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Thursday 14 February 2008

EI-free breeders push for national vaccine

Thoroughbred breeders are calling for an industry-wide vaccination program to ensure equine flu never breaks out again, after New South Wales was this morning declared free of the disease.

The State Government says its program of vaccination and restrictions on the movement of horses has paid off, with no new cases confirmed since December 21.
Forty-one-thousand horses were infected at the peak of the outbreak, which began last August, bringing the state's racing industry to a standstill just before the breeding season.
NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald says it is a remarkable achievement.
"In many countries that have fought to eradicate EI, it's taken them up to two to three years," he said. "And then there have been many countries who've failed to eradicate it at all."
Thoroughbred Breeders Association president John Messara says the industry cannot afford to have a similar outbreak again.
"It probably means the adoption of a vaccination policy like they do in every other country where this disease has been - they adopt a continuing vaccination policy for their racing and performance horses," he said.
"It's just common sense. I know that Government authorities see it as some sort of defeat but i don't think it is a defeat, i think its a practical solution."
Mr Macdonald says authorities will continue to test horses to make sure there are no isolated pockets of the disease left.
"We're taking a precautionary approach as required under international protocols to make sure there's no evidence of the disease existing outside of our knowledge," he said.

NSW declared horse flu free

The news that New South Wales is free of horse flu has brought cries of joy from those involved in the horse industry.

It's just in time for some in the industry who have lost thousands of dollars, forcing them to put their properties up for sale.
Cessnock horse transporter, Nancy Westbrook, says the announcement is a welcome relief.
"I just about went brain dead with the number of phone calls and faxes that we had to deal with", she says.
"I lost about four kilos between then and now, just the workload keeping horses in stables, having to get extra hay.
"That was difficult. You had to have a permit or a clean truck to go and get hay.
"We had to do washdowns, because we were red zone coming out of purple.
"It did have quite an impact, and I know a couple that have lost their cars, and their properties are on the market, particularly a couple of the Queensland trucks, who also got trapped".

I'm Dr Crazy Horse!

Emma Massingale is sitting in her living room, explaining how she persuaded a horse to lie down under her Christmas tree. 'Tom looked at the lights of the Christmas tree and I asked him to lie down under it,' she says, smiling. 'He wasn't sure there was enough room and I had to prove to him there was.'

Eventually, Tom lay down and was photographed for Emma's Christmas card. 'It is the first time that a horse has lain down on a rug for me,' she says. 'Getting a horse to lie down means he is laying down his life for you.'
Emma is an equine psychologist — a horse whisperer. At her farm in Bradworthy, Devon, she heals the horses the world has given up on — the difficult, the dangerous and the angst-ridden.
And as I, a city girl used to rancid pigeons and spoilt cats, wander down the damp lane to see this Dr Freud for the four-legged, I wonder what I will find.
Is Emma's farm the horse equivalent of the Priory Hospital, but with self-absorbed horses, rather than tired celebrities?
Emma grew up in Surrey, and when she was 14 a crisis hit. Her mother walked out and Emma's solace was a big black horse called Kariba.
'I would sit in the field with him all day, reading,' she says. 'I would sleep in the stable with him at night. The horses became a safe haven for me.' Kariba was her first horse love — and her first horse problem. 'Kariba had a lot of issues,' she says.
She took him to the Pony Club, but he was too big and troubled for their tastes. 'They told me I would never get anywhere with him and that I should sell him. So, I decided the Pony Club could take a hike. And Kariba became my life. He started it all.'
When she was 18, Emma went to Australia to live on a horse farm, where she was taught to understand the psyche of each horse — 'they treat horses differently out there', she explains — and when she returned she began to establish her horse hospital where, for £120 a week (it's very cheap — would she take my family?) she tries to heal their pain.
'I am the last stop,' she says. 'Owners will try everything else first because I am so far from conventional training techniques.' She giggles. 'It's like people being afraid to see counsellors.'
So how does she do it? Emma, 24, who is engaged to businessman Jeremy, looks deeply normal and speaks in the ringing tones of the middle-class shires; she does-n't look like a woman who can see into the soul of a horse.
'Horses can only have a certain number of issues,' she explains. The issues are: refusal to get into a trailer, refusal to get out of a trailer, refusing to be ridden and, basically, refusing to fit in with the agendas of their human owners.
The way Emma tells it, horse problems are not horse problems. They are human problems dumped onto a horse.
TO DO her work, Emma tries to see the world through a horse's eyes.
'Paradise for a horse is to be in a field with his friends,' she explains.
'You have to remember that. I ride in competitions, but I know it isn't important to the horses. It is important to me.'
But in Jilly Cooper novels, I gasp (everything I know about animals comes from Jilly Cooper novels) — the horses love it when they win Olympic gold, don't they?
'Safety, comfort, play and food,' Emma says. 'Nothing else is important to a horse. They do not care about rosettes. People care about rosettes.'
Horses are cowardly (they are prey animals) claustrophobic, and don't care about material things. 'If we had a storm and I opened the stable doors, not one of them would stay inside because they would rather be in the field. I can help horses with big problems because I always keep that in mind.'
She tells me about the horses she saved. Shadrack, an enormous seven-year-old bay thoroughbred, was a horse who would not stop rearing.
When he came 18 months ago he was 'really naughty'. He wouldn't let his owner ride him. He wouldn't leave the yard. (Nor would he tidy his stable and he was red-eyed, sullen and non-communicative.)

