Here is some information I was given this afternoon from the National Celebration website. Click here for the article.
"Paid attendance on Saturday was 23,829 while actual attendance was 22,156. The Celebration posted a paid attendance of 216,253 for the ten-night event."
The reason why this is interesting is because it points out that the paid figure is not a body count. For most of the week, the Celebration were sevearl thousand people below their paid attendance amount. Figures in the past have ranged from 27,000 to 35,000. Less attendance means a lot of things, but mostly it means that the industry is continuing to not do as well as it has in the past.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
NEWS - It's All About the Money
Click here for the article detailing how Senator Mitch McConnell has continued to threaten the USDA and urge self-inspections at TWH shows. From the article:
"McConnell backed the industry's demand for its own inspectors — paid by the industry, drawn from the ranks of horse owners and trainers — to have a greater role in soring inspections, rather than the independent USDA veterinarians who uncover and report soring more frequently.
"At the same time, the industry gave McConnell tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations and hired his Senate chief of staff, Niels Holch, as its Washington lobbyist and attorney."
Ladies and gentlemen: SOLID PROOF that it's all about the money.
"McConnell backed the industry's demand for its own inspectors — paid by the industry, drawn from the ranks of horse owners and trainers — to have a greater role in soring inspections, rather than the independent USDA veterinarians who uncover and report soring more frequently.
"At the same time, the industry gave McConnell tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations and hired his Senate chief of staff, Niels Holch, as its Washington lobbyist and attorney."
Ladies and gentlemen: SOLID PROOF that it's all about the money.
NEWS - Gary Oliver Freely Admits that Chemicals on a Horse is the Norm
Click here for the article about how Gary Oliver intentially put chemicals on a man's horse to "train" it and the colt ended up having to be euthanized. In the article, Gary Oliver freely admits that soring is the norm.
He testified that he regularly put kerosene and motor oil, mixed with sulfur and alum, on Martin's horse and all of his own horses' feet. All are illegal, considered methods of soring. "That's what any normal trainer would have done if they're going to put chains on a horse," Oliver testified.
The most shocking part: "'I felt real bad this horse got hurt while we were down there,' Oliver testified. 'I treated this man's horse just like I would treat my own horse.'" So that means that all your horses are suffering just as badly as this horse was.
Be sure to watch the video of the testimonies. The lawyer asks Oliver what he used on the horse, and he says what he used (the mix of new motor oil, sulphur, kerosene, and alum). He says it's called "working grease" and everyone uses it--it's to protect the horses' legs. Of course, I question how do caustic substances like kerosene and motor oil protect a horse's legs when they are known to burn skin? The lawyer says that none of those are allowed substances under the HPA; the only allowed substances are mineral oil, glycerin and petrolatum. Oliver has no answer for that. Then the lawyer points out how he used his working grease at the sale that he took the colt to. Now, the law says the show or sale management must provide the grease for the people at the show/sale. Oliver says this, and he says that the sale management didn't have any, so he used his own grease, which at this point is determined to be illegal grease and is illegal on show grounds. This means sale management wasn't even bothering to have the correct grease onsite! See how this industry continues to allow this to happen? It's all right here.
AMAZING. This is amazing to me. "ANY NORMAL TRAINER." Folks, if that's not proof that soring is still rampant, I don't know what is.
So, vetman, what do you have to say now?
He testified that he regularly put kerosene and motor oil, mixed with sulfur and alum, on Martin's horse and all of his own horses' feet. All are illegal, considered methods of soring. "That's what any normal trainer would have done if they're going to put chains on a horse," Oliver testified.
The most shocking part: "'I felt real bad this horse got hurt while we were down there,' Oliver testified. 'I treated this man's horse just like I would treat my own horse.'" So that means that all your horses are suffering just as badly as this horse was.
Be sure to watch the video of the testimonies. The lawyer asks Oliver what he used on the horse, and he says what he used (the mix of new motor oil, sulphur, kerosene, and alum). He says it's called "working grease" and everyone uses it--it's to protect the horses' legs. Of course, I question how do caustic substances like kerosene and motor oil protect a horse's legs when they are known to burn skin? The lawyer says that none of those are allowed substances under the HPA; the only allowed substances are mineral oil, glycerin and petrolatum. Oliver has no answer for that. Then the lawyer points out how he used his working grease at the sale that he took the colt to. Now, the law says the show or sale management must provide the grease for the people at the show/sale. Oliver says this, and he says that the sale management didn't have any, so he used his own grease, which at this point is determined to be illegal grease and is illegal on show grounds. This means sale management wasn't even bothering to have the correct grease onsite! See how this industry continues to allow this to happen? It's all right here.
