[chestnutmare]

Lancek sorry but at your wife’s expense, my husband and I had a good laugh. That is a funny one. Now, I wonder if it would help two horses who don’t get along very well to well, become favorably attracted to each other. Very funny.

[chestnutmare]

Patrick, I think you are referring to HOUSE BILL 220 which states:

“AN ACT relative to civil proceedings for forfeiture of animals.

SPONSORS: Rep. Skinder, Sull 1; Rep. Spaulding, Hills 18; Rep. Parkhurst, Ches 4

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

ANALYSIS

This bill requires that animals be taken into custody when a person is charged with cruelty to animals.
1 Cruelty To Animals; Civil Forfeiture. Amend RSA 644:8, IV(a) to read as follows:

IV.(a) In addition to being guilty of crimes as provided in paragraphs III and III-a, any person charged with cruelty to animals may have his or her animal confiscated by the arresting officer at the time of arrest and, upon said person’s conviction of cruelty to animals, the court may dispose of said animal in any manner it decides. Courts shall give cases in which animals have been confiscated by an arresting officer priority on the court calendar. The costs, if any, incurred in boarding and treating the animal, pending disposition of the case, and in disposing of the animal, upon a conviction of said person for cruelty to animals, shall be borne by the person so convicted. In addition, the court may prohibit any person convicted of animal cruelty from having future ownership or custody of other animals for any period of time the court deems reasonable or impose any other reasonable restrictions on the person’s future ownership or custody of animals as necessary for the protection of the animals.”

An interesting note is that Rep. Parkhurst of Winchester, NH a cosponsor of this bill also cosponsored HB 427. However of HB 427, Parkhurst claims that he never read the text of HB 427 until there was an outcry from the horse community. Has he read this one?

While on the surface this bill may look good. I mean, nobody likes animal abuse. BUT, Rep. Skinder has adopted some PETA agendas i.e. “Sea Kittens” is a PETA initiative see: http://www.peta.org/sea_kittens/ http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/sea_kittens1
My point is, given the extreme measures that we see represented by animal rights groups like PETA, what will be the standard set to determine the lines of animal abuse. These terms are not defined in the bill and I do not trust those involved in sponsoring the bill to decide what is right. For example, there are some people who believe that using horses for work or pleasure constitutes abuse. It could come down to an arbitrary disposal of our animals due to the subjectivity of law enforcement.

[chestnutmare]

Oops! Sorry, my mistake, I meant to say that the bill would be voted on and out of session by February 19, 2009.

[chestnutmare]

Dear Robert,

Thank you for your kind words. This too could happen in a place near you and so it is advisable that we all become more vigilant with regard to legislation that is being made which will affect our lives in this country.

The bill is NOT dead yet. Close but it is not finished. The sponsor of the bill did ask for an ITL (Inexpedient to Legislate) at the hearing. The cosponsor of the bill had not even read the bill before agreeing to cosponsor but now he has backed away from this bill. Someone else, another sponsor, could make an amendment and bring it back to life. Rep. Skinder in her testimony recommended a possible barn license. The bill remains to be voted on. Bills that have been requested by the sponsor to go ITL do not get voted into law but there still remains a possibility. The bill is due out of session by 2/29/09

The government is looking for additional revenue. Tax and spend. So we will need to keep a watchful eye on proposed legislation. I found a web site that is from a libertarian stance but there is a lot of information about our legislators and proposed bills. http://www.nhliberty.org

Some of the bills affect agriculture, farming, firearms, and limiting personal freedom. I don’t want big brother watching me and I certainly don’t want to pay him to do it.

[chestnutmare]

The following quote is from an email sent by Carla Skinder who attempts to defend her position on initiating this bill. She makes several claims but presents no documentation. Vaccination is a highly controversial issue. For many, vaccinating has helped to contain some diseases. The flip side is that many have been hurt by vaccinating. The public doesn’t hear about those cases since it is not favored by the propaganda machine. We have become overly dependent on the health system and our immune systems are weaker than ever. I am not against reasonable use of the health system at all. It has been over used and we have hurt ourselves as a result. The same with our animals. Over vaccinating may please certain vets and may not be doing our animals good and possibly may be causing some harm as it has with people. Again, don’t shoot me. I am not against providing sensible health care for animals.

But, this is not really about health is it? Its about increasing revenue and gaining more state control. If it were simply a health concern, it would not be wrapped up with everything else in this bill and this woman and her colleagues: Rep. Spaulding, Hillsborough 18; Rep. Parkhurst, Cheshire 4; Sen. Roberge, Dist 9; Sen. Cilley, Dist 6 acted in what appears to be a surreptitious manner in order to quickly get this new revenue source passed in the house.

Rep Skinder also supports a PETA agenda and has attempted to abolishing the Fish and Game Commission as a policy making body. Now please don’t laugh. She wants the state to replace the term fish to “sea kittens.” This is a term that PETA has been promoting in their literature and web site.

Check this out: http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/sea_kittens1

Here is her email:

Dear Constituents,

I can imagine what the legislators went through when the dog license was put to the test! I apologize for not writing sooner but I just returned from out of state late last night.

