Cloud (on the right), mustang stallion of the
Pryor Mountains winning a mare
Ginger Kathrens’ motion picture camera has followed the life of Cloud since the day he was born – the day she named him – more than nine years ago. Across those years she has filmed three incredible PBS Specials on Cloud and his wild herd, but the latest one Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions (I call it Cloud 3 :) is truly the best compilation of the the most amazing footage I’ve ever seen that tells a story story so remarkable it could’ve been scripted in Hollywood. But it wasn’t. It was scripted by Cloud and his herd over the years.
Cloud (right) and his mom shortly after he was born
more than nine years ago.
Cloud trotting with one of his own babies.
Ginger named her Rain.
Note this beautiful pasture atop the mountain where these wild horses spend most of their their Springs and Summers because diet and nutrition and replicating the wild horse lifestyle is the focus of the second half of this blog. But back to Cloud. Please, please please go to the link below and order Cloud 3. You will be doing yourself such a delightful favor (even if you don’t own a horse) and every dollar from your purchase goes to The Cloud Foundation to support Ginger Kathrens’ work with mustangs everywhere (Ginger was one of the driving forces behind the court battle that the mustangs won over the BLM in the Colorado case several months ago).
Clouds newest foal – named Image by Ginger because he is
almost the spitting image of his daddy. That’s Cloud
behind the foal’s mom.
Yippee, Ginger. The story continues! Y’all go buy yourself a treat. Click here: Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions
We had our first TeleWorkshop this past Saturday and despite a few technical glitches that totally discombobulated my brainwaves it was a terrific experience applauded by all for the information takeaway. Our surprise guests were our new Tennessee trimmer Mark Taylor who is on the navicular team at Auburn University Vet School’s study of healing lameness with barefoot trimming… and Senior Police Officer Scott Berry, one of the three who took the entire Houston Mounted Patrol barefoot. Forty horses, all working every day on the asphalt, concrete, and even marble of downtown Houston. Scott and his team’s story was fascinating!
The workshop drifted into the role that diet and nutrition plays in the barefoot lifestyle (huge!) and there was much talk about Spring grasses, high sugar content, etc. Most of which I believe is severely misunderstood. After the workshop I was glancing over some of the questions from participants (from Oregon to Miami and Maine to California plus several from faraway places like the United Arab Emirates, Scotland, Australia, etc) and the above film (Cloud 3) came to mind because the minute the snow melts enough to get up there the horses head for that beautiful huge pasture on top of the mountain, staying there for most of the Spring, Summer, and early Fall. So I asked Eddie Drabek (natural hoof specialist and one of our workshop guests last Saturday): What’s the difference? If Spring grasses are not supposed to be good for horses, then how do these mustangs get by. How do they deal with it. To our knowledge none of them have ever foundered because of the Spring/Summer grasses.
Eddie’s answer was, I thought, brilliant. And loaded with super information and analysis and a road map for us all to travel. Please read it, from the perspective of your current situation (the underlines and parentheses are mine):
Joe – This is something I remember Pete discussing…is it the horses or is it the grass? Or both? Without more research of the horses and the grasses it’s hard to say for sure but we can speculate…
Is it Grasses? — In the wild they are native grasses…and unstressed grasses (typically, of course I realize there are times of drought or what not, but typically grasses left in their natural state handle such things quite well anyway. Grasses going through the natural cycle they are meant to go through. Never mown down (other than naturally grazed over time each year), not overwatered, pesticides or fertilized, or encouraged to grow in a season they aren’t meant to, etc. It’s not just one sort of rich lush “improved” grass like all Bermuda or what not. It’s a mix. The horses have CHOICE. I wonder, is the wild area very lush and thick (it pretty much is, at least more so than I would’ve expected) or is it still for the most part (compared to many domestic pastures) fairly scattered grasses which would help slow grazing and create more browsing…which helps the digestive system handle things more efficiently.
Some native species of the grasses may be richer, some not hardly at all…do these “non-rich” or grasses with lower starches/sugars perhaps “cut” the sugar of the richer grasses?
Longer blade grasses..unstressed grass….For instance every spring I see changes in my horses hooves…some rings, maybe lose a little concavity here and there. Not enough to make them sore (I keep my two founder prone ponies drylotted, they would show more damage) most would never notice, but the changes are there. We have nothing but bright green little nubs of “candy grass” as I call it, since the pasture is overgrazed…I have too many horses on too small of acreage, so not much I can do other than keep them penned up the majority of the time which I hate doing of course.
I trim for a few clients that have large 40-50 acre pastures, just 4-5 horses with tall healthy grass though. A small few will show some changes and yes, I’ve had some founder cases (being fed hi-sugar grain too though!), but the majority have no problems, I believe due to the grasses being tall healthy and non stressed, thus lower starch/sugar. And typically on larger acreage there are a lot of native grasses, not all one type as in small paddocks.
