Oh My Gosh! Here comes FOSH!

$30.00 - 1Complete Class (please give class no.)VHS $40.00 - 1Complete Class (give class no.) DVD $60.00 - 2Complete Class (please give class no.)VHS $80.00 - 2Complete Class (please give class no.) DVD $29.50 - 7th Annual Gaited (FOSH Event) Highlights VHS $39.50 - 7th Annual Gaited (FOSH Event) Highlights DVD

From the first moment I laid eyes on the horses in the arena I knew that they were happy, spoiled - if a little plump - horses and this would NOT be a show where that heart-in-your-mouth dread that something-bad-is-going-to-happen .

My intuition proved to be correct and for four days - even though the hours were horrendous for my young partner and myself - I allowed myself to be swept away by joyful emotions and childlike delight at the antics of all equine beauties and their loving owners. It was a horse show I will never forget. It was as a horse show should be - stress-free horses romping around and doing their thing - as naturally as possible. There was no whipping that I witnessed, no kicking, no nasty bits, no hurting horses. All seemed so well adjusted and happy to be out and socializing.

The judges were extremely strict and obviously gave a damn about the standards of sound horse judging. I could actually relax and enjoy the show - except we had to work so terribly hard. Once you have attended a FOSH (Friends of Sound Horses) show I doubt whether - if you still have a soul - you could ever in good conscience return to the suffering equines of the walking horse arena or the saddlebred or the cutting horses or the morgans for the purpose of commerce or pleasure.

The FOSH show was to me a floating island paradise surrounded by a dark and deadly sea. Out 'there', in the world of equestrian videography from whence I hailed until the unbearable galling of my gut and the dawning of the Light in my petty little life, where greed and ego rule over any mercy or kindness towards the animals.

Is my oversensitivity to the plight of living creatures because I was born this way, wandered amongst them in Africa as a child? Or, could it be that the extremes of my circumstances both physical and mental of my immigrant saga in America has left me feeling more like an abandoned animal than a human? Both reasons are probably correct.

The contrast between a cruel show and a kind show is so incredibly shocking that I feel I must do my utmost to expose cruelty and bring to light this wonderful organization and the truly good people who spearhead the movement.

Link
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From Wild Africa to Equestrian Showgrounds? - why?

Let's face it, the comments and nose-turnings by my fellow artists have occurred. I have had the pish-tash's directed towards all things equestrian video-wise. But there is a reason why I am so passionate about taping horses...

Originally, my expose' to equestrian videography was born out of the economic necessity of my starving immigrant status.

I have been involved in the TV business for a good chunk of my adult life.
I have done lots of exciting things, flown in helicopters, climbed remote mountains in Africa, gone great white shark spotting at the crack of dawn in a small boat, interviewed garden gnomes, videotaped a skydiver take a 'bounce' (fortunately he did not die), looked down a hole in a mountain plateau called Chingwe's Hole, seen human bones in caves of former cannibals, seen ships in the desert, seen the first 'known and living' coelecanth, met the famous, infamous, even the odd king here and there, killers and presidents (there is sometimes not much difference), seen a giant and ancient tree fall in a prehistoric forest, battled deadly snakes, been chased by a nasty ass spider with visible teeth and I have held huge, uncut diamonds so beautiful they sang to my woman-soul. These are some of the memories that come to mind right now.

Of all these things I have experienced and/or filmed, nothing has ever involved all of me as much as video taping horses. There is an unfathomable connection between me, the camera and the horse. Their ethereal spirits seem to have me spellbound.

At times, there is more magic than others. When a horse is relatively undamaged by cruel and greedy trainers and has not yet had his/her spirit broken and I can 'find' the creature through my lens - for a few minutes and my being is somehow lifted.

It's not as though this profession choice pays well. It most certainly does not. The hours can also be very long and frequently surrounded by pompous and not so nice people. But that thrill of those moments when you, your camera and horse are one - in such perfect unity. There is no 'objective', behind the lens non- experience. It is synchronicity at its best.
I have discovered, in America, a different kind of adrenaline high.
I wouldn't change it for the world.