AMAZING. This is amazing to me. "ANY NORMAL TRAINER." Folks, if that's not proof that soring is still rampant, I don't know what is.
So, vetman, what do you have to say now?
NEWS - Industry says it is addressing issues
Here we go--the first of many new articles that are out since the Celebration finished. This is a good one--points out the important statistics that the sore horse industry continues to ignore and tells us what went on during the inspections. I know some people have started cleaning up their act, but we know it's not all.
Click here for the article from the Kentucky Herald.
Click here for the article from the Kentucky Herald.
THOUGHTS - vetman's comments: Oh boy! Ammunition!
Someone claiming to be vetman made a comment on my last two posts. Hello, vetman. Oooooo, you've given me ammunition! Let's have some fun, shall we???? All of vetman's quotes are as written.
"I am saddeneded at your lack of truthfulness and use of 1/2 truths and one-sided commentary to push your anti padded agenda.,"
What are half-truths? Either something is true or it's not. Plus, one-sided commentary is what a blog is. If people want to find HARD, CONCRETE evidence that soring no longer exists, not just someone on the sidelines saying nah, we’re 98% compliant, they can go look for it. Problem is they won't find it. Believe me, I didn’t want to believe that these horses are being abused. I wanted to believe the lies. But after witnessing it first hand and from the hard evidence that is out there, including the formerly sore mare in my backyard who can hardly walk from the abuse she endured, I find that it’s absolutely true that these horses are still sore.
"For example. your comment about NYPD getting a scar rule in 2006. The thing you didnt mention is the ticket being thrown out of court due to lack of evidence."
Well, since no one bothered to make that information public, how was I supposed to know? Please, please, PLEASE find me the court ruling on this and I will believe you. I hear these kinds of stories all the time, but when I ask for the text of the judge’s ruling, wow, no one knows where it is!
Plus, do you know NYPD personally, did you see his legs that day? And are you a trained DQP? Who are you to judge whether he was sound or not?
"you see, the USDA likes to make up"scar rules infractions" when they cannot get a ticket on a horse for anything else. TYhery call a scar anything that MIGHT imply some form of soring. Whether it be some thin hair, dandruff in the hair, etc, etc."
You know, this scar rule crap has got me riled. THE SCAR RULE IS NOT THE ONLY WAY TO DETERMINE IF A HORSE IS SORE OR NOT. It is so stupid how the sore horse industry continues to use this as an excuse for their horse being sore or not. If the horse has granulations indicative of a scar and abnormal waves in the skin, then it has been sored. Don't give me the crap that all TWHs have these waves--EVERY SOUND TWH I KNOW INCLUDING THE ONES IN MY BACKYARD DOES NOT HAVE THESE WAVES. Or the garbage of how young horses in the field all have this pattern, or that it's because of the hard work these horses go through because they are "athletes." BULLSHIT. Take a look at the USDA presentation to the public about how horses in all other fields that wear things on their legs DO NOT show this wavy pattern. It is only in the TWH, and only in the horses on pads that wear chains. THIS IS A PROBLEM.
"Also the numbers were rght in line with where they should be. There is ALWAYS more entered than what usually enters the ring in EVERY CLASS."
I agree that there are always a lot more horses in class than what place. But the TWH show industry gives ribbons up to 10th place, so if there were only 5 places tied, then there were only 5 horses in the class. I think I know simple math.
"Thje USDa beefed up their harassment this year...No doubt. They were pilfering thru tack oxes, pulling trailers over on the highways, etc. The funny thing is the compliancy rate is very near where it has been everyyear before."
Harassment? How is it harassment when the Celebration officials said it was okay for them to search the show grounds for evidence? When the Celebration released that big giant list of things they said will be enforced this year? And how do you know this, since the numbers haven’t been released yet? It sounds like you weren't there, since you were online looking for videos of Santana's El Nino. So I assume you heard this through the grapevine.
As to the searching procedures, REALLY? Do you have some video evidence of this, or did you get this hearsay?
This is my thing, people. I hear TONS AND TONS AND TONS of people continuing to say that the USDA is going through people’s tack boxes, pilfering through this and that, YET NO ONE CAN GIVE US FIRM EVIDENCE OF THIS. No videos, NOTHING. Besides, NO CHEMICALS ARE ALLOWED ON THE SHOW GROUNDS, PERIOD. This is in the rule books and the HPA. What the hell? If they find you have tons of lydocaine (SP) in your tack box or green stuff on your horse’s pasterns, then guess what? You’re using something that’s not allowed per HPA law, and you will get ticketed. Simple as that!
