Of Ghoulies and Ghosties!

'Tis the Season!

While there is probably nothing scarier than the current economic crisis, or maybe registering your vote on a touch screen and finding it decided you voted for A.N.Other instead of the way you wanted, I thought we needed some light relief for this post. All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saint's Day, is traditionally the time for tricking and treating and, of course, ghost stories. So I will indulge you with my favorite little campfire story. Turn down the lights, put a blanket over your knees and hug a hot cup of chocolate.

There is a road in Ireland with a reputation for mysterious disappearances. It's said that on Autumn evenings when the sun has set, and the mist rolls in the dark figure of a man with no face patrols the road to catch unwary souls and take them from this life. Oh bosh, I hear you say, but I know it is true. Some years ago I was traveling through Ireland around this time of the year and, as is my wont, stopped at an Inn for lunch. Well, Irish hospitality being what it is, on a cold wintry day and the company being good, it was a good few hours before I was on my way again. Well, it so happened that the quickest way back to my hotel was over a mountain pass on the road with the ghostly reputation. As I was feeling no pain by this time I set off cheerfully enough and was soon heading for the crest of the pass, when a dense mist came down and my car spluttered to a halt. Turning the key nothing happened and it seemed I was stranded. Nothing for it but to start walking and hope someone else might be using the road this night. I had walked (somewhat unsteadily!) for a while and, reaching the top of the hill and in the clear for a moment, I could see the lights of a small town some distance away in the valley below. Well that was a relief, at least I wasn't totally lost, and I smiled at the thought of a hot meal and a nightcap. As the lights faded away once more as I walked down the hill and entered the mist again, I thought about the ghostly legend and a shiver ran down my back. Just then I heard a noise behind me and, turning, saw the lights of a truck coming down the hill. Perhaps my journey to the town will be quicker than I expected, and I waved my thumb in the age old gesture. The truck stopped as it came abreast of me and the passenger door opened. In the darkness I could make out a dark hooded figure staring at the road ahead, and indicating I should hop in. Thankful for the lift i flopped into the seat and gushed away with my thanks as the old truck picked up speed in the mist. The driver said nothing, and I prattled on about my car breaking down and having to walk, and the ghost story of the man with no face at which point the figure turned to me and said "Like mine"..............................!

Enjoy your Halloween and watch out for the ghoulies and ghosties!

Gimme' Shelter

Last week, while preparing to leave for work, I happened to look out of our bedroom window and glimpsed a small brown figure next to my truck. In the early light, it was just possible to make out the slight figure of a dog, rooting around for food. It was obvious even from a distance that this dog had missed a few meals.

Stray dogs are a common sight in rural Virginia. Whether for economic reasons, cultural reasons, educational reasons, or all of these, people are less likely to spay or neuter their dogs here than in more urban areas, or to properly care for the dogs they own. Some will simply dump dogs that they no longer want, rather than take them to one of the few overworked shelters. One previous visitor was dropped literally at our doorstep, and this one may have been, too.

As soon as our latest visitor saw us, she retreated in terror under the truck, refusing to come near us. Recognizing her malnourished state, Tom placed a handful of dog food in a bowl and left it near the truck. No movement. So, Tom went inside and we watched, and within a few minutes, our guest was wolfing down the food. Next he took her some water, and again after leaving for a few minutes, she crept out and drank all of it.

We decided that we needed to know more about our guest, in order to determine what to do next. So I walked out slowly, and crouched down about 20 feet from the truck and called out to her in a low voice. The dog was clearly terrified and she let out a warning “woof” that was not quite believable. Her eyes were wide with panic and she trembled with fear. But after a few minutes, she crept, nearly on her belly and shaking every step of the way, up to my outstretched hand. Once she came close enough, I was able to reach under her chin and stroke her face. Her eyes nearly closed and she literally sank with relief that I wasn’t going to hurt her. She curled into me like a long-lost friend. At this point, I could see that this was a young dog, no more than 6 months old (later verified by her teeth). Other than her general ribiness, she appeared to be healthy and not quite her ultimate adult size.

