july/august horsenaround

Mohave County is Our Region Arizona is Our Reach EQUINE & ALL THINGS COUNTRY NEWSPAPER

928-399-0738 www.HorsenAroundTheMountains.com Email: [email protected]

HHoorrssee nn AArroouunndd HHoorrssee nn AArroouunndd Horse n Around tthhee MMoouunnttaaiinnss tthhee MMoouunnttaaiinnss the Mountains

FREEAug/Sept 2011 Volume 2 Issue 02

www.HorsenAroundTheMountains.com Page 1

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Congratulations Kinsley on your riding accomplishments Photos provided by Kassie Schuerr

Kinsley Gordon has been taking lessons at A-Schuerr-Thing Horse Training And Riding Lessons for three months. Whatan improvement she has made. When she first started, she was still very scared due to a horse injury requiring staplesin her head. We took it very slow, she would come to the lesson time with stomach aches thinking we were going to runwith the horses. Several lessons were given with Kinsley just walking Dreamer around the arena so she could talk tohim, WITHOUT even getting on. Now as of last week, she was ON HER MOUNT trotting Dreamer on her own! I am soproud to have Kinsley riding with us, WELL DONE KINSLEY!

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Realty Executives Mohave

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise any prefer-ence, mitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an inten-tion to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. Familial status includes children under the age of 18 livingwith parent in legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will notknowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our Readers are hereby informed that alldwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUDtoll free at 1-800-669-9777. This toll-free number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

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Kingman Regional MedicalCenter Foundation is onceagain proud to bring you ourAnnual Charity Golf Tournament.The format will be a one day tourna-ment to be held on Saturday,October 8th at Cerbat Cliffs GolfCourse.

There are numerous opportuni-ties for you to get involved but theslots are filling up quickly. We needto have everything wrapped up byAugust 20th so that we can get thepromotional items ordered in timefor the tournament.

Sponsorship for thegolf tournament

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3-Wood Sponsor $2,500Your logo appears on the tourna-

ment golf cap and placement on allflyers, advertising and prominentsignage at the tee box. One teamincluded with this sponsorship.

5-Iron Sponsor $1,000Your logo appears on tournamenttowel and placement on all flyers,advertising and prominent signageat the tee box.

Putter Sponsor $300Hole sponsorship with prominentsignage at the tee box.

As you know, thanks to generousdonations and commitments fromindividuals and businesses, we havebeen able to raise enough money tobuild the Joan & Diana HospiceHome in Kingman. However, addi-tional funds are still needed to pro-vide ongoing support until itbecomes fully operational. Thefunds raised from this years eventswill be designated for that use.

If you have any questions orrequire any further information tomake your decision, do not hesitateto contact me at 928/681-8656.

KRMC Foundationis Proud to Present

Annual Charity Golf Tournament

T123

Written byJimi Chance Owens

July 27, 2003

Dang it was cold! Wed just got-ten out of the pickup and thebreeze was shifting the tinysnowflakes that had fallen last night.When you walked, the crusted snowunderneath gave way and crunchedand crackled beneath your boots.That right there was enough to chillyou to the bone and sometimes thatbreeze would shift the new snow andsome would get between the wildrag of silk tied around my neck!There it melted and trickled downmy back. Now that was cold!!

Ed Barkley and I were workingfor J.R. Jones on the North Rim of theGrand Canyon gathering strays andhad been for three weeks. Wedcaught quite a few head and had abunch more to go.

Looking across the pickup bed, Icould see by Eds pained expres-sion, that he felt the same. He wasmuttering under his breath aboutsummer wages and what hed donewith them.

I grinned to myself as we untiedthe three dogs. Without waiting forus to let the tailgate down, theybailed out and were sniffing for signand scent of the bunch of cattle wewere after. Wed trailed them until 6oclock last night, after coming ontheir tracks around 2 p.m.

These cattle were pretty wildand were stirred up from the daybefore, but we hoped to gather thembefore nightfall. Yesterday, wedalways been just one canyon, or onethicket of trees away and couldntquite catch up. Wed worn out thehorses, so we decided to bring the

dogs today.Our dogs were Catahoula

hounds, whose one ambition in life,was to catch wild cows and theywere good at it. Theyd get the scenton the wind and take off in hot pur-suit. You had to be ridin hard andfast to keep up because if they gotthe cattle stopped and then onetried to escape, these dogs gotvicious in a hurry!! Ive seen cowswith both ears gone, tails chewed offand big chunks bitten out of them.

The cow had two choices, get atealive, or get back to the herd. Idseen ole Jake come flying off a hill-side, jump and take hold of a full-grown bull. Hed then drop hisweight to the ground and somersaultthat bull. He might roll three or fourtimes, but when he came up, Jakestill had a hold. I didnt say he wassmart, just mean.

Anyway, we hadnt hardly got thehorses unloaded from the trailer,when the dogs hit the trail. Ed and Igot mounted and left out of there at ahigh lope. He looked over at me witha gleam in his eye of pure anticipa-tion and with a smile on his lips hehollered, Well get em today, Jimi,well get em today.

I was as excited as he was, forthis was the kind of life we wereborn for. The thrill of the chase andgathering the wild ones. Anyonecould follow an old gentle cow downsome trail, but the wild ones wereevery bit as wild as the deer and elk.Believe me, when you get on theirtrail, things could get real exciting,real quick!

You went down mountainsidesand into canyons so fast on yourhorse, that one mis-step from himand you probably werent gonna

make the dinner bell, that, or anyother night. You dodged low limbsand branches of trees at a dead run.Your horse would jump logs andplow though thickets, racing afterthe runaway cattle, while the dogswere howling and barking and bit-ing, trying to slow the cows and putthem in a circle to get them stopped.While all this was happening, youtried to stay in the middle of yourhorse and keep the loop of yourrope from hanging up. The thrill ofthe chase brought an excitement allits own, and if all went well and yougot though it alive and got your cat-tle gathered, you could be satisfiedthat youd done what very few peo-ple now-a-days would even try!

With all this in mind, maybe youcan understand why people calledus lunatics and said that we werecrazy. Hell yes, we were! You had tobe!

Anyway, we could hear the dogsup ahead of us and it sounded like afull scale war. Cows were bawlngand dogs were barking and theuproar was probably heard twentymiles away in town!

I yelled at Ed, Theyve got em,just as my horse leaped over adownfall log and Ed leaned over onthe left side of his horse to miss a lowhanging limb. We were laughing andhaving a fair to middlin good timeas we crashed through some thick

oak brush in a clearing and therethey were.

Jake had hold of a bull by theturning circles, trying to get loose.But Jake just held on for all he wasworth and growled at the bull whilehis body was hangin in midair. Fourcows and two calves were trying towatch this, stay together, and fightoff the other dogs.

As we came into the clearing, Ihollered at Jake and he let go of thebull and ran over to my horse. Thebull decided about then that hewanted some company and lit outlike his tail was on fire for the cowsand calves.

Ed had got the other dogs calledoff and was on the far side of theherd. The bull joined up with themand we just set there to let every-thing settle down and cool off. Aboutthen we were pretty happy!

After about ten minutes, wedecided to ease the cattle down intoa draw on our left and follow it southto a corral that was in a meadowabout three miles away. Ed took thelead and stayed out in front while meand the dogs brought up the rear.

The cows had quieted down andwere going along real well with theircalves. We had one old brindle cowwith a calf, and I kept a close eye onher, cause I figured she might pull a


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The Bull

(The Bull Continued on Page 11)

Written byDr. Christi Garfinkel

Equine Veterinary Services Inc.

Not only are vaccines effective, but theyare also quite safe. Years of researchand development occur prior to thevaccine being tested in large numbers ofhorses in an effort to satisfy USDA require-ments. However, occasionally a vaccine maynot protect your horse for a variety of rea-sons:

Compromised immune system (stress) Exposure to disease prior to vaccina-

tion Overwhelming challenge by infectious

agent Improper handling and storage of the

vaccine

Because every horse is unique, yourveterinarian will perform an examinationprior to vaccination to be sure it is healthy.His/her knowledge of the proper methods tohandle and store vaccines reduces thepotential for a vaccine to be ineffective.

Types of Vaccines

Horse owners sometimes wonder if theirhorse can contract the disease from the vac-cine. There are primarily two types of equinevaccines - modified live and inactivated. Themajority of equine vaccines are inactivated,meaning the disease-causing microbes havebeen killed prior to making the vaccine.Once killed, these microbes cannot revertback to their disease causing state making itimpossible for the vaccine to cause the dis-ease in the horse after vaccination.

Vaccine ReactionsSince vaccines stimulate an immune

response, it is not uncommon for horses toexperience mild and transient side effectsshortly after vaccination similar to what youmight expect after human vaccination. Thesemay include:

Low grade fever (

Written byMary H. Iozzo Iozzo Shoeing

This month will be the month before thefair. I hope all of you who will be show-ing have gotten a chance to work hardwith yourself and your horse. I know its hardwhen we work full time and ride full time. Ifound that when riding out I can get a lot oftraining done. I use the bushes for cones andpractice my equitation patterns. Forrest does-nt get so BORED with it and you can lope cir-cles and lead changes anything really you doin the arena you can work on out in the desert.My students are working on the in hand class-es halter and showmanship-not my favorite,but it will make you a well rounded horsemanwhen working patterns in hand as well asunder saddle.

Last month we talked aboutknowing the rules of the ring.Keeping your horse a safe distancefrom others ALSO gives you achance to show your horse better. Ifyou are in a big bunch it is hard forthe judge to really get a good lookat your horse. If in the ring you findyourself in a tight spot you areallowed to make a circle to theinside of the arena and put yourselfback on the rail for A better, saferposition. When they ask you tolope or trot you can give a secondor two to allow the horse in front ofyou get a few strides ahead. This isanother way not to get all bunchedup on the rail.

It is nice to clean your horseand your tack, but most important it is nice tomake sure you and your horse are not a dan-ger to others. Make sure your farrier iscalled and his feet are in good shape forshowing. When you are taking your animals toa different place make sure they are all up todate on their vaccinations and be carefulwhen its warm to make sure they are drinkingplenty of water. Some horses have a hard timewhen they are traveling away from home.Giving minerals and salt before you travel is agood idea. Electrolytes help as well to bringthem along in case you may need them.

Good Luck to all and have a fun safehorse experience. !

____________________

Mary Iozzo Iozzo ShoeingHorse Shoeing Riding Lessons Horse Training

928-727-4881Email: [email protected]


Have Fun But Keep it SafeGet Ready to Show Your Horse

Mary Iozzo & Peaches Photo provided by Mary Iozzo

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ADVERTISE IN...

VET WRAPVetericyn

Written byClinton Anderson of

Downunder Horsemanship

Ive been around horses near-ly my whole life and Ive seenevery type of spray and disin-fectant on the market. When Ifirst heard about Vetericyn a cou-ple of years ago, I thought it wasjust another product. It wasntuntil a young horse got injuredon my ranch that a friend sug-gested I use Vetericyn. Not oneto believe the claims on a prod-uct unless I see the resultsmyself, I decided to give Vet -ericyn a try. The filly had injuredherself on a t-post and put an 8-inch gash on the side of herribcage. It was a nasty wound.Three times a day for thirty days,I sprayed Vetericyn on thewound and was surprised by theresults. Not only did the cut heal,but I couldnt even tell shedbeen injured; there was no scartissue and her hair grew backnormally. Now I use Vetericyn onall the animals on my ranch fromdogs and cats to horses and cat-tle. I make sure to keep a readysupply because when you ownanimals, you know its not if theyget a cut or scrape, its just when.

Top Four ReasonsI Trust Vetericyn Doesnt harm healthy tissue:

Vetericyns unique ability tomimic the bodys naturalresponse to an infection hasmade it a leader in animalhealthcare. Unlike traditionalantiseptics, Vetericyn doesntdamage healthy tissue. Instead, itonly targets and kills bacteria,fungus and viruses.

Fast healing and repels flies:The fast-acting formula speedsup the healing process and hasyour horse back to work in notime. The non-toxic formulamakes Vetericyn ideal for allages and types of horses, and itsproven to keep flies away fromwounds while targeting harmfulbacteria and fungus.

Doesnt sting the horse oncontact: If you have a horse thatsdifficult to treat, Vetericyns non-irritating formula will makeclean ing and disinfectingwounds as simple as sprayingthe water-like formula on theinfected area. Vetericyns non-toxic formula is pain free to yourhorse and is safe to use aroundhis mouth and eyes. The uniqueformula kills bacteria, fungusand viruses on contact, butleaves normal tissue unharmed.That means no proud flesh orunsightly scars.

Used as a preventative: Notonly is Vetericyn a one-stepwound cleaner, but it can also beused as a preventative. Ridingseveral horses a day in the sametack is a recipe for girth itch, butwith Vetericyn, I dont need toworry. Before each ride I spraythe nontoxic formula on thecinch, saddle pad and boots tokill any bacteria or fungus.Thanks to Vetericyn all of myhorses have slick, shiny coats.

Jigging that irritating half-prancehorses fall into when they want to gofaster and you wont let them is asymptom of nervousness or a lack offoundation. It certainly is not thesmoothest thing in the world to ride, andit isnt enjoyable because instead ofenjoying the ride youre left fighting withyour horse.

Before you can fix your horsesproblem, you first have to understandwhy he is behaving the way that he is. Isyour horse hot and nervous because hesin a group of horses, or is he just natural-ly hot and nervous? Until your horse cantrail ride while remaining relaxed andcalm consistently by himself, dont intro-duce him to a group situation. Whenhorses are in a group situation their preyanimal instincts start to take over andthey switch to the reactive side of theirbrains. Horses have two sides to theirbrains, the thinking side and the reactiveside. The thinking side is the calm,rational side we want our horses to usewhen were around them. The reactiveside is the hot, nervous, panicky side ofour horses.

When horses are in a group andheading in the same direction, they startthinking that something is chasing them.They constantly try to outrun each otherand get to the front of the herd. If a packof lions is chasing the horses, the safestplace to be is in the middle or towardsthe front of the herd. The last place ahorse wants to be is at the back of theherd or at the side because those are thehorses that the lions will catch. Horsesthat jig are usually at the back of theherd trying to get to the front.

In order to get your horse to stopjigging, you have to get him to use thethinking side of his brain. Youll get thehorse to use the thinking side of hisbrain by moving his feet forwards, back-

wards, left and right and always reward-ing the slightest try. The more changesof direction you do, and the more youmake the horse move his feet, the morehell think and pay attention to you.

The last thing you want to do is pickup on both reins and try to stop thehorse. The more you try to make a horseslow down by pulling back on two reins,the more upset and nervous he will get.Never try to control a horse thats usingthe reactive side of his brain by pullingback on two reins. Pulling back on bothreins makes the horse feel trapped andclaustrophobic. Since the horse is aflight or fight animal, he either runs fromdanger or fights it, his only option is tofight your hold.

Instead, when a horse panics andturns to the reactive side of his brain,only use one rein to control him and con-centrate on getting him to use the think-ing side of his brain by doing lots ofchanges of direction. To use the thinkingside of his brain a horse has to move hisfeet forwards, backwards, left and right.When youre on the trail and your horsebegins to jig, redirect his feet and puthim to work doing a lateral movement(using one rein). You could bend yourhorse around and soften him up bypulling his nose back to your boot andthen pitch him away and dare him tomake the mistake again. If he starts tojig, and in the beginning he will, imme-diately bend him around and then pitchhim away again.

If that doesnt work, take the horseoff the trail and make him work harder.Jog him around bushes and trees, con-stantly changing directions. If the horsewants to trot, do something with thatenergy. Remember, the more you makethe horse move his feet forwards, back-wards, left and right, the more he willstart to pay attention to you and use the

thinking side of his brain. If youre rid-ing in a group situation, it would be bestif the other people in the group wouldstop and wait for you to get your horseunder control. While youre working onyour horse, they can be doing the sameexercises to get their horses moreresponsive and soft. If the other groupmembers dont wait for you and contin-ue riding down the trail, your horse willonly get more nervous.

After youve worked the horse 10 to15 minutes, put him back on the trail ona loose rein at the walk. He might walk abit and then start jigging again. If thathappens, put him back to work. It does-nt matter how you make the horse move,as long as you do some sort of lateralmovement. Remember, the last thingyou want to do is pull back on two reinswhen a horse is using the reactive side ofhis brain.

A horse has to be respectful, calmand using the thinking side of his brainin the arena (or a controlled environ-ment) before he will behave the same onthe trail. If you cant walk, trot and canteryour horse on a loose rein and bend andsoften him in an arena, you wont be ableto do it out on the trail either. The lack ofcontrol you have of your horse in thearena will get worse when you take himoutside.

Most trail problems are a result of alack in the horses foundation that hap-pens to be showing up when the horse istaken out on a trail ride. Before you ven-ture out on a trail ride, have your horselistening to you in the arena first so thatyoull have the tools youll need if hemisbehaves on the trail. !

____________________

Written by Clinton AndersonDownunder Horsemanship

www.DownunderHorsemanship.com

Photos provided by Clinton Anderson of Downunder Horsemanship

Jiggingon the

TrailGet YourHorses

Sanity Back

Ahorse that rushes out of the trailer is telling you he doesnt really want to be in there. So change his perspec-tive on things. Make sure you park the trailer on good footing so that the horse wont slip. If he wants to rushout backwards, dont try to stop him. As soon as all four feet hit the ground, put him to work. You can doLunging for Respect Stage 1 or Stage 2, Backing Up, C-Pattern, etc. It doesnt really matter what exercise you do,as long as it involves lots of changes of direction and you really make his feet hustle. After working for a few min-utes, send him back in the trailer and let him rest. Anytime he wants to come back out, let him, and then put hisfeet back to work. It wont be long before he realizes that the trailer is really the greatest place to be. !

____________________

Written by Clinton Anderson Downunder Horsemanship www.DownunderHorsemanship.com

TrainingTips

Horses That Rush Out of the Trailer Too Quickly

Game & Fish Advicefor Dove Season

Hunters Need to Help Maintain Relations


Danielle Sorace Gymkhana Director

928-692-0199 [email protected]

DEPARTMENT 282 GYMKHANA PRE-ENTRY: Closing Date: September 12th, 2011 5:00pm Pre-Entry Fee is $48.00 for all (4) events or $15.00 per class/lot.

POST ENTRIES: 3:00 to 3:45PM Day of Event Post entries will be an extra $15.00/office fee

Gymkhana Starts 4:00PM, September 16th, 2011

GYMKHANA SPONSORS: Mohave Wireless Horse n Around the Mountains Big O Tire Dr. Barry Uldrickson DDS

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928.399.0603 and

Mohave County is Our Region Arizona is Our Reach EQUINE & ALL THINGS COUNTRY NEWSPAPER

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2011 MOHAVE COUNTY FAIR DMS GYMKHANA EVENT

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With the hours of dove huntingextended until sunset, dove huntershave reason to be excited about theupcoming season.

With the extended hunting hours, con-cerns about cattle and water have beenraised. These concerns can be put to rest pro-vided hunters are courteous, clean, and ethi-cal.

This is a great opportunity for dovehunters, said Bob Posey, regional supervisorfor the Arizona Game and Fish Region 3 officein Kingman. But, the majority of dove huntingoccurs near water often used by cattle, whichhas raised some concern.

Those out during the day need to beaware of cattle needing to get to a watersource.

Hunters should not remain in an area toolong and, if a hunter sees cattle waiting to getto water, sportsmen and women shouldvacate the area for a period of time to allowaccess.

Weve lost access to some areas as a

result of unethical behavior, Posey said.While the majority of sportsmen and womenare ethical during hunts, it doesnt take manyto tarnish the image of hunters and createobstacles to access.

In addition to water access, littering andoff-road travel have been major issues Gameand Fish personnel have had to address.

Pack out what you pack in, Posey said.Better yet, leave an area cleaner than whenyou arrived.

As for off-highway vehicles, Posey advis-es to make sure your OHV is either titled orregistered and have the OHV decal.

Stay on existing roads and trails, hesaid. Cross-country travel is a violation.

Anyone witnessing illegal activity isencouraged to contact Operation Game Thiefat (800) 352-0700. Web submissions can bereported via the internet by going towww.azgfd.gov/thief. Identities will remainconfidential. !

____________________)

Written byGame & Fish Department

Region 3 Office in Kingman, Arizona

Governor NamesArizonas Heritage Horse

Governor Jan Brewer has signed a proclamation naming the ColonialSpanish Horse as the Arizonas Heritage Horse! The Colonial Spanish Horse

is one of Father Kinos enduring gifts to Southern Arizona Father EusebioFrancisco Kino, The Padre on Horseback, built 22 missions from Northern

Mexico to Arizona and credited much of his success to the stamina of theColonial Spanish Horse. Father Kino established a breeding program forthe Colonial Spanish Horses and many of these horses were brought to

Arizona for use by the ranchers, farmers, and Native Americans. For moredetails see our website at

www.arizonahorseproject.com.____________________

Maureen Kirk-DetbernerProject Manager, Arizona Colonial Spanish Horse Project

520.419.7191, [email protected]

Horse n Around the Mountains www.HorsenAroundTheMountains.com Page 9

Help Save Abused Horseson July 23rd Wikieup AZ 928-897-6555

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September 15 - 18, 2011 FAIR 65th Annual Mohave County Sponsor Appreciation & Gratitude The Mohave County Fair Committee would like to extend our deepest appreciation and gratitude to the following sponsors for their continued support of the Mohave County Fair. We hope that you will show your gratitude and appreciat ion for their support of the

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HOURS OPEN

Written byLauren Kolker

Thursday, March 24, 2011 Day 14It was another quiet day out at the barn,

which was great seeing as how yesterdaypanned out. I wanted to continue withMarley's "review" and treat him as though hedidn't already know some of the basics wehave been working on. He walked willinglyup to the round pen and really didn't have toomuch trouble with anything during brushingand tacking up, so I decided I would get backin the saddle.

I got him moving on the lunge line first,using the pole again as something for him topay attention to and have to step over. A cou-ple of times he was staring at other horses andstumbled over it, and each time it brought himright back to what we were doing without mehaving to do anything. I like this because he isstill really sensitive to pressure on the leadline, and having the pole on the ground kindof makes Marley check himself when he isn'tfocused.

When I got on, Marley stood calmly andwas very patient while I adjusted a stirrup thatwas uneven. I was really relieved that he had-n't made any backwards steps with the mount-ing block, having weight on his back, etc.Where he did regress a little bit though washis "stickiness" in not wanting to move for-ward. On day 8 when I first got on Marley heseemed fine with me being on his back, buthe was really unsure of moving anywhere.After a while he loosened up and relaxed intoa nice walk, and at one point, even a trot. Onhis second day under saddle he was muchbetter with this and started responding to legpressure to move forward. Both days I wasmore of a passenger than anything. I wantedto encourage Marley to move, so I tried to juststay out of his way.

Today, some of that stickiness returned.He was comfortable moving forward whenKatherine (who took all of these lovely pho-tos!) was standing in the middle of the roundpen, but if she was outside, he would freezeup. I spent the session working on him mov-ing around the perimeter solo, and at the endhad her return again to the center of the penso that we could end on a really positive note.

Marley also discovered the reins today. Ihave basically stayed away from his face toencourage him to move forward, other thanoccasionally opening up a rein to steer.Marley is responding fantastically to the reinswhile I'm on the ground, but he has also beenstanding still for all of that. If he was movingforward and reached the end of the rein withhis neck, he would move every which way toavoid it. He figured out pretty quickly thatpulling his head around wasn't effective, andagain he relaxed.

I am really interested to see how heresponds to riding tomorrow. I think I'm onlygoing to spend another day or two in the west-ern saddle before I move him over to myEnglish tack, as I have a bit more control in itsince that is what I'm more comfortable with.I'd like to again focus on forward movementand I would also like him to make some kindof connection between the ground work wedo and the under saddle work we are doing inregards to his bridle and some connection onthe reins.

All said and done, Marley was fantastictoday. I look at how far he has come and I'mextremely proud of him. My favorite part ofevery training session is when I get to take allof the tack off and praise and love him forbeing such a good boy. My hope is that itleaves every session, difficult or not, on a pos-itive happy note, and creates a solid buildingblock for further sessions.

Friday, March 25, 2011 Day 15I am so happy with Marley's progression

under saddle since our ride yesterday. Ibrought the clicker back to to the riding por-tion of our training, and I really saw a differ-ence. I started off with a short target trainingsession and some touch work around his earsbefore tacking him up. He was much morerelaxed right off the bat and walked forwardconfidently for the first time with very littleaid. I embraced this new forward-movingMarley and when he broke to a trot a fewtimes I let him go and stayed out of his face. Ihave kept all of my riding sessions reallyshort, about ten minutes a piece, so our goalsare really small for any given session. I reallywant Marley to understand what I'm askinghim to do before we really start "working".

Today's small victory was understandingcontact on the reins. Since Marley was actual-ly moving forward very willingly, I was finallyable to hold a steady, light contact that hecould move in to. After a couple of minutes oftossing his head around (which is why I'm gladI don't have a bit in his mouth for this), he real-ized that when he stayed steady, there wasnever any pressure on the reins. Towards theend he even started to put some weight intomy hand. I was able to do two controlled "S"turns before we left it at that for the day.

After a great training session and ofcourse lots of praises, it was bath time! I was-n't sure how far I would get, as Marley has onlyreally had his legs hosed down during somede-sense work in the wash rack. It was sowarm and there was no wind, so I decided togo for it, and if he only got a partial bath, itwould be OK. In the end though, Marley wasgreat and aside from dancing around a littlebit, it was a successful shower! The only thingI didn't mess with was shampooing his tail as

he is still a little bit unpredictable and I didn'twant to scare him. He also loves playing in thewater. Katherine got some great photos of himbeing a goof, and I can't possibly choosebetween them so I'm going to just post themall. I couldn't believe the difference it madeand I got so much hair off of him, I can't wait tosee what he looks like with a sleek summercoat!

Saturday, March 26, 2011 Day 16Got a late start today as I haven't been

feeling great. The flu has turned into a badcough, and Marley got an ear full from Mikeand I both today. I think it's safe to say he isofficially desensitized to any loud, suddennoises... I'm very much over being sick. Thatsaid, he is making great progress in otherareas of his training as well. He is targetingbeautifully, and the issue he had previouslywith wanting to target to my hand instead ofthe target pole has been eliminated thanks tomy friend Allison's suggestion to move backto rewarding him immediately and directlynext to the target as soon as he touches it. Sheworks with giraffes at the Cheyenne MountainZoo and they are on a similar training programto help zoo keepers take better care of them,as well as for some fun and stimulation!Thanks for the tip Allison, it worked great!Marley is now starting his "bow" behavior, justsomething fun to work on when he's not undersaddle, and it seems to be great for our trustbuilding as he is nervous about bringing hishead down low to the ground unless I'm sit-ting.

He is also progressing with his "mirror"behavior. I don't know if you'll be able to hearit on the video, but it is the cutest thing ever...Marley "nickers" throughout the entire behav-ior. It gets louder when we trot, and it cracksme up.

Under saddle Marley is moving forwardinto the walk, trot, and canter so today was allabout suppleness in Marley's head and neck.He understood flexing at a stand still, but notwhile moving so I devoted the entire sessionsjust to that. It was our longest ride to date,though still under 30 minutes, but once Marleygot it he really understood. I'm looking for-ward to seeing where he picks up tomorrow.

In other news, Marley is officially in lovewith Chance. Unless Chance stands up reallyfast from laying down. Then he is a terrifyingbeast. But otherwise, Marley was fascinatedwith him.

Sunday, March 27, 2011 Day 17Small steps are still being taken under

saddle with Marley. Today we worked onsome transitions, because breaks are good.Marley is comfortable under saddle now so heis no longer "stuck" in place, or apprehensiveto move. Instead, as I knew he would, he has a

lot more "go" than "whoa". This is OK though,in order to get anything done, I need Marley tobe moving forward and not just stuck in oneplace. It is a good building block and I don'tthink it will take him long to figure it out.

I brought in some of the same flexingwhich we worked on yesterday as a warm up,and he picked it back up immediately. I thinkI'm going to switch into an English saddletomorrow, though I'm still going back andforth on this idea. I might also skip the rideand move into the large arena for lunging andsome ground work. Basically, I'm indecisive atthe moment, so you'll have to check backtomorrow for an update!

Monday, March 28, 2011 Day 18School is back in full swing so I was on a

limited time schedule today which was finebecause I have been thinking about transi-tioning Marley into the large arena. It workedout really well today as the person riding inthe arena didn't mind sharing with us (I haveto be mindful of other riders and their horsesas I board Marley) and we got some greattraining done. I tied Marley up on the insideof the arena to groom and tack him up whilethe other rider rode around us. Marley was alittle nervous at first having another horsetrotting and cantering around but pretty soonhe relaxed and ignored him completely. Aftersome ground work with his feet (we're gettingready for a hoof trim) and target work, I want-ed to see how Marley would lunge outside ofthe round pen. He stayed really calm with theother horse working around him, and while ittook him some time to figure out a nicesmooth circle (it was more like a small squareat first) he improved and became much softeron the end of the lead. I think I'm going to setup an obstacle course tomorrow to really getMarley thinking, so I'm hopeful that not manypeople are out using the arena. It should bereally fun. !

____________________

of Marley, Dairy of a Wild HorseWatch for the continuing story in our next

issue of Horse n Around the Mountains

Page 10 Horse n Around the Mountains

Marley, Diary ofa Wild Horse

Days 14 Through 18 of a 90 Day Journey of Training andTrust Building With A Wild American Mustang

Chivalry isnt dead & HATM wants to give a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to those that helped us when we were

stranded on Hwy 95.

Sometimes we need to take time for ourselves 2178 McCullock Blvd., Ste. 12 Lake Havasu city, AZ 86403 While stranded on Hwy 95 the owners of HATM waited for a friend to come with a spare tire. In the hour and a half of waiting and the hundreds of people driving by, the first to stop and actually off er help was jack Rogerson of A Natural massage and Day Spa. He not only set the jack in the right position under our truck, he gave us water and came back again to give bring us Gatorade.

A great big THANK YOU to Jack Rogerson of A Natural Massage & Day Spa A great big THANK YOU to Jack Rogerson of A Natural Massage & Day Spa from Revonda and Karen of Horse n Around the Mountains from Revonda and Karen of Horse n Around the Mountains

... for some reason chivalry looks wrong but I know its right!

Jack Rogerson, NCTMB Office (928) 505-8667

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Takin Flight Takin Flight Takin Flight Its so peaceful and quiet way up here

where the birds fly and the air is so clean. I can see the tops of cars and buildings,

and a view of the fairgrounds Ive never seen.

Over to my right is the parking lot completely full of cars and trucks.

And to my left are the rides and concession stands

and people tryin their luck.

All the different kinds of crowns that people wear on their hats... Well, they look a lot different

on the ground than from where Im at.

It seems only a second ago that I was in that buckin chute

atop that red roan, but now Im flyin through the air

like a bird... yep, Ive been thrown.

Oh, Ive been bucked off before and Ive gone the full eight

tryin to be the cowboy on top. Gettin bucked off and takin flight

aint so bad, but I hate the sudden stop!

Rick Pierce 02/27/04

ALONG THE WAY...with Pastor Roger Gorham

Pastor of Cowboy Church of Mohave County

Lessons From A Mule Named Kate

Along The Way.... I have owned a lot ofanimals. I have never seen two horsesjust alike in looks or actions. Everydog I have had was distinct and different,even my chickens each have their own per-sonalities. One thing I think about whenlookin' back Along The Way, is the lessonsmy animals have taught me.

I have done a lot of things to be able toafford the bad habit of preachin', one ofthem was shoein' horses. A horse shoer usu-ally gets involved in other activities and Ihave birthed my share of foals, calves,sheep, goats, even hogs and dogs, the listgoes on. One thing I did was dental work onhorses.

I had a real good big bay mule namedKate. She taught me a lot of things aboutfarmin' behind a mule. We had several acresin garden at our homestead and Kate didthe work that made the garden and fedus.She was especially attached to me andfollowed me around the pasture like a pup.

Once she started gettin g a bad dis-

charge from her left nostril. She had taken torubbin' her cheek on my shoulder, so Iwould rub her jaw. I got to lookin' and sawthat she had an infected tooth way in back,upper left jaw. Ole Kate was about to teachme a lesson about trustin' someone whocould help you.

That mule stood unrestrained while Itook a file and cut a notch in that tooth. Shenever even flinched when I took a chiseland a hammer and knocked that tooth out. Agood dose of penicillin and she was good asnew in a few days.

Ole Kate believed I could help her withher infection and she trusted me to takecare of it because she KNEW I loved her.Jesus loves us more than we can imagineand He is the only way to cure the infectionof sin that we all carry.

John 15:3 "There is no greater love thanto lay down one's life for his friends." Jesusdid exactly that for me and for you. TrustHim. He will take away the infection of sin ifyou just ask Him to..... Along The Way.

PRAYER for the Farmers and Those That Feed USThe auction arenas around San Antonio are full of skinny cattle every week as farmers and ranchers cull out their herds due to the drought. The farmers that did plant will harvest nothingthis year. Life will be hard on them all. The summer high that has settled over the southern states needs to go away. Please pray for those who feed us. A friend in Christ recently made a

trip to southern New Mexico and saw herds of cattle with no feed due to the drought. This winter, they will die without some relief. As evidenced by people living in Oklahoma, New Mexico,West and South Texas, and ever-increasing areas in other parts of the country, the drought condition is reaching critical status; cattle are being auctioned off; crops have burned up

and drinking water is becoming a concern. Please join us in this prayer circle.

Father, You said whatsoever any two or more come together and agree and ask in Your Son's name, it shall be given.We come to You, humbly, and ask that You bring down the rain to our parched lands. Our farmers and ranchers need it

desperately, as well as our firefighters. We ask this all in Jesus' name. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

run aw ay, but she just followedalong with the rest of the cattle.

Up until now, wed forgotten thecold. As the cattle, horses, dogs andus relaxed some, it set back in. Edand I both pulled the collars of ourcoats up around our ears to help uskeep out the cold wind, but it wasntmuch comfort. Even dodging thecold and all, we were still smiling asour horses crunched through thesnow with every step they took.

Ed was whistling a song aboutlost love or something, and all waswell in our little world. We had ourcattle, the dogs were okay and sowere we. I was extremely glad thatEd was just whistling, cause hecouldnt carry a tune in a bucket!Hed started in singing real earlyone morning about a month ago andhis roan gelding bucked him off realquick. He lit hard in a crusted patchof snow! Since then, he just whistled.

The sun was shining as we got tothe meadow and its warmth feltgood. We were relaxed and easingthe cattle along and things weregoing good up until we got about100 yards from the corral.

About that time, the bull haddecided hed had all of our companythat he wanted.

There was a brushy canyon onour left at the edge of the meadowand he left for parts unknown, andwithout a forwarding address.

We let him go and stayed withthe cows, but the dogs went afterhim. Ed got the gate to the corralopened and then rode to the rightand back around behind the cattleand helped me ease them inside.

Id sure been enjoying ourpeace and quiet and figured it wasplumb disrespectful of that Brangus-cross bull to up and haul out likethat. The dogs were hot on him anddestroying the quiet with theirgrowling and howling.

Anyway, we loped our horsesdown into the canyon after wed cor-ralled the cows. We werent in anyreal hurry. We knew that the bullwould get tired and need to quit run-ning. Those dogs werent gonna doany real damage to him, so we justeased along and saved our horses.

After about a quarter of a mile,sure enough we rode through sometrees and there was Mr. Bull, stand-ing in the middle of a clump of oakbrush, with his head down, andwatching the dogs. Every little bithed act like he was charging, but hewas tired and all bluff. Or so wethought.

Wed called off the dogs and Edhad started to go around behind thebull on one side, while I circledaround on the other. Ed kindahollered and threw a stick at Mr. Bull

to get him going and we were gonnafollow him back up to the corral.

Now, if youve never beenaround cattle, you cant realize howfast one of those big old bulls reallyis. One second the bull was standingstill, facing away from us, and thenext second he whirled and ran atEds horse. Before Ed could moveout of the way, that bull ran in andstuck his head down under thathorses belly and literally pickedhim and Ed up, and tipped themover! He went right on by and leftagain with the dogs on his trail!

Ramming the spurs to myhorses sides, we bolted over andjumped down and grabbed the reinsof Eds horse so he couldnt get up.Ed was alright and told me he wasnthung up with a foot in the stirrup, soafter he got his leg pushed out, I lethis horse up. Both of them were pret-ty shaken up, but they were okay.Sure was lucky you landed in thatsnow, I said.

Ed grinned and nodded. Finallyhe said, Okay, lets go get that bug-ger and see if we can put him in thecorral. I nodded and grinned. Edwas fine; he was just fine.

The bull and the dogs were hav-ing a free-for-all when we got there.When the bull saw us he pulled outand left, but we had our ropes downand slapped spurs to our horses.

The bulls flight had taken himdown the canyon and into a grassymeadow with trees and a road on thefar side. Ed and I rode up on a runand we both were swinging ourloops. The bull ran at Ed again andas he turned away from me, I quar-tered my horse to him and roped ahind leg. Taking my dally, I actedkind of like a brake. Now you arentgonna stop a big full-grown bullunless he wants to, but I sure slowedhim down. He started to whirl andcame at me, but Ed roped a foot.Now we had Mr. Bull on our terms.He couldnt reach either one of usand boy was he mad.

Our horses were getting prettytired by then, so, since we wereclose to the road, we let him easetowards it. After getting to the road,we both dallied and got himstopped next to a big old pine tree.While Ed kept his rope tight, I veryquickly wrapped mine around thetree twice and tied it off.

We had him and he wasnt goinganywhere! We uncinched our sad-dles and let our horses breathewhile we sat down on a rock andtook inventory of things. Ed hadstarted hurting from the fall hedtaken and I had a scratch on my nosewhere a limb had hit me during thechase, as well as one along my neck.Both were bleeding, but werent

serious. Eds horse had thrown ashoe and one of the dogs waspeeled up along his side, probablyby the bull during the fight. All in all,we were pretty lucky, and a sorrylooking lot. Course no one ever saidwe were pretty no-how!

I left Ed there and rode backseven miles to the pickup and droveback. We loaded the bull and horsesand drove to the corral. After load-ing the cows in with the bull, whowas tied in the trailer, we put thehorses and calves in the back of thetrailer. Ed was hurting, so I drovehome and we unloaded the stockand fed them. That evening when theboss came in, we found out that thatold bull had crippled three horsesand two cowboys the fall before!

The next day he was sent to theauction with no return ticket, and wewent back up on the mountain togather more strays. All in all, life wasgood! !

____________________

Written byJimi Chance Owensof the Grand Canyon

Caverns StablesJuly 27, 2003

The Bull (Continued from Page 3)

Written by Rick Gore

What is Opposition Reflex? It maysound like horses are stubborn ormay have an instinct to resisttraining from humans. Opposition infers or canbe confused with resistance, conflict, opponentor disagreement. So someone using or hearingthis term may believe this misconception abouthorses. Reflex is an impulse, reaction or sponta-neous effect. This can sometime be confusedwith or seen as a horse being spooky, flighty,unsafe or dangerous or an unwilling partner.

The opposition Reflex was first discoveredas the Freedom Reflex by the 1904 Nobel Prizewinner, Ivan P. Pavlov (1849-1936). OppositionReflex is a survival instinct that is passed on frombirth as an instinct. This is also calledThigmotaxis \Thig`mo*tax"is This is theresponse of an organism to physical contactwhen touched by a solid or fluid substance, itwill either be positive or negative Thigmotaxis.When the movement is away from the touchingbody, it is negative thigmotaxis. When the move-ment is towards the touching body, it is positivethigmotaxis. An example of positive thigmotaxisis the wall-hugging behavior in mice. Positivethigmotaxis moves toward the contact much likea foal stays or is drawn to its mom and wants tomaintain contact with the mother to secure basicsurvival needs. Negative thigmotaxis movesaway from the contact much like a horse tries topull or retreat when first squirted with a hoseand water. Water is pressure, touching and stim-ulus, so until a horse is taught to accept it orignore it, it will instinctually try and oppose thepressure. Earthworms have a high degree ofpositive thigmotaxis since they borrow in theground as they move and live. Knowing andunderstanding that opposition reflex is a reflex-ive action and is involuntary will help people tounderstand a horse better and not blame orlabel the horse. Seeing the world through ahorse's eyes is critical to understanding prob-lems and issues. In humans, you can see a reflexaction when you touch something hot. You willpull away immediately without thinking and ifsomeone tried to hold your hand in fire, youwould pull away even harder and fight with allyour might. Pain may be the primary motivatorto pull back, but survival and reflex is also inplay.

Although opposition reflex is not a learnedresponse, I think it is reinforced by the behaviorof the herd or by other interactions with preda-tors, humans or other horses. Opposition reflexis a self-defense method provided andingrained by Mother Nature. The reflex can betriggered by confusion, frustration, anger, fear,pain, pressure and humans. Opposition reflexcan trigger things from the horse like rearing,biting, pulling, tail swishing, bucking, runningoff, striking and other behaviors. If you dontunderstand or know about opposition reflex,then you will confuse some horse behavior asbad, mean, disrespectful and other crazy labels

that people want to pin on horses. Trust andunderstanding will help prevent this reflex fromsurfacing in a horse. It you don't understand thisconcept you can't understand why the horsedoes what it does.

Reminder: Release teaches horses.Discomfort motivates a horse to seek comfort.Horses avoid pressure (discomfort) and seekcomfort (release or lack of pressure). Whenhorses get pressure they try different things toget release. If you give release during the wrongbehavior, you teach the horse his last behaviorwhen the pressure stopped was the rightanswer. This is a very hard concept for humansto grasp and not many people understand this.

An example of opposition reflex that comesto mind is teaching a foal to lead. Since horsesare born with an opposition reflex", foals tendto pull back when we apply forward pressure.Either to hold, hug, handle or pull on a lead rope.That is commonly a confusing situation. An alter-native when they resist forward pressure is topull with rhythm, release and timing more to oneside. Foals have less power to resist lateral pres-sure and are likely to take a step to the side andmove. This can be rewarded with release of pres-sure. This movement will tell the horse it canmove towards pressure to release it. Later thisinitial curve or sideway movement can be modi-fied into straight and forward movement. Thisaction, moving towards pressure, is against theirinborn instincts, so it is new and it must be giventime to sink in so the horse can learn it and trustit.

Another concept or theory associated withopposition reflex is Reciprocal inhibition. It wasadopted by Wolpe in 1958. Reciprocal inhibitionneural systems refers to the tendency of elicitedmuscle actions to inhibit the actions of an oppo-site type. The elicitation of muscle reflexesinvolves three possible actions: flexion, exten-sion, or a tonic combination of the two.Stimulating a group of muscles to flex causes thesimultaneous inhibition of opposing extensormuscles. The concept of reciprocal inhibitiondescribed the effect of counter conditioning andthe process of systematic desensitization. Wolpeargued that relaxation/appetite and anxiety/fearare mutually exclusive affects that regulate eachother through a mechanism of reciprocal inhibi-tion horses cannot simultaneously feel anxiouswhile relaxed; a horse can't feel fearful while eat-ing. The third characteristic of reciprocal inhibi-tion (flexor/extensor tonic equilibrium) is analo-gous to situations in which opposing emotionalalternatives are held in a stasis of conflictbetween the available options. Can a horse trustyou if he is scared? Can a horse learn if he is inpain? Can a horse feel comfort if he is restrainedor trapped?

When you try and force a horse, especiallywith pain, it will resist. It is not an intentional actor reasoned out by the horse. It is a reflex action.If you push on a horse, the horse will push orlean into you, if you pull, it will pull away, if yourestrain it, it will try and get free. Many confuse

this as being mean, stubborn, crazy, retarded orstupid. It is DNA, instincts and reflex action.When you pull on a horse, normally continuouspulling (steady pressure), you stimulate TheOpposition Reflex. When you try and force ahorse, you create resistance (commonly seen intrailer loading). By doing these actions, you arecommunicating the very opposite of what youreally want the horse to do. The more you do this,the more the horse will learn to oppose you inyour attempts and in other things. Technicallyyou are teaching a horse to fight against you.Every time you teach this you also teach thehorse you do not understand him, you are not awilling or cooperative partner. You also show thehorse that you are not a strong leader and thatthe horse should not and does not have to listento you. Knowing this, understanding this willhelp you NOT make these costly mistakes andwill help you have a better relationship with yourhorse. Remember - Horses fight pressure to stayalive DNA tells them when trapped you mustfight, flee and pull against the pressure to live.

This is very hard for Humans to learn,remember, when you pull back or jerk on ahorse it will make the horse instinctively react,increasing or reinforcing the opposition reflex.The more you pull, the more the horse pulls. Themore the horse reacts the more you try and"show him who is boss. However, if you under-stand this concept, you can change the horsesbehavior by changing your behavior. A slightpull or pressure with timing and release cancommunicate to the horse and encourage thecorrect response. Not forcing the horse will pre-vent the opposition reflex and will help thehorse to learn to control this natural reflex.

Another thing that comes into play withhorses is "the copying effect." Herd animals likeelephants, horses and other groups, are prone tocopying the actions they see within the herdhierarchy. That means a horse will naturally copyour actions, emotions and attitudes. Horses learnwhat they see. This is why the old saying came tobe, a horse is a mirror of you. Horses can learnfear, trust, confusion, body language, cues andother things that people may not know they areteaching. Which is why may people say a horseknows if you are scared or fearful. Horses canalso be taught to ignore or work around theirinstincts and control or override their oppositionreflex.

People and the human mind tend to per-ceive patterns when there is not. So people whohave owned horses for years will see a pattern ina horse or horses and will justify the patternbecause of bloodlines, color, swirls, breed orother perceived causes. This is what people dowhen they blame horses for being stupid or notlistening or being stubborn. This belief comesfrom a lack of understanding and need to justifyor rationalize things they dont understand.Many people believed the world was flat and infact people were considered dangerous if theymentioned the world was round. On my horsehistory page I talk about a horseman that was

killed and burned for working his horse withoutpain or fear, since the people feared his strangetechniques.

Scientists have a theory that for everywrong response, action or result, each wrongresult indicates progress. Every time you fail,you have found another way that does not work.So you are one step closer to finding the rightanswer, since you now know one more way thatdoes not. If you pay attention and listen to yourhorse they will tell you if something is workingor if it is not working. This is why you must learnto ignore what you know or think you know, andmodify or change what you are doing to get adifferent result. If you want your horse to change,YOU must first change.

I think humans have opposition reflex,reactions and actions. Try and grab a womanspurse and watch her clutch it and pull back, shewill not just let it go or give it to you. Is this areflex or learned behavior? Try and push yourway through a crowded line or area, notice howthe people will push back and lean into you andnot just move and make a path. Throw someonein a pool that cannot swim and watch their oppo-sition reflex NOT to sink kick in. Does that makehumans stupid, mean or stubborn, I think so(*smiles). Humans get defensive, they tightenand get stiff when resisting. We get aggressive; itis part of our primal instinct as a predator, whenin fear, frustrated or mad. You will see this inmany horse people that dont understand whatthey are doing. They get mad or scared and jerkthe reins or lead rope or hit or strike the horse.They tighten up their legs, arms, hands andbody. They fight with a horse. This emotionalresponse, which is hard to control or prevent,works in opposition to the horses instincts. Sothe human reacts like a human and the horsereacts like a horse and somehow the horse isalways blamed. Horses make us better, theymake us think, they make us control our instincts.They show us our flaws and weaknesses. Somepeople learn from this, grow and become better.Others blame the horse, mistreat the horse andtake it out on the horse. So the horse learns tomistrust and fear the human and that forces thehorse to go back to its sur vival instincts, which isexactly where you dont want it to go. Too manytimes I see people cause things they are tying to

Page 12 Horse n Around the Mountains

Opposition Reflex in HorsesInstinct Behavior - Herd ActionsThe Copying Effect - Pressure

Rick Gore Photo provided by Rick Gore

(Opposition Reflex Continued on Page 15)

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Horse n Around the Mountains has a distribution that far exceeds just Mohave County reaching well into other counties throughout the state of Arizona. See our distribution map on line at:

www.HorsenAroundTheMountains.com Were not just looking for advertisers but stories from our readers about their country experience

so send them in with or without pictures to [email protected]

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are the

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Distributing 12,500 Statewide

Horses Portraits WildlifeLandscape

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Victoria WassellARTIST


For more info 928-897-6555

Sacred Grounds Rescue Ranch

[email protected] 928-897-6555

Sacred Grounds Rescue Ranch is a 501 c3 nonprofit organization that takes in abused and neglected animals in hopes of rehabilitating them,

finding respectable owners and providing a sanctuary for those who are not adoptable. S P E C I A L F E A T U R E S

Big Outdoor Fundraiser Coming

July 23, 2011 also Bobby Joes Birthday!

Raffle! Live Auction! Eats and more!

Help Sacred Grounds Rescue Ranch Wikieup, Arizona

Save Abused & Neglected Horses

Raffle Tickets Raffle Tickets Raffle Tickets On Sale Now! On Sale Now! On Sale Now!

$1 Each or 6 for $5 $1 Each or 6 for $5 $1 Each or 6 for $5 or 150 tickets for $100 or 150 tickets for $100 or 150 tickets for $100 Win This Custom Made Win This Custom Made Win This Custom Made

Log Swing July 23rd Log Swing July 23rd Log Swing July 23rd

Checks to: Checks to: Checks to: Sacred Grounds Rescue Ranch Sacred Grounds Rescue Ranch Sacred Grounds Rescue Ranch P.O. Box 967 P.O. Box 967 P.O. Box 967 Wikieup, AZ 85360 Wikieup, AZ 85360 Wikieup, AZ 85360

Calling All Horse Lovers!!

Sponsors needed!

Western Week Schedule September 10th

Royalty Competition Horsemanship 8AM @ Graywood Stables

Luncheon 1PM@ Haulapai Mountain Medical Center

September 17th to 25th Western Week

Businesses are encouraged to decorate & dress western

September 21st Chili Feed, car show, concert, kids activities

6pm @ Martin Swanty Dodge

September 22nd Cow Plop

6PM @ Boot Barn Food and Fun! Buy your squares at Boot Barn Proceeds go to Tough Enough to Wear Pink

September 23rd 100 Club Celebration 6PM @ Old Elks Lodge

Tickets are available at Martin Swanty Dodge

September 24th Andy Devine Days Parade

10AM @ Historic Downtown Kingman

September 24th Andy Devine Days Rodeo

1PM @ Mohave County Fairgrounds

September 25th Andy Devine Days Rodeo

1PM @ Mohave County Fairgrounds

Come joinfeatured artist

Victory Wassell

September 2nd7 to 9 PM

at theBeale Street Brews

Art Gallery

Country CookinRecipes from Some of the Locals

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip IIRecipe provided by Tanja Jay Martin

This dip is amazing -- so cheesy and fragrant. If you don't like artichokes,don't worry -- you'll never know they're in there! My only question is: Is itokay to just eat it with a spoon right out of the dish?

Ingredients:1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened1/4 cup mayonnaise1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese1/4 cup grated Romano cheese1 clove garlic, peeled and minced1/2 teaspoon dried basil1/4 teaspoon garlic saltsalt and pepper to taste1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 2. Lightly grease a small baking dish.3. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, parmesan cheese,

Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper.4. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.5. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.6. Top with mozzarella cheese.7. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

* * *Fried Cream of Wheat

Recipe provided by Gabriele Walsh

Hmmmmmm yummy!!!!! Be careful.... it is quite addictive! This is yummyfor breakfast, brunch or even dinner. It needs to be prepared severalhours before finishing.

Ingredients:cream of wheatmilk (do not cook it with water)1 egg2 tbsp sugar2-3 eggs1-2 tbsp milk or creamplain bread crumbsbuttercinnamon sugarapple sauce or any cooked fruit (cold)

Directions:1. Cook according to the Cream of Wheat box but with milk, add egg and mix very well, so no

scrambled eggs will be in the milk.2. Add the sugar, use at least 2 servings + 1 tbsp cream of wheat (after 2 servings, always add

for each additional serving another tblsp of cream of wheat = 3 serv. + 2 tbsp and so on). 3. Grease a lasagne pan or deep cookie sheet and pour the cooked cream of wheat on and let

it set up for a few hours in the fridge. (Best when you cook it at night and use it in the morn-ing).

4. Mix the eggs and milk or cream very good in a shallow bowl, in a second bowl add thebread crumbs.

5. Cut the cream of wheat into squares. take each square and dunk it into the egg mixture andthen roll it in the bread crumbs.

6. Fry them in hot butter to a nice golden brown and crisp7. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve hot with cold fruit!

Photo provided byTanja Jay Martin

Photo provided byGabriele Walsh

Send your recipes [email protected]


Written by Andrea Smith

There is a Broadway show now play-ing in New York City that has captivatedaudiences. Not just for the incredibleproduction that was put together. Or theprecise detail that was given to the mak-ing of the massive puppet-like equinesthat move, bend and appear to be real. Itis the story of a horse...and many horseslike him that is compelling and heart -wrenching. If you cried at Old Yeller orBambi, then beware... this story willleave you not only crying, but it will tugat the very core of your being. It willleave you drained and weak at theknees. The story is of a young farm boy,

who lives in Britain, on a farm with hisfamily and his horse. It is WWI and theBritish need the horse to help fight thewar and they take him. The boy is leftheartbroken and misses his belovedhorse so much that he decides to join theBritish army even though he is only sev-enteen and lies about his age so he cansearch for his horse. The story is not justabout the boy and his horse. But it is astark reminder to all of us about the ten-million horses or so that died in warserving their countries. That is the equalamount of our US troops that died as wellin World War I. It is a tragedy of great andstaggering proportions! The differencebeing that the men that fought and thehorses that were shipped off to war, isthat none of the horses ever had achoice. And with fire in their bellies andthe spirit and nobility of human soldiersthey marched valiantly into harm's way.And before WWI, there were the otherwars where horses clashed with greatbig metal machines that rolled overthem or knocked them down and wereshot and stabbed and died a gruesomedeath on the battlefields of life along-side their human comrades. Like the bat-tle of the Little Big Horn, that was immor-talized in the Disney classic, "Tonka",where a galant horse was the only sur-vivor along with a his owner, a youngCalvary Lieutenant, other horses alsodied in battle serving this countrybefore tanks and Humvees. GreatBritain, has not forgotten the horse, orthe great contributions that it gave to thewar efforts of that country. It has amemorial for all horses of all wars thank-ing and honoring them for their militarycontributions. I don't know if the boy

finds his horseand goes ridingoff into the sunsethappily ever-after. I just knowthat because mil-lions of horsesdidn't make itback home, thesespecial veteransof war deserve tobe recognizedfor their valorand honor too.Maybe, peoplewho see the War Horse will be so movedby the show and the story and that otherpeople will learn of the plight of the WarHorse and the contribution it has madefor our country that we can build amemorial for them as well. You don'teven have to be a horse lover or own ahorse to show your gratitude to thesemarvelous crea-tures who foughton the battle-fields with novoice to beheard. Theirundying devo-tion has spokenfor them. I'msure that some-where along-side other fallensoldiers in anation that hasseen it's share ofwars we haveroom for onemore memorialfor one more

special type of military hero. !____________________

Andrea Smith is a freelance writer inMohave County and contributer toHorse n' Around The Mountains

She is the owner and Director of theTri-State Therapeutic Riding Facility in

Mohave Valley and Kingman.

Hoof BeatsIn Memory of the War Horse

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Animals in War - Memorial Bronze horse walking north on the grass mound located with-in the central reservation on Park Lane

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Many gallant steeds AND THEIR RIDERS died on the battle field at the Battle of Little Big Horn alsoknown as Custer's Last Stand.


The Last Chance Ranch Sanctuary is a home for special needs, abandoned, hurt and needy animals. Those animals that that have nowher e else to go that are truly down to their last chance. Now, here is their Chance It comes to these animals by way of a wonderful person named Annie Burson, founder of Last Chance Ranch Sanctuary . She is a Kingman resident who purchased 40 acres in 1996 because of her deep love for animals and has put all her efforts into creating a place for any animal who needs special attention, but especially those that were injured or ill and had nowhere else to go, on deaths door, discarded and unwanted. Once these animals are accepted there, they stay forever to live out their lives happy and healthy! It is not an animal shelter that temporarily hous es animals until they are reclaimed or euthanized, nor do they work like other groups that rescue, f oster, and place animals they know there are groups and humane societies that do an excellent job with that. They accept only those animals w here all other options have been exhausted. Once an animal is accepted into the program, he or she i s a resident for life. What do they get? Love, care, and hope. Some of the residents are the cats with no eyes, Radar and Cloe or Puddn with a broken jaw. The horses Ebony and Ivory that could barely walk due to severe dehydration, sta rvation and years of abuse. Pathos only weighed 360 pounds at nearly 3 years of age. He was covered from head to toe with lice, and had open sores from dehydration, was anemic and neglected from the get-go. His excrement looked like it was filled with sand. The dog Milo who was so severely beaten and used as a bait dog for fights that his leg had to be amputated. Carin g for these animals is Annies only passion. The best way to be able to provide adequately for the a nimals (food, medical care, habitats) was to become an ongoing and eventually self-sustainable operation, and be able to accept tax-deduct ible donations. Annie pulled together a small group of dedicated volunteers and began the process of association and qualifying for nonprofit charity status, which was successfully completed in April 2009.

They are truly the last chance for these animals, and so the Last Chance Ranch Sanctuary WANTS YOU!!!

In order to continue their quest in providing the optimal care possible for these animals the Sanctu ary needs to build additional habitats, corrals and housing. Right now their goal is to stock up on food, supplies, and bedding. If you have these items to donate , please contact Annie at (928) 692-3209 to arrange delivery. If you prefer to purchase these items on their behalf, please contact Stockton Hill Feed, attention Nancy Jones, (928) 757-4125 , and she will be happy to help you. If you want to help with the veterinary bills you can donate directly to their vet, please contact Cerbat Cliffs Animal Hospital (928) 757- 8855 and indicate that your donation is on behalf of the Last Chance Ranch Sanctuary . Donations are the only way they can stay in operation. The animals are counting on them, can the y count on you. Any and all contributions are greatly appreciated and are tax deductible. Volunteering is another way to reach out and help and does not have to mean a large time commitment. There are m any ways to help, like animal care tasks, cleaning stalls and feeding animals . They need people to help with outreach activities like events and fundraisers, clerical tasks, and data/website/social media activities. What they hope to accomplish in the future is: To be able to accept more animals, provide additional services such as more extensive rehabilitatio n options, provide training for people living with a disabled animal, hire staff to provide round-the-clock care, and develop their volunteer program. Thank You!

Coming October 1 st Last Chance Ranch Sanctuaries fundraiser Coming October 1 st Last Chance Ranch Sanctuaries fundraiser Coming October 1 st Last Chance Ranch Sanctuaries fundraiser Battle of The Bands, being held at Battle of The Bands, being held at Battle of The Bands, being held at

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www.lastchanceranchsanctuary.org www.lastchanceranchsanctuary.org www.lastchanceranchsanctuary.org

prevent since they don't understand and thehorse always pays.

Recognizing things that cause this reflexaction will help you control your actions so youcan prevent this reflex. Pulling on a horse to trail-er load, pulling on a new born horse trying tolead it, pulling on the bit when a horse is scared,kicking a horse when it won't move, pushing ona horse when they is standing on your foot, allthese things promote this reflex action. Steady,consistent, controlled, rhythmic and progressivepressure helps teach a horse and helps a horseto understand what you want. Hard, fast, aggres-sive, pain, reactive, ambushing pressure causesthis reflex, which to the unknowing, appears thatthe horse is resisting, fighting or being stub-born. This is all wrong, but for most humans,being wrong means blaming the horse.

Moving through, running through, jumpingpast, fast strong reactions is how Mother Naturetells a horse to break away from predator to sur-vive. Without this reflex the horse would just giveup and not fight to get free and they wouldbecome easy prey and their numbers woulddecrease and their species would not last long. Itis unfortunate that people cant or dont see this.Horses have survived for centuries using theirfear and Opposition Reflex. They have beendoing the opposite of what Predators want themto do for a very long time and it has served themwell. Most think that just because a horse is socalled domesticated, that all other instinctssuddenly and magically disappear. This is whymost people (85%) that get into horses tend toget out of horses within the first year. This can becontributed to lots of things like fear, injury, con-fusion, frustration and all of these are commonlycaused by Lack of Understanding of the horse.

When a predator wants its prey to go left,the preys reflex tells it to go right - natural oppo-sition, survival, instincts and opposition reflexhelps the horse survive. The prey is not bad orwrong; it probably is not even thinking about it,it is DNA taking over. It is Mother Natures way ofsaving the prey from the predator. After peoplehave these basic understandings they can begin

to see that there are no bad horses or meanhorses or stubborn horses, there is only a misun-derstanding and disconnect between prey ani-mals and predators. In the world of horseman-ship - there are no absolute rules only guidingideas and principles. Every question in horse-manship can be answered with It depends.And that normally depends on how much under-standing the human has.

Horses tend to seek out leaders. They willlead in the absence of a leader to survive, butinstincts tell them to follow the strong. Horsestend to interact in many ways, such as rhythmicpressure, steady pressure, rhythmic motion, fluidand flowing movements. This is what we call feeland timing. For a horse to accept you, you mustlearn to control and use these forces in harmony.This calm behavior by you will give your horsecomfort and security. If you watch flocks of birdsor schools of fish move, they seem to flow, move,bend and become one. Horses do this as well,but it is easiest to see when the herd is in flightor fear mode. Horses will gather up, get tight,become one group as if they feel each othersenergy and can predict each others movements.This is instinctual behavior for a horse, much likefish and birds, does not have to be taught.Humans must work hard to learn this and thenmust practice it and use it often, in order tobecome skillful. Over time it will become sub-conscious behavior for the human and it will nothave to be thought about before it is done. (Seemy article on The Horse Learning Model. This iswhen you will see good horsemanship). This iswhen horses become comfortable with you.Other humans may call you a horse whisperer orsee some magical secret you possess. This willnot happen overnight and if it is not used contin-uously, it will fade away and the horse will know.

Feel is something that humans have tolearn. We may know how to feel like predatorsbut we dont know how to feel like prey. Ouraggressive predator instincts make us want tograb, jerk and make fast sudden hand move-ments. We are a dominant species so we domi-nate. Asking gentle is no

july/august horsenaround

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