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New Year's Resolution: Take Back America from Obama and the RINO's By Michael Oberndorf Dec. 31, 2011

2011-12-31T23:28:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Resolution: Take Back America from Obama and the RINOs

December 31, 2011 By Michael Oberndorf 1 Comment

Barack Hussein Obama-Soetoro is a sociopathic liar. He says what he thinks his audience on a given day wants to hear, promising the sun and the moon. The next day, he will say the total opposite, if that’s what the new audience wants. He’s not a flip-flopper; he’s a compulsive liar. However, there is one promise he made, back during the 2008 campaign, that it appears he’s not going back on and is actually going to keep. Unfortunately for the American people, it’s a promise that will cost us dearly, and possible destroy us as a viable economic nation.
In an interview on November 2, 2008, Obama-Soetoro outlined his plan to impose the so-called cap-and-trade system, a plan devised by radical inventors of man-made global warming, that he said would bankrupt the coal and coal-fired energy industry by imposing hugely expensive environmental restrictions on them. As it turned out, the American people, led by the Tea Parties, pressured Congress to kill this bald-faced attempt to wreck the economy.
Not to be deterred though, by the wishes of the people they are supposed to serve, the Marxists and neo-fascists in the Obama-Soetoro administration have made it clear that they intend to ignore the Constitution, end-run Congress, and impose their job-killing, economy-destroying agenda on America, whether Americans like it or not. And they have chosen the EPA – the unconstitutional Environmental Protection Agency – as the vehicle to do this.
The most recent among many draconian outrages imposed by the rogue EPA are a set of regulations called MACT – Maximum Achievable Control Technology. They are Barack Hussein Obama-Soetoro’s green and red Christmas gift to the nation. It is estimated they will result in the closing of some 60 coal-fired power plants, huge rises in the cost of electricity, and the direct destruction of at least 3,000 jobs. The ripple effect from this, though, is likely to be tens of thousands of lost jobs and the human misery caused by this, and billions in economic losses. Merry Christmas, America!

These regulations require that power plants eliminate 90 percent of their mercury emissions. However, power plant emissions of mercury, reduced over the years by energy producers, amount to a mere 0.5 percent of the mercury in the atmosphere. Most atmospheric mercury occurs naturally or is produced by industry in Communist China. The simple truth is that this regulation will have virtually no effect on the environment, but will indeed, as promised by Barack Hussein Obama-Soetoro, bankrupt the coal and coal-fired electricity production industries.
As usual, the “science” involved is questionable, at best, and flat-out phony, if one prefers not to sugar-coat. All of the environmental “crises” since the 1960s have been manufactured by the radical Left. They have been based on lies and faked, twisted, and made-up data. America’s environment, outside the Democrat-controlled urban areas, is one of the cleanest in the world. Over 90 percent of the country is farmland or forest or undeveloped open space. I repeat: There is no environmental crisis.
The EPA has a long history of draconian over-regulation. Nowhere in the Constitution is such an agency, with power to control the use by Americans of their private land, authorized in any way, shape, or form. Yet it’s allowed to continue its destructive rampages, generally unchecked and unimpeded by Congress, and in spite of horror stories galore. The EPA needs to be defunded, immediately, and then shut down and dismantled as quickly as is possible.
As has become the norm of late, this situation is not just the result of an out-of-control executive branch running wild, but of the failure of Congress to do their Constitutionally mandated duty to rein them in. It cannot be emphasized enough, repeated too many times: We need to clean out Congress in 2012, replacing the corrupt, spineless parasites infesting both houses with honest and honorable men and women who will adhere to the Constitution – the supreme law of the land. We need to elect public servants who will commit to shutting down unconstitutional, and therefore illegal, agencies and departments such as the EPA, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, etc.
Not only would this restore sanity to government, it would eliminate most of the spending that has allowed Democrats and RINO establishment Republicans to force Americans into debt to the tune of over $15,000,000,000,000 dollars. It would also eliminate the massive economic burden of regulations whose sole purpose is to give government control over private property and business, and justify an ever-expanding, increasingly opulent bureaucracy.
New Year’s Resolution: Take Back America!

Expect Attack From Chinese Military.... Beijing already warning U.S. not to 'interfere' in 'territorial disputes' Dec. 30, 2011...

2011-12-30T20:49:00.000-08:00

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN

ANALYSTS: EXPECT ATTACK FROM CHINESE MILITARY

Beijing already warning U.S. not to 'interfere' in 'territorial disputes'

Published: 12/30/2011 at 12:00 AM

Editor’s Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND.Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95 per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the complete reports.

WASHINGTON – Analysts are becoming increasingly concerned that China may launch a surprise military attack on India in 2012, based on conditions today that are similar to those present the last time China attacked India – in 1962, says a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

The concerns center on an ongoing border dispute between the two countries and joint energy projects that India has entered into with Vietnam in areas of the South China Sea which China claims as its own territory.

Even today, China continues to hold onto Indian territory it captured in 1962, and it continues to initiate troop provocations along the disputed border, warning India against taking it back, despite attempts at confidence building measures.

The Chinese actions suggest it has no intentions of reaching a peaceful resolution to the confrontation.

According to regional analysts, China claims that the India-China border is 2,000 kilometers long while India asserts that it is 4,000 kilometers. The difference is due to the Chinese challenge to India’s claim over territories from Sikkim to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, or POK.

“This is also a ploy to perpetuate the border issue indefinitely,” said Bhaskar Roy, regional expert with the think-tank South Asia Analysis Group. “There would be lasting impediments, however, even if the two governments agree to delineation through some small give and take.

“India cannot expect to get back Aksai Chin from China and China cannot expect to get Tawang which it had never held, let alone Arunachal Pradesh,” he added. Arunachal Pradesh is a region that also has seen significant military buildup on either side of the disputed border by Indian and Chinese forces in recent months, to the extent that the Chinese are building entire airfields for fighter aircraft.

There also are conflicting positions regarding Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, and those involve not only India and China but also Pakistan. According to regional analysts, the POK is Indian territory as defined by various documents from 1947. While this is a legal agreement, Pakistan nonetheless has been occupying the area.

“In 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded over 5,000 square kilometers of POK to China,” Roy said, “and China is currently making good use of it to reach the Arabian Sea and Gulf region through Pakistan.”

Another argument between India and China focuses on New Delhi’s “Look East” policy of an Indian-Japanese defense relationship. This is in addition to India’s longstanding interest in Central Asia, particularly Afghanistan, where it has heavy investments and recently signed an agreement to provide training for Afghan military and police forces once U.S. and coalition troops leave next year.

The United States has supported India in its claims along the border, something which has added to the tension in relations between the U.S. and China.

Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND.

For the complete report and full immediate access to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin, subscribe now.

NO SNOW? Big Problem for U.S. Ski Resorts.. by Elaine Porterfield... today.com Contributer

2011-12-29T22:23:00.000-08:00

No snow? Big problem for US ski resorts

The lack of snow this year is creating big problems for ski resorts nationwide. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.

By Elaine Porterfield, today.com contributor

Let it snow: words that skiers and employees of resorts around the country are fervently repeating as flakes resist falling on slopes from California to New England.

“It’s been a slow start for us,” said Ethan Austin, spokesman at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine, the largest ski area east of the Rockies. The resort had little snowfall in December, so they’ve been relying on snow-making equipment to keep their slopes open, Austin said.

“Right now we don’t have a whole lot in terms of natural snow, around 25 to 30 inches,” he said. “That’s quite a bit below average.” The resort currently has 28 trails open; 65 to 70 open trails is typical for this time of year.

Across the country, at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in California, the snowmakers are on as well, said spokeswoman Joani Lynch. “We are, safe to say, off to a slow start.”

It’s all the more painful for skiers spoiled by the 2010-2011 ski season’s bumper crop of snow, which broke records at some resorts. “We have 1 to 2 feet right now, mostly man-made snow,” Lynch said. “We had a very, very dry December -- just 2 inches. We got 200 inches last year just in December.”

The economic impact of low snowfall may not be significant for many destination resorts, because most, especially in the West, have invested heavily in snow-making machines that do a decent job, said Ralf Garrison, director and senior industry analyst at the Mountain Travel Research Program in Colorado. Most resorts have also worked at expanding non-slope activities such as dining and entertainment options, from spas to ice skating to nightlife, making it easier to entertain guests when snow is low.

“The economic salvation of the mountain resort industry is based on destination guests who travel from afar and make reservations significantly in advance,” Garrison said. “If there’s an adequate man-made [snow] product, destination guests find that adequate.”

Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association, said that while many resorts are relying on man-made snow, ski areas in Arizona, New Mexico and southern California are doing well, which is almost an inversion of the normal pattern for this time of year. Ski areas in other parts of the country have had four or five years in a row of adequate to great snow, so most will be able to wait for a big dump or two to kick-start the slow beginning of this season, he said.

“This is not the first time nor will it be the last to have this happen,” Berry said. “We’re a weather dependent industry.”

At Mount Bachelor in central Oregon, a storm forecast for mid-week and New Year's weekend is raising hopes the season might be turning around.

“With this storm coming through, we’re getting rain at bottom and snow at top and accumulating,” said Mount Bachelor marketing director Andy Goggins. “That’s where we’re fortunate to have the tallest resort peak in the Cascades at 9,000 feet. We’re just crossing our fingers it will cool off more.”

Luckily, they’ve been able to maintain a consistent level of snow, Goggins said. “We’ve had a 3-foot snowpack for the month of December and only lost a couple of inches. We have a lot of acres open.”

But it’s nothing like last season, he added wistfully: “We got pretty spoiled last year with all the snow. At this date last year, we had a 77-inch base depth, compared to 32 inches now.”

Obama's Policies Could Cause a Second U.S. Credit Downgrade.. Dec. 23, 2011... By Ben Johnson

2011-12-24T00:26:00.001-08:00

Obama's Policies Could Cause a Second U.S. Credit Downgrade

December 23, 2011 By Ben Johnson 2 Comments

Barack Obama became the first president to preside over a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. Now, he may cause a second.
Fitch Ratings has warned the United States it may downgrade the U.S. credit rating in 2013 if the nation does not take steps to balance its exploding national deficit. Without a "credible plan" to cut the deficit, the ratings agency warned in a statement, "the sovereign rating will likely be lowered by the end of 2013."
"Federal debt will rise in the absence of expenditure and tax reforms that would address the challenges of rising health and social security spending as the population ages."
Last month Fitch changed the U.S. outlook from "stable" to "negative." Moody's Investors Service also warned of a looming downgrade because of the nation's massive debt load.

In August Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. credit rating from its highest level, AAA, to the next lower rating, AA+. S&P warned this new status could last until at least 2029, even if a perfect plan is implemented — and one is not on the horizon.
Since Fitch promised not to act until 2013, the president will be spared any embarrassing situation on the campaign trail. But even if the nation turns Obama out of office, his policies may cause damage that lasts for a generation — and his Republican successor could be blamed.

Early Chiropractic Adjustments Lead to Healthy Growth Written by Dr. Bill Ormston

2011-12-22T23:02:00.001-08:00

Early Chiropractic Adjustments Lead to Healthy Growth

Written by Dr. Bill Ormston

The trauma of birth is a strong reason for immediate, and ongoing, chiropractic care. The most common subluxations in newborns occur in the pelvis and the upper cervical region. These subluxations will definitely affect performance as the foal ages and, if left unchecked, can turn into a real problem when riding training begins.

