*New* The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - Who's Who *pics*
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Posted on 01/31/2005 8:31:31 AM PST by 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!
Very happy with the color, seems fine and has defecated and urinated. Now, if we can just get him to nurse, all will be well.
I'm glad you got to be there:) I've been looking at his pictures, he is beautiful:)
So is he trying to nurse and momma won't let him, or he just hasn't tried yet?
What does the bran mash and molasses do for mom...how do you mix it?
Becky
Won't he eventually get spots where the white is?
Becky
Momma is trying to get him to nurse, as are we. She's a good mare, stands like a rock while we try to get him nursing. He has the sucking reflex and will suck on my fingers, just won't get with the program. We're letting him rest a bit, then will milk mom a little and get some down him with a syringe.
She always figures all is well if I'm there with her bran and a bucket of warm water. Guess since she's got so much faith in me, I'll get the kid to eat one way or another.
Congrats!!!
ongratulations. there I am happily scrolling down reading the debates about John Holland and see the pics! Thankyou so much for posting them!
Must be the year for colts! : )
Congratulations, was what I typed, dont know where the "C" went!
I was also using deaconjims post..........shame on me!
I am so excited for you. Has he nursed from Mama yet?
Sharn
Your baby is absolutely gorgeous. I'm very happy you got a beautiful, healthy baby. My neighbor's mini donkey still hasn't given birth but luckily, they are back in town so I don't have to watch for it.
I'm going to make one more point about this illness that has supposedly killed over a hundred horses, then I'm done with it. I will call the vet hospital tomorrow that is named in this and see what they say. Think about this: one cow dies of a mysterious illness and it shuts down import/export completely and is known worldwide. In this day and age of horses crossing the ocean, don't you think a hundred horses dying of a mysterious illness wouldn't be all over the news? Your friend on the other thread about this asked racetrack personnel and the racetrack vet what they've heard and they got back to you and said nobody knows anything. AAEP says it's a hoax. No credible source knows anything about it or says it's an internet rumor. Someone else said the AAEP has had hundreds of calls on this and were investigating. I called them, not expecting to get through but they answered on the second ring. The girl on the phone had no idea what I was talking about. I talked to a vet there and she says there is no mysterious illness killing horses that's being investigated. (she was trying not to laugh)
I've done google searches and came up with 2 message boards with 3 or 4 people going back and forth on this. The argument pretty much stops when they find out John Holland is an animal rights activist with an agenda. Someone also said they saw this exact rumor on message boards about a year ago.
In a few days, this will disappear. It will reappear in a year or 2. If I'm wrong, I'll happily make myself a box of crow and eat every bit of it, feathers, beak and feet included.
Not nursed yet, but I did get him to drink about 30cc while sucking on my fingers and that did get him back up and on his feet. We'll wait awhile and see if he can do it himself before giving him some more.
I found this just this morning doing another search.
Posted on Friday, March 04 @ 11:54:30 CST
Topic: Industry News
The internet is abuzz with the continually forwarded email and cross posting of a document written by a man in Virginia, John Holland. Mr. Holland recently lost at least one horse to an unknown cause.
(cont'd)
Mr. Holland decided to see if anyone else has had similar symptoms and horses dying from it and posted it on the internet with a call for others to email him. By his own story he apparently received many emails from people reporting the same or similar symptoms. Also based on his own report, Mr. Holland considered those emails valid and drew his own conclusion that this was a new mystery illness. He gave it a name , “Whisper Syndrome” and took it upon himself to spread the news of what he felt was potentially a serious threat to the equine community.
Intense speculation both within his own document and as a direct result of it has began circulating on message boards and mailing lists.
To start, I must clarify that the disease “Whisper Syndrome” does not exist. It is a name given to an alleged mysterious illness that is reportedly spreading throughout the US. To quote Mr. Holland; “Not a single report had diagnosed Listeriosis and not a single necropsy had determined the cause of death other than the symptom of colitis. Therefore it became clear that an outbreak of an entirely undiagnosed or misdiagnosed disease clearly killing horses…” According to his own statement, this is his basis for determining the undiagnosed cases could be cause by what he believes is the same mystery illness.
There are several points one should keep in mind when deciding for yourself if this is in fact a potential equine health risk issue.
Upon contacting the National Center for Animal Health Surveillance, USDA-APHIS, I have confirmed that not one single report of this unknown illness has been reported to their office, nor any reports of concerns over any mystery illnesses in horses. In fact my call was the first they had heard of that. This means no vet has reported mystery illnesses, but it also means no horse owner, including Mr. Holland has contacted them in regards to their suspicions of this being a serious equine health issue.