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Walking Horse Expose`- CRUEL PRACTICES

There's a mighty big scandal which has hit the lucrative Tennessee Walking Horse Show this year. I just saw the five O clock news on TV in Nashville, TN. The obsequious reporter was giving his ‘schpiel’ from Shelbyville Arena where the Tennessee Walking Horse finals are hosted every year. He was rambling on with some apparent sense of indignity about the humane authorities shutting down a whole number of events and ‘costing’ the state and county a great deal of money. That’s all he was concerned about –
not the horrendous cruelty so many of the poor creatures endure in order to give their ego-maniacal, cash-flush and social climbing ‘owners’ a big stiffie by winning the Blue Ribbon. Many of those riders are like giant and mean trolls sitting atop those noble creatures. All you have to do is study the faces to see the caliber of the soul within.

I attended two of those events some years back but soon gave that up. It is quite horrible to watch those poor creatures give their all for the slave masters who own them. For the most part, the bloated, mostly male, largely Nero types with cruel eyes, thick necks and decadent mouths are horrendous and uncaring about the treatment and/or loss of their ‘stock’ – except as wallets are impacted. They secretly soar (burn with acid) the feet of the horses to ‘encourage’ the horses to raise their legs up high. All this to give some trolls a smooth ride! Some trainers and owners have defensively informed me that they do not break the law neither do they cruelly treat their horses. I reserve official judgment on this until I find out more facts.

I am GLAD they got hauled over the coals. I am so proud and relieved that there are those who still have the courage to go against popular opinion and ‘speak’ for the unvoiced ones.

As for the economic impact issue: I have this to say: Hitler provided a lot of work for people operating the concentration camps and when the war ended those people lost their jobs. Does that mean he should’ve been allowed to continue just so those satanic beings not be ‘economically impacted’? It is a moronic argument to defend ANY practice that comes with such a high price directly and on a global energetic level. Should foresters be allowed to deforest just because it would impact their immediate economic wellbeing? The list continues ad infinitum. Foolish and ‘bluntened’ human beings!

Here are a couple of links on the history of the Walking Horse and also this one.

Please do not misunderstand my motivation for slamming all forms of cruelty. I do not believe that there is anything amiss with horse events – correctly and kindly done. In fact, I actively encourage this – and so should you. The correlation between inter-human relationships and the way animals are treated is inextricably connected. Show the overall whole health of the mammal population of any region or country and you have a strong indicator of the rot OR goodness in that area or country. Evil is pervasive and should be stomped on at every turn.

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Winning at any cost - Roadster class - Saddlebred

I returned Sunday from an extremely busy Saddlebred event in Louisville, Kentucky. Oh Boy! I DO have things to say - indeed I do! I shall speak from my heart and speak my own truth about things I saw and experienced.

If you are interested in reading a somewhat 'uncomfortable' opinion by a horse 'groupie' then by all means read on!I spent an exhausting week in Louisville, Kentucky last week and have been chewing over in my mind how I was going to broach this subject.

It was an enormous show. I have never before seen such bloated wealth and opulence in one place. Millions of dollars were represented in the arena. The Shattners were there, the Schaffers, some fellow from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and many others who represent old and new money. The Saddlebred industry is big money and big business and even more massive egos. There were lots of pretentious people – with scatterings some genuinely nice humans.

The children of those with excess financial resources are miniatures of their parentage and were just an overall shallow and nasty lot. Not all, mind you, so don’t let me give a totally wrong impression. I simply have a real loathing for pretentiousness. True grace is a rarer and rarer commodity.

The kindly trainers and riders are few and far between and the cruel methods for training these horses have tacit approval by most. Winning is everything to them.

Let me talk about one event that has me very disturbed – it is rather like a watershed moment for me:

It was on Friday night during the Roadster class. There were too many hyped up, over adrenalized horses with their chariots in the arena. Roadster horses fly around the arena at such speed that it has great potential for tragic consequences.

There was a dead heat. All the judges were locked on the first three places. The horses, their sides heaving, sweat dripping from their bodies, eyes reddened and wild, stood waiting for the results. The judges made a very bad call. Put the balance of the horses in the center of the arena and re-race the top three. Even an amateur to these shows can see that expecting trigger happy horses to stand still when all they have been ever trained to do is respond to the roar of the crowd, the race and to go, go, go.

The horses almost went berserk. These horses are designed for quick sprints – they are not marathon runners. I could feel my stomach knot with stress and I could not believe that these so called experts had made such a call without any concern whatsoever for the animals. Exhaustion can kill and irreparably damage them. Shattners’ horse was already – after the first event - utterly exhausted and that beautiful dark horse was white with sweat. The crowd roared and bayed for more. The crowd’s hysterical bloodlust was united in their lack of concern. It was an atmosphere of Roman crowds for the flowing of Christian blood in the coliseums of Rome.

