Evidence to Prove GAO Report on Horse Welfare FRAUDULENT

PLEASE SHARE and SEND TO LEGISLATORS!  ~Declan

Evidence to Prove GAO Report Regarding Horse Welfare FRAUDULENT

July 31, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

John Holland, President, Equine Welfare Alliance

540.268.5693

john@equinewelfarealliance.org

Laura Allen, Executive Director, Animal Law Coalition

425.419.7301

lauraallen@animallawcoalition.com

EWA and ALC produce evidence showing GAO Horse Welfare report was fraudulent

EWA (Chicago) - The Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) and the Animal Law Coalition (ALC) announced today that they have irrefutable evidence showing that the Government Accountability Office fraudulently misrepresented horse abuse and neglect data in their report GAO 11-228.

The GAO report blamed falling horse prices and increased abuse and neglect on the closing of the domestic slaughter plants in 2007. Shortly after GAO issued the report, a conference committee reinstated funding for horse slaughter inspections, opening the way for slaughter to return to the US. Widely quoted in the media, the report is also provided as evidence in the lawsuit filed by Valley Meats against the USDA.

The EWA and ALC have provided both a video and a white paper showing how the fraud was committed. The ten minute video, How the GAO deceived Congress about horse slaughter was released on YouTube, and shows step by step how the GAO hid information in its possession showing abuse and neglect was in decline and misrepresented the data as showing it was increasing.

The fraud was discovered by the EWA while collecting data for equine abuse and neglect rates across the country. "We were looking for the correlation between various factors such as unemployment, slaughter and hay prices on a state by state basis," explained EWA's John Holland, "and when we looked at the Colorado data, we were reminded of its mention in the GAO report."

The GAO claimed in the report to have contacted state veterinarians across the country and to have been told that abuse and neglect was increasing everywhere in the wake of the closing of the US plants in 2007. These were the same officials EWA contacted looking for states that kept records.

The EWA found data from six states; Oregon, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Georgia and Colorado. The records showed that abuse and neglect had been in decline between 2008 and 2010 (the last year of the GAO study), and that the GAO had used the wrong dates on the Colorado data to make it appear abuse had increased 60%.

"We had accepted that abuse was probably increasing as the result of the bad economy," says Holland, "so imagine our surprise when we found it had been decreasing." The EWA study finally showed the reason: drought. Drought and the subsequent increases in hay prices correlated tightly with the abuse and neglect numbers, and outweighed the influence of the recession and other factors.

"Not only did the GAO misrepresent the data, they completely missed the importance of hay prices and availability." said Holland. The EWA filed a FOIA request for the data used by the GAO and the request was denied. The EWA also filed an IG complaint, and finally had a conference call with the GAO to request the report be withdrawn. The GAO refused any response except to say that their reports were flawlessly cross checked.

Victoria McCullough, owner of Chesapeake Petroleum and internationally known equestrian, said "Acceptance of lower standards results in failed policies and most significantly failures of public interest. Special Interest encroachment within Washington must not be allowed to erode public trust."

- # -

Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSxUPNgzgn4&feature=youtu.be

White Paper:http://www.equinewelfarealliance.org/uploads/How_the_GAO_Deceived_Congress-final.pdf

  

The Equine Welfare Alliance (EWA) is a dues-free 501c4, umbrella organization with over 300 member organizations and over 1,000 individual members worldwide in 21 countries. The organization focuses its efforts on the welfare of all equines and the preservation of wild equids.www.equinewelfarealliance.org

The Animal Law Coalition (ALC) is a coalition of pet owners and rescuers, advocates, attorneys, law students, veterinarians, shelter workers, decision makers, and other citizens, that advocates for the rights of animals to live and live free of cruelty and neglect.www.animallawcoalition.com  

  

  

    

$25 New Holland Auction Stallion Granted New Life

I LOVE all the awesome stories my friend Susan Salk finds about horses being given second chances and getting to show how incredible they are.  She writes about them on her blog "Off-Track Thoroughbreds" and shares their stories.  This one is about a woman who bought a horse at the New Holland auction for only $25 and gave him a whole new life.   ~Declan

$25 New Holland stallion granted new life

By Susan Salk on July 19, 2013

Tomtomjim has bloomed into a beautiful gentleman since being plucked from New Holland auction

Melissa Rudershausen’s hand shot up through the stale, fetid air, as the smell of frightened livestock hit her like a blast of bad wind.

