Rabid Bobcat Vs. Draft Horse??? And, I Have To Address Something...

Ok, well today's post isn't a for sale ad. I have plenty waiting to be shown, but this one... well this one got my attention. (Yes, I am aware that I am posting this late wed night for Thursday's post. I have be at work early Thursday am, and won't have time to get this done then. So, I'm doing it before I go to bed :) )


So, I'm reading through the ads for the Phoenix area where I usually start and then if there isn't anything good, I'll pick a random state, and go from there. 


Today though, wow. I found enough ads for a weeks worth of blogging entertainment. 


I found one in particular though, that really took the cake. 

If you can't read that, it says: "You know there have been rabid bobcats around, right? I'd get someone out to evaluate those injuries or you could loose him to rabies."


HUH!? Rabid bobcats????


Ok, in Arizona we have issues with rabies in skunks, bats, and the occasional coatimundi (another small indigenous wild cat), but bobcats? 


I guess so! Turns out that earlier this year, there was one other bobcat that tested positive for rabies after attacking a man in his front yard and a small dog in the same day. 


Then - I swear this happened - last year a different rabid bobcat walked into a bar and attacked people in it. There's a surveillance video too of the cat inside the bar.


OK - so it is possible for a rabid bobcat to attack things larger than them. But would one attack a horse? Seems pretty improbable to me.


I had to find the ad this person responded to. I dug a bit more, and after nearly 500 posts  just from today, found it. 

I just wanted everyone to be on the watch here in Clearwater Farms. My horse was attacked last night, or most likely early this morning by something. She has a scrape on her side, some small poke wounds on her front and back legs, and a few other small scrapes. None of them are serious, just enough to draw blood. I walked the pasture and couldn't find anything she could have gotten into, and she isn't a horse that gets into much of anything. My other horse had no marks, but had a big chunk of his feather hair ripped off his front foot. The chunk of hair was just lying there like it was ripped out and thrown on the ground. It's weird, and the wounds on my first horse don't appear to be bites, but I don't know what else to think about it. I am lucky it wasn't worse. 

Now, someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that mare look an awful lot like some sort of draft? Thick head, white feathers covering her hooves, lots of hair... she's the right color for a Belgian too. So, the horse isn't just a horse, it looks like a draft horse or some sort of draft horse cross. NOT your average skittish thoroughbred here!

Whether or not a rabid bobcat attacked this horse is unclear - quite frankly both of the attacks I linked to above were at least a hundred miles away in BOTH directions from where this mare is kept. Personally, I think its more likely a coyote got into her pen and started messing with her. 

I know a lot of you don't live here in Arizona of course, but I'm curious to know what animals you do have to be aware of that will attack your horses. 

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I know its been a while since I blogged about the story of Einstein, the tiny miniature horse that was born Friday, April 23th. 

On my post, dated April 27th, this is what I said. 

I nearly forgot. The blurb on the little Miniature pinto stallion that was born last friday as the unofficial worlds smallest foal, has a video. I can't decide whether he's so ugly he's cute, or if he's just ugly. Can't figure out if he has the dwarfism gene either.   

So the video doesn't play every time you hit this page, here is the link to the video.

Thoughts on this? 

My comment regarding the 'dwarfism' gene was based off of the very first photos published of Einstein, where he was shown as very downhill, with the typical dropped pasterns of new foals. 

I never ONCE said that the foal was a dwarf. I was confused as to whether or not he was simply going off of these first pictures. The information coming out at the time was unclear, and I was not able to get a concrete answer. 

So, to the anonymous person that posted this: 

The original link YOU posted about Einstein clearly stated that "unlike Thumbelina, Einstein shows NO signs of dwarfism - he is just a tiny horse". Did you post that link without even reading it yourself? And for goodness sake, he's only a day old in many of the pictures and the video so of course his form is going to being funky. But then again you probably couldn't help but bash him since he isn't a solid colored horse and it's irrational to breed horses for color...

Here is my answer. 

The link that I posted went to this page - http://www.barnmice.com/group/horsejournals/forum/topics/einstein-worlds-smallest

Please explain to me where it says in print on that PAGE, that the horse shows no signs of dwarfism? I DID listen to the video, and the owner, a Dr. herself (I would guess vet here, but I'm not entirely sure there either), says it during the video. 

This is where my natural cynicysm kicked in, and I thought, hmm, wonder if she's telling the truth here? Why should she admit that the foal could possibly be a dwarf? Even if a mini mare has never foaled a dwarf, and same thing for a mini stallion, it takes just one freak combination of that dwarf gene to come out. Its a 25% chance, but it DOES happen. Its also entirely possible she was simply going off of the foal's conformation - just by looking at it. Either way, even though she did say that very clearly, I did not 100% believe her until further pictures/video was published proving her words.

