The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR

See our who's who page! ^

[HairOfTheDog]

*New* The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - Who's Who *pics*

Free Republic has a lot of horse people that have found each other on other threads…. And since we all like to talk horses, how about a thread where it is not off-topic, but is THE topic?

This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.

I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!

I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and Becky pings everyone most mornings. Let Becky (Paynoattentionmanbehindthecurtain) and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.

So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[tuffydoodle]

American Association of Equine Practitioners. These are the people that are purported to be investigating. They are not. www.aaep.org. Call them, they will ease your mind if you are still worried.

If you go back and read through the posts, someone was saying that they were excited becauae the AAEP are involved in the investigation. They absolutely are not.

You probably won't ever talk to anyone who has had personal contact with John Holland. He's probably the guy who's standing on the world trade center with the airplane coming up in the background.

[tuffydoodle]

I didn't say Kentucky was an infected state. The AAEP is based in Kentucky but they are a nationwide organization.

I'm sure there is something going on but the AAEP said this "whisper" thing is a hoax. They said that they are not aware of any epidemics going on right now and if there were, the USDA would be all over it.

I think whoever posted this originally, is just trying to start a rumor and/or panic for whatever reason.

I've got my answer from the head guys. The girl who answered the phone had no idea what I was talking about. The AAEP spokesperson said there is no epidemic of an unexplained illness. I'm choosing to believe them over an internet rumor.

[HairOfTheDog]

Of coarse you're right... I don't think any of us should discount the symptoms.

[HairOfTheDog]

coarse? - course! :~D

[HairOfTheDog]

Ugh... Since the horses are going to be out as long as it's so mild, I stripped down the pony's stall and lifted the mats up so they could dry out. peeeeeeeeeeeuuuuuuuuuuw.

Cyn's needs done too, perhaps tomorrow. ;~D

[MissTargets]

Farrier was just here. The filly got all four trimmed! She was very good. No twitch, chain on nose, under chin or mouth...nuthin. Just halter and lead. My daughter's persistence and patience paid off.
That filly is standing at 15.1, and not even two yet.

We moved the gelding that we leased for my granddaughter to show in lead line. We moved him to my friend's place, the one who got hurt on her filly. That way, I can ride her Arabian gelding, as she will not be able to ride for months. That is if this weather breaks. We hauled that horse during a snow storm, the other night.

[HairOfTheDog]

Glad the filly did so good. Is this the bay filly pictured on the who's who page? She's really pretty.

[Duchess47]

From: John Holland

Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 8:30 PM
Subject: Whisper Syndrome Update


Whisper Syndrome update 3/4/05

What's New...

Unfortunately, so many people signed up for the yahoo group Whisper_Syndrome in a 48 hour period that it locked up and will has not shown new posts since this morning. You can still read old posts there. Since so many are concerned about this, I am posting this update on the original groups.

There has been wide spread speculation that Whisper Syndrome is a hoax and I have received many questioning emails, but these have dropped off as the word gets out. There is also some hysteria. Please don't panic. We are not talking about an epidemic here. I want everyone to be acutely aware of the problem and alert, but not paranoid. The earlier you catch this, the quicker they recover. Just remember that there is often no temperature or a depressed one and that is why it is so commonly misdiagnosed.

I spoke to my veterinarian today and to the veterinarian who is trying to solve the mystery of the horses North of Roanoke Virginia. They both agreed to give The Horse their stories. The mouse test results are still not back, and the vet working on that is still expecting a positive test for botulism. Despite many posts to the contrary, my vet is absolutely convinced that what hit Whisper and our others was not botulism. Therefore, it is possible some cases reported are and some are not botulism since the symptoms overlap. We hope to get Virginia Tech to make some initial statement soon to at least indicate that this is being investigated. We hope they will take over the symptom descriptions soon as well.

The reports have slowed but we still get very compelling descriptions of some of the more unusual symptoms. Unfortunately the reports that have come in have expanded the area. There are now two reports from Texas and one from Missouri, and one from Arizona. Both my vet and I are greatly surprised to see a report from a dry state as the theory has always been this is related to the excessively damp weather in the mid Atlantic this past year. I hope that this single report has an explanation that leaves the theory valid.