Or is it the Horses? — (This I, Joe, believe is hugely important) Mustangs start to drop weight in the fall typically, after getting a great weight during spring/summer. This is beneficial, as nature intended. They get lean after a hard winter with less forage, and what forage there is being dry and dormant. Then spring hits….horses are more able to handle spring grasses because they NEED this coming out of winter. Many of the mares are in final stages of pregnancy, they definitely need it to get ready for baby. If they started out being fat and chunky after winter and were put on the spring grass, this might be a much different scenario.
Domestic horses don’t need the rich grasses to “come out of winter” the way a wild horse does, which is why it causes them issues. We keep them fed and fat through winter…panic if they do drop some weight. What’s worse…we still tend to feed them the same exact amount of grain/feed, alfalfa, etc. we were feeding through winter, PLUS now they are getting grass…I tell people all the time, if they are getting a lot of grass, you HAVE cut back on everything else (really probably need nothing else). But people still feed…asking them to quit feeding pellets or grain I’ve found is like asking them to give away their first born child, they look at you like you are plum crazy.
Also, movement in the wild…despite being in “one area” the mustangs are still getting a lot of movement just by being in a herd interactive environment (more so than a domestic herd situation even). This helps I am sure…. They aren’t being confined, have good firm ground ( they aren’t living on soft shaving or arena sand part of their day), aren’t getting grains, sweet feeds, or alfalfa, etc.
Then do we know their grazing habits (the wild horses)? Do they tend to slack off during the summer, not “gorge” so much when it gets really hot? Naturally/instinctively eat a little less when they may be stressed some due to heat? Possibly, I don’t know. Domestic horses, particularly those that are stalled during part of the night/day, tend to gorge a bit when let out on pasture, even when it’s baking hot. And their inner clocks are amazing…they know when it’s about time for them to be caught up and taken back to their pen or stall and they’ll begin to “gorge” when they know that time is coming.
From summer heat and from less rain, grasses start drying out a bit by mid summer… By end of summer, when the grasses are probably getting to the point of possibly being overgrazed if this herd is staying fairly localized, it’s time for the grass to get that final “Fall Boost” where they get a little spring like for a short period (which is beneficial/natural for the Wild Horses and other grazing wild life to help prepare for winter and get a little extra pounds on)…and then start dying off/going dormant for winter…right when the horses start heading down the mountain…
I would LOVE to study this, wish someone would…send in grasses and see how they differ from grasses in the typical domestic pasture situation…both spring grass and summer grass. See if there is even slight ripples in the hooves ever in some of the horses. See if their grazing habits change much from spring to summer. Nothing has changed more in natural hoof care than the diet info. The trim is the same, diet thoughts change each week it seems. For instance now many are questioning Soy and here this is what they hoped would be a safer alternative to alfala/corn based feeds. It is definitely something I wish more people would research…quit researching in the labs of Purina and Nutrena, and research extensively in the wild habitats…it would be fantastic what we learn I would imagine. – Eddie
So very cool Eddie. Many, many thanks.
Joe
Joe, Wonderful post. I never tire of watching the Cloud series. It has had a huge impact on the way many view wild horses. I worked as a wrangler for several years, and I can’t tell you how many conversations were started because of this series. On a personal note, I had the opportunity to observe and photograph a large Mustang herd a couple of years ago. They touched my heart and changed my life. I have based a series of paintings on it. “Among the Mustangs” is a series I continue to work on, I feel I have so much to say about them. http://www.karenmclainstudio.com
I also remember one of my friends telling me years ago, that the winter is the time when horses naturally drop weight. In would like to have more study in this area also. I really believe that the best field research being done is by the photographers that have spent so much time with these herds. I think they have collected a great body of work, and I have enjoyed getting to know them.
Maggie- Check out Tamara Gooch’s and Barbra Wheeler’s sites for more mustang photos. As for grazing domestic horses , a friend of mine in Cody, Wyoming puts his in the pasture for twelve hours and then in the corral for the next twelve . He feels it helps with their weight and tendency to gorge .
I went on the website for Pam Nickoles Photography (above)
Her pictures of wild horses are so beautiful – almost as good as being there.
Hope someday to really see them – New York is a ways away.
Really worth looking at that website.
