Youths Who Work With Horses Have Less Stress - The Science Proves It

Horses can and do so much for us and we just take them for granted some times!  I'm so glad that these horses get the chance to help people!!! ~Declan

Stress is lower among youths who work with horses – the science proves it

By Horsetalk.co.nz on Apr 25, 2014 

Sue Jacobson, left, Patricia Pendry and Phyllis Erdman with two PATH horses. © Kate Wilhite, WSU

Youths who work with horses experience a substantial reduction in stress, according to research that measured the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in their saliva.

The results of the new research at Washington State University have been published in the American Psychological Association’s Human-Animal Interaction Bulletin this month.

Three years ago, the National Institutes of Health in the US began asking researchers to tackle big questions about the effects of human-animal interaction on child development.

Stephanie Roeter, Washington State University graduate student and co-author, processes saliva samples to measure stress hormones. © Patricia Pendry, WSU

With the support of a $US100,000 institute grant, Patricia Pendry led a research project to engage students in grades 5-8 in a 12-week equine-facilitated learning program in Pullman, Washington.

“We were coming at this from a prevention perspective,” said Pendry, a developmental psychologist at the university who studies how stress “gets under the skin” and the effects of prevention programs on human development.

“We are especially interested in optimizing healthy stress hormone production in young adolescents, because we know from other research that healthy stress hormone patterns may protect against the development of physical and mental health problems.”

Her work is the first evidence-based research within the field of human-equine interaction to measure a change in participants’ levels of cortisol.

“The beauty of studying stress hormones is that they can be sampled quite non-invasively and conveniently by sampling saliva in naturalistic settings as individuals go about their regular day,” she said.

While human-animal interaction programs with horses, dogs, cats and other companion animals have been credited with improving social competence, self-esteem and behavior in children, scientifically valid research to support these claims – and an understanding of the underlying mechanism for why people report a positive experience in these programs – has been limited.

Pendry approached the co-ordinator of PATH (Palouse Area Therapeutic Horsemanship) in the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine, which had been running a therapeutic riding program for over 30 years.

A child leads a horse during a 12-week equine-assisted learning and prevention program. © Patricia Pendry, WSU

Pendry has been riding and working with horses since she was a child and reacquainted herself with therapeutic horsemanship when she began to look for her next research project at the university.

She said stress hormone functioning was a result of how we perceived stress, as well as how we coped with it.

Stress was not just what people experienced, she said, but how people interpreted the size of the stressor.

A child in front of a large, unfamiliar horse may experience more stress than when he or she encounters a smaller, more familiar animal.

Working with PATH director Sue Jacobson and Phyllis Erdman from the WSU College of Education, Pendry designed and implemented an after-school program serving 130 typically developing children over a two-year period that transported students from school by bus to the barn for 12 weeks.

Children were randomly assigned to participate in the program or be wait-listed.

Based on natural horsemanship techniques, the program provided 90 minutes weekly to learn about horse behavior, care, grooming, handling, riding and interaction.

Participants provided six samples of saliva over a two-day period both before and after the 12-week program. Pendry compared the levels and patterns of stress hormone functioning by measuring cortisol. The results were exciting, she said.

“We found that children who had participated in the 12-week program had significantly lower stress hormone levels throughout the day and in the afternoon, compared to children in the wait-listed group,” she said.

“We get excited about that because we know that higher base levels of cortisol – particularly in the afternoon – are considered a potential risk factor for the development of psychopathology.”

Pendry said the experimental design underlying the study gave more scientific credit to the claims of therapeutic horsemanship professionals, parents and children who have reported a positive impact from these types of programs.

In addition, she hopes the results will lead to development of alternative after-school programs.

While the research focused on prevention, Pendry believes it could provide a starting point to look at the impact on children of high levels of stress and physical or mental health issues.

“Partly because of NIH’s effort to bring hard science to the field of human-animal interaction, program implementers now have scientific evidence to support what they are doing,” she said.

Saved From Slaughter, Pony Jumps To Fame

This story is pretty awesome!  I hope some day maybe I could find a stray or hurt horse to save and keep! ~Declan

Saved from slaughter, pony jumps to fame

By Leslie Linthicum / Of the Journal  As posted on ABQ Journal
PUBLISHED: Sunday, April 20, 2014 at 12:05 am

Pony Pants smiles while Breyanna Lucero talks about his remarkable journey from an abandoned stray in a South Valley irrigation ditch to a ribbon winner at a Scottsdale, Ariz., horse show. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal)

Breyanna Lucero and Sydney Luzicka spotted the pony in a concrete ditch in the South Valley on a Sunday afternoon in April and yelled for Sydney’s mom, Julie Luzicka, to stop the truck.

