“Often, the greater our ignorance about something, the greater our resistance to change.” ― Marc Bekoff, Animals Matter: A Biologist Explains Why We Should Treat Animals with Compassion and Respect
The ASPCA has designated April 26th as National Help a Horse Day. For events in your own state please refer to the ASPCA website. http://www.aspca.org/fight-cruelty/equine-cruelty/national-help-horse-day-april-26
Ten Facts About Horses You May Not Know... but you do now.
10. The first horses appeared around 4,500 years ago in the form of what we now refer to as Arabian horses.
9. The ASPCA Equine Fund is running a Help a Horse Day Celebration Contest and will award $10,000 grants to the top five equine organizations whose events inspire the most community engagement and support.
8 Just like My Little Pony, real horses can sleep standing up or lying down.
7. Nine million horses call America home. There are approximately 58 million horses around the globe. The vast majority of horses are cared for by humans.
6. Horses are intelligent and sensitive animals with excellent memories. Similar to our canine friends if horses are not properly stimulated or left alone too long they are liable to create some attention seeking mischief. (Mr. Ed stole Rosetta Stone.)
5. Baby horses are called foals. Generally born in the night, within an hour of their birth, foals can stand up. Foals can start running almost immediately after their birth. Imagine if human babies could walk an hour after a mother delivers!
4. A horse is a horse of course, of course. If you want to know a horses age don't nag, look at its teeth.
3. Native Americans have always honored and revered the beautiful majesty of their horses. Poems and art work pay stunning tribute to these gorgeous animals. Owning and caring for a horse is sacred.
2. Believe it or not, before horses were reintroduced to the North American continent by the Spanish, dogs were the only pack animals on the plains. The harnesses and equipment originally designed for dogs were easily adapted to horses. Horses could carry much larger loads than a dog. So equines were used for transporting greater quantities of goods and dogs became our lovable Best Friends!
1. Movies about heroic horses are a popular genre. Some famous movie horses you may recognize are Black Beauty, Flicka, National Velvet, Seabiscuit and Secretariat. Please, celebrate, educate and find a way to honor the strength, majesty and contributions of the horse to human kinds history.
They need you.
SONG FOR THE HORSES by Sheri Rene Watson, USA
