More on Empowered Horses

A confident, impish, empowered horse, Altamiro steals this journal author's shawl.
(Photo: Leslie Town)

On April 2nd, Martha Cook, from Trafalgar Square posted a comment to my journal entry on the newly published book, Empowered Horses written by Imke Spilker. (follow this link to read the entry: http://ravenseyrie.blogspot.com/2009/02/empowered-horses.html)
In the event that readers of the Journal of Ravenseyrie might not follow up on comments that are posted, I'm taking the opportunity to put Martha's comments in today's entry so that those who are interested can take advantage of the generous offer she's tipped us off to.

Martha wrote:

Many thanks for spreading the word about Imke's work and EMPOWERED HORSES! I'm bookmarking your blog so I can follow as other people discover EMPOWERED HORSES. I'm writing from the book's publisher Trafalgar Square Books. If any of your readers would like to join our e-mail list at www.horseandriderbooks.com, they will be eligible for a special discount and advance notice of EMPOWERED HORSES and other new publications.

Soon, I hope many of you will have copies of Imke Spilker's book in your hands (Trafalgar's Horse and Rider site says the books are due to ship April 20th).

The Ravenseyrie herd has followed Kevin on a walk down the bluff/Summer 2007

This relaying of Martha's comments in a new entry prompts me to share with reader's a little more of what Imke Spilker's work represents.

Our sense of what a horse is, is vitally important in how we approach relations with him. Do we admire him, yet fear him? Do we think him recalcitrant if he resists doing our bidding? Do we think we must make him know we are "the boss" otherwise he will take advantage of us?

Bella accepts grooming her least favorite spot much better at liberty than if held fast by a halter.
(Photo: Leslie Town)

Because horses are large, quick and powerful many of us have been instructed that they are dangerous animals which must be dominated and taught to obey us as leaders. Typically "respect" and "obedience" are gained from the horse through restricting his movements using enclosures, halters, bridles and bits through which the human hopes to establish a means of "communication" which, in these circumstances, always is coupled with a certain intimidation and varying degrees of discomfort or pain. This type of training, whether it is done crudely or done with the finesse one admires in an exquisite classical écuyer, always takes something away from the horse in order to gain compliance. Is it possible to appeal to the horse in a way that gives rather than takes and is free from pressures which the horse must yield to?

Yes! And this is precisely what we will learn about when we read Empowered Horses.

An example of "mutual grooming, the Sorraia stallion, Altamiro, nuzzles my hand as I itch his back.
(Photo: Leslie Town)

Kris McCormack, (who translated Empowered Horses to English) sent me a copy of an article Imke Spilker had written over ten years ago. This article appeared in the German publication, Freizeit im Sattel in October 1997. Kris translated it and as we wait for Empowered Horses to be delivered, I thought it might be inspiring to share the last paragraph from this article, titled, The Horse Too is Allowed to Say "No".

To come to an understanding with communicative horses, the person must absolutely not be an “expert.” On the contrary, a “newbie” is more open, giving the horses space comes easier to him. The horses are happy to teach us and enjoy that role. A prerequisite is that the person has learned to pay attention to his partner, the horse, and respect his wishes. The horses senses whether or not a basis of mutuality exists. Once it is established, both parties can develop their sensitivity, to themselves and to the other. Intuitive understanding functions (only) in both directions. Naturally, we are asked whether this kind of interaction can become dangerous for the human being. Horses are by nature peaceful beings who do not make victims of weaker ones, and who scrupulously avoid deliberately hurting someone. Danger exists when the person applies pressure and force, and the horse can no longer retreat from the situation. A horse who has the possibility of walking away, whose needs for peace and space are respected, will harm no one. A game into which the horse is pressured is no longer one (even if the person is amused by it). On the other hand, without force or threat, even the most strenuous exercises can be playfully easy for the horse. One must learn to let go, and one must think from the horse’s perspective – that is all too gladly forgotten about. To me there is nothing safer than communicating with horses in this way -- anything else strikes me as too dangerous. I do not like battles because someone always has to lose. The message that comes across when we communicate with one another depends to a large degree on how we say something. That applies to communication with horses as well. A horse must be able to say “no” at any time and have the freedom to leave, and then we human beings must design our work in such away that the horse truly benefits by it. --Imke Spilker

Zeus enjoys a facial currying out in the big wide open at Ravenseyrie.
Photo: (Leslie Town)

What new levels of understanding will humans grow into from such interactions with horses? How much more satisfying and true our time with horses will be when they chose to be with us and stay by our sides completely at liberty because they find time with us fun and interesting and empowering!

Whence Come the Color Dun?

Altamiro/October2007 (photo: Leslie Town)

I know very little about the genetics of equine hair coat patterns and honestly find genetics to be way over my head in whatever capacity they are presented. This cerebral deficiency is likely a combination of my being an artist and being rather lazy-minded unless something really "speaks" to me, (or I could be a bit less self-deprecating and say that I'm not lazy-minded, rather prudently filtering out non-essentials). Let's just say science and mathematics don't connect the right neurons in my brain to spark the inspiration that fuels understanding.