There are more survivor stories now, but only one that did not involve antibiotics. Happily, a horse that was in the lock-up stage has recovered through hospitalization and the use of IV Naxcel! The recovery was not fast, but it is back almost to normal. I have modified the symptoms slightly as more data has come in.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Good morning

Becky

[Beaker]

I got zapped by a fence once in my life, and I made damn sure that it never ever happened again. Packs quite a punch.

[Beaker]

I've watched her, she'll kick to get him going, but be holding back on the reins too.
That'll cause him to buck for sure. I used to do it, and didn't even realize that I was holding back on the reins until someone said something to me. I wasn't hauling back on them and kicking him, but they were tight.

[MissTargets]

Good Morning...yes, it's the bay filly, and thank you.
Going to be gone for the weekend, and going to a shoot tomorrow. You all have a nice weekend. ;')

[tuffydoodle]

posted 03-03-2005 06:34 PM

---

His last "update" also included this sentence at the bottom:

"PS: I believe strongly that horse slaughter for human consumption should stop until we know if this strain can infect humans. I propose a 50 year study."

nin_3_barrels

Member # 20023

posted 03-03-2005 05:58 PM

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I have seen this on so many sites that its pretty strange that no one has heard of this on any news channel just on the internet. I have talked to vets around here and they haven't said anything about this.My horses will be vacinated like always. I have friends that get their panties in a knot when they hear of sonething like this

SallyQ4

Member # 17442

posted 03-03-2005 05:54 PM

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This has hoax written all over it. This is a rumor that needs to be confirmed. One death from herpes at a race course does not equal the development of a virulant outbreak with an almost 100% motality rate.Any vet would have heard about it Don't get worried until it is confirmed.
Ask DVM.

AllieHunter

Member # 5950

posted 03-03-2005 05:38 PM

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There's a lot of speculation that the so-called "whisper syndrome" is a hoax instigated by this man, in an effort to influence slaughter laws.
The EHV case at the Meadows is entirely seperate. Your horses should always have their EHV1/EHV4 vaccines (rhino) up to date


Re: "Whisper" Syndrome
Posted by Nona on 3/2/2005, 2:32 pm
User logged in as: Nona | Edit Message
12.108.161.52

I went to BloodHorse and saw nothing, but someone did tell me that they remember seeing basically the same email info about a year ago.

[HairOfTheDog]

Good morning everyone...

Horses are all out staring at us. I am ~trying~ to get them accustomed to a later breakfast before our trip, but they don't understand. I've been feeding at or before six... Katie may not get here to feed till 9:00.

Pony comes and paws the gate. I'm thinking about hotwiring it. At this point I want them to wait till at least 8.

[tuffydoodle]

Have you ever seen the movie "Smokey" with Fess Parker? It's on right now, I've seen it a hundred times but I just noticed something that I never noticed before, Fess Parker's feet are nearly dragging the ground when he's riding his horse. I looked him up on internet movie database and his height is listed as 6'5".

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't think I've seen it.... They should have gotten him a bigger horse!

[tuffydoodle]

It's about as corny a movie as you'll ever see but it is one that I can watch with my kids in the room. Not too many of those out there.

If I'm not mistaken, the horse who plays Smokey is also the same horse that was in the tv series Fury. He also played Black Beauty in one of the movie versions and also Gypsy in the movie Gypsy Colt.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I try not to be to regimented on feeding times. They know approximately when they are going to get fed, but it may vary as much as 2 hours either way of the "normal" time. But they can get anxious:)

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Mine are flexible in the evening, sometimes we feed early and go somewhere, sometimes we forget them till after dark...

But sunup happening without breakfast seems to be a bigger deal to them. ;~D

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Well, it's a beautiful day here. I'm getting ready to go saddle a horse. While he stands and thinks about it awhile, I'll get my housework done, then off to ride.

I'm starting with Rusty, I didn't ride yesterday, just in the arena, altho, I may make a quick trail loop, Then the same with Harley. Tomorrow is suppose to be nice too, and I'm going to ride Rocky tomorrow.

How's ecurbh after a full week of working away from home?

Becky