BTW, don’t tell me that Kopertox and other green substances are used as lubricants when it says on the bottle NOT to get the stuff on a horse’s skin or it will cause hair loss. When hair loss is indicative of soring, why would you use Kopertox as a lubricant??? Plus, I just used that shit on my horse who is thrushy because we’ve had a ton of rain out here, and I got it all over my legs (I’m a klutz, what can I say). That shit is STICKY. Why would it be used as a lubricant when it’s sticky?????
Then there’s the claim of using their fingernails and pushing them into the horse’s pasterns for 2 to 3 minutes to get a response. I tried this myself—I pushed my fingernail into my horse’s skin, who is not sore, and he never flinched. I pushed as hard as I could with my thumb to get him to flinch, and he didn’t. Hmmmmmm....
"The dirty little secret the USDa wont tell is that this industry is, for the most part, clean and sound."
WHAT???? Then why it is all over the TWH chat boards that horses were being pulled from their stalls at the show grounds (which is allowed per the HPA and show rules) and found to have plastic wrap, chemicals, and all kinds of evidence indicative of soring? Why did Scott Benham get ticketed for his horses? That doesn’t sound clean and sound to me.
"Their bloated budget has been on the chopping block for 2 years now ever since their sniffer machine was proven to be a dismal failure when all it proved was 99% of the horses are chemical free."
Um, no. Let's take a look at the 2007 statistics that were gathered, shall we? Let's see: of 353 horses tested at 14 different events, 175 were found positive for foreign chemicals. That's 49.5%! WOW, that's a lot more than only 1% of the horses having chemicals! In 2005 at the Kentucky Celebration, 25 horses were randomly selected to use the sniffer on. ALL 25 HORSES WERE FOUND TO HAVE CHEMICALS. The sniffer just isn’t being used as heavily anymore because now the “trainers” have switched to pressure shoeing because it’s harder to detect.
"They have to try and jsutify their $500,000 dollar a year budget. And they are creating hype and tickets to make them seem worth their pay.“yet, they failed again."
Justify? No they don’t. $500,000 is not nearly enough for them to get to all the shows they need to get to. They are spending money on research and development, so they can continue to give all the bad guys a "chance" to clean this up (which of course none of them deserve). Just go to the USDA APHIS website and see where the money is going. Besides, the HPA was supposed to get a $2 million budget when the anti-slaughter bill passed. Why hasn’t that money been handed down? If the gov’t were really trying to sabotage what you call a “clean” industry, then wouldn’t the money be there to do it?
"All these changes proves just what the USDA didnt want them to prove. th hroses are overwhelmingly sound. They rarely can get a horse for being sensitive and have to resort to falisfying or stretching the "scar" rule guidelines to get a ticket to make it seem some horse sarent compliant."
OH WHATEVER. See my above comments on this garbage. I again ask: why were horses found sore in the barns if it's so compliant?
"The truth is most scar rules violations come after the class when the horse was re-checked. jsut like a man who works with his hands strenuosly for a period of time, he wil develop some raised, thickened skin from repeated , repetitivit actions.these "scars" the USDA like to write ticjets on are nothing more than thickened skin, just like a callous or rough skin you get on your hands from a few minutes of slingong horse manure with a pitch fork while cleaning a stall."
Well, guess what, kiddies, ANY KIND OF CHANGE IN THE SKIN IS CONSIDERED A SCAR PER THE SCAR RULE. So if that's happening, then obviously something is wrong. Um, I don't know about any of you, but I don't get a callous or rough skin from scooping manure after just a few minutes. If I did, something would seriously be wrong.
"Tjhe sad part is, most people, like yourself and the followers of your blogs, are so ignorant and gullible about this industry that you believe anything you are told and take it as gospel.Likek the pics you have posted that show abuse..WHERE IS THE ABUSE??"
I can go on and on with that one. For detailed information on those photos, click here.
"One of the horses you say is being abused has protective sticking on it;s feet to keep its hair and skin in good shape, and has lubricant grease and kopertox to help keep anything from starting that the USDA could fabricate as being a scar."
See above my comments on Kopertox: WHY WOULD YOU USE THIS AS A LUBRICANT WHEN IT CAUSES HAIR LOSS PER THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BOTTLE? Click here for the label for Kopertox. If it doesn't work, click here then scroll down to Manufacturer/Label Information.