Tearing up from the stench that clung to her clothes, the smart, young rider raised her hand at the New Holland Auction last Thanksgiving, and with the small gesture offered a moment of mercy to a Thoroughbred who would be saved that day from the possibility of slaughter that awaited the hogs, goats, and other livestock.

Just $25 bought the depressed-looking Thoroughbred stallion, whose price had dropped like the Stock Market on a bad day.

“I don’t remember my hand going in the air,” she says. “But, nobody wanted this horse. Stallions are hard to sell because it costs so much to geld them, and his price kept dropping and dropping until the auctioneer finally said, “Somebody take him for $25.”

For Rudershausen, an equestrian and professional Thoroughbred trainer well used to the conditions, the pressures, the sense of urgency at New Holland, her impulsiveness surprised her.

Ordinarily the proprietor of Double Rock Thoroughbred Rescue of Ocala, Fla., an impressive A Circuit rider with a knack for turning the most woebegone kill-pen horse into a handsome show horse, is methodical in her approach.

TomTomJim
Sire: Carson City
Dam: Stereotype
Foal date: Feb. 20, 2003“I normally have a plan. I’ll go first and look over the horse; I’ll run my hands down his legs to see if he is clean-legged, and I’ll check his feet. I like to know what I’m getting. But this time, my hand went up in the air, and I owned a strange horse.”

She never had a chance to do much more than glance at Tomtomjim when she spotted him in the sales arena, so clearly a Thoroughbred that his look and attitude “just screamed Thoroughbred.”

As his price plummeted, she acted on impulse.  On heart.

“It was like my hand went up in the air, and my mind engaged after it,” she says. “And suddenly I owned a horse I knew nothing about. I was a little nervous. Afterwards, I went over to see what I had bought, and he was a complete sweetheart.”

Read the rest of TomTomJim's story on Off-Track Thoroughbreds <HERE>

Tomtomjim trains in college program

Statue of Korean War Horse Reckless Unveiled at Marine Corps Museum

Today is the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War and I want to honor a very special war hero.  She is a decorated Marine who's courage, loyalty and valor were bigger than the universe.  Her name is Sgt. Reckless and she was a Mongolian mare from Korea.  Sgt. Reckless was immortalized with a statue that was unveiled yesterday, at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, VA. This article tells some of her story, but also be sure to visit her page on FaceBook and website to learn more about Sgt. Reckless and the Marines she served and look through the pictures.  On the FB page, you can also see pictures of the statue being built.  

Thank you to all the veterans who fought for the freedom of others.  ~Declan

Statue of Korean War horse Reckless to be unveiled at Marine museum in Virginia

By Joshua Rhett Miller

Published July 25, 2013

As posted on FoxNews.com

• 
  A 10-foot bronze statue of the courageous – and insatiable – horse, Staff Sgt. Reckless, will be unveiled Friday at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va. “She wasn’t a horse, she was a Marine,” said author Robin Hutton, whose book on the Mongolian mare is due out later this year. (SgtReckless.com)

  
  

Some 60 years after carrying wounded soldiers and ammunition during heavy firefights, a decorated war horse praised as America’s greatest equine soldier during the Korean War is finally being immortalized.

Staff Sgt. Reckless, a Mongolian mare that served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War, made 51 solo trips during a five-day battle in March 1953, carrying nearly 10,000 pounds of ammunition and explosives from a supply depot to the front lines. 

She was wounded twice and later received two Purple Hearts for her service, as well as several other military decorations. On Friday, a 10-foot bronze statue by sculptor Jocelyn Russell of the courageous — and insatiable — horse will be unveiled at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Va.