Spoilt rotten
Emma interviewed the owner and realised that Shadrack's issue was this — he had always lived with his mother and sister and was, basically, spoilt rotten.
But Emma had a plan. She turned him out with Kariba and Shadrack got a reality check, horse style. Essentially, Emma sent him to boarding school.
'They taught him he wasn't the king of the herd,' she says. 'His attitude shifted from being "I am God's gift and I am not doing anything", to "oh my God, please save me from the other horses, they are picking on me".'
Shadrack learned his place in the pecking order, and when Emma retrieved him from this terrifying world of not being worshipped, he was ready to be healed.
Emma was no longer a human enemy, but a friend who would save him from Kariba. Using kindness, firmness, body language and a carrot-and-stick technique, she taught him 'to move his feet where I wanted them to be. I did everything I could think of to establish that I was the leader in our herd and he was the follower.
'He learned quickly that he had to yield to pressure — from me or from the horses.' If Shadrack went back to his bad ways, Kariba would glare, bite, reverse on him 'and boot out with both hind legs'. And the horse that had always reared never reared again. He is, says Emma, 'happier now'.
The next patient on Dr Emma's list was Moby, aged three, from Ireland. Moby had never been ridden and 'was scared of everything'. Emma's face darkens as she says 'I don't know his history but if I had to guess I would say someone did something to him. 'He had some trauma in his life.'
She thinks it is likely that he was 'backed' (it used to be called 'broken in') in the old fashioned way — 'tied to a post and sat on until his spirit was broken and he didn't struggle any more'. This is anathema to Emma's teaching — she prefers to 'work with them and get them to accept it rather than force them to deal with it'.
Moby was particularly anguished during visits to the farrier, to have his shoes nailed on. 'He wouldn't let you hold his foot up and he would kick out at you. It was horrible to watch,' she says. Emma tried to 'find a way to re-establish some kind of trust between him and people'.
Again, she used faithful Kariba. 'I knew that when Moby and Kariba were close, Moby would feel safe,' she explains. 'Kariba and Moby were a herd and Kariba would reassure Moby in a way no human ever could.'
With Emma sitting on Kariba, Moby learned to stand still with his fear, because the human threat was dissipated by Kariba's warmth towards Emma. 'Within a month we were able to shoe him confidently,' she says.
Moby, too, is a happier horse today. 'But I am sure he will never forget (the abuse),' Emma says. 'If someone got cross with him for not standing still for the farrier, I am sure he would revert to being wild quite quickly.'
Then there is Kizzy, the horse who went from zero to hero in the horse asylum. Kizzy, at 13, had never been broken in and she was, says Emma, 'difficult and dangerous. She wouldn't let anyone on her'. She says backing a 13-year-old horse is similar to trying to teach a 45-year-old man how to ride a bicycle.

'We are lucky that horses are so willing'
'We had to teach Kizzy how to accept a saddle and a girth, and the weight of a rider. We are lucky that horses are so willing.'
Finally, Emma moves on to her greatest success — the horse who trusts her enough to lie down in a living room. Emma found Tom in the ring at a show-jumping competition two years ago, carting a girl called Rhiannon across the jumps. 'It was like watching a fight,' she says.
HE HAD repeatedly thrown her and even left her scarred for life. Later, when Emma went to the stable where he was being 'trained', she stepped in and calmed him down, but they wouldn't let her help.
'They weren't showing him any compassion,' she says. It was 'the horse should do this, the horse should do that'.
Tom and Rhiannon arrived 18 months ago and together the three of them worked in 'snow, hail and thunder'. using '100 per cent body language' and her curious gift for empathy, Emma worked 'on making him feel safe'.
She read Tom and realised a little manipulation would do it. She kept her distance and Tom 'kept wanting to come back'. After a while, the training ropes were thrown off. And today he will lie on her rug, drooling.
Emma doesn't heal horses in solitude. Owners have lessons, too. Emma says: 'I can establish trust and respect with the horses, and then you put them back in the same environment and they think, "I don't trust you".' She is angry that the newspapers called Tom 'dangerous' because he nearly killed Rhiannon by throwing her so violently.
He wasn't born like that,' she says. 'It is always people doing people things to horses. Sometimes they are mad when they come out of the lorry. So stressed. So wound up. So pumped up with food and so unhappy with where they are.'
If the horses were smarter, she implies but doesn't say, they would do to us what she did to the Pony Club. They would tell us to take a hike.
'The British are good at looking after their horses the way they think they want to be looked after,' Emma says as she waves me off. 'But perhaps they could look at it through the horses' eyes. What is important to a horse is not important to a human.'
How true, I think, looking at Emma's beautiful stables — the ones her patients would leave if they could for a nice, cold field. Because, unlike us pampered softies, that's where they really want to be.

