Zoe's Story

Monday 3 June 2013

New Foals at Windy Coulee, May 2013

Patricia was due May 8th, 2013.  It was worth the wait, but what a wait it was, she delivered a very healthy foal, a colt,around 1 am on May 31st!  I slept through the check and found them at 4 am, in the shed.  Patricia, the Drama Momma, is very proud, and has been standing with her head up scanning for anything that might come within a km or so from her pride and joy!  The colt is by Phenom, Julie's amazing little stallion.  But, this colt will be a big boy, long legged and is a gem, full of manners and kindness, like both his parents!

Patricia and her colt, May 31, 2013.  He was born around 1 am that morning!  His name will start with an "A" this year too!

Patricia and her colt
I love this photo, Patricia's colt is a handsome fellow with a lovely crescent moon on his forehead!

Patricia and her colt, day one.  


Quizie waited for me to come by on my regular barnyard check the morning of May 6th, she probably wondered what took me so long, I was there at 1:30 am, and she indicated she wanted to foal.  I went into the corral, comforted her and she laid down and had the foal right there.  She is a wonderful mare, and Suzanne, who I purchased her from last year, warned me, Quizie (Equiz) wants a person there when she foals!  This colt is by Dawn, Suzanne's proven stallion.  He is the full brother of our colt Zefyr!


Quizies' colt, born at 2 am May 6th

Quizie and her colt, in the small pasture in front of the house!

He is a sweet little guy, and his name will start with an "A" this year.

Thursday 14 February 2013

Number 1.Take an Advocacy Role! Heidi's Top 10 Equine Stewardship Practises.

Heidi's Top 10 Stewardship Practises. I don't want to tell anyone what to do, or give out free "advice".  But, I do want to encourage responsible horsemen to think more deeply.  Many people do not think things through, and actually say or influence others with statements that are not accurate.  If horsemen took the time to think things through, they may act differently in some situations.  Perhaps, these practises which I strive to abide by, may help others develop their own top 10 stewardship practises. So, what does the responsible horsemen do to demonstrate stewardship?



Number 1. Take an Advocacy Role.  Support equine stewardship, discourage thoughtless human behaviour and neglect.  Take an advocacy role and write your government representatives to encourage stronger legislation for horse abusers;  find out what defines a criminal offence according to the law and report it to local authorities if you see it happening in your community.  Speak, write, tweet, blog and encourage dialogue for what is right.

I am a teacher.  I teach about nature with the hope that every child who has a wonderful experience in nature will respect, enjoy, and value it.  I hope that one day my students will teach others to do the same . . . and so on.  People who know the value of nature, work to make sure that wilderness on our planet will stay that way.  They know that natural ecosystems help sustain our human race and our culture.  It must be protected for this as well as its intrinsic beauty.  Millions of people are working towards this cause all over the world, in spite of it being an insurmountable task. One could quite easily give up, especially considering current events and the scale of the issues.



Encouraging stewardship of our equines is an easier task.  I believe many horse enthusiasts are mindful, respectful and caring of their equine partners; they are equine stewards.  I also believe that many horsemen take the time to care for their equine partners right till their end.  However, there is still work to be done.  Even equestrian federations advocate to support horse slaughter, because they believe the "borderline" horse owner would choose that if the other option was neglect.  Frankly, I am an advocate for encouraging equine stewardship, the very best care and understanding of our horses. The "borderliners", well, I hope to help them understand that they must care for the animals they are responsible for right to the end, and I advocate that neglecters should receive adequate punishment through the law.  

Equine stewards need to help our representative organizations, like our provincial equestrian federations know that we need to strive for the highest level of care and stewardship for our horses, and people need to know what that is.  Thinking that horse slaughter is a "good service"  and a kind end is misguided and does not qualify as stewardship. 


Becoming an advocate for equine stewardship and stewardship of the land draw from the same mind.  I find strength from the power of one ideology.  We can all make a difference, one person at a time.  We can all act professionally and compassionately and be the stewards our equine partners need us to be.  We can all teach, inspire and encourage others to make a difference.  All of us, acting individually act together.  We can take the time to make the right choices, take the extra time to do a good job of placing our horses in true homes, follow up, do our due diligence and prevent problems in the first place. 

Equine stewardship is demonstrated when we strive to excel in sport, care, communication, and demonstrate scientific and artistic thinking as equestrians - that is how we make connections with horses, develop partnerships, provide the leadership, direct the herd. Lets use these skills to improve our industry - encourage stewardship, make change.

Friday 1 February 2013

Number 2 - Ride Your Horse! Heidi's Top 10 Equine Stewardship Practises.

