Hoofcare's Perpective: Animals in the news, even in Lower Manhattan

[Rides 2 Far <rides2far@juno.com>]

This is a pretty lengthy post, closer to being an article but very
interesting reading once you make it past the intro which is pretty much
what we've already heard a bunch of times.  It's a bit of a news blurp
for animal lovers about the bombing...HOWEVER it distinctly mentions
endurance in the news section so I felt it was O.K.  

Pay special attention to the fact that USET has cancelled participation
for U.S. riders in a championship jumping event in SPAIN for security
reasons.  Could tell us something about what will happen to *our* World
Championships as a result of all this.

Angie

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Fran Jurga Hoofcare Magazine" <Hoofcareonline@earthlink.net>
To: rides2far@juno.com
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 16:34:39 -0400
Subject: Hoofcare's Perpective: Animals in the news, even in Lower
Manhattan
Message-ID: <2392231-220019615203439189@earthlink.net>

On this National Day of Prayer and Remembrance: greetings, friends.

I'd like to extend the deepest sympathy to any of you who may be
affected by the terrible tragedies unfolding in New York and Virginia
this week. I'd also like to express admiration for any of you involved
in the rescue effort there; I am sure some of you are, and hope that
you will all become involved in any way you can. Certainly all of us are
affected, and we here in the Northeast will never, ever be the
same.

Hoofcare & Lameness has grown into an international business with
subscribers virtually everywhere, and it is really moving to receive
email and phone calls from subscribers and advertisers in the farthest
corners of the world. Our subscribers represent all races, all
religions, and perhaps all political views, but your concern has been
uniformly genuine and sincere. Almost everyone who has contacted me has
expressed concern that changing politics may affect the great progress
that we've made in helping horses around the world. I share that
concern, in the long view.

In the shorter view: yes, I'm ok!

No matter what the news event is, I can always find an animal
connection, and some very poignant animal stories are emerging from the
disaster, like the Golden Lab guide dog that led its master down 70
flights of stairs to safety.

***************************************************************
Historical Precedent: The Inevitable Horseshoe Connection
Did you know about the involvement of horseshoes in the first attack on

lower Manhattan by terrorists? No, not the bombing back in 1992. On
September 16, 1920, a group of anarchists or "Bolsheviks" sent a horse
pulling a wagonload of dynamite to the doorstep of the Morgan Bank on
Wall Street. The wagon exploded, killing 38, wounding 300, and
permanently scarring the building; the scars are still there today.

All that was found of the horse were its hooves, all four of which
showed up in a neighborhood church. The police combed all the stables
and blacksmith shops in New York City looking for clues…by trying to
identify the horseshoes. Because the farrier had stamped the initials
of his two unions ("JHU" and "NOA"), the shoes could be traced back to
farriers who belonged to both unions, until the detectives found the
farrier who had actually shod the horse.

To quote from the December 1920 edition of the Horseshoer's Journal:
"Of course, no onus is attached to the shoer, but the link of evidence is
of greatest importance. (The horseshoer's identity) lead to the arrest of
the party responsible for the awful calamity which shocked not merely
the whole of America, but the entire world."

The magazine showed a photograph of one of the telltale shoes, a heeled
work shoe with a trailer and a huge toe calk.

***************************************************************

Meanwhile, fast forward to this weekend: the American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is hard at work in New York
City. They have set up a command post and a mobile veterinary clinic at
the corner of Houston and West streets at the Hudson River Pier #40.
They are working on removing abandoned pets from apartments that lie in
the buffer zone, south of Canal Street.

The ASPCA is seeking experienced volunteers to assist them in this
effort. Their disaster hotline number is 212 876 7700 ext. 4PET (4738).

The ASPCA has set up a fund to assist with rescue relief efforts. Those
interested in making a donation can call (212)-876-7700 x4516. You may
also send a check payable to The ASPCA Animal Disaster Relief Fund at
424 E. 92nd Street, New York, NY 10128.

Directly on the site in New York, FEMA has Veterinary Medical
Assistance Teams (VMATs)coordinated with the AVMA . You can read their
site reports as they are filed at the Office of Emergency Preparedness
website:

http://www.oep-ndms.dhhs.gov/activations/activations.html

I suggest that everyone visit the ASPCA web site (http://www.aspca.org)
and
take a few minutes to go through their steps for emergency planning for
animal care in disasters. Some of the animals needing care this week
are in need only because their owners are stranded in another part of the
country by the airport closures. Think about what would happen to your
animals if you were not able to get home, or if you left your dog in
your truck and couldn't get back to it.

If you are wandering around the Internet this weekend, there is a nice
story on the Discovery Channel's web site for their Animal Planet
network, which tells some details of the two dozen or so
search-and-rescue dogs in use in lower Manhattan.
(http://www.animalplanet.com)

The sniffer-dogs-on-loan are headquartered in Brooklyn at the NYPD K-9
unit. They have apparently sent out an appeal for food and other items
for the dogs, who have been flown in from all over the country. They
also need supplies like vet-wrap. There was a call out for dog booties
to help the dogs walk across the piles of debris, but apparently some
generous company donated them and they are all set. Several of the dogs
were treated at St Vincent's Hospital for cut foot pads and smoke
inhalation.

*********************************************************

The New York Fire Department: Another Inevitable Horse Connection

Horses were never popular with the NYFD in the early days. Remember,
New York's fire department claims the invention of the bucket brigade,
way
back in colonial times. In the 1800s, firemen resisted getting horses to
pull the fire wagons because they thought it would put men out of work,
since the fire wagons were pulled by humans, not horses.

In 1832, a cholera epidemic in New York limited the availability of
firemen to pull the trucks, so they brought in the first firehorse. A
rival
neighborhood's fire crew broke into the stable, shaved the horse's mane
and
tail, and painted a skunklike stripe down the horse's back. It took more
than 20 years before another NY fire station dared use a horse.

