Posts Tagged: horses
Wild horses and youth learn patience and trust from each other
“There is much we can learn from a friend who happens to be a horse.” — Aleksandra Layland
“Training mustangs is just so much fun,” said Aubrielle, as a chestnut-colored filly named Zuri nuzzled the 4-H member from Shasta County. Six months earlier, the young wild horse was wary of being touched. Now she was sporting accessories in her styled mane that matched the teenager's turquoise jewelry.
Over the past few years, UC Cooperative Extension in Modoc County has partnered with Modoc National Forest to provide public outreach and education to support the placement and care of wild horses from Devil's Garden at the northeastern corner of California. Adopting foals reduces overpopulation of wild horses, which can harm rangeland and the health of the mustangs themselves.
This year Laura Snell, UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor in Modoc County, assigned weanling wild horses to 40 youth between the ages of 9 and 19 from all over the state. The mustangs were 4 to 6 months old in January when they were picked up in Alturas and taken home by California 4-H and FFA members, who feed and care for them.
“The moment when I got to touch him for the first time is probably one of the biggest parts of training as well as my progress with him,” said Morgan of Monterey County, who spent hours in the stall with Bowie trying to gain his trust.
“It was really amazing to me that I was able to touch him on day 5,” she said. “In the videos I watched leading up to getting him, most of the time it took one week to three weeks for the people in the videos to touch their wild mustangs. At that moment is when you really start to make that bond with a wild mustang.”
“The moment when I got to remove his tag was a huge part as well because at that moment you know that the mustang trusts you enough that he is letting you get that close to remove the tag,” Morgan said.
The young trainers teach the horses to wear a halter, to load and unload from a horse trailer and to navigate through obstacles. Some participants also work on tricks such as laying their horse down, walking the horse backward and walking under the horse. In June, the participants gathered in Alturas to show their progress.
“It provides them an opportunity to seek out adult mentors who are horse trainers, learn responsibility, and learn a variety of things about caring for a wild horse and learning more about themselves in the process,” said Snell.
“We find that the youth do very well with wild horses. It's really a two-way street, with the horses learning just as much as the youth are in the six months they are in training,” she added.
Sisters Kailey and Maddi in San Benito County both adopted weanling horses. Removing the tag after about three weeks was a turning point for Maddi and her horse Fiona.
“The significance of getting the tag off was we hadn't been able to get near her at all,” said Maddi. “She had some aggression toward people out of fear. So getting past that, getting to the point where she trusted me and I could get that halter on her and get close enough to get that tag off was just a huge achievement. After that, once she trusted me, she started doing really, really well and flying through her training.”
Because wildfires are part of life in California, she taught Fiona to step over flames so she won't be afraid if they need to evacuate, Maddi told KSBW reporter Brisa Colon.
“It has been amazing to be able to share this experience with another very close family,” said Aubrielle's mother Ashley Phipps. “Our daughters have gone through the entire journey together starting with visiting the corrals to pick horses together, all the way through the training process. My daughter is older than Brooklin and has been a great mentor to her, teaching Brooklin and her horse along the way. It has been such a confidence builder for my daughter! Our girls will never forget this experience!!! And I loved every moment of watching them grow through the ups and downs. This program is such a blessing.”
To qualify for the program, applicants must fill out an application which includes being enrolled in a horse program such as the 4-H Equine Project, show they have facilities and feed for the animals, designate a mentor and have their parents' approval.
The trainers and their horses competed in the Devil's Garden Colt Challenge on June 18 in Alturas, vying for awards in halter, showmanship and obstacle course with youth from 13 counties participating. Prizes totaled over $3,000.
UCCE director finds place among women leaders of Modoc County
When Laura Snell first came to the far northeastern corner of California, she was amazed to find that the Board of Supervisors in Modoc County – where cows outnumber people by a ratio of 13 to 1 – was composed almost entirely of women.
Snell, who arrived in the high desert town of Alturas in 2015 as the University of California Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor, said she now has a theory as to why.
“It's a great example of the rural and agricultural lifestyle we have here where women get involved in everything from civic organizations to local government,” she said. “In a lot of ways, there isn't a glass ceiling in an area where everyone is needed and most people are wearing multiple hats to keep the community going.”
Snell has worn the “county director” hat for UCCE in Modoc County since 2017, bringing a range of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources programs to local communities. In the subsequent years, she has established herself as one of the region's most prominent and respected voices.
“Laura is a strong leader, an excellent communicator, and extremely knowledgeable in the fields of wild horses, groundwater, livestock and grazing – among many other topics,” said Geri Byrne, vice chair of Modoc County's Board of Supervisors (which is presently 75% female).
Snell's broad base of knowledge – as well as her bachelor's in water science and master's in agronomy, both from the University of Nebraska – have served her well in her dream job in a “one-advisor” county.
“This is what I always wanted to do – know a little bit about a lot of things and be the person who connected people with what they needed, connecting them with information, connecting them with different experts,” Snell explained.
