A Frog With No Name

Nine years ago a friend gave me a spring peeper that had hopped up to him one day. I made her a beautiful terrarium home. She lived in my living room. She was teeny and round as a shiny little grape. She ate crickets that I bought at the pet store, and some summers I brought her to the barn to eat flies – her favorite! On her tiny perfect little hands and legs she would stalk her prey – then – jump – gulp – swallow the whole bug – gone! She had brght perfect little golden eyes – a little jewel of a creation. The same bone structure, almost, as a human only teeny, tiny.

I don't know how long frogs are supposed to live but this one lived with me for nine years. Last year one of her eyes clouded over but it didn't seem to bother her – she still carried on. During the winter we lost power once and my brother brought her terrarium to his apartment, covered is with blankets and placed her in front of the fireplace. She did just fine. But she just kind of started to fade away during April 2012. One morning I found her sitting motionless in her little frog position but her life force was almost gone. When I tipped her over gently, she did not right herself, but was close to death. I carefully put her in a little jar and brought her to the barn. I set her in a comfortable frog position on top of Noogie's grave so she could finish her life free and could go back to the earth.

I know this seems like a silly story, but now that she is gone I realize home much time I spent with my perfect little friend. She never roared and thumped at me, never screamed for food or demanded my attention, never made me lose sleep with worry about where her next load of food was coming from, or how I would pay her vet bills. She was just this silent little presence that gave me something beautiful to sit with and rest my eyes on after a long day of slaving for the horses.

I really, really miss her. This perfect little innocent creation gave me a few minutes of peace every single day for nine year. Thank you Jehovah for creating spring peepers -

~Nina

Dance of the Seasons

Isn't it amazing that every thing just knows what to do? What was just dirt a month ago is now abundant plant growth. Flowers everywhere – bugs where there were no bugs. Birds with nests full of chicks – dragon flies follow the horses around feeding on the flies and mosquitos. Everything in it's place in time, programed to perform it's duties on schedule. Like a perfect clock, a choriographed dance of the seasons.

The horses are part of this dance. In February the geldings spar for dominance, though they can no longer be fathers, their spirits remember. They mess around over the fences and yank each other's halters off. At EOTS we try not to put the boys next to each other in spring and we just take their halters off. We are aware of their part in the dance.

The boys settle down by April or May and the mares come into season. It's their turn on stage. They get noisy and holler to each other. They perform for the boys and are generally juicy and frustrated. Their bodies are prepared to be impregnated. The boys have that “Gee you smell good, but now what do I do?” look on their faces. By July everyone settles down and just eats and doses in the heat of the summer.

In October the mares start again calling to each other, wanting to be together. Winter is coming and they know there is safety in numbers and their phantom foals will need to be protected by the”herd”.

And so it goes – every living thing goes through the cycles of life performing the dance. We humans watch, we are amazed – those of us who notice- without any help from us – it all endures. We are all just onlookers with no real control over anything. Without us, it would all go on.

There is a time for every season under heaven. - Ecc 3:1-8

What about those Tennessee Walkers?

Many of you have seen that appalling video of the vicious training of Tennessee Walker for the “Big Lick” class at shows.

I have been saying for years that the animal rights activists have been focusing on the wrong issues. The slaughter thing, the premarin industry. Etc. yah- yah -bad stuff. But the worse issues of cruelty are in the “show horse” world. Almost every horse that is shown in a “breed” class undergoes horrendous torture to get there. I can go on and on about each breed, but lets start with the Tennessee Walker. We have been praying for justice for horses and all the innocent beings in the hands of horrible people. We are so happy to see this vicious group of people finally exposed. The video of that savage, piece of crap, “trainer” crippling and beating that beautiful TW on the face with a 2x4 should be executed. What was the freaking purpose of that?? The caustic chemicals applies to these horses legs are poison. One of the favorites is Copper Tox (a thrush remedy that I don't even allow in our barn!) and DMSO!! DMSO carries everything it is mixed with through the entire body. It is one of the few things can pass through the blood/brain barrier and takes what ever it is mixed with along! How many of these horses end up neurological??

The appalling spectacle of these poor horses crouching on their hind ends and throwing their poor front hooves out in front of them to avoid the excruciating pain on their pasterns at anything touching them makes me so sick I want to rip those riders off their horses and take a hog shocker to them until they stop breathing. Shocking the horses on the face is also part of these vicious “training” methods – WHAT?! One of theses horses was so sore that he cantered on his hind legs, never even allowing his front legs to touch the ground, he just punched them out in front of him!

How can anyone love horses and do this – what about the freaking spectators? Don't they get it?!

