Videos you loved!

Bridleless Cross Country Pony & Rider

Back by popular demand! The most favored horse videos are back on EQUI-TV for this week. Thanks for your comments! Many of your favorite picks were actually our favorites too! The deeply moving and heart wrenching video: “Sound the Bugle” is tops for honoring the horse in battle. And for action, the jaw-dropping Metropolitan Mounted Police demo wins hands down and for the best horsemanship, too; imagine removing your saddle and going over jumps while carrying it on your arm. NO THANKS. And everyone loved watching John Lyons perform his miracle on the horse who wouldn’t walk over the tarp at last years Northeast Equine Expo. Our favorite? The adorable bridleless pony who takes his rider on a cross country gallop and does his clever tricks as well.

Thanks for watching and checking in on the Equi-TV page and for reading our website, volunteering information, and submitting such great articles!

Next month take the new Horse Trivia Quiz. Find out if you just “like” horses or if you are  a full-blown  horse addict!

Remember: For August: The first  EQUI-TRIVIA QUIZ

Join the WEG 2010! »« Working with the Local Sheriff Posse, by Steve Lock

Working with the Local Sheriff Posse, by Steve Lock

Photos:Volunteers with Yolo County Sheriffs Posse, California

When I was younger my focus was mainly in the area of Eventing. Shortly after the 9/11 attack, I joined our local Sheriff’s Mounted Posse. Being involved with the Sheriff’s Posse opened a whole new world for me with horses. I learned a lot more about desensitizing horses. I learned how valuable horses are as a search animal. As you can imagine, they provide a much larger field of view, they cover more ground and move faster, and they will alert you when there is something you need to check out. It may not be the person you are looking for, but then again, it may be. There are people who in recent years have started training horses to air scent, like some dogs do, and with good success. I spent about four years as a Training Officer with the Posse, and one year as President. I experienced many positive things I may never have had the opportunity to experience had I not been a volunteer with the Posse. I would encourage anyone wondering what to do with their horse, looking for something new to do with their horse, or who wants to serve their community to seriously consider joining their local Sheriff Posse if there is one, or if not, joining a Mounted Search and Rescue group. You and your horse will learn many new things, make some wonderful new friends, and have your lives enriched while you have great fun doing it. It is a very satisfying experience.
In addition to the Search and Rescue, as volunteers with the Sheriff’s Posse, we also rode in our local Christmas Parade each year with the Sheriff’s Department component. We patrolled the parking lots at our local county fair each year to deter break-ins and help people find their cars. We sat on our horses at the entry gates of the county fair and let people pet our horses, and answered the many questions they had about the horses and what work we performed. It was great fun for us, and great public relations for the Sheriff’s Department. We participated in Toys for Tots each December. As you may expect, we had training in many areas. A former San Francisco Mounted Policeman and Instructor trained us in friendly crowd control and formation riding. We participated in a four-day Search and Rescue training each year with several other Mounted Search and Rescue units. We learned about living and surviving with our horses in the wilderness. I had the opportunity to participate in a training demonstration put on by a former Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Mounted Officer and Trainer at the Western States Horse Expo two years in a row. All in all, it was a very enriching experience. One I am glad I did not miss out on.

Videos you loved! »« July 1-4, 1863:Horses of Gettysburg

July 1-4, 1863:Horses of Gettysburg

General Sherman

The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War since it ended the Confederate General Robert E Lee’s advancement northward to conquer New England. The State of Massachusetts had sent among its troops the 9th Battery Mounted Division with Captain John Bigelow in charge, who was severely wounded early on during the battle on July 2nd. The Mass Battery brought 110 men: 10 were lost, 18 wounded;  but of the infantry mounts - 88 horses of the 9th were killed on the battlefield. The Northern, or Union Soldiers, were 90,000 in number; they lost 30,000.  The Southern, or Confederate Soldiers, came with 75,000 men; they lost 27,000. Horses estimated killed in battle at Gettysburg: 1.5 million horses dead. Said Capt Bigelow: “The enemy opened a fearful musketry fire, men and horses were falling like hail…. Sergeant after Sergt., was struck down, horses were plunging and laying about all around….”

Horses from Battle at Little Round Top/Pictures from Library of Congress,Civil War Collection

Requiem for the War Horse, by Jerri Streeter

No battle fought was theirs by choice, nor came victory from their breath,

But they trotted forward just as ordered – into bullets, swords, and death.

Their brave hearts beating in silent courage, in fear that no voice would tell

They stood as targets, lay down as barriers, for soldiers intent to kill.

They labored for our liberty, they forfeited their lives,

Faithful military horses one and all — felled by cannons, bayonets, and knives.

They bore the blows and fatal wounds to save their mounted friends–

Who saved their saddles but not their horses when each battle came to end.

The war horse asked no questions, sought no medals, nor decorated pins

Just blinked an eye and charged ahead, trusting they’d go home again.

We salute with honor their deeds of valor: their sacrifice, pain, and torture.

For they were more than just mere transport….

They are the forgotten: Equine Military Soldiers.

Reader’s comment: I read once the way they trained the horses to charge into the face of fire was to have them charge a line of men. Then when they reached the line the men would pet them and praise them. They worked up to firing blanks when they charged. Then they would be petted and praised again. By the people firing as well as their riders, of course.  Mahalo, Steve

Working with the Local Sheriff Posse, by Steve Lock »« June 25,1876;The Horse who Survived