It's horsesurfing - a shore winner of an extreme sport

This daredevil duo were onto a shore winner yesterday when they hit the beach for the latest extreme sports craze - HORSESURFING.

The British-invented sport combines the technical skill of surfing with the raw power of horse riding.
A towing rope is attached to a special saddle so the surfer can be pulled through the water as the horse and its rider gallop alongside.

Horsesurfing: The British-invented sport combines the technical skill of surfing with the raw power of horse riding
As speed picks up the boarder hits waves and is thrown into the air - where they can pull flips and tricks before landing back down and racing on.
Horsesurfing is the brainchild of stuntman Daniel Fowler-Prime who thought up the idea with friends when they grew bored of their existing hobbies.
Daniel, 28, of Bude, Cornwall, said: "We always felt we were missing something in terms of the potential of horse riding, then one day it just clicked.
"We'd tried attaching mountain boards to motorbikes and cars and I realised there was no reason not to try it with a horse.
"It just feels amazing - you have the power of the horse and the power of the wave which are two of nature's most inspiring forces.
"Once we'd mastered normal horsesurfing we started to add stunts for the rider to give it an extra edge. Who knows what will come next."
Horsesurfers use wakeboards or kiteboards, which are like small surfboards with feet straps.
They are pulled through shallow water by horses on the shoreline in a similar way to water skiiers are behind a powerboat.
Daniel is a professional stunt horse rider and has appeared in films such as the Da Vinci Code, Kingdom of Heaven and Vanity Fair.
He has been riding horses since he was 17 and took up surfing eight years ago - but it was not until recently that he realised the potential for combining the two.
He and his 16-hand grey thoroughbred Rohan have built a trusting relationship and he says the horse is perfect for surfing.
They practice their sport on the sands at Bude, Devon, and Watergate Bay and Perranporth beach in Cornwall.
"Rohan's a professional - he probably knows what he's doing more than me," said Daniel.
"He loves the buzz of pulling someone through the waves and doesn't mind a stunt rider at all.
"Sometimes new riders are apprehensive because horses can be unpredictable and they get excited when they know they'll get to run.
"For me that's the beauty though - there's a raw surge of natural power you wouldn't get from any other combination. It's a mind-blowing experience."
Daniel also runs the British Extreme Horse Riding Association, which looks for new ways of pushing the boundaries of horse riding.
He has now launched Britain's first horsesurfing school, the Bude Horsesurfing Club, and will be running week-long courses this summer.

Details are available at www.extremehorseriding.com.
Click here to see the photo's

Country music legend Smoky Dawson dies aged 94

THE man dubbed "Australia's first cowboy", country music legend Smoky Dawson has died after a short illness, aged 94. Dawson earned national fame with his radio show The Adventures of Smoky Dawson, which was broadcast for 10 years from 1952.

His first recording I am a Happy Go Lucky Cowhand was made in 1942 and he continued performing in Australia and the United States right up until his death.

His latest DVD featuring new performances was completed just this month.

Dawson was awarded an MBE in 1978 and admitted to the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2005.

He also taught horse riding on his ranch outside Sydney, and counted yodelling, whip cracking, knife throwing, acting among his many skills.

He is survived by his wife Dot.

EI: Float, equipment requirements altered

NEW SOUTH WALES - Requirements for the movement of horse vehicles or horse fittings have been altered slightly in line with latest accepted practice for dealing with the EI virus.

Fittings:
Horse fittings (for example, yards, harness, rugs, saddles, ropes, feed buckets, water containers and grooming implements) may be moved into, within or out of any zone (other than infected premises or quarantined premises) without a permit provided they:
  • have not been in contact with horses for ten (10) days and are dry and clean OR
  • have been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected
Movement of horse fittings that have been in contact with horses in the previous 10 days and have not been decontaminated is restricted within and out of Amber and Red Zones and out of Purple Zone.

