The Voice of the Horse Exploring the Horse-Human Relationship Heart to heart
Posted By Jo on July 2, 2009 A new study by researchers in the Department of Animal Environment and Health at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala apparently shows that horses’ heart rates can be affected by a human’s heart rate. The study had people both ride and lead horses near someone holding an umbrella. The person with the horse thought the umbrella was going to be opened on the fourth time around, but it was not. There was an increase in both the human’s and the horse’s heart rate even though the umbrella was not opened, and the fourth pass was similar to the three previous passes. This study is evidence that subtle gestures we may or may not be aware of can influence our horse. Heart rate is one of them to consider. If we are leading or riding a horse who is fearful, we must always remember to be calm, no matter what the situation may be. Calmness can prevent situations from arising, and if they do arise, it can prevent them from escalating. We also have to remember that if we are fearful when riding or when leading a horse, the horse will pick up on that. The most helpful thing we can do is learn how to center when being around horses. Horses are herd animals, and it’s only natural for them to pick up on our nervousness and wonder if there is a reason to be nervous. READ FULL ARTICLE
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This is a reprint of Jasper's earlier article on the history of dancing bears. Click image to go to full article with more pics. Dancing Bears Have A Lot To Say About Humans Originally posted on Jasper's Blog 09/08/2010 Arcturos Bear Sanctuary, Mount Nympeon Greece Thirteen bears have found a home in the five-acre sanctuary in Greece, including an American black bear from a circus and three refugees from the Belgrade zoo brought in after the Yugoslavia wars. The other bears are the infamous "dancing bears" abandoned or confiscated from gypsies when the practice was banned in 1969. Treatment of Bears (Warning - This is very sad to read ....) by Lorraine Murray - March 6th, 2008 The bears are poached from the wild as cubs, an act that often necessitates killing the mother first. Some cubs, traumatized, die of shock. Others succumb to neglect or dehydration. Survivors are sold to trainers, who use sticks and physical threats to teach the orphaned cubs to stand, move on their hind legs, and perform other tricks. The cubs’ teeth are often knocked out or broken for the safety of humans; their nails are clipped short or removed (both of which are painful to bears); and a hot poker or piece of metal is run through the snout or lip to make a permanent hole through which a rope is anchored to control the bear. All of this is done without anesthesia. The trainers make the bears move by pulling on the rope, which causes great pain, and beating the bears if they do not obey. The owners, being poor themselves, cannot feed the bears a nutritionally sound diet even if they want to, and many bears lose their fur or suffer from cataracts and go blind. The behavior that audiences are encouraged to interpret as “dancing” is the product of aversive training. The Roma training method involved greasing the bears’ paws and having them stand on hot plates while music (often tambourines) played; the bears hopped on the plates to avoid the burning pain, which became associated in their minds with the sound of the music. Traumatized by the experience, they would instinctively "dance" whenever the familiar tune was heard. MORE PICTURES AND FULL ARTICLE January 7, 2011 11:35 am TWN, The China Post news staff A dog, which had been injured by a trap, is pictured surrounded by its puppies. The dog appeared at a press conference organized by the Taiwan Life Caring and Animal Rescue Organization and DPP Lawmaker Tien Chiu-chin. They hoped to raise public attention to the issue of animals injured by traps. (CNA) Activists in China urge ban on use of animal traps TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Taiwan Life Caring and Animal Rescue Organization (LCO) and Lawmaker Tien Chiu-chin of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party yesterday jointly called for the government to immediately restrict sale of animal traps and ban use of such traps to catch animals such as dogs and cats.They issued the call at a press conference held yesterday, showing a trap-injured black dog surrounded by seven baby dogs at the conference. Jung Mei-ling, spokeswoman of the LCO, said after receiving a call from an informant on Dec.11, 2010, the LCO found the injured dog, then pregnant, in Xindian District of New Taipei City, and the dog was forced to have its left front leg amputated one month after giving birth to seven baby dogs. Now the dog retreats fearfully upon seeing steel traps. Jung continued that there have been quite a few wild cats and dogs injured by leg traps, adding that her organization rescued over 400 cats and dogs caught in the traps, over 20 percent of which died afterwards. She said that the Animal Protection Act clearly stipulates that only licensed individuals are allowed to use leg traps, and violators can face fines of up to NT$75,000 (US$2,558). Nevertheless, people can easily buy the devices at any hardware store, Jung lamented. The LCO spokeswoman urged the government to immediately ban the sales of leg-hold traps and revised a revision of the Animal Protection Act to impose heavier criminal penalty on those who maltreat wild animals. At the press conference, Lawmaker Tien also called for Interior Minister Jiang Yi-huah and Director General Wang Chou-chun to pay greater attention to the issue of animal traps, saying that such traps may injure children as well. At the same time, Wu Chin-chun, an animal activist in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung, noted that such traps can be easily purchased for less than NT$30, adding that her organization receives over 30 calls a month related to such cases. Another activist said that animals caught by the traps suffer great pain and are often forced to drag the trap around until the leg falls off or they die of massive blood loss or starvation. According to the Council of Agriculture, it has reached an agreement with the country's hardware association to make sure store owners demand to see a license before selling the traps. Stores caught selling the traps to unlicensed individuals will face fines of up to NT$15,000. This report from the China Post Friday, December 24, 2010 Animal rights advocates sit in silent protest (see