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Wild horses need to stop ruling the range
LakePowellChronicle.com - Full Article
By: Ted Williams
Posted Sep 27, 2022
They are icons of America’s past, symbols of our pioneering spirit. Eyes flashing, nostrils flaring, tails obscured by a cloud of dust, they tear across the landscape. I am, of course, referring to feral hogs.
More on feral hogs directly. But first some background on another feral ungulate. Few issues in the West are more incendiary than management of “wild horses.” Advocates proclaim them “natives” that should be “wild and free.”
Opponents submit that these proliferating aliens are harming land and wildlife belonging to all Americans.
The federal management goal for these horses on public lands is 27,000. Yet the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency charged with tending them, estimates the current population at 64,604. The Journal of Wildlife Management reports 300,000 on all lands – public, private and tribal. Federal law precludes effective feral-horse management. Unmanaged populations increase by 20% annually...
Read more here:
https://lakepowellchronicle.com/article/wild-horses-need-to-stop-ruling-the-range
Wild horses deserve a home in the West
LakePowellChronicle.com - Full Article
By: Scott Beckstead
Posted Sep 20, 2022
I live in a rural county heavily dependent on ranching and agriculture, and though I often hear people talk about threats from large predators like bears or lions, I never hear complaints about wild horses living on our public lands.
Instead, I hear that these animals are living symbols of the American West. From Portland urbanites to Idaho ranchers, and also from the many Indigenous peoples whose forebears called the horse their brother, no one can imagine this region without herds of mustangs and burros running free.
From the federal government it’s a different story. Hewing to a strong pro-livestock bias, the Bureau of Land Management has for decades spun a false narrative about an “overpopulation” of equines that, the agency claims, are in danger of starving and destroying their habitat. The agency would have us dismiss what photographers, tourists and advocates document every day: thriving, robust families of horses living peacefully on vast stretches of federal lands...
Read more here:
https://lakepowellchronicle.com/article/wild-horses-deserve-a-home-in-the-west
XXXI Brazilian Endurance Championship in Brasília
Endurance-world.com - Full Article
Info@endurance-world.com
2nd September 2022
Brasília, Brazil. Friday 19 and Saturday 20 August 2022
On the weekend of August 19th and 20th the XXXI Brazilian Endurance Championship was held in Brasília, capital of Brazil. The Championship took place in Brasília’s Country Club facilities with the tracks going through Brasília’s University Farm (Fazenda Água Limpa – FAL – UnB), with breathtaking views and a perfect windy dry weather. Distances offered included the 20 and 40 km in the Graded Endurance Ride and 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 and 160 km against the clock.
The championship united people from different states from Brazil, including Paraná, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Distrito Federal and Rio de Janeiro. In total, there were 92 riders, of which 19 were disqualified. This was the first Brazilian endurance competition with live broadcast and where all competitors were equipped with a GPS tracking device during the race...
Read more at:
https://endurance-world.com/xxxi-brazilian-endurance-championship-in-brasilia/
Wild horse activists focus on fertility control as BLM pulls horses from Western rangelands
BoiseStatePublicRadio.org - full story
KUNR Public Radio | By Kaleb Roedel
Published September 15, 2022 at 5:22 PM MDT
In a sun-baked desert east of Reno, Nev., Tracy Wilson and Rae Hanna stood 70 yards from a band of wild horses quietly munching on sagebrush.
Hanna held an air rifle loaded with a dart containing a fertility-control vaccine booster called Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP)
While Hanna crept closer to the horses, Wilson split off to the right and slowly walked in a semi-circle around them.
“There are times when I’ll just pick at the bushes like I’m another animal grazing," Wilson said. "If you’re just staring them down and going right for them, they’re going to leave.”
Hanna raised her air rifle and aimed at a female horse they call “Bangs.” She pulled the trigger, and the dart struck the black mare in the rump...
Read more and listen here:
https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/science-research/2022-09-15/wild-horse-activists-focus-on-fertility-control-as-blm-pulls-horses-from-western-rangelands
In the ranches of B.C.’s Cariboo Chilcotin, I gained a deeper understanding of the connection between human and horses
:format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/life/travel/2022/09/16/in-the-ranches-of-bcs-cariboo-chilcotin-i-gained-a-deeper-understanding-of-the-connection-between-human-and-horses/group_ride_credit_claudia_laroye.jpg)
TheStar.com - Full Article
With more than a dozen guest ranches, the region offers many opportunities to get back in the saddle.