Chiropractic subluxations are thought to be caused by three major factors: stress, toxins and trauma. A newborn foal has just experienced two of these in a big way. Birth is very stressful for both mom and baby, with the newborn enduring a slight period of no oxygen to switch from passive living in the womb to an active life outside. I recommend that all newborns be examined by a certified animal chiropractor as soon as the owner is able to handle the baby.

A subluxation means that the vertebrae and surrounding soft tissue are not moving correctly. Early on, some subluxations can exist without symptoms. However, left unattended they will eventually become symptomatic. Chiropractic subluxations cause chain reactions in the body.

A CHAIN OF “OLOGIES”

The pathology of movement that starts with the initial misalignment of the joint is just the tip of the iceberg.

- Neuropathology involves problems in the nervous system. A nerve exits the spinal canal between two vertebrae. If these nerves receive pressure due to a subluxation, there will be pain in the area. These nerves transmit data from the brain and spinal column to the rest of the body and then back from these remote areas to the central nervous system. A foal’s brain is forming multiple neuro pathways immediately after it is born. The goal of chiropractic is to ensure these pathways are helpful pathways.

- Myopathology includes the tightness and spasms that occur in the muscles supplied by the nerves exiting the vertebral canal between the subluxated vertebrae. This tightness can be isolated to the small muscles that connect one vertebra to the next, or it can extend to the long muscles that run along the entire length of a horse’s back. Normal motion of the muscles stimulates venous blood flow in an area and promotes hygiene of the local synovial (joint) tissues. This is important for your mare during gestation and for the baby as it develops.

- Vascular Pathology describes the alterations of blood flow in and around the subluxated vertebra that can affect both nearby and distant cells or organs.

- Connective Tissue Pathology includes the changes that are seen in the tendons, ligaments, and supporting tissues in the area of the subluxation. Immobilization of these tissues leads to profound degenerative changes in as little as 3 days. Connective tissue must be able to relax in order for the birthing process to take place. The inflammatory response includes swelling, heat, redness, altered function, and pain that are the body’s response to inflammation. It is important to remember that inflammation in any area of the body can increase inflammation in other parts. Once the inflammation cascade gets started it has a tendency to gain speed.

- Histopathology describes the microscopic changes that occur in tissues of the body.

- Pathophysiology details the effects that all these changes have on each other. Proper body function relies on constant feedback from the organs. Nerves supply muscles and organs with nutrition. These nutrients are essential for muscle tone and organ vitality.

THE CYCLE CONTINUES...

Pain caused by the subluxation and myopathology can stimulate the adrenal gland to secrete more adrenalin. Increased adrenalin in the body causes a decreased neurological impulse and blood supply to the skin, mucous membranes, reproductive, and digestive systems. The mucous membranes dry out, immunoglobulins have difficulty crossing them, leading to respiratory problems. Adrenalin decreases secretions in the digestive tract leading to gastrointestinal symptoms (colic). The immune system is suppressed and the body becomes more susceptible to all types of infections.

“Subluxations,” not symptoms, are the reason to have regular chiropractic checkups. Subluxations are the problem; symptoms are the advanced signs that the subluxation exists. Call your AVCA certified doctor and schedule a check up for your horse.

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Check out this Chiropractic VIDEO

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Dr. Bill Ormston is one of the founding instructors of the post-graduate course in Animal Chiropractic at Parker Chiropractic College in Dallas. He has lectured nationally and internationally on Animal Chiropractic and biomechanics, and gait analysis in the quadruped. His Jubilee Animal Health is a mobile mixed animal practice in the Dallas Metroplex area. www.jubileeac.com

Others who read this article have also inquired about: equine massage, equine health, horse health, equine therapy and holistic horse. Holistic Horse magazine is your guide to natural horse health. www.holistichorse.com

Equine Dentistry: Sedation or No? Written by Marsha Wyatt

2011-12-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

Equine Dentistry: Sedation or No?

Written by Marsha Wyatt

Teeth floating is a part of nearly everyone’s scheduled treatments for their horses. The rule of thumb for how often to schedule floating is at least every two years, more frequently if specific problems exist. Inherent to the floating procedure is the decision of whether to opt for sedation. Both sides of the sedation issue have pertinent, valid points. Where do you stand?

Dr. Suzan Seelye, DVM of Yelm, WA has been in practice for 28 years and her business is almost entirely equines. She specializes in holistic medicine and carefully considers the possibility of any negative effects before administering drugs to her patients. During her lengthy career Dr. Seelye has observed, “Horses allowed to live more naturally on pasture with a variety of plants and grasses to graze on, typically maintain a better mouth than horses kept stalled or fed predominately hay -- ground feeding being an important aspect of allowing the horse to eat, chew, swallow and digest correctly. However,” she adds, "genetics do play a role in the overall health of the dental condition.”

Dr. Seelye approaches sedation on a case-by-case basis. “The demeanor of the practitioner is of utmost importance to the success of the floating,” she says. We know that an assured, calm approach helps our horses in any situation, health procedures being no different. Her experience is that many horses will accept the procedure fairly quietly, especially if the work needed is minor or the horse has had previous positive experiences. She suggests that you prepare your horse by setting him up for success. Arranging for the horse to be floated in a familiar place will help. Do not ask him to go to a strange area or stall for the treatment. Do not separate him from his herd or buddy prior to floating. Avoid adrenalin rushes at all costs; isolation in an unfamiliar environment can build anxiety in the horse quickly. Seelye always evaluates her patient’s mouth to determine the extent of the work needed prior to considering sedation. “After the first few swipes of the hand tools,” she offers, “most horses will accept the feeling and sound and settle down.” In cases where the horse cannot accept the procedure, or if extensive work or extractions are needed, Dr. Seelye will opt for sedation. She wants to provide the most effective treatment with the best outcome for the horse.

PROCEED WITH CAUTION

While recognizing that drugs are occasionally necessary, Seelye has numerous concerns associated with sedation. She cautions, “There is always the possibility of death, seizures or injury from falling during the procedure, while waking up or during hauling afterwards.” Additionally, the GI tract slows down from the drugs and colic is possible during the first 24–48 hours. Choke is also a side effect if the horse is allowed to eat before he’s fully awake. A sedated horse should not be fed for 2–4 hours after the procedure. Seelye explains, “Flaccid muscles produced by sedation can allow the skeleton to move unnaturally and the horse can be compromised physically. Sedation also affects blood flow, organ function and neurology. I recommend having some type of balancing bodywork done on your horse after any procedure requiring sedation.” As a holistic practitioner Dr. Seelye has found, “Floating without sedation prevents many serious problems and I choose that option whenever possible. Unfortunately, some situations do require sedation to adequately address existing problems.”

THE DOWNSIDE OF NOT SEDATING

An equine dentist from the south [anonymity requested because he operates in a state where it is currently illegal for equine dentists to practice without the supervision of a veterinarian] works from this perspective: “Unless a horse is extremely quiet or needs very little work, in most cases sedation is preferable.” He does his evaluation before sedation and is willing to accommodate a client requesting he not use drugs. However, based on his experience he states, “Without sedatives, horses tend to bunch up in a corner with tensed muscles causing an improper head position and jaw misalignment. The result is a less than adequate treatment and muscle soreness for days afterwards.”

This dentist primarily uses power tools for floating because he feels it expedites the process and allows him to create a balanced mouth with less trauma for the horse and the dentist. “The use of power tools always requires sedation,” he feels. “It is not safe for the horse otherwise.” He does not use stocks or any special restraints. The horse wears a halter and speculum, but is allowed to hold its head in a more natural, down position. The use of the speculum is necessary to be able to see/feel to the very back of the horse’s mouth, but should be released often to give the horse’s jaws a rest. “Without sedation,” this dentist claims, “most horses are claustrophobic and anxious about this device.” For sedating, he prefers Dormosedan, which is administered in small dosages and acts very quickly to bring the horse to a state of tranquilization without total anesthesia. Additionally, horses are able to keep their feet under them and usually begin to wake up in about 30 minutes. He adds, “To date, I have had no negative experiences with side effects associated with sedation.”

IN-CLINIC SERVICE

In Fayetteville, AR, Dr. Paul Turchi, DVM, has been practicing equine veterinary medicine for 22 years. He predominantly sees float cases in his clinic where stocks, a speculum and a halter to position the horse’s head are used. Most of his patients are sedated after a pre-exam for dental issues. “In the early days of my practice, all floating was performed with hand tools,” Dr. Turchi explains, “Those tools were not ideal and more than a little difficult to work with.” For the last 10 or 12 years he has used power tools for floating and believes they are safe, easier on the horse and practitioner and much more effective for a thorough treatment. The size difference between hand tools and power tool blades make the smaller power tools easier to manipulate in the horse’s mouth. Dr. Turchi also explains, “The speculum is a necessary tool to open the mouth sufficiently to address the teeth all the way to the back of the jaw. Without sedation, most horses will resist and become anxious about the speculum being opened wide enough to be effective.” He is cognizant of the possible side effects from sedatives, but feels the positive aspects outweigh the negative. His choice for sedation is Dormosedan mixed with Xylazine. If a horse is still quite groggy at the end of the procedure, he uses Yohimbine as a reversal drug to wake the horse up. This is a safety measure for horses being hauled after floating.

Turchi feels that in the stocks of his exam room, a horse is relatively safe from injury and he would be able to assist immediately if the horse were to experience a negative reaction. Having said that, he will respect any request by a client to withhold sedation during floating. When asked what might be the benefits of non-sedation, he says, “The absence of drug reaction would be the only clear benefit.”

OLD-SCHOOL APPROACH

Steve Sampson has been an equine dentist for nearly 40 years, currently practicing near Palm Springs, CA. His practice keeps him on the road traveling from California to Canada and back for most of the year. He uses hand tools exclusively and 99.9% of his patients are floated without sedation. Sampson believes, “It is important for a horse to have input during floating to help me find the really sore areas, which could indicate deep infection or a cracked tooth. When under sedation, a horse cannot contribute to the process and I can only guess at the pain level/severity of a dental issue.”

Dr. Sampson is confident that his assured, knowledgeable approach is the key to cooperation from his patients. He works at being “correct” in his heart and mind to encourage the horses to trust him. Sampson says horses are frightened by fear, aggression and anxiety. If someone enters the barn harboring any of those emotions, the horses will know immediately and “He should just go home for the day.”

Sampson works alone with a halter, a speculum and his tools. His floating procedure takes about 25-30 minutes, the same time frame for a sedated horse. He generally prefers that the horse owner stay clear of the procedure so as not to inject anxiety into the situation. A common part of his dental work is extractions. In most cases, he is able to perform extractions without sedation and without undue upset on behalf of the horse. On occasion, a tooth problem is just entirely too painful for the animal and Sampson will opt for sedation. He uses Dormosedan for the small volume required and the immediate, deep sedation.

Sampson says, “I was taught my craft by an ‘old cowboy’ who developed his horsemanship during a time when men devoted their entire lives to understanding horses and becoming true horsemen.” He declined to clarify the cowboy's identity stating he “doesn’t like to drop names.” His belief is that quality horsemanship ultimately allows him to perform procedures on and for the horse which would otherwise require sedation.

Each dentist designs his or her floating protocol based on individual experience, training and knowledge. As horse owners, we must make our decisions regarding sedation based on the same criteria.

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DO YOUR DENTISTRY HOMEWORK!

When searching for a qualified dentist, begin with asking people you know and trust. Word of mouth is usually a good source. Do not be shy about calling and interviewing prospective dentists.

