Human vs humanely

Human vs humane, is there a difference? How do we perceive animals? How do we treat them?? Do you think of them as a cute little person in fur suit? Or as a just an animal that lives in the moment, similar, but the not the same as humans? With twenty children coming through my property and another ten in a week, I have been doing a lot of observing of people different interactions with animals. Not just horses, but the dogs, cats, geese, chickens and other assortments of animals we have on the farm.

 
 

Personally, I love animals; I can watch them and be around them all day. I don't find them gross or repulsive, yes it stinks when they crap, and its undesirable to be licked by a dog after its jus gobbled up a mouthful of rotten, decomposing animal. But is doesn't put me off them. But i don't see them as humans. They have emotions like we do, if can see that they get sad, happy, hurt, scared, playful and grumpy. But they do not think like we do, they think as their species would and see the world as it applies to them, not to us. I know my cat like to be stroked, the dog patted, my horses to be brushed and my pet goose likes to come sit down right next to me but not necessarily be touched at all, it what makes them all special and unique, but not human.

 
 

Watching the kids (and their parents), some wanted nothing more than to pick up and hold any animal they saw, it was like a cute little toy to them. Not saying they didn't love them, just they didn't see them for what they were. Some of the kids could never understand why the horse just didn't do what the kid wanted, not because it was a "naughty" pony, but because it didn't make that connection between having its name screeched at it, was meant to communicate to go trot over a jump twenty feet away. Or that crawling around on your hands and knees after a calf pretending to eat grass, was not going to fool the calf into thinking you're the same species.

 
 

But some kids naturally understood, they could tell when the dogs wanted a pat on the head, or when they were trying to get away from the throng of kids surrounding it, they could tell that to a baby bird being picked up and carried away from its mother, was not a pleasant experience and just let them eat out of their hands instead. They knew when the horse was being lazy and when it was just confused or anxious. They got that different animals, like different things, and behaved differently.

 
 

Now i think a lot of this understanding can be taught, but some of it just comes down to a natural awareness of what's going on around you. I had many a talk to kids, about how their behavior affected the horse they were riding, most of them really did understand what I was saying and then genuinely tried to improve the way they communicated with their horse. Like I said, all these kids loved, at least the idea, of animals, but only a few really understood the animals. Most of them once taught, could pick up on a horse mood once I showed them what to look for, and developed an understanding of how an equine mind worked, and they really improved their riding.

 
 

Its sometimes a fine line between having a horse or an animal well behaved and under control, to being cruel to it. One girl loved horses, her parents raved to me about how much animals loved their child. I can tell you her horse's life was misery 90% of the time she was around it, and my animals went to great lengths to avoid her company. Yes she spent a long time brushing it, oiling its hooves and putting fancy sprays on its coat, but this means absolutely nothing to the horse, it didn't know that her parents spent a fortune on grooming supplies, even though they told the pony how much money it was costing them daily. All pony knew was that, the girl yelled at him every couple of seconds. He didn't lift his foot fast enough she screeched, no calmly keeping your hand their and lifting foot for it to be cleaned, nope she just yelled in his face. Didn't want the bridle, it got the bit banged on its teeth. Didn't go when she wanted she yelled and pulled on the reins, it did go and she kept booting it in the ribs, if she didn't have fun the pony didn't get fed. No matter what that pony did, he got yelled at, kicked, his mouth yanked on, or hit with the whip. That was one angry pony, there was no escape so he just shut down, and stayed away from her as long as he could.

 
 

Now she wasn't a bad kid, but didn't understand her horse, a bit of understanding and kindness goes a long way no matter the species. You don't have to treat it like a person, just like a living creature. Maybe yelling words at a person would work but to the animal they only hear loud angry noise. Needless to say that little girl's behavior, wasn't acceptable around me. We had a nice calm talk, and explained the error of her ways. E.g smashing a metal bit into his teeth didn't want to make him open his mouth, only communicated the fact the bridle was even scarier and more painful than he thought. I would like to say a miracle happened and from then on she was never mean to her horse, but that would be a lie. I had to constantly remind her to pause, think about how her horse saw her actions, and then find a new way of getting what she wanted. It kind of worked.  Horse and rider both got along better and improved.