The chestnut pony had cuts on his sides, he was missing one shoe and an untrimmed hoof was growing around another shoe, giving him a limp.

It was obvious he had been stuck in the ditch for a while and that he hadn’t been fed. “He was skin and bones,” Breyanna said.

The girls got a grain bucket and led him out of the ditch, then threw a halter on him. Sydney jumped on for a bareback ride to see if he was lame.

What do you do with a lost or abandoned horse, one who’s scraped up and wearing toe-grab shoes particular to illegal horse races? You can’t just take it, even if you want to. Luzicka, a horse trainer, called animal control, and the girls watched as the pony was loaded on a trailer and driven away.

And then they went home.

That would have been an exciting little tale, but it wouldn’t make much of a Disney movie. So luckily, the story didn’t end there.

The chestnut pony was impounded by the New Mexico Livestock Board and advertised as an estray to see if an owner would come forward. When no one did, it was delivered to auction, where a spot on a crowded truck ride to a slaughterhouse in Mexico likely awaited him.

In a practice ring in Corrales, Pony Pants shows the jumping style that won him the Reserve Grand Champion ribbon at a horse show in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal)

But when Breyanna, who has loved horses all her life – she’s 14 now – got home and told her parents about the poor, starving pony, they agreed to try to save him. After a lot of phone calls and the help of a livestock-auction-savvy friend, Breyanna’s mother, Wendy Fronterhouse, learned the pony would be on the block at the Southwest Livestock Auction in Los Lunas.

Fronterhouse went down there, bid $350, paid up and became the owner of a very skinny pony.

That would also have been a nice ending to this little tale, but it wouldn’t make much of a Disney movie, either. So luckily, the story didn’t end there.

Breyanna and Sydney were done with their school day at Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School in Albuquerque and were in the barns at Vista Hermosa Farms on the north end of Corrales the other afternoon, fussing over that rescued pony, now known as Pony Pants.

These days, about two years after his rescue from the ditch, Pony Pants is plump and feisty. He’s brushed to a sheen, his hoofs are trimmed and oiled and his mane is a soft chestnut tangle. As Breyanna sang his praises, he nuzzled her shoulder and then broke out in a toothy horse smile.

If Pony Pants was feeling especially good, well, who could blame him?

The stout little pony was just back from Scottsdale, Ariz., where he had jumped his way to a reserve grand champion ribbon in a horse show at prestigious WestWorld, besting some show horses with pedigrees and extravagant price tags.

The rescue pony surprised everyone.

“We just got him because we didn’t want him to die,” Fronterhouse said. “I thought he’d end up in our backyard.”

Breyanna Lucero and Pony Pants clear the rails in a practice jump in Corrales. Lucero has been working with the horse since her mother bought him for $350 at a livestock auction, where he was headed to slaughter. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal)

But Pony Pants wasn’t happy just standing around eating hay. So Breyanna took him to the stables, and she and Luzicka began putting him through the hunter/jumper paces, which he picked up like a natural.

“He likes to work, and he likes to jump,” Breyanna said. “I think he’s really, really smart.”

In the hunter/jumper world, the jumpers are scored on how high they jump and their speed, and the hunters are scored on their style. Pony Pants has loads of style.

“He’s a really good mover,” Breyanna says. “He has really good form.”

Pony Pants’ future is bright. Luzicka thinks the little $350 pony has what it takes to keep winning. Breyanna thinks she can get him to jump 3 feet 6 inches in a show arena. Meanwhile, Breyanna and Sydney pamper the pony every day after school with hoof polish and hugs and reminders that he is the best pony in the barn.

If this were a Disney movie, it could end right here, and there wouldn’t be a dry eye in the house.

“It’s kind of like a fairy-tale ending,” Breyanna said.

Liberated From Illegal Butcher, Horse Inspires

From my friend, Susan Salk's "Off-Track Thoroughbreds" blog.  Thanks for sharing this story!

Richard Couto ROCKS!!!!!!!  ~Declan

Liberated from illegal butcher, a horse inspires

By Susan Salk on April 14, 2014

Freedom’s Flight was next in line to be slaughtered in a Florida slaughterhouse when he was saved. He inspired the creation of the Animal Recovery Mission.

Tied to a tree in the Florida Everglades, the Thoroughbred with the fortuitous name Freedom’s Flight awaited his fate: death in an illegal slaughterhouse.

He stood on a shattered leg that had snapped in April 2008 at a Gulfstream Park race, as his face swelled grotesquely and oozed mucus from Strangles, a contagious disease so severe he was nearly choking with it.

Awaiting the thrust of a knife deep into his heart, like the horse in line just ahead, the great-great grandson of Secretariat was far from the eyes of the public, and adoring horse fans. He was in the C-9 Basin in south Florida, only 20 miles from Miami.

