HAT Chat Articles – August 2005
A word from our President
There’s only one way to
describe the Texoma area right now – HOT.
Temperatures near 100 most days and little if any rain to speak of…it’s
no wonder that most horse clubs don’t plan to do much of anything between
mid-July and Labor Day, HAT included.
Our next show is September 18th; hopefully by then we’ll be out
of this heat wave for the most part.
In the meantime, members of
HAT have been hard at work turning our association into one you can be very
proud to join. One of our biggest
changes has been with our web site. We
decided to start all over again with it, and the new site is now open and ready
for you to visit. There’s a new address
for it too: www.hat-texoma.org. Drop on
by and let us know what you think of the changes.
As I mentioned, our next show
is coming up in mid-September. We had a
lot of fun with our shows in April and June, and hope you’ll make plans to come
out and join us again. In the meantime,
remember to take it easy in this heat; we want to make sure you and your horse
can make it to the show!
Roger Dougan
HAT President
HAT Autumn Show September 18th
HAT’s next open show is
scheduled for September 18th.
This show will be held in the Grayson Sheriff’s Posse Arena at
New HAT Web Site
A new HAT website has been
established and is now open for business.
The new address is www.hat-texoma.org.
This completely redesigned
site provides HAT members and visitors alike with a variety of information
about the Association in an easy-to-use format.
Some areas are still under construction, but so far it includes the
following:
And, there is still more to
come. Plans include providing online
access to showbills and flyers for upcoming events, photos, things for kids to
see and do, and more news and information of use to local “horse people”.
HAT would like to thank Trudy
White, creator and webmaster of the original HAT website for all of her
contributions and hard work in establishing HAT’s first online “presence”. Many of the ideas she used in creating that
site were carried forward and incorporated into this new one.
Everyone is invited to stop
by the new site and check it out (and then go tell your friends about it
too). And, be sure to leave a comment on
the Guest Book page when you’ve finished your visit - your feedback is very
important in making sure the site is providing you with the services you want
to see.
State/Local News
Local Equine Touch™ Practitioner Attends International
Symposium
Sandra is one of the original
eighteen Equine Touch™ Practitioners certified in the United States and was
designated as a Tutor in 2003. In
addition to a thriving practice in the Texoma region, Sandra assists with
beginner and advanced courses at the Equine Touch Foundation headquarters and
offers private and group tutoring to Equine Touch™ students. Sandra is a member of Horseman’s Association
of Texoma, having served the last two years as second vice president. She has chaired the HAT Youth Scholarship
committee and plays an active role in the association’s horse shows, clinics,
and activities. Sandra was a guest
speaker at the Dallas Dressage Club annual awards banquet at Las Colinas
Country Club.
The Equine Touch™ is unique,
gentle bodywork for horses. It is a
non-diagnostic, non-invasive, hands-on discipline addressing the equine as a
whole with an organized series of vibrational moves
over soft tissue. The series of gentle moves in a predetermined pattern over
specific points on the body benefit the horse by releasing muscle blocks and
spasms, improving blood flow through soft tissue, increasing the flow of
energy, maximizing the immune system, encouraging muscle tone recovery from
injury, and assisting in lymphatic drainage and detoxification. Most importantly, this induces deep
relaxation and allows the horse to reset itself by stimulating its own built-in
healing system to achieve and balanced state of health – physically and
emotionally. The Equine Touch™ purpose
is to provide horses with a better standard and quality of life, a reduction of
pain, and a greater range of movement.
Pioneered in 1997, the Equine
Touch™ is taught by founder Jock Ruddock and his wife, Ivana,
a veterinary surgeon, former university lecturer and researcher. They teach Equine Touch™, known and
recognized as premier equine care discipline, worldwide from
Anthrax Confirmed in
Two ranches in
“Anthrax is under-reported,
because many ranchers in this area automatically dispose of carcasses and
vaccinate livestock when they find dead animals that are bloated or
bloody--common signs of the disease,” said Dr. Fancher. “Anthrax is a reportable disease, however,
and it’s important to know when an outbreak occurs, so other ranchers can be
notified to vaccinate.
Dr. Fancher
explained that it is common to see death losses in one pasture, but not across
the fence. However, all livestock in an
infected area should be vaccinated to prevent potential losses. There is no effective, approved manner to
deliver anthrax vaccine to grazing wildlife that cannot be captured and
confined.
Dr. Fancher
said that, during an anthrax outbreak, deer owners enrolled in the chronic
wasting disease (CWD) surveillance program are to report death losses, but they
should check with their private veterinary practitioner before collecting brain
tissue from the animal for CWD testing.