 

Then on the last day, her parents arrived to pick her up, you know how they communicated as a family, they screeched and screamed and yelled, no different from how the girl treated the horse. I just gave a mental sigh,  how do you  tell a parent that the only way their child was going to succeed with her horse, was to treat it better than her parents treated her??

 
 

Human and animals alike we all need a bit of understandings and patience and to be treated humanely, but we definitely don't all need to be treated as a human.

Wow, is it the new year already? I'm only just getting used to 2011, and now its 2012. But no matter how fast 2011 went by, it will definitely be a year to remember. Natural disasters the world over, extreme weather patterns, political upheaval and war throughout many countries,not to mention the ongoing recession, the world was a slightly unsettled place the last 12months. So ignoring the Mayan calender predicting the end of the world, and the fact that the new year started to pouring rain and knee deep mud, its no wonder many of us are looking forward to a a fresh start in the new year, and globally a more settled year than the previous one.

Some of us have resolutions, goals and plans for the year ahead. I have a couple, i feel like 2012 is the year for adventure, hence the Egypt trip. But also it feels a bit like crunch time, a make it or break it, year for my business, and my competing. My good horse is getting to a level where it getting exciting, we have a goal in mind to qualify for certain event, right before i fly off overseas, and hopefully get top 5 placing, hes no longer 'green' and is at a stage where we can really 'go for it' as far as results. The pressure is on, so to speak, to show all these years of training have not been in vain.

As far as the wild horses go, i have set my self a deadline, January 21st is the date i have set for Fern, the wild mare's, first show. Shes is going to join my competition team, and i have set a jumping day as her first event. I am someone who needs deadlines and goals especially for my own horses, as otherwise things fall by the wayside, while i work clients horses, or get distracted on other jobs that need doing. , Fern is ready there is no point delaying, she happily jumps anything, goes well under saddle, and i just think it will be the funniest thing in the world to turn up to shows with my 17hh warm blood and my little wild mare....Although i don't think anyone would ever guess she is from the wild to see her go.

As well as Fern, and my warm bloods,i have a couple of other young horses, and  a couple of clients horses all to be out competing, and the number of horses i have in work has doubled.I even have another wild horse in my team, Tussock the kaimanawa, has come to stay, for a little schooling and to be ridden by kids. Did I mention the ten kids that arrive on Monday, to spend a week with their ponies, horse riding, camping on the farm, playing in the mud and generally creating chaos. 2012 is already shaping up to be a busy year.

Here are the nine kids that we had the week before Christmas. A really fun group of kids, who are at that level where sitting on your pony all day is the best thing in the world.Tussock the Kaimanawa is the third from the right.

So What about everyone else, what big changes are happening this year, do you have new years resolutions, dreams, goals and plans for the next twelve months??

oh wait i do have one new years resolutions to share. I must get more photos of Fern for this blog! Because as to date, i don't have a single photo of her under saddle, to prove how well she is going, definitely something to work towards in the new year..

Okay back on track, in case any of you thought id completely forgotten my wild horses for Egypt instead, they are doing great. Life has been hectic, competing, on weekends, traveling Friday, working non-stop Monday-Thursday, i haven't had a chance to hit the keyboard and talk about the wild horses in a while.Well today even though its summer, we have torrential rain and flooding, and after getting up to find the stream had risen 3metres in the night and burst it banks,  blankiting every bit of flat pasture under a good few feet of water. I spent the early par of the morning making sure all assorted animals are away from the danger, i now have nothing to do, but sit inside and wait it out, until the flood waters go down again, this give me the perfect opportunity to catch up on everything so here we go....

I have learned many things since starting the wild horse project, in May last year. Some things,just from observing and comparing horses, from the wild ones, to the ones we raise. Lots of ideas and theories i had about horses, have become more established, and i have been reminded of lots of things that had slipped to the back of my mind after working in solely with show horses for the last few years.