There are no hidden agendas to this bill.

This bill has nothing to do with any Federal or State national ID program.

I brought this bill forth for a number of reasons,

Our economy is such that we need to find sources of revenue and I feel that different communities such as the equine community could/should be involved with the solution and not the problem.
Snow mobilers and hunters already pay fees so that they can enjoy the land…and their enjoyment is seasonal.

Rabies as we all know, is a very dangerous virus and can be fatal…is there a major outbreak? No, but it does exist and there were several cases recently in Sullivan County and elsewhere in NH. The school district in Claremont actually sent out a note to the parents encouraging them to tell their children to not touch strange animals or unknown dogs.
Horses get rabies. They are very susceptible to being bitten by a rabid animal since they are often outside and come in contact with raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats. No barn is free from wild animals. In 2001 there were 51 reported cases of rabies in horses. This number likely does not represent the true total since many horses have been destroyed due to neurological problems and not tested. The numbers of positive testing of rabies in wild and domestic animals exceeds 9,000 cases per year in the US and it is increasing. Urbanization is forcing wild animals to interact more with our domestic animals. Immunization has been very beneficial and not only do dogs get immunized, cats and ferrets are required to be vaccinated. Many horses are vaccinated already because of owner concern and or the need of a certificate for events.

Rabies transmission is done through saliva and a person does not have to be bitten to become infected. A horse has a very large muzzle and mouth and they produce a lot of saliva which when we feed them by hand we stand the chance of infectious saliva getting in to a crack in the skin or getting on mucous membranes. For many years people believed that horses did not get rabies.

The revenue obtained from a license could potentially go in to a fund at the town level and be used to help horse owners in time of need. Animal control officers, who are important for the well being of horses and other animals, too often have to help people surrender their animals when it is almost to late…or too late. I view this bill as a bill that could help horse and animal owners through tough times. Yes, some animals will have to be surrendered and that is a humane situation. Our shelters are full and people from private barns are trying their best to help out. Shelters are finding it hard to care for the number of animals that they are getting financially too. My intention is that we all help our fellow horse owners.

As far as horses going down the road, yes it can happen and it is our worst nightmare. Every horse has the potential of going through a fence regardless of an electric fence. Also, people do fall off at times and their horse often runs back to the barn without consideration of being in the road or moving for a car.

The State Veterinarian’s fund is beneficial to all of us. We have a serious problem with veterinarian coverage in the North Country and when we have to pull a vet from other areas everyone is in danger of not having a vet close by for an emergency. At this time we have a bill that was passed in 2008, HB 173-FN-A for tuition repayment for helping to recruit a vet. This is a fund that can be enhanced by the horse community, a community that will be using the services. I would probably ask to have the money go to the bill, HB 173, and not the State Vet fund

The General Fund part was put in to address the horse industries use of state parks, beaches, trails and roads. Again, I was in hope of the equine community taking on the responsibility of helping the State of NH.

Most bills need amendments to improve upon what is wished to be achieved and here are some thoughts on that should the bill get to a subcommittee…

I know that there are concerns about non-profit stables for handicapped riding and camps and those certainly could have special exemptions though I would hope that all of the animals were vaccinated.

Public boarding stables would not be exempt for the animal owner would be responsible to license the horse in the community in which they are stabled.

A stable license similar to a kennel license could be put in place, which would put a cap on the cost.

There will be more suggestions to come should this go beyond ITL. I hope that the horse community can come up with constructive ways to help the horse community!

Cheers,
Carla Skinder

[chestnutmare]

@amanda07 5291 wrote:

It cuts my grain bill in half, the horses do well on it, it non heating so the mule gets some too. It can be a bit of a pain in the bottom as it MUST be washed daily to take off any toxins associated with fermentation. it takes 4 days to germ so I keep4 buckets with holes in the bottoms, to make life easier. Cheers A
PS I started to add a little (40ml) of veg oil to help with protein assimilation, interested to hears what people think…

Wow, so it cuts grain costs in half. Now do you feed by weight or volume. The sprouted grains would weigh more because of the water absorption and plant growth so I would think that one might end up feeding less of the grain overall. I also wondered if the chlorophyll (if these grains are exposed to light) might have some additional benefit.

Thank you all for this interesting feed back. Has anybody had a colic or a bad experience feeding this to horses?

[chestnutmare]

Jenjudkins, I didn’t realize that this was being posted here so I posted in the horse forum. I guess what is important is that this is brought to the attention of the entire horse community. It is happening in New Hampshire but it could be your own home state. We do need to fight this and defeat it.

Rumor has it that the legislator who initiated this bill, Rep. Skinder has also proposed that fish be renamed “sea kittens” a term that is being popularized by PETA.

Check this out.

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/sea_kittens1

It appears that this woman is a PETA advocate and has an agenda.

Sea Kittens, guess she would be in favor of ending all fishing in the state. Along with using animals including horses for pleasure or work.