I abandoned any hope of making it to work on time. Tom and have a background in companion animal rescue and we are familiar with the many resources for finding lost dog ads. I called the County Animal Shelter, the local
SPCA, checked Craigslist, the local papers, and several Internet lost pet sites. Apparently, no one was looking for a lost adolescent mixed breed female dog in Burkeville. So, I posted “found” announcements in all these same resources. Within an hour, I had calls from two sad people looking for lost members of their family. There is little more heartbreaking than knowing that your pet may be in harm’s way and being unable to locate him or her. I really felt for them and wished them both luck.

So, now we have Cassie, short for Cassandra (Tom’s name). Cassie has discovered that we are nice, we have food and we can be trusted. It took no more than half an hour for her natural exuberance and joie de vive to outweigh her initial fear. She loves attention and will follow us anywhere. While we are waiting for her owners to come forward (though people aren’t exactly falling all over themselves out here to claim stray dogs), we will make sure that she is treated for parasites, vaccinated, and spayed. We will teach her to sit, lead and behave in the house. If no one claims her, we will try to place her in an adoptive home. If anyone asks, we will tell them that she is an Appaloosa Dog. One of the best things about unregistered dogs is that they can be any breed you want.

But we are realistic about the number of companion animals that are now in harm’s way because of the economy, and the relatively few homes available for them. Household pets were among the earliest casualties of the wave of foreclosures to hit much of the country. In rural areas, where animals are dispensable even in easy times, many are at risk and many more will lose their homes in the impending recessional economy. Cassie was very lucky in finding help when she most needed it and her willingness to trust people even over great fear may have saved her life. After a week, she is back to being a normal, cheerful puppy who just needs affection, regular meals and a few more lessons in housebreaking.

Blind Horses

We recently had an inquiry about an Appy that a private rescue had taken in, and who was being a difficult keeper. They had said that she had "moon blindness" in one eye but it seemed that more was going on to make so difficult to handle, and appear so nervous in the stall. Jorg responded to the rescuer and I thought that it was such an excellent summary of the issues to do with blind horses that I am putting it verbatim on the blog. This is what she wrote:

"What you are describing is a functionally blind horse. Appaloosas are about eight times more likely than other horses to develop equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) at some time in their lives. The disorder is a booger to diagnose because it doesn't impact one organ in the eye, rather it affects a larger area generally called the uvea. The eyes can appear pretty normal on examination, but still have suffered a lot of damage from flare-ups caused by allergies, stress, genetics, etc. So the vet might have difficulty determining the degree of damage - it's fairly subtle and we've had a lot of vets miss it, or more commonly, misjudge the severity.

There are probably several things going on here. First, owners lie :). But in these cases, the owners often don't know the extent of their horse's vision loss because he or she is acting perfectly normal at home. In their own backyards, horses are very adept at memorizing where everything is. But when you move them to a new location, you get the reaction you are describing. All of a sudden, they are anxious, running into things and going ballistic. We have learned that the statement "some vision left" by an owner actually means "probably none." I suspect your girl is at the "shapes and blobs" stage. In other words, in a bright light, she can make out the location of large objects. But in dim light (like a barn or in a stall), she can see virtually nothing. That's why they call this "moon blindness" - in low light, they lose light and dark contrast, but can still see during the day.

There are some things to look for that will help you evaluate where she is:

1. When walking into a shadow from a bright light, does she try to step "into" the shadow, or look as if she is gingerly walking over the line? If so, the shadow appears black to her and she cannot see anything at that light level.

2. When walking her, does she seem to rely a little heavily on what you are telling her to do, rather than relaxing and being able to see for herself?

3. In dim light, are her movements jerky or hesitant? We know she is running into things, which is another cue.

4. Try turning her on her hind feet. Does she seem a little unbalanced? This could indicate a more severe vision loss.

5. When walking towards the gate, does she see the gate, or will she just walk into the fence? This is a "shapes and blobs" distinction.

6. Does she have scrapes, cuts or hairless patches? These are all indicators of running into things she can't see, and hairless strips on the back of her hind legs indicate that she is being bullied and is unable to defend herself.