- Where was the dentist trained?

- How long has he/she been in practice?

- What type of facility does he/she have?

- Do they do farm calls?

- Do they use power tools?

- Do they use sedation?

- Will they abstain from sedation if asked?

- Have there been any deaths, injuries or accidents associated with their practice?

- Whom can you call as a reference?

Any respectable practitioner will be more than happy to share information about their practice and details about their treatment methods.

If you’re planning a trip to the equine dentist, make sure the haul is as uneventful as possible. Your horse should be confident with trailering alone; if not, take a buddy horse to help keep him relaxed. Consider extreme temperatures and make allowances respectively. If your horse has ever had a reaction to sedation, is compromised by cardiac problems, respiratory problems, age or any health issue which might affect the sedation outcome, call and talk to your practitioner BEFORE your appointment.

Marsha Wyatt is a lifelong horsewoman whose horsemanship has evolved dramatically during the last ten years. Natural horsemanship paired with alternative equine medicine is now her focus. She currently offers lessons and training in Fayetteville, AR and is particularly interested in helping women with fear and confidence issues associated with horses. She can be contacted at ddtranch@yahoo.com

More info:

Dr. Suzan Seelye DVM, CVM, CVT – Yelm, WA - Holistic Animal Practice healingheartvet@aol.com or www.quantumvet.com

Steve Sampson, Equine Dentist – Palm Springs, CA – sassafras2thman@gmail.com

Dr. Paul Turchi, DVM – Northwest Equine Hospital - Fayetteville, AR – (479) 521-5558

International Association of Equine Dentists – www.iaedonline.com

Others who read this article have also inquired about: equine massage, equine health, horse health, equine therapy and holistic horse

How "Green" is Your Hay? Written by Mary Ann Simonds

2011-12-22T16:57:00.000-08:00

How "Green" is Your Hay?

Written by Mary Ann Simonds

Your horse’s main diet may look green, but if it’s grown in toxic soils, how “green” is it? With less good agricultural land available each year, poor soils needing more fertilizers, and the demand for hay increasing, the main diet for horses is at risk of contamination. Hay growers are not required to tell you how much fertilizers or how many unlisted contaminants were applied to the fields.

A good hay grower will periodically test the soils, balance the pH and apply organic or pure fertilizers to ensure a healthy soil for hay. Hay growers using poor or toxic soils will apply a large dose of fertilizer to “green up” the hay and often get 2-3 cuttings of hay by over-fertilizing. The soft green hay may look good, but it probably will not smell good. Your horse may eat it because he has no choice; over-fertilized or toxic hay can, at a minimum, give your horse soft, runny manure and increase its risk of ailments related to digestion, heart function, skin, and soundness.

HAY TEST

Testing for toxins, sugar, carbs, fat and protein is desirable; many good feed stores or hay growers may do this. If you are unsure about your hay, take a core sample to an agricultural lab for testing.

A home test is not so sophisticated, but still will help you determine if your hay is fresh and natural:

Natural grown hay will often look less green than people want it to look. The natural life cycle of the plant is not to stay green year round. Nutrients are tied to life cycle, soil and seasons, not just to fertilizers. Know what the grass looks like growing in the field; it should look similar in a bale. Any hay should look a natural green. If it looks chalky or green with some grey to whitish color, it could be from the salts or toxins of the fertilizers leaching out or a form of mold.

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Become knowledgeable about where and how your hay is grown. Just because the feed store carries nice looking green hay, do not assume it is good for your horse. Ask if it has been tested. Ask how much and what kind of fertilizer was used on the hay. If you suspect you have toxic hay, you can have it tested by agricultural laboratories.

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Fresh natural grasses and legumes will have a soft, pleasant smell. Over fertilized hay will not have much smell at all. Sometimes hay is salted to dry up any rain if it was put up too wet, so make sure your horse is not just interested in the salt taste. Taste it yourself; chew on a piece and spit it out and determine what the dominant flavors are. It should taste like something you would find pleasing if you ate grasses. It should not taste salty or metallic.

Soak a small flake of hay in warm water for 10-15 minutes. If the hay is good, it will smell sweet and the water may have a little dust in it, but it will be a light-medium brown. If the hay is heavily fertilized or has a number of toxins in it, the water will be dark brown to black. You can even take a cap full of chlorine bleach and add it to a large bucket of water and repeat the hay test. Chloride is an ion that binds with many heavy metals, so the water will look very grey and dark if there are a lot of toxins, but the hay may look a brighter green.

SOLUTIONS

Good hay brokers and growers are looking for ways to keep prices down and quality up. If growers, brokers and horse owners network together to secure a good source of hay, then the risk of growing hay is shared by grower and user. Some people are contracting directly with the grower, specifying the type of hay and level of fertilizing they will accept. Others are working with more educated hay brokers who can look for specific types of hay to meet their clients’ demands. Special hay products, like low sugar hays, which may mean rained-on and dried hay, would usually be sold as erosion bales or for processed feed. But if a hay grower has a buyer looking for low sugar hay, then he can bale and deliver.

Feeding more natural and better quality hay may reduce the supplements that have to be added to your horse’s diet. With shipping and fuel costs on the rise and less available lands for growing hay, many growers are opting for large bales and processed feeds. The solution is for people at all levels, from grower to horse owner, to become more educated on good natural hay. It is not always the green stuff.

Mary Ann Simonds is an equine and range ecologist and the director of the Equestrian Science and Whole Horse Institute, offering educational courses and clinics. Read more at www.mystichorse.com or contact Mary Ann directly at enchantedkinship@yahoo.com or (360)573-1958.

Feeding The Senior Horse.... Written by Kentucky Equine Research

2011-12-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

Feeding the Senior Horse

Written by Kentucky Equine Research

Many factors come into play when choosing a nutrition program for your elder horse

HOW OLD IS A SENIOR HORSE?

The answer is different for each equine. Some horses seem old and feeble at 15; others are still going strong well into their 20s. As with human beings, many things—health history, use, care, conformation and other genetic factors—influence the condition and overall well-being of aged horses.

As a general rule, horses begin to slow down somewhat by their late teen years. The occasional horse lives 30 or even 40 years, but most people would consider a horse in its mid-20s to be fairly old. Ponies often have a somewhat longer lifespan than their larger counterparts.

Comparing human and equine years is not an exact science. As a rough estimate, a 20-year-old horse is equivalent to a person in their late 50s, and a 30-year-old horse could be compared to a person in their mid-to-late 80s.

WHAT THINGS MUST BE CONSIDERED WHEN FEEDING OLDER HORSES?

Digestion: As horses approach old age, their ability to digest protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals decreases. Plenty of clean hay and a fortified feed with high-quality, easily digestible protein are recommended. Many feed companies have special product formulations based on the unique requirements of senior horses. Water and free-choice salt should always be provided.

Dental condition: While regular dental care is important for horses of all ages, it is especially critical for older horses. Sharp edges or hooks on teeth can cause discomfort that keeps them from eating enough to maintain a healthy condition. Very old horses may lose teeth and be unable to chew and grind their feed adequately. For these animals, owners can add water to pelleted feed, forming a mash that is more easily swallowed and digested. Water-soaked hay cubes can provide fiber to horses that have trouble chewing and swallowing hay.

Palatability: No matter what ration is offered, it can’t help the horse if it’s not eaten. Older horses can be picky eaters, resisting anything new or different. Additions or changes to the diet must be made very gradually, not just to avoid putting the horse off its feed but also to allow the gut to adapt to the new type of feed or hay. Drizzling feed with molasses, Karo syrup, or flavored Jello may tempt a picky horse to eat. Dusty or moldy feed or hay should never be offered to horses.

WHAT ABOUT VERY THIN OLDER HORSES?

Owners should be able to feel a horse’s ribs, but not see them through the coat. Horses with visible ribs may need a change in management. Some steps to try may be to increase grazing time or to feed more hay or a better quality hay, possibly with a higher alfalfa percentage. Increasing the grain ration or adding beet pulp, rice bran, or vegetable oil to the current ration may help the horse take in more calories. Splitting the daily ration into several feedings of no more than five pounds per feeding is suggested. Weighing or taping the horse on a regular basis can help to catch weight loss in its early stages.

Keep in mind that age and loss of muscle tone may give some older horses, especially broodmares, a bony or thin topline (spine and top of ribs), but these horses still have plenty of flesh over their neck and hips, and thus are not truly underweight. Be sure to evaluate the whole horse when estimating condition in older animals.

HOW SHOULD AN OVERWEIGHT SENIOR HORSE BE FED?

Age-related changes in metabolism, decreases in training and exercise, and various health conditions may cause older horses to become overweight. Fat horses may find it harder to get up and down easily, and extra weight puts a strain on arthritic joints. Steps to reduce the chubby horse’s weight include encouraging exercise as tolerated, using a grazing muzzle during turnout hours, and feeding grass hay instead of alfalfa.

Many overweight horses don’t need the calories in a sweet feed, but still require a full complement of vitamins and minerals. A supplement like All-Phase can provide necessary nutrients without an overload of energy.

HOW MUCH EXERCISE DOES THE OLDER HORSE NEED?

In general, exercise should be encouraged as the horse is able to tolerate it. In most cases, turnout is preferable to stall confinement, taking care that younger pasture buddies are not allowed to run an older horse to exhaustion. For ridden or driven exercise, warm-up and cool-down are essential. Older horses lose muscular strength and fitness, as do aging humans, and each horse’s exercise program should be tailored to the individual’s condition. While a younger horse can sometimes be idle during the week and perform moderately strenuous exercise on a weekend with few ill effects, this program is likely to result in stiffness, pain, or more serious consequences for the out-of-condition older horse.

WHAT OTHER MANAGEMENT STEPS ARE IMPORTANT WHEN CARING FOR SENIOR HORSES?

Daily check: As with any horse, the older equine should be seen daily. A light grooming is a good way for owners to keep up with injuries, weight changes, and problems with teeth or hooves.

Access to feed, hay, and water: Older horses often end up at the bottom of the dominance structure within a herd, with younger animals blocking hay and water supplies. Senior horses may need to be turned out in their own paddocks, either with one or two friends or within sight of companions, to allow adequate intake of hay and feed.

Temperature regulation: Older horses may get cold more easily than younger horses, not only because of thin body condition but because more aggressive horses may prevent them from accessing shelter. Blanketing, turnout with fewer horses, or an increase in the older horse’s hay ration may be solutions. In hot weather, access to a breezy shaded area will help prevent overheating.

Routine veterinary care: Owners should schedule a “wellness check-up” at least once a year. As part of an exam, a veterinarian can do blood tests to determine thyroid function and other indicators of health. Senior horses also need to stay current on necessary vaccinations, even though they may not travel to shows or rides, and are therefore not exposed to many other horses. Check with your veterinarian to see what protection is needed in your area.

Hoof care: It may be tempting to skip farrier appointments for older horses since they aren’t working or traveling, but these animals need to stay on a regular schedule of trimming or shoeing regardless of activity. Overgrown feet are more susceptible to problems like white line disease, and proper hoof angle can ease the discomfort of navicular disease. Cushing’s syndrome and other metabolic disorders are often linked to laminitis, and regular farrier care can keep victims of these diseases more comfortable.