By Claudia LaroyeSpecial to the Star
Fri., Sept. 16, 2022
At Historic Hat Creek Ranch, about an hour west of Kamloops, B.C., guide Reni Lind wears the snappy garb of a 19th-century saloon keeper as he tells tales of the Cariboo Wagon Road, and the American Gold Rush miners who flooded this region in the 1850s.
“More than 700 kilometres of road were built over three years [between 1862 and 1865], from Fort Yale to Quesnel and Barkerville,” says Lind. Once a crucial route to the Fraser River’s precious metal, the gravel road still runs through the ranch, where the well-preserved Hat Creek Roadhouse, built in 1861, once serviced miners and watered stagecoach horses en route north. Today, the ranch is a heritage site with costumed interpreters bringing the past to life...
Read more here:
https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2022/09/16/in-the-ranches-of-bcs-cariboo-chilcotin-i-gained-a-deeper-understanding-of-the-connection-between-human-and-horses.html
Wyoming: The 50 Million-Year-Old Treasures of Fossil Lake
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Smithsonianmag.com - Full Article
In a forbidding Wyoming desert, scientists and fortune hunters search for the surprisingly intact remains of horses and other creatures that lived long ago
September 2022
By Richard Conniff
Photographs by Taylor Glenn
One morning in September 2003, Jim E. Tynsky was working on the tip of a ridge above a canyon in southwestern Wyoming. That point of land had become known as “Tom’s Folly” because of a previous fossil hunter’s inability to find anything in the quarry there. Tynsky wasn’t doing much better. With the season racing to its snowy end, he had little to show for a summer of hard work but the commonest sort of fish fossils. Heaps of discarded stone slabs lay around like broken pottery.
Other quarries on this ridge were known for producing extraordinarily detailed and complete fossils, all from the bottom of an ancient lake. Tynsky, the third generation of his family to eke out a living from finding fossils there, knelt down beside a slab still embedded in the ground. He chose a spot along an exposed edge and started to work at it with his chisel and his geological hammer. A fragment of stone broke away above the split. He was expecting to find fossilized fish underneath. Maybe some good ones. What caught his eye instead was a foot.
He cleared a larger area, and the fossil began to take shape as a ghostly shadow across the newly exposed stone surface. It was humpbacked, and the size of a border collie, but with details obscured by the limestone matrix, as if painted over with cake batter. “I got something really cool over here,” Tynsky called out to a helper. “Might be a turtle, I don’t know.” He cleared a bit more and saw that the ordinary cracks in the stone had miraculously spared the fossil. The helper came over to look.
“Oh my God,” he said, after a moment. “You got a horse!” He started jumping up and down. “You got a horse! You got a horse!”...
Read more here:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/treasures-of-fossil-lake-180980544/
Meet My Endurance Horse: HCC Elessar +/
by Merri Melde-Endurance.net
HCC Elessar +/ aka Monster
17-year-old stallion by MMF Faramir X HCC Sharzara, by Koszar
Arabian
owned by Kristen Grace
6140 miles
14 100-milers
12 Best Conditions
2 Virginia City 100 buckles
2 Tevis Cup buckles
3 Big Horn 100 buckles
To see him now at Endurance rides, HCC Elessar is so mellow and uncomplicated that it’s hard to believe he’s a stallion and that he’s ridden by Juniors. But in the beginning, nothing was easy with him.
In 2007, Endurance riders Lew and Hanne Hollander recommended that Kristen Grace go look at an unhandled 2-year-old colt owned by Cheri Briscoe in Tehachapi, California.
“I drove down to see him, and I was like - what?!” Kristen says. “He was tiny. He was the size of a greyhound! Never handled. Nothing.
“They called him Cookie Monster because the only way they could get near him was with cookies because he has a sweet tooth. I thought, I can’t call him that because that’s silly. I’ll call him Monster because he’s so little.
“We couldn’t catch him or get near him, so we backed the trailer up, and hazed him in. I drove him to Grants Pass, Oregon, to my boyfriend’s at the time.”
Between the two of them, they got Monster haltered in the trailer, got him out and tied him to a tree. They would go out several times a day and hand feed and water him, and get him used to being around humans, and depending on humans for sustenance. After all, he did have a sweet tooth...
Read the rest here:
http://www.endurance.net/FeaturedStories/#Monster
Wild horse gather to take place this year on Wind River Reservation, Wyoming
County10.com - Full Article
Katie Roenigk
September 16, 2022
Tribal, state and federal officials hope to conduct a wild horse gather operation on the Wind River Reservation by the end of this year.