7. Does she frequently tilt her head, as if she is listening intently? This is a symptom of profound blindness and means she has begun to rely more on her sense of hearing than her vision.

We have several of these horses at the moment and have had many in the past. The vast majority of them will settle down, once they get their bearings. If it is really a vision problem, it's not the stall she is fearful of, it's the inability to see in dim light and the fact that she has no clue where she is. She's just frightened. While sighted horses dislike being left alone, blind horses are even more anxious and they need reassurance that other horses are near. If she is a little high strung to begin with, or the onset of the condition has been sudden or recent (likely, at her age), this will add to her anxiety. Here are some suggestions for handling her:

1. Put her in the brightest light you can find. Outside is, indeed, easier on her than inside, if you can do this. Can you light up her stall with a bright light? Does she calm down when you do?

2. Fences should be solid and easily visible. No barbed wire (not recommended for horse paddocks anyway). Paddocks should be free of tripping hazards, guy wires and especially low hanging branches. Walking the paddock is just (even more) important with a blind horse as with a sighted one).

3. In new paddocks, putting vinegar in the water trough will help her find it until she memorizes the location. Navigating stalls and small paddocks should be learned within a week or two and she should stop running into things so often.

4. ERU can be painful and many horses will show tearing, will squint, or will clench their eyelids. Flare-ups can be controlled or lessened with powdered aspirin (cheap at Valley Vet) added to their food. Severe flare-ups can be treated with steroid ophthalmic ointment or atropine. This also prevents further damage to the eyes. Fly masks will help protect against wind and mUV radiation and will also protect her head if she hits something. Just feeling better will help her attitude.

5. Try to find a gentle pasture buddy. This often takes several trials with different horses, and we've learned to test them over the fence, first. Blind horses are easily picked on and can be brutalized by a bully. Minis usually work really well for this. If she is attached to the other horse she came in with, this is one reason why- she's learned to depend on him and worries when he is not there.

There are a couple of rescues out there that specialize in blind horses. We have a good setup here, but we can only keep a limited number of these guys at a time because they must be kept separate from the bigger herds. They do far better in groups of two, or at most, three. At the moment, we have three horses at the stage yours is probably at, one more that is blind on one side, and two others that are in earlier stages and can still generally see but need treatment.

Adopting these horses out is difficult. Once they settle down, they are easy to care for. But in the current market, there is little demand for special needs horses. If she can be ridden, and many can be if they trust their riders, that will help. Also, profoundly blind horses often learn to spook in place (they learn that bolting hurts!) and many can be safer lead line or parade horses for this reason. But a lot depends on individual temperament and what she knew and was before the vision loss. Some honest answers from the owner about this would be useful.

I sure hope this helps. Thank you taking her in. I understand about the decision to euthanize - we have to make that call too often, ourselves. But you might want to give her a little time to see what she does. Even high strung horses generally learn to adjust to stalls if they mean food and shelter. Some just take longer than others. But please don't hesitate to give us a shout if you have any more questions, or if there is something else we can help with."

We intend to talk about quality of life issues in a future post, and taking on a blind horse gets right to the center of this question. The debate has been fierce on whether keeping a blind horse is a good thing or not, and we experienced the best and worst of this question with Rudy (see a previous post).

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."

During the past week, we've been buffeted by news reports about the stock market that we could hardly absorb before we got hit with the next. The presidential election has taken a sort of surreal turn and my inbox has seen a steady influx of emails that start out " I have been quiet long enough..." then wind into some bizarre conspiracy theory regarding the current candidates. A government employee, I have watched with somber understanding as job and budget cuts have been announced. There was a point this past week when I simply stopped and asked myself what has happened to the country I know and love. It seems as if the whole world has suddenly gone nuts.