Management of chronic pain: Senior horses may suffer from arthritis, gastric ulcers, navicular disease, and other conditions that produce chronic pain. Dealing with pain can impact appetite and cause horses to lose weight. A veterinarian can usually diagnose and treat the cause of chronic pain. Because some drugs affect the function of kidneys and digestive organs, a veterinarian’s guidance is suggested.

Maintaining the status quo: Older horses may react poorly to change of any kind. A different pasture, the introduction of new horses, or variations in personnel or feed schedules may upset them enough to cause a decreased appetite. Minimize change as much as possible, and watch senior horses carefully for a few days after necessary changes are made.

Used with permission by Kentucky Equine Research. Visit KER online at www.ker.com and www.Equinews.com

Ontario Officials reject LAWA's report.. by Liset Marquez writer

2011-12-16T03:39:00.000-08:00

Ontario officials reject LAWA's report

Liset Marquez, Staff Writer

Created: 12/16/2011 07:19:41 PM PST

ONTARIO - City officials have rejected Los Angeles World Airports' recommendations aimed to increase air service at LA/Ontario International Airport, calling the suggestions as impractical and unhelpful.A day after LAWA officials discussed shutting down one terminal to save money, Ontario officials criticized the agency - which operates ONT and Los Angeles International Airport - for failing to produce a solution to reducing costs at the local airport.
For several years, Ontario officials have lobbied for local control, claiming they would be able to convert the medium-hub facility into a competitive regional airport.
"It is clear that LAWA still has no plan to turn around ONT," said Ontario Councilman Alan Wapner, who has been the city's liaison on the issue.
An updated economic analysis by the firm Oliver Wyman has found the decline in air service at ONT between 2007 and 2011 has meant a $495 million economic hit to the Inland Empire. The decline at ONT in the last four years has also meant a loss of 9,250 jobs to the region.
Passenger traffic has declined in recent years by nearly 30 percent at ONT while Los Angeles International Airport has gotten busier.
ONT has lost a third of its ridership since 2007, when travel at ONT peaked at 7.2 million passengers. Only 3.7 million passengers had flown through the facility through October this year.
During Thursday's Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners meeting, members were briefed on possible solutions for the struggling airport.
Shutting down one terminal could help the facility, since costs for terminal maintenance and operating two sets of baggage handling systems are becoming burdensome as fewer flights and travelers pass through the airport, LAWA officials said on Thursday.
This is not the first time the airport has discussed the idea of closing a terminal at ONT, said Jess Romo, airport manager.
The idea was studied several years ago but officials rejected it because it would severely impact the customer experience, Romo said. The concern was greater wait times at checkpoints and screening areas with only one terminal, he said.
Romo said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of LAWA, "put this out there but this is not a definitive project we would be working on."
The idea could be worth revisiting now because passenger traffic levels are lower from when the proposal was first discussed, he said.
Wapner said he feels LAWA is wasting its time exploring ideas that have been already been considered, or proposals that are likely to fail.
"What's needed are lower airport charges, aggressive marketing and - most importantly - airport management solely focused on developing ONT. This can only be accomplished when the airport is under local control," he said.
Mark Thorpe, director of air service marketing for LAWA, said the airport staff has taken significant strides to improve the situation at ONT.
Among the solutions discussed on Thursday was to consider offering a consortium for airlines, he said. As part of the agreement, airlines would assume certain costs at the facility which in turn would reduce operation costs at ONT.
They would also look at reducing the $4.50 passenger facility charge a passenger has to pay when boarding a flight at ONT.
But Thorpe credited ONT staff for reducing the costs for airlines to do business. In 2010, airlines at ONT were paying $13.50 per passenger. That has now dropped to $11.76 per passenger. ONT's figure is even lower than the $12 per passenger airlines have to pay at LAX, he said.
Romo said he has been able to reduce operating expense by 23 percent, which amounts to $19 million since 2010. ONT officials are still looking at ways to reduce overhead costs, he said.
"We want to be able to have a chance of attracting more carriers," Romo said.
Thorpe said, "What's being done at ONT is impressive. When the economy turns, Ontario is going to be competitive on an advantageous level with LAX."
In order for the airport to succeed, Thorpe said ONT is going to need to focus on its business travelers which have largely supported the traffic at the airport in recent years.
Ontario city officials are not the only ones concerned about conditions at ONT. Political leaders throughout the Inland Empire reacted to the news that LAWA may once again discuss the possibility of closing a terminal at ONT.
"I'm glad that LAWA is looking to contain costs, but closing down a terminal is not a reasonable option. The number of terminals is not the source of any problems they are having with over-staffing," said Greg Devereaux, San Bernardino County's CEO and former Ontario city manager.
Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, said he wants to get ONT out of the hands of Los Angeles officials and back to local control.
"LAWA has done a horrible job at managing the the airport," he said.
Hagman said the focus should be about building more terminals rather than closing one.
Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino said he is "extremely" disappointed that LAWA officials are once again considering the idea of closing a terminal. It also serves as another reason why Ontario airport should be returned to local control.
Last month, Baca sent a letter to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asking LAWA to cede the airport to local control.
"How can LAWA arbitrarily make decisions that impact the well-being of the Inland Empire without involving local stakeholders?" Baca said.
An increase in air traffic, would mean more local jobs and economic development, more travel flexibility for Inland residents, and more revenues for local governments, Baca said.
"As long as LAWA controls our airport, we will continue to play second fiddle to LAX," Baca said.
Reach Liset via email, call her at 909-483-8556, or find her on Twitter @DBOntarioNow.

Government Motors: Why Wasn't The Chevy Volt Recalled by GM After Battery Fires BY Frank York, Dec. 13, 2011

2011-12-15T16:12:00.000-08:00

Government Motors: Why Wasn’t The Chevy Volt Recalled By GM After Battery Fires?

DECEMBER 13, 2011 BY FRANK YORK

Shouldn't the Chevy Volt be recalled?

The Chevy Volt is supposed to be an example of the wonderful future of hybrid cars as part of the “green” revolution being pursued by President Obama.

Yet, after crash tests, Volt batteries have caught on fire days or weeks afterward. Consumer safety is supposed to be paramount to the Obama Administration, so why wasn’t this car immediately recalled?

The fire hazard was discovered back in June, 2011 only three weeks after the car had been crash tested. Yet five months went by before GM or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warned dealers or customers about the fire hazard.

According to Joan Claybrook, a former administrator at the NHTSA, it was the “fragility of Volt sales” that was the reason for not notifying customers or dealers. Of course, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood denies this.

Car dealers began offering customers the right to return the Volt, but then changed direction and offered them loaner cars while the fires were investigated.

Did the Obama Administration decide to sacrifice consumer safety for sales of this electric car? The National Legal and Policy Center has filed a Freedom of Information Act to find out if there was deliberate collusion between GM and the NHTSA on this important consumer safety issue.

Heads should roll if it is proven that the Obama Administration deliberately sacrificed safety to pursue a green agenda.

Re: Why D.C. RINO's Won't Impeach Eric Holder.... By Ben Johnson..

2011-12-15T16:02:00.001-08:00

On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 3:46 PM, Da'Buck <BS.Ranch@yahoo.com> wrote:

Why D.C. RINOs Won't Impeach Eric Holder

DECEMBER 13, 2011 BY BEN JOHNSON

One of the activists in the Clinton impeachment trial says not to believe some Republicans threatening to impeach Attorney General Eric Holder over Operation Fast and Furious. It's just a smokescreen used by Washington pols, he writes.

Larry Klayman, the founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch USA, writes the fact "that House Republicans threatened only to impeach Holder if he does not come totally clean on Operation Fast and Furious" is an "empty threat" and "meaningless in the world of Washington, D.C., politics."

"When was the last time anyone was impeached?" he asked.

Klayman knows the territory. He doggedly pursued Bill Clinton's serial crimes in the 1990s on everything from Filegate to Chinese campaign fundraising to misuse of the Commerce Department. Then-Congressman Bob Barr brought Klayman in to brief congressmen who were pursuing impeachment, and Klayman introduced the panel to Dolly Kyle Browning, a former victim of Clinton's sleazy ways. (When she planned to expose their affair, Clinton's staffers responded, "We will destroy you.")

Klayman writes in WND.com that he has seen RINOs promise impeachment before as a slick political tactic:

You see, lying in the nation's capital may make for good theatre, but it's really no "big deal," whether it's Eric Holder, Hillary Clinton during her scandalous reign of terror in the White House, or anyone else, including Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush, who lied about various issues involving the lead up to the Iraq war. Threats of impeachment of Holder are just part of the overall dog-and-pony show to position Republicans for the next election – just as the impeachment of Bill Clinton was intended only to weaken Democrats for the 2000 presidential election. There never was any Republican intention to convict and remove the criminal from office, lest Al Gore assume the presidency and run as an incumbent in 2000.

Congressman James Sensenbrenner, a conservative patriot, publicly raised the specter of impeachment during Eric Holder's testimony last week. However, RINOs quickly backed away. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said he does not even want to see Holder's subordinate, Lanny Breuer, fired — insisting it "would be a loss if Lanny were to leave."

Former Bush-43 speechwriter David Frum advised Republicans to cave on the debt ceiling toavoid impeaching Obama. He's currently warning the GOP not to nominate Newt Gingrich, because it means "volunteering to spend 2012 re-arguing the Clinton impeachment."

If anyone knows impeachment's inside baseball, it is Klayman. As this author has noted, the two parties simply agree to disagree over major issues, swap seats every so often, and coalesce to hurt the average American. At the leadership level, Washington is a one-party town with two names, both dedicated to big government.

The good news is, Klayman has a solution:

It again falls to "We the People" to take action. If Holder is not indicted for perjury, should we not empanel a citizens' grand jury and charge him ourselves – a legal right under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution? And, let's not single out Sir Eric! The mainstay of the Washington, D.C., political establishment, with few exceptions, should also be indicted for destroying our country and lying to us in the process!

In fact, citizen grand juries have indicted Barack Obama. This may be the most effective way to go.

--
Da'Buck
BS.Ranch
BS.Ranch@Yahoo.com

Live to Ride: Ride to Live
Harley~Davidson #1
Don't take life for granted, You never know when it will be suddenly knocked out of you!! By a Mazda MPV no less!!