"Yo folks realy need to get out and do some persoanl, realy life, research and quit being a mouthpiece for some ignorant, demonizing anti padded horse website that likes to use pics from 20 years ago and fool people with lies and innuendoes. "
The pictures were taken in 2002. Can't you read? Oh wait, you can't spell, so how could you possibly know how to read? Also, please guide me in this real-life research you talk about. I can't find any solid evidence that horses AREN'T being sored, just hearsay and the usual crap that you're spewing out. If someone can provide it, please do so! And don't quote me that 1982 study done on the whether or not pads hurt horses. That study was bought and paid for by the sore horse industry when horses were going around the ring with their legs BLEEDING, and it hasn't been repeated since. Plus, the study showed a higher incidence of thrush and laminitis in TWHs than any other breed. Gee, do ya think that's a problem?
Now, vetman, please, please, PLEASE answer me this question. I pose this of every person who tells me the same crap you're saying, yet no one has so far bothered to answer it. Let me challenge you to do so. You will probably agree that the TWH industry is 98% compliant since you think horses are 99% chemical free, etc. I ask you this: Why not 100% compliant? Why can't the industry be 100% compliant like all other sound horse venues are? I'm sure I can answer why, but really it's not that hard to figure out: MONEY. Why change what works to continue to put money in their pockets?
Good luck trying to convince those of us who know the truth and giving us crap about this. And I am sorry if you do believe the industry is sound. I also am sorry if you truly are a vet because you can't spell.
"I am saddeneded at your lack of truthfulness and use of 1/2 truths and one-sided commentary to push your anti padded agenda.,"
What are half-truths? Either something is true or it's not. Plus, one-sided commentary is what a blog is. If people want to find HARD, CONCRETE evidence that soring no longer exists, not just someone on the sidelines saying nah, we’re 98% compliant, they can go look for it. Problem is they won't find it. Believe me, I didn’t want to believe that these horses are being abused. I wanted to believe the lies. But after witnessing it first hand and from the hard evidence that is out there, including the formerly sore mare in my backyard who can hardly walk from the abuse she endured, I find that it’s absolutely true that these horses are still sore.
"For example. your comment about NYPD getting a scar rule in 2006. The thing you didnt mention is the ticket being thrown out of court due to lack of evidence."
Well, since no one bothered to make that information public, how was I supposed to know? Please, please, PLEASE find me the court ruling on this and I will believe you. I hear these kinds of stories all the time, but when I ask for the text of the judge’s ruling, wow, no one knows where it is!
Plus, do you know NYPD personally, did you see his legs that day? And are you a trained DQP? Who are you to judge whether he was sound or not?
"you see, the USDA likes to make up"scar rules infractions" when they cannot get a ticket on a horse for anything else. TYhery call a scar anything that MIGHT imply some form of soring. Whether it be some thin hair, dandruff in the hair, etc, etc."
You know, this scar rule crap has got me riled. THE SCAR RULE IS NOT THE ONLY WAY TO DETERMINE IF A HORSE IS SORE OR NOT. It is so stupid how the sore horse industry continues to use this as an excuse for their horse being sore or not. If the horse has granulations indicative of a scar and abnormal waves in the skin, then it has been sored. Don't give me the crap that all TWHs have these waves--EVERY SOUND TWH I KNOW INCLUDING THE ONES IN MY BACKYARD DOES NOT HAVE THESE WAVES. Or the garbage of how young horses in the field all have this pattern, or that it's because of the hard work these horses go through because they are "athletes." BULLSHIT. Take a look at the USDA presentation to the public about how horses in all other fields that wear things on their legs DO NOT show this wavy pattern. It is only in the TWH, and only in the horses on pads that wear chains. THIS IS A PROBLEM.
"Also the numbers were rght in line with where they should be. There is ALWAYS more entered than what usually enters the ring in EVERY CLASS."
I agree that there are always a lot more horses in class than what place. But the TWH show industry gives ribbons up to 10th place, so if there were only 5 places tied, then there were only 5 horses in the class. I think I know simple math.
"Thje USDa beefed up their harassment this year...No doubt. They were pilfering thru tack oxes, pulling trailers over on the highways, etc. The funny thing is the compliancy rate is very near where it has been everyyear before."
Harassment? How is it harassment when the Celebration officials said it was okay for them to search the show grounds for evidence? When the Celebration released that big giant list of things they said will be enforced this year? And how do you know this, since the numbers haven’t been released yet? It sounds like you weren't there, since you were online looking for videos of Santana's El Nino. So I assume you heard this through the grapevine.
As to the searching procedures, REALLY? Do you have some video evidence of this, or did you get this hearsay?
