January 2012 Sanctuary News

January at Herefordshire Sanctuary.

The grass is green, daytime temps ranging from 6C to 12C...could be any month really  but although the general feel is more spring than winter we've had gales most weeks. On the whole I prefer this weather to the snow of last year.
Daily 'blogging' has now moved to our facebook page EMW-UK FACEBOOK PAGE

but  it doesn't  toll the death bell here by any means. It's just time that is tight to bring the blog up to date. It's not like there isn't much to talk about with welfare of animals in the UK  abysmal and our esteemed welfare ministers  turning deaf ears to those of us who take time to inform them of what is wrong, how we feel things should change and how to implement those changes.
right now it feels like no one is interested. Campaign groups spring up and  ideas are bandied about and there is much hot air but then that fades and nothing changes. so hoe do we go forward? Sanctuaries ( rescues) are not the answer by  a long way. Non of us can make much difference and with  world economies  falling apart the precious funding we all need gets ever smaller and harder to bring in. The law makers have to get tough, have to make those who wilfully neglect and abuse pay. No longer should we hear the plaintiff wail of 'civil liberties being breached' and 'minority group persecution'  those two defences should be thrown out before they are uttered. I my world it would one offence against an animal and you are hit with the harshest penalty the law allows ( and penalties need to be  extreme)
I know all old fogeys harp back to 'when I were a lad'.. but in all honesty  we had got it almost right  and we had real deterrents, real decency, real values and compassion in our world many decades ago. then along came the liberals and blew our world apart and with it went all the values that kept the majority of vulnerable creatures safe and cared for.

If I could I would happily take us back to a time when if you did wrong you got punished, be that a kid at home where a clip round the ear taught you to not do that improper thing again. where teachers were respected and a little feared for the cane  kept us all in line. where older folk could walk safe and sure and enjoy their  lives. Where fould language was frowned upon and considered  common and uncalled for. ... where kids were taught to care for animals and not harm living things. Long gone now , those times ... so what should we do? I actually think  society has gone too far to get it back now. I think  that we are on the brink of a vigilante style society ( it's already here in many inner cities)  and that our government is out of control of the population with our Police unable to take control and hamstrung by the very laws that should be protecting the law abiding public.
In a sentence, God help us all. Maybe 2012 is armegedon but with the destruction coming from the inside  instead of from outside of our fragile world.

Interesting Youtube posting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayEJacuoJ7I

forget 2012 Doomsday - for animals it's here and now WORLDWIDE

market foals 'dying' to be sold   

EMW RUBY new intake Sept 2011

Take a look at the picture above. Poor foals, tucked up with no future, no hope and  a more than greater probability that the market day may well be the last day of their lives. When will this madness stop, where breeding from every mare no matter what her breed, her health  or age is deemed the right thing to do. Wake up!  an empty womb is no bad thing. Not just native ponies either. When well bred horses like our latest intake Ruby Treasure (right) can be let down this badly, and that picture doesn't do justice to her poor thin body, then this world is a place sorely in need of change. Please support our charity as we try to take the message of change to Animal Welfare Ministers this autumn. They are, after all, charged with the  job of doing the bidding of the voting public, people like you who really do care about animal welfare and equine welfare in particular. For until we can get the laws of our land tightened and  improved then  pitiful sights such as tiny barely weaned foals in auctions and  skeletal horses like Ruby will haunt our days for years to come. If you would like to instantly help Ruby or simply support the work of EMW-UK please add a small donation via by text from your mobile EMWS11 to 70070 stating your amount from £1 to £10 or follow our JustGiving appeal link HERE

WHERE WE APPEAR TO GO BACKWARDS IN TIME

Each day this charity receives calls from worried public who have seen terrible sights of horses and ponies being kept in appalling conditions.

Each day this charity receives calls from the public with regard to horses being run flat out in harness, we get calls about thin horses, fat horses, horses with terrible feet, horses being kept in filth, horses with no apparent clean water source yet standing in high summer temperatures. There are horses with foals at foot, massive horses that are roaming the streets of towns and cities, horses being attacked and horses being victims of road accidents and other atrocities so revolting that it beggars belief that humans can stoop so low and commit these crimes. Thank all the animal gods that there are  we no longer, in the UK, use horses as regular transport otherwise we could be forgiven for thinking we'd stepped right back in time to the later 1800's and early 20th century, the times of Black Beauty.
Equine welfare law in the UK is a joke, a sad and totally out-dated  provision that does nothing for the animals who are being so badly let down.
We need to implement changes and those changes must come soon. This charity will continue to campaign to update the laws relating to equine welfare and  call for the strongest penalties possible for ALL animal abuse crimes. If we can stamp out animal abuse we will be more than half way there in stamping out abuse toward children too.
We want your backing and need your support to help this charity continue to campaign for our E.N.D. Campaign (Equines Need our Defence) If you can donate just a little today please text EMW11 and the amount to 70070. We thank you for your support.