And just when it seemed life was really going to end this way, the rattling sound of tires on gravel heralded the arrival of help. The Miami-Dade Police Department along with the SPCA had arrived on scene to the chaos of death and terrified horses.

And it didn’t take the poor horse long to choose a friend among his saviors.

Richard “Kudo” Couto, founder and lead investigator for the Animal Recovery Mission (ARM), was a SPCA volunteer when he accompanied an associate to the killing ground of the C-9 Basin. As the horror of the place washed over Couto, he rushed to the side of the meek ex-racehorse, wanting to comfort him, seeking to reassure him that help had arrived: Freedom’s Flight would not die this day.

Freedom’s Flight
Sire: Pulpit
Dam: Heather’s Flight, by Seattle Dancer
Foal date: Feb. 16, 2005“The second I saw Freedom’s Flight, I took a picture of him. I couldn’t believe it. Then I went up to him and he put his head and full weight onto me,” Couto says. “Before I started volunteering with the SPCA, I’d vowed I would not adopt a horse, and I certainly never planned to adopt a horse with a broken leg.”

However, as he assisted the others in helping the sick, emaciated gelding get onto a rescue trailer, his thoughts were already forming. And when he later visited the animal in quarantine within a stone’s throw of other illegal slaughterhouses, Couto made a new vow.

“Standing in a horse pasture at the SPCA, I could hear the screams of animals at the illegal slaughterhouse across the street,” he says. “While I listened to the animals being tortured on 97th Avenue, where there were 18 illegal farms at the time, I vowed to this horse that I would seek redemption for him. One day, I told him, I’ll do it.”

Couto spoke truth that day in the field.

Freedom’s Flight was the next in line to die in an illegal slaughterhouse in the C-9 Basin of Florida when the SPCA, the Miami-Dade Police arrived.

He adopted Freedom’s Flight from the SPCA and visited him regularly in his quarantine field. It was hot that summer, as he hosed off the sweat and flies, and promised to avenge the suffering animal.

CONTINUE READING <HERE> ABOUT RICHARD CUOTO, FREEDOM'S FLIGHT AND ARM AT SUSAN SALK'S OFF-TRACK THOROUGHBREDS BLOG 

US Senate Committee Approves PAST Act to Protect Walking Horses

U.S. Senate Committee Approves PAST Act Favored By Humane Society Of The U.S. For Protecting Walking Horses

Wednesday, April 09, 2014  As posted on The Chattanoogan

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday approved the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act (S. 1406/H.R. 1518) by voice vote. The bill is supported by the Humane Society of the United States, which said the PAST Act "will end the decades-long abusive training method of soring, which involves the use of chemicals and devices on the legs and feet of Tennessee walking horses to force them to perform the high-stepping 'Big Lick' gait."

Rep. Marsha Blackburn is sponsoring a bill that HSUS claims would protect owners and trainers who allegedly abuse horses.

Senator Lamar Alexander has submitted a bill that he said is a compromise between the two measures.

Keith Dane, vice president of equine protection for the HSUS, said: “Horse soring is a disgrace, but growing momentum for the PAST Act means that reform is within reach. Today’s committee action was a significant step forward. Congress should ensure a sound future for Tennessee walking horses by passing this legislation on the Senate floor without delay.”

The HSUS and Humane Society Legislative Fund "expressed their thanks to Senators Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Mark Warner, D-Va., for their leadership on S. 1406, and to Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., Ranking Member John Thune, R-S.D., and Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., for their support during today’s committee markup.

"The PAST Act will fortify the federal Horse Protection Act, which was passed in 1970 but contained loopholes that have allowed soring to thrive in factions of the Tennessee walking horse industry. The bill's needed reforms include eliminating the failed industry self-policing system, banning devices used in the soring process from the show ring, and strengthening penalties to provide a meaningful deterrent against abusing horses to cheat at horse shows. 

"The PAST Act is co-sponsored by 51 senators and 269 representatives. It is endorsed by the American Horse Council and more than 50 other national and state horse groups, the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, and state veterinary groups in all 50 states, key individuals in the Tennessee walking horse show world, and many others."

Here are some pretty cool facts about zebras that I didn't know!! ~Declan

20 things you didn't know about zebras

From their smart stripes to the power of their kicks, behold the wonders of zebras.

