Two horses and a calf have been shot dead in Contra Costa County. It appears that they were shot by someone driving past their paddocks at about 10pm on 22nd October.
The horses Choctaw and Lucky were owned by ‘Hoofprints on the heart Adaptive Riding Centre’ board member Michael Rountree.
Lucky was a rescue horse and was about 25 years old. Choctaw was only 15 years old and had been used as a therapy horse at a local children’s hospital. Another horse that was in the same paddock at the time was unhurt.
Local people and organisations have joined forces to raise USD 17,000 as a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers.
The Curly Horse breed is unique in that it carries a gene that gives them curly hair. Some Curlies however can be totally smooth coated while others exhibit breed characteristics such as a curly coat, curly hair in ears, fetlocks and eyelashes and dreadlock type manes.
Curlies can be found in every colour including black, bay, grey, spotted, paint, palomino, buckskin etc but they are most commonly chestnut.
Interestingly, Curlies are renowned for being the only hypoallergenic horse breed. It is believed that a protein that causes allergic reactions to horses is missing from their coats. The study was never officially published though so research continues.
There is much disagreement as to where Curly horses, also known as Bashkir Curlies, American Bashkir Curlies and North American Curly Horses, originate from. Theories include Russia, Tajikistan and even Iberia. Curly Horses can now be found in Canada, North and South America. Europe and Australia. They are a rare breed with less than 4,000 registered.
Curly Horses are renowned for their gentle natures and are used in most disciplines including dressage, jumping, eventing, driving and western riding. Their stamina makes them popular mounts for trail riding and endurance.
US President Calvin Coolidge had a novel way of keeping fit. Every morning he rode his mechanical horse, always wearing his hat but apparently not always his clothes.
Calvin Coolidge grew up on a farm in Vermont but developed an allergy to real horses. The mechanical replacement provided his daily exercise and had controls that could vary the intensity from a trot to a gallop. Sadly it is no longer in working order.
Coolidge donated the mechanical horse to Forbes at the end of his presidency and it is now being displayed in a special exhibition called ‘Cowboys and Presidents’. The exhibition covers presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush and includes items such as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s spurs and Ronald Reagan’s cowboy boots.
Crib biting (cribbing) is a vice where a horse sucks in air, usually when biting onto a hard surface such as a fence or stable door. They arch their necks then swallow the air, often making a gasping sound as they do it.
Crib biting horses can be grass or stable kept and the cribbing can be a result or stress, boredom or a nutritional deficiency. Chronic crib biters can abnormally wear their teeth, leading to digestive problems.
Can you Control Crib Biting?
The degree of crib biting varies from one horse to another therefore the following methods may help relieve symptoms in some horse but not others.
• Turn your horse out as much as possible.
• Add grills between stables to increase social contact.
• Provide a stable mirror specifically designed for horses.
• Make sure your horse has a companion. If it’s not possible to have another horse then consider a sheep or goat.
• Provide adequate roughage such as hay or haylage to occupy your horse.
• Add anti chew strips or grills to stable doors.
• Paint fences and gates with anti crib solutions.
• Ensure the horse has an adequate diet with correct minerals.
• Giving an antacid supplement can help some horses.
• Use an anti crib strap or collar.
• Providing a piece of hard rubber for the horse to chew on. This is sometimes more appropriate than using an anti crib collar.
• Surgery can be performed as a last option.
As with most horse ailments it is advisable to talk to your vet to get his expert advice on what the underlying cause of your horses crib biting maybe.
On the 15th October a group of protesters from ‘Iraq Vets Against the War’ were staging a demonstration outside the Hofstra University in New York.
Witnesses say that despite their efforts to maintain a peaceful protest, police became aggressive and the commander in charge ordered the mounted police to move the crowd off the road and onto the pavement.
Demonstrators were charged by riot police, causing some to fall to the ground. One former army sergeant, Nick Morgan had his face trodden on by a police horse, breaking his cheek bone in several places. He was taken to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Philadelphia where he had to undergo facial reconstructive surgery.
Two horses and a calf have been shot dead in Contra Costa County. It appears that they were shot by someone driving past their paddocks at about 10pm on 22nd October.