Once the fire department adopted the horse idea, the New York fire
horses were among the finest in America; they were even shown in the
National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden. They also had farrier
wagons
that raced to the scene of a fire in the event that the fire horses threw
shoes in their
haste to get to the fire.

And that did happen. A thrown shoe from a fast-galloping fire horse
broke a third-story window.

An epidemic of distemper (called simply "the epizootic", or epidemic)
hit the United States in 1872, bringing the nation's transport to a
halt.In Boston, four fire horses died and virtually all the city's fire
horses were declared unfit for service. It was not safe to bring fresh
horses into the city until the disease died down, so firefighters were
pressed to pull their own fire wagons; only one fire station had a team
of horses healthy enough to answer the call.

The timing was bad; on November 9, what would come to be known as the
Great Boston Fire broke out, destroying 776 buildings and killing 14
people, including 11 firefighters. Historically, the lack of horses is
blamed for the city's inability to contain the fire.

The three-abreast hitch was popular with fire departments. Interestingly,
the middle horse was recorded as the one first to break down and have
lameness problems. Once this happened, the entire team was retired, since
firemen believed that a replacement in the hitch would be a bad omen.

A startling feature of looking at archives of fire horse photos is that
they usually did not wearblinkers, as most driving horses do.

The driver oversaw the exercise and training of the firehorses, while
the "hosemen" were responsible for cleaning stalls and harness.

The farrier was an important part of each city's fire department, and
sometimes even "played" with the firemen's band. On special occasions,
cities like New Westminster in British Columbia, Canada would punctuate
concerts with an "anvil salute". One anvil was stacked atop the other,
with
gunpowder in the hardy hole of the lower anvil. A playing card was lit at
the end of the forge rake, then inserted into the hardy hole of the lower
anvil. (Duck!)

Firemen were known to be very attached to their horses and maintained
accounts to pay the retirement expenses of their horses. They were even
known to parade horses through the streets when one of the horses died,
to let the city's people know of their loss.


************************************************************************

Meanwhile, the horse scene in New York has been been reeling. The
offices of the Daily Racing Form are very near the disaster site, and
as a result the nation's daily handicapping paper has had difficulty
being 
published. DRF's internet service was curtailed as well. If you're not
involved in racing, you might not realize the implications of the DRF
being "down". Basically, all betting on horseracing in America
originates with DRF's electronic data.

The Meadowlands and also Monmouth Park, both horse racing tracks across 
the Hudson River in New Jersey, are being used as collection centers
for donated items that can be used by the rescue workers. They are
looking
for toiletries, plus men's work boots size 10 or larger, women's work
boots
of any size, sweatpants, flashlights, and towels.

The Meadowlands was utilized as the site of an 80-foot cellular antenna 
for Verizon Wireless's rescue communications.

Belmont and Aqueduct, New York's two major racetracks, are located in
the Bronx and on Long Island in New York;both are being used as staging
areas for fire and emergency vehicles for the rescue effort. 

Closure of the airports in New York left racehorses stranded, including 
Horse of the Year Tiznow; stakes horses from California scheduled for
races this weekend in New York have likewise been stranded in Kentucky.

On Friday, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) ,
Breeders'
Cup Ltd. and the New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced new plans
for
the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships on October 27 (to be
held in New York at Belmont Park). NTRA and NYRA have established "NTRA
Charities -New York Heroes Fund" so that part of the proceeds from the
race
day will go to charities to aid emergency and rescue workers, and victims
of the attack.

In Kentucky, the prestigious Keeneland yearling sales was postponed for 
a day. This resulted in an overflow situation of horses stabled at the
racetrack, with van drivers scrambling to equalize the number of horses 
and stalls. When the sales actually started, a colt by Storm Cat brought
$6.5 million; several yearlings were purchased by Sheikh Mohammed al
Maktoum of Dubai. Arabic owners like Sheikh Mohammed are major economic 
forces in US and global racing and breeding; they are also a major force
in endurance competition.

In the show horse world, some events are on, while others are off. The
USET cancelled its annual meeting, and also withdrew the US show jumping
squad from the Nations Cup Final in Spain later this month, citing
respect
for the victims of the attacks, as well as the US Olympic Committee's
concern over athlete travel at this time. USET Vice Chairman Armand Leone
said, "The USET believes that showing proper respect, as well as
protecting
our athletes, are the overriding concerns."

I guess that's all the news, for now.

Way back when I was a kid, I remember everyone wanted to grow up to be
firemen and policemen (preferably mounted policemen). This week, I've
seen the ones who did grow up to do that, on the never-ending news. I
don't think kids want to be firemen or policemen any more these days
(I'm not sure what they want to be-rock stars? Wrestlers? Farriers?)
but I can't help but wonder if the older children who are allowed to
watch
television this week must not be terribly, terribly impressed,
awestruck, and humbled at what they see these men and women do in the
name of their profession.

I know I am.

Forward this letter to anyone who'd like to read it.

Be safe, friends.

Sincerely,

Fran Jurga, Publisher
Hoofcare & Lameness Magazine
mailto:Fran@hoofcare.com
http://www.hoofcare.com
tel USA 978 281 3222
fax USA 978 283 8775
PO Box 6600 Gloucester MA 01930 USA

Credits:
Thanks to the Blood-Horse (http://www.bloodhorse.com), New York Times
(http://www.nytimes.com), US Equestrian Team (http://www.USET.org) and
Daily Racing Form (http://www.drf.com) for the roots of some of the news
used in this letter. Thanks to our friends at the Cornell University
College of Veterinary Medicine Flower Sprecher Library for the reference
to
the Wall Street bombing of 1920.






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