enlightened horsemanship through touch

Dear Friends,

On March 9, the campaign known as Just Say Yes! to 401, was launched. Directly inspired by Article 419 and its passionate call to the FEI to “preserve the Equestrian Art from the abuses to which it can be exposed and to preserve it in the purity of its principles, so that it could be handed on intact to generations of athletes to come,” Just Say Yes! to 401 includes among its initiatives the dissemination of information and a petition.

With the decision of the FEI on Feb. 9th, 2010 to recognize LDR as a legitimate training posture, and the immediate following swell in the numbers of the trainers, judges, and professional riders publicly acknowledging their allegiance to the LDR club, it seems that the inclusion of this Article in 1929 was prescient.

To ensure that LDR and chin to chest, nose behind the vertical, fixed and low poll riding never become recognized in the show ring and in the Rules, we are asking for your help in reminding the FEI that it must uphold its own rules and put the welfare of the horse first, ahead of the interest of any group of interest.

In signing this petition you will be sending a clear message to the FEI that you embrace the FEI Rules and do not want to see any changes made to them. If you are an equine professional –trainer, rider, veterinarian, etc. or belong to a Dressage club or organization, we would be grateful if you would include your details in the comments box.

SIGN THE PETITION by clicking here

Please forward this message to your email list and/or post on your website, blog, Facebook page. We need your help. Feel free to use the Just Say Yes! to 401 logo in emails, websites, blogs, Facebook pages, or for publishing. Please feel free to distribute it as well. Copyrights remain with the artist, Michelle Guillot.

Protect the horses. Protect the Rules.

Sign the petition at: justsayyesto401

From No Rollkur.com, a message from Claudia Sanders:
26.271 Unterschriften – Danke für Ihre Unterstützung!
Abgelegt unter: Allgemein — Claudia Sanders @ 14:50

Dear Readers,

The FEI has on 9 February 2010 ruled that the Rollkur / hyperflexion always associated with aggressive riding and is therefore unacceptable. In the future, however, allowed the technique of “low-Deep-Round” (LDR).
The original press release of the FEI in English here. The term “LDR” was by the Dutch dressage trainer and husband of Anky van Grunsven, Sjef Janssen, marked.

For my feelings are straightforward concepts were replaced – instead of “Rollkur” it is now called “LDR”. But that will change anything in practice? I fear not.

The FEI wishes but now call task forces, for example, expand the guidelines for the stewards, so that the difference between LDR and Rollkur clear. On these results, we should be excited!

I want to thank you warmly at this point: Numerous people have signed the petition not only, but circulated the link. Only with your help it was possible that we could collect 26,271 signatures to date – and in just 14 days. Worldwide, it gathered a total of over 41,000 votes, which have all been passed during the meeting of experts of the FEI President Haya.

I thank you all for your efforts, the strength and the confidence which you have invested in this petition. Your efforts could be no-rollkur.com by far the world’s largest collection of signatures against the Rollkur / hyperflexion. Thank you! – Because the horses need all our help to be outlawed so painful equine activities.

The signature list is now closed, because I think it is irresponsible to amend the text easily and dazuzunehmen the previous votes. The overall results and the comments but you can still see.

Thank you very much!
Their Claudia Sanders

PS: Let us now observe what happens. If necessary, we will start at this point in due course, a new petition.

and in the original German:

Liebe Leserinnen und Leser,

die FEI hat am 9. Februar 2010 entschieden, dass die Rollkur/Hyperflexion immer mit aggressivem Reiten verbunden und deshalb abzulehnen ist. In Zukunft erlaubt ist allerdings die Technik des „Low-Deep-Round“ (LDR).
Die Original-Pressemitteilung der FEI in englischer Sprache finden Sie hier. Der Begriff „LDR“ ist von dem niederländischen Dressurtrainer und Ehemann von Anky van Grunsven, Sjef Janssen, geprägt worden.

Für mein Gefühl sind hier einfach Begriffe ausgetauscht worden – statt „Rollkur“ heißt es nun „LDR“. Doch wird das etwas in der Praxis ändern? Ich befürchte nein.

Die FEI will aber nun Arbeitsgruppen ins Leben rufen, die beispielsweise die Leitlinien für Stewards erweitern, damit der Unterschied zwischen LDR und Rollkur klar wird. Auf diese Ergebnisse dürfen wir gespannt sein!

Ich möchte mich bei Ihnen an dieser Stelle herzlich bedanken: Unzählige Menschen haben die Petition nicht nur unterzeichnet, sondern den Link weiterverbreitet. Nur mit Ihrer Hilfe war es möglich, dass wir bis zum heutigen Tag 26.271 Unterschriften sammeln konnten – und das in gerade einmal 14 Tagen. Weltweit sind so insgesamt über 41.000 Stimmen zusammengekommen, die alle während der Expertentagung der FEI-Präsidentin Haya übergeben worden sind.