Heidi's Top 10 Stewardship Practises. I don't want to tell anyone what to do, or give out free "advice".  But, I do want to encourage responsible horsemen to think more deeply.  Many people do not think things through, and actually say or influence others with statements that are not accurate.  If horsemen took the time to think things through, they may act differently in some situations.  Perhaps, these practises which I strive to abide by, may help others develop their own top 10 stewardship practises. So, what does the responsible horsemen do to demonstrate stewardship?

It might sound obvious, but key to being an equine steward, is riding your horse! You have to enjoy what you are doing to spend time doing it and spending quality time, creates the partnership we are striving for as stewards! 



I had a Willing Worker on Organic Farm guest a few years ago, who expressed her joy while she was riding.  She laughed and smiled much of the time spent with the horses. Laughing, when well timed and "with the right meaning" is good for the horses and everyone around.  As we all know, a smile takes fewer muscles than a frown.  Your face relaxes when you smile.  The horses respected her and performed.  I have adopted this practice and it works.




Have fun . . . be safe.  Get out there, compete, ride with friends, organize events, trail ride, show, photograph, train, practice, learn, teach, challenge and most of all, ride your horse, and don't forget to smile!


Friday 4 January 2013

Number 3. Sell and Rehome Responsibly. Heidi's Top 10 Equine Stewardship Practises.


Number 3. Sell and Rehome Responsibly.  Heidi's Top 10 Equine Stewardship Practises.

Heidi's Top 10 Stewardship Practises. I don't want to tell anyone what to do, or give out free "advice".  But, I do want to encourage responsible horsemen to think more deeply.  Many people do not think things through, and actually say or influence others with statements that are not accurate.  If horsemen took the time to think things through, they may act differently in some situations.  Perhaps, these practises which I strive to abide by, may help others develop their own top 10 stewardship practises. So, what does the responsible horsemen do to demonstrate stewardship?

Number 3. Sell and Rehome Responsibly.  Take the time to make sure the horses you are responsible for go to responsible homes.  
When breeders raise and develop a horse for a specific purpose of sale, an entire economy is supported - veterinarians, feed producers, supplement developers, farriers, trainers, equipment manufacturers, artists, saddle builders and that economy is supported by many more volunteers from the dad who builds the riding ring at home after work, to the countless supporters of 4H, pony club, horse shows, volunteer run equine sporting organizations; the list goes on.  A question I now write, is this.  If you are a breeder putting all that into a horse, how could you let your horse go to any home that is not the best possible home for that horse? Wouldn't it be better to hold onto your "product" until someone is going to take it to another level, and show off what you helped to create?  And if you were an owner, or steward of a horse, having made the commitment of caring for that animals best interest, would you not want to see that horse go to someone who is as well, if not better suited to that horse than yourself if you needed to sell?  Still, good, no, exceptional horses end up in places and situations you can only shake your head at.  A sad state of affairs.  Why are horses ending up with the wrong partner, doing the wrong thing or worse off, not having a job at all and worse ever, ending up needing to be rescued?

We all feel great when our horses are in good hands, doing a job and being cared for properly.
The Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society (OSAS), does an outstanding job of ensuring horses in their care (these are standardbred race horses who are no longer racing) go to appropriate homes.  In the adoption application form OSAS writes, "adopted horses may never be bred, raced, sold, leased, given away or commercially used." (Commercially used refers to slaughter).  Their goal is to find these horses good, loving, lifetime homes.  OSAS takes their horses back if the new owner can not keep them anymore and “rehomes” them almost immediately.  The organization even has guardians; volunteer horsemen who help out the new owners and provide support when needed.  Horses in the program come from Standardbred breeders or race horse owners who receive a tax receipt for the donation of the horse.  They are then rehabilitated, retrained, and kept in paid foster homes until placed.  While a costly process, the program is funded by the racing industry itself, as well as fund raising programs and private donations!  Wow, what a way to stand behind your horse breed. Other breed organizations have also stepped up to the plate, the good news stories of this kind are too numerous to write about.  Cavalia, the amazing Canadian production that celebrates the horse, featured two horses that Alberta based, Bear Mountain Horse Rescue had saved.  There is a question, what are two horses, suitable for performing with the Cavalia troup, doing in a situation where they need rescue?

You do not have to be a not for profit organization to insist that the horse you bred, raised, trained, and marketed for sale, goes to an appropriate home.  Many individual breeders and trainers work to ensure the horses they raised are sold to suitable homes. I know more than one horse breeder who stands behind the horses they raise and train, and understands if the partnership does not work out on the rare occasion with a new owner.  It can be a financial set back but breeders who are willing to put in the time to take the horse back, get it back on track and make sure that horse finds the right human partner help make sure everyone, especially the horse and rider succeed.  Better that than risk the horse being passed on to another improperly matched owner, which begins the downward spiral where the horse is inevitably blamed for humans poor choices.  The Unwanted Horse Coalition 2009 Unwanted Horse Survey reports that many horsemen feel that continuing to educate owners to purchase and own responsibly, is an important practise.