded up like a pretzel, while taking all this in must be a real 'head rush'.

The mare will nuzzle and sometimes lick the foal as well as articulate softly to it, if she is of good and gentle nature, preferably having witnessed the experience of birth prior to her own breeding. Unless the mare is familiar with the process, she may be too frightened by the trauma of birth herself to provide this interaction to the foal. Indeed, she may be frightened of it, wondering where this 'thing' has come from.

In a natural habitat, small herds of horses interact and are are able to observe and learn such things from each other. The problem of 'foal rejection' is largely a symptom of the intervention and management regime of our species.

There is a process known as 'Imprint Training' which has been ritualized and documented by Dr. Robert M. Miller and an outline is found at this link: http://www.robertmmiller.com/imprint-training.html

The basic premise is that by insinuating ourselves into the foal's immediate first experiencing in a gentle and supportive manner, that we set the tone of our future relationship with the foal.

I was most concerned when Handy was born at night, right on the line between premature/mature, and then had become separated from the mare in his attempts to rise, going under the fence rail. Our first meeting was a soaked little form, with a pair bewildered eyes, mired and wavering atop the compost pile, the image reflected in my headlamp beam.

I wonder what it must have been like for the foal?

Two beams of light approaching. Three voices. (The mare whickering, myself giving direction to my husband as to how we should deal with this matter, his communications and input in response.)

The 'big one' and the two 'bright ones' approach.

The foal can barely stand and his legs are stuck in the soft compost material.

First some gentle contact and soft sounds. That doesn't seem too bad.

Then I wrapped my arms around him and literally raised him off his feet to get him out of the soft footing. Handy did not so much struggle as merely try to stay grounded and balanced. That I had to give direction to his movement, while his neurological processes were in their 'start-up process' was a potential for nerve damage, and so we proceeded very deliberately and delicately. When the foal would stiffen and resist, I did not push, rather lifted him up for a step or two instead.

My reasoning was that the barrel of the horse receives considerable compression while coming through the birth canal, as the shoulders of the foal are it's widest point. This region was already used to stimulation, and so my arms around the barrel providing a lifting force should do no damage. The legs are the most fragile part of the make-up of the horse, and so I did not apply any force that could be resisted. In it's earliest attempts to rise, the foal moves forward, frequently falling several times before 'getting it together'.

While I shall never know how many times Handy fell in the moments prior to our meeting, I steadied the foal in his 50 meter journey to the barn and he did not stumble or fall. For the first few days, I kept mare and foal in the barn as the weather was inclement, and this gave opportunity for Handy to become accustomed to my presence and manner.

What are relationships after all, save getting used to the ways of another and learning to interact in the manner of least resistance?

[labelwench]

More on Equine Stress will follow, yet I insert this piece in response to an item on today's local news.

First, let me assert that there are no truly 'wild' horses in the Yukon, only those who have been deserted by their owners or left to roam from the era when the Yukon had an 'Open Range' policy. Some of these animals have reproduced and the offspring have not known human handling, so in that respect they are certainly feral.

The Morgan and Pinto breeds have been found to be versatile and hardy animals, well suited to the Yukon climate, and the animals recently captured show the influence of these breeds. On a personal note, I ran into the Livestock Control Officer, a long time acquaintance and whom I have aided in the past in capturing loose animals, and he asked if I was interested in adopting any of these 'wild and woolies'. Though I care for the fate of these animals and have the skills, I have not the time required for their rehabilitation and reclamation. The will be put up for public auction by sealed bid.

Yukon's wild horses corralled
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 | 7:27 PM CT

CBC News
A total of 11 wild horses, coralled recently in the Takhini River valley, are being kept in a Whitehorse stable while the Yukon government tries to auction them off. (CBC)

The Yukon government has captured one of the territory's last herds of wild horses and is putting them up for public auction, in the hopes that someone will want to rehabilitate the herd.

Eleven skittish horses are currently being kept at a Whitehorse horse-boarding stable, after wranglers recently corralled them in the Takhini River valley west of the city.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story...ld-horses.html

[ggullet]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyUs07SNoes

[labelwench]

The next significant period of stress in the life of a young horse raised in domestic circumstances comes at the time of weaning or separation from it's dam, which for human purposes is often inposed around the age of five months.

In the wild, a young horse remains with it's dam, becoming less dependent on her as she nears the time of her next foal, and continues to learn from other herd members as it grows, finding it's own place in the group relative to the status of the mare and whether the foal is female or male.

