Gitchie

Welcome to our blog home page. We had a beautiful website that was hacked and all of our content was lost. Many photos and great information  put together by Tom Wolf through  many hours of work were destroyed. . Since that happened we decided to use a blog for our site until we have the time to put together another awesome site. But for now, we will be posting everything here. So welcome to.. BLUE HORSE MUKWA EQUINE RETIREMENT AND RESCUE CENTER BLOG. We will be adding information as much as possible..but the care of the animals comes first!!!

Many Blessings in the Spirit of the Horses

to contact us :bluehorsemukwa@hotmail.com 

Meet Burritto..photo by Amy Eason

Rabiah and the Herd

Ms.Ishgooda playing hide and seek

In our organization we have a dog rehoming program and part of that requires in home visits. Some of the areas that our four legged friends may end up being rehomed are several hours away, but we still have to insure that both the canine and human connection are a good match. So for that ,we have great volunteers who visit homes before and after  to make sure that everyone is happy.

Susan Patton is our volunteer for Central Virginia including Richmond and surrounding areas. Susan has been involved in rescue and placement for many years.
Mollie McCurdy takes care of Northern Virginia. Mollie was a humane investigator and has saved many animals from a lifetime of suffering.
Tammy Uren takes care of the Hampton Roads area. Tammy is a former Vet Tech and is great with animals.She also designs beautiful beadwork that helps to benefit our horses.
South Side Virginia I take care of.

Tom Wolf is our wonderful computer guru. He designs our web blog and keeps it running. He also has filmed and edited several great DVD’S featuring our horses for us. Tom is a Ti Chi Instructor and a computer genius!!
Betty Marshall has be with us since the forming of our organization. She has been instrumental in helping to take care of receipts and making sure they stay in order.Betty owns her own business in Virginia Beach. Sea Mist Skin Care. She was the accountant for SPSA many years.
Anna Pierce is an apprentice for becoming a barn manager. She has the skill and the patience in working with the horses. She loves all animals too.
Wendy Coulson is one of our house photographers!!! Wendy is a fine artist ad she does incredible cake decorating as well. Her equine and, actually ,all of her animal photograhy is beautiful.
All I can say is thank you !! Not just from me, but from all the animals you help here at Blue Horse. All the horses, dogs, cats and pigs!!! Thank you! You make it happen!!

If you would like to Volunteer at Blue Horse , please contact us!! We need you!

to contact us email us at bluehorsemukwa@hotmail.com

This is Chase , one of our rescues!! 

Thank you to each and everyone of you, thank you for your kindness and compassion for the ones that can’t speak for themselves. Thank you for helping to provide warmth and shelter and fresh water for theses beautiful creatures. Thank you for making my work load a little easier in just knowing they are protected.

MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL!!!!!

Rabiah

Every horse that has come to Blue Horse has been an inspiration. Each one teaches us something about ourselves. We learn patience,trust,understanding and responsibility. Responsibility to the spirit of the horse and what gifts they have contributed to human beings.

The horse was introduced to American Indian people over 200 years ago when the Spanish came to Turtle Island.
The true spirit of the horse was captured by Indian people and nothing could equal the bond between horse and rider. Horses brought the people together and enabled them to travel great distances in short periods of time and to hunt for food much more effectively and to move their families away from danger.

Today the horse brings much pleasure to those that own and ride and appreciate them. Unfortunately, often times these beautiful spirited creatures meet disastrous ends. They are used and abused by those that are suppose to love and care for them. We see it everyday at Blue Horse.

There is a traditional American Indian teaching which states,”We are responsible for the next seven generations, honor the earth and ALL Creation, for your childrens, children and those yet to come.
The earth is not ours to destroy, we are only passing through, return it in better condition than you found it”.

Meaning , taking care of ALL the two legged, four legged, the things that swim, crawl and fly..

We need to re-connect to the earth and remember who we really are in the scheme of creation. We are a part of nature, not separate from it. We must embrace nature, not destroy our home. It is believed that the horses spirit came from the sun in some of the teachings, they were selected to help humans. Now we must help them.

