Intervention

There are many descriptions for intervention: in legal terms it means an interruption can be made in the middle of a lawsuit already in progress, in addiction recovery it is the actions of family and friends to bring a loved one to the realization that they need help and politicians can use the term as an excuse to muck around in the affairs of other countries.

In the horse world, I think intervention is simply best described in the words of D. E. Harken, as being "the act or fact of interfering with a condition to modify it or with a process to change its course." ie. Changing something that you think was not perfect before.

If one is trying to get an addict friend to lengthen and better his life by kicking a substance abuse habit, intervention is noble. If a better way of life can be found for another country's people,I can see the reason behind our interference. I can even see a reason for it in the legal community. However, I can see no reason for it in our horse community. Why would you want to change what was absolute perfection in its natural state?

In her paper "Herbs for Horses", http://www.horsejunction.co.za/sahorseman/images/acrobat/2006/health_herbs_apr06.pdf Jennis van der Byl states a quite unmistakeable (although sometimes unpopular) truth. "For millenia wild horses were able to develop an acute sense of which herbage to browse on regularly to keep them in peak health throughout the seasons of their lives. By domesticating horses, we have taken that privilege away from them."

Not only have we taken away that privilege, but as the generations go by, we are continuing that "domestication" by taking more and more privileges away from our horses until we are turning them into something far different than we have to believe Mother Nature ever intended. Just as the original dog differs so much as to be almost a different species from the foo foo lap dogs we have created through our generations of genetic fiddling, many horses of today are milestones away from their predecessors.

Genetics gave the original horse a tail to switch to keep away flies, a forelock to keep the sun and insects away from their eyes, tough hooves to maintain sure footing no matter the terrain and carry them for miles to safety, and to use as weapons when their predators were swift enough to make flight not an option. Their coats grew and shedded with the seasons providing the protection they needed against whatever environment surrounded them. If they became sick, nature gave them cures in the leaves and roots that they craved. They were given a sharp wit, keen mind and basic instincts to keep themselves and their companions safe.

We are lucky. No matter the generations of intervention much of the natural horse has survived in most of our domesticated breeds. Most still maintain the keen sense of preservation necessary in a prey animal in the wild. This can work in our favor if we train horses using natural training methods (Parelli, Anderson, Kuhn, etc) or work against us if we treat horses in a predatory manner. However, being humans, we constantly believe we know more than Mother Nature, can understand animal behavior better than animals themselves, and that we can not only change but we can improve.

And so, we use cruel and unnatural ways to train and mold our horses into our idea of the norm. They are blanketed against flies, sun, wind, rain and cold and kept in boxes that never allow them to know the true season or realize the passage of time. Natural maintenance of coats and skin are no longer necessary against the elements, so we humans must douse them with chemicals to maintain gloss and shine of coat and elasticity of skin. We spray them with chemicals to keep away insects, killing even beneficial ones in the process. Every injury, no matter how slight, is treated with concern and pampering and more chemicals. Because they are not allowed to forage for the foods they need to not only survive but to flourish, we feed our horses costly additives and supplements, most of which are bound together with even more chemicals. Hayfields are sprayed with chemicals in the form of fertilizers and weed control, adding even more chemicals into a horse's diet. Because our forefathers did so and we are told that it is what we must do, we mold our horse's hooves into unnatural shapes and then nail pieces of iron to them. Some breeds of horses are maimed and wounded in horrifying ways to fit the parameters of "perfection" that breeders and exhibitors and judges desire, and their owners are revered for their prowess in doing so.

Horses in the wild constantly are scraped and bruised and broken, yet they heal and continue the hard work of living. Their hooves are used as weapons and transportation over dozens of miles a day, and yet rarely show the ravages of wear. Their coats may show the scratches and dents of day-to-day life, but their hair is usually glossy and gleaming and their skin is tough enough to withstand accidents that would cause life-threatening injuries in our truly "domesticated" horses.

Screw around with Mother Nature long enough, and she's going to backhand us. She's giving us some gentle nudges now and then, with more and more problems arising that are brought about by our desire to change the perfection that was the truly natural horse. What can we do to appease her? Allow our horses to be at least near what was intended. Give them as close to a natural lifestyle as possible and treat them with the respect they deserve. Allow nature to heal and better what it can, and use discretion in intervening when it appears nature is failing. Find a balance in new and old medicine and diet.

There is a quote among herbalists, the author anonymous. "2000 B.C. "Here, eat this root."
A.D. 1000 "That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer." A.D. 1850 "That prayer is superstition. Here, Drink this potion." A.D. 1940 "That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill." A.D. 1985
"That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic." A.D. 2000 "That antibiotic doesn't work. Here, eat this root."

My interpretation of that is that herbs and "natural living" is where we began, and it is where we will end. What came in between is all beneficial, if we learn to find balance between the old and the new. If my animals have a health problem, I will spare nothing to heal them. I might chant, pray, wrap them in colored glass beads, practice reiki, feed them hand-prepared herbal remedies and even dance naked in the light of the moon if I thought it would help (luckily I have no close neighbors to shock)...but I will keep my veterinarian's phone number on my speed dial and first follow his instructions to the letter to the best of my ability.

I am not a radical. I do not think that all horses "must roam free as god intended" (the mantra of some welfare groups) nor do I think that we should turn our back on the myriad things that those before us have learned through co-existance with these magnificent beasts. I do not believe we should keep them as ornaments to look at, but should share our lives with them. Some of the more radical groups (I believe PETA fits this bill, but your own research can decide) believe that horses should not be "forced" to "work." Unless you are going to set them all free, then anyone who has spent any time at all with a horse knows that statement is hogwash. Horses live to work. They were designed to cover up to 25 miles a day foraging for food and finding shelter. Put them into a small enclosure (and few of us are landowners to the degree of being able to fence in an area large enough for that 25 mile daily stroll) and soon they will become "wild." And not "wild" as in natural, but "wild" as in insane. And some breeders and exhibitors will describe this temperament as "high spirited" and still be pleased with their results. Give your horse a job and share that job with him (be it trail riding, jumping, driving a wagon or cart, or just leading a small child about the pasture). And never be fooled into believing that you are the master of that beast because you are a superior being.

Intervention is not a bad thing, one must simply remember the mantra of all of those who have the ultimate care of others in their control... "In all things moderation."