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INDUSTRY: Farmers have one of best years ever... Press Enterprise Dec. 12, 2011

2011-12-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

An Illinois farmer made so much money this year he made loan payments on one tractor a year in advance and exchanged some older ones for newer models. An Iowa farmer upgraded his combine and also paid off debt, while an elderly Oregon farmer poured into retirement funds a bundle of his $2 million take from a well-timed sale of much of his turf and equipment.
While much of America worries about the possibility of a double-dip recession, such stories of prosperity are cropping up as U.S. farmers enjoy their best run in decades, thanks to high prices for many crops, livestock and farmland and strong global demand for corn used in making ethanol.
Farm profits are expected to spike by 28 percent this year to $100.9 billion, and the amount of cash farms have available to pay bills also is expected to top $100 billion — the first time both measures have done so, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. All the while, crop sales are expected to pass the $200 billion mark for the first time in U.S. history, and double-digit increases are expected in livestock sales.
“We're just experiencing the best of times,” said Bruce Johnson, an agricultural economist at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. “It's a story to tell.”
That's not to say that everyone is sharing in the good fortune. Near Gardner, Kan., a short drive south of Kansas City, a lack of rain and nagging winds conspired to leave Bill Voigts with about half of the soybeans he expected. His harvest of corn was worse, coming in at about one-third of his normal production. Even with insurance, he didn't quite break even on the 2,400 acres he farms — most of them rented.
“Had it not been for insurance in his area, it'd be a disaster. That's the only thing that saves us,” said Voigts, 66.
But he noted that the drought plaguing farmers like him helped drive up prices for commodities like corn, soybeans and wheat, benefitting those fortunate enough to get a good crop.
“At the expense of some farmers, other farmers become wealthy,” he said. “That's really the whole story. That's not the government's fault, it's nobody's fault. That's just the way things happen.
“Some people got left behind.”
Yet most of the talk about U.S. farming remains bullish, with analysts widely trumpeting “the new normal” in U.S. agriculture: Demand in China, India and other developing countries for U.S. agricultural exports — and hunger for corn for ethanol — has been keeping prices high and farming profitable.
In central Illinois' Morgan County near Jacksonville, Dale Hadden says he was “pleasantly surprised” by the corn and soybeans he got from the some 4,000 acres he works with his brother and their parents, considering they lost about 400 acres of corn to 21 inches of rain in June.
All told, Hadden estimated his crops were worth 10 percent to 15 percent more than in previous years, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. He spent a chunk of that on an advance full-year payment on a seven-year loan on one of his tractors and to pay down debt on land.
Much of the rest he cautiously set aside.
“It was a successful year,” said Hadden, a 38-year-old with two children, ages 11 and 9. “But most farmers would tell you that just because you're flush with cash, you don't spend it all.”
In Oregon, 79-year-old Warren Haught sure didn't. With four decades of farming under his belt, Haught — socked by the high cost of electricity to irrigate crops in high desert country — unloaded his 1,500-acre operation a couple of years ago. He pocketed $1.7 million on the land sale and $300,000 from liquidating everything from haying equipment to plows and tractors, using some of proceeds on two new homes — one of him, the other for his son and his family — while saving much of the rest.
“It was a pretty good deal at the time,” said Haught, who now has just 72 acres near mountainous Klamath Falls on which he grows alfalfa and grass crops. He'd like to get at least 100 more acres, saying demand for hay in China and other Pacific Rim countries is boosting prices.
“It was kind of the perfect storm — what you had this year brought a good price,” he said. “Everything seemed to be a good price.”
In western Iowa near Kingsley, Jeff Reinking and his brother — partners in a 2,500-acre operation evenly split between corn and beans — recently traded in a 2006 combine for one three years newer — spoils from what Reinking called “the best year for me.” He also paid off some debt and put some money aside in case things aren't always so rosy.
“I guess we're getting the better end of things right now,” Reinking said. “That has not always been the case.”

Minimizing Winter Colic EQUUS Magazine..Jan. 1997

2011-12-09T02:03:00.001-08:00

Minimizing Winter Colic

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How to keep colic at bay during cold months.

: ©EQUUS Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

When asked to describe the most common wintertime equine health problem in their areas, veterinarians and horse owners around the country respond with near unanimity: colic. Even in the Southwest, where frigid temperatures are extremely rare, cases of impaction and sand colic spike during the winter months.
Three cold-weather practices converge to increase the likelihood of intestinal blockages (impactions) this time of year:

Horses tend to consume less water in colder weather, either because they don't get as thirsty as in the summer or because their water sources freeze over. In addition, the roughages common in winter rations contain less than 20 percent moisture compared to the 75 percent or more water content in spring and summer grass. With insufficient liquid in the digestive tract, the food being processed becomes too dry to be moved along by peristaltic action and blocks a portion of an intestine. The stemminess of poor-quality hay contributes further to blockage formation.
When the temperature drops, caretakers are inclined to boost their horses' grain rations to meet the increased energy demands of keeping warm. This disproportion of carbohydrates to fiber can upset digestion.
The digestive system depends on body movement to help push food along. At pasture, a horse spends the bulk of his time wandering from one grazing spot to the next. The inactivity enforced by confinement in stalls or small paddocks may slow the movement of ingesta along the digestive tract.When one or more of these influences produce an impaction, a course of intravenous fluids may be all it takes to soften the blockage and cure the colic, in which case the prognosis for long-term survival is excellent. If the blockage persists and requires surgery, the survival rate is greatly diminished.

Cold weather may conspire against your efforts to keep water flowing to your horses, but they are crucial to preventing colic. "We have gotten many of our clients to give their horses warm water and electrolytes [in their feed] during cold spells," says Jeffrey Witwer, VMD, of Camden, South Carolina. "Anything that can be done to keep the horses drinking reduces the incidence of colic." Your particular "anything" may be purchasing water-trough or -bucket heaters, carrying hot water to thaw frozen buckets and pipes or trekking twice daily to the stream to break a hole in the ice and check on the footing.
Leave your horses turned out as much as possible to ensure sufficient digestive stimulation. You won't be endangering their health in other ways, as horses in good condition with heavy winter coats or adequate blankets and access to windbreaks can withstand temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero. Unless they are being pelted by drenching rain or stinging ice, they are better off outdoors.
Finally, reach for an extra flake, not scoop, when temperatures start to drop: It's hay, rather than grain, that provides the most efficient heating fuel. And roughages don't produce the carbohydrate overload that can trigger endotoxemia, a system-wide toxicity that's reflected in colic and/or laminitis.
This story was excerpted from the article "Weathering Winter", originally published in the January 1997 article of EQUUS magazine.

What's In Store For The Hay Market In 2012?? by Aaron Kiess, Exec. Dir. Ca. Alfalfa and Forage Assoc. Dec. 1, 2011

2011-12-06T16:36:00.001-08:00

What’s In Store For The Hay Market In 2012?

Thu, 2011-12-01 17:42

Aaron Kiess Executive Director, California Alfalfa and Forage Association

As 2011 winds down, there is the inevitable speculation as to how the alfalfa hay market will fare in the first quarter and/or the first half of the coming year. The consensus seems to be another good year for the hay market in 2012.

In November we asked a California Alfalfa and Forage Associationmember at a large ranch in the San Joaquin Valley to give his thoughts on what he expected in the coming months. He came up with the following five points that bode well for next year’s hay market:

1) Class III milk is currently trading around $16.50/cwt for May 2012. Historically, that’s relatively high, but it’s a break-even point for many dairies. That milk price can’t support a hay price much higher than $270 or $280/ton.

2) Corn and other substitute products are projected to stay high through the first part of next year.

3) There’s not a huge increase projected for alfalfa acres. I spoke with hay market analyst Seth Hoyt (TheHoytReport.com) earlier and he is expecting a 3-5% increase overall in California.

4) The number of dairy cattle is increasing slightly, but the key is that it’s not dropping significantly.

5) Hay rations have already been reduced, with most dairies feeding 5-8 lbs of hay per day per cow.

Based on the items above, he expects that the price of supreme hay will be $270 to $280 for the first cutting of next year.

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22 Reasons Why We Could See An Economic Collaps In Europe In 2012 By End of Times News....

2011-12-06T16:10:00.001-08:00

22 Reasons Why We Could See An Economic Collapse In Europe In 2012

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com

Will 2012 be the year that we see an economic collapse in Europe? Before you dismiss the title of this article as "alarmist", read the facts listed in the rest of this article first. Over the past several months, there has been an astonishing loss of confidence in the European financial system. Right now, virtually nobody wants to loan money to financially troubled nations in the EU and virtually nobody wants to lend money to major European banks.

Remember, one of the primary reasons for the financial crisis of 2008 was a major credit crunch that happened here in the United States. This burgeoning credit crunch in Europe is just one element of a "perfect storm" that is rapidly coming together as we get ready to go into 2012. The signs of trouble are everywhere.

All over Europe, governments are implementing austerity measures and dramatically cutting back on spending. European banks are substantially cutting back on lending as they seek to meet new capital requirements that are being imposed upon them.

Meanwhile, bond yields are going through the roof all over Europe as investors lose confidence and demand much higher returns for investing in European debt. It has become clear that without a miracle happening, quite a few European nations and a significant number of European banks are not going to be able to get the funding that they need from the market in 2012.

The only thing that is going to avert a complete and total financial meltdown in Europe is dramatic action, but right now European leaders are so busy squabbling with each other that a bold plan seems out of the question.

The following are 22 reasons why we could see an economic collapse in Europe in 2012....

#1 Germany could rescue the rest of Europe, but that would take an unprecedented financial commitment, and the German people do not have the stomach for that. It has been estimated that it would cost Germany 7 percent of GDP over several years in order to sufficiently bail out the other financially troubled EU nations. Such an amount would far surpass the incredibly oppressive reparations that Germany was forced to pay out in the aftermath of World War I.

A host of recent surveys has shown that the German people are steadfastly against bailing out the rest of Europe. For example, according to one recent poll 57 percent of the German people are against the creation of eurobonds.

At this point, German politicians are firmly opposed to any measure that would place an inordinate burden on German taxpayers, so unless this changes that means that Europe is not going to be saved from within.

#2 The United States could rescue Europe, but the Obama administration knows that it would be really tough to sell that to the American people during an election season. The following is what White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said today about the potential for a bailout of Europe by the United States....

"This is something they need to solve and they have the capacity to solve, both financial capacity and political will"
Carney also said that the Obama administration does not plan to commit any "additional resources" to rescuing Europe....

"We do not in any way believe that additional resources are required from the United States and from American taxpayers."
#3 Right now, banks all over Europe are in deleveraging mode as they attempt to meet new capital-adequacy requirements by next June.

According to renowned financial journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, European banks need to reduce the amount of lending on their books by about 7 trillion dollars in order to get down to safe levels....

Europe’s banks face a $7 trillion lending contraction to bring their balance sheets in line with the US and Japan, threatening to trap the region in a credit crunch and chronic depression for a decade.
So what does that mean?

It means that European banks are going to be getting really, really stingy with loans.

That means that it is going to become really hard to buy a home or expand a business in Europe, and that means that the economy of Europe is going to slow down substantially.

#4 European banks are overloaded with "toxic assets" that they are desperate to get rid of. Just like we saw with U.S. banks back in 2008, major European banks are busy trying to unload mountains of worthless assets that have a book value of trillions of euros, but virtually nobody wants to buy them.

#5 Government austerity programs are now being implemented all over Europe. But government austerity programs can have very negative economic effects. For example, we have already seen what government austerity has done to Greece. 100,000 businesses have closed and a third of the population is now living in poverty.

But now governments all over Europe have decided that austerity is the way to go. The following comes from a recent article in the Economist....

France’s budget plans are close to being agreed on; further cuts are likely but will be delayed until after the elections in spring. Italy has yet to vote through a much-revised package of cuts. Spain’s incoming government has promised further spending cuts, especially in regional outlays, in order to meet deficit targets agreed with Brussels.

#6 The amount of debt owed by some of these European nations is so large that it is difficult to comprehend. For example, Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Spain owe the rest of the world about 3 trillion euros combined.

So what will massive government austerity do to troubled nations such as Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy? Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is very concerned about what even more joblessness will mean for many of those countries....

Even today, the jobless rate for youth is near 10pc in Japan. It is already 46pc in Spain, 43pc in Greece, 32pc in Ireland, and 27pc in Italy. We will discover over time what yet more debt deleveraging will do to these societies.

#7 Europe was able to bail out Greece and Ireland, but there is no way that Italy will be able to be rescued if they require a full-blown bailout.

Unfortunately, Italy is in the midst of a massive financial meltdown as you read this. The yield on two year Italian bonds is now about double what it was for most of the summer. There is no way that is sustainable.