This is my thing, people. I hear TONS AND TONS AND TONS of people continuing to say that the USDA is going through people’s tack boxes, pilfering through this and that, YET NO ONE CAN GIVE US FIRM EVIDENCE OF THIS. No videos, NOTHING. Besides, NO CHEMICALS ARE ALLOWED ON THE SHOW GROUNDS, PERIOD. This is in the rule books and the HPA. What the hell? If they find you have tons of lydocaine (SP) in your tack box or green stuff on your horse’s pasterns, then guess what? You’re using something that’s not allowed per HPA law, and you will get ticketed. Simple as that!
BTW, don’t tell me that Kopertox and other green substances are used as lubricants when it says on the bottle NOT to get the stuff on a horse’s skin or it will cause hair loss. When hair loss is indicative of soring, why would you use Kopertox as a lubricant??? Plus, I just used that shit on my horse who is thrushy because we’ve had a ton of rain out here, and I got it all over my legs (I’m a klutz, what can I say). That shit is STICKY. Why would it be used as a lubricant when it’s sticky?????
Then there’s the claim of using their fingernails and pushing them into the horse’s pasterns for 2 to 3 minutes to get a response. I tried this myself—I pushed my fingernail into my horse’s skin, who is not sore, and he never flinched. I pushed as hard as I could with my thumb to get him to flinch, and he didn’t. Hmmmmmm....
"The dirty little secret the USDa wont tell is that this industry is, for the most part, clean and sound."
WHAT???? Then why it is all over the TWH chat boards that horses were being pulled from their stalls at the show grounds (which is allowed per the HPA and show rules) and found to have plastic wrap, chemicals, and all kinds of evidence indicative of soring? Why did Scott Benham get ticketed for his horses? That doesn’t sound clean and sound to me.
"Their bloated budget has been on the chopping block for 2 years now ever since their sniffer machine was proven to be a dismal failure when all it proved was 99% of the horses are chemical free."
Um, no. Let's take a look at the 2007 statistics that were gathered, shall we? Let's see: of 353 horses tested at 14 different events, 175 were found positive for foreign chemicals. That's 49.5%! WOW, that's a lot more than only 1% of the horses having chemicals! In 2005 at the Kentucky Celebration, 25 horses were randomly selected to use the sniffer on. ALL 25 HORSES WERE FOUND TO HAVE CHEMICALS. The sniffer just isn’t being used as heavily anymore because now the “trainers” have switched to pressure shoeing because it’s harder to detect.
"They have to try and jsutify their $500,000 dollar a year budget. And they are creating hype and tickets to make them seem worth their pay.“yet, they failed again."
Justify? No they don’t. $500,000 is not nearly enough for them to get to all the shows they need to get to. They are spending money on research and development, so they can continue to give all the bad guys a "chance" to clean this up (which of course none of them deserve). Just go to the USDA APHIS website and see where the money is going. Besides, the HPA was supposed to get a $2 million budget when the anti-slaughter bill passed. Why hasn’t that money been handed down? If the gov’t were really trying to sabotage what you call a “clean” industry, then wouldn’t the money be there to do it?
"All these changes proves just what the USDA didnt want them to prove. th hroses are overwhelmingly sound. They rarely can get a horse for being sensitive and have to resort to falisfying or stretching the "scar" rule guidelines to get a ticket to make it seem some horse sarent compliant."
OH WHATEVER. See my above comments on this garbage. I again ask: why were horses found sore in the barns if it's so compliant?
"The truth is most scar rules violations come after the class when the horse was re-checked. jsut like a man who works with his hands strenuosly for a period of time, he wil develop some raised, thickened skin from repeated , repetitivit actions.these "scars" the USDA like to write ticjets on are nothing more than thickened skin, just like a callous or rough skin you get on your hands from a few minutes of slingong horse manure with a pitch fork while cleaning a stall."
Well, guess what, kiddies, ANY KIND OF CHANGE IN THE SKIN IS CONSIDERED A SCAR PER THE SCAR RULE. So if that's happening, then obviously something is wrong. Um, I don't know about any of you, but I don't get a callous or rough skin from scooping manure after just a few minutes. If I did, something would seriously be wrong.
"Tjhe sad part is, most people, like yourself and the followers of your blogs, are so ignorant and gullible about this industry that you believe anything you are told and take it as gospel.Likek the pics you have posted that show abuse..WHERE IS THE ABUSE??"
I can go on and on with that one. For detailed information on those photos, click here.
