Western Montana Equine Rescue & Rehabilitation Inc.

07/09/2024

Western Montana Equine Rescue & Rehabilitation is having a quilt raffle!! All proceeds go to horses in our care. Please reach out if you would like to purchase a raffle ticket to help support the rescue! Drawing will be held at the Annual Tack Sale & Event October 12, 2024 -- you do not need to be present to win! ❤️

31/08/2024

27/08/2024

23/08/2024

21/08/2024

PHN® DID YOU KNOW

If your horse has laminitis, it doesn’t mean he has foundered.
Acute laminitis usually lasts for only a few days. External causes, like concussion on hard footing (commonly called “road founder”), chemicals like nitrate fertilizer, infections, colitis, pneumonia or retained placenta in a mare can all cause laminitis. But those cases often heal and don’t result in chronic laminitis.

A horse can have laminitis, heal and not founder.

When the laminae in the foot become so inflamed and damaged that they no longer support the coffin bone, which then rotates and sinks, the condition is then called chronic laminitis or founder.

15/08/2024

Western Montana Equine Rescue & Rehabilitation Inc. is all about equines, through rescue and rehabilitation, WMERR offers assistance with horses that have no other options. The organization offers education and also helps people with temporary assistance, if possible. They’ve been in business for over 15 years. To learn more about the work that they do, visit them at Pet Fest, happening from 10am to 3pm on Saturday, August 24th at the Caras Park Pavilion in Missoula, or check out http://www.wmerr.com/

06/08/2024

Let’s go back to basics:

1. Horses are not machines, tools or performing monkeys. They are living, breathing animals who feel pain, fear and stress just as we do.

2. It is not a right to work with or ride horses, it is a privilege and should always be treated as such.

3. Fear and force based training has no place in our sport, even though many governing bodies turn a blind eye in the name of “performance”, the bottom line is, fear or force may get you there faster, but it won’t get you there to stay.

4. We are not superior to horses. Our aim should always be for our horses to want to work with us, not for us. We may have a degree of control, but that is not a free pass to exploit it for our own gain.

5. Politics, world rankings, titles and experience are completely obsolete when it comes to calling out behaviour that does not align with horse welfare being a priority.

6. Horses are forgiving, more forgiving than we often deserve. We should be aware of this and always seek to reciprocate that forgiveness when they don’t understand what we have asked of them and respond in an unfavourable way.

Arguing amongst each other simply furthers the negative perception of our sport for those on the outside looking in. The internet doesn’t actually need your opinion.

Let’s all agree that changes are needed, but that change starts at home. Stop wasting energy shouting from either side of the fence. Redirect that energy into being the change you want to see, let’s return our sport to the basics and remember what it always has been, and always should be about:
THE HORSE.

30/07/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/FBFZq4WWYAM3rkYX/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Did you get your home inspected prior to purchase? Do you get a car checked out in advance of signing the check? Do you look up reviews on shoes you are thinking about buying?
Then why do people not get vet checks on horses in advance of purchasing?
PPE, is a Pre-Purchase Exam. It is a common tool and DVM's are happy to perform this. You may still buy the horse but you will know what you are getting into if you do.
OR you could adopt from a rescue, because good rescues take back their horses if it's not a match. Good rescues have no motivation to lie.
Good breeders and sellers don't lie either, but they also are happy to have you schedule a PPE.

29/07/2024

Some thoughts on life transitions for horses - traveling, settling into a new place, etc

1- as much as possible, prepare ahead of time. Try to make sure the horse has a solid understanding of the skill sets required : leading, loading, traveling, being stalled, and so on. Each one of these are separate skills that have multiple elements involved. Don’t skimp on the practice at these things before the big event. There will always be much you can’t prepare for or predict in a new environment, but having these skills to fall back on will go a long way.

2- prepare in advance your supports as the situation requires: know your horse - if they don’t drink or eat well traveling, you can prepare ahead of time with water and hay from home, electrolytes or other supplements that encourage drinking, acid buffers for sad traveling tummies etc.