“She wasn’t a horse, she was a Marine,” said Robin Hutton, whose book, “Sgt. Reckless, America’s War Horse,” will be published later this year. “When the Marines got her, they became her herd. She bonded with them and would do anything for them. She’d follow them anywhere and everywhere.”

The 900-pound Reckless, whose legendary appetite included huge portions of scrambled eggs, chocolate pudding and even beer, joined the Marines in 1952 after she was purchased by a soldier for $250 from a Korean boy who needed money to buy an artificial leg for his sister.

Then known as “Flame,” the horse was later renamed by the Recoilless Rifle Platoon of the 5th Marine Regiment, Hutton said, adding that the horse was not startled by the powerful anti-tank guns used by the unit.

The horse’s main caretaker, Sgt. Joseph Latham, quickly “taught her everything,” Hutton said, including how to kneel during incoming fire or to step over barbed wires. Reckless also quickly memorized routes to and from battle stations, travelling dangerous paths and mountain trails without the accompaniment of a fellow Leatherneck.

Hutton said she expects emotions to be running high when Korean War veterans attend Friday’s ceremony.

“They’re coming to town to honor Reckless because the horse meant so much to them,” she said. “They’re going to cry, I know they are.”

After the war, Reckless, who was praised by The Saturday Evening Post while still in Korea, made several television appearances, including on the “Art Linkletter Show.” A film was planned, but ultimately did not materialize, Hutton said, and the horse fell from the national conversation. She later retired in 1960 at Camp Pendleton and after dying of natural causes, was buried there with full military honors on May 13, 1968.

Reckless gave birth to three colts — named Fearless, Dauntless and Chesty — and a filly that died one month later. Hutton said it’s “disappointing” that the horse’s line was not carried on, but she hopes Friday’s ceremony will re-ignite interest in Reckless, whom Hutton featured in a screenplay she’s written.

“I’ve been so blessed with this story,” Hutton said. “This horse has forever changed my life.”

More than 33,000 U.S. soldiers were killed during the Korean War, with another 100,000 wounded and 7,000 additional soldier still listed as missing in action, according to Department of Defense statistics.

Maj. Billy Canedo, of the Department of Defense’s 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Committee, told FoxNews.com that up to five Marines who served alongside Reckless are expected to attend Friday’s ceremony.

“What’s special to me about this story and the accounts of her exploits is that she travelled with no handler,” Canedo said. “Whenever a Marine would get hit or wounded, a fellow Marine would put that Marine on Reckless’ back to be carried down to the casualty collection point. Then Reckless would walk back with ammunition.”

Canedo said Reckless walked more than 35 miles amid heavy enemy fire and, according to military lore, never flinched.

“She was probably going against every instinct of an animal, working off pure love of her fellow Marines,” he said. “That’s what is remarkable to me. The story, to me, is a great story.”

“She wasn’t a horse, she was a Marine."  - Robin Hutton, author, 'Sgt. Reckless, America’s War Horse'

The 88th Annual Assateague Chincoteague Pony Swim and Carnival 2013

The ponies are so cool!  I wish I could witness this some day! ~Declan


The 88th Annual Assateague Chincoteague Pony Swim and Carnival today



Wednesday, July 24, 2013 by Susan L Ruth  As posted on The Washington Times

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2013 —Tens of thousands of spectators are expected today to watch the 88^th Annual Pony Swim across the Assateague Channel.

The swim, which received national attention from the 1947 book by Marguerite Henry “Misty of Chincoteague,” has taken place on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July since 1925.

The Saltwater Cowboys round up the free roaming herd that lives on nearby Assateague Island and put them in holding pens a few days before the scheduled swim.

Wild ponies have lived on Assateague Island for hundreds of years.

It was previously believed that the ponies were descendants of horses released on the island by early settlers, but new evidence suggests that they actually trace their origin to horses which survived a wreck of a Spanish galleon off the coast of Assateague and swam for shore.

