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All Horses Post Cloud Foundation Blog Habitat for Horses Pam Nickoles PPJ Gazette Shedrow Confessions Vickery Eckhoff Wild HoofbeatsEnjoy the award winning photographic artistry of Terry Fitch as husband R.T. spins a tale of adventure and moral conflict as they share their story of riding across Outer Mongolia on horseback while tracking the primitive wild horse, Takhi.
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R.T. and Terry Fitch Talk about Outer Mongolia at 2013 American Equine Summit
Update from Equine Advocates
April 27, 2013
Video #1: Opening remarks from Jeffrey Tucker, EA Board Member, followed by welcome remarks from Susan Wagner, and speeches from the Summit’s Keynote Speaker, NY Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (sponsor of legislation A.3905) and NYS Senator Kathy Marchione (sponsor of legislation S.4615).
Video #2: Victoria McCullough and Florida State Senator Joseph Abruzzo. Ms. McCullough & Senator Abruzzo’s talk is titled “Making the Vital Changes Needed for America’s Horses Starting at the Top.”
Video #3: Patricia Hogan, VMD, ACVS of Hogan Equine. Dr. Hogan’s talk is titled “Racing and Horse Slaughter – A Toxic Relationship.”
Video #4: John Holland, President of the Equine Wefare Alliance. Mr. Holland’s talk is titled “Understanding the Forces Behind Horse Slaughter.”
Video #5: Ann M. Marini, Ph.D., M.D. Dr. Marini’s talk is titled “Phenylbutazone and Human Health.”
Video #6: Jo Anne Normile, author of Saving Baby, Founder of CANTER. Ms. Normile’s talk is titled “Making Sure the Finish Line Isn’t the Slaughterhouse: Racing’s Obligation to Ensure the Humane Fate of its Horses.”
Video #7: Sue McDonough, Cruelty Consultant for the New York State Humane Association. Ms. McDonough’s talk is titled “Moving Animal Cruelty Crimes to the Penal Law Section of the Criminal Code.”
April 28, 2013
Video #8: Paula Bacon, former Mayor of Kaufman, Texas who shut down Dallas Crown, the last equine slaughterhouse in the nation. Ms. Bacon’s talk is titled “What Happens when Horse Slaughter Comes to Town.”
Video #9: Vickery Eckhoff, writer for FORBES and other publications. Ms. Eckhoff’s talk is titled “Cheval My A** – Breaking Through Horse Slaughter B.S. with Journalists, Lawmakers and the Public.”
Video #10: Stephanie Graham, Domestic & Wild Horse Advocate. Ms. Graham’s talk is titled “Update from Oklahoma.”
Video #11: Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation. Ms. Kathrens talk is titled “Wild Horses: On the Trail to Freedom!”
Video #12: R.T. Fitch, Wild Horse Advocate and Author of the Book & Bog “Straight From the Horses Heart.” Mr. Fitch’s talk is titled “Outer Mongolia, Wild Horses and the Paradox of Horse Slaughter.”
Video #13: US Congressman Chris Gibson of New York’s 19th District discusses H.R. 1094, the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act.
Video #14: Kraig Kulikowski, DVM, P.A.. of Equine Sports Medicine. Dr. Kulikowski’s talk is titled “Ethics and the Modern Veterinarian.”
Bio: Billy Smith, Teacher & Natural Horseman of Billy Smih Horsemanship. Mr. Smith did a lecture demonstration with former PMU Mare, Kelli in our outdoor round pen. Due to poor audio, the video is not being posted.
Source: Horseback Magazine Press Release for upcoming May Issue
Join us, in our upcoming May issue, as Terry and R.T. Fitch, longtime readers, friends and subscribers of Horseback Magazine, and co-founders of Wild Horse Freedom Federation, take us into the expansive, unspoiled wilderness of Outer Mongolia as they trek on horseback to document the reintroduction of the world’s most primitive specimen of the wild horse. You’ll meet the Takhi, a truly wild equine in its unspoiled native environment.
