By Dr. Ken Marlborough, The Horse Professor

I visited the U.S. Forest Service Remount Station in Idaho where mules were once bred and raised for conservation and forestry work.  The rangers have a sign at the facility that’s at least fifty years old.  It reads, “Safety Is No Accident.”  It’s corny but true.

Everybody knows basic horse safety.  Don’t walk behind a horse because they might kick you and don’t run around them because you might spook them.  There’s more to it than that but I think it’s also important to consider the environment you’re in when working around horses.  Many ranch hands and horse owners have not been hurt by their horse kicking them but they have been hurt by something nearby — like a rock or a hard place.  Be aware of the space you are in when interacting with horses.  See if there are any barriers to the movement of your horse or to you.  Always have an “escape route” when in a tight space.  Be ready to duck under a tie rail or even climb over a fence if necessary.

Many people get injured because they get stuck and can’t get out of the way.  I can relate some personal examples.  A friend of mine, Steve, recently bought a Tennessee Walking Horse named Flash.  He was showing it to a friend the other day and was brushing it at the tie rail.  They were standing on opposite sides of the horse when, unexpectedly, Flash did a quick “turn on the haunches” and swung around at Steve, trapping him up against the rail.  Fortunately, he stopped short of crushing his owner and Steve wriggled his way out of danger.

The lesson is, when two or more people are interacting with a horse, they should do so from the same side of the animal.  That way if the horse steps over because of something one of them did, it won’t step into someone else.  Two or three people standing beside a horse is perceived by most horses as a barrier and in the event of a spook or restless behavior, the horse will be more likely to step away from them — not on top of them.

Many facilities do not have tie rails due to the inherent risk.  I always tell new ranch hands their first day on the job to “Count your fingers at the end of the day and be sure they add up to ten.”  It’s no joke.  Losing fingers is a real danger when tying a horse, they can pull-back faster than you can react and fingers can be  caught in between the rope and the rail.  This has happened to a number of people I know with serious consequences.

I once removed a rope from a tie rail where a horse had pulled-back.  The lead rope was cut to free the horse and prevent injury.  I had to cut what remained of the rope from the rail because the knot had been pulled to tight to loosen.  I examined the rope after cutting it and observed that the individual plastic fibers had fused together from the heat generated by the extreme force.  It is clear that no finger or hand could have withstood that much pressure.  The same care should be taken when dallying a rope around the saddle horn when roping, dragging something at the end of a rope, or ponying a horse.  In the last case you might even have the force of two horses pulling in opposite directions.

My friend, Sue, got her arm broke a few years ago while riding her horse, Seeker.  Normally a gentle settled horse, Seeker spooked and knocked Sue into a fence, causing the fracture.  In a manner of speaking, her horse didn’t break her arm, the fence did.  It’s important to be aware of your surroundings, be quick on your feet, and not get in a tight spot that you can’t get out of.  In other words, don’t be caught between a horse and a hard place.

A glint of glossy paper caught my eye. The neatly folded brochure lay ever so still on the
metal shelf. Curiosity took over me and I carefully unfolded the crisp panels. I was inspired and
overwhelmed by its contents.
“Heart of A Horse,” I read to myself. I continued reading. Then, I got to the part about
April Horowitz, the founder. I was amazed by the dedication and the time she spent making her
dreams a reality. I want to be like her and make a difference in a horse’s life; food, shelter, and
most importantly, love.
A couple of weeks later my horseback riding instructor, Kandice passed out yet another
glossy flyer, about the Heart of a Horse polo match and fundraiser. I was really excited and
couldn’t wait to go. In order to help in any way I can I’m volunteering to help with the games,
signs, materials, and props Kandice will be making and organizing. We spent long days drawing
and painting signs for each activity and booth, as well as spray painting horse shoes (metallic
gold and silver) and constructing fake rocks. We were all happy to help out and had a great time.
Today, Kandice showed me a newspaper and asked me to read it.
“Heart of a Horse,” I read to myself. Covergirl’s story touched my heart. Covergirl is a
beautiful horse that was saved from the kill house by Heart of a Horse. The people at Heart of a
Horse were overcome by her sweetness and sensitivity and were excited to welcome her into
their family.
After I was done with the article I was told there was a writing contest. At first the idea
bored me but, the more I thought about the possibilities that could be said on this paper, the more
it excited me. Then, I began to write.
Though everything Heart of a Horse does continues to amaze me I wonder if I could do
the same. April Horowitz is a great person but, for me and the horses, she is a great role model.