Can you believe that people actually pay that torturing fool to “train” their horses? WHAT??

What on earth possesses people to do this?!

TW are a gentle, passive breed of horse. They are silky smooth to ride and are one of the best long distance horses because they are bounceless. You can ride for hours and never get sore or tired. They are spectacular for people with back problems and are extremely gentle, for the most part. So I don't understand. What was the first maniac “trainer” thinking when this “Big Lick” spectacle was created? Those ridiculous giant shoes are another thing that I just don't get – maybe I'm just stupid?

But this is one absolute fact – the creator of horses does not approve of this treatment of these most precious beings. We can not change the awfulness of most of the badness in the world. But we can change this – First of all – pray for justice for the innocent ones. Your prayers will be heard – then do something about it! The public is a very powerful influence. Exposure is important – make laws – make sure they are enforced – fire the judges that are pinning there horses – send them to jail! You have the power to do this.

Now our Creator Jehovah would not approve of me wanting to execute anyone but sometimes my old warrior heart just wants to handle it on my own. So forgive me. In this case – your prayers, and legal channels will work.

Another thing, what happens to these toxic horses when they die? Anyone who can do this I'm sure has no problem sending them off to slaughter. Who, or what is eating their meat? Maybe it is some form of bizarre justice if humans are eating poisoned horse meat, but I don't want our cats or dogs eating it, do you?

What To Do

Absolutely never put yourself in harms war. Get pictures, videos if possible. Confronting individuals will not help the greater cause. Seek out these shows as a spectator, be discreet. All these TW breeders and show people are aware of this, though they cry innocence, obviously they themselves have not stopped this horrible “Big Lick” class. It is usually the last class after the reputable people have left. There is no point in reporting it to local authorities, they've heard it all before and these “Big Lick” people are good at evasive action. Just try not to cry, get pictures and submit it to the media. Let the whole world know what you have found – then watch your prayers be answered!

There kinds of cruelties take place in many different breed shows, not just TW, so wander around, play stupid, take pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words, in this small way, you can change the world. This is a cause to fight for!!

Observations

As I forced myself to watch that “Big Lick” Tennessee Walker video, I noticed many things. These horses can't talk – I will be their voice. First of all, no horse on earth naturally moves that way. In almost all cases I saw heavy riders sitting way too far back, just in front of where the horse's hips where there is no support of the rib cage but directly on the one part of the back that has only muscles and digestive organs under it. Perhaps that is why these horses crouch so low on their hind legs. Their tails are carried high and unnatural, in many gaited breeds they put ginger in their anus to burn them so much that it hurts to carry their tail against their body, perhaps that is why they move like they're being goosed. People in the ring run along side the riders for some reason. Perhaps after being hit in the face with a board and shocked on the nose with a hog shocker while cross tied in a stall with a wall at their backs and no where to escape, has taught them that a side walking person with something as small as a twig in their hand is enough to cause them to throw back their heads and rise off their front end as they were “trained” to do. After all exagerate “head bobbing” is part of the show, though you'd think being tortured and mutilated on both front legs would sufficiently cause enough head bobbing.

I wonder if horses ever break their ankles falling off these “shoes”. Years ago I went to a barn that showed TW. Two beautiful horses were in very dark stalls. They dragged heavy chains about 3 feet long that were attached to their pasterns. Even then this was seriously against the law. But I was a child and though I told the people there that it was wrong, all it got me was thrown out of the barn and 'No Trespassing” signs were hung.

So after polishing and shining and grooming the poor hideously tortured horse has light little bracelets made of wooden beads or decorative chains placed around his pasterns. Tacked up and mounted by it's rider. I don't think these horses can even stand still with the pain – I'm sure the mounting experience is just awesome!! And off they go careening around the ring. When the little bracelets tap the back of their pasterns they throw their legs straight up and out to get the beads off the horribly painful areas, you see only the rear of the pastern is poisoned, so while the leg is in the air only the unpainful front are touched by the beads. But now the other leg hurts so up it comes too. Unfortunately the front leg has to come back down only to be yanked back up gain. The one horse that figured out that he could avoid some of the pain by remaining on his hind legs and was able to handle the pain a bit better by not letting his fronts touch the ground probably got the ribbon that day. The most tortured one wins I guess-

Back at the barn, I'll bet the losers paid the price for not being “good” enough. Imagine living through years of this torture. At what point do their minds just break? The author Diana Gabaldon said it all when she wrote”you can make anyone do anything if you are willing to hurt them enough.”

What has happened to these people that makes them so willing to do such horrible things. They are no better – maybe worse than dog fighters or bull fighters. At leadt for those animals the fight is short and they usually die. But these horses live with this for years and years and years. Every day of their lives they must be in pain and so afraid, no espace – except death.