One of her most recent accomplishments is launching UC Master Food Preserver classes in Modoc County this year. About 130 people – in a county of 9,000 – have been served by this UC ANR program, and four are on the cusp of graduating as Modoc's inaugural class of certified Master Food Preservers. The vast majority of program participants, Snell notes, have been women.
“They're not only preserving for their own families; they're also using these tools and harvesting things from their gardens and then having a value-added product to sell at the farmers market and our local food hub,” said Snell, citing one participant who learned how to make and sell celery salt.
The contributions of women to the local economy, county leadership and organizations such as the Modoc County Cattlewomen's group continue to inspire Snell in her work – and in nurturing the next generation of leaders.
An avid participant in 4-H growing up in Story County, Iowa, Snell said one of the most fulfilling aspects of her job is mentoring the interns who come through her office, and presenting them with opportunities to learn and grow in their careers.
It was a personal connection that brought Snell to Modoc. A former Bureau of Land Management director in the county, who happened to be the father of her college friend, encouraged Snell to apply for the advisor position. So she flew from Nebraska to Reno and then made the three-hour drive north for the interview.
“I loved it; I immediately loved it,” Snell recalled. “I called my parents that night and said, ‘If they offer me this job, I'm staying.' This is it – this is what I've always really wanted to do, but not only that: this is the kind of community I've always wanted to live in.”
Snell – along with her canine companion, an Airedale-German Shepherd-Rottweiler mix named Zuri – have become an essential part of the fabric of Modoc County. She has provided guidance on everything from managing wild horses on the Devil's Garden Plateau to optimizing agritourism operations for greater profitability to improving the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers by alleviating regulatory burdens.
“Working in this county and for this county, for the people here, that's what fills my cup,” she said. “That's what is most satisfying about this work.”
And the county, in turn, has been appreciative of Snell's wide-ranging expertise and unflappable demeanor. According to Supervisor Byrne, Snell has been instrumental in taking on complex issues such as wild horses and the Big Valley Groundwater Sustainability Plan – four years in the making and greatly enhanced by Snell's background in water and her passion for bringing science to the people.
“Laura has a ready smile and manages to stay calm in the face of adversity,” Byrne said. “Modoc is very blessed to have such an articulate, knowledgeable, hard-working and personable director.”
What's in a weed? Sometimes, toxins.
A few months ago, I was asked about the toxicity of various plants in a horse pasture after the death of a miniature horse using that pasture. While many of the identified plants were chemically harmless (such as filaree [Erodium spp] and some native clovers), the pasture did have fiddleneck (Amsinckia spp) and popcorn flower (Plagiobothrys spp), two native forbs with potentially toxic chemistry.
Popcorn flower (above) has small white flowers. Fiddleneck (below) has slightly larger yellow flowers. Both plants have similar overall shapes: slender flowering stems, relatively small leaves, and hairs on all parts except the flowers themselves.
Fiddleneck is a known alkaloid accumulator and popcorn flower is similarly suspected to accumulate alkaloids. There are no cases that I have found where popcorn flower was identified as a cause of toxicity, however. Most research on popcorn flower chemistry focuses on insect herbivores which like to eat plants with alkaloids, to protect themselves against predation (e.g. Hartmann et al. 2004) – but that's a topic for another blog!
Alkaloids are secondary organic compounds produced by many plants. Different types of alkaloids have different interactions with animal biology, some of which are benign or beneficial, and others which are harmful. Some alkaloids you may have heard of include morphine, nicotine, and quinine. Pyrrolidizine alkaloids, the type found in fiddleneck and popcorn flower, have harmful effects. Toxicity often occurs when animals eat feed or hay contaminated with fiddleneck seeds, and some cases have been documented from animals grazing the plant in a pasture. Fiddleneck alkaloids can cause liver disease and death of horses, cattle, and pigs, but sheep seem to be less vulnerable (Craig et al. 1985).
Both fiddleneck and popcorn flower may also accumulate nitrates. Nitrates convert into nitrites once the animal eats the plant. Nitrites then react with hemoglobin in the blood and make it unable to carry oxygen. This oxygen deficiency can cause death in a matter of hours depending on the concentration of nitrates in the animal's diet. Sheep, pigs, and horses seem more resistant to nitrate poisoning while cattle are most vulnerable (Tucker et al. 1961).
How to avoid livestock poisoning by fiddleneck and popcorn flower
The best way to prevent livestock poisoning by these forbs is to make sure there is plenty of good forage available. Livestock don't typically seek out fiddleneck or popcorn flower. Fiddleneck and popcorn flower have more stem than leaf, so they aren't very palatable, and they are densely covered in hairs that tend to discourage grazing. In a pasture with plenty of grasses and desirable forbs, then, animals will easily avoid these harmful plants.
The risk of poisoning arises when there is little else for the animals to eat. As a pasture that has been overgrazed or a pasture experiencing a drought therefore might have too few plants for the animals to be able to avoid popcorn flower and fiddleneck. When possible, having more than one pasture can help keep animals safe. Animals should be moved out of pastures where the only available plants may be toxic.