• The biggest lesson, Horses are only as wild as you make them. I already kind of thought this but working with my three wild horses, just confirmed it. They are not born crazy, and given the chance they are pretty stoic animals, not as prone to flight as we think they are. We determine how settled they become in life due to the kind of handling, and the amount of time put into them. True of either horse born wild or in domestication. But really, nothing seems to upset the wild horses to much, they just take life as it is and don't get to phased by it.
• You can feed a wild horse half as much, and it will grow twice as fat as one of my precious sport horses. Some of this isn't just their great metabolism, but behavioural as well. The ones from the wild see eating as survival and are very focused about it. The sport horses see it as something to do for entertainment and pick and fuss, or stand at the gates wasting hours of grazing time waiting to come in to the barn.
• Wild horses are HAPPY, once domesticated. Mine give no signs of longing to be free in the mountains again, and seem totally settled in domestic bliss. Given the chance I'm sure they would lock themselves in the stable with a pile of hay and never come out.
• Domestic horses are a lot more prone to flight than wild horses. All my 'wilds' if spooked stop and stare and then just carry on with what they are doing. Some of the sport horses, whirl, and bolt before they even seen a thing. this can be in the paddock or ridden. Also while the domestic ones gallop headlong, excuberantly down the hill to be caught, the wild ones have always calmy picked their way down, even though they are the ones born runing on mountains.
• The biggest thing that surprised me though was the Independence that the wild horses showed. We think of herd animals as being together constantly, and unwilling to act alone. To this day, if the wild mare doesn't agree with what the herd is doing, she just takes herself off and does her own thing, completely out of sight of the herd if need be.Today is a classic example, the herd of mares is grazing where i can see them, totally exposed in the pouring rain, shivering and cold. The wild mare cant be seen, but i know is on the next hill over, tucked way back into the forest, where shes dry and warm, a looking out over the other idiot equines standing in the rain.
• they develop a lot faster and studier, than our purpose bred sport horses. Sonny the wild yearling looks like a fully grown little stallion in miniature, strong sturdy, glossy coat, and a good covering of fat and muscle. he looks like he could survive anything and behaves more like an adult horse than a you would expect. The purpose bred sport horses on the other hand, long, lanky, impossible to keep weight on, with no muscling, they are still very much babies mentally, apart from the colts keen desire to breed with anything, he is nowhere near as developed as Sonny. This makes sense if they were in the wild, the quicker they develop the better their chance for survival
• Going slowly as far as training, does not make it easier for the horse. Going to fast and putting to much pressure on them doesn't help either. But the people who take months and months, to get to where they can handle a horse, i think, only prolong the amount of time the horses spends scared of you. If you can get to where they can be haltered and handled relatively quickly, i think its better for the horse as they learn you mean no harm and can relax in their new environment.

These are just my opinions though, some people may have different experiences or not agree with me. That's okay to, every ones entitled to their own ideas. I'm also sure i have forgotten to put down about half the things i meant to, but as soon as i sit down and stare at a computer screen my mind seem to come up blank and i forget all i meant to write about...

Images from Egypt......can you see why i might want to go?

this horse had cloth tied through it flesh for 'good health'....

these ones are simply starving to death with only sand to eat...One thing is for sure im going to see things over there, worse than anything iever seen or dealt with before, it will be educational at the very least

So this is what i have to look forward to when i travel over in march. I'm sure these images make your gut twist just as much as mine. How could this happen, how could people do this or tolerate it? makes you pretty sick to think about...

But then its amazing what you become immune to, or what you think is normal when its all you know. I'm sure their are some bastards over their, that are rotten to the core, and knowingly abuse their animals, working them for all they are worth, literally until they drop dead. but I'm also equally sure, that some just don't know any better and are just carrying on practices that there ancestors were doing back in the stone ages.

We, and i mean anyone, anywhere, are all guilty of becoming to familiarized or used, to certain things and just accepting them as normal. just for an example, horses in New Zealand, live out in pasture mostly, and generally are pretty healthy animals, with good wide hooves and are pretty co-ordinated creatures. This is what I'm used to, its normal for me, to expect any horse i get on to be able to walk up and down a hill. The look of a long lean thouroughbred, or eventing type, is also the kind of horse im used to seeing.

But when Ive traveled, i have found this is far from the norm in other places. In America, i went to a stable, where every second horse was obese and had at some stage, had major colic surgery, navicular and ringbone were pretty rife too, everyone their thought this was totally normal, as they did the tiny pinched hooves and the fact that their horses couldnt walk down the slightest slope without tripping over. this was just how horses were, or so they thought. Everyone had just become so familiarised they started thinking this was normal. By the way, not a attack at american barns at all, because i know there are some great ones to!