Of course it does. That's because I grew up in possibly the most privileged generation in American history, in one of the wealthiest nations in the world. At 51, I was not a Depression child, I am the daughter of one. We were frugal when I was growing up, but as an adult, I have never experienced the need for the austerity that my parents had to live with. For Depression children in the Plains states, the Dust Bowl turned green cropland into wasteland and people abandoned their farms by the thousands in search of food. In pursuing my education, college loans and scholarships were readily available to anyone with drive. I believed that, armed with such an education, I would be successful and that has been true. Of course, the previous generation did not have a federal student loan program. I have never been really, truly hungry. I have never been dangerously ill. I was a child during the 1960's, and while I remember the bitterness of the Vietnam War and the struggle for Civil Rights, they were not as important to me at that time as the cute guy who sat two rows behind me in class. I remember the shock and horror of the Kennedy assassination, but was too young to absorb it. But to my parents, it must certainly have seemed, at times, that the world had gone mad.

The world is, in reality, a far more difficult place than I have had to contend with.

The stock market has now officially crashed and the bottom is still an unknown. To the best of my understanding, credit is going to be difficult to get. Many people will lose their jobs and others will have difficulty securing financing for important things like college educations and medical care. This will indeed be a difficult time for many. But this is also no worse than anything that the generation that preceded mine has already gone through. And as my mother said, "We got through it." We are in fact, far more fortunate than they were, in not also having to suffer through the greatest agricultural tragedy in U.S. history at the same time as the Depression.

If you are my age, you were taught not to waste. You were also taught to save money. If you have ignored those lessons in the past (and 'fess up - we all did), this is a great time to start remembering all those things you learned as a child from your parents that you still have filed away somewhere.

This is not the end of the world, just the end of the one we know. We will probably never look at things the same way again. We might realize that it is possible to survive without the newest iPod, the expensive cell phone plan that buys you 1 billion minutes (guilty) and the Direct TV package that gives you access to every channel in the world. For people of my age group, this is possibly a healthy reality check on what is really important. We can live without credit cards, we just need to get used to that idea and act accordingly. After years of stubborn resistance, we are learning to drive only when we need to. From an environmental and resource standpoint, that is a giant step forward, not backwards.


There are things in my life that are really important. There are many more things that are not. It is surprising how many of the important things have nothing to do with money. Last night, I walked back from the barn holding the hand of someone I love. It was a beautiful evening and I could smell autumn in the air. When we got back to the house, Shandy danced her usual jig around the kitchen floor to welcome us and we joked while we made ourselves a small dinner. It may seem like the world has gone crazy. But apparently, periodic craziness is in the nature of things, we have just been living in easy times (see graph) between crazy period troughs.

The picture at the top of this post shows North Dakota in 1934. These people probably thought they were seeing the Apocalypse. The picture below was taken in the same state in 2005. Accepting periodic change is is probably the first step towards dealing with it. We'll get by.

PS: The presidential election is just that. A contest between two parties of differing ideologies and two people who represent them. The person who gets the most votes will win. But no matter who wins, the world will not end. This is not about good and evil, the Antichrist, or the end of Democracy. So ya'll just settle down out there.


Top photo: Dust Bowl "black blizzard" dust storm, taken in South Dakota in 1934. During the ten year drought, over 100 million acres of prime farmland in the plains states were laid bare. Photo courtesy of About.com.

Bottom Photo: South Dakota, 2005. Photo (c) by storm-chaser Dave Chapman.

Risk Management

Whilst I hesitate to return to the rather dismal happenings of a month ago and the current economic forecasts, they do raise the issue of managing a rescue (especially when inextricably bound up in one's own life and finances!) in trying economic circumstances.

Our role as a rescue, to paraphrase our mission statement and tag line, is to: rescue, rehabilitate and (where appropriate - my italics) rehome at-risk horses, and enable them to live in safety and dignity for the rest of their lives. Finding homes (whether as adopters or fosters) that will fulfill that mission is a careful process, not to be taken lightly, hurried or glossed over. And if such a home cannot be found for a horse, then we become that home for life. We cannot, and should not, so extend ourselves that we compromise the care of those we have already rescued. It is tempting, and Lord knows there are enough sad cases out there, to max up to the total capacity of one's space and energy. After all it is much simpler to say "yes" to someone with a genuine need to place their animal than to say "no". This is one of the most difficult decisions in animal rescue. But my premise is that, in the long run, saying" yes" every time does no one any favors if it puts the rescue at risk.

