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<< If you have not yet seen this, be prepared to cry.
They are putting wild horses in a box and filling it with wheat with only
the horses head sticking out then subjecting the poor creature to every
conceivable form of emotional torture. They have taken away the horses
ability to flee and so the poor animal gives up and prepares to die. Talk
about breaking the spirit in an animal, this is it. And the people doing
this are supposed to be horse psychologists. >>
I saw this. I didn't feel the the same way. The horse came out calmer. I
did not sense fear. I did not see emotional torture. And isn't it part of
the natural horsemanship philosophy that a horse face its fear? Doesn't this
help a horse face its fear?
I saw some cowboys working with mustangs where they brought the horse down
and then sacked it out. I'm not condoning this, but isn't it safer for a
horse to be in an "box" than to be forced down onto the ground?
The theory behind this method came from working with autistic children.
These children would be wrapped up in a blanket. Gentle pressure was placed
over the body. And it calmed the children down.
This same gentle pressure - from the wheat - seems to calm the horses down.
The ASPCA horse specialists observed the use of this method. They approved
it.
I do not see this as horse torture.
BTW, I have a BLM horse. I've had her for 13 years now. I gentled and did
most of her training. She is my second one and a wonderful horse.
The first one was given to me by a family that used "cowboy" methods to break
her. Note my use of the word "break." This was a horse that learned not to
trust people. And there was nothing I could do to gain that trust. She was
a horse who would rather hurt herself than try to trust people.
I wish this "box" had been around when I had her. It has always been
suggested I "throw" her down and sack her out. I never did. She died
suddenly - we think it was an aortic aneurysm.
Personally, I have a lot of concerns about the BLM. Some states are better
than others in dealing with the wild horse issue. Fortunately, I live in one
of the better BLM states. One concern is whether there really is an
overabundance of wild horses on the ranges.
But, if the horse can be quickly calmed and then adopted, isn't this better
than the alternative of keeping the horse on a feedlot or having people buy
the horse with the sole purpose of selling it for slaughter?
Candy Grant
Nederland CO
Home of the Frozen Dead Guy
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