Your horse should be your partner and companion, not a commodity and not disposable, they have given you their hearts and spirits to make you shine….Now let them have peace for the rest of their natural life. THEY SHOULD BE TREATED WITH HONOR, DIGNITY AND RESPECT AS SHOULD ALL LIVING THINGS.

In the Spirit of the Horses
Rabiah Seminole

Jeff Winn will be constructing the shelter. Jeff owns and operates his own business in Chase City, Va and has volunteered many hours at Blue Horse making repairs and building shelters.

The Shelter for the Elders project will be underway within the next two weeks and be completed before the cold weather sets in.

Thanks for your help:)

Rabiah and the Herd

A General Look at Ranger

The first thing to note is that as a two and a half year old, Ranger is a “teenager.” He’s not mature physically, nor will he be until he’s at least six. Despite a nice development of chest and a fine long neck, there is that unmistakable lack of length and muscular fullness to the hindquarters and the little weakness or lack of arch at the base of the neck that smacks of the gawkiness of subadulthood. The withers are not as high as they will someday be, either. Note please however, that I have not said anything about Ranger having a big head – because he doesn’t (compare length of head to length of neck; a horse’s head is not to be considered “large” until it is longer than the underline of the neck). I like the so-called “old fashioned” head of the Standardbred, Morgan, Saddlebred, and Walking Horse. An Arabian head is fine – on an Arabian, but the Arabian head shape should not be the universal definition of “good” in heads. Ranger’s is an excellent head with sharp bony definition, a good eye, and a real good expression. There are also solid reasons, having to do with the proper eruption and functioning of the teeth, for preferring a straight or slightly arched head, such as Ranger shows, to certain types of dished construction, and for preferring a longer face (as measured from eye to muzzle) to a foreshortened face.

All Horses of All Breeds Mature Skeletally at the Same Rate

Now I want to discuss the concept of skeletal maturity and deal with that concept thoroughly. Ranger is not mature, as I said, as a 2 ½ year old. This is not because Ranger is a “slow-maturing” individual or because he comes from a “slow maturing” breed. There is no such thing. Let me repeat that: no horse on earth, of any breed, at any time, is or has ever been mature before the age of six (plus or minus six months). So, for example, the Quarter Horse is not an “early maturing” breed – and neither is the Arabian a “slow maturing” breed. As far as their skeletons go, they are the same. This information comes, I know, as a shock to many people who think starting their colt or filly under saddle at age two is what they ought to be doing. This begs discussion of (1) what I mean by “mature” and (2) what I mean by “starting”.

When is a Horse Skeletally Mature?

Just about everybody has heard of the horse’s “growth plates”, and commonly when I ask them, people tell me that the “growth plates” are somewhere around the horse’s knees (actually the ones people mean are located at the bottom of the radius-ulna bone just above the knee). This is what gives rise to the saying that, before riding the horse, it’s best to wait “until his knees close” (i.e., until the growth plates convert from cartilage to bone, fusing the epiphysis or bone-end to the diaphysis or bone-shaft). What people often don’t realize is that there is a “growth plate” on either end of every bone behind the skull, and in the case of some bones (like the pelvis or vertebrae, which have many “corners”) there are multiple growth plates. So do you then have to wait until all these growth plates convert to bone? No. But the longer you wait, the safer you’ll be. Owners and trainers need to realize there’s an easy-to-remember general schedule of fusion – and then make their decision as to when to ride the horse based on that rather than on the external appearance of the horse. For there are some breeds of horse – the Quarter Horse is the premier among these – which have been bred in such a manner as to look mature long before they actually are mature. This puts these horses in jeopardy from people who are either ignorant of the closure schedule, or more interested in their own schedule (for futurities or other competition) than they are in the welfare of the animal.

The Schedule of Growth-Plate Conversion to Bone

The process of converting the growth plates to bone goes, in general, from the bottom of the animal up. In other words, the lower down toward the hoofs you look, the earlier most of the growth plates will have fused; and the higher up toward the animal’s back you look, the later. The growth plate at the top of the coffin bone (the most distal bone of the limb) is fused at birth. What that means is that the coffin bones get no taller after birth (they get much larger around, though, by another mechanism). That’s the first one. In order after that:

• Short pastern – bottom before birth; top between 9-12 months.