Ich bedanke mich bei Ihnen allen für Ihre Mühe, die Kraft und das Vertrauen, welche Sie in diese Petition investiert haben. Durch Ihr Engagement konnte no-rollkur.com die mit Abstand weltweit größte Unterschriftensammlung gegen die Rollkur/Hyperflexion werden. Danke! – denn die Pferde brauchen alle unsere Hilfe, damit so qualvolle Reitmethoden geächtet werden.

Die Unterschriftenliste ist nun geschlossen, weil ich es für unseriös halte, den Text leicht abzuändern und die bisher abgegebenen Stimmen dazuzunehmen. Das Gesamtergebnis und die Kommentare können Sie aber weiterhin einsehen.

Vielen Dank!
Ihre Claudia Sanders

PS: Lassen Sie uns nun beobachten, was geschieht. Falls nötig, werden wir an dieser Stelle zu gegebener Zeit eine neue Petition starten.

I have been out of range of the internet at a time when I should have been blogging my head off about an issue very important to me.

The rage against the FEI and its apparent apathy toward the practice of Rollkur* has admirably been taken up by the folks at Dressage Disgrace. In Head Movements Affect Breathing and Drooling, they show exactly how Rollkur negatively affects just one system of the horse.

Another blog that has taken up the cause with care and consideration is camera obscura. Please take a few minutes to read what Billie has had to say over the past weeks. She is quite eloquent.

If you haven’t already, please visit the petition site and sign your name to ban Rollkur at FEI competitions. Click here to ban Rollkur and add your name to the thousands of people who genuinely CARE about the welfare of horses and wish for it to be considered above all thoughts of performance and glory. Hyperflexion is not beautiful.

A line or two in your own blog posts to include the petition link would also garner more signatures. Kick the door, please.

Just Say NO to Rollkur

*the Wikipedia definition of Rollkur was clearly written by someone wishing to present both sides of the debate. There ARE no benefits to the horse in Rollkur. The benefits of Rollkur accrue exclusively to the rider and trainer.

To learn what hyperflexion does to a horse, physiologically, emotionally, and developmentally, visit Dressage Disgrace.com, read all about it, and if so moved, sign the petition to request that the FEI ban hyperflexion in competition. This site has a lot of interesting articles. Thanks to Shoshin for pointing it out!

As I have said before, (hopefully not ad nauseum), rather than stridently protest something we think is wrong, let’s be active in showing those whose methods offend our sense of horsemanship a different way.

I welcome responses that demonstrate different ways of achieving flexion at the poll and the self-carriage so desired in dressage.

Make your opinion known to the BLM

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/991573141

It’s not too late to save thousands of horses.

© 2009 enlightened horsemanship through touch and Kim Cox Carneal

If you like what you have been reading, please subscribe to the RSS Feed, and visit Bloggers Choice Awards to vote for Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch.

I received this press release as a comment in an earlier post, The Luxury of Doing the Right Thing. I don’t know what Madeline Pickens is doing right about now, but I guess she’s not interceding in the BLM’s plans to round up and murder horses. I’m glad Barbara Ellen Reis alerted me to the upcoming BLM PR and natural history debacle that will put them right up there with the Army Corps of Engineers in terms of government agencies’ ratio of brains to bucks. Barbara’s site has a lot of good links. Check them out.

BLM Mustangs photographed by Bonnie Jo Mount of the Washington Post

Press Release

BILLINGS, MONTANA- AUGUST 31, 2009: The Pryor Mountain Wild Horses, perhaps best known from the popular Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies PBS Nature series, have two more days of freedom before an unprecedented round up could begin. The Pryors roundup has been delayed for two days to allow Judge Sullivan of the Federal District Court to hear the case brought against the BLM by The Cloud Foundation and Front Range Equine Rescue.

The Bureau of Land Management, responsible for managing wild horses on public lands in the United States, plans to round up all the horses in Montana’s only remaining wild herd and remove 70 horses plus four or more foals. This will leave a non-viable herd of only 120 horses according to respected equine geneticist, Gus Cothran, Ph.D., of Texas A&M University. The Pryor Mountain wild horses are a unique Spanish herd renowned for their primitive markings, historical connections, and spectacular habitat.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfV75RyMkw4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1]

BLM is dispatching National Wild Horse and Burro Program staff for this round up, perhaps because they expect trouble from humane advocates who are currently being prevented from observing this roundup. “Never before in my experience have plans been so vague and operations so secret in the Pryors,” says Ginger Kathrens, Volunteer Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation.” The BLM will be closing down roads to the mountain top where the majority of the herd spends their days grazing peacefully in their subalpine meadows. Young foals, only days old will be driven by helicopters and are in serious danger of being hurt or killed. Billings BLM Field Manager Jim Sparks told one advocate that they would expect a loss of 2% or six horses as a result of this operation.

The BLM has always had signs posted at the entrances to the horse range that tell the public to ‘report violations of harassment, death or removals.’ “Why are they above the law?” Asks Crow Tribe Historian and Elder, Howard Boggess. “Everything that is against the law for me they are planning to do to these horses. This is a very sad thing as far as I’m concerned. The horses have lived here for over 200 years. Even under the harassment of the BLM they’ve survived since 1971.”

