WAR HORSE-See a future unicorn in action

On December 5th I was privileged to be able to preview the new movie "War Horse" by Steven Spielberg to be released on Christmas Day. What an experience! What a great Christmas gift to all of us, horse-lover or not! I loved this movie, not only because I love horses and hate war but because of all the messages within and around it.

Steven Spielberg saw the fantastic play "War Horse" in London and it inspired him to put aside all other projects and make that story into a movie.

If you haven't heard about this play it is quite amazing. The horses are all depicted by puppets and the puppeteers have so thoroughly studied the natural movements of horses that you completely forget that the puppets aren't real.

The story is about the love between a boy and a horse, just like in Behind the Mist. The story opens in England just before World War I when the boy's father, in a state of inebriation spent all of the families meager funds on a young, untrained thoroughbred colt instead of the needed plow horse. With loving training by the man's son, "Joey" as he is named becomes not only loyal but very strong. When the war comes, the farmer is forced to sell Joey to save the farm, breaking his son's heart, and Joey is sent off to war, but not before the boy promises to find him.

There are several touching moments in the film that had me crying...sobbing actually, and others that had me gripping by husband's arm tightly. One of the most touching scenes reminded me of the story about the Christmas Eve during WWI when the soldiers from both sides set down their guns and sang "Silent Night" together. In this movie, Joey escapes the German's who have captured him and is running between the trenches in "No Man's Land." It is a brutal scene as the horse becomes entangled in the barbed wire. (Barbed wire is every horseperson's worst nightmare!) An English solder risks his life to go out to try to save him and is joined by a German soldier who has a pair of wire cutters. The depiction of the bond of humanity that connects these two young men who have enmity forced upon them is worth the price of admission.

I don't want to spoil the movie for you but let me just say that it has shades of "Black Beauty!"

Movie producers think that "Horses don't sell." Let's prove them WRONG! Go see WAR HORSE!

After you see it, send me your comments either here, on Face book: Behind the Mist, or on my email: mjevansbtm@gmail.com

I have no doubt that Joey has earned his unicorn horn by now!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU!

Horse Slaughter Houses in the US?

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time know that I rarely stray from my expressed theme of honoring the Noble and Great horses in our lives and throughout history. You also know that I love horses, have ALWAYS loved horses and WILL ALWAYS love horses and not just until I die but beyond death as well! So it is with difficulty and distress that I broach the subject of slaughtering horses in our country. In November, Congress voted to lift a ban on funding inspections of horse meat processing plants (Slaughter Houses.) Obama signed the bill into law on November 18.

How do I feel about this? That is a tough question. I love my horses so much. I know them personally and I believe that they love me as much. The thought of one of them coming to such a violent end makes me sick to my stomach. However, as much as I wish every horse could be in a loving home such as mine, I know that that is not the case.

Five years ago, a ban was put into law the prevented the spending of any money to inspect horse slaughter houses. As a result, no horse meat could be sold for human consumption in the US. It must be noted that slaughtering horses was not banned federally, just the inspection. Two states, California and Illinois have banned the slaughter of horses. The result of the ban was that the US slaughter houses shut down.

However, in the intervening five years, what has happened? It is important to look at the results of a governmental action...something our politicians and government beurocrates refuse to do in most cases. There have been two major problems. First, many people had no humane way to dispose of an old or injured horse. Many were simply abandoned or neglected and left to live a life of long, drawn-out misery. The second problem is that Canada and Mexico continue to have slaughter houses. I have been told that the Canadian plants are quite humane but a horse sent to Mexico is sent to a torture chamber. I hope that isn't true but my gut tells me that it is. The other issue is that horses are transported the long miles out of the country in horrible conditions.

I really hate even thinking about this and any time spent researching it leaves me so upset I have nightmares. If any of you have ever been to a horse auction, you can quickly identify the "Killers" as they are called. They are the ones who step in when a horse hasn't sold and offer a low price.

There doesn't seem to be a good answer for those of us who so love horses. My love for horses in general and my own in particular does not negate the fact that there are simply insufficient resources available, especially in this economy, to take care of unwanted horses. Then again, our Federal Government does not need to take on any more costly programs!

So what is the best thing to do?
WHAT DO YOU THINK? I don't have an answer for this and would welcome anything you have to say!

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