Age 10

I read that Covergirl came from Pennsylvania to California. April
Horowitz and some of her friends waited for Covergirl to arrive. After
waiting for a while, the power went out, so they all stood in the dark, chilly
night waiting for her. They decided to go into their cars and turn on the
headlights. Finally, the trailer came and April was so happy to meet
Covergirl. It was hard to see her at that time of night, but she could barely
see her deep, brown coat. April stayed with Covergirl throughout the night.

In the morning, April woke up excitedly. She couldn’t wait to see Covergirl
in the daylight. She went over to Covergirl’s stall and couldn’t believe what
she saw! Covergirl was elegant! Later, she hand-walked her allover the
ranch. She was very happy that she rescued Covergirl. She felt it was very
important to save horses that do not have homes, so she started the wellknown
charity, Heart of a Horse.

I think this story is very meaningful. I believe that saving horses and
giving them warm, inviting homes is one of the greatest gifts we can ever
give. I always believe that doing good things makes life a lot better. My
wish is that all horses that do not have homes will be rescued and adopted.
I hope someday to also save horses by starting my own charity like April.
April is a huge inspiration to me. I also believe that recycling is a big help
too. Recycling is very easy and very helpful to the Earth. It is also easy to
raise money from recycling to donate to charity to help support the horses.
Whatever it takes to help horses is always important to me. I really hope
that, in the future, every horse will have a home and be very safe and loved.

I first met Sunny & Rue at the ranch where I take riding lessons.
They were very skinny. Their owners had stopped paying for their
board, but the owner of the ranch let them stay and still gave them
alfalfa. Unfortunately, they needed more than alfalfa. Sunny & Rue
were 35 and 32 years old, and didn’t have tnany teeth left so they
needed special feed. That summer my trainer had all her students
start a recycling progratn to raise money for the extra feed they
needed. It was helping, but they needed more.

By winter they were so skinny, my mom and I decided to try
and help them even more. I started “Pennies for Ponies” by
collecting spare change, and also recycling plastic bottles. I raised
enough money to buy a bag of senior feed and some vitamins. My
mom and I went everyday in January and February, often standing in
the rain, to give them their feed. We had to take them out of the
pasture to feed them. because the other horses would eat their feed.
It was such a cold winter that we decided we needed to get
them blankets. I had an old pony blanket that worked for Sunny, and
my 15 year-old-sister donated the money to buy a blanket for Rue.
We would take them for walks around the ranch. They were so
sweet, and always so excited to see us. They stole my heart, and I got
very attached to them.

At the end of February the ranch owner, who now had many
abandoned horses, decided to send Sunny & Rue to the animal
shelter. I was scared that nobody would adopt them, and they would
be put down. I really didn’t want that to happen. They still had
such a will to live, and they deserved a better way to live the rest of
their life.

We started trying to figure out a way to adopt them. My mom
couldn’t afford to keep them at the ranch, so she started looking for
another place to keep them, A friend’s mom said we could keep
them. at her place. Thanks to her Sunny & Rue have a great place to
live.

I still recycle to help pay for their feed. We have had them for 5
months, and they are doing great! They love to go for rides, and
Sunny will even follow me around without a halter. Rescuing Sunny
& Rue is the best thing I’ve ever done, and I feel so lucky to have
them.

I started training my horse when she was ten months old at Sunset Ranch in the Hollywood hills.  I was also working there as a trail guide.  The ranch has a distinct Hollywood influence.  One can tell this from the number of out-of-towners who visit Hollywood and also come to the ranch for a horseback ride.  The TV and movie industry has an impact due to Hollywood’s closeness and Sunset Ranch has influenced Hollywood by serving as a filming location.

Many of the ranch employees are actors.  The nature of the acting profession often requires one to have a “day job” that one can easily leave for a theatrical gig and then resume when one’s part is over.  Guiding is such a job.  Even if you’re not an actor when you start working there, the theater affects trail guides like a contagion and they all get some acting experience before too long.  I have been in reality shows, rode in a commercial, and was also in a music video since I’ve been there.