[chestnutmare]

Thank you Jenjudkins, I don’t think I can get to the hearing because of work. Some people at another horse site estimate a turnout of about 250. I would like to see at least that in order to effectively fight it. Are you going?

[chestnutmare]

I do not have enough information at this time to know why or how this bill came about. Rep. Skinder, (curiously also a horse owner) was the prime sponsor for the bill with Rep. Spaulding, Hills 18 Rep. Parkhurst, Ches 4, Sen. Roberge, Dist 9, and Sen. Cilley, Dist 6, cosponsoring the bill. The Dept. of Agriculture claims they were not notified of the proposed bill until Friday afternoon. Same with the NH Horse Council. It appears to have taken many by surprise. That is how lots of legislation gets passed. Often it is put through as a piggyback with some other legislation and then surprise, surprise, we are faced with another law. We should not be surprised that some bad legislation is passed surreptitiously with the net consequences being an additional cost, and loss of freedom.

I do not know but have a sneaking suspicion that this proposed bill has NAIS in the wings.

So with less money in our pockets, license plates on our horse’s tails and microchips in their ears, Uncle Sam will have on record all sorts of information about you and your horse and then have the gall to require a death certificate for your horse signed by a state licensed veterinarian.

[chestnutmare]

There is a hearing on Tuesday, 01/27 at 01:45 PM in the LOB (legislative office building behind the state house) in room 303. There is a contingency of horse people who plan to attend this hearing with some hoping for opportunity to testify against the bill.

It would be wise to contact your representatives regarding this issue and urge them to vote in opposition to the bill.

There is another site where horse people are actively making plans to fight this bill. You can find more information here:

http://discus.equinesite.net/discus/messages/5/17167.html?1232852200

Thank you for any efforts you make to secure and preserve whatever freedoms we have left.

The Chestnut Mare

[chestnutmare]

I have only read about this and they say that the sprouts are more nutritious and a good feed for all foraging animals including horses. These links do provide some information about nutrition of sprouted grains versus whole grains as well as some growing recommendations which I gather are crucial to the success of such a feeding program. It is quite easy for the sprouts to become moldy which would be dangerous to feed to an animal. If correctly sprouted, the grain increases its nutritional benefits many times over plus increases weight by as much as seven times. I would love to hear if any of you have had personal experience with such a feeding regimen and what you saw as the benefits.
http://www.animalitch.com.au/Drought.htm
http://www.foddersolutions.org/equine_nutr.htm
http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/ExEx2039.pdf.

[chestnutmare]

:)• The Horse magazine has printed a number of articles over the years concerning the results of research on the digestive system of the horse and the effects of high carbohydrate diets… that is, diets that include a large proportion of grain. One of the interesting points brought out in one article was that feeding too much grain actually reduced the caloric value of the whole ration. Other problems associated with too much grain include colic, ulcers, laminitis, chronic acidosis, and behavioral issues such as cribbing among others. The physiological reasons for all these problems are highly complex, yet all related to the structure and function of a horse’s gut. One study indicated that the risk of colic increased 4 1/2 times when horses were feed moderate to large amounts of grain. Without exception, these articles stress that the mainstay of a horse’s diet should be fiber, as in forage, as that’s what the horse’s digestive system is made to process. As stated in one article, “The primary objective of digestive health is to provide feeding strategies that optimize the function of horse intestines.” Unless a horse is in very heavy work, most horses should not be fed any grain at all. Some horses benefit from grain, but they are the exception, not the rule, and there may be better, healthier alternatives for keeping weight on a horse that has high energy requirements. They mention oils or rice bran, or highly digestible super fibers such as beet pulp or soya hulls. Many recreational horse owners feed grain out of habit, or simply because they “think” their horses need it because everyone else feeds their horses grain, when in fact their horses would be better off without little or no grain.

• Generally, a horse requires a daily food intake of 3% of their body weight. If given adequate hydration colic should not be a problem. The problem that many grain feeders experience with colic in horses is a lack of adequate hydration. Grain swells in the gut. Beet pulp is soaked in warm water for a prescribed period of time to absorb water and swell. In this case, there is no worry about colic as the horse receives plenty of hydration with this type of feed. With plenty of readily accessible drinking water, colic should not be a problem. There are other reasons for colic i.e. twisted colon; but impaction colic can be controlled by proper hydration and good feeding practices.

• Yes, horses have a fear flight response. Part of training is using that natural response in order to get them to do what you want them to do. Positively reinforced good behavior or proper responses usually result in the development of good habits. Negatively reinforced (an appropriate discipline within 3 seconds of a bad behavior) without anger or nagging, effectively breaks a horse of bad behavior. Like humans, some horses are quick learners and others are slow. You will have to work with what you’ve got. Dangerous behavior, biting, striking, rearing, kicking should not be tolerated. Someone could be easily injured.

Some horses have such excellent feet that they do not have problems. I suppose that is a function of breeding, food and environment. Most horses do better bare foot, without shoes but some require some shoeing usually when they are in heavy work.

I appreciate your post and am quite interested in what you are planning to do with your horse.

[Author]

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