Horses have had a strong influence on human culture.  In places, they are entwines so deeply that to remove the horse would be a horrible blow to that history.  Through their bloodlines they trace back to the mounts of warriors, emperors,  conquerors and more.  

Humans are funny creatures in that we tend - in America, at least, to throw out a lot of things.  But that same stuff in a few generations may be called collectible, antique, or more, a piece of history. Then we pay a fortune for stuff that we tossed out as useless not so long ago.  We tend to seek out the left overs of bygone eras, dust them off, and try and reconstruct a way of life long gone. 

Living History

Animals are unique in the sense that they are living history.  A genetic bloodline molded through environment or circumstance or human intervention. Those who are aware of this tend to do there best to preserve them.  Those who aren't tend to toss them aside like garbage.

Cultures Influenced by the Horse

Arabian horses are the corner stone of most modern breeds.  The turbulent area of arabia they hail from has been strongly influenced.  The bedouin tribes rode mares into battle and often took them into their own tents.  Their battles were usually fought from the back of the horse.

The Native Americans quickly took to horses. The most famous result of this is the Appaloosa horse, named for the Palouse river where it was first bred.  The Nez Perce tribe that bred them ended up on reservations, but the breed survived. Today they breed an animal called the 'Nez Perce' horse, using appaloosa and Akhale Teke as foundation stock.

The Mongols were a conquering people that no-one wanted to be on the wrong side of.  They rode mares into battle with foals at their side and drank their blood and milk - not enough to kill the horse, just enough to fuel themselves for battle.

All of Europe was once in turmoil.  The spanish and draft breeds were often ridden by the Renaisaance Knights in the numerous territorial battles.  Today, the Lippizaner horse and the Spanish Riding School still perform the battle manuevers for the enjoyment of the public, thereby acting as a living reminder of history.

Chincoteague and Shackleford Banks.  These small American islands feature the roundups of the island ponies and the sale, bringing in plentiful tourist dollars. 

Finally horses helped settle the west of America.  Most notable of all:  the mustang.  Quarter horses and Morgans as well as Tennessee walkers and Saddlebreds served in the calvary and served to help the culture thrive.

Battle to Keep History Alive

Keeping horses as living evidence of history is one way to keep history interesting.  Text books can't cover everything and schools often seem to go out of there way to make it dull.  The truth is, there is far too much history as of the 21st century to expect schools to do it all.  One needs a living inspiration, something present.

That something is the horse. Those who recognize this fight to preserve it, for some have already given in to extinction.

In World War II the Spanish Riding School was nearly lost. The stallions at the school were trapped in a city with bombs falling on.  The Nazi's refused to allow their retreat, more concerned witth the appearance than the fact they could be lost.  The mares meanwhile were in direct path of the advancing Russians.  Their horseman were being conscripted.  Finally, the school head, Podhasky, spirited the horses away to a town which soon fell to the Americans.  He convinced General Patton to rescue the mares, and the horses survived.  Today the Spanish Riding School still stands and occasionally tours America.

The Appaloosa, caught in the conflict between the Nez Perce and the American Calvary nearly vanished as a breed. Then a man named Francais D. Haines began promoting the horse as a breed.  It made a come back and now is back to being a real breed, used in pleasure, show and sport.

The Mustang was once in danger of annihilation due to people who rounded them up and sold them as pet food.  They were treated brutally and often people's pets ended up slaughtered as well.  Finally a woman known as Wild Horse Annie went to battle to get congress to pass the Free Roaming Horse and Burro act, making them protected from roundups. This said the horses were a living symbol of the American Spirit and of the West.  The BLM was only to roundup in cases where the land was overgrazed.

But it's not over.  In recent years, the Bureau of Land Management has used this excuse to repeatedly round up herds and zero them out.  They then release many times the number of cattle onto the same land.  Cries of protest have led them to decide to release sterilized horses back into the wild.  But this is still a form of gradual extinction.  Petitions fly, the word is spread, but still the BLM refrain "their are too many horses"  has the general publics ear and the truth is still in need of getting out.  The Mustang is so prevalent a car bears it's name, places are named after it, it is used as a mascot and an icon.  A state quarter even bears it's likeness.  Yet soon, they will be extinct for the gene pool is shrinking with every round up.  What's more, it's being done with our precious tax dollars.

Our history matters.  That wild spirit, the determination to be free to seek our own fate is behind our the Declaration of Congress and the Constitution.  We broke free of England based on it.  We settled the West based on it.  The Mustangs are OUR heritage, just as the lippizan is to the Austrians. 

So let's fight for it.  Fight with pen and keyboard and word of mouth.  For if we don't appreciate this symbol of freedom we are in danger of losing the real thing.  It's our money - do we have freedom to decide what it's spent on or not?

Forced to Choose

As a horse lover, I’ve long been uncertain on the horse slaughter issue.  Obviously, I hate it.  For all I know, the horse in question could be a friend of mine.  But I’m no vegetarian and there are starving people in the world.

But then I discovered the ugly fact, one I would’ve preferred to remain blissfully ignorant about.  Horses are not cows.  They are not killed like cows.  The difference is: they are horses and the methods used don’t work the same.  However, those doing the killing do it the same way anyway.

They are awake and aware of being butchered!