There were a remarkable number of shipwrecks off the island coast due to storm and fog that blocked the lighthouse beacons used for navigation causing the ships to go off coarse and hitting sandbars along the coast.

The large number of shipwrecks, along with the fact that it was very common for ships to transport ponies to the Colonies or South America, make it likely that the ponies came to Assateague from a shipwreck.

Penning began as a way for livestock owners to claim, brand, break and harness their loose herds. By the 1700s it had become an annual event, complete with drinking, eating and plenty of revelry by the entire community. The earliest known description of Pony Penning was published in 1835. The practice was then already an “ancient” custom held in June on Assateague Island. Penning on Chincoteague Island is not mentioned until the mid-1800s, and it believed to have been begun by two islanders who owned large herds that grazed on Chincoteague.

The penning continued on both islands for years. By 1885 they were held on Assateague one day and Chincoteague the next. Assateague also had a Sheep Penning, which is believed to be a custom even older than the others. Word of the events began to spread, and hotels and boarding houses were booked for the festivities. In 1909, the last Wednesday and Thursday of July were set as the official dates for the yearly events. As Pony Penning increased in popularity, Assateague’s Sheep Penning wound down and was discontinued by 1914.

Modern day penning began after a series of disastrous fires occurred in the Town of Chincoteague and people realized that their firefighting equipment was inadequate.  In 1925 the town allowed the Volunteer Fire Department to hold a carnival during the pony penning to raise funds.

The carnival was such a success that not only did the funds allowed the department to modernize its equipment but the firefighters began to build its own herd of ponies.

The herd was moved to Assateague where the government allowed publicly owned, not private, herds to graze on the newly established Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

The swim occurs at the narrowest portion of the channel during slack tide when there is no movement in the water and takes about five minutes.

The first foal ashore will be crowned King or Queen Neptune and will be raffled off at the Chincoteague Volunteer Fireman’s Carnival.

After a brief rest, the cowboys parade the ponies to the carnival grounds, where colts and fillies will be auctioned the following morning.

Auction proceeds are given to the fire company, which owns and maintains the herd of 150 ponies. The company uses the funds to purchase new equipment and veterinary care for the ponies.

“There are about 10,000 to 15,000 people who come and watch the parade,” said Denise Bowden, public relations officer for the fire company.

At 11 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the movie “Misty” will be shown for free at the Island Theater on Main Street. It is where the movie, filmed on the island, had its world premiere in 1961. It has long been a tradition to show the movie during Pony Penning week. “It was such a cool thing and we can re-create the history every year in such a special place,” said Nancy Lane, a board member of the Chincoteague Island Arts Organization, a nonprofit group that now owns the theater.

The fireman’s carnival will begin to sell its famous oyster sandwiches, clam fritters and more after the Wednesday swim and Thursday auction. The games and rides open at 7 p.m. each day this week. The first pony ashore during the swim will be raffled Wednesday evening.

Some have criticized the annual swim as inhumane to the horses.

After 1990 when some of the horses died of unknown causes, a veterinarian was brought on full time to care for the ponies and to keep them in good health. He also helps the horses who appear to be having difficulty with the crossing.

Officials say that the drive is a necessity because helps keep the herd to a manageable, island-acceptable population size while bringing money into the local municipality.

“If they were left to their own, they would expand naturally and their habitat would be damaged,” John Schroer, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge manager said. “Other wildlife on the island would suffer, too.”

The ponies that weren’t sold, about half the herd, will parade back to the water on Friday morning and swim back at a time to be announced. There aren’t as many spectators and the scene is a bit calmer.

New Mexico Company Faces Setbacks in Horse Slaughter Plans

NM company faces setbacks in horse slaughter plans

By By Jeri Clausing

July 22, 2013     As posted on Bloomberg Businessweek

  

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico company's hard-fought attempt to convert its cattle plant to a horse slaughterhouse was dealt a series of new blows Monday, with the state denying its wastewater permit and actor Robert Redford, former Gov. Bill Richardson and the state attorney general announcing plans to intervene in a lawsuit seeking to block a return to domestic horse slaughter.