Never ONCE did I ever say he WAS dwarf. I was simply confused, and I DID ask for clarification. That clarification was granted in the comments right above where you posted, if you would read them as well. Some very well informed readers were able to clear up that issue for me, and I appreciate that. 

http://www.wmur.com/news/23291713/detail.html

Now, the above link goes to a New Hampshire News Site that has a more current video of the little guy happily playing in a very lovely pasture with lots of grass. He's obviously having the absolute time of his life, with straight legs in front and behind. His head is still a bit over-sized, but he's just darn cute enough that it works with him. 

I will now freely admit that he's one of the most adorable things I've EVER seen. And that face he makes when they start scratching him on his little teeny withers!? OMG. Way. Too. Cute. To. Be. Allowed. Legal.

Dwarfism is a serious issue within the Miniature Horse Breeders Community. Some want it made illegal to knowingly breed a horse with the Dwarf gene, while a small group of breeders are specifically breeding for it. Just like any other genetic equine defect, I personally feel that this practice does more damage than good, and that humans do it not for the sake of the animals, but for the almighty dollar. 

If its smaller, wider, taller, shorter, brighter, cuter, blacker, whatever-er; people will buy it, and will pay good money for it too. 

If you go back and read the entire post, you will see at the top of that same page, there is a miniature stallion that is in an almost IDENTICAL pose to little Einstein on his first day. Severely downhill in his hips and hindquarters... though whether it was just the angle of the picture or just him, it was very hard to tell. I believe I stated that I hoped it was just the picture, and went on to suggest ways to get a better picture. Yes, that stallion is a cremello, but he was put on the blog because of the picture his owners took of him in that horrible position to advertise him for breeding. It was NOT because of the color of his coat.

My goal here, as I have stated before, is to educate and to inform. I am NOT here to bash any one particular color, breed, ideal, etc. Stupidity and ignorance is everywhere, in every breed, in every style of riding, and there isn't a single person out there that can argue that point with me and win. 

I am so sick and tired of people allowing this stuff to go by unchallenged. People see others breeding irresponsibly and just brush it off like nothing is going on! 

Cruelty exists everywhere.... the donkey that had the horrible feet is owned by a dealer, who has even MORE animals on his property - he possibly might be investigated for cruelty because of that ad. HOW many people saw that donkey in the time before that picture was taken and DIDN'T SAY A FU**ING WORD???

There is absolutely NO excuse for that. If it was the seller's kid that was being abused, you BET your last dollar that someone, somewhere would have said something to the authorities. The school, bus driver, hell, maybe the next door neighbor. Just because its a donkey, its ok?!?

This is what I decided to fight against.

I do not bash color for color's sake. I bash ANY COLOR OF STALLION if the stallion is being advertised for breeding purposes without having any sort of reason he should be siring foals. I am firmly of the belief that a stallion should qualify for breeding rights by superior conformation and showing athletic ability that is proven by either having a job that he is good at and/or winning in the show ring. I also know that winning isn't everything, so temperament, bloodlines, and quite frankly, overall 'look' of the stallion plays a big part. Is the horse even HALTER BROKE? So MANY of the stallions I feature here, AREN'T EVEN HALTER BROKE! 

Please tell me how you can have a stallion that's not even leadable, and still fell he needs to be bred? Stuff like that matters when it comes to choosing what stallion to breed your mare to. 

Quite frankly, if the stallion looks like it should be a gelding, than by all means, lets make it a gelding. BUT if the stallion is well bred, is put together well, is in training, and has people in his life that are determined to give him a job OTHER than make babies, then HOORAY FOR THEM! You'll NEVER see that stallion here.

I have a HUGE issue with people breeding stallions based solely on color, and nothing else. They show a blatant disregard for conformation, genetic defects (HYPP or OWLS, anyone?), training, etc., and IF you were to look through the archives and find the posts that are labeled FFS or Friday Fugly Stallion, you will find stallions of ALL colors, and ALL BREEDS. I've had quarter horses, saddlebreds, minis, and a Tennessee Walker all on here.

There are way too many horses for the amount of homes out there. Quality, reputable stallion owners have stopped or severely reduced breeding because of this fact. Yet, the low end, crap fugly stallions are still out there producing low end, crap fugly babies that will never stay sound enough for heavy work - and where do you think they will end up? 

Before I inadvertently turn this into a pro/con slaughter debate, let me get back to my original point. 

You accuse me of saying things I have not said, and *IF* I have, please find my words, and quote me in a comment to this post. I will publicly apologize to you for it, and go back and edit what I said on the post itself. Until then, I stand by every word I have typed, and will continue down this path of outing ignorance, cruelty, stupidity, and fugly stallions.