Who's to know its not a similar situation in Egypt, you may just never realise their is another way of caring for horses, and that jutting hip bones and gaping sores are not just the norm. who's to say until you have been there. But i think this is why education is so important, and that is part of what the people on this trip hope to achieve, re-educating locals into better practices and care of their animals.

But don't get me wrong, in no way am i justifying what they do. Its horrible, but you cant just tell people their wrong, you have to show them and give them a reason to do it differently.

Well today a friend and i raised $223 to go towards, educating people, and taking medical gear over to look after the horses. What was amazing is how many donated more than required to buy the fundraising raffle ticket. Was really great to see, and most people were genuinely interested and asked what they could do to help. So thank you to all those who brought a ticket and donated, hopefully your money will to making a real differance to the lives of the horses, donkeys and camels over there

I know a lot of readers here will want to help to, at the moment there are lots of ways you can contribute. We need, horse wormers, tick tags, vet wrap, gamgee, wound dressings, non-stick wound pads, flea spray, and lice powders. But also things you might have lying around your tack room unused, such as halters and leads, snaflle bits, foam saddle blankets, plastic bridles, even dog collars and leads are needed. If your handy with a sewing machine, making synthetic sheepskin covers for noseband and gith sleeves, would be fantastic, to hlep protect horses from traditioanl chain nosebands and rough girths. As always money can be donated and will appreciated too!

If you can help and want more imformation please contact me by email chloesponys@hotmail.com

Kaimanawa to Cairo

I'm feeling a but frustrated, with the weekends of competitions and week of manically trying to keep up with all the work on the farm and with the horses.Don't get me wrong, i love competing, horse shows are a huge part of my life and keep me on my toes and striving to succeed. But you can, at times, get jaded with the whole scene, the money, the time involved, the travel,and the fact that your whole life revolves around a how well a horse can go in different circles and jump without knocking a rail down. Sometimes you do find yourself thinking, "is this all my life is about". Recently i have felt i need for something else in my life, a holiday, a new project, something to re-inspire me. The last time i felt this way i adopted wild horses and started this blog. So what next???





Most people when they need a break, or R&R, pick a nice holiday destination where they can lie on the beach, relax and unwind and think about things.Not me. I'm going to a war zone, to work my ass off, to live in less than great conditions, in the heat, in a country that is predominantly Muslim. and where animals welfare is not high on the list of most people's priorities. Egypt. With Libya on it left, sitting below Israel, Jordon and Palestine, above Sudan and a hop,skip and a jump from Iraq and Afghanistan.That's right, to a country in the middle of a political upheaval, that according to my government is a 'high risk' travel destination, in the middle of a part of the world that is presently rife, with war, terrorism, protesters, suicide bombers, dictatorships and countries that don't allow women any freedom. Sounds great right? Dangerous, hot, hard work and where women are not well respected. What better place to go, for a young girl from New Zealand.

So why go? Why the risk, to a place i wont even be able to kick back and relax? This wont be a holiday, but it will be an experience, because im going to set up street clinics, for starving neglected, abused and wounded horses, camels and donkeys. I'm going to Egypt, because i feel i would actually be able to put some of my skills to something more useful than, preparing a horse for shows. The is a chance to maybe work at Giza Zoo, get some hands on experience with camels, save some horses and donkeys, and be doing all this within a stones throw from the great pyramids. Was to good an opportunity to pass by.

Sometimes in the western world we forget how lucky we are, were educated have great resources at our disposle, unlimited access to knowledge via the Internet. We don't go hungry, mostly our governments run smoothly, and in New Zealand at least we have a green, pristine and beautiful environment. What happens if you live in a desert, and the tourist money you rely on runs dry? Its not even like you can turn your animals loose to find grass, your surrounded by rock and sand. No money, first your animals go hungry and then you and your family. What happens if your brought up without knowledge of modern animals care, what if you practice old beliefs, like piercing an animals flesh and tying bits of string, wire and cloth through their flesh, to promote better health, but instead leave the animals with open rotting sores. Can we sitting at home really judge people?

Im sure not all of it is ignorance but i will hold my judgment until i see condition for myself. The pictures are however horrific. Horses like walking skeletons. Animals with open putrid wounds almost to the bone, from being ridden with ill fitting saddles by tourists to see the pyramids, or sores from chains rubbing across their faces and legs. The photos paint a very grim picture. This wont be for the faint hearted. It will be heart wrenching and hard, but i think worth it.