Finding myself now part of a project to preserve the genetic treasure of an ancestral equine form as represented in the Portuguese Sorraia and in certain North American Mustang horses, I have had to acquire a rudimentary comprehension of the primitive color that is an integral part of these horses' phenotype.

The half Sorraia half mustang foals, Interessado, Fada and Animado/autumn 2008

As I've shared in various articles, the Sorraia horse is a remnant specimen of the indigenous wild equine of the Iberian Peninsula. His coat color is always a variation of dun, with hues of creamy yellow, tan and buff or a version of dun referred to as "grulla" with ranges of soft greys of blue, silver and lilac or deep, sepia-toned charcoal. It's a color that alters with the seasons and with the play of light, but whatever variation of dun a horse has, it will always have a dorsal stripe and black lower legs. Other primitive elements are often present as well, such as a bi-colored mane and tail (lighter outer hairs fringing the interior black mane), shoulder and leg barring and two-toned ears. Some dun-colored horses, like the Norwegian Fjord, have lighter colored muzzles (mealy mouth) and lighter under-bodies. Sorraia horses, by contrast have darkened, "smutty" muzzles and faces and uniformly colored under-bodies.

Animado with his dam Bella/Summer 2008

Dun is considered a dilution of either the base color of chestnut, bay or black. The dun coloring represented in the Sorraia is a dilution of bay base color or black base color and is often referred to as "yellow dun" or "black dun" respectively. Black duns are also referred to as "mouse dun" or "mouse grey", to differentiate it from the true grey found in other breeds. The Portuguese word for yellow dun is "baio" and for mouse dun is "rato". More commonly, mouse dun horses are called "grulla" (grullo/grulla is a Spanish word for a blue grey crane). Some medieval Iberian hunting texts described the wild equine of the area as horses which were "rat" colored with dark faces. Many versions of dun horses are represented in cave paintings in parts of Europe.

Purebred Sorraia stallion, Altamiro/October 2007 (photo: Leslie Town)

The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis has been doing extensive research into color genetics and offers a variety of tests for horses, one of which is to determine "dun zygosity". The link for this test is here:
http://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dunhorse.php

Curiously, this test is not yet being offered for Iberian horses and the test itself is limited in scope as the specific mutation that causes the dun dilution has not yet been identified. At best it can discern particular DNA markers associated with the dun color and how many copies a horse possesses. Using these markers coupled with photo images of the horse being tested and a three generation pedigree, the test can give a pretty good determination of whether the dun gene is present or not.

Bella and Belina/October 2007 (photo: Leslie Town)

Quite some time ago, it was suggested to me that I send hair samples from Altamiro to assist in this research of the dun gene. When I finally got around to connecting with Dr. Cecilia Penedo who heads the research team, Altamiro had sired three foals out of select mustang mares with varying degrees of the Sorraia phenotype. Dr. Penedo requested I send along samples from Animado, Fada and Interessado as well.

First, they completed a general "horse coat color" test. Altamiro and his three foals all came back with the same results: their base color is black with no other color dilutions except for dun.

The half Sorraia filly, Fada/Autumn 2008 ( photo: Carolyn Haggart)

Next up, the "dun zygosity" test. I did not get any report back on Altamiro (have inquired but received no reply so far). One came back for Animado which lists him as D/D and says, "Horse is likely to be homozygous for the Dun gene. All offspring should be Dun dilute."

Later, I received a note from Becky Evans relaying that Fada and Interessado's samples were giving "unusual results" to the tests and asked if I would send along hair samples from their dams Belina and Ciente.

Altamiro (back) with Belina and Ciente/Spring 2008

After running tests on Belina and Ciente, the following "dun zygosity" results were mailed to me.

Interessado: Inconclusive 1 --Dun zygosity cannot be determined for this case.

Fada: Inconclusive 1 --Dun zygosity cannot be determined for this case.

Ciente: D/N --Horse has one copy of the Dun gene. Horse will transmit Dun gene to 50% of the offspring.

Belina: D/N --Horse has one copy of the Dun gene. Horse will transmit Dun gene to 50% of the offspring.

When I asked Becky what this all meant she relayed the following: "The results for Altamiro and his offspring were not clear cut for dun. Altamiro has an unusual combination of markers that we have not previously seen for dun. Fada and Interessado did not inherit dun from their dams, and both are unusually dark for horses that are dun dilute."

Interessdao and Fada/Autumn 2008

So, there it is, whatever it is! I'm still pressing for greater clarification and have been researching Altamiro's pedigree (which goes all the way back to the foundation stock d'Andrade gathered saving these indigenous wild horses from extinction) as well as those of Belina and Ciente.