By: Melissa Breyer

Wed, Apr 02, 2014 at 03:02 PM

As posted on Mother Nature Network      

      

Photo: Joel Shawn/Shutterstock

Few animals are as striking as the zebra in a purely graphic sense. Giant pandas, penguins and skunks may share the same bold color combination, but the zebra’s contrasting stripes make it an animal that stands out from the crowd. Its dazzling mod pattern has made the zebra a muse to fashion designers, a mascot for advertisers, and a delight to legions of zoo visitors. But the zebra is much more than a horse with stripes. Consider the following:

1. There are three species of zebra and in the wild they are only found in Africa. They include: Burchell's zebra, also known as the common or plains zebra; Grevy's zebra, named for Jules Grevy, a 19th century French president who received one from Abyssinia as a gift; and the Equus zebra. All three belong to the genus Equus, which includes horses and donkeys.

2. Why oh why does a zebra have those stripes? Theories abound. Most commonly, a zebra’s distinctive stripes are thought to offer protection – they provide camouflage against grasses and make individual animals difficult to single out in a herd when viewed by predators. But new research suggests that the stripes may have evolved as a deterrent to blood-sucking insects. (Note to self: Try stripes during mosquito season.)

3. The skin of a zebra is black. Does that makes its stripes white? The conundrum ensues.

Photo: Michal Ninger/Shutterstock

4. Each species of zebra has different types of stripes, varying in width and pattern distribution.

Curiously, the farther south on the African plains the zebra lives, the father apart its stripes will be.

5. Within each species, no two zebras have the same stripes; they are as unique as fingerprints.

6. "Tijuana Zebras" are not zebras, at all. They are painted donkeys used in the Mexican town as a tourist gimmick.

7. Zebras weigh anywhere from 400 to 850 pounds, depending on the species. The Grevy's zebra is the largest wild member of the horse family.

Photo: Chantal de Bruijne/Shutterstock)

8. Zebras are social animals and live in small family groups that combine into large herds. Even when grouped in a massive swath of other zebras, they remain close to their families.

9. Constantly on the watch for lions and hyenas, a herd helps with all of its extra eyes to monitor for danger. If a zebra is attacked, other zebras come to its defense and form a circle around it to ward off the predator.

10. Zebras are often found mingling with antelope herds, adding extra protection against threats.

11. In the wild, zebras usually live to be between 20 to 30 years old; they can live until 40 in zoos.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

12. We have been cross-breeding zebras with other equines since at least the 19th century; the resulting "zebroids" come in a number of newfangled names, from zedonk, zorse and zebra mule to zonkey (pictured above) and zebrine.

13. Zebras don’t run as quickly as horses; they max out at around 35 mph, but they have excellent endurance and their zigzagging gait helps them to better evade predators.

14. A cornered zebra rears, kicks and bites in defense. There have been numerous recorded cases of zebras killing lions, generally by a swift kick to the head that at the very least breaks the jaw, resulting in the cat's eventual starvation.

15. Humans have certainly tried, but zebras, in general, have been resistant to our domestication efforts. Bless their stubborn souls; although perhaps more accurately, it’s their aggressive nature that has spared them such a fate. It’s not a docile creature that survives the plains of Africa and can kill a lion.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

16. While eccentric zoologist Lionel Walter Rothschild (1868-1937), 2nd Baron Rothschild, was able to train zebras to draw his carriage through London (pictured above in 1895), he knew that zebras would be unsuitable for riding and further domestication.

17. During the zebras' annual migration in search of food and water, it is the responsibility of the oldest male in the family to ensure that the group never strays too far from water.

18. Burchell's zebra are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, though their numbers have gone down significantly in the last century. Both the Grevy's zebra and the Equus zebra are listed as endangered. Humans are the biggest threat to zebra populations; hunting and habitat destruction are to blame for their decline.

19. Of all the Fruit Stripe Gum mascots, the zebra, “Yipes,” has outlasted the rest and has become the main spokesanimal. In 1988, Yipes was made into a promotional bendy figure, one that can fetch relatively high prices in the toy collector’s market.

Photo: H. van der Winden/Shutterstock

20. And last but not least, zebra foals can get up and walk a mere 20 minutes after they’re born. All together now: awwww.

BLM Illegally Rounds Up Wild Horses - Ships Them to Slaughter

Government rounds up 41 horses

By Mary Cella

updated4:48 PM EDT, Fri April 04, 2014

As posted on HLN TV

The U.S. government just rounded up 41 wild horses that were roaming public land and shipped 37 of them off to a Canadian slaughterhouse.  4 young foals were rescued are now under the care of a veterinarian in Colorado.

About 48,000 are now under government control.  Many of them are being held in holding pens in the American West.

Critics say this latest roundup was illegal.  The Bureau of Land Management says "regarding the 41 unauthorized domestic horses...The Bureau of Land Management had no authority over these animals under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act other than their removal.”  But the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act clearly states "'wild free-roaming horses and burros' means all unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands of the United States."

Jane speaks to Ginger Kathrens, the executive director of the Cloud Foundation, who saw these horses just before they were rounded up and says they were unbranded.