The New Mexico Environment Department told Valley Meat Co. of Roswell, which has a lapsed discharge permit, that it won't renew the permit without a public hearing because of extensive comments already received.

Valley Meat Co. attorney Blair Dunn said the lack of a permit would not prevent the plant from opening as planned Aug. 5, but it would increase the cost of doing business because the plant would have to haul its waste.

Dunn accused the state of unfairly targeting a small, family-owned business. He noted that many dairies are operating around the state with lapsed permits.

He said the state ignored Valley's request for a renewal until the horse slaughter debate became so divisive and Gov. Susana Martinez announced her strong opposition.

The denial came the same day that Redford and Richardson joined the fray, announcing formation of an animal protection foundation whose first act was to seek to join a federal lawsuit filed by The Humane Society of the United States and other groups to block the planned Aug. 5 opening of Valley Meat and another recently approved horse slaughterhouse in Iowa. The plants would be the first horse slaughterhouses in the U.S. to operate in more than six years.

Also Monday, New Mexico Attorney General Gary King said he had filed a motion to intervene on behalf of horse slaughter opponents.

"Horse slaughter has no place in our culture," said Redford.

In a telephone interview, Redford said he has been passionate about horses all of his life, and his love of the animals inspired his famous movies "The Horse Whisperer" and "The Electric Cowboy."

The goal of the Foundation to Protect New Mexico Wildlife is to connect with other horse rescue and anti-slaughter groups to raise public awareness of the plight of horses in the West, he said, then assess longer term goals for the foundation. The group will also seek to protect wildlife and support animal shelters.

Redford said he and Richardson have both donated seed money to the group, but declined to say how much.

A lifelong horse lover, Richardson in a statement said he is committed to do "whatever it takes to stop the return of horse slaughterhouses in this country and, in particular, my own state."

"Congress was right to ban the inhumane practice years ago, and it is unfathomable that the federal government is now poised to let it resume," he said.

Dunn, the Valley Meat attorney, questioned why groups like Redford and Richardson's don't "use their money to actually save animals instead of harassing people in their lawful business?"

After more than a year of delays and a lawsuit by Valley Meat, the Department of Agriculture in June gave the company the go-ahead to begin slaughtering horses. USDA officials said they were legally obligated to issue the permits, even though the Obama administration opposes horse slaughter and is seeking to reinstate a congressional ban that was lifted in 2011.

Another permit was approved a few days later for Responsible Transportation in Sigourney, Iowa.

Meat from the slaughterhouses would be shipped to some countries for human consumption and for use as zoo and other animal food.

The move has divided horse rescue and animal welfare groups, ranchers, politicians and Indian tribes about what is the most humane way to deal with the country's horse overpopulation and what rescue groups have said are a rising number of neglected and starving horses as the West deals with persistent drought.

An Aug. 2 hearing is set for the request by animal protection groups for a temporary restraining order to prevent the plants from opening.

The BLM is ignoring the independent report saying that the roundups are doing more harm than good.  ~Declan

BLM to remove 1,300 mustangs in West this summer

• Leave a comment »

By Martin Griffith

Associated Press

Published: Sunday, July 21 2013 10:12 p.m. MDT

Updated: 15 hours ago

As posted on Deseret News

• 
• 
• 
• 
• View 10 photos »

This undated image provided by the Bureau of Land Management shows a wild horse in southwest Wyoming.

Bureau of Land Management, File, Associated Press

Summary

U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials say they plan to remove only 1,300 wild horses and burros from the range across the West this summer because of budget constraints and overflowing holding pens.

RENO, Nev. — U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials say they plan to remove only 1,300 wild horses and burros from the range across the West this summer because of budget constraints and overflowing holding pens.

Overall, they intend to remove about 4,800 of the animals from the range during the current fiscal year ending Sept. 30, compared with 8,255 in the last fiscal year. The vast majority of targeted animals will be wild horses.