Body size is also a factor in many cases of toxicity. A fully grown 1,000-lb animal may be unaffected by a small amount of these toxins in their diet (such as this horse, pictured above, who ate a mouthful of grass plus a single fiddleneck plant right in front of me), while a young or small animal might become seriously ill after eating just a few plants. Whether an animal develops clinical signs of toxicity or poisoning depends on the concentration of toxin in the forage, the quantity of forage consumed, and the animal's size. However, any amount could be harmful and if you notice your animals are consuming toxic plants, please contact your veterinarian.
Can fiddleneck and popcorn flower be controlled?
You are not likely to eradicate them, but there are ways to control these plants if you are concerned about them.
Both fiddleneck and popcorn flower can be hand-pulled – gloves recommended to protect against the hairs – if present in small patches. On small acreages, mowing an infested pasture before the plants produce seeds in the spring can help reduce the population. Some herbicides can also help kill these plants; generally speaking, you will need to apply herbicides when the plants are young and small, to prevent seed production for the year. Contact your local UCCE office for more specifics if you want to consider chemical treatments.
Long-term, re-seeding bare patches in pastures and ensuring moderate grazing can also help outcompete these species. Because they have relatively small leaves, popcorn flower and fiddleneck rely on plenty of open space and sunshine to grow. As a result, they are less common in pastures that are densely populated by desirable forages that shade smaller plants.
For more on establishing a healthy pasture, even if you have dryland pastures or pastures with animals other than horses, the free guide here is a great place to start: Establishing and Managing Irrigated Pasture for Horses.
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If you are concerned that your animals may have been exposed to toxic plants, contact your veterinarian. If you have concerns about plants in your pastures, feel free to contact your local UCCE office for assistance with plant ID.
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Check out CalFlora to see the geographic distribution of these and many other plant species in California
References:
Craig, A.M., L.L. Blythe, E.D. Lassen, and M.L. Slizeski. 1985. Resistance of sheep to pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Israel Journal of Veterinary Medicine 42:376-384.
Hartmann, T., C. Theuring, T. Beuerle, L. Ernst, M.S. Singer, and E.A. Bernays. 2004. Acquired and partially de novo synthesized pyrrolizidine alkaloids in two polyphagous arctiids and the alkaloid profiles of their larval food-plants. Journal of Chemical Ecology 30(2):229-254.
Tucker, J.M., D.R. Cordy, L.J. Berry, W.A. Harvey, and T.C. Fuller. 1961. Nitrate Poisoning in Livestock. California Agricultural Experiment Station. Circular 506, 12p.
What Hay Are You Feeding Your Horses?
Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Client's Request: I'd like to feed my horses with Orchard Grass Hay. I'd like to be assured that it is "safe" for the horses and get it tested and analyzed to assure that it is "safe". Can you point me to labs that do that type of testing?And does UC do that type of testing like other states do?
Help Desk Response: Thank you for calling the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk. You asked about finding a testing facility for your orchard grass hay. The University of California does not provide this testing service outside of their own research, but here is some information below that may be helpful to you.
The National Forage Testing Association has a list of certified labs, some of which are in California:
http://animalrangeextension.montana.edu/forage/documents/2016_Certified_Labs.pdf
Here is an article from the Western Farm Press listing the California labs.
https://www.farmprogress.com/12-california-labs-certified-national-forage-testing-association
Also, an internet search 'Hay analysis for horses' came up with a number of good sites, including those from horse journals and university extension websites, with information on this subject.
If you contact one of the above certified labs, they will advise you on how to collect and submit the samples.
I hope this is helpful, and that your horses are in the best of health!
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SMW)
Note: UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ignore.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog.
Federal officials are reducing the wild horse herd in Modoc County
Officials with the Modoc National Forest are rounding up 1,000 wild horses on federal lands and putting them up for sale and adoption, reported Christina Maxouris and Brandon Griggs on CNN.com
About 4,000 wild horses live on Devil's Garden Plateau, a protected territory inside Modoc National Forest near the Oregon border. It's home to the largest herd of wild horses in the country managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
"With a population growth rate of 20-25 percent, 800-1,000 wild horses will be born on the Devil's Garden this year, making these small removals negligible," said Laura Snell, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Modoc County.
Snell's research on wild horses at Devil's Garden was chronicled in California Agriculture journal by executive editor Jim Downing. The federal government has determined the ideal horse population on the 230,000 acres of wild horse territory is no more than 402, however, more than 4,000 wild horses are running on the land.
The current federal horse gathering was prescribed by the 2013 Devil's Garden Plateau Wild Horse Territory Management Plan to help address impacts on aquatic resources, wildlife, grazing and traditional cultural practices. Reducing the population will allow range and riparian ecological conditions to recover, while also supporting wild horse herd health by reducing competition for limited food, water and habitat, according to a Modoc National Forest press release.
Most gathered horses are expected to be under 10 years old and will be available for adoption at the BLM Litchfield Corrals. Gathered horses 10 and older will be cared for at the new Double Devil Wild Horse Corrals on the Modoc National Forest and offered for adoption and sale. To adopt a young horse, see https://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/ or wildhorse@blm.gov. To adopt or purchase an older horse go to https://go.usa.gov/xQ3r3.