“If a dead deer has clinical signs of anthrax, we may need to avoid
opening the carcass,” he said. CWD has
not been detected in
“Anthrax is an ancient
disease that occurs worldwide. The first
reports in livestock date back to 1500 BC,” noted Dr. Fancher. “When an infected animal dies, the ground
becomes contaminated with the spores of Bacillus anthracis
bacteria, unless the carcass and soil are purified with a very hot fire. Even though spores do not multiply or spread
underground, they can lie dormant in soil for decades, awaiting the perfect
combination of weather and soil conditions to become vegetative. Animals then are exposed to the disease when
they eat grass contaminated with the bacteria.”
TAHC regulations require
that the affected animal’s bedding, its carcass, and nearby manure be burned
with wood, diesel or gasoline (tires and oil create too much pollution) to
cleanse the ground. Do not open carcasses. If there is a burn ban in the area, contact
the TAHC area office for disposal information.
Livestock on the premises
must then be vaccinated and held under quarantine for a short time, to ensure
any anthrax-exposed animals are not moved from the premises. Laboratory tests, conducted by the Texas
Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in
Anyone handling or burning
carcasses, or vaccinating livestock against anthrax should wear long sleeves
and gloves. Exposure can cause a nasty,
black sore that requires medical attention and antibiotics. General sanitation procedures should be
followed after handling livestock, and equipment used on the animals should be
disinfected. Pets should be kept from
dead carcasses or bones of dead animals, which may pose a disease risk. Healthy animals should be moved from
anthrax-contaminated areas.
“Visitors to an affected
area should not be alarmed by anthrax,” said Dr. Fancher. “Just leave dead animals alone, and don’t
pick up shed antlers or old animal bones.
By the time the area’s hunting season begins, the cooler weather brings
an outbreak to a close. If, after an
outing, you develop an unusual sore, see your physician for treatment.”
Actions that should be
taken during an anthrax outbreak:
1.
Properly dispose
of animal carcasses by burning to prevent exposure to other animals, such as
predators or dogs. Remove healthy
livestock from the area.
2.
Vaccinate
livestock if cases occur in the surrounding areas. Because the anthrax vaccine is a “live”
vaccine, it should not be administered concurrently with antibiotics. Vaccinated animals are to be withheld from
slaughter for two months.
3.
Restrict movement
of livestock from an affected premise until animals can develop immunity
through vaccination.
Source:
Contact: Carla Everett, public information,
1-800-550-8242 ext 710
National News
New Television Channel to Focus on Horses
HorseTV Media Group, Inc., a diversified media company
providing television and video programming for owners, riders, breeders, and
lovers of horses and equestrian sports, has announced that “The Horse Channel”
has been selected as the name of their new 24-hour channel launching this fall
that will provide viewers of all ages entertaining and informational
programming focusing on horses. It will
be available as a subscription channel via cable and satellite, and discussions
are currently underway with several
The Horse Channel’s
programming will offer everything from world-class competitions and high-stakes
rodeos to classic horse movies, amazing real-life stories, and funniest home
videos. The company has been actively
acquiring broadcast rights to both domestic and international equestrian
competitions as well as television and video libraries covering horses and
horse-related activities. In addition,
the company has begun producing its own original programming.
“The Horse Channel will
provide viewers with a variety of programming focused on horses and horse
related events, competitions, stories, recreation and the lifestyles that we
share with horses,” said George Greenberg, chairman and CEO of the HorseTV Media Group.
“We are very encouraged with how well the concept has been received by
equestrian communities throughout the country and the media industry, as well
as the general public. Our recently
completed market research has reinforced our direction to be the destination of
choice for everyone interested in horse programming on television.”
Sally Lasater,
the president of HorseTV Media Group, added, “We have
a great opportunity to serve an audience that spends approximately $39 billion
on horse-related activities and events each year, and whether viewers are horse
owners, riders, or just horse lovers, The Horse Channel is there to provide a
fun, educational and entertaining television experience that has not been
available before.”
For more information about
The Horse Channel, please contact Chris Stafford at news@horsetv.com or (818)
598-1070.
Steering Committee Formed Following Unwanted Horse
Following the first-ever
Unwanted Horse
The newly formed Steering
Committee will operate on an interim basis until a final organizational
structure is adopted. The Steering
Committee’s duties include proposing one or more organizational structures for
the continuation of the initiative, developing a definition of the unwanted
horse and a mission statement for the initiative, and preparing an agenda for
the next face-to-face meeting of the entire committee.
A second summit has been
planned for September 21 at the AVMA headquarters in
“The plight of our country’s
unwanted horses touches every facet of the horse industry. I continue to be pleased with the cooperation
and work ethic of the various equine groups working to resolve the unwanted
horse issue and am confident that our efforts will bear fruit for
To obtain a copy of the
Unwanted Horse Summit report, it can be downloaded from the AAEP website by
going to www.aaep.org/pdfs/Unwanted_Horse_Summit_Report.pdf
or by contacting the AAEP at (859) 233-0147.