The trainers, riders and owners could have at any time stopped the class but they were swept up in the unbridled bloodlust of the moment: to win at any cost.

For the second time there was a tie in the results. They (the judges) again dismissed the remainder of the horses from the arena ‘in the interests of safety’. The top three horses looked as though they could take no more.

For the third time in immediate succession, they raced those poor creatures. The results were in and who by now even cares? Shattners horse is not a young horse and is in the teens. One horse tore a ligament and the other I have not yet heard the result. I have absolutely no doubt that the horse belonging to Shattner has been irreparably damaged and will not last long. The cost was extremely high. All that for a stupid ribbon!

On finals night, there was almost a guilty air hovering over the official table. The classes were kept shorter but I cannot get this out of my mind.
Go to this link and read the APPROVING review.

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A horse above many - The Licorice Drop Kid

From the moment he first burst into the arena, the air charged with electricity. His name will tattoo on your dreams - Licorice Drop Kid, Licorice Drop Kid. Other champions who were stunning in their own way and former Blue Ribbon Winners, seemed to give up when they felt his power, his essence, his presence. More likely, it was the riders who gave up.

This magnificent young stallion appears to float around the ring. It is as if he is born to win. His owner, Tom (forgive me, I have forgotten his last name) is apparently a man of the people. He has either one or two missing legs and wears prosthesis so riding for him is rough at the best of times. Much of Tom's dreams and Tom's money, not to speak of years of time, are wrapped up in this incredible animal. He beats the neveou riche, the old rich their bored petty cash excesses and tax breaks with his (I assume, formerly) limited cash resources and Real Man character. Both Man and Horse deserve every Blue Ribbon they get. This horse's beauty and grace is so phenomenal to observe through the lens of my camera that sometimes I catch a tear falling to my cheek. It is a moment, a personal history, a unicorn like dream freeze-frame. I love this horse, I respect the man.

I went to see Licorice in his stall about an hour after yet another Blue Ribbon win and the adrenaline had eased from his system. I could see at a glance that he was so spoiled and so pampered. He had a lordly vibe and was rather gentle for a stallion. It is obvious he suffers no abuse and no evil training techniques. I got to hug him a little bit. I savored the moment. From that moment I became Licorice's groupie - unashamedly so.

I got this picture from: clickedy clack

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American Saddlebred event soon!

I'll be leaving this weekend to tape a horse show in Kentucky. I have been working around Nashville for the last couple of months and I am feeling penned up. So, I'll be moseying down the road to Kentucky early Sunday morning. I am very excited about that. There is nothing like that electricity that runs through me when those elegant creatures enter the arena. I hope I get to see Licorice Drop Kid. That horse is absolutely exquisite. Some time in the future, I will haul out some footage I have of him and post it on my site. I don't think the blogger crowd has videos as yet.

If you're interested in videotaping horses shows I can happily tell you how to do it. (Lots of 'artists' are all about guarding their techniques and secrets but I am not like that for the most part.) I believe in spreading the love, sharing the art. It's not for everyone and sometimes the people you work for really suck and the money dreadful. You either like the life or you don't.

I'll write more on techniques for taping horse shows in the future, I promise.

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Cruel horse breeding practices

Horse breeders, through their own greed and misguided genetic profiling, have adopted and accepted as normal the vile and cruel practice of keeping their highest value studs closed up in barns.

There the poor creatures are deprived of normal social interaction and their behaviour has had an alarming result. There is no longer the neccessary and formerly instinctive pattern of courtship and healthy herd behaviour.

According to research by the most phenomenal woman who has managed to bridge the divide between animal and human via way of autism, has found that the stud horses have become rapists incapable of proper and natural interaction. Highly recommended reading for those interested in this subject. And if you're not interested, you should be - you obviously need further enlightenment. It will open up many possiblities.

I have been listening to Temple Grandin on library CD's. Mindblowing stuff.

Here is the link.

Also, for the most exquisite pictures which actually capture the spirit of the horse try this link

The photograph on this blog was taken from the above link. It is unbelievably beautiful.

I would like this blog to be dedicated to the cessation of ALL cruelty towards horses and all other animals.

Temple Grandin is also a fellow blogger. Here is her blog.

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