Ontario Fire answers 911 call for horse safety
After a spark from a hay bailer touched off a 200-acre grass fire that threatened the lives of 50 Ontario horses, volunteer firefighter and horseman Deborah Chute was galvanized to do more than train the fire hoses at the flames. In a quest to help train horsemen and others in ways to help large, frightened animals, Chute organized an upcoming two-day symposium and training seminar in Ontario with a leading authority on caring for large animals during emergencies. On July 20th and 21st, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., professional emergency response educator Rebecca Giminez, president and primary instructor of […]
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An OTTB test pilot trains calmly under pressure
Jessica Morthole deftly balances to steady the powerful racehorse as he tosses his head and dances out of rhythm. Posting above Gib’s irregular gait, she maintains gentle contact with her hands, when, in a sudden burst of passion, he twists his body away from her contact, and explodes. Thinking with the calm purpose of a test pilot, Morthole squares her shoulders, drives her heels low, sits deeper in the saddle and pulls the spooked animal back to reality, settling him down again for another try at trotting correctly. This is a woman well seasoned in the uncommon art of retraining […]
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A detour to Old Friends brings riches in horses
How Angie Cadaret wound up with a million-dollar winning racehorse in her barn, hinged on a detour she made one day while out running errands. She was driving past Old Friends Equine in Georgetown, Ky., on a January afternoon, as she had many times before, when she decided to pull up the driveway to the famous Thoroughbred retirement farm. “It was their slow season at the time, so I got a real good tour of the farm,” she says. “That’s when I learned about the unwanted horse problem, and that Old Friends was a place for retired racehorses to go. […]