Conflicts within his own report, exemplify the point that this is not only one person’s speculation, but it is not based on any scientific facts nor statistics. In one statement he states “Not a single report had diagnosed Listeriosis”, further in that same statement he contradicts that, “We believe that the disease that we have been calling Whisper Syndrome is in fact Listeriosis or a new strain of this disease. “ Although sometimes found in Icelandiic horses, Listeriosis is actually a Bovine illness.
I could post a list of fabricated list symptoms on the internet today, and ask people to let me know if they experienced them and I would be flooded with emails. I don’t doubt that Mr. Holland’s horse’s symptoms are real, but there is no possible way to know how many ,if even any at all, of the cases reported to him as a result of his original post are even remotely related to the illness that killed his horses. That doesn’t mean it should be ignored, APHIS-USDA is now aware of the issue and has a representative investigating. I will remain in contact with that representative and post any news or updates as it arises.
The issue of PMUs being common in the cases is also mentioned in subsequent updates by Mr. Holland. There are many factors that may make this misleading and cause some to feel the PMUs may have introduced a new disease to the US from Canada. If in fact the responses he received were regarding a large number of PMU horses there are factors that may explain why that is the case.
PMU’s are commonly shipped in large loads, often rested or layed over at various facilities, and almost always keep in groups until they reach their final home. Mr. Holland also reports that in cases of horses grouped together several fall ill.
There are many new PMU buyers and adopters that are not familiar with equine illnesses. I have, on many occasions had to explain differences between drastically different illnesses such as strangles and shipping fever. Almost any disease to a new horse owner can be a mystery and its easy to panic when the vet says "I don't know right now"
Many PMU’s come from what we call “Closed Herds”. They are often born and raised on the farm and are rarely exposed to illnesses that are common among horses that are exposed to outside equines, such as Influenzas. If a PMU were to be exposed, in travel or upon arrival, to a serious illness, they would stand a good chance of infection.
Based on the rate of spread and rapid incubation of this alleged illness, we would have had entire herd wipe-outs up here from such a disease. Not only have we had no such incidents, but we aren’t even plagued by any unknown equine deaths.
On a side note, the report by Mr. Holland mentions the use of NAXCEL® (ceftiofur sodium), a product of Pfizer Animal Health. The following product information is from the NAXCEL® website and a link is included for those who wish to know more about this drug. Please note that this, like any other antibiotic should not be given carelessly, and that a wise person would consult their vet prior to using it circumstances with so many unknown factors.
NAXCEL® (ceftiofur sodium) Sterile Powder is the only new-generation cephalosporin approved for use in horses. The broad antibacterial spectrum of NAXCEL is effective against the most common equine respiratory pathogen (Streptococcus zooepidemicus).
As with all drugs, NAXCEL should not be used in animals found to be hypersensitive to the product.
The safety of ceftiofur has not been determined for horses intended for breeding.
Not for use in horses intended for food.
Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian.
Naxcel.com
Though I am aware Mr. Holland named this supposed illness after his own horse Whisper, I do find it ironic that the the "Chinese Whisper Syndrome" is a term used to describe the process of passing information verbally or otherwise and each time it is passed on, slightly mutates until it becomes an entirely out of proportion version of the truth. Like the game many of played as kids called "grapevine" where you all stand in a line and whisper a phrase into the ear of the personal next to you... by the time it reaches the other end the person says what they heard outloud ... never is it what the first person whispered.
Congratulations! How's he doing? Does he have a name yet? What a pretty boy.
I hope it is a hoax.
When we contacted the Kentucky and also Tennessee state vets and they knew absolutly nothing of this, we were surprised. They investigated some, and still came back with the same response. However, like some have said, they are not always first on the scene, but you would have thought they would be more with it, with that many horses apparantly lost to this illness, and Tennesse especially being on the first list of states affected.
I am sitting on the side lines, waiting to see what happens. I hope and pray that this is a hoax, these people are clever enough to do multiple web postings to make it seem true, and I hope that this is the case.
Whatever, It has made us all sit up and take stock that we do need to watch our animals closely and maybe we have learnt more info on the other "possible" causes that they have written about.
Sharn
Does he have a name yet?
Well, I've finally come across some pictures of my old horse. (Pony really) Heh. I'm fortunate in that I'm short enough to ride them all of my life, which is why I'm so fond of them. I'll post them later today/tonight. Don't want to steal the show with different pictures after Duchess just posted some of her new colt.
Oh, he's beautiful. So is momma. Once he figures out the nursing thing I bet he goes full blast for it:')
Post 'em! I have some old pictures of my first horse but my scanner isn't hooked up. Maybe I can talk my husband into hooking it up and I'll post 'em.
He's gorgeous! You got spots! WOO HOO!
Congrats, He's a handsome little boy...I'm jealous.
So tell us about the delivery after all this time! Was she actually overdue at all? Very big healthy foal!
Or have you gone to bed? :~)
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