Legislative Update
Secretary of the Interior Appeals for Help in Caring
for Mustangs
Gale Norton, U.S. Secretary of
the Interior, has released the following letter requesting help with the
ever-increasing populations of wild mustangs and burros that severely affect
the carrying capacity of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rangeland. In addition, the number of mustangs and
burros in the department’s holding facilities have the potential to overwhelm
the BLM’s ability to take care of the animals.
Wild Horses and Burros Need Your Help
The crisis facing wild horses
and burros on public lands has reached a critical point. Horse lovers have the knowledge and resources
to help resolve this crisis. Now is the
time to do it.
Currently, some 32,000 wild
horses and burros run free on public rangelands in the West managed by the
Bureau of Land Management. Without
natural predators, these free-roaming animals reproduce quickly. If left unchecked, this population growth
would lead to starvation or dehydration for many wild horses and burros.
To keep this from happening,
the bureau removes 10,000 wild horses and burros from the range each year and
offers them up for adoption. The
American public adopts 6,000 to 7,000 of these animals annually,
leaving thousands of mustangs in the bureau’s holding facilities at a
substantial cost to American taxpayers.
In fact, holding costs exceed $20 million a year, more than half of what
the Bureau will spend on its total wild horse and burro program in 2005.
In recognition of these
adoption limits, along with the high cost of keeping older mustangs in holding,
Congress recently passed legislation that directs BLM to sell wild horses and
burros that are over 10 years old.
The law currently applies to
about 8,400 animals. The goal was to
place these animals with buyers committed to long-term care.
The sales program faced a
crisis in April, however, when two buyers resold or traded their horses to
others, who then sold the horses to a processing plant. In response, BLM, working in partnership with
Ford Motor Co., intervened quickly to save those horses that had not yet been
slaughtered.
The bureau also suspended its
horse sales for a month, during which time the agency revised its procedures to
deter such incidents. In addition, the
agency worked with all three
The bad publicity has stalled
the sale program. While the BLM has
resumed sales, it has much work to do.
So far the agency has sold more than 1,400 horses and burros, meaning some
7,000 remain to be sold this year. These
animals need good, caring, permanent homes.
We are asking those who have
the ability to take care of these horses to contact the BLM at (800) 710-7597
or e-mail the agency at wildhorse@blm.gov.
For those who would rather adopt a younger horse, click on the Department
of Interior’s web site at www.doi.gov/horse.
Many people, however, who
would like to help do not have the land and facilities
to care for an untrained animal. Those
who are not in a position to buy or adopt a wild horse or burro may want to make
a tax-deductible donation to the Save the Mustangs fund, established by Ford
Motor Co. in partnership with the BLM and Take Pride in
Working together, we can
preserve the 7,000 wild horses and burros that must be sold. In so doing, we will be protecting living
symbols of Western history and icons of the American spirit of freedom.
--Gale A. Norton, Secretary of the Interior
Extension Service News
by Eddie Baggs, CEA-Agriculture
Prussic and
Nitrate Poisoning
Beef
cattle producers and horse owners should be on the watch for two types of
poisoning often associated with dry/drought conditions, which we have right
now. The potential for nitrate and
prussic acid poisoning of livestock (cattle and horses) grazing or eating hay
(prussic acid poisoning is not an issue in hay) is most often associated with
dry conditions and drought. Livestock
owners should be taking precautions with their animals, including testing
forage, if they have an abundance of Johnson grass in pastures (prussic acid
risk) or have highly managed pasture with fertility (nitrate risk).
Both
conditions can cause death and should be taken very seriously. However, this does not necessarily mean that
this is a problem in your particular pasture.
It is a condition to be aware of and depending on risk factors, forage
tests may be merited. Symptoms of
animals affected might include staggering, gasping, salivation, trembling, and
rapid pulse may be observed. Death would
be the most acute result. Even as the
outward signs are the same for both nitrate and prussic acid poisoning, each
affects cattle and horses in different ways.
Nitrate poisoning inhibits the ability of blood to transport
oxygen. Mucous membranes turn dark blue
and blood becomes chocolate brown.
Prussic acid inhibits the ability of cells to take oxygen from the
blood. Mucous membranes, in this case,
become bright pink and the blood is cherry red in color.
