Horse help and ant attacks in the garden

Oh, we have been too busy here on the ranch.  Too busy for internet.  The colt is doing well, almost two years old now and over 16 hands.  So much for short, easy to get on foundation Morgans.  Not.  At least not him.  Horse farming equipment has been donated and when we get more harness we can start training everybody how to plow and cultivate or at least plow once and add compost, Azomite mineral supplement and mulch since some web sites now say plowing is unnecessary.  They have not seen the native soil in this area which is rock hard and makes huge clumps when you break it up with a grubbing hoe- similar to an ax.  

    Not much other news at this time.  The colt went potty enough in one corner of the yard in a year that the earth beneath softened up enough for successful planting of corn, squash, beans, canteloupe and watermelon.  Then the red ants, a native Texas ant, came in and carted off some of the seeds and parts of the plants.  The fire ants came in an finished off the last squash plant even though I broke down and used Amdro on the fire ants.  The ants died, but not before they had sucked all the life out of my pretty squash plant.  Oh well, back to the drawing board.  The colt tried to help by watching and playing with the water hose.  Like some kitties and dogs, he wants to be in the middle of everything.  

   Have a great week!!

Merry Christmas!

The horses at American Equine Research Institute who say animals have thoughts, too, wish everyone on earth a Merry Christmas and all animals on earth a Merry Christmas.  And a Happy New Year, too.

Happy Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

     An attitude of gratitude pulls in good things to you and others.  It starts with forgiveness, which is sometimes hard to achieve. 

    Here in Texas it is a bright, sunny, cool day, sweater weather.  All the animals are happy and playful.  The Morgan colt has grown to 15 hands 3 1/2 inches already and is begging for training and attention.  He is figuring out all kinds of new tricks on his own, like teasing dogs and sneaking his head into the hay enclosure.  He is very smart.

    Since the President won the election, we had all better be thinking about raising our own food with our horses, teaching them how to plow and cultivate, growing healing herbs and learning about them.  Did you know that people age 70 and up are already being denied diabetes care, dialysis for failing kidneys, and no treatment for aneurysms if they are bleeding to death?  In 2014, people 70 and up will only be allowed painkillers even if they are in a car wreck. I heard this from a doctor's son whose father says he will quit practicing medicine in 2014 if Obamacare is put into place at this time.  It is in the elderly of our culture that our true history is still recorded, knowledge of making things and raising plants and animals, home health care and remedies.  When a culture destroys its elderly, it destroys the knowledge bearers.  All of us will have to help each other and our animals now.  It is up to each of us to protect and care for each other and the earth. 

     Blessings on this holiday of thanks.  You might want to make a list of ten things for which you are thankful.  When  you feel down, take out the list and look at it or do a new list.

new black colt

Hello again.

We took in a lovely black Morgan colt five months old.  He is growing nicely with Azomite and coconut oil added to his feed.  He is about a year old now and does not yet understand why he is with us.  Once we find a new safe location, perhaps the research work I have been doing since 1992 proving the high intelligence of horses can continue.  Blessings to all who love horses and other animals.

Goodbye, T

About four years ago a 26 year old black Arabian racing sire was donated to AERI (American Equine Research Institute) and the little mission church. He had been chewed up badly by fighting pit bull dogs two owners back. It took us about ten months to get some decent weight on him with Equine Sr., Focus for Weight Gain seaweed extract, corn oil, wheat germ oil, and all the supplements we research dietitians can think of to give a stressed horse. With alfalfa and good coastal hay, in ten months T (we didn't pick that name) was filled out with good muscle structure and no longer dragged his left hind leg behind him when he walked. He had been dragging his left hind leg because it had been so badly chewed up by pit bulls two or three years before he was donated to us. His bloodlines were similar to our lead stallion Sable Shadow but even better.

A couple of years ago during a one year period he had three seizures where he was down and could not get up without help. These lasted an hour or less and were relieved by flipping him to his other side with straps and encouraging him to get up, then taking him for a leisurely fifteen to twenty minute walk. These were about five to six months apart. For two years he was seizure-free. Then about a week ago he fell down in his stall and appeared to be paralyzed in his tail. One vet said he was so old, just make him comfortable. We had to tear down one wall of his stall to flip him over this time, but within minutes of being flipped up on his chest he was trying to get up. We tried a second vet we use who gave us bute oral paste which had him up and going all over his paddock within eighteen hours. He regained the use of his tail and was defecating normally. Throughout all this he ate his alfalfa, his Equine Sr. grain and drank plenty of water. However, this past Sunday he went down again and then began having symptoms of labored breathing (indicative of pneumonia onset). I went to a neighbor to get help from him with a tractor and lift, but after flipping him which gave him normal breathing for ten minutes, he resumed labored breathing and then shallow breathing, closed his eyes and that was it. After showing the first symptoms of possible pneumonia, within thirty minutes, T had passed to the other side. Our neighbor with the tractor showed up a half hour later, but I don't think it would have helped. T had been our hope for establishing a small herd of communicating horses. Mares without the help of a stallion to link do not seem able to link up with other animal species and communicate very well. However, the donation of a good bloodline stallion I see as a beginning of restoration of this research. This form of communication only seems to occur effectively in natural family groups.

Other areas of our research were our attempt to establish an equine therapy center for people with back, neck and milder head injuries. We had planned to mostly use Arabian and Morgan type horses to help people regain the use of their bodies. We also had an Appaloosa therapy riding horse mare which the neighbors at the center that was repeatedly vandalized ended up with. Her name was Biscuit. She was a red blanket Appaloosa that gave a very smooth ride.

March 29, 2012 update on research

Hello, looks like it has been a while since we added to this blog. Our research center had to be abandoned six years ago due to hate crimes and vandalism against everyone on the land. Where the remaining horses involved in the original research are living now is not conducive to continuing the research. We are still hoping for a location that is horse-friendly with better security than the last place. Within a year of being poisoned with phenol, arsenic, lead and mercury, three out of six of the research church mission ranch dogs had died of cancer. Phenol, which is now used to embalm bodies instead of formaldehyde, is also a cancer-causer. Our youngest dog, a cute little chihuahua named Sandy, who was poisoned by the neighbors with this at six to eight weeks of age in her drinking water, now has three cancer tumors on her. She is only five and a half years old. We had cancer surgery on our six year old fawn Doberman Thunder, but she died of internal hemorrhaging six weeks after the succesful cancer surgery. We still owe the vet clinic $65 plus interest for cancer tests. We have decided not to put Sandy through cancer surgery since the other dog died within weeks of surgery. Our kitty cats continue to have problems from the poison and have died within weeks of spay-neuter surgeries. It has been six years since these crimes happened and the perpetrators still walk free.

farming and ranching in righteousness

We think the Yavashuan Christian blog on farming and ranching in righteousness is fairly interesting. They believe in taking good care of animals and the earth. Enjoy!