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INTERMOUNTAIN BRANCH, JEFFERSON
COUNTY NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2006
Editors:
Dan Lincoln (303-674-3834) and Connie Spiegel (303-679-9307)
NEXT MEETING, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 AT BEAUJO’S,
6:30 PM SOCIAL TIME, 7 PM PROGRAM – DR. SCOTT MARX, DVM, ADVANCED EQUINE
DENTISTRY will speak on the mysteries of his craft. Equine dentistry
has come a long way in the last decade, and it has become apparent that
all nearly all riding horses, from the $100,000 show horse to the $1000
backyard sweetie, need attention to their teeth every year. Dental
problems can be the cause of a host of medical and behavioral problems,
and, at least in my stable, no horse has figured out how to explain this
to an owner. Dr. Marx teaches equine dentistry here and abroad and
practices locally using the most advanced techniques.
FIRST THURSDAY MEETINGS SHOULD BE THE NORM FROM
HERE ON OUT (except for December ((Christmas Party)) and the
summer schedule). So far, we think we are doing OK at BeauJo’s, but we
need some feedback. If you don’t like the BeauJo menu, abstain. There is
no requirement for you to spend money there. For the time being, these
are not “members only” meetings. We are trying to attract all the local
horse owners with interesting and relevant programs and hope that they
will see the value of contributing their membership.
CHRISTMAS PARTY
at the Richards’ Residence on December 2 at 5:00 PM. Horse Council
will provide some food and drinks but if you could bring an item of
culinary interest and libations to go with same, it would be
appreciated. Also bring equestrian friends even if presently
non-members. Actually, you can bring any friend, even a spouse, who can
put up all that horse talk.
Address: 5008 South Elk Ridge Road, Evergreen, CO
80439 303.674.8681. From the traffic light on Hwy 73 at the Library, go
west 3 miles (through Alderfer Park), turn right onto Elk Ridge Road
(private road marked by low sign on West side of road, travel 1 mile up
Elk Ridge to 5008 – driveway on right. Old buck board wagon at the end
of the driveway.
BRAND INSPECTION – The Director of the State
Brand Inspection Division, J.G. Shoun, provided an entertaining and
interesting presentation at the October meeting. He provided a
surprising statistic from a recent survey that indicated that the Denver
Metro Counties had the highest per capita horse population in the USA.
Separately, in 2005, the Division conducted 59,000 horse inspections
statewide.
Brand Inspection amounts to recording a description
of your horse, even if it does not have an actual brand. It documents
ownership rights and is a very inexpensive method of registration. It
only costs $15 for a ranch visit plus a $3 Horse Promotion Board fee. Of
the 400 to 700 horse thefts reported each year in Colorado, nearly 125
are actual losses. Virtually no branded horses are lost due to the
hurdles of selling branded horses with the excellent documentation
system maintained by the Brand Inspection Board. Brands are registered
and have a life of seven years but are renewable. If you take your horse
more than 75 miles from home, buy or sell a horse in state, or move a
horse across the state line, your required to have State Brand
Inspection documentation. More information is available at:
http://www.ag.state.co.us/livestockinspection/LivestockInspection.html
WARNING SHOTS – Jeffco Planning and Zoning
staff is recommending that horses be prohibited from a fairly large lot
new development because one letter from a local citizen’s group made an
unsubstantiated claim that horses constituted a serious threat to Bear
Creek water quality. This is not a mountain area development, and the
Mothership is leading the protest, but it is an indication of the
anti-horse bias of land use planners, most of whom are trained in urban
environments. Also, those of you on-line received an Back Country
Horsemen’s Association Action Alert on trail closures in the White River
National Forest. With our good local trail network and fairly easy
zoning restrictions, these things seem far away, but if the planners and
decision-makers do not hear from us now, we may confront very unpleasant
fait accompli in the future.
HOW COLD IS YOUR HORSE? – (The following
article was lifted from a Virginia foxhunting publication – its accuracy
is unknown) Horses were programmed for winter ling before people started
shutting them up in stables and putting blankets on them. As an
arctic-adapted species, their body design and hairy covering make them
quite capable of shrugging off the cold. In fact, their energy
neutral-zone ranging from 15 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (by comparison,
homo sapiens is 60 to 80 degrees), they use less energy keeping warm on
a sub-freezing morning than they do cooling themselves on a muggy summer
day.
Included among the horse’s cold-adaptive features
are:
-
a spacious nasal cavity to warm air before it
enters the lungs
-
a dense hair coat with an insulating loft and
directional diversions to conduct moisture runoff away from less
protected skin
-
a bushy tail and a broad, thick-skinned rump to
deflect cold breezes around the rest of the body when he turns his
rump to the wind
-
a massive digestive system continually
producing heat during the fermentation and extraction process
-
a massive torso in which to store that heat
-
circulatory shunts in the limbs allowing
increased blood flow to warm the feet rapidly
How do you tell when the elements, particularly
sharp winds and freezing rains, have overwhelmed a horse’s heat-
conserving adaptations, chilling him to the core? The indication is
quite elementary; he shivers. And his shiver is much more effective in
re-warming him than ours. He is so well-equipped to handle cold, he
seldom even has to shiver if he is allowed to remain loose in an area
large enough for him to move around- especially if he has hay or similar
forage to keep his furnace (digestive system) fueled – and a place to
escape the wind.
The horse is more comfortable outdoors without
blankets when the weather becomes “cold” for humans. Remember, the
mid-point of his energy-neutral zone is about 38 degrees. We notice that
around that temperature, our horses “feel good” and have a tendency to
play and kick-up, even under saddle.
(Editor Note: The article was slightly revised for
brevity. If you clip your horse, you will have to blanket from now until
April except for occasional mid-day thaws. Otherwise, forget the
blanket, chase ‘em around the paddock and throw out some more hay.)
MEMBERSHIP – It’s that time of year again.
Please renew your membership. We are using that money; some for postage
(yes, there is still that 15% off line), some as honorariums for our
speakers, some as seed money for the Poker Ride, some to subsidize
social events, and so forth. We are a part of Jeffco Horse Council
because they give us more clout with the County Commissioners on zoning
regulation matters, and because JCHC runs the horse stabling operation
during emergency evacuations. The County provides the space, but JCHC
has to find the feed and equipment. In addition to rejoining, we really
need you to get a new member or six. Dues are not so important as
bodies, since we are trying to reach as many horse people as possible to
educate them and to increase our voice in local government.
WINTER SHOEING – Dan Lincoln has information
from Dr. Marvin Beeman, DVM, MFH, on shoeing for winter riding. He will
make it available on request and at the meeting on November 2 at Beau
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