Nine of the BLM's 16 summer roundups will be conducted in Nevada, home to roughly half of the estimated 37,000 free-roaming wild horses and burros in the West. The agency plans to remove 855 wild horses and burros in Nevada, 140 in Oregon, 105 in Arizona, 65 in New Mexico, 50 in Colorado and 25 in Idaho.

The BLM made the announcement Friday, about a month after 30 U.S. representatives urged new U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to make reforming the government's wild horse management program and its spiraling budget a priority.

The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign coalition criticized the BLM's plans, saying the captured animals will be added to government-funded holding facilities that are already at capacity with 50,000 wild horses and burros.

"The BLM is galloping ahead with rounding up more wild horses, despite the high cost to taxpayers and animals as well as the findings of an independent scientific review, which recommends against continued roundups," coalition spokeswoman Suzanne Roy said in a statement.

"The agency still has not gotten the message that the removal of wild horses from our Western public lands is inhumane, unsustainable, unscientific, and must come to an end," she added.

BLM spokesman Tom Gorey said most of the upcoming "gathers" have been scheduled in response to emergency conditions spurred by drought, and by public safety issues related to animals that roam near highways and residential and agricultural areas.

He said the schedule is subject to change because of continuing drought conditions across the West that are resulting in limited water and forage for wildlife, livestock and wild horses and burros.

"BLM managers are monitoring animal and range conditions, reducing livestock grazing, enacting fire restrictions and providing supplemental water in some locations for wild horses," Gorey said in a statement.

Six roundups in Nevada will use helicopters to guide the animals to pens, while the rest of the operations will use bait and water to trap them in corrals.

The BLM has no plans to administer fertility control vaccines to horses this summer except for some mares in Colorado, Gorey said. Instead, the agency intends to use fertility-control treatments during roundups before breeding season — between November and February — when the vaccines are most effective.

An independent scientific review of horse roundups, which was released in May, recommended that the government invest in widespread fertility control of the mustangs and let nature cull any excess herds instead of spending millions to house them in overflowing holding pens.

The 14-member panel assembled by the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council and Management concluded BLM's removal of nearly 100,000 horses from the Western range over the past decade is probably having the opposite effect of its intention to ease ecological damage and reduce overpopulated herds.

By stepping in prematurely when food and water supplies remain adequate, BLM is producing artificial conditions that ultimately serve to perpetuate population growth, the committee found.

In this Jan. 19, 200 file photo, A wild stallion runs for freedom after jumping over the fence of a holding area during a wild horse roundup in the Clan Alpine Range in Fallon, Nev., about 120 miles east of Reno, Nev. (Associated Press)

Another great story about perseverance and the love of horses!  ~Declan

Palomino overcomes blindness to compete in state horse shows

Shane Opatz

Victoria Czech works with her 27-year-old blind horse, Skip, on family land near Chippewa Falls . The 13-year-old girl and her palomino quarter horse will participate in the junior horse show competition this weekend at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair in Chippewa Falls.

By Chris Vetter

July 14, 2013

As posted on Journal Sentinel 

Lafayette — Victoria Czech eased onto the back of her 27-year-old palomino quarter horse, Skip, and took him for a ride around a 21/2-acre pen at her home, preparing the animal for its upcoming performance in the junior horse show at the Northern Wisconsin State Fair.

Victoria, 13, gave Skip a variety of voice commands and used her legs and a rope to guide him.

Skip needs the help because he can't see. He no longer even has eyes.

Skip was diagnosed with glaucoma a few years ago. Rather than have the otherwise healthy 1,000-pound horse put down, the Czechs decided to have the right eye removed in September 2010. The other eye was taken out in April 2012. The eye sockets have been stitched closed, with a ball placed in each one to keep them from collapsing.

"His eyesight started going bad three years ago. His eye completely turned blue and got puffy during the testing," Victoria said. "We knew he was going to go blind. So, we tried to train him to be ready."

Training meant purposely walking him on a variety of terrain to prepare Skip for not being able to see where he was going.