WAYS WITH HORSES

WAYS WITH HORSES
FEATURING JOHN JONES
THE HORSE LISTENER
Equine Market Watch Sanctuaries (UK) Herefordshire Sanctuary.
September 4th 2011.
We have gone back to our original style of open day which ran successfully - albeit damply - for 2 very good years.
THIS YEAR
We have some superb demo's showing many and varied ways with horses including and featuring the great @John Jones
You will be enthralled by John and his magical gentle approach to horses with problems and horses that have been messed up by humans. John will hold you spellbound while he explains his method of turning equines around and setting them up to succeed. John's record of remedial work speaks volumns. Come and see for yourself and take away with you a new way of thinking, a new approach and a better understanding of your horse.
Our WAYS WITH HORSES event has an emphisis on naturalistic and holistic methods, come along and be enthralled, ask questions, get involved and learn something new.
We have Dave Edwards 'Doing the Feet' - Dave is excellent, calm and patinet. he will be doing some exhibition trims but will also give a talk in the marquee and is happy to do question and answer. He will be on site all day.
The spine tingling ability of Elizabeth Lee Crowther - Animal Communication - will be making us all think long and hard about our animals and their inner voices.
Be Orford will giving pet massage to animals on site showing how your pets can benefit from gentle hands on therapy.
Emma Knowles will show the amazing T-touch.
We also have Jane Evans talking about the benefits of Aloe Vera to name just a few practitioneers who will be onsite and demo-ing. We expect to have information on NAF products and Pure Feed along with Dengie and other feeds.
Your dogs very much welcomed but please on leads all the time as we have to be aware of surrounding livestock. We'll make sure we have plenty of bins for you to pop your bags after cleaning up after your best friends!
We also have fun agility for ponies and dogs along with fun dog show. We've even got a bouncy castle there for the kids!
We will be introducing you to some of our resident horses and ponies and showing how we work with those with issues.
don't forget about our great trade stands either ..we have wonderful people offering wonderful products for youto sample and to buy..if yo would like to bring your stand along please get in touch, we've plenty of room and welcome a really diverse range of products for our visitors.
A great fun raffle for a stonking brand new wheelbarrow amonngst other fab prizes and with more names being added daily this is gearing up to be a great day.
Free entry (£5 donation on entry appreciated)
Catering on site and overnight camping from 3rd with an evening reception and social get together for those onsite .
Watch this space for news and updates on demo sessions.
Demonstration and trade stand spaces -  INCLUDING CRAFTS AND NON-HORSE RELATED GOODS-  are now being taken up very quickly but if you have a skill and would like to help others learn and would like to join in on the day please contact
emw@emwuk.org.uk immediately to book your place.
http://www.mediawebz.co.uk/emwuk.org.uk/images/stories/WAYS_WITH_HORSES_POSTER_MARCH_2011.pdf
please download a poster and display

Where we get ever busier

PART OF OUR HERD GROUP AT EMW HEREFORDSHIRE
It's June now but you wouldn't know it. Weeks of chilly winds and cloudy skies but not much rain are keeping remnants of winter coats on our older horses and ponies and even the younger ones seem reluctant to shed out completely. We are high up on the peak of the land so catch the northerly and easterly winds, great for keeping flies at bay but also chilly. We have managed to integrate all our horses and ponies into one big herd, keeping them all on track was the ultimate aim but with dedicated fence breakers and  two who have serious weight issues it's not proving to be easy. The hay crop is coming along well, it can be made anytime we get a decent  a few days/week now but we also have one meadow set aside now to use as fibre for winter use, on top of the usual hay meadow we graze the ponies on with no hay at all from October to January.
Hooves continue to be the hot topic up here. Jimmy is doing fine. From a condemned old TB with a hoof trying to 'come off his leg' he's gone on to a TB who is actually growing out some quality foot. I've managed to keep him sound and treating his frogs daily is making a massive difference to the old lad.  I'm using Pete Ramey advice on frog treatment and it works really well. Chadd is sound and bolshy, always a good sign with him. He'll never lose the 'wedge' from his toe but he's sound and developing concavity in all 4 feet. The white clover ( evil stuff) is coming through fast now so the fencing is paramount to keeping intake of that down to minimum. Astrid (volunteer) and me spend ages setting up  ovals and creating wide sweeps of track for those who don't go out and trash it!  Larry and Luya continue to be restricted, Larry alternating between muzzle/roundpen and stable and Luya  spending a lot of time in the round pen because she is awful in the stable and  won't keep a muzzle on or trashes it faster than you can put it on her! Any manufacturers who wish to trial grazing muzzles  please do contact us, she'll sure challenge you guys!   
We are gearing up rapidly now for many and varied fundraising events including local and bigger area shows where our charity stand will be open. We've got an Equine Touch clinic at our Herefordshire yard on June 18th where spectators are welcome but we ask a donation to the charity if you come along. Following that our fundraising committee and general meeting takes place on 24th, We've got a fun quiz evening on July 8th in Bromyard, a Table Top Tack Sale on 12th at 7pm Edwyn Ralph village hall and loads more in the planning...