Obviously, there is much more to be learned about the genetics involved in dun coloring. So far it would seem that Altamiro and his foals have shown that its a very complicated process, and testing their hair samples has not made things any clearer for the researchers--at least not yet.

The author with Ciente and Interessado/Autumn 2008 (photo: Carolyn Haggart)

Entering a New Landscape

Sovina's Zorita (Sorraia x Sulphur Mustang) and Interessado (Sorraia x Kiger Mustang)

Oh, April! I thought you'd never get here!

And how grand it is that today is warm and windy and sunny - feeling very much like an early spring day. (Manitoulin Island has not had too many spring-feeling days since Spring's official arrival on the Vernal Equinox back in mid-March.) Walking around and about Ravenseyrie is now is like entering a new landscape and the marvelous sensation of the earth slowly waking up is filled with such optimism. I find myself grinning within and without as I reacquaint myself with features of the landscape that have been hidden under snow for so very long.

I had in mind on Monday (my day off) to hike down the bluff to the beach. Unfortunately, with the temperature right at freezing, the snow pack was wickedly unreliable and I fell through up to my thigh about every sixth step. It's quite something that the upper grasslands are so nearly free of snow, but the woodland realm is still deeply blanketed. (I should have thought to sling my snowshoes over my back, just in case...but, I didn't think the snow would still be so deep!) Anyhow, before the pups and I aborted such a difficult hike, I took a few photos.

Deep snow still covers the trail leading down the bluff to the shore line at Ravenseyrie

At the bottom of the first hill going down the bluff a seasonal pond has formed on the left

We'll save that hike to the beach when the snow is nearly gone and its not so laborious to walk through it. The pups and I investigated instead various trails up top and eventually wound our way back near the area where Kevin and I had hauled hay to the herd in a wind break on the southwest sector of the property. Knowing that we were about an hour away from afternoon feed time and that the herd would likely be working their way back to the house to wait for their human servants to bring out more hay, I found a fallen log to repose upon and waited with my camera at the ready for the horses to cross the landscape. The dogs dispersed here and there among the Red Osier Dogwood, digging through the snow in hopes of discovering mice nesting below.
Tobacco decided he'd take a sun break and came over to sit nearby and watch the world go by.

This photo of Tobacco has so much expressiveness in it, despite how little of him we can see. I go all soft inside when he sits like this, with one ear up and one ear down. Methinks I'd like to do a painting of him in this pose in this light...

The first herd member to begin the journey across the field to get back to the house was Doll. Being a wary and vigilant mule, she seemed to sense that she was being watched. She scanned over the area and then she spotted me sitting on my log. She must have watched me watching her for about eight minutes before moving on.

Doll (draft mule mare)

Next to pass by, without so much as a glance in my direction, were Mistral and Zeus. The sun was falling on them so nicely I had to take a close up shot as well.

Mistral and Zeus (domestic bred geldings)

Soon, more of the herd slowly made their way across my field of vision as they headed back to the house to wait for afternoon hay.

Belina (Spanish Mustang x BLM Appaloosa mustang pony)

Bella (purebred Spanish Mustang)

Animado, Interessado and Fada, three half-Sorraia yearlings traveling together

Interessado and Fada (who notices me sitting in the brush on a fallen log)

Along comes Altamiro, and being a herd stallion, he's very suspicious about what I'm up to sitting there on my log with a camera pressed to my face.

Altamiro (purebred Sorraia stallion)

Altamiro and Zorita pause, watching Ganja hunt for mice

I did take photos of the rest of the herd as they walked back to the house, but the images didn't turn out as clear as they should have, why that is I don't know--but they weren't worth saving and sharing.

The pups and I gathered ourselves up and followed the herd back to the house. I paused by Kevin's market garden, which is now fully free of snow. I looked to see if any garlic was peeking up through the mulch yet. (Not yet.) Our good garlic-loving friend, Ken, in Michigan, wrote the other day saying his garlic is up! I wonder if Jean's garlic is up in Quebec yet? According to our note on last year's calendar, the Ravenseyrie garlic pushed through the mulch on April 17th. The seasonal birds have been coming back a week early this year, so I'm going to wager that our garlic will be up on the tenth this year.

Last night the temperature stayed above freezing and we had heavy rains falling until this morning, altering the landscape even more. Of course, yours truly had to document these changes with her camera--and of course, there are horses in the photos!

Animado (Sorraia x Spanish Mustang) with his sire, Altamiro

Interessado (Sorraia x Kiger Mustang) and his dam, Ciente

Belina (Spanish Mustang x BLM Appaloosa mustang pony)

I've mentioned it a time or two, but have yet to deliver (probably because I'm rather ignorant on the subject) but tomorrow, I promise to write a journal entry discussing the results of the color testing the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis did on Altamiro and his offspring. In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed seeing in pictures some of the early spring changes in the Ravenseyrie landscape.