• Long pastern – bottom unites with shaft at or shortly before birth; top 13 to 15 mos.

• Cannon bone – top unites with shaft at or shortly before birth; bottom unites with shaft at about 18 mos.

• Small bones of the knee – top and bottom of each, between 18 mos. and 2 years

• Radius-ulna – upper weightbearing surface, between 15-18 mos.; distal surfaces, between 3 and 3.5 years

• Humerus – bottom, between 1.5 and 2 years; top, between 3 and 3.5 years

• Scapula – glenoid or bottom (weight-bearing) portion – between 3 and 3.5 years

• Hindlimb – cannon bone, coffin bone, and pasterns same as forelimb

• Hock – this joint is “late” for as low down as it is; growth plates on the tibial and fibular tarsals don’t fuse until the animal is 3-3.5 (so the hocks are a known “weak point” – even the 18th-century literature warns against driving young horses in plow or other deep or sticky footing, or jumping them up into a heavy load, for danger of spraining their hocks).

• Tibia – bottom, between 20 mos. And 2 years; top, between 3 and 3.5 years

• Femur – there are 4 major epiphyses on this bone, including the head that goes into the hip socket; they fuse between 3 – 4 years.

• Pelvis – the hip socket is firm between 18 mos. and 2 years, but the rest of the bone does not stop growing until the horse is 5 or more years old.

….and what do you think is last? The vertebral column, of course. A normal horse has 32 vertebrae between the back of the skull and the root of the dock, and there are several growth plates on each one, the most important of which are those that cap the centrum. These do not finally fuse until the horse is at least 5 ½ years old (and this figure applies to a small-sized, scrubby, range-raised mare. The taller your horse and the longer its neck, the later the last fusions will occur. And for a male – is this a surprise? – you add six months. So, for example, a 17-hand Thoroughbred, Saddlebred or Warmblood gelding may not be fully mature until his 8th year – something that owners of such individuals have often told me that they “suspected”).

Read the complete article at http://www.equinestudies.org/ranger_2008/ranger_piece_2008_pdf1.pdf

]]> http://bluehorsemukwa.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/too-youngtoo-soon/feed/ 0 bluehorsemukwa http://bluehorsemukwa.wordpress.com/2007/12/26/a-christmas-story/ http://bluehorsemukwa.wordpress.com/2007/12/26/a-christmas-story/#comments Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:51:26 +0000 bluehorsemukwa http://www.bluehorsemukwa.org/?p=137 ]]> As everyone knows, yesterday was Christmas morning. It is the morning that every young person looks forward to. As a rescue, it is like every other morning, the 40  horses that live here have to be feed ,watered and hayed. Their stalls have to be cleaned. I usually start at 4 am almost everyday. As I was walking out to start the morning, I thought about all the folks that were going to get up to a warm cup of coffee and children waking to their toys etc. I have never really had help on Christmas morning , and that is understandable and I really do not expect it….
Yesterday was different, at 7 am a 14 year old young man showed up. He wanted to help me. …He said he told his parents this is what he wanted to do and that he would check out his gifts when he got home if that was alright with them. He said they were going to come back and  pick him up at 9 am. I could not believe it. He gave up his Christmas morning and all his gifts were put on hold to help me do chores.
He did one of the hardest jobs, he did the water for all the horses, dragging the hose is not fun or easy,it is heavy,wet and cold.  He helped me do shavings, he helped me feed and then pick up buckets.
Victor gave me a very special gift, he reminded me what Christmas is really about, giving of oneself, from the heart.

I just thought this was worth sharing as he is an inspiration to me and someone we can all learn from…
Thank you Victor for making my Christmas day so special.
What he said to me touched my heart…
“i didn’t think you should have to be doing this alone on Christmas morning, no one should be alone on Christmas”.

He then said, “don’t tell anyone I said that”……”they won’t think i am cool”

Blue Horse Mukwa Equine Retirement and Rescue Center
25859 Hwy 49
Chase City, Va 23924
757-439-4206
www.bluehorsemukwa.org
501 (c) 3 nonprofit Organization