The goal is to remove about 1,200 horses using a “helicopter procedure” and a “standard gathering technique,” state staffers told the legislature’s Select Committee on Tribal Relations during a meeting last month in Riverton.
Once the gather is complete, Tribal officials “have the ability to sell those horses or get them back to (their) owners – or they have an administrative process if people have dumped their horses on the reservation illegally,” said Kit Wendtland, special counsel to Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon...
Read more here:
https://county10.com/wild-horse-gather-to-take-place-this-year-on-wind-river-reservation/
Competition history a useful predictor for lameness eliminations in endurance – study
Horsetalk.co.nz - Full Article
September 18, 2022
Horsetalk.co.nz
The competitive history of endurance horses is important in predicting their likelihood of elimination from a competition, especially in relation to lameness, researchers have found.
Endurance is an internationally recognised equestrian sport in which horse-and-rider combinations compete over distances of up to 160km in a day.
The discipline is governed globally by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), and by Endurance GB in Britain.
Protecting the welfare of the horse is a key strategic priority within the discipline. However, horse injuries and fatalities in high-profile races have led to a negative public perception of the sport.
This has resulted in calls for increased safeguards around the welfare of endurance horses in order to reduce the risk not only to the horse, but also to the discipline and its social licence to operate...
Read more here:
https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2022/09/18/competition-history-predictor-lameness-eliminations-endurance/
Wondai rider wins Queensland endurance event
Sarah Sullivan photo
NoosaToday.com - Article and photos
19/09/2022
Victoria Barber proves to be a champion in the true sense of the word, as ERLE LEVEY reports.
BREAKOUT QUOTE
“I’m still learning from horses … they teach us every day.’’
Wondai rider, trainer and endurance horse breeder Virginia Barber is a champion in the true sense of the word.
Not only does Virginia encourage other riders to participate in the sport, she is now Queensland Endurance Riding Association (QERA) State Champion 2022...
Read more here:
https://noosatoday.com.au/news/19-09-2022/wondai-rider-wins-queensland-endurance-event/
Wild horse gather planned along Utah-Nevada border; public invited to observe
TheSpectrum.com - Full Article
David DeMille
St. George Spectrum & Daily News
Sept 13, 2022
Federal wildlife managers say they plan to gather approximately 700 wild horses later this week as part of an ongoing effort to tamp down the horses' populations along the Utah-Nevada border.
The gathering operation is slated to start Saturday and last for two weeks, starting in the proximity of the Cedar Mountain Herd Management Area, located west of Tooele, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
BLM officials say the herd management area should have between 190 and 390 horses but has a current population of 920. Horses removed from the range will be transported to the BLM-contracted Axtell off-range corrals in Axtell...
Read more here:
https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2022/09/13/blm-700-wild-horses-rounded-up-along-utah-nevada-border-cedar-mountain-herd-management-toole/10365393002/
2022 Midnight Rider - Merri Melde
2022 Midnight Rider Endurance ride photos in Washington by Merri Melde:
https://www.theequestrianvagabond.com/Clients-Endurance
2022 Big South Fork - Becky Pearman
2022 Big South Fork Endurance ride photos in Tennessee by Becky Pearman:
https://beckypearman.smugmug.com/Other/Endurance-2022/Big-South-fork
2022 Oak Leaf Run Endurance & Competitive Ride coming up in Michigan
Oak Leaf Run
Ride the "Dam" Trail
October 8-9, 2022
25•30•50•75•100 AERC•UMECRA
Silver Creek Park - Hamilton, Michigan
The course will be held on the Allegan County Equine Trail System. The trail is mostly wooded with a relatively flat terrain, technical, single and two tracks consisting of sand and dirt. Saturday dam crossing routes will also have soft gravel roads, sections of pavement and busy road crossings. We are hoping to use Ride with GPS for this ride, along with trail markings. LED marking will be used for the last 25 miles of 100 trails. The out check will be at Pine Point Park parking lot (1792 44th Street, Allegan. GPS: 42.548527,-85.978355). Saturday 30 mile ride will have 1 away vet check. 50, 75 and 100 mile rides will have 2 away vet checks at same location. We are planning on having support with water and an assortment of hay/grain for horses and drinks/snacks for riders at various points along the trail.