The first time I saw this was admittedly a youtube video about the stolen horses in Florida, butchered for meat.  I regret watching it, now it’s stuck in my head.  But as I discovered  more on the subject the moment of real horror was when I realized that even ‘legally butchered’ are not unconscious at the time. The stun bolts just don’t work for long enough.  I still shudder at the thought.  

The nightmarish image is not pleasant.  Screaming, kicking....I rather wish the horse would succeed in bashing heads.  I’ve no doubt that one day a horse owner will catch the illegal killers in the act and the monsters had better hope police are closer than the pitchfork.

Why?

Those starving masses aren’t getting the horse meat.  Rich foreigners are.  And they aren’t even getting safe meat.  I’ve read the side of the bute bottle.  "Not for use in food animals".  Horses are given the stuff like some people take Tylenol or Aspirin! 

I know they aren't unwanted horses - there is no such thing, many of us just can't have them.  And I know some have them and can't feed them and then they are confiscated.  I'm sure those aren't the ones being used for meat though.  You want meat you don't look for a bony animal that's sick.  But even if they were it's hard to imagine a more torturous way to go.

The Choice

   It happened much the same as it did for me on the wild horse issue.  I went from blissfully ignorant, to suspicious, to a horrified awakening.  And now I’m blogging and pounding away at petitions and congress.   I don’t want my tax dollars paying for BLM roundups and holding of wild horses for the sake of special interest groups.  Suspicions starting with the Burns Rider which sought to give them right to slaughter the horses in holding led to this.  And I don’t want my tax dollars funding this bloody mess either. Fund inspections? No way.

I love horses.  I don’t like the idea of them neglected and suffering.  I don’t claim to do with the ‘homeless’ - for they aren’t wild, and I refuse to call them ‘unwanted’ for many want and can’t have.   But a torturous death? No way.   Not on my dime. Not without a fight.

What's Your Choice?

So I hope horse lovers everywhere saddle up for the fight:  for it is a fight, that battle to disallow funding for the USDA to inspect slaughter houses barely passed.  If you lack the motivation to call or write or email the congressman and sign the petitions, if, like I once did, you think having no better idea means we have to accept it, try this:   Picture your horse, or the first horse you ever rode in that slaughter house. If you can’t, I even dare you to risk checking for video on Youtube.  But don’t do it right before bedtime or eating.  It’s definitely rated R.   I guarantee you that horrible image will get you moving.

Warning:  There Are Some Disturbing Images in this.  But there are many, many more graphic ones on YouTube.  We Owe Them Better than this!

                    Horses and Water Play

When I think of horses and water, my first thought is Chincoteague.  I’ve been there, watching the annual pony swim.  It’s not the same as in the famous book Misty of Chincoteague.  Times change, some for the better.  Horses in worse health or needing care are trucked over.  Watching the main herd swim you need binocs and a high vantage point to see over the vast crowds.

It’s easier to see them coming into the fair grounds or returning to Assateague.  Then you can see them close to the roadside, sometimes even blocking it.

They leap and buck in the bareback riding contest, foals go up for auction. Stallions keep their mares separate from other bands. I once saw twins:  yes, really twins.  Two matching pintos, older than the other foals and following the same mare.  

I think too of the horses I’ve ridden.  Some would stick their face up to their eyes in water to take a drink.  Some would flip it around with their head. Some would paw and try and roll: in spite of the presence of the rider.  Fun on a hot summer day.  Or a nuisance, if you had to clean up the mess.

Horses and Water Wars

Then I see these reports from the west and Nevada on the wild horses.  They want to specifically exclude the horses from the ‘wildlife’ provisions in the law and make it illegal for them to drink the water.  The sheer greed and absurdity leave me stunned.

How can they exclude horses from drinking?  Fence water off and you’ll fence off other ‘official’ ‘allowed’ wildlife as well.  Put up a sign saying:  water off limits to wild horses?  Last I checked horses can’t read.  And then there is the question of where they get the notion they have the right to keep any creature from drinking water, particularly on lands belonging to the whole nation, federal lands, not just land belonging to their state.

Amazing, how Chincoteague, VA can find room for wild horses of Assateauge on the tiny island and develop a booming tourist business. Yet all that land out west and they can’t spare a drop of water or land for a few hundred wild mustangs in a million acres.  Can’t find a way that all that potential:  the inspirational wild horses:  can turn a better tourist profit in a more ecologically friendly way than millions of cows and destructive mining.

I don’t know what astounds me more.  Their greed or complete lack of creativity.  I know what it’s like to struggle for money. To need it and not have it.  But to destroy so much for something so small:  we will always need money. But it can’t replace the air we breathe or the water we drink. It can't always pay for health, for the treatment of illness brought on by pollution.  It can’t replace the dreams that will be lost to so many just so the few can be rich.

As long as we have wild places, horses and wolves and wild cats and flowery meadows, we have places to dream.  To stop, think and get our priorities straight.  To come up with new and better ways to do things and new hopes to pursue for the good of all.  

Here is hoping the demands of the few don’t conquer and destroy those wild dreams for us all.

If you are interested in reading more about the bill to refuse Wild Horses water and want to act you can find out more at these off site links:

Change.org

WildHorsePreservation.org

care2care

Me?  I've already signed the petition. I hope you will too.