It would be hard to overstate how much of a crisis Italy represents. The following is how former hedge fund manager Bruce Krasting recently described the current situation....

At this point there is zero possibility that Italy can refinance any portion of its $300b of 2012 maturing debt. If there is anyone at the table who still thinks that Italy can pull off a miracle, they are wrong. I’m certain that the finance guys at the ECB and Italian CB understand this. I repeat, there is a zero chance for a market solution for Italy.
Krasting believes that either Italy gets a gigantic mountain of cash from somewhere or they will default within six months and that will mean the start of a global depression....

I think the Italian story is make or break. Either this gets fixed or Italy defaults in less than six months. The default option is not really an option that policy makers would consider. If Italy can’t make it, then there will be a very big crashing sound. It would end up taking out most of the global lenders, a fair number of countries would follow into Italy’s vortex. In my opinion a default by Italy is certain to bring a global depression; one that would take many years to crawl out of.

#8 An Italian default may be closer than most people think. As the Telegraph recently reported, just to refinance existing debt, the Italian government must sell more than 30 billion euros worth of new bonds by the end of January....

Italy’s new government will have to sell more than EURO 30 billion of new bonds by the end of January to refinance its debts. Analysts say there is no guarantee that investors will buy all of those bonds, which could force Italy to default.

The Italian government yesterday said that in talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Prime Minister Mario Monti had agreed that an Italian collapse “would inevitably be the end of the euro.”

#9 European nations other than just the "PIIGS" are getting into an increasing amount of trouble. For example, S&P recently slashed the credit rating of Belgium to AA.

#10 Credit downgrades are coming fast and furious all over Europe now. At this point it seems like we see a new downgrade almost every single week. Some nations have been downgraded several times. For instance, Fitch has downgraded the credit rating of Portugal again. At this point it is being projected that Portuguese GDP will shrink by about 3 percent in 2012.

#11 The financial collapse of Hungary didn't make many headlines in the United States, but it should have. Moody's has cut the credit rating of Hungarian debt to junk status, and Hungary has now submitted a formal request to the EU and the IMF for a bailout.

#12 Even faith in German debt seems to be wavering. Last week, Germany had "one of its worst bond auctions ever".

#13 German banks are also starting to show signs of weakness. The other day, Moody's downgraded the ratings of 10 major German banks.

#14 As the Telegraph recently reported, the British government is now making plans based on the assumption that a collapse of the euro is only "just a matter of time"....

As the Italian government struggled to borrow and Spain considered seeking an international bail-out, British ministers privately warned that the break-up of the euro, once almost unthinkable, is now increasingly plausible.

Diplomats are preparing to help Britons abroad through a banking collapse and even riots arising from the debt crisis.

The Treasury confirmed earlier this month that contingency planning for a collapse is now under way.

A senior minister has now revealed the extent of the Government’s concern, saying that Britain is now planning on the basis that a euro collapse is now just a matter of time.

#15 The EFSF was supposed to help bring some stability to the situation, but the truth is that the EFSF is already a bad joke. It has been reported that the EFSF has already been forced to buy up huge numbers of its own bonds.

#16 Unfortunately, it looks like a run on the banks has already begun in Europe. The following comes from a recent article in The Economist....

"We are starting to witness signs that corporates are withdrawing deposits from banks in Spain, Italy, France and Belgium," an analyst at Citi Group wrote in a recent report. "This is a worrying development."

#17 Confidence in European banks has been absolutely shattered and virtually nobody wants to lend them money right now.

The following is a short excerpt from a recent CNBC article....

Money-market funds in the United States have quite dramatically slammed shut their lending windows to European banks. According to the Economist, Fitch estimates U.S. money market funds have withdrawn 42 percent of their money from European banks in general.

And for France that number is even higher — 69 percent. European money-market funds are also getting in on the act.

#18 There are dozens of major European banks that are in danger of failing. The reality is that most major European banks are leveraged to the hilt and are massively exposed to sovereign debt. Before it fell in 2008, Lehman Brothers was leveraged 31 to 1. Today, major German banks are leveraged 32 to 1, and those banks are currently holding a massive amount of European sovereign debt.

#19 According to the New York Times, the economy of the EU is already projected to shrink slightly next year, and this doesn't even take into account what is going to happen in the event of a total financial collapse.

#20 There are already signs that the European economy is seriously slowing down. Industrial orders in the eurozone declined by 6.4 percent during September. That was the largest decline that we have seen since the midst of the financial crisis in 2008.

#21 Panic and fear are everywhere in Europe right now. The European Commission’s index of consumer confidence has declined for five months in a row.

#22 European leaders are really busy fighting with each other and a true consensus on how to solve the current problems seems way off at the moment. The following is how the Express recently described rising tensions between German and British leaders....

The German Chancellor rejected outright Mr Cameron’s opposition to a new EU-wide financial tax that would have a devastating impact on the City of London.

And she refused to be persuaded by his call for the European Central Bank to support the euro. Money markets took a dip after their failure to agree.

Are you starting to get the picture?

The European financial system is in a massive amount of trouble, and when it melts down the entire globe is going to be shaken.

But it isn't just me that is saying this. As I mentioned in a previous article, there are huge numbers of respected economists all over the globe that are now saying that Europe is on the verge of collapse.

For example, just check out what Credit Suisse is saying about the situation in Europe....

"We seem to have entered the last days of the euro as we currently know it. That doesn’t make a break-up very likely, but it does mean some extraordinary things will almost certainly need to happen – probably by mid-January – to prevent the progressive closure of all the euro zone sovereign bond markets, potentially accompanied by escalating runs on even the strongest banks."

Many European leaders are promoting much deeper integration and a "European superstate" as the answer to these problems, but it would take years to implement changes that drastic, and Europe does not have that kind of time.

If Europe experiences a massive economic collapse and a prolonged depression, it may seem like "the end of the world" to some people, but things will eventually stabilize.

A lot of people out there seem to think that the global economy is going to go from its present state to "Mad Max" in a matter of weeks. Well, that is just not going to happen. The coming troubles in Europe will just be another "wave" in the ongoing economic collapse of the western world. There will be other "waves" after that.

Of course this current sovereign debt crisis could be entirely averted if the countries of the western world would just shut down their central banks and start issuing debt-free money.

The truth is that there is no reason why any sovereign nation on earth ever has to go a penny into debt to anyone. If a nation is truly sovereign, then the government has the right to issue all of the debt-free money that it wants. Yes, inflation would always be a potential danger in such a system (just as it is under central banking), but debt-free money would mean that government debt problems would be a thing of the past.

Unfortunately, most of the countries of the world operate under a system where more government debt is created when more currency is created. The inevitable result of such a system is what we are witnessing now. At this point, nearly the entire western world is drowning in debt.

There are alternatives to our current system. But nobody in the mainstream media ever talks about them.

So instead of focusing on truly creative ways to deal with our current problems, we are all going to experience the bitter pain of the coming economic collapse instead.

Things did not have to turn out this way.

Horse-Hay Prices Close To Peak, Says New York Grower... Tue. Dec. 6, 2011

2011-12-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

Horse-Hay Prices Close To Peak, Says New York Grower

Tue, 2011-12-06 14:47

While horse-hay prices in the region have been pushing up steadily this fall, hay grower Phil Saunders of Sugar Creek Farm near Dansville, NY, believes a market top may be near.
Saunders has been selling the high-quality timothy hay he produced on 400 acres for around $240/ton. That’s $30/ton higher than year-ago prices.
He relies on brokers to market most his hay, packaged in small square bales weighing 60-65 lbs, to the East Coast horse-owner market. “Prices might move a little higher, but I don’t see them going much above $250,” says Saunders, noting that out of the 30,000 bales he made this year, he still has 18,000 for sale. “When they hit that level, we’ll start seeing some price resistance. Times are tough, and horse owners are feeling strapped just like everyone else. At a certain point, they’ll start substituting other feeds for hay.”
Typically, Saunders uses four or five brokers to market his product. “My time is budgeted pretty tightly, especially in the summer. The broker takes care of finding the customers, arranging the trucking and loading the hay onto the trucks. I can use the time I save on those chores to focus on growing and harvesting my hay.”
Best of all, Saunders says, working with a broker cuts down on the risk of not being paid. “In New York, brokers have to be registered,” he says. “If they don’t pay their suppliers, they can lose their licenses. On the other hand, if I were to sell my hay directly to someone in another state and they decided not to pay, there wouldn’t be a lot I could do to get my money.”
Contact Saunders at 585-335-8664 or email haygrower@rocketmail.com.

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Hay Prices Stable to Slighty Higher.. Nov. 3, 2011 eHay Weekly

2011-12-04T15:16:00.002-08:00

Hay Prices Stable To Slightly Higher

Nov 3, 2011 9:43 AM

Hay prices have remained mostly steady in some states in recent weeks, but have crept upward in others as buyers vie for dwindling supplies. Most prices are well above year-ago levels.
These prices were gathered by USDA and other sources in mid-October. Figures followed by (D) are delivered prices. All others are at the farm. Pellet prices are for bulk sales.

Videos Boost Hay Web-Site Sales By: Rick Mooney Nov. 29, 2011 eHay Weekly

2011-12-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

Videos Boost Hay Web-Site Sales

Nov 29, 2011 4:15 PM, by Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay Weekly

Being able to show potential customers the hay they're considering actually helps sell it, says hay buyer Brian Foss, of Northern Plains Forage in Volin, SD. Foss has been putting videos of hay lots for sale on his Web site for the past year or so.
"It takes a lot of the guesswork out of buying hay," he says. "Just about everybody who has ever bought hay long distance has been burned at one time or another. This way, they know that if they order a particular load from me, it's the load that they're going to get. They just feel better about buying from you if they can have a look at it first."
Foss buys hay in South Dakota and neighboring states. He sells primarily to horse owners in the southern U.S. – from Texas to Florida. The videos have been especially popular with women buyers.
Creating videos is a relatively straightforward business. Foss carries a small, point-and-shoot still camera with video capability while on buying trips. He shoots several minutes of video when inspecting hay and includes audio commentary. "If I'm alone, I'll set the camera on a tripod. Otherwise, I'll have the other person do the actual shooting." (See Foss at right in photo, with assistant Jake Riter.)
When he gets back home, Foss uses software to edit and convert the videos for his Web site. "The conversion and editing are a little time-consuming. But I have to do it or it would take too long for viewers to download the videos." It still takes 40-45 seconds to download a 45-second video, "but if someone is going to be spending $6,000-8,000 on a load of hay, that doesn't seem like all that long of a wait."
He also pulls hay samples to send to a local testing lab, then posts lab results along with each video.
A local company helped Foss put the Web site together; he pays about $300/year for Web hosting. "If I make one sale because someone has been able to see the hay first, I've paid for the hosting fee," he says.
To contact Foss, call 605-760-4118 or email northernplainsforage@hotmail.com.
To see a typical video, visit www.northernplainsforage.com, click on “Hay For Sale,” choose a hay type and download the video within one of the lots offered.

Obama Signs Law legalizing Horse Slaughter in The U.S. By Stacey , Nov. 29, 2011..