Maggie
[…] spring (read an interesting discussion regarding forage and the Mustangs on Joe Camp’s blog: https://thesoulofahorse.com/blog/the-absolute-best-film-about-wild-horses-i-ever-hope-to-see/) however, we didn’t find that many horses and approximately 80% of of what we did see were […]
Hi Joe, wow, now you’ve become an expert on grasses too? fascinating stuff…I remember when my former husband adn I had a ranch in southwest Colorado, ouside Durango near Ignacio, where the famers claimed that their grasses were the best in the country for horses – some of them had polo and race horse owners who were clients to whom these ranchers sent their hay–it was “too good” to sell locally! Love all the pictures – sounds like you are very happy. Someday Ive love to sit on that porch adn share soem wine and good company! ml
So logic…!
I would love to send him some grasses from around Las Vegas’s herd up at Cold Creek in the Spring Mountains.
I also ordered the DVD’s :)
That wold be terrific Darcy. Send me an email and I’ll get his address to you. Joe
Great pictures – have heard much about Ginger Kathren and her efforts to help the mustangs.
Wish I could have had some of this info when I had my horse.
But I think the attitude in this area is still horses NEED
shoes! We do have one farrier who believes in the 4 point trim & keeping horses barefoot. Which I guess is a start.
Wish I had remembered about the Teleworkshop. Will make an effort to catch the next one (hopefully there will be one)
I agree with all that Eddie Drabek said. Makes so very much sense. The hard part is changing peoples thinking.
Maggie Frazier
Windsor NY
Funny, or sad in this case spring time and deaths. We manage about 60 horses 35 rescues. We coax the older ones through winter and comes spring. Just when we think their time to enjoy another season comes one dies, as if waiting for spring. It has happened 4 times in the past 5 years. All I can conclude is that the longer days may take energy, nothing else really changes. I’m wondering if the same is true in the wild or it’s just an anomaly?
I mostly agree with you on the Ph.D. point. However, following the scientific method is the best way to be fairly definitive about questions such as these. We can say we know something (e.g. leaner horses are more able to handle rich spring grass), and may very well be right, but the supporting scientific data, properly collected and reported, greatly strengthens the argument.
As I’m sure you are well aware, you’ll get a lot of push back from some farriers with your argument that the wild model is always the one to follow. And many of these people are very knowledgeable and thoughtful.
I followed Pete Ramey’s instruction to transition my horse to being barefoot and he’ll never wear a shoe again. But I have debated enough with some of my farrier friends to be willing to accept that some horses probably need shoes. If this really isn’t true, as Pete and so many others maintain, scientific data would be most helpful in the argument.
I’m definitely not interested in arguing this point myself, though. After I switched my horse over to barefoot, everyone else on the farm followed, and there hasn’t been a shoe nailed on in years now.
By the way, if this is Joe I’m speaking with, I want to say that I think you are an absolute saint. I just discovered you the other day (sorry to have been ignorant of your work, but I knew of Benji!) and I am in awe of all you have done to help the animals. I sure hope to shake your hand one day.
Yup. Tis me, Tom. Many thanks for your kind words. And btw, the science is there in the genetics. Those horses the farriers talk about who need shoes have the same genetic ability to grow a good foot as do the wild horses. Never mind the damage the shoe does to the circulation thus health of the hoof (science confirmed) and its ability to provide shock absorption for the legs and joints (science confirmed). And anecdotal data like The Houston Mounted Patrol pretty much whacks the farrier argument. 40 horses, every breed, different backgrounds, all working the downtown streets pf Houston every day barefoot. Their vet bills have dropped to half. Colics are almost non-existent. And the horses are much happier and genial.
Very interesting. I’d guess that the answer to the question of spring grass and laminitis is in there somewhere. Perhaps a Ph.D candidate will take up the research. It would be very interesting and helpful (to say the least) to horses and their human caregivers to get definitive answers to these questions.
I love Cloud!
The problem with PhD work – although immensely valuable – usually takes so long through fund raising, documentation, writing, and publishing that often the “real knowledge” is already way ahead of the”published academic studies”. I’ve been in much communication with such a PhD/DVM doing studies at a university vet school on the healing powers of barefoot for hoof lameness issues and she moans about this a lot. She admits that she knows the “truth” from what she’s already seen but it’ll probably be another year maybe two or three before anything can be published on it. And that truth for diet is all wrapped up in what Eddie said in the blog. We know (Undeniable Truth) that all horses on the planet are genetically the same. Those who believe that domestic horse genetics have been changed by selective breeding are incorrect. Science tells us that it would take 5000 to 10,000 years to change the base genetics of any species. So every horse on the planet, domestic or wild, evolved over millions of years to live out in the Great Basin, the high desert, of the western United States. So the diet, lifestyle, feet, etc of those horses (Cloud, etc) are without doubt the model to follow for all aspects of domestic horse care. As best we can given the circumstances we’re in of course.
love this Joe i will definatly c it
That is realy cool.
I am going to think more
about the wild horse diet.
I always wondered why horses
would get problems from
spring grass.
Thanks For A Great Blog!!!