So when i saw a team of Kiwi's were going, including a horse dentist and vets, i thought that this would be my chance to make a bit of a difference, help out, not just talk about how horrible it is, but go and do something about it.

I'm no delicate flower, not afraid to get my hands dirty,i can deal with injuries, i worked with starved abused and injured horses in the past. I can bandage, dress wounds, trim hooves and deal with unruly animals. I can provide a lot of the grunt work need on this kind of trip.people have told me they couldn't cope seeing this kind of thing, it would be to upsetting.but i just want to get stuck in and help out, i figure anything i can do will help improve theses horses lives, and it worth dealing with everything else.

So i got in contact and signed up for the trip, it was a spur of the moment decision and i don't regret it, March next year i will be ,bandaging, feeding holding and looking after horses in Egypt. The worst part i think will be starting the huge amount of vaccinations i need for the trip, including rabies, which i start next week. I'm excited, i feel inspired again and bursting with passion and enthusiasm. I feel much better to have something to be working towards again. I know its a risk, but one I'm willing to take, and well, if i get kidnapped over there and sold for camels to be part of some sheik's harem, we will all know it was a mistake, but you don't know until you try.

behind the scenes

Just a couple more images from equidays, Matai and Eliza, as well as other wild horses and their handlers...

Behind every organisation is a couple of hardworking people who keeps everything ticking over. Every soccer club, dance recital, horse show, school reunion, charity organsition has a handful of core people, that makes these things work. These people who put the hard work in year after year, so that these events and clubs happen, they usally do the bulk of the work, for none of the glory, fitting it in without complaint around their day to day live.

The Kaimanawa Heritage Horses, seems to also have this core group of hardworking volunteers that not only look out for the horses but run, shows, demonstrations, a breed registry, a adoption and fostering scheme, publish a magazine, and continue to promote these amazing horses. It is these people who i have all my dealings with, and have made the overall experiance of having a wild horse so enjoyable. They have taken good care of me, and always made me feel part of the Kaimanawa family, everytime ive gotten to meet them at shows and events. Even going as far as putting me and matai up for the night when we came to the Kai show in february. They are all great people with big hearts and deserve mention for all the good work they do.

So Marilyn, Elder, who are just great people, and obviously so passionate about the horses. Tania for helping Matai, me and Eliza all participate in Equidays. Christine and her family for letting me stay back in february, and all the other great people who keep this organisation going. Thanks for all that you do, your work is appreciated!

Good hoses are made not born...

What we started with......


and today......

Big screen in the back ground, the wild stallion and his new owner, a little scared but held it together!

In the demonstration arena settling down

Matai and his new owner warming up. Looking pretty flash

I just want people to know that good horses are not born, they are made. Some horses are born more trainable, more athletic, with better movement, better conformation, more intelligent, what effects how they turn out in life, how far they go, is the training and time put into them.

Behind every good horse is someone who at some stage put hours, months even years of training into them. At some stage in every successful horses life someone took the time to put in, the everyday foundation in training that would shape their future.

People spend their whole life tyring to find that perfect horse, maybe just a calm horse to ride on a trail, or something they think will carry them to a gold medal, while other people just create the perfect horse for them selves.

Without going on an on, that little unremarkable scrawny bay pony in the top photos didn't just become the flashy little bay horse that could perform in front of crowds, tv screens, in a windy outdoor arena like he did today.

People put a lot of work into him, training what he already had,and turning it into something special. First me with months of training to bring him from wild horse to domestic horse, and now with is new owner, taking him from green little pony into a horse that will one day have a future in a dressage ring.

Matai had his four minutes of fame today. Going into a big outdoor arena surrounded by grandstands, loudspeakers, flapping flags, we had to push through crowds of people, and past a tantrum throwing miniature stallion, horse and carts, just to make it to the arena, but we did. Matai bless his sole, was scared, and so was his rider, he saw him self on the giant screen and almost jumped out of his skin, yet he listened came back to his rider and settled down to his work, showing moments of brilliance. In another year it will not be moments of brilliance but a consolidated performance. It wont be magic it will be because someone put the work into him..

Congrats to all the wild horses who did a fantastic job of promoting the breed. Well done to Eliza and Matai for being brave enough to put themselves in the limelight!