"One of the horses you say is being abused has protective sticking on it;s feet to keep its hair and skin in good shape, and has lubricant grease and kopertox to help keep anything from starting that the USDA could fabricate as being a scar."
See above my comments on Kopertox: WHY WOULD YOU USE THIS AS A LUBRICANT WHEN IT CAUSES HAIR LOSS PER THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BOTTLE? Click here for the label for Kopertox. If it doesn't work, click here then scroll down to Manufacturer/Label Information.
"Yo folks realy need to get out and do some persoanl, realy life, research and quit being a mouthpiece for some ignorant, demonizing anti padded horse website that likes to use pics from 20 years ago and fool people with lies and innuendoes. "
The pictures were taken in 2002. Can't you read? Oh wait, you can't spell, so how could you possibly know how to read? Also, please guide me in this real-life research you talk about. I can't find any solid evidence that horses AREN'T being sored, just hearsay and the usual crap that you're spewing out. If someone can provide it, please do so! And don't quote me that 1982 study done on the whether or not pads hurt horses. That study was bought and paid for by the sore horse industry when horses were going around the ring with their legs BLEEDING, and it hasn't been repeated since. Plus, the study showed a higher incidence of thrush and laminitis in TWHs than any other breed. Gee, do ya think that's a problem?
Now, vetman, please, please, PLEASE answer me this question. I pose this of every person who tells me the same crap you're saying, yet no one has so far bothered to answer it. Let me challenge you to do so. You will probably agree that the TWH industry is 98% compliant since you think horses are 99% chemical free, etc. I ask you this: Why not 100% compliant? Why can't the industry be 100% compliant like all other sound horse venues are? I'm sure I can answer why, but really it's not that hard to figure out: MONEY. Why change what works to continue to put money in their pockets?
Good luck trying to convince those of us who know the truth and giving us crap about this. And I am sorry if you do believe the industry is sound. I also am sorry if you truly are a vet because you can't spell.
THOUGHTS - In the Meantime....
I just went on the TWH National Celebration website and discovered that Santana's El Nino won the WGC. So it means the show wasn't shut down. Bad news. Good news is that the results for the classes that were in today show somewhat low numbers in the entries. The WGC class only had 8 entries, and usually it has around 12 to 14. (TWH shows give ribbons up to 10th place--it's why I can tell there are low entries.) This MIGHT mean that the sore horses are actually being found to be sore or the "trainers" are seeing the work that's going on and they are turnin' tail and runnin'.
I also notice that Russ Thompson didn't have his horse I'm Billy the Kid in the WGC class, when he's been in it for the past four years or so--I couldn't give you the exact years off the top of my head. Don't know if that means he was disqualified or if he just decided not to show him, but it does seem weird for his horse not to be in that class when it has been several years running.
Another note: the A/O WGC class had only 5 entries. However, the sad part is that NYPD won the class, and he was one of the five horses found sore at the Celebration in 2006 when it was shut down. I just checked the HPA violations list, and NYPD was ticketed for the scar rule on 9/17/2007 with a two-week suspension. Hmm, that's just enough time to burn those scars off! It's AMAZING how the scars can MAGICALLY disappear so horses can be in future classes!
Overall, it's been quiet all evening--I've been watching the newspapers and just doing general Googling to see what I can find. Info may be up and flooding in tomorrow. In the meantime, I can say that I know the USDA was working hard. Let's hope they were able to stop most of the sore horses from being allowed to show.
Perhaps next year the sound horse will get lucky....
I also notice that Russ Thompson didn't have his horse I'm Billy the Kid in the WGC class, when he's been in it for the past four years or so--I couldn't give you the exact years off the top of my head. Don't know if that means he was disqualified or if he just decided not to show him, but it does seem weird for his horse not to be in that class when it has been several years running.
Another note: the A/O WGC class had only 5 entries. However, the sad part is that NYPD won the class, and he was one of the five horses found sore at the Celebration in 2006 when it was shut down. I just checked the HPA violations list, and NYPD was ticketed for the scar rule on 9/17/2007 with a two-week suspension. Hmm, that's just enough time to burn those scars off! It's AMAZING how the scars can MAGICALLY disappear so horses can be in future classes!
Overall, it's been quiet all evening--I've been watching the newspapers and just doing general Googling to see what I can find. Info may be up and flooding in tomorrow. In the meantime, I can say that I know the USDA was working hard. Let's hope they were able to stop most of the sore horses from being allowed to show.
Perhaps next year the sound horse will get lucky....
Friday, August 29, 2008
ARTICLE - "Okay, let's talk about the TWH show industry...."