The BLM claims that it is necessary to remove 70 horses in order to “maintain a thriving ecological balance.” However, the range is still green in late August following three years of above average precipitation after a multi-year drought. The horses are fat, preparing to go into winter. “Why are they removing nearly half the horses after the drought is over? I’ve told them [the BLM] if you take these 70 horses you’ve destroyed the bloodline, the gene pool will no longer be there,” continues Boggess. “Their whole goal is to get rid of the horses.”

“What they are proposing to do is criminal— people locally and all across the Nation worked so hard to save these horses from eradication in 1968,” explains Kathrens. “This range was specially designated for wild horses, the first of its kind in the nation. This is their refuge and it is about to be invaded.”

The BLM plans to remove 17 horses over ten years old and by BLM’s Standard Operating Procedures, “old, sick or lame horses shall be destroyed.” “When they take out the old horses they remove the ones that know the way to the water, the good grass, the way around the canyon – they’re taking out all of the knowledge of the herd,” Boggess explains. “It is really sad to sit there and look at the horses and think that in the next ten days they’ll be taken off this range and they’ll never see it again.”

This case is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, September 2nd, and thousands of people around the United States and the world await the decision of Judge Sullivan which will decide the fate of the unique and beloved Pryor Wild Horse Herd.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qp_EXnlXxg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&border=1]
Please Keep Calling!

WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! KEEP CALLING
We’ve just been told that BLM Director Bob Abbey is meeting with other officials regarding this round up due to the number of calls and e-mails they are receiving. KEEP IT UP- KEEP CALLING, FAXING AND E-MAILING.
These are our wild horses living on our public lands!

HALT THE PRYORS ROUND UP and all others across the west.

BLM Director Bob Abbey
Call: 202-208-3801 or 866-468-7826
Fax: 202-208-5242
Robert_Abbey@blm.gov This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Help us keep you updated– join Cloud on Facebook and Twitter now! 11th Hour for Cloud’s Herd – Act Now!!!

Please act now to stop this unnecessary and cruel round up— the BLM still plans to move forward on September 1st

The Bureau of Land Management is rounding up and eliminating 12 herds (650 horses) off 1.4 million acres in Nevada right now– next they plan to destroy Cloud’s herd with a massive removal of 70 horses that would include OLDER HORSES and YOUNG FOALS.

Many of the horses you have come to love in the Cloud shows and will meet in the new Cloud show on October 25th will lose their families and their freedom next week. By zeroing out whole herds and reducing others to below genetic viability, the BLM is circumventing the will of Congress. The House just passed the Restoring of American Mustangs (ROAM) act and the Senate will review this bill (now S.1579) when they return from recess in September. Is BLM just trying to do as much irrevocable damage to America’s wild horses as they can before Congress can act?

This round up will start on September 1st unless we can stop it. Removing 70 horses will destroy this unique little Spanish herd, leaving them well below the bare minimum for genetic viability. The range is in great condition and the horses are healthy. This removal should be stopped. Please do all you can to help! Listen to Ginger Kathrens on Endangered Stream Live– a special edition show “Angels for Cloud”

SPREAD THE WORD! Have your kids call in and write too– These horses need to be preserved for future generations and we must act NOW

1. Call/write/fax President Obama as often as you can—this herd is a national treasure and should not be wiped out by a government agency. Please flood the phone lines with calls! Phone: 202-456-1111 or 202-456-9000 Fax: 202-456-2461
E-mail Obama

2. Ask Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to stop this round up
Call: 202-208-3100
Write: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

3. BLM Director Bob Abbey, tell him to halt this round up– he must reconsider his agency’s actions
Call: 202-208-3801 or 866-468-7826
Fax: 202-208-5242
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

4. Call and write your own Senators and Congress people- tell them that Montana is allowing the destruction of Cloud’s unique and historical wild horse herd. Politely express your outrage and ask them to help stop this round up. It’s not too late.

Thanks.

© 2009 enlightened horsemanship through touch and Kim Cox Carneal

If you like what you have been reading, please subscribe to the RSS Feed, and visit Bloggers Choice Awards to vote for Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch.

What does this post have to do with horsemanship? Absolutely nothing. Not interested in international politics and religion? Click away now.

We know that freedom of religion is not a guaranteed right from the history of the United States. We were founded on the basis of the guarantee of freedom of religion, but still the melding of church and state is sometimes sneaky and insidious. It’s more overt in Viet Nam.

This is a very interesting book, for non-Buddhists, too

Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk who promotes engaged Buddhism, has begun a desperate, last minute petition to save Bat Nha monastery in Viet Nam. His goal is 10,000 signatures for presentation to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I’m not sure how the committee might help, but it’s a start.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXQhspVJKxY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]

I you feel strongly about freedom of religion in the world and the right of monks to live in peace to preserve tradition and this peaceful religious sect which serves the needs of people around the world through service, please consider signing the petition.

If you do, please comment here. Come to think of it, let me know your feelings about this kind of post here. As this blog grows, it seems to be taking on a slightly different form from time to time. If you find this divergence is capturing your attention in either a positive or negative way, I’d like to know about it.