Floats: Vehicles and floats used to transport horses may be moved without restriction provided:
  • they have not been in contact with horses for 10 days and are dry and clean of horse material, or
  • they have been decontaminated.
Movement of horse vehicles and floats that have been in contact with horses in the previous 10 days and have not been decontaminated is restricted within and out of Amber and Red Zones.

All horse vehicles and floats leaving the Purple Zone must be cleaned and disinfected at a designated decontamination site or pressure cleaned at a commercial carwash. The vehicle must be accompanied by a decontamination certificate or a receipt from the carwash.

Govt extends national EI assistance

CANBERRA - Australian Government assistance has been extended to people affected by equine influenza (EI) horse movement restrictions.
The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tony Burke, said the assistance had been extended for those in restricted zones until March 14 or until movement restrictions are lifted.
"While the eradication of equine influenza from Australia is on track, I understand there are many businesses and individuals still facing hardship due to the continuing standstill.
"After consulting with horse industry stakeholders, I have decided to extend the Equine Workers Hardship Wage Supplement Payment, the Business Assistance Grant and the Commercial Horse Assistance Payment.
"This Equine Influenza Assistance Package has gone a long way to reducing the overall impact since the outbreak occurred.
"I am sure the decision to extend this assistance will be welcomed by people doing business in the areas affected by the continued movement restrictions."
Further information on the assistance measures is available from the Equine Influenza Hotline on 1800 234 002 or www.outbreak.gov.au

Govt seeks boost for drought, EI relief

The federal government has moved to boost by $1 billion the emergency assistance for drought-stricken farmers and for a horse industry affected by equine influenza.

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said the legislation - which was rushed through the lower house on its first full sitting day - was urgent because funds allocated for assistance would otherwise run dry at the end of this month.
The bill gives effect to policies the government has already announced.
It expands exceptional circumstances (EC) drought relief assistance by $251.2 million and provides $255.7 million to the horse industry following the outbreak of horse flu last August.
"This bill requires immediate passage as the administered appropriations provided to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry have been exhausted," Mr Tanner told the lower house.
"At the current rate of expenditure, the department will run out of appropriations by the end of February 2008."
A second appropriation bill added $440.1 million to support primary producers in EC-declared regions and $7.8 million to support businesses with up to 100 employees that are dependent on patronage from farmers in EC-declared regions.
It also moved to reimburse $97.2 million to the states and territories for funds they spent on a national effort to eradicate equine influenza, most of which it plans to recover from the horse industry.
The bills were introduced in the morning, and the bill passed the lower house when debate resumed in the afternoon - an unusually speedy passage.
Debate on the bill was heated despite the opposition supporting the measures.
Nationals' leader Warren Truss warned farmers were worried Labor's EC review could cut funding, and urged the government to consult with them rather than just relying on academics.
"Farmers are all naturally concerned about what threats there might be associated with this review," he said.
But Agriculture Minister Tony Burke accused Mr Truss of running a fear campaign.
Mr Burke said a previous Labor government had introduced EC drought relief funding, and historically it had enjoyed bipartisan support.
He said primary producers would be disadvantaged if they believed Mr Truss' claims that funding could be cut, and therefore failed to apply for it.
"It does farmers no good at all to have a fear campaign that simply makes them think they are not entitled to assistance to which they are patently entitled," he said.
Mr Burke, meanwhile, said EI was on track to be eradicated by March 14.
Independent Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, also launched a savage attack on Mr Truss, a former agriculture minister, during the debate.
He blamed Mr Truss for breakdowns in quarantine that lead to the equine influenza outbreak, along with the introduction of many other diseases that had damaged the farming industry.
Mr Katter said Mr Truss had allowed grapes in from California in the same month that Pierce's disease ripped through the industry; had let in black Sigatoka from the Torres Strait which had cost the banana industry nearly $100 million; and allowed beef in from a part of Brazil that had been provisionally declared a foot-and-mouth zone, among other blights.
"This man has got away with the most incredible irresponsibility," Mr Katter said.
"No responsibility has been taken by this ex-minister in his whole time in this place.
"(We have the) worst quarantine industry in Australia's history."

NSW declared EI free

All properties in New South Wales have been declared free of equine influenza.

The outbreak began last August and at its peak more than 41,000 horses were infected with the flu.
New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald says the Government's containment and vaccination programs have been a success.
But he says authorities will continue to test horses to make sure there are no isolated pockets of the disease left.
"We believe that we've broken the back of it," he said.
"Quite clearly there's no known horses infected but we're taking a precautionary approach as required under international protocols to make sure there's no evidence of the disease existing outside of our knowledge."

Serious illness in horse after flu vaccination

1st injection was okay, 2nd caused extreme swelling in neck, 3rd caused serious illness, probably the end of racing career, no hope of breeding since she hasn't even had a start yet.
James