The right eye was removed entirely after it turned blue and it was apparent he couldn't see out of it.

"He kept scratching at it," Victoria said.

Because the left eye also was going bad, Victoria would put eyedrops in it two to three times a day in an effort to stave off blindness in that eye. However, it was removed when it also turned blue.

Veterinarian Joel Mayberry of Chippewa Veterinary Clinic near Chippewa Falls was impressed with the Czechs' decision to save the horse.

"It's pretty rare — I can't say we've ever done that before," Mayberry said, adding that he didn't do the surgery. "It takes a lot of commitment from the owner, and that's a good thing. Not many people would do it."

Victoria admits she was fearful that Skip — whom she has owned for five years — might not rebound from surgery.

"I didn't know if I'd be able to ride him," she said. "I didn't think he'd let me ride him. So I was sad, thinking we were going to have to put him down."

After the surgery to remove the second eye, Victoria said she eased Skip into getting by without sight.

"We stalled him up for the first week and had to take care of his stitches," she said.

After just one week, she decided to see if he would let her ride him.

"I was wondering how he'd do — I didn't know if he would trot. I was scared to get on him," she said. "He acted like nothing had even changed."

David Czech, Victoria's father, said he was startled watching Skip in the pen one day after the surgery, as the animal ran around the field, pulling up just before he struck the fencing.

"He just must have known from memory and was testing himself," he said.

David was impressed his daughter made the commitment to care for the animal, noting that Victoria was only 10 when Skip started to lose eyesight.

With several horse shows coming up, Victoria said she tries to ride him four times a week, either in their pen, around the family's property, or at the dirt pen at the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds.

"I walk him through puddles, just to test him — he doesn't like it, but he does just fine because he trusts me completely," she said.

Skip will compete in a variety of categories at the fair, from showmanship to "western pleasure" to trail walking.

While Skip is a bit more jumpy after a strange noise now, Victoria said he does fine at shows.

"People can talk (at shows), but they aren't loud, because they don't want to spook the horse," she said.

Only afterward when people approach her and Skip do many people realize that his eyes are stitched shut.

"Most people say, 'I don't even know how you do it,'" Victoria said.

Skip has regained his winning form, pulling in a few prizes last year. Victoria hopes to win some more competitions this year, as well. She doesn't think the fact that he's blind sways judges' decisions.

"He truly is that good," she said. "He won competitions before he lost his eyes. I don't think it gives him an upper hand or extra credit. I wouldn't want it to."

Victoria said Skip has the right temperament for a show horse.

"He's calm," she said. "But he does have personality — he will test you."

Wellington Horse Lost Sight But Not Spirit

Awesome story about never giving up!  Horses are AMAZING and I am thankful that Ms. Jeanette Sassoon understands that!  ~Declan

Wellington horse that lost sight, but not spirit, to be featured in movie

By Amy Bower Doucette, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

As posted on the Palm Beach Post

Jeanette Sassoon and Valiant in the dressage ring. Sassoon and her husband are working on a documentary about Valiant, whose sight was taken by a Uveitis infection 20 years ago. (Photo provided)

About 20 years ago, Jeanette Sassoon’s young horse Valiant stepped on a nail and changed both their lives forever. The injury resulted in an infection and complete blindness within three weeks.

Sassoon, co-founder of Polo Gear USA, was told to either euthanize the jet-black Dutch Warmblood or turn him out in a treeless pasture for the rest of his life. Sassoon refused to do either. Instead, she and Valiant embarked on a journey of hope and resilience that continues today.

The pair performed at the Nations Cup in their hometown of Wellington in April. The event was filmed as part of a documentary called “Valiant: Life is a Horse.” A book and movie are in the works about Valiant’s story, but fame and recognition are not what matters to Sassoon. She believes she was chosen by Valiant as his “seeing-eye person” in order to learn lessons about her own life and motivate others.

“Valiant’s story isn’t just about training a blind horse,” she said. “It’s about how we deal with life and how we take on the challenges life has to offer us. We can inspire people to not give up and continue with their dreams.”