For more information and to register online, see:
https://oakleafrun.com/
2022 August's Horses in the Morning Podcast
Horsesinthemorning.com - Listen
Endurance: Tevis Winner Gabriela Blakely, Jennifer Kaplan and Vet Checks for August 9, 2022
Aug 9, 2022 2022 Tevis Cup entrants Ross Carrie and Elaine Lemieux stop by for a pre-race chat, plus we look at this years pre-race stats. Karen Chaton talks about the AllTrails app.
Listen:
https://www.horsesinthemorning.com/endurance-tevis-winner-gabriela-blakely-jennifer-kaplan-and-vet-checks-for-august-9-2022/
FEI reopens Bid Process for FEI Endurance World Championship 2022 following cancelation of Verona
Inside.FEI.org8 September 2022
On 8 September 2022, the FEI Board confirmed the termination of the Host Agreement for the FEI Endurance World Championship 2022 that had been set to take place in Verona (ITA) from 19 to 23 October. The decision, taken during the Board’s monthly teleconference, also includes the provision to reopen the bid process in order to find a new host for the Championship.
The resolution puts an end to a lengthy preparation process, which began after the event’s allocation by the FEI Board in December 2020. It also confirms a formal notice of termination of the Host Agreement sent to the Verona Organising Committee on 26 August 2022, reflecting the FEI’s concerns including but not limited to track readiness, athlete safety, and the lack of detailed planning schedules in the lead up to the Championship. Following the notice of termination, the Organising Committee was given 10 days to remedy the situation and address the issues raised.
During the teleconference, the Board reviewed the documents and responses received from the Organising Committee as well as the feedback from the Technical Delegates on the latest information provided. The FEI Board also took note of the tight deadlines for the completion of the track due to the delays in planning and necessary upgrades, as well as the constraints on carrying out the necessary work during the month of September until early October due to the Fiera del Riso taking place at the same venue. The FEI Board could only conclude that, regretfully, the information and details provided by the Organising Committee were insufficient to justify maintaining the Championship.
“This was not a decision we took lightly, as we fully understand the ramifications it will have, but we had to take our responsibilities and respect the assessment of our technical experts,” FEI President Ingmar De Vos said. “We waited until now, because we had genuinely hoped that the issues that had been previously raised with the Organising Committee would have been resolved following several site visits and meetings, but unfortunately, this was not the case. To cancel earlier would have been premature, and to cancel any later, would have been even more disruptive.
“There is no doubt a lot of hard work and commitment, both from the Organising Committee and the FEI, as well as numerous experts have gone into the planning of this event.
“This is really unfortunate for everyone involved but if the experts are of the opinion that the safety of the athletes - both human and equine – cannot be guaranteed, the Board has no other option but to follow their recommendations.
“Athletes around the world, as well as National Federations have been preparing for this Championship, and we are extremely conscious of the impact the cancellation will have on their plans. However, previous experiences have taught us that there is no room for compromise when it comes to athlete and horse welfare. We will now focus all our attention on finding a new host for the FEI Endurance World Championship.”
The Board decided that the rescheduled Championship should take place no later than 30 April 2023 to allow organisers from all regions of the world to bid and given that other FEI Endurance Championships are scheduled to take place later in 2023. The bid process for the Championship will be reopened on Monday, 12 September when the application criteria and allocation deadlines will be announced.
The qualification obtained for the FEI Endurance World Championship 2022 will remain valid and the nominated entries will be reopened with an extended qualification window.
Doddie'5 Dazzlers raise £40,000 for MND research
BorderTelegraph.com - Full Article
11 September 2022
By John Hislop
TWO Borders women known as Doddie’5 Dazzlers have pushed their bodies to the limit in the world’s longest and toughest horse race.
And in the process they have raised around £40,000 to help find a cure for MND.
In 1224 Genghis Khan set up the world’s first long-distance postal transmission system, using a massive network of horse stations known as Urtuus at 35km intervals.
And for ten days each August, the Mongol Derby recreates this legendary system along the entire 1,000km course.
Riders use semi-broken Mongolian horses which are only 12-14 hands high, but they are the toughest and most fit-for-purpose partners imaginable.
Last month Alice Gully, 46, from Heriot and Kate Mactaggart, 46, from Jedburgh took part in the race, riding in temperatures which ranged from freezing to 38 degrees centigrade. The pair survived ‘brutal’ conditions along the 1,000km route across mountains, rivers and desert through the Mongolian Steppe, living on a diet of offal and mutton...
Read more here:
https://www.bordertelegraph.com/news/21253141.doddie5-dazzlers-raise-40-000-mnd-research/