Newsletter                         Fall/Winter 2004

CONTENTS

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LEGISLATION

A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT (below)

FACTS ABOUT COLIC

SLAUGHTERING AMERICA'S WILD HORSES - new legislation that permits the Bureau of Land Management to sell "without limit"

 CHRISTMAS WISH LIST

2005 EVENTS TO LOOK FOR

THANK YOU

RECOGNITION

Please, tell your friends, if they support what we do, or love animals, just log onto our web site and send a donation.  It's tax deductible, and every dollar goes toward the care of the horses.  I don't receive a salary, and all of the help we get is voluntary. 

Many issues face us this coming year regarding the welfare and safety of horses in America.  HB857 the Horse Protection Act has died thanks (unfortunately) to Robert Goodlatte, Head of the Agriculture Committee, but another bill is in the works.  And, Senator Conrad Burns, of Montana has joined Goodlatte in his fight to kill more horses in this country through a rider he added to the 2005 Appropriations Bill. 

Senator Burns lives in a state where free range cattle and the political ramifications of keeping the range "for" the cattlemen far outweigh the needs of America's Wild Mustangs and Burros (in the minds of a powerful few) - animals that laid claim to the land long before cattlemen were given use of the range for about $1.72 an acre

Conrad Burns wrote the language  that permits the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) to send many of our wild mustangs to slaughter.  Instead of introducing a bill through Congress, he chose to make his legislation a rider to the Appropriations Bill counting on the fact that most people won't read the 5000 plus page document.  And he was right.  Now, organizations are fighting for an amendment to the bill which would reinforce the content of the 1971 Free Roaming Wild Horse and Burro Act (Wild Horse Annie's Act). 

On a brighter note, PAHB709 passed which imposes stiffer penalties for negligence and cruelty to animals in this state.  You can read more about these bills in the link above, "Legislation".

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Notes on the Donate a Car program:  The Donate a Car Program (www.donateacar.com) is giving us a great boost to our fundraising efforts.  We appreciate the donation that each of you have given us with your donation.  For each car sold through Car Program, LLC, Bright Futures farm receives 70% of the sale price.  Car Program, LLC receives the other 30%.

A note of importance to future donors.  We appreciate the donation of each and every vehicle that comes our way.  However, please - if you choose to donate a vehicle through this program to help our organization, be certain you are going to follow through with the donation before you send the donor form to Car Program, LLC.  There are many reasons why you may change your mind, and we understand that.  However, for every donation form that  Car Program  receives, they charge us an administration fee of $50.  Keep in mind that this is a very fair fee for each car they sell on our behalf since we receive 70% of the proceeds.  However, if they receive six donation forms, and only one person follows through with the donation, we still are charged $300 in administration fees.  The fees are deducted from the proceeds of the sale of the "next" car that they receive.  Therefore, a car selling for $1000 should net Bright Futures Farm $700, but once the administration fees are deducted (assuming six donor forms preceding the sale), that $700 quickly becomes only $400.  

Thank you for understanding.  We thank each and every one of you for your help now and in the future.

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We consider our adopters part of our family.  Thank  you to all of you who have given each of our "kids" the kind of life they deserve.  And, while we've got a 99% rate of success in placement, there's always a bad apple in every barrel that makes us realize once again, that everything isn't always rosey.  I have chosen not to bring up the negative for some time, but I'm tired of protecting (that's what I feel like I'm doing) the four individuals who have done some of our horses wrong.  Just as we love to gloat with you on the accomplishments of our kids who are well, the many of you whom we never have to worry about, we should also recognize those four of you who have provided negligent care to some of our kids.  I live on the farm, and deal with very little stress.  Most days there isn't any.  However, when I find out "the hard way" that one of our horses has been cared for in less than an appropriate manner and the adopter hasn't bothered to contact us and say, "I've got a problem  and  need some help.",  I get very angry very fast.  

If you've checked our adoption information recently you'll see that  we've changed some of the rules of adoption, and some of the content in the application.  We no longer ask for a vet or farrier report.  Unbelievably (I was surprised, to say the least), we've had three vets since our inception, who have falsified information on their reports, and one who appears not to have addressed a lack of  weight issue with another adopter.  I'm certain that if they'd known we also require photos, the reports would have been more carefully written.

We've added information about the Henneke Body Condition Scoring System because that is the standard by which all horses are measured in this country with regard to an "appropriate" weight.   I think the easy way to tell if your horse weighs enough to be considered healthy and of "an appropriate weight", is to simply look at him.  Generally, if you cannot even see a faint outline of ribs, the horse is in great shape. Some Thoroughbreds have a higher metabolism than others. We understand that it can be difficult for those of you who are used to "easy keepers" - horses that need little or no grain, and can get fat just looking at a blade of grass or a flake of hay - to get a Thoroughbred "fit". 

If you're having trouble getting the "ribby look" off of a Thoroughbred you adopted, try some of our suggestions below, or contact us.  We'll always work with you on any issue you have, but please don't ignore the issue and hope it will fix itself.  If you can't fix it yourself, then get in touch with us.  Don't let it get worse before it gets better.

The general rule:  feed him more.  If the horse is ribby, try increasing his grain by 1/2 pound every week or two until you see him start to fill out, then maintain that portion to see if he continues to do so.  If he doesn't, then increase by another half pound.  Eventually, you'll find the right amount of grain to feed to maintain a good weight and body condition (it's not uncommon for some Thoroughbreds - and other breeds, they're all individuals - to consume ten pounds of grain a day regularly).  You can also add vegetable or corn oil, up to two cups a day mixed with their grain, for a short time until they gain what they need to.  Short term use of oil is not a health risk for horses either, as many people think.  Finally, give smaller more frequent meals.  A horse will absorb more nutrition from smaller more frequent meals than if he were only fed once a day.  Try feeding three times a day if you can - at the very minimum, twice a day.

How much grain you feed is also dependent on the quality of hay you feed and the quality of the grass in your pasture.  Looking green and smelling good doesn't mean the hay is full of nutrition.  If you want to find out what the nutritional content of your hay is, you can pull core samples from several different bales, and take them to your county extension office.  They will analyze them, just as they do soil samples.  You can do the same with your pasture soil to see what it may be lacking.

The following sites provide additional information on nutrition and feeding.

www.thehorse.com

www.about.com/pets/horses

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