Terry and R.T. lived among, and rode with native Mongolian nomads, as they searched for the elusive wild horses while asking the question, “If Outer Mongolia has the largest horse culture in the world, why do the nomadic tribes still slaughter and eat the very spiritual centerpiece of their social structure?”
The answer may surprise you.
Don’t miss this thought-provoking glimpse into the mindset of a democratic, nomadic nation that on one hand is struggling to reintroduce the native wild horse while on the other dine upon the flesh of their domestic counterpart.
R.T. Fitch is author of the popular Straight from the Horse’s Heart…Terry Fitch is a renowned wild horse photographer. Both are humanitarians active in the American wild horse preservation movement.
“Feel Good Sunday” with R.T. Fitch ~ president of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
Moose and his faithful companion, R.T. ~ photo by Terry Fitch of Wild Horse Freedom Federation
“Feel Good Sunday” finds us in a place where we all sincerely need to inhale deeply, look into each others eyes and repeat the mantra, “Until they are Safe”.
We are going through some difficult times but there appears to be a glow of bright light at the end of the tunnel; to get there we need to continue to keep pumping fuel into that charging locomotive and see this thing through…BUT, it is okay to take a few moments out and recognize each other for the special individuals that you all are.
Today we are going to be light and share with you a video that an avid advocate sent our way. The reason it is of note is that the equine star, in this clip, is obviously enjoying the interaction with the humans and taking cues from their movements. This guy seems to really, really enjoy what he is doing and it is obvious that the rider is, also, loving the interaction.
We share this in hopes that we can have a group effort whereby all of you take a moment out and share with the rest of us your favorite equine video. Let’s make today one gigantic sharing fest where we can put forth, without fear of retribution, what floats our boat and lightens up our lives.
Please enjoy, below, and be sure to insert you favorite equine moments in the comment section; I am looking forward to seeing what all of you can pull out of your valued, individual archives and gaining a bit of a glimpse into what fuels your drive and motivation on behalf of our equine companions.
Keep the faith my friends!
R.T.
CHATHAM, N.Y., March 27, 2013 –The 2013 Annual American Equine Summit will take place Saturday, April 27 – Sunday, April 28 at Equine Advocates Rescue & Sanctuary in Chatham, NY. This Summit will unite the equine community’s foremost experts to speak about how to end horse slaughter which, although opposed by more than 80% of Americans, is now legal in the U.S.
Source: Habitat for Horses and Wild Horse Freedom Federation Press Release
(Houston) – Habitat for Horses (HfH) and Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF) have taken action to monitor and test processed ground beef products that are similar to those pulled from European store shelves due to contamination with tainted horsemeat in the ever expanding ground beef/horsemeat scandal that now engulfs 16 nations. Long time advocates against horse slaughter president of HfH, Jerry Finch, and R.T. Fitch, president of WHFF, teamed up to begin a monitoring program of processed frozen foods that have ties to overseas markets.
“We purchased several frozen Stouffers lasagna products”, said R.T. Fitch, “as these products in the EU had issues with horsemeat DNA where Nestles pulled their lasagna from store shelves and Stouffer’s is owned by, drum roll please, Nestles.”
Jerry Finch said, “My feelings about all of this are sort of a mixed bag; part of me wants the tests to come back negative so that we know our U.S. human food chain is safe and the other wants a positive so that we can point the finger, expose the fraud and be done with all of this nonsense.
The products tested were:
The above unaltered samples were purchased at a Houston Texas Walmart, packed in dry ice and overnighted, with appropriate chain of custody in force, to an analytical lab specializing in testing for varied forms of animal DNA.
HfH and WHFF are pleased to report that the analysis of these five products has come back negative on all counts.
“This is clear evidence that not having predatory horse slaughter plants in this country increases the odds against having tainted horsemeat entering our food chain.”, stated Finch, “The UK and EU cannot make such a claim, not by a long shot.”
“As equine advocates we have always been concerned about the health, safety and well being of American horses, either domestic or wild.” Fitch added, “But as of late, we have added the American public to our watch list of concerns as drug tainted horsemeat would be a health apocalypse if it was ever introduced into our food chain.”
