HIGH WINDS BLOWING debris wildly through the air on an overcast day can be scary to a horse, especially when asking him to walk through a wind-slapped prop of loose ribbons and a white sheet. On this day, moveable objects flapping in the wind only added to the fun and training exercises for the 4-H youths who took part in the obstacle course last Sunday at JeffCo Fairgrounds.
Hosted by JC Horse Project leaders, horses were asked to cross over a wooden bridge, laid over a pole as it see-sawed while walked over, and remain calm when approached by a giant white-and-orange plastic chicken (manned by a human inside). They then got up close and personal with a huge blow-up black plastic witch sporting a bright neon green face. Another obstacle was to walk across a bright blue tarp. All designed to help desensitize a horse to new encounters.
Horses by nature are sensitive creatures, with a flight-or-fight instinct. With anything new, a horse’s instinct is to view it as they would a prey animal — spin around fast and run away. Just Google “desensitizing a horse” and you’ll discover there are many humane ways to do it.
As with any training session, it’s most important for the human to remain calm and patient while showing inner strength that projects confidence they are the leader. A horse doesn’t respect a weak or scared person as a leader, so it will frequently try to test that person and assert itself to become the dominant one in the relationship. Note: A horse will never trust a bully who tries to beat the horse into submission.
I spoke with a Horse Project Leader, Emily Bishop, questioning, with all the rain we had in the previous days I worried if I should even drive to the fairgrounds — a 45-minute drive from my house — thinking it may have been canceled.
“We almost canceled, but this is Washington,” she said, “We’re used to rain, and the weather forecast said it would stop raining early this morning and not start again until this afternoon.”
The forecast was spot on.
In the next few months, 4-H horse club members can look forward to holiday get-togethers, and Bishop said they’ve got an exciting new club, the Horseketeers.
What a fun name! Horseketeers is a new horseless club for all those interested in becoming an equine veterinarian or in veterinary science. Open to youths, ages 5-18, including those too young to ride in horse 4-H. A must-have club to those who’ve dreamt of becoming a horse vet or maybe just want to dip their toe into the horse world to get an idea of what working with horses is like. Questions and info? Contact Katie Haman at katherine.haman21@gmail.com
Generous spirit
Kristy Franson is the Horse Project leader. She’s known for loaning her horse Chief out to those who don’t own a horse but would love to have one and be in 4-H. That day, Juniper Orr was riding Chief through the obstacle course.
She wishes more horse owners would get involved and let a horseless youth ride their horse in 4-H events.
Her granddaughter Lyla Franson is in her final year in 4-H, aging out as a senior. She’s gratified Lyla takes her school work seriously, is enrolled in Running Start so she can graduate high school with her associate of arts degree and has set her sights on becoming a veterinarian.
“It’s a long, tough road to become one, and expensive,” said Franson, worrying Lyla won’t know what to do if she decides it’s too much. In other words, a typical family member worrying about their kid’s future well-being while at the same being supportive. Makes me feel warm and tingly inside thinking about such love.
We both sing our praises for the Running Start program and the ability to get an AA degree at the same time as they graduate high school — and it’s free to high schoolers. Talk about a good head start in life.
To join the JeffCo 4-H horse club, call Christy Franson at 360-301-5668. Or visit the Facebook page Jefferson County WA 4-H.
Disaster planning
For those who missed my Oct. 12 column, we’re still looking for more folks to join the committee working with Clallam County Emergency Management to help implement a large and small animal emergency plan in case of a major disaster.
Rectify
Correction to HORSEPLAY: A call to help those who help the community.
I received a voicemail from longtime animal activist Nicole Miller of Positive Animal Impact Rescue (PAIR), asking me to clarify the information I wrote in my column about the low-cost spay/neuter clinics offered through Fox-Bell Farm’s Facebook page. I wrote services were provided in cooperation with Spay to Save and PA veterinarian Dr. Pat Dowell. She said after that column was published, Dowell’s office was inundated with so many phone calls they had to turn off their phone.
While I was happy to hear so many responded to my column, Miller asked me to clarify two separate organizations, Positive Animal Impact Rescue (PAIR) and Spay to Save Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic of Clallam County, joined forces for the dog and cat spay/neuter clinics sponsored by Fox-Bell Farm. Both organizations offer their own low-cost mobile clinics. The 33-foot mobile surgery unit at Fox-Bell Farm was provided by PAIR. Port Angeles’ Dowell is one of the veterinarians who assists the nonprofit organizations by performing spay/neuter surgeries.
To find out when Fox-Bell Farm will host another clinic, keep an eye on its Facebook page. There is a long waitlist for those hoping to receive a low-cost, or subsidized, spay/neuter for their pets. Visit the Positive Animal Impact Rescue (PAIR) Facebook page for more information.
Unwanted litters have turned into an overwhelming number of unwanted dogs and cats on our Peninsula. You can help solve the problem for those who can’t afford the procedure by donating to PAIR online at https://givebutter.com/PAIRspayneuter. To get on the waitlist, email pair.clallam@gmail.com, along with these details: animal species, age, breed, sex, approximate weight; owner’s first and last name, owner’s phone number, email and current address.
To learn about upcoming Spay To Save clinics, visit its Facebook page, “Spay To Save.” To make a tax-deductible contribution to “Spay To Save” pay by credit card or PayPal online or mail your contribution to “Spay To Save” at Spay To Save, P.O. Box 2453, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
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Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, please email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also call her at 360-460-6299.
Juniper Orr carries a flag to be placed in a narrow barrel riding a paint horse named Chief, loaned to her by JC Horse Project Supervisor Christy Franson.
Photo by Karen Griffiths Lyla Franson’s horse Jackson didn’t hesitate to walk through the windblown plastic ribbons, and a flapping white sheet that most horses would have found too scary to walk through. Just one of several obstacles set up last Sunday by JC Horse Project leaders.
Marley Bishop did a fine job guiding Bucky through a tarp obstacle, making sure all four hooves landed inside the wood frame as he walked through it.