Risk Management has been a particular interest of mine in recent years, and the line between being overly cautious and overextended can be a difficult one to draw. This especially true when dealing with living things. However, there are some basic parameters that we try to consider (and could equally be considered by either a first time buyer or an owner looking to increase their herd). We offer these as suggestions to others in the hope that they may help in deciding whether to take on another animal, and determining whether you are becoming overextended in these difficult times.

First, we try to put our emotional response to a rescue request into some sort of context. One reason for doing this is because there may be other options. We have found that what often sounds like a crisis in an e-mail can be resolved with some ingenuity and thought, or additional time, and without necessarily adding another animal to the rescue. In other cases, the owner has other options that they prefer not to exercise. As we are an urgent need rescue, we must stay focused on the need of the horse as our first priority, rather than the convenience of the owner.

In evaluating our capacity for accepting another horse, we must consider the following:

1. Open space - do we have the space, acreage, paddocks, and ability to separate incoming horses of unknown temperament or condition? Can we accommodate the horse's special needs?
   
2. Shelter - if we have space, do we have adequate shelter against heat, rain, wind, cold and insects?
3. Stalls - if the weather turns really bad (remember the snowfall of '96!) can we bring everyone safely in? Senior and arthritic horses must always have their own stalls.
   
4. Hay - can we store enough hay for at least a few weeks ahead, better still do we have enough hay, either promised, bought, or from our own resources, for the entire winter?
5. Feed - do we have feed for more than our immediate needs, do we know what we expend in feed costs and can we maintain (increase?) this expenditure for the foreseeable future with the same (more, less?) number of animals?
6. Water - can we supply water to paddocks and barns under all conditions, what is our fallback for loss of power, frozen pipes, standpipes or hoses?
   
7. Medication - do we have meds just enough for immediate needs or for some period ahead, do we know our med costs for a month, do we have a regular supplier at a known cost, are we in regular contact with our vet to maintain continuity of supplies, do we know what we are taking on with a new horse?
8. Sufficient reserves - do we know how much it costs to keep one animal for a year, what is the likelihood that we can adopt an animal out, and how long will it take, where our funding is likely to come from - donations, us?

This may seem a hard-nosed way of looking at rescuing animals in need, but my whole reasoning is based around not subjecting our rescued horses to further risk by overextending ourselves. Too many rescuers are having to close their doors because at a certain point, their hearts began to override their heads. While compassion is an admirable human trait, it does no good to rescue 20 or 30 or 70 animals, only to have them once again put at risk because the rescue has to shut down. The suggestions above are good ones regardless of the financial climate, but these are particularly hard times. We are all fearful of the fallout from the current economic situation and rescue organizations are reeling from the sheer numbers of requests for help that they are receiving. Most of us will survive, I am sure, but it will require careful management on our part. Our animal charges rely on us to make good decisions on their behalf, and we are duty bound to make those decisions based on the best information we have available. As a consequence, we aim to continue to give the best care we can to all our current and future rescues.

Cow Pedicure

There comes a time in everyone's life when a new hairstyle and a pedicure are essential. Considering the current financial climate now is probably that time! So it is with cows, although their bank balance is probably in better shape than ours. Recently, we've noticed that our momma cows' toes were definitely in need of some filing and buffing. They were beginning to lengthen and we knew it was time to schedule an appointment with a pedicurist, sorry, a cow hoof trimmer. Seriously, cow hoof care is extremely important in cows. Improper or insufficient trimming can put put stress on joints and cause serious lameness. Foot and leg problems are major causes of loss in dairy cattle, mainly because being herbivores their preferred surface is pasture rather than concrete