2011-11-29T04:19:00.000-08:00

Obama signs law legalizing horse slaughter in the US

November 29, 2011

by Stacey

PETITIONS AND ACTIONS BELOW
FROM: THE PERSIAN HORSE’S BLOG

BACKGROUND FROM: SCRIPPS NEWS

Last week while you weren’t looking Congress and the president did something the vast majority of Americans oppose. The president signed an omnibus-spending bill approved by Congress that makes it legal to slaughter horses in the United States once again. Polls show more than 70 percent of Americans oppose horse slaughter and few if any eat horse meat. Given the fact we are divided politically by a gap the size of the Grand Canyon, recognize that a 70 percent majority is an unheard of amount of backing.
But wait, it gets worse. The reintroduction of horse slaughter plants in the United States comes with a hefty price tag, much of which goes to line the pockets of people in other countries who own these dens of incalculable abuse. The way it works is that ever since 2005, there has been a section of the Agriculture appropriations bill that de-funds (to wit, bars the expenditure of taxpayers’ dollars on) a program for the USDA to inspect foreign-owned horse plants. Now that the de-funding law has been deleted, supporters of the grisly, completely inhumane process of horse slaughter will go back to lobbying Congress for millions of dollars annually to run the inspection program. Without inspection, it is illegal to transport horsemeat across state lines. Once they succeed, horse slaughter will resume here.
Let’s forget for the moment that candidate Barack Obama in 2008 pledged to keep the ban on horse slaughter permanent (another promise to voters reneged?) Let’s forget, too, that American horses are not bred or raised for consumption. Let’s forget that the few countries where horsemeat is consumed (France, Belgium and Japan among them) are ignoring the outright cruelty to horses that raises the hackles of right-thinking Americans. The simple question is: do we want our tax dollars spent to inspect horses who were slaughtered in incredibly cruel fashion (a bolt through the forehead that doesn’t kill them immediately) so foreign owners of slaughter plants can profit? In the midst of a recession when other crucial programs such as Medicare and education are suffering deep cuts, the answer is a resounding, “no.”
Supporters of horse slaughter say the reintroduction of slaughter plants in the U.S. will create jobs. An article in the Desert Independent in Blythe, Calif., this month noted, “Horse slaughter plants operating until 2007…never created a total of more than 178 jobs.” The kind of jobs they do create are of dubious economic value to the individuals who take them and to the communities where slaughter plants are located.
The Independent quotes Paula Bacon, former mayor of Kaufman, Texas, where a horse slaughter facility operated for years as saying, “Horse slaughter means very few, very low wage jobs, meaning workers and their families overtaxed local resources like the hospitals and government services. This so called business brought in virtually no tax revenues and local governments incurred substantial enforcement costs in trying to regulate these facilities. The standard of living dropped during the time horse slaughter facilities operated. Having a horse slaughter facility drove away good businesses.”
Studies have shown that when slaughter plants are opened in rural areas, violent crime quickly rises. Think about it. Horses are sometimes cut into pieces while still alive and screaming. What kind of person would accept the minimum wage to engage in this horrific behavior? The question answers itself.
Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., sponsored the de-funding amendment in the House version of the Agriculture Appropriations bill. He said he regrets voting for the overall bill (which did not include the de-funding language) but felt compelled to do so, to keep the government operating. He said the only alternative is to assure passage of a permanent ban on horse slaughter, which he and other compassionate members of Congress are working to do. Let’s wish them success.

PLEASE SIGN THESE TWO PETITIONS:
Overturn Obama’s Legalization of Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption
Slaughter/Consumption of Horses – Un-American!

IF YOU ARE AS DISGUSTED AND ENRAGED AS THE PERSIAN HORSE IS OVER THIS BLATANT and TREACHEROUS CORRUPTION, YOU MAY TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS:

CLICK HERE TO SEND YOUR MESSAGE OF DISGUST AND DISAPPOINTMENT TO PRESIDENT OBAMA.
CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. Type In Your Zip Code
CLICK HERE TO SEND THE ABOVE ALERT TO HUNDREDS OF MEDIA OUTLETS. (Hint: send this link to the Media outlets: http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/65615 )
CLICK HERE TO FIND FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES’ FAX NUMBERS
CLICK HERE TO SEND FREE FAXES FROM YOUR COMPUTER. (Hint: Your Tax Dollars Pay for the Fax Paper),

UPDATE FROM CAPITAL HILL: Congress May Allow Governement Funding for Horse Slaughter.. Nov. 16, 2011 By:ASPCA.org

2011-11-16T04:23:00.000-08:00

November 16, 2011

Update from Capitol Hill: Congress May Allow Government Funding for Horse Slaughterhouses

Guest blog post from Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations.
In a heartbreaking development, we learned this week that Congress is abandoning an important piece of existing legislation that relates to horse slaughter. Since 2005, Congress has prevented the commercial slaughter of horses in the United States by blocking the use of federal money for horse meat inspections. This language was routinely included in the annual Agriculture Appropriations bill after the original amendment to defund horse slaughter inspections enjoyed bipartisan support and passed by large margins (269-158 in the House and 69-28 in the Senate). The 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which is currently being considered by Congress, does not include this provision.
This is distressing on two counts. First, at a time when Congress is cutting funds for education and other vital programs, it is outrageous that taxpayers would be asked to add $5 million to the budget for something as senseless as horse slaughter. Second, since Americans don’t eat horse meat, this action will only benefit foreign markets in Asia and Europe, where horse meat is considered a delicacy.
The members of the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade have worked hard contacting their legislators on this issue with calls, emails and letters of support. Congress is clearly ignoring the will of the American people if it allows our tax dollars to be used for this gratuitous cruelty.
Though this setback is unfortunate, it signals the need for us to redouble our efforts for a complete ban on horse slaughter. While the funding amendment protected America from the horrors of horse slaughter plants operating on our home soil (where, despite past USDA oversight, gross abuse and rampant cruelty were routine), it didn’t necessarily prevent horse slaughter—in fact, thousands of horses continue to be sent over our borders for this purpose every year. However, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 would not only ban horse slaughter in this country, but also ban the export of our horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter. I encourage everyone who cares about horses to contact their federal legislators to press for passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. You can do so by visiting www.aspca.org/AHSPA.
Those in favor of horse slaughter are celebrating Congress’s decision, and there’s already talk of opening horse slaughterhouses in the Northwest. Given the controversial nature of this issue, it may be tough to find investors unwise enough to take such a leap knowing that we’ll be working to defund horse slaughter again immediately.
It is now more important than ever that Congress hears from horse advocates who know how essential it is that we protect these majestic animals. To learn more about the issue of horse slaughter, please visit ASPCA.org.

California Hay Prices May Not Have Peaked..

2011-11-07T07:38:00.000-08:00

California Hay Prices May Not Have Peaked

Nov 7, 2011 3:40 PM, By Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay Weekly

There's still room for upward hay-price movement despite the fact that dairy hay prices have gone through the roof in California this year, says Norman Beach, vice-president of the San Joaquin Valley Hay Growers Association in Tracy, CA.

Supreme- and premium-quality alfalfa hays in the state are currently bringing $315-325/ton delivered to dairies, reports Beach, whose alfalfa hay marketing cooperative represents 50,000 membership acres.

"At this point in the year, you can generally expect hay prices to continue rising. We're at the end of the growing season and everything that was going to be put up has been put up. There's no hay left to be made. And hay inventories everywhere are very, very low," Beach says.

Milk prices will also help determine just how high the price of hay might climb this winter. "The industry is waiting to see what milk prices will do. If they go down, even if there's only one bale of hay left, it really won't matter. If people can't pay for it, they can't pay for it."

Even so, Beach doubts that alfalfa prices will reach the $400/ton mark as some market analysts have been predicting. "I just can't see dairymen paying that kind of money for hay. There's other stuff they can feed in their rations at a cheaper cost."

It's still too early to get a hard and fast read on whether the current high price levels will attract more state acreage to alfalfa next year, he says. "We're still a month or so off from having any kind of preliminary numbers. What I have noticed is that there seem to be a lot more irrigation borders (a sign that a field will be planted to alfalfa) going up this fall than I thought there would be given the price of competing crops."

Dan Putnam wouldn't be surprised to see state alfalfa plantings bump up "modestly but not dramatically" in the year ahead.

"We won't likely see anything like a 10-15% increase," says Putnam, University of California Extension forage specialist. From 920,000 to 940,000 California acres were planted to alfalfa during the 2010-2011 season, compared to historically high levels of 1.1 million acres, he notes.

"Although it's too early to say for sure, we could definitely see a rise on the order of 2-5% in 2012. We've never seen alfalfa prices this high before, even in 2008. Although grower costs are high, hay farmers see possibilities for making a decent return this coming year."

But a lot of crops are competing for the same acreage, Putnam says. "If stand establishment, harvesting and water costs for alfalfa are high, crops like corn, cotton and wheat could look more attractive to growers. Also, growers may not be willing to get going with a four-year-long alfalfa project if alternative annual crop prices remain very attractive."

Growers also will keep watch on the 2012 U.S. Farm Bill debate in the months ahead as they mull over whether to plant alfalfa or other crops, Putnam adds. "Large changes in the provisions for grains and ethanol may have an effect on hay plantings. We could be in for some very interesting times."

To contact Beach, call 209-610-9568 or email haynorm@sbcglobal.net. Putnam can be reached at 530-752-8982 or dhputnam@ucdavis.edu.

USDA Predicts Surging Food Prices in Coming Year...

2011-10-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

USDA Predicts Surging Food Prices in Coming Year

October 31, 2011

108

The USDA has released their projections for food price inflation in 2011/2012, showing troubling forecasts that may send you to the grocery store today, before paying higher prices tomorrow. The report shows that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all food increased 0.8 percent between 2009 and 2010, and is forecasted to increase 3.5 to 4.5 percent in 2011.

Items that are expected to inflate the most include beef, cooking oils, and seafood. Processed vegetables and beverages were projected to to see smaller changes in the CPI. The Wall Street Journal notes that "the midpoint of the new USDA outlook signals the sharpest acceleration in the food inflation rate from one year to the next since 1978, and makes the increase itself the biggest since 2008, when prices rose 5.5%." While things may seem bleak for the rest of the year, the USDA projects that prices will rise only 2.5 percent next year.

The report also found that food-at-home prices increased 0.3 percent, the lowest annual increase since 1967, while food-away-from-home prices rose 1.3 percent in 2010. Total food expenditures for all food consumed in the U.S. were $1,240.4 billion in 2010, a 3.4-percent increase from $1,199.8 billion in 2009. Spending on food away from home accounted for 47.9 percent of total food expenditures in 2010; spending for food at home accounted for 52.1 percent.

Hay Supply Prospects Tight But Unchanged.