From Fugly Horse of the Day, the information from a person who experienced soring first hand, and within the past couple of years. Click here. Excellent representation of what's going on in the industry!
NEWS and THOUGHTS - Bits & Pieces from the Celebration: GO USDA!!!!!!!
I have a friend who calls it the UNCelebration. She's really right.
Anyway, here are the bits I've gotten about what's going on out there. My comments are in italics
A post received via email 8-22-08 from a sore horse chat room (the incident happened on 8-21-08): "The horses that were taken out from the barn and taken to the inspection area should have never happened!!! Exactly right, BECAUSE THEY SHOULDN'T BE SORE!!!! That was pure ignorance on the trainer's behalf. Everyone knows that plastic wrap is banned from the show grounds, which means that it is not allowed to be on the horse's legs when they are in the barns at the Celebration. {insert sarcasm here} Oh yes, he should have kept that plastic wrap at home. Way to ruin it for those of us who are more covertly soring our horses through pressure shoeing and using eyedrops! No one can be mad at the VMOs for doing this. Rules are rules, and with something so blantely clear, this insident[sic] shouldn't have had to take place. It was just a case where someone thought that it wouldn't matter, and that no one would be checking for this and that they could get away with having illegal wrapping on the horse. Actually, this hits the nail on the head. This is how it has gone on for the past 30 years--no one will catch me, no one is serious about the threats. Now this trainer and the sore horse community are learning that yes, the threats are very serious. Guess they know better now. It's the stupid little mistakes MISTAKE? MISTAKE? How is this a mistake? Oops! I didn't mean to put that plastic wrap on the horse to cook those chemicals in. Silly me! To coin a term from Fugly Horse of the Day, that asshat knew EXACTLY what he was doing! which are killing us in the eyes of the media. My dear, you are killing yourself. The media and the rest of the world knows about what is going on, and the lies and trying to cover it up are not working anymore. I'm sure they will make a big story out of this!" YOU BET YOUR ASS WE WILL! Even if the media doesn't act on it, the word will spread!!!!!
Received via email 8-26-08 from an online chat (not sure which one): "USDA is cracking down on them. Going into barns and pulling horses out of stalls and taking them back to inspection and inspecting. They wrote up Scott Benham and Golden West Farms the other night for a horse in their barn. Horses are still sore in the ring, but the numbers are down."
YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Scott Benham is a usual out here in AZ at the Carousel Charity Horse Show that is held every March. It is our only A-listed gaited horse show in AZ. It used to be an NHSC affiliated show up until 2006, when they decided to go sound and be affiliated with FOSH. Scott always came with Russ Thompson (I have seen his grooms soring horses right in front of me). There is a worry that the Carousel will go back to being a NHSC show due to the fact that they want more money (OF COURSE), and we all know Thompson is willing to dole it out. So I made sure those at the Carousel know about this.
From the Walking Horse Chat (known sore horse online chat group), 8-28-08: "Latest news on the grounds is....Golden West Farms [Scott Benham] has left the Celebration due to numerous barn inspections by the USDA. This is unfortunate. Save the breed before it's too late!"
Did you ever watch "Ren and Stimpy"? They used to have this song on there called "Happy Happy Joy Joy." That's all they said over and over again. I AM SCREAMING THAT SONG FROM THE TOP OF THE ROOFTOPS! Way to go, Benham--THANK YOU for proving to us that you are a sore horse trainer! Now we definitely know to avoid you!
Overall, it's been quiet about the show. I keep checking information from newspapers and other sources, and not much is being said. The USDA and other groups are out there in force, including the HSUS, monitoring things and carrying on spot inspections in the barns per the Celebration's new rules.
I am praying every night that the USDA will take over the inspections tonight and tomorrow night for the big WGC classes. PLEASE, let's pull shoes, use radiology, ANYTHING that needs to be done to make changes. I am hoping these messages are loud and clear to the UNCelebration and the sore horse trainers. Please, please, PLEASE let us end this atrocity this year by getting it shut down again!