Though he can’t see the arena, Valiant has recently tested through the Prix St. George level in dressage. He scored 65.78 percent and placed sixth out of 15 horses. The test was filmed for the documentary. Sassoon is reaching out to the community for help completing and distributing the film.

“During production, we lost our funding,” she said. “My husband, Gary, and I have been spearheading the documentary, and we have a few people who are on the journey right now with us. We need help completing it. Hopefully it will be ready for the film festivals, starting with Sundance. We could use help with funding and distributing. If there are any people within the industry that would like to help us get it out, that would be wonderful.”

While making the documentary, Valiant has not stopped showing. The 26 year-old phenomenon came out of retirement to film the movie, and he’s performing better than ever. Horse shows around the country have taken notice.

“We were asked to go to the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event in April,” Sassoon said. “That was the most incredible performance we’ve ever done. We performed under the lights with a song that was written for Valiant that will be in the documentary. It was written by Sonny Throckmorton and sung by Willie Nelson. It was a full house and they showed the documentary trailer. It was amazing.”

At its core, the story of Valiant is not a tale of blindness or dressage. It is about a horse changing the course of a human’s life.

“It’s not about taking care of a horse physically,” she said. “It’s about how the horse takes care of me spiritually. Miracles do happen when you have faith and a good attitude and you search for the positive things in life. They don’t happen overnight. Valiant is my miracle.”

New Interior Secretary Jewell, Can Turn Around Broken Wild Horse Program

July 19, 2013  As posted on A Humane Nation

New Interior Secretary Can Turn Around Broken Wild Horse Program

Those of you who regularly watch our good friend Jane Velez-Mitchell’s show on HLN may have seen me last night in a brief segment talking about a potentially dangerous situation for 1,800 captive wild horses at a Bureau of Land Management facility near Reno, Nev., where temperatures have been reaching record highs exceeding 100 degrees this month. Despite the fact that the BLM requires those adopting wild horses from the agency to provide adequate shelter, there is no shelter for the horses at the Palomino Valley National Adoption Center. Our request is hardly unprecedented, since the BLM has installed shelters at other facilities, like the one in Ridgecrest, CA.

After several wild horse advocates brought this matter to our attention, we wrote a letter to the BLM, urging the agency to develop a shelter to provide some protection from the sun at the Palomino Valley National Adoption Center. Thus far, the BLM has installed a sprinkler system, but no shelter. Newly confirmed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell can take action to show she’s serious about reform of this program.

Kayla Grams/The HSUS

While an important welfare issue for the horses, the situation unfolding at Palomino Valley is yet another symptom of a broken horse and burro program. The central problem is that the BLM continues to round up and remove thousands of wild horses and to aggregate more horses than it can responsibly care for at short-term and long-term holding facilities, all at an enormous expense to taxpayers and to horses, and in defiance of the spirit of the federal law designed to protect them.

We have only about 40,000 wild horses and burros living on our public lands today, but we have almost 50,000 in holding facilities. This is not what the drafters of the original Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act could ever have imagined, and the BLM knows that it’s removing more animals from the range than the agency can possibly hope to adopt out to loving homes – yet the round up and removal treadmill persists. This is the larger problem that Secretary Jewell confronts.

The only way the BLM will ever right the sinking ship that has become its Wild Horse & Burro Program is by immediately implementing the recommendations of a report prepared by the National Academies of Sciences’ National Research Council panel which, among its key findings, urged the agency to end its reliance on short-sighted roundups, and instead, to keep horses on the range while humanely limiting reproduction through the application of a contraceptive vaccine. And just recently, The HSUS also developed and presented a proposal to the agency for a bold new program that meets the challenges of the budget, the horse population and land-use issues head on.

We are ready to work with the BLM to address its continuing troubles in this area and to solve them for the long term. But in the meantime, the BLM needs to do right by the animals in its care and the best place to start is by providing the 1,800 wild horses at PVC with the shelter they so desperately need.