Nitrate
accumulation can occur in virtually any plant with the ability to grow rapidly
and use soil nitrogen efficiently. Small
grains, millet, bermudagrass, and fescue are forages common to
Under
normal conditions, nitrate in the soil is absorbed by plant roots, transported
through the stems, and converted in leaves to proteins and other substances
that are useable by the animal. Nitrate
typically is used by the plant about as fast as it is absorbed from the
soil. Any condition hindering plant
growth, however, can cause nitrate accumulation, mostly in plant stems. Nitrate poisoning occurs when this excessive
nitrate is consumed and converted to nitrite faster than the animal can use
it. Free nitrite in the rumen is readily
absorbed into the blood stream, where it destroys the blood’s ability to absorb
and carry oxygen. Nitrate poisoning is
usually treated by intravenous injection of methylene blue. A veterinarian should be consulted for
diagnosis and treatment.
Prussic
acid is usually attached to a larger sugar molecule and is part of the normal
growth process in problem plants. In
this form it is not harmful to the animal.
Problems occur when environmental conditions slow plant growth, causing
the sugar molecules to accumulate in the plant.
Accumulation is mostly in younger leaves and new growth, and the slowing
down of plant growth, like in dry conditions, is the cause of poisoning. A common treatment is intravenous injection
of sodium thiosulfate and sodium nitrite, but a veterinarian should be
contacted for diagnosis and treatment.
Educational programs
conducted by the Texas Cooperative Extension serve people of all ages
regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability or
national origin.
Ask The Vet
by Dr. Katie Hayes, DVM
Summer Heat Colic Prevention
Make
sure there is plenty of hay or pasture (not weeds) available
free choice. The horse’s intestinal
system is designed to have plenty of roughage and water going through it. When you do not feed much hay or if your pasture is more weeds than grass, there is not
enough fiber going through their system.
So, when you feed grain to an empty large intestine the bacteria in the
intestinal system produce gas from the carbohydrate sugars in the grain,
resulting in gas colic.
Make
sure the horse also has access to cool water free choice. If the horse runs out of water or does not
drink enough, this can cause impaction colic.
Coastal hay without enough water easily becomes impacted in the large
intestine. Horses prefer and drink more
if the water is cool. Try to keep your
water trough in the shade or fill it 2/3 full where you can run cold fresh water
into it every day. Keep 2-3 water
buckets in the stall and change the water daily. Hose the horse off daily in the evening to
cool them down as well. Using water and
no soap rinses the salt out of their coat, but not the oils and prevents skin
blistering.
Preventing Wire Cuts
Horses
get very cranky in the summer. I see
more wire cuts because they paw with their front feet into the wire, or squeal
and kick a hind foot into the wire reacting to a horse across the fence, or are
run into a fence by another pasture mate.
Horses
that share a common barbed wire fence between two pastures is
an accident and vet bill waiting to happen.
Put a hot wire on top of the fence to keep horses on both sides off of
it. Replace barbed wire with electric
fence, smooth wire, netted wire, board fence, or panels.
Time
for
A Bit of Humor
Basic Rules for Horses with a Human Family to Support,
Part 1
Shots:
Humans are characteristically nervous when providing veterinary care for
you. In order to soothe your human,
raise your head immediately after the injection and create a swinging vine with
your lead rope. Genetically predisposed,
humans are comforted by swinging back and forth on the lead rope while
screaming primeval noises.
Rain: Humans
are generally little busy bodies, like beavers, who
need to constantly build and modify.
During the rain, stick either your head or your butt beyond the reach of
your roof. Being the stimulus/response
creatures that they are, your human will instinctively move you to a new stall,
and make a new roof for you later.
Shoeing:
Humans are creatures driven by instant gratification. After a good foot trimming or shoeing, trot
smartly around afterwards to show your human how nice the shoes fit. The next day, drag one foot when you walk, to
provide your little busy body with yet another project to work on.
Children:
Human children require much nurturing in order to develop a healthy
self-ego. Never offer the correct canter
lead to an adult rider; however, permit children the honor of the correct
lead. Older children may be denied the
first one or two canter cues, in order to prepare them for adulthood. Very young children MUST be given the correct
lead on the very first try.
Author Unknown
This Month’s Recipe
Peaches ‘n Cream Pie Servings:
8
1-1/2 cups finely
crushed vanilla wafers
1/3 cup melted
butter
1 pkg (4-serving
size) orange flavored gelatin
3/4 cup boiling
water
2 cups ice
cubes
1-1/2 cups whipped
topping
1 cup fresh
peaches, peeled and chopped
·
Combine wafer crumbs and butter. Press firmly onto bottom of 9-inch pie pan.
·
In a large bowl, stir gelatin into boiling water until
completely dissolved. Add ice cubes and
stir until gelatin is slightly thickened, then remove any unmelted ice. Add whipped topping and stir with a wire
whisk until well blended. Gently stir in
peaches.
· Refrigerate gelatin mixture for 15 minutes or until it is thick enough to mound, then spoon mixture over pie crust. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set. Store leftover pie in refrigerator.