photo) against the commercial breeding of pets, calling for government regulation and intervention. Many of them are fasting for the cause. (CNA) TAIPEI, Taiwan — Cats with folded ears are all the rage, somehow made cuter by their aural anomaly; however, animal rights activists are informing the public to refrain from feeding this trend and in turn, the animal breeding business that “designs” the specific breed, especially as the folded feature is symptomatic of feline's illness and disease.The protests against the commercial breeding of domestic pets yesterday entered into its second day, continuing in the form of public fasts. On Wednesday, images of animal rights advocate Huang Tai-shan — who was fasting for the cause for four consecutive days — locking himself in a cage in front of the Shilin MRT Station quickly permeated the Internet, attracting over 10,000 supporters by Thursday night. One such proponent is an erstwhile cat-owner surnamed Liu, who joined the cause. Liu specifically wanted to bring awareness to the recent trend of owning felines with folded ears. As the owner of one such cat herself, Liu said her pet “Neko” died after a mere 15 months — and endured excruciating physical pain its whole life. The cats are adorable, but what people don't know is that the folded ears are symptoms of disease or illness, Liu said, adding that because of their popularity, animal breeders are churning them out without thinking about the animal's wellbeing. Using Neko as an example, Liu described these cats' often short lives as rife with physical ailments such as abnormal development, breathing and having a chronically weak immune system. Her cat died shortly after a visit to a veterinary hospital, succumbing to its severely swollen liver and pancreas. According to Liu, fellow owners of such cats described pets with bloody noses and limbs so weak they could not walk. "If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals." --Albert Einstein These are some of the wild animals that live around my cabin. It's interesting to observe their very distinct personalities. Through much time with them, they've come to trust me. It's a special bond and one that brings me closer to nature. I don't know what others see when they look at pictures like this, but I see all the good stuff in life. The words that spring to mind are: wonder, purity, compassion, beauty, innocence, love, happiness, warmth, soul.... and it leaves me with a sense of hope. These little faces also bring out the protector in me. I want their world to be safe and for their freedom to be secure. Thanks, Jasper for letting me post here today. To peace and happiness for all life, Betsy "At the moment our human world is based on the suffering and destruction of millions of non-humans. To perceive this and to do something to change it in personal and public ways is to undergo a change of perception akin to a religious conversion. Nothing can ever be seen in quite the same way again because once you have admitted the terror and pain of other species you will, unless you resist conversion, be always aware of the endless permutations of suffering that support our society."
--Arthur Conan Doyle Consider fostering a gentle giant. Explore their website for all the details. Straight from RMGDR's website: Because Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue does not have a shelter, we rely on our network of foster homes to provide a safe and stable temporary home for the dogs in our care until a permanent home is found. Our foster program is the heart of Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue. Put simply, the more families willing to open their hearts and homes to an orphaned Great Dane, the more dogs we can save. As a foster family, you will be helping Great Danes recover from severe neglect, mistreatment, loss of a home and sometimes illness. Welcoming a foster dog into your home is the first and most important step toward giving these dogs in need a chance at a better life. Often times, this is the first time the dog has ever felt loved and cared for. During the time you are fostering one of our gentle giants, we ask that you work with the dog to teach him/her basic obedience and treat the dog as a member of your family. We will work with you to help you learn the skills you will need if you have no experience. This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.
Hi animal lovers! Look for lots of new, exciting things to come in the new yea for animal rights & welfare. I'm starting my own website for all the animals very soon! I have my own email now. Please, please write me at Jasper@foralltheanimals.com. You can write my mom, Chippy, too! Just write Chippy@foralltheanimals.com. I hope we hear from you! Drop a line and let us know your thoughts. To peace, freedom and happiness around the globe! Thanks so much for dropping by. Namaste, Jasper The 2010 State Animal Protection Laws RankingsTM comes from one of my favorite organizations: The Animal Legal Defense Fund.
STRAIGHT FROM THEIR WEBSITE: The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) announces the release of its new study that underscores the often-considerable differences that exist between the animal protection laws of the states and territories of the United States of America. ALDF’s fifth annual report, the longest-running and most authoritative report of its kind, ranked each jurisdiction on the relative strength and comprehensiveness of their current animal protection laws. The ranking was based on a detailed comparative analysis of the animal protection laws of each jurisdiction, researching fourteen broad categories of provisions, throughout more than 4,000 pages of statutes. Each jurisdiction received a numerical ranking based upon its combined score and was grouped into a top, middle or bottom tier. The ranking also highlights the best five and worst five states overall. READ MORE AT ALDF.... |
"Ask not what an animal can do for you; ask what you can do for an animal." Jasper
"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men." ~Alice Walker The source of the quote is Walker's preface to Marjorie Spiegel's 1988 book, "The Dreaded Comparison" . Her next sentence was, "This is the gist of Ms. Spiegel's cogent, humane and astute argument, and it is sound." Archives
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"I was so moved by the intelligence, sense of fun and personalities of the animals I worked with on (the movie) Babe that by the end of the film I was a vegetarian." ~ James Cromwell Categories
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