Anyway, here are the bits I've gotten about what's going on out there. My comments are in italics
A post received via email 8-22-08 from a sore horse chat room (the incident happened on 8-21-08): "The horses that were taken out from the barn and taken to the inspection area should have never happened!!! Exactly right, BECAUSE THEY SHOULDN'T BE SORE!!!! That was pure ignorance on the trainer's behalf. Everyone knows that plastic wrap is banned from the show grounds, which means that it is not allowed to be on the horse's legs when they are in the barns at the Celebration. {insert sarcasm here} Oh yes, he should have kept that plastic wrap at home. Way to ruin it for those of us who are more covertly soring our horses through pressure shoeing and using eyedrops! No one can be mad at the VMOs for doing this. Rules are rules, and with something so blantely clear, this insident[sic] shouldn't have had to take place. It was just a case where someone thought that it wouldn't matter, and that no one would be checking for this and that they could get away with having illegal wrapping on the horse. Actually, this hits the nail on the head. This is how it has gone on for the past 30 years--no one will catch me, no one is serious about the threats. Now this trainer and the sore horse community are learning that yes, the threats are very serious. Guess they know better now. It's the stupid little mistakes MISTAKE? MISTAKE? How is this a mistake? Oops! I didn't mean to put that plastic wrap on the horse to cook those chemicals in. Silly me! To coin a term from Fugly Horse of the Day, that asshat knew EXACTLY what he was doing! which are killing us in the eyes of the media. My dear, you are killing yourself. The media and the rest of the world knows about what is going on, and the lies and trying to cover it up are not working anymore. I'm sure they will make a big story out of this!" YOU BET YOUR ASS WE WILL! Even if the media doesn't act on it, the word will spread!!!!!
Received via email 8-26-08 from an online chat (not sure which one): "USDA is cracking down on them. Going into barns and pulling horses out of stalls and taking them back to inspection and inspecting. They wrote up Scott Benham and Golden West Farms the other night for a horse in their barn. Horses are still sore in the ring, but the numbers are down."
YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Scott Benham is a usual out here in AZ at the Carousel Charity Horse Show that is held every March. It is our only A-listed gaited horse show in AZ. It used to be an NHSC affiliated show up until 2006, when they decided to go sound and be affiliated with FOSH. Scott always came with Russ Thompson (I have seen his grooms soring horses right in front of me). There is a worry that the Carousel will go back to being a NHSC show due to the fact that they want more money (OF COURSE), and we all know Thompson is willing to dole it out. So I made sure those at the Carousel know about this.
From the Walking Horse Chat (known sore horse online chat group), 8-28-08: "Latest news on the grounds is....Golden West Farms [Scott Benham] has left the Celebration due to numerous barn inspections by the USDA. This is unfortunate. Save the breed before it's too late!"
Did you ever watch "Ren and Stimpy"? They used to have this song on there called "Happy Happy Joy Joy." That's all they said over and over again. I AM SCREAMING THAT SONG FROM THE TOP OF THE ROOFTOPS! Way to go, Benham--THANK YOU for proving to us that you are a sore horse trainer! Now we definitely know to avoid you!
Overall, it's been quiet about the show. I keep checking information from newspapers and other sources, and not much is being said. The USDA and other groups are out there in force, including the HSUS, monitoring things and carrying on spot inspections in the barns per the Celebration's new rules.
I am praying every night that the USDA will take over the inspections tonight and tomorrow night for the big WGC classes. PLEASE, let's pull shoes, use radiology, ANYTHING that needs to be done to make changes. I am hoping these messages are loud and clear to the UNCelebration and the sore horse trainers. Please, please, PLEASE let us end this atrocity this year by getting it shut down again!
Monday, August 25, 2008
NEWS - VIDEO: Changes to Be Enforced At Annual Celebration
Sounds like the vet might be serious.... I really like the changes and I just hope against hope that they are really carrying them out.
Click here for the article and video.
Click here for the article and video.
NEWS - Show, industry set course to halt abuse of horses
My first thought: let's just hope this is true. My second thought: YEAH, RIGHT.
This article talks about the new rules the Celebration officials have put into place at this year's 2008 Celebration to help end soring. Click here for the article. Be sure to read the comments, especially the one about how Howard Hamilton, who is in the photo for the article, received a ticket on August 21 at the Celebration. Well Mr. Hamilton, you say "I hate that there is so much bad publicity," you certainly aren't doing anything to help stop that bad publicity, are you?
I'm just waiting for Friday and Saturday night of this week--that's when we'll see the truth come out. Let's hope the USDA comes in and it leads to shutting down the show once again!
This article talks about the new rules the Celebration officials have put into place at this year's 2008 Celebration to help end soring. Click here for the article. Be sure to read the comments, especially the one about how Howard Hamilton, who is in the photo for the article, received a ticket on August 21 at the Celebration. Well Mr. Hamilton, you say "I hate that there is so much bad publicity," you certainly aren't doing anything to help stop that bad publicity, are you?
I'm just waiting for Friday and Saturday night of this week--that's when we'll see the truth come out. Let's hope the USDA comes in and it leads to shutting down the show once again!
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