Handy is now six months of age and his mother gets taken away for riding and continued schooling since he was around three months of age, the intervals of separation of short duration, 1-2 hours. At first he was slightly distressed at being left behind, and I have Caramel in an adjoining pen to ease his concern. Additionally, I give him a treat of grain to assuage his hunger, and on the first times of separation, he would ignore the food and Caramel, and race back and forth along the fence, vocalizing his distress. As time progressed, he would lament at our departure but I observed that the food would be gone by our return. Now he calls out but a few times as we depart and upon our return, he is usually standing close to Caramel, taking comfort in her presence despite the fence between them. He whickers happily at our return and immediately seeks to nurse from Madelaine. Madelaine, on the other hand, seems quite content to be out and away and calls out not at all, even from the first separation.

Yesterday, Handy received his first vaccination, for tetanus, Eastern and Western Encephalitis and influenza. In preparation for the sharp poke of the needle, I have been grooming him while he eats his afternoon treat of grain, and gently pinching the muscles of his lower chest, my preferred injection site in the event that an abscess develops from the action. The pinching and poking aids in desensitizing the site and when it was time to actually give him the dose, he was quite unperturbed by matters.

The mares had been given their vaccinations a couple of weeks prior, Handy's being detained by the need for him to be six months of age to reduce the interference from the mare's antibodies. Madelaine was fine, yet Caramel evidenced a mild colic-like reaction for several days and was uncomfortable, depressed and displaying uncharacteristic inappetence. I kept her in the barn overnight to monitor her food, water and excrement and to provide her with a soft place to lay down if she was so inclined, and administered a low dose of phenalbutazone to give her some relief. The event transpired within hours of the vaccination and there were no other pre-disposing factors that I could identify. She has since recovered and now seems to be her usual self, and we were able to get out for a short ride in the mild weather yesterday.

Handy seems to have suffered no adverse effects from the vaccination, and as horses are frequently prone to minor surface wounds, the tetanus shot is one of high priority. The next medical intervention will be deworming, and I usually wait until freeze-up has set in, finding that this is the more efficient time to administer this medication, with less chance of re-infestation because of the colder weather.

As I have plenty of room and no immediate reason to separate Handy from his mother at this time, he enjoys the benefit of continued nursing and socializing, similiar to that of horses born at liberty. He is a most intelligent and co-operative young horse, and will next be learning to stand tied, with either his mother or Caramel likewise tied, to demonstrate that this is a 'normal and expected' situation for horses in their relationship with humans.

Though horses have taken well to domestic arrangements with ourselves, they remain a species that is quite capable of returning to feral life if they have access to the appropriate habitat.

[labelwench]

A north wind blowing today, and colder than a witch's heart, lol, but the footing is gradually improving and so I decided that it would be an opportunity to resume training Handy, whom has not had any work to speak of for weeks on account of the slippery footing.

Horses have an excellent memory, and it is better to do nothing when conditions are unfavorable, rather than to undertake an exercise which might have negative outcome. It was nearing afternoon treat time when I went into the pen with the halter for Madelaine and a lead rope for Handy, who wears his halter full-time at the present.

Madelaine looked askance at the halter in my hand, walking over to her treat bucket to indicate that I must be mistaken in regard to the order of events. Handy, on the other hand, walked right up to me, expressing interest in new events.

I caught up Madelaine and secured her to a tree not far from the fence. Handy accompanied his dam, and I took hold of his halter and clipped on the lead rope. He offered no resistance as I led him away from his mother about 50 yards, and then circled back toward her, and then again away, as we walked in ever increasing loops, first away, then return, gradually working our way up the fence and into the adjoining pen.

As we moved out of visual range, Madelaine let out a small whinny of concern at being deserted, yet Handy did not reply and continued to follow my lead. When he would get a step or two in advance of the ideal position, I would circle him around myself and then continue forward with the colt in the appropriate position in relation to the handler. He quickly figured out that he would have to travel considerably further when he did not follow the pace requested. We stopped from time to time, and I spoke reassuringly to him, that he was indeed doing well.

We continued in this manner for about ten minutes, just walking around within the large enclosure, mindful of windswept areas that were glazed and slippery. Handy never once became distressed or agitated, and when I judged it to be a good time, we approached his mother at a measured pace, halted, and I unclipped the lead, giving him a pet on the neck. He was licking his lips, the equine signal of comfort and comprehension, then ducked his head under for a reward of milk from the mare as I untied her and removed her halter.

When I brought the treats over, Handy was feeling quite empowered by his time spent with me, and made so bold as to push his head into his mother's bucket and grab a mouthful of her ration. The tolerant mare used her much larger head to turn his next attempt aside, and Handy followed me up the fence line to his own bucket.

Despite the considerable time passed since his previous leading lesson, the colt had behaved very well, and I was looking forward to continuing his lessons in deportment, prior to him attaining a size when he would be introduced to riding equipment. Depending on his continued growth and development, I might well be throwing a leg over him by this time next year, but there was much for him to learn in the meantime.