The attraction of the footlights is strong at Sunset Ranch and one time the trail guides put on a play.  It was an adaptation of a Shakespearian play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”  The original setting, Athens, Greece, was changed to a town in the old west, Athens, Texas, and the actors made all their entrances and exits on horseback.

My horse, India, was a yearling at the time and I was engaged in gentling her and getting her used to different sights and sounds.  Because she has lived most of her life in Hollywood, she has received a certain amount of Hollywood influence too.  Her evening turn-out and ground work always took place in the ranch arena, which was also used for the “Midsummer Night’s Dream” rehearsals and performances.  During the play set up and run-throughs, my filly would also “run through” –  literally running, turning, and bucking while  Shakespearian scenes were in progress.  It didn’t bother anyone, we were all trail guides and used to working in the middle of “horseplay.”

I contributed to the production in a small way and wrote a publicity piece about it for the local paper.  So we were all participants and had an interest in the play and its success.  My horse’s interest in the play went as far as it being a wonderful playground filled with people, sets, and things that were, at once, fun and scary.  But there was another horse that had an awareness of the theater that no one imagined.

Destiny is a chestnut gelding with a white spot on his face and two white socks in the back.  He has been at Sunset Ranch for years.  Destiny was ridden by Ronnie, who played Helena, a beautiful young woman in love with Demetrius.  Ronnie is a versatile actress whose performances range from drama, acrobatics, and even encompass marshal arts and the Kung Fu genre.  She used Destiny for all her play entrances and exits.  One time near the end of the run of the play, Ronnie (riding Destiny) had just made her exit from her last scene.  As she related the incident to me, “I thought I would do Destiny a favor and unsaddle him and put him away so that he could rest and eat.  That way he wouldn’t have to wait for the end of the play.  But when I tried to ride him to the unsaddling area, he refused.  I couldn’t understand it.  Why a horse that had worked all day refused to be unsaddled.  I tried and tried, and kicked and cajoled him but he wouldn’t budge.  “Okay, Stupid!” I thought, “If you want to stand around hungry with your sweaty saddle on without food and water, I’ll let you.”

Ronnie decided she would watch the rest of the play from Destiny’s back, but then she had a sudden realization.  She had one more scene in the play and it was coming up right away.  A moment later she heard her cue, made a brilliant entrance on Destiny, performed her part, and made a fiery exit.

It was as if Destiny knew his part better than Ronnie, for only after this last scene did he let her leave the play area and allow her to unsaddle him.  It seems from his actions that he had awareness of the sequence of happenings surrounding the performance and a sense of the importance of what he and his rider were doing.  He refused to be put up early and stayed vigilant until he got his cue and made his final entrance for the evening.

Cover Girl Cool is paraded in front of guests of the Bombardier Pacific Coast Open by Dr. Kevin Smith.

April Horowitz addresses the crowd during the fundraiser.

From left, Roseanne Snider, actor Robert Davi, Officer Tracy Vail an April Horowitz pose for a photo at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club on Sunday. ROBBY BARTHELMESS/NEWS-PRESS

August 16, 2010 5:50 AM

With dozens of polo ponies competing in the Bombardier Pacific Coast Open at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club on Sunday, it was one horse in particular that stole the hearts of the many spectators in attendance.

Cover Girl Cool, an 8-year-old thoroughbred that once competed on the U.S. racing circuit, was showcased between the day’s two matches.

It was a celebration of the rescued horse’s life more than anything else; a life that was spared through the efforts of the Heart of a Horse Foundation.

“We rescued her out of a kill pen in Pennsylvania,” said April Horowitz, Heart of a Horse president. “She came out of a race track in Florida, became a brood mare, had four babies, and for whatever reason it wasn’t working. So she eventually ended up in a kill pen.”

The Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club honored the three-year-old Moorpark-based organization which is dedicated to the rescue of abused and neglected horses as well as those destined for slaughterhouses abroad. “A year and a half ago I was part of one of the largest horse-abuse cases in Ventura,” Mrs. Horowitz said. “There were over 200 horses that were being starved and abused.”

She and her organization, with the assistance of Animal Control and the Humane Society, saved all but six of those horses and found new homes for each one. It was a crowning moment for a group that hasn’t been around that long, but has already made a big impact in the survival of horses in the U.S.

“I admire the work that April Horowitz does,” said actress Bo Derek, who was one of a number of celebrities on hand to honor the organization. “She does all the hard work. