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The official newsletter of Horses for Clean Water, http://www.horsesforcleanwater.com
Newsflash!The 2004 back issues of The Green Horse are available to buy as Adobe Acrobat PDFs for just $3.97 each. Help HCW programs by purchasing these information-packed newsletters! Just go to The Green Horse page and use the easy Add to Cart buttons and our payment system through PayPal. We will e-mail you the PDF within a day or so of your purchase! You will no longer find the online versions of these newsletters.
Message from Alayne: Vegas, Baby!“It’s Vegas, Baby! Vegas!” the excited voice of my friend, Christie, chirped in my cell phone as she read the highway sign “Las Vegas—20 miles.” Christie and other reining buddies were caravanning just ahead of us. My friend Sheri and I had driven nearly 1,300 miles, 25 hours from my house in Maple Valley, WA, in route to Las Vegas, Nevada. We were hauling 3 horses plus all the related show, horse and personal paraphernalia we’d need to compete in the Western States Affiliate Finals. We dealt with several bad tires, September temperatures in the upper 90’s, road construction, traffic, check engine lights, and several other (thankfully!) minor events. And now we were almost there. Sheri and I each qualified in the Rookie Affiliate Finals. To have made it to this point is quite an honor. It means you are one of the top six riders in your category from your region. I ride with so many excellent and competitive riders that I am humbled by this thought, as this is a very difficult and challenging accomplishment. At this show the top riders in the Western Region compete; from here the top 4 riders go on to compete in the National Finals in Oklahoma City.
For nearly 10 years I have been competing in reining, experiencing setbacks and discouragements common to competitors in many fields. Not having the right horse for the job, equine injuries, finding the right trainer, learning the sport and the ropes, having the right equipment... the list goes on and on. Since 2002 I have been truly committed to becoming competitive as well as to qualifying in the Rookie class. In 2004 I did just that with Pepper, only to have her contract a deadly disease that nearly claimed her life, leaving her frail, weak, and disfigured. At the time we questioned whether she’d be able to ever walk again much less carry a rider—or compete as a high-caliber athlete. But Pepper has a big heart and two years later she was back to again qualify with me for the Rookie Affiliate Finals. Interested in more details on Pepper’s story? See Message from Alayne: Victory Lap. I was also bringing Bob, my 6-year-old derby horse, to ride in several of the classes at this show including the big money Non-pro Derby. Bob is my up-and-coming reiner that I bought as a prospect when Pepper got sick, never expecting the good fortune of ending up with two great horses to show. Following Christie’s cell phone directions, we turned off the highway. To say the facility, the South Coast Casino and Equestrian Center, was huge and incredible would be an understatement. Ahead of us loomed a giant, 25-floor hotel and casino, full of Las Vegas glitz and glamour. Christie’s cell phone advice guided us directly into a giant (air-conditioned!) loading/unloading bay that easily held 10 truck/trailer rigs. Workers hustled to greet us and assist with unloading horses and equipment. The horse facility was all under one roof—hundreds of stalls, the show coliseum, a warm-up arena, copious wash racks. And true to Vegas style—everything was air-conditioned! Wow!
Soon we discovered beautiful swimming pools, a gorgeous spa, a long list of fancy restaurants, movie theaters and of course the proverbial casino with 24-hour never-ending gambling. Amazing to have all of this in the same building as our horses! Showing in the coliseum was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating. It was quite an experience to hear the announcer call out my name and then to walk into that vast show arena one step at a time, concentrating on keeping my horse’s attention focused on me while making the butterflies in my stomach fly in formation. It felt like I was taking a test I had studied years for. Now I was ready to take that test and see how well prepared my horses and I really were. The results? How did I do? In a show where I was “rubbing elbows” (almost literally in the warm-up arena) with some of the biggest names in the industry and in an arena with 3 judges and the biggest crowd I’ve shown to, I was very proud of my two horses and my training program. They were very obedient, honest and tried hard to do exactly what I asked of them—to run as fast and hard as we ever had. Years of hard work and courage paid off; Pepper and I won the Rookie Prime Time and placed 5th in the Rookie Affiliate Finals (one place away from making it to the Finals!) Bob placed 3rd in two other classes, including the Limited Open with my trainer, Inger. What a victory lap! I was thrilled. It was Vegas, Baby! A dream of a lifetime. Alayne What horsey things did you do with your summer? Share your horse stories with Alayne and TGH staff. Horses for Clean Water Debuts a New Sponsorship Program
Would you like to help HCW keep bringing the high quality, free, electronic newsletter to your mailbox each month? Are you interested in being an HCW Sponsor? Then check out our new HCW Sponsorship Program. Different levels of sponsorship offer a variety of benefits including:
And more! Be a part of helping Horses For Clean Water to continue to be a high-quality resource for horse owners. Click here for more details. New Tip Sheet Available: Fall in PlaceBuy the Fall In Place Tip Sheet NOW! And don’t forget, we also finished the Tip Sheet titled Natural Solutions for Fertilizers, Weed Control and Pest Control. Both are available for purchase right away for just $4.97 each! Visit the Materials For Sale section of the web site and order yours today. The Acrobat PDF will be delivered to your e-mail inbox usually within 24 hours of purchase; please allow up to a week just in case we are unable to send it when your order is placed or if there are technical difficulties. Clean Water: What’s Your Contribution?by April LaLande
Here’s a short quiz you can take to assess your knowledge of drinking water (you’ll find the answers at the end of the article). Feel free to use these questions to stump your beer-drinking horse buddies!
As responsible horse owners trying to protect the environment, our “to do” list can sometimes seem overwhelming. You pick up manure every day, you’ve installed gutters and downspouts so that water is directed away from manure piles and confinement areas, you have a winter sacrifice area for your horses and, oh yeah, in your spare time, you have every intention of getting those compost bins covered before the winter rain begins to fall. Good grief, is all this enough to keep our streams, lakes and oceans clean, and our water safe to drink? With all the work we have to do to keep our water clean, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of why it is so important. We can turn on our faucets, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and get clean, safe water in an unlimited supply. We don’t often realize how lucky we are in this country and how other people in the world can only dream of such a luxury. Many other countries have to get water by catching rain in cisterns or they may have to walk long distances to collect water from rivers and streams that are often times contaminated. They may only have water running through their pipes a few days each week, like some large cities in China. In 1975, the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act was passed to ensure that our water would be free of disease-causing pollutants, viruses, bacteria and harmful minerals. Today it is very rare to hear of people getting sick from water in the United States. It’s hard to believe that in the early 1900’ s one in three deaths was caused by diseases such as typhoid, cholera and dysentery as a result of drinking contaminated water! Interestingly, people in this country often get sick when traveling to other parts of the world, having not built up sufficient immunities to certain common bacteria because our water is so clean!
Today each state works with water utilities to certify and educate operators and to comply with our safe drinking water standards. In Washington we are currently testing for a minimum of 84 different types of water contaminants. Sadly, this number will probably be on the rise as new problems crop up. Someday soon we may be testing our water systems for very specific contaminants such as human hormone residuals, pharmaceuticals and new man-made chemicals. In a class I recently attended (Advanced Wellhead and Aquifer Protection, put on by Evergreen Rural Water of Washington), the question was asked, “How many of you flush your unused prescription drugs down the toilet?” Every hand went up except two. After all this is what doctors, nurses, parents, and caregivers are taught to do with unused prescriptions. It never occurred to us that these prescriptions might end up in our water. Today universities are looking into the correlation of low fertility rates and hormone levels in drinking water. For more information on this subject, visit: CMU chemists target sex hormones in water supplies. Also see Microbes in Manure Can Minimize Potential Pharmaceutical Pollution for interesting research on this subject, and yet another good reason to compost! These lessons just reinforce the fact that our everyday actions do affect water quality. The better we understand where our water comes from and just how precious a resource water is, the likelier we are to take actions to protect it. So the next time the “to do” list on your horse property seems a mile long, just remember that everything you do—whether it’s picking up manure or creating a sacrifice area—is making a difference! Quiz Correct Answers:
Source documents:(1) Washington State Department of Health Publications and Recommended References (2) The Water Cycle article by USGS Tip of the Month: Gravel Footing
Gravel, or crushed rock, is another good footing choice to consider. Gravel is especially useful in the highest traffic areas such as in front of stalls, gates and watering points. It won’t break down like hogfuel does and it drains well. Gravel is roughly two to three times as expensive as hogfuel, but done correctly you shouldn’t have to replace it every year. You can usually purchase crushed rock in two ways—minus or washed. Getting gravel with the minus in it means that you are getting the fines and small pieces. Washed means that all the fines have been washed out and the gravel is of one size. Therefore, if you get 5/8 inch minus crushed rock, that means you are getting rock sized anyplace from 5/8 of an inch big in diameter all the way down to sand-sized pieces. If you get 5/8 inch washed, then the material would all be 5/8 inch particles and there should be no fines. Make sure you are home when your gravel is delivered so you can check to see that it is the size, type and quantity you ordered! Trail Safety During Hunting Season
Hunting season has arrived, which means it’s time to review fall trail riding safety. In many parts of the country, if you live in a rural area or trail ride in rural areas it is extremely important that you are aware of hunting season safety points. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Check out stores and web sites which sell blaze orange products for horses and riders. Protectavest by Mac Mountain Tack Repair Check out the web site for your state’s department of fish and wildlife for a listing of hunting seasons. In Washington State visit Department of Fish and Wildlife Summary of General Hunting Season Dates. Educational EventsMeet HCW Staff at these upcoming events this fall. Visit the Educational Events page for more detailed class descriptions.
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If you have any questions or would like to submit an article for publication in The Green Horse, please e-mail info@horsesforcleanwater.com. |
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