LOADS is happening with WAYS WITH HORSES keep up to date by watching our face book posting on this. We've got plenty of room left for more trade and craft stands so give us a shout and come along. We're not charging  you but do ask that you give a small donation to the charity, we'll leave it up to you and we're happy if you want to give it in a plain sealed envelope. We've got loads more people coming along to Demo so may kick off on Saturday late afternoon yet..watch this space!
Last bit of news  today is a great fun fundraiser we've got planned for OCTOBER 13TH... a murder mystery dinner. book you seats now  as its going to be mega! MURDER AT ALL HALLOWS HALL is being held No1 BROAD STREET BROMYARD  You won't eat better than this  and included is the a complimentary welcome  drink as well as a good 3 course dinner while  you try to solve the who-done -it which will play out around you. A Halloween themed setting will enhance the  meal and  we hope encourage you all to dress smartly for the occasion. We'd love gentlemen in evening suits and ladies in glam finery but however you feel most comfortable is fine.We'll be running a great raffle during the evening as well as giving a prize to first correct deduction of the murderer out of the hat. All this for just £20 a ticket. book you tickets today with a N/R deposit of £10 per seat. E-mail emw@emwuk.org.uk

Where we face loss head on

Luna (Zahara) left us on May 4th 2011 aged 8 years old

We have had to have Lunar destroyed last Wednesday. My poor OH is still pretty much devastated. I think we - family and volunteeers - all are too.
We all know she was the most difficult of little mares but because of her background and her past history we forgave her most things and made allowances for others.
What happened? - a freak horrible and probably preventable accident which has brought me up short, hindsight, tragic hindsight is the best of teachers.
Lunar had come on so well lately. From being almost impossible to handle at the beginning and difficult to trim her feet and things my OH had worked long and hard with her, he because this mare simply did not like female humans at all and would react violently towards us girls.
Lunar was booked to go to our great Patron, Janet George, who had so kindly offered to start the little mare under saddle ( re-starting after a botch job early in her life) and increase her education giving her options and seeing if she could be brought into work and if she would begin to accept women in her life.
Then we decided to postpone her going  for a bit as suddenly things were going well with the mare and our general concensus was to keep going as we were and don't rock the boat. She was allowing all 4 hooves to be trimmed and picked out daily and this was a huge step forward for her.

Then out of the blue Lunar rocked the boat herself last weekend  her strange and disturbed mind went haywire again and she attempted to seriously kick my OH. She had no, obvious to us humans, reason for this and had almost become a 'normal' horse, it was the first time she'd done anything like this for a long long time. Once again we forgave her, passed it off as weather provoked, it was very windy, although I was in the same field as her, doing long line work with Beanie, Lunar's 2 year old filly  - and volunteer Maria was near the fence line though not touching Lunar at all  -  all these things could be trigger factors for a small pretty arab mare with a very odd mind
She was fine again on the tuesday, had her feet done by OH, no probs, you could say she was back to normal.
Her sweet-itch had gotten a little worse in the last week or so and OH has been diligently plastering her in de-itch stuff to back up her herbal supplement...she had been rubbing a bit and made herself a bit sore...and this is the where the end of this devastating story began from.
Where she chose to rub was the only weak spot in the fence. It was weak because of a previous break in from neighbouring horses back last autumn. I'd put a hurdle in the fence, put there to stop any further break in or out. I'd been going to move it for weeks ... but I hadn't moved it..
It must have worked loose with her scratching and this is how we saw the deadly  progression that followed.... We found her early on Wednesday morning on three legs with a mess of blood and skin and bone..
  We assume the hurdle had fallen and she got her back legs through it and then blindly panicked..
It had taken all the skin off both her back legs right down to the bone, clearly bringing her down, and when she got up it must have caught her pastern,smashing it and opening her tendons and doing unbelievable damage her fetlock. My God, it was a blood bath that greeted. Poor Lunar.
With her known handling history and her many other ongoing problems we made the massive decision ( vet backed) to PTS immediately.
I feel sickened writing this as I know it's my fault. I always wanted a pure arab though maybe not one with such problems but hey! thats what we do here at EMW-UK and so she was my dream, a mad infathomable woman hating stunningly beautiful 8 year old arabian mare...She is gone now...and I won't wish again, I'm devastated as much as I was when we lost our oldest lad Tanna, 2 years ago, but with Lunar it should never havve have happened and poor Lunar has paid the price with her life.
Too late for her, we have since gone round the whole place securing fences , not that anything really was a problem or needed changing at all, just that one bloody place, just that.
She was just 8 years old and had been with us for 2 and half years. Beanie (Dragons Flight) is now an orphan, albeit a big one she will be 2 on 28th July, and has now gone into the big herd to  integrate and is happy enough though still looks bewildered. She did get  to spend time with her Mother after she was PTS and come to terms as much as any mammal can , the death of her mother. She neighed just once when Phillip took Lunar away and  so knew her mum was gone.
R.I.P. Lunar...no pain where you are.