2011-10-20T11:03:00.001-07:00

Hay Supply Prospects Tight But Unchanged
Oct 19, 2011 7:09 AM, by Neil Tietz, Senior Editor, Hay & Forage Grower
USDA has reduced its 2011 hay production estimates for Montana and North Dakota, states that earlier had been looked at as sources of abundant supplies. Growers in the two states are now expected to harvest nearly a million tons less than the department projected in August.
That's about the only thing that jumped out at Matt Diersen as he studied the department's October Crop Production report shortly after it was released on Oct. 12. Hay production expectations have also been scaled back for Oklahoma, Texas and other states hit by lingering drought, and increased in Southeastern states that got needed rain from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. But those changes were expected, says Diersen.
Overall, the latest estimates of this year's crop remain mostly unchanged. USDA expects production of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures to total 64.7 million tons, down slightly from its August forecast and down 5% from last year's total. Based on Oct. 1 conditions, yield is expected to average 3.35 tons/acre, 0.05 ton/acre less than in 2010. Harvested area is forecast at 38.3 million acres, down 4% from last year's number.
Production of other hay is forecast at 67 million tons, also down slightly from August and 14% below last year's production. If realized it will be the lowest production since 1993. Yields are expected to average 1.75 tons/acre, unchanged from the August forecast but down 0.20 ton from 2010's average yield. It would be the lowest U.S. yield since 1988. Harvested area is expected to total 38.3 million acres, 4% fewer than were harvested last year.
Based on USDA's all-hay production predictions and historical data on annual usage, Diersen estimates that Dec. 1 hay stocks will be roughly 94 million tons, 9 million tons below the amount stored on farms on that date last year. With wintertime disappearance equal to that of last winter's – 80 million tons – May 1 stocks would drop to 14 million tons, an all-time low carryover amount.
In addition to domestic usage, disappearance includes exports, which he sees staying strong but perhaps not increasing as they have been in recent months.
"The value of the dollar in relation to other currencies has started to rise," says Diersen. "That's going to make U.S. hay more expensive to foreign buyers."
Still, he thinks hay supplies will be low enough, and prices high enough, to bring some lost acreage back into production in 2012. Acreage gains are most likely on the western fringes of the Corn Belt, where corn doesn't yield as well and livestock numbers are higher, and in dairy areas.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Wisconsin, for example, will have some pressure to shift back," says Diersen.
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Wild Horses and Hard Choices by Max Bearak... Oct. 11, 2011

2011-10-17T01:03:00.000-07:00

OCTOBER 11, 2011, 8:01 AM

Wild Horses and Hard Choices

By MAX BEARAK

Monica Almeida/The New York Times Wild horses are driven by a helicopter toward a pen in the Nevada desert.

My first wild horse sighting came when a coworker and I, navigating a barely visible dirt road in our big Forest Service truck this summer, had just reached the crest of a ridge on our way to survey a remote wilderness area in eastern Nevada.

As I slowed down to admire the view, three black stallions bolted from a grove of pines barely 50 feet from us. Seconds later the horses were gone, leaving us to ponder their lives on the run and, later, to recount the thrill we had experienced.

I was lucky enough to see many more on the ranges of the Great Basin during my summer stint with the Forest Service. Well adapted to the basin’s wide open spaces, they would outrun our trucks and look back at us from afar, as if playing a game of tag in their natural playground.

Indeed, these horses aren’t fenced in. They run more or less freely in 10 Western states. Since leaving Nevada to return to school, I’ve had a recurring dream of one stallion in particular. With wind blowing through his mane as he raced beneath a clear blue summer sky, I fleetingly felt his independence. It’s abundantly clear to me why wild horses have come to embody freedom in the American imagination.

Some estimates say that there used to be millions of wild horses in North America. Horses were brought to the Americas initially by Spanish settlers, and to the West later as part of wagon trains and cavalry units in the United States Army, but all were domesticated.

Over the years, many horses were turned loose, either as a result of wars with Indian peoples or Mexicans, or because their owners had become too poor to take care of them. After the mechanization of agriculture, even more horses were released into the wild because they were no longer needed to pull plows and the like.

Yet, as more and more people arrived to settle the American West, loss of habitat drastically reduced wild horse populations. Significant droughts made the struggle for survival even harder by diminishing grazing areas in an already-shrinking natural environment.

By the 1960s, the total population had dropped to around 17,000. In 1971, Congress responded to growing public pressure by passing the Wild Horse and Burro Act, which reaffirmed that the animals were “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.”

The act granted ownership of all American wild horses to the federal government and established more than 300 herd management areas that are now administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The bureau has since been tasked with managing the wild horse populations and mitigating their effects on ecosystems.

Initially, with dangerously low numbers of horses, the bureau mainly sought to provide the horses with stable food and water supplies in the event of drought. Nowadays, the bureau vigorously pursues a policy of rounding up wild horses to keep their numbers at a level that prevents them from over-grazing and hogging water.

Since 1971, over 200,000 wild horses have been rounded up by the bureau. This year, they proposed to capture 6,000, a reduction from previous years. The bureau sets a target for roundups based on research on an area’s ecological carrying capacity.

For instance, in the herd management area nearest to Ely, Nev., where I worked this summer, they have determined that they should aim for a wild horse population between 810 and 1,695. At present, 3,700 horses roam the Ely district.

Ben Noyes, a wild horse and burro specialist working for the bureau in Ely, explained why ecosystems in the region can only handle so many horses. “Horses really do destroy the land sometimes,” he told me. “They muddy up spring water and contaminate it with waste, and when they eat grass they actually completely uproot it, leaving their ranges bare.”

Some would argue that wild horses are an invasive species in North America. While there were wild horses on the continent until the late Pleistocene era, about 10,000 years ago, they went extinct along with many other large mammals like the woolly mammoth. Then again, even the elk and mule deer, which are now abundant in the Great Basin region, were brought there by early white settlers for hunting and for aesthetic purposes.

In such an “unnatural” landscape, those who work with wild horses are split on how to interpret their place in the ecosystem.
What is certain is that because of the strain that wild horses put on those ecosystems and because their habitat is so limited, most are skinny and undernourished. Mr. Noyes says that seeing horses in that condition motivated him to get involved in their management.

“For me, it’s not just my job, it’s my life,” he said. “I love to see them healthy and in great shape, just as I like to see other animals in good shape in a healthy ecosystem. You don’t want to see them suffer, you don’t want to see them fight with each other.’

On the other hand, some animal welfare activists argue that the bureau’s roundups are not in the best interest of the horses or the ecosystem. Most of the activists contend that the bureau rounds up far too many horses and caters to vested interests in livestock grazing and to landowners who see the horses as pests.

The bureau has in turn struggled to assure activists that it now has the horses’ interests at heart.

Early on, in a memorandum written when the Wild Horse and Burro Act was passed in the early 70s, Jeff Sirmon, a deputy regional forester, encouraged bureau employees to “take a more positive attitude” toward wild horses. Region-wide, he acknowledged then, “practically all of our people freely express the idea that these animals are a problem and are unwanted. Everyone hopes they will die off from loco-weed poisoning, or the cougars will kill them off, or they will simply migrate somewhere else.”

Attitudes have certainly changed, and the bureau does not want wild horses to simply disappear or die off.

And what does a roundup look like?

Wild horses are located on the range by helicopter. Once they are found, the helicopter acts as a kind of sheep dog. It swoops low and chases the horses toward a predetermined location where a “trap site” has already been set up.

A trained horse known as a Judas horse runs into the trap site, leading the wild horses in with him. Often the wild horses will have run from the helicopter for miles and miles, in great heat, and some do die in the process from exhaustion or heat.

Most don’t, however, and the rest are loaded from the trap site into mobile corrals and taken to temporary holding sites. Very few horses escape the helicopter, but when they do, the activists who gather at the trap sites to protest the roundups give a hearty cheer.

At the temporary holding sites, the horses are sorted by age, sex and state of health after undergoing basic examinations. Then they are sent to short-term holding facilities where they get more vigorous health examinations and receive vaccinations. The studs (adult male horses) are castrated. This is all part of the process of making wild horses adoptable so that the public can take advantage of the roundups.

Not all horses are adoptable. Some are very sick, some are too old, and some seem completely untrainable. In those cases, the horses are transferred to specific pastures owned by the bureau for an easy retirement. The adoptable horses will typically end up at county and state fairgrounds or other auction events where the public can buy them from the bureau. A standard horse goes for $125.

The horses are cheap because they’re not well bred and are very hard to train. Debbie Collins, the coordinator of the information center for the bureau’s Wild Horse and Burro Program, says the process requires lots of patience. “They’re not used to someone coming out with a bucket of feed,” she said, “and they’ve never had a stall, or really any contact with humans.”

Ms. Collins says that some adopters prefer wild horses nonetheless because it’s like starting with a clean slate. The training takes creativity: apparently some adopters have their horses listen to the radio during the day to get them accustomed to human voices.

Most adopted wild horses will end up in Oklahoma, Kansas or other Central Plains states. Yet extreme drought in that region this year has sharply reduced the numbers adopted. And in some areas furthest to the east, there’s been lots of flooding.“On top of the economic slowdown, we’ve had a lot of mother nature issues this year,” Ms. Collins said.

Given that the weather has been so unpredictable lately and an economic turnaround has not materialized, the bureau has started looking at new methods for managing free-roaming wild horse populations beyond the adoption program. In 2009, 500 female wild horses were given fertility control treatments before being released back into the wild. This year and the next, they hope to treat 2,000 annually.

Wild horses are an instructive example of how the protection of both animal welfare and ecosystems, which you would think go hand in hand, requires compromises.

Who would have thought that the government would be capturing and sterilizing an animal that represents something fundamental to the nation’s heritage? But there you have it.

For Your Information.. .Low Hay Acres, High Hay Prices... Sept, 2011 BY: Rick Mooney, Editor EHay

2011-09-30T02:44:00.001-07:00

For your information:
Low Hay Acres, High Hay Prices

Hold on to your hats. The most recent USDA estimate for hay acreage to be harvested in the U.S. during 2011 has likely set the stage for a wild, upward ride in hay prices for the rest of the year.

U.S. growers plan to harvest 57.6 million all-hay acres in 2011, down 4% from 2010, according to the June 30 Acreage report. Harvested acres are expected to be below or equal to last year's figures for most states in the Corn Belt, Great Plains, Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions, the ag department adds. Record-low harvested acreages are expected in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Maine, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. For alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures, USDA expects a harvested area of 19.3 million acres in 2011, down 3% from that of last year.

Throughout spring, most market watchers had been predicting a large drop in hay acres and that growers would switch to corn, wheat and other crops to capitalize on projected high commodity prices. In its March 31 Prospective Plantings report, USDA had forecast all-hay production at 59 million acres.

"That would have been a drop of about 1% from 2010," says University of Wisconsin Extension educator Ken Barnett, who compiles the Weekly Hay Market Demand and Price Report for the Upper Midwest. "Given all the reports we were hearing and reading through the winter about farmers taking land out of hay to plant corn and other crops, I don't think many people really believed that number."

Even so, the size of the spread between the March and June acreage numbers surprised many analysts. "Shocking is the only word I can think of to describe it," says Matt Diersen, ag economist at South Dakota State University Extension. "It's a big, big drop."

That virtually ensures dramatically lower U.S. hay production overall. Diersen points out that, if this year's yields meet the 10-year average of 2.43 tons/acre, national all-hay production would total 140 million tons, a 7-million-ton drop from production in 2010 and the lowest production since 1988.

A relatively low inventory of hay coming out of the winter promises to tighten supplies even more. Hay stocks on May 1 of this year totaled 22 million tons. "That's not crazy tight like it was in 2007 when May 1 stocks were under 15 million tons," he says. "But when you couple it with the lower production, it will put a lot of pressure on the supply."

At the same time, demand is likely to be stronger than normal in some areas of the country. Severe droughts in Texas, Oklahoma and other parts of the Southern Plains have burned up pastures, forcing livestock producers to feed hay much earlier in the year than normal. "It's really going to put a stress on supply throughout the marketing year, which will only push prices higher," says Diersen.

U.S. hay prices as of late May were already at an all-time high, Diersen adds. "It's similar to 2008, when hay prices were high at the start of the marketing year, then stayed high for the rest of the summer."

His bottom line on the Acreage report: "It's good news for someone with hay to sell. It's very bad news for anybody on the buyer's side."

by Rick Mooney, Editor, eHay