PORCELAIN UNICORN

Behind the Mist is a fun story about the noble and great horses that become unicorns in the afterlife. This blog is dedicated to those noble and great horses. However, today I want to share with you a completely different unicorn story that was sent to me by a reader. It is worth your time, I promise you.

Let me include this by way of introduction:

The legendary British film director Sir Ridley Scott launched a global film contest for aspiring directors. The contest was called, "Tell It Your Way." There were over 600 entries. The rules of the contest were that the film could be no longer than three minutes, contain only 6 lines of narrative, and be a compelling story.

The winner was "Porcelain Unicorn," by the American director Keegan Wilcox. It's a story of the lifetimes of two people who are totally opposite, yet very much the same. All told in less than three minutes. Maybe you too can see why it won.



May we never forget the brotherhood and sisterhood of all men.

HORSES ARE SMARTER THAN SOME PEOPLE THINK!

If you haven't seen War Horse yet...why not? You will love it! If you watch the movie and find yourself saying "Yeah Right. A horse wouldn't do that." Think again. While the story is fictional, the horse, Joey depicts authentic horse behaviour. A study of 20 Anglo Arabs and 3 Saddlebreds in a stable in France showed some interesting things about a horse's intelligence. Three main conclusions were drawn.

1) Horses remember people who are kind to them even after a long separation,
2) Horses understand words better than expected and
3) Horses possess excellent memories.


Horses are willing to include humans in their "Herds," even as the leader. And they never Forget Human Friends. They are very forgiving but they never forget! In the study, one trainer used kind words and edible treats to train. Another did not. After an eight month separation, the horses gravitated to the kind trainer, licking and sniffing as they greeted her. This is how they greet their horse friends, and is a sign of affection, not just searching for food. The horses that were trained without food rewards were also four to six times more likely to display negative behaviors such as biting and kicking.

The research was led by Carol S. Ankey. She concluded that "Equid social relationships are long-lasting and in some cased lifelong." She found that, while we are accustomed to training dogs with verbal commands, most horse trainers use tactile sensations such as bit, leg and seat pressure. Yet, horses learn and memorize human words better than dogs. We can incorporate this into our training (and every time you ride a horse you are training for good or ill,) by using more words. Unfortunately, you can not speak when showing in dressage but you could certainly do more speaking during training.

Now, lets compare this to the movie: War Horse. First, the English boy who so loved Joey started training him with a whistle and a reward of treats when he came. It was this whistle, years later, that the horse remembered and enabled the boy and the horse to be reunited. Also depicted in the movie was a close friendship between Joey and the big, black Frisian. Both horses were captured by the German army but they stayed together and looked out for one another until the Frisian died.

Behind the Mist Book Trailer

Enjoy the just completed book trailer for Behind the Mist.



If you haven't read Behind the Mist yet, you can order it on its own website: http://www.behindthemist.com/ or wherever books are sold.

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!

ON A HAPPIER NOTE: Escape to the land of the Unicorns in BEHIND THE MIST. Special sale price of just $9.95 is available NOW on the website, PLUS you can have it autographed!

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MESSENGER-Famous Imported Thoroughbred

Messenger was a grey thoroughbred stallion. Messenger has crosses to all three of the Thoroughbred foundation sires, particularly Godolfin Arabian. Messanger's sire was a trotter but Messenger was never used in a trotting race. However, his great grandson, Hambletonian became the father of American Trotters and Pacers so I guess he kept that talent and passed it on. For more information on Hambletonian, read my post on December 15, 2010.

Messenger was bred in England. There, he started in 16 flat races and won ten of them. Messenger's races, usually less than two and half miles, were mainly "match" races in which the side bets far exceeded the purse.

In May 1788 Sir Thomas Benger imported Messenger to Pennsylvania. In 1793, Messenger was sold to Henry Astor. According to an article in Wikipedia, "Messenger was once advertised in a Philadelphia newspaper as: Available for service: Inquiries to be made to a certain Alexander Clay at the sign of the Black Horse in Market Street." I love little bits of history like that. It makes a famous horse like Messenger seem so real!

Messenger became a very successful stud and produced great race horses. Messenger was bred throughout Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersy. The mares he was bred with were not of the highest quality, but even so he proved himself a superior stallion, siring a great many successful thoroughbred racehorses. One example is Messenger's daughter, Miller's Damsel, also known as "Queen of the American Turf." His genes can also be found in the American Saddlebred and Tennessee Walking horses. Messenger died on January 8, 1808 at the age of 28. He is buried on Long Island.

Send me the story of your Noble and Great Horse. Write to me at:

http://mjevansbtm@gmail.com

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HORSE LOVER'S POEM

Why do I like horses? I think I must be mad.
My mother wasn't horsey - And neither was my dad.
But the madness hit me early - and it hit me like a curse.
And I've never gotten better. In fact I've gotten worse.
I hardly read a paper - but I know who's sold their horse.
And I wouldn't watch the news - Unless Mr. Ed was on, of course.
One eye's always on the heavens - but my washing waves in vain
As I rush to get the horses in - in case it's gonna rain.
I spend up every cent I've got - on horsey stuff for sure
I buy saddles, bridles, fancy boots - and then I buy some more.
I can't sew on a button - I don't even try
But I can back a truck and trailer - in the twinkling of an eye.
It's jeans and boots that I live in night and day
And that smell of sweaty horses just doesn't wash away.
I ache from long forgotten falls. My knees have got no skin.
My toes have gone a funny shape - from being stomped on again and again.
But late at night, when all is still - and I've gone to give them hay,
I touch their velvet softness and my worries float away.
They give a gentle nicker and they nuzzle through my hair
And I know it's where my heart is - more here than anywhere.
~ Author Unknown

This poem was sent in by a reader named Jodi and it touched my heart. While I live in Breeches instead of jeans, this poem otherwise fits me like a glove (a riding glove, of course!) My non-horsey parent couldn't understand my obsession but they allowed me to pursue it all the same and I thank them for that! And you should see my toes!