HfH and WHFF will continue their program of testing potentially suspect processed foods in an effort to expose fraud and abuse while protecting the health and safety of the American public.
Source: Cloud Foundation, Respect4Horses and Wild Horse Freedom Federation
Open Letter from R.T. Fitch
Dear fellow Equine Advocates;
Please be advised, up front, that this is neither an OpEd or Editorial of any sort; but instead a most heartfelt thank you note to so many who have given so much to support those who cannot advocate for themselves.
On March 4th and 5th of this year we turned a very sharp and significant corner in the way of advocating for our companion and wild horses and burros. Put quite simply, your voices were heard, not just by ourselves but also by the press, the BLM and the public. That is huge.
Too often I feel that we are preaching to the choir; not that doing so is particularly bad as it is important to get together to build our advocacy tool box and to network/strategize but for one that has a type “A” personality I often feel that we are treading water and not making headway or getting a decent return on our investment of time and money; but not so this week.
We managed to turn some heads, open a few eyes, peak a lot of interest and it was all managed and accomplished by hard working, everyday, regular, stick-in-your-throat, grass roots, American tax payers. That speaks volumes.
No glitzy public relation firms were hired, no professional speech writers were retained, no qualified logistical experts were employed it was just us, the heartbeat of America and I am so very honored to stand amongst you.
A few thanks are in order but if you don’t mind please allow me to give you some background on how the Unified Equine Welfare Press Conference/Rally was born and how it normally works. (If you note, Cloud Foundation, Respect4Horses and Wild Horse Freedom Federation have fallen into the habit of doing this over the past several years. But this time it was killer.)
Last month, half way around the world I picked up the BLM’s news release announcing the Advisory Board Meeting. I contacted Simone and asked if she was up for another press conference and she was in full agreement and, as usual, Ginger jumped on board. Done deal…I think not.
Ms. Simone Netherlands worked this issue like a full time job for weeks for no pay for no glory and totally for the horses. She made the arrangements, along with volunteer help, and secured services with her own funds and allowed her income generating operation to slide as she prepared, for all of us, the venue, schedule and structure to pull off this major media event.
Terry and I owe Simone a most sincere debt of gratitude for years of hard work and dedication. Little did we know when we first met her while lobbying in D.C., years ago, what a fine friend she would become. The words of “thank you” just don’t seem to reach as deep as they should.
Thanks go to Ginger, as always, and to Lisa Friday from the Cloud Foundation for their continued support and total alliance. The Cloud Foundation and their staunch Director and Board are a living model and showcase of not only how to run a non-profit correctly but how to actually put your money where your mouth is and get things done. We are forever in debt.
Thanks to Doc Friedlander for coming to speak and to further educate not only us but the public on the horrors of horse slaughter and how medically dangerous it would be if it were allowed back into our country.
Thanks to the press for attending and for spreading the word.
Thanks to several members of the BLM Advisory Board for listening, and I really mean that this time, I think several of our messages actually got through to a few folks and the tone of the meeting shifted to a more positive ring on the last day.
And last but not least, thanks to all of you whether you were there in person or sitting listening/watching on your computer…your presence and your support pushed these issues into the spotlight and if we can keep the pressure on and the volume turned up we WILL get to where we need to be.
Below are links to news videos and articles regarding the press conference and the rally. (I know that I have missed several) As is usually the case, due to time constraints and lack of research, several of the reports may not have been as in-depth or accurate as you may have wished them to be and several even highlight an organization that was not even involved but that is how it works in the wild and wacky world of fast paced media news. The main point is that the message is getting out and THAT message is all about the horses…and YOU made it happen.
Links:
http://newsok.com/slaughterhouse-opponents-argue-for-options/article/3761325
http://newsok.com/animal-rights-group-in-okc-for-horse-slaughter-ban/article/3761169
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Animal-rights-group-in-OKC-for-horse-slaughter-ban-4326803.php
http://muskogeephoenix.com/statenews/x986702912/Animal-rights-group-calls-for-horse-slaughter-ban
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