Unlike horse's hooves, bovine hooves grow slowly, especially if the bulk of their diet is forage. They require trimming only once or twice a year, depending on diet and housing. It has been customary to secure the cows on a tilt table, then tip the cow and table combination slowly over to allow the trimmer to reach the hooves. Good for the trimmer but not so good for the cow as cows generally aren't wild about tipping over on to their sides and normally try to avoid this sort of thing. Fortunately, for our mommas we had heard about a local trimmer with a trimming box that kept them upright, and we scheduled an appointment.
Sunday was the big day and Ray (our new trimmer) arrived in the morning with his box. Looking like something out of H. G. Well's "Time Machine", our first impression of this contraption was that the cows aren't going to like this! Never mind, if the cows were unhappy with it, we'd just take a short vacation to some earlier time when we weren't discussing hundred billion dollar bailouts and people in other countries didn't think we were all profligate nincompoops. We could spend a few minutes dumping our AIG stock, buy up some Google and be back before lunch.

Disappointingly, this Tardis was not able to send us hurtling through time a la Dr. Who, and fortunately our mommas, as always, behaved like perfect ladies. It was just dandy for gently restraining our girls and supporting their weight so that Ray could trim and shape their hooves quickly and with little drama. The cows walked in one end, were placed in safe restraints, the box was lifted hydraulically off the ground, their feet were raised one at a time, they were trimmed and shaped, the box was lowered and the cows were then led out of the exit. The entire process was gentle and efficient.

We considered the white tips so fashionable these days, perhaps with an "Old Glory" motif, but common sense prevailed and we settled for a good filing and cleaning. Now, both girls are sporting new, sexy tootsies. And we are still watching the progress of the bailout on the news. But you can't have everything.



Posted by Tom and Jorg

HMS/M Repulse

Today many of my former shipmates and comrades-in-arms, and their partners, will be getting together to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the commissioning of Her Majesty's Submarine Repulse. This post, and the panel, is dedicated to those men who served in the Port and Starboard Crews throughout her long service, and to all who continue to "go down to the sea in ships". Repulse was built with great skill and care by Vickers Shipbuilders (VSEL) at Barrow-in-Furness on the NW coast of England; veteran submarine designers and builders from the Holland 4 in 1902 up to the latest Astute Class submarines (although now as BAE Systems Submarine Solutions). Launched in November 1967, she became part of the Royal Navy's polaris nuclear deterrent on her commissioning in 1968. I was one of 143 Port Crew members, and a similar number of Starboard Crew (Blue and Gold in the USN) who stood proudly by as the white ensign was raised for the first time.

For the 143 men (sorry, no women as yet allowed on naval submarines!) of each crew she was a happy ship, and remained undetected during all of her 60 patrols. Apart from regular drills life could be pretty monotonous - a daily round of watches, maintenance and the occasional defect to repair. Off-watch activities were devoted to sleep, endless games of uckers (ludo), Risk and cards, cinema and an array of meals that old submariners could only dream of. Other diversions were a daily radio program, the newsheet and, possibly a first for a submarine, on one patrol a pantomime was produced.

For the families it meant the loss of the "man of the house" for weeks on end, with no communication from the boat, and only the once weekly familygram sent from shore. Initially 20 words, it was usually of the order of "Took children to zoo, all OK, weather awful, car broke down, grass needs mowing, missing you, not long to go." Later versions were up to 50 words long, but all were vetted before release and were at the Captain's discretion if really bad news was included.

A strange life, living in a tin box under the sea, and not for everyone I suspect. As young men I don't think we thought too hard about it, although the implication of actually firing our missiles would be that we had no homes to return to. None of us really believed we would ever use our deterrent, and it is fair to say that with them on both sides they did keep the cold war from becoming hot. Lasting friendships were made on those patrols, and for those of us who left the Navy early, previous reunions have reminded us of how close-knit we were once upon a time.

This weekend will, I know, be a time for reminiscing, as well as catching up. The bodies will be a little fuller, the hair a little less, but I have no doubt that the beer and wine will flow freely as always, and so will the tall stories and memories. I wish them all good cheer and hope to meet up with them at the 50th reunion. In the meantime, "Up Spirits" and "Splice the Mainbrace".

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven." Psalms, 107:23-30,