When you arrive:

3- if possible give time to settle. I like to leave my horses completely alone if I can, and just give them time to settle in if the space is safe or available to do so.

4- keep expectations lower than normal, and don’t be afraid to refresh very basic skills. It’s normal for a horse in a new environment to struggle with leading well or minding personal space. It’s normal for them to be spookier or lookier. So make it easier by using your environment well to set them up for succes - don’t expect them to lead perfectly with a good distance if you mash them up against the things they’re afraid of . Find places in the environment where you can get what you’re asking for, and refresh basic skills to help them settle. Your consistent expectations can give confidence in a new place, but give some wiggle room for anxiety- expect the best possible in a new place, but remember it won’t be comparable to their best at home.

And lastly-

5- regroup, re examine and make adjustments for next time. What went well? What didn’t? What skills did you find the horse lacking in, and what skills did you find yourself lacking in? How can you prepare better for next time, or what does the horse need to make it a smoother experience? You can learn so much from the messes and mistakes, so take time after the travel is over to organize your thoughts and determine a better outcome for next time.

29/07/2024

23/07/2024

Relationship, relationship- what does it mean to develop a relationship with a horse?

The word is drenched in emotion, the foundation of a lot of marketing ploys aimed at women, and a very vague term indeed.

Developing relationship with a horse runs the gamut, for many, of everything between an anthropomorphic psychological substitute for a husband or child, to therapist saddled with our many problems, or replacement for human relationship for those of us not inclined to get along in a human herd too well. The word is messy.

Relationship can be whatever you want it to be, can’t it?

But when I think about what’s in it for the horse, I think of a calm presence. A guide to center. Someone that feels good to be around. Not just someone who showers them with affection and blankets and top of the line gizmos- but someone who simply has a good energy to be around, and knows how to make them feel physically and mentally good.

I think we overcomplicate it-
A horse just wants to feel calm and safe.

22/07/2024

19/07/2024

My son Derek Smith, volunteering his time ❤️
Thank you so much!

15/07/2024

For the best outcome, it's important to recognize that your horse is tying up as early as possible. Here's what to be on the lookout for. >>https://bit.ly/EQEarlyTyingUp

12/07/2024

"New Home Syndrome"🤓

I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.

Why call it a syndrome?

Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.

Let me explain...

Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).

Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.

A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.

Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.

Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.

They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.

But there is more...

Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.

So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.

The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.

Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.

So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤

I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️

11/07/2024

What if your horse could run up to you and say, “I’m cold, may I have my blanket?”

That’s exactly what a group of researchers at Norwegian University of Life Sciences and their team of 23 steeds have accomplished in two separate stables in Norway. Anyone who has ever had a relationship with a horse knows how intelligent they are, and that they often understand what the human wants – but now we may have an entry into better understanding what it is a horse may desire.

The team trained the horses for 10 to 15 minutes a day to learn the meaning of three symbols. After just 11 days, all 23 horses were able to recognise the meanings: Blanket on, blanket off, or no change. What’s beautiful is that not only were they so easily able to learn the symbols and then they put that knowledge to work, but the whole thought process involved. “I’m hot, I want this blanket off, I’ll nudge the “blanket off” symbol to have my blanket removed" – which is what participating horse Poltergeist is indicating in the photo.

Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold. This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols.

What may be the most heartening aspect of all, however, is that once the horses understood they could express themselves, they seem to have loved it! "When horses realised that they were able to communicate with the trainers, i.e. to signal their wishes regarding blanketing, many became very eager in the training or testing situation," the researchers write. "Some even tried to attract the attention of the trainers prior to the test situation, by vocalising and running towards the trainers, and follow their movements."

Read more about it here...
https://www.treehugger.com/animals/these-horses-just-learned-communicate-humans.html

For more, you can read the study in the journal
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159116302192