Pray for justice – to the creator of horses, pray for his kingdom to come – when no one will ever suffer again. Amen

Nina

Dreamin' and Trust

        Our pony Diamond lays down five or six times a day. He curls into what we call “a little sleeping dragon position”. All of our male horses sleep like this, I have never seen any of the mares do it, they all sleep flat on their sides.

        As he lay there his friend Rhia groomed and braided his mane (she is human-). With his little nose smoonched in the ground he fell into REM sleep and began to nicker quiety! He was out cold but talking in his sleep, with a little human child right beside him touching him. Horses are, for the most part, terrified of being helpless and unable to escape. They have a strong flight or fight instinct. Horses don't ever lay down to sleep unless they feel safe. We will often see four or five of our of horses down while a few are standing and watching out for “predators”. The sleepers feel safe, then they swap around.

        Diamond had grown up from a very early age with a family who loved him. Though he was a bit of a leader himself in that family, he knew what love was. He hung out with his humans. He would go under the fence in the morning to eat breakfast with them and was generally a beloved family member. He spent that part of his life with an old mare and lived with out conflict from others. He learned to trust that humans and other horses were good and that he was safe in his space in time.

         He came to us when his beloved family lost their home. His ancient mare friend was euthanized, rather than moving her away from her life long home as she was blind and very ill with age related problems. This was a supreme act of kindness on the part of her family. The choice was difficult but she was given the last gift, a peaceful end of life in the loving arms of her friends.

         Diamond is a young pony and it seemed that he might be happier with a new family, as our horses are all geriatric, blind, crippled or mentally damaged. Not a lot of fun for such a guy. He was not getting much attention at EOTS either as the healthy ones are less demanding and tend to need less time from us humans.

So he was placed with a trusted friend who has three huge geldings. To make a long story short – geldings are not very nice to each other. They constantly spar for dominance, the lead horse bullies the others. There is a pecking order and the low man out is constantly pounded on by the others. Our little diamond was second to last in the order, and though he got in some good kicks on the bottom dude, it was a bad situation. In the end, I believe because he never got to sleep, he became grumpy and exhausted. When asked to do anything for humans, he rebelled, he began to bite when asked to do pony rides for the children. The one leading him had to constantly avoid his teeth. After one last act of violence to a human, he was returned to us. Labeled a “bad spoiled pony”, he will never leave again.

         At first we were very cautious around hm, waiting for him to be “bad” again. But after dealing with Moon and Gabriel and our two other resident “bad boys”, Diamond was a walk in the park. We found that he was pretty beat up from his time away from us. A lot of places on his body were sore to the touch and a hoof shaped indentation in his rib cage told the story.

         At EOTS we have determined that good fences make good neighbors. Horses should never be allowed to fight – not ever.

         Our horses groom each other over the fence, but except for those who prove they can get along as a group, they have their own little turn outs where they do very well. Their own little territory where they eat in peace, and nap when necessary, with out being pounded on by others. They each have their own stall which is cleaned daily, with food and water readily available and no controversy from others, they are a very happy bunch.

          Even though our farm is a ramshackelly little place, no where near as beautiful as his temporary foster home, Diamond is content with the simple little things in life. He shares a two-stall barn with Jessica's premarin “foal” Tank and they are good friends. He comes and goes in his own little area and socializes with the others who are turned out around him in the day time. Horses are simple- they really don't need much- but sleep is terribly important.

         If your horse seems grumpy, maybe he's just tired. Mare sure he has a place to sleep undisturbed, where he feels safe. We have some horses that never lay down in the presence of humans, so you may never actually see them sleep. The tell tale signs though is bedding in their hair or manure stains. You may find though, that your horse is much happier after a good night's sleep. Just like us, it is easier to work when we're not exhausted.

           So Diamond will spend his life with us as he is now considered a liability and can not be “trusted” out in the world. That is not a problem with us – he can just join the ranks of the rest of us damaged souls at EOTS.

Our Dry Season

Hello friends! We at Eye of the Storm would like to say thank you all for your continued support – but this is our dry season. We are officially out of money with just enough supplies for a few days. We recently spent our last tiny windfall on getting Tim's feet trimmed again! He is doing SO well!

Thank you all!

More Thoughts

     Consider this as just one of hundreds of potential scenarios. Your child has outgrown his/her pony. You think passing the pony, we'll call Truffle, on to another child would be the right think to do. After all, the pony is young, well trained and could be a fine ride for someone of the correct size. So you give/sell Truffle to a trusted friend, after all your child can still visit and hop on for a little ride. As the trailer containing Truffle pulls away your child cries inconsolably and begs you to her her keep her. You lovingly hug and hush the child and tell her you will be getting her another to take Truffle's place. She can progress in her riding skills on a more suitable horse.

       Time passes your child does well as a rider, horses come and go, but there is never another Truffle. Some night she dreams of Truffle who comes and takes her for rides.

Truffle is passed from hand to hand as each child outgrows her until she is lost in the world. But your child, now a grown woman still remembers the pony who dried her tears in her mane. The one she sat with (or on) in the field as she did her homework, read a book, or just day dreamed. The one who was her constant, her very best friend.

        Where Truffle ends up, no one knows.

        As an adult, your child starts to search for Truffle. She wants to bring her home, no matter what the cost, she wants her best friend to live in peace with her for the rest of her life. You never outgrow your first pony/horse. There will never be another that you love like that.

The chances of finding Truffle are slim. But if you had the forethought of micro-chipping her before you sent her away, perhaps that might increase the odds.

        I believe that the possibility of a very lucrative business could be on the horizon. If someone found Truffle anywhere, I believe your child would pay any price to get her back. You see love and loyalty is priceless.

A buyer strolling through a sale barn with a micro-chip reader could contact a person, name his price and deliver the beloved one to your door. They would be much more valuable to the finder than the few hundred they would get from a slaughter house. That person would be a hero, not a murderer.

       What do you think people? Perhaps that is the way to go. We aren't going to stop people who have historically eaten horses, but at least we may be able to save our family members.

  

More About Microchips

     I have been thinking about horse slaughter, and I wonder why some groups of horses bothers me more than others. As I thought of the Premarin industry and their throw aways, I realized why they bother me less than thoroughbreds and other used up riding or working horses. For years I wondered why, on 3/26/2012 I found the answer. Foals born to the Premarin group, if they aren't rescued, for the most part, are probably turned out in a pasture to live out their short lives. They eat they play, they hang out – until the day they reach the proper size. Then they are gathered and sent off to die. Their meat consumed by the horse eating humans on earth somewhere. They are the same as the beef cattle burgers that we eat in our beef eating USA. No one ever loves them, they are never halter broken or ridden. They are never slaves to humans. They have value as food animals and are treated accordingly.

       The others, those who have been loved, nurtured, cared for, ridden and partners to humans, it is almost like cannibalism. Now that seems like a bit much, but think about it. It is a betrayal beyond measure. I have had and do have now, horses that are almost extensions of myself. With Faith and Fancy, I don't know where they end and I begin. The thought of my never loving them again, to send them off to be murdered and eaten, is beyond my ability to grasp. How can such a thing be allowed to happen?

      These horses are like children. They depend on us for everything, food, shelter, comfort, and yes,love. They respond to love, return it to us, and become our friends and family members. They have daily schedules that they instinctively keep track of, and always know what time it is, such as feeding time (ask Faith about that, she always knows). They recognize us as their very own human. I was at a horse show once and left Stormy in the care of a friend. From the other side of the show ground she heard me talking to someone - I'm pretty loud, being Italian and deaf. She managed to escape from my friend and very carefully, without anyone noticing she was a loose horse, she gently nudged her way through the crowd to stand at my side. With a soft nicker she said “Hi, I'm here”.

       The loss of Stormy, the best friend, next to Jehovah God, that I have ever known, was so profound that after thirty-four years I still miss her. Stormy loved me so much that nothing on earth mattered more to her. I still can't believe she is dead. This was a partnership that has continued beyond death. She is the reason that EOTS exists. I know exactly where she is. She is safely dead. She never was away from me. She was never entrusted to anyone else. She was never lost in the world to end up in some horrible murder factory to be eaten by humans or as pet food.

       She died too young. I still don't know what killed her. The pain I felt at her loss, the empty place that was her spirit joined to mine, is still there.

       All horses are capable of this kind of relationship. When I think of all the horses who were slaves or partners to us, I see betrayed children. I think of the, possibly, one person that loved each, until, under whatever circumstance they were lost to each other in the world. I think of the many humans who so loved their first horse, ones who would move mountains to bring that one home to live out his/her last days. Why can't we make that possible? If these horses were micro-chipped we would always know where they are. You can be sure of one absolute fact, the horse will remember you!They never forget their friends.

And so, there is a difference. Maybe the term cannibalism is extreme. But that's how I feel about my family members. Imagine Stormy waiting in line in a horror murder parlor. Looking over the heads of the other condemned souls – looking for me to come and save her. Picture your own horse, your child's first pony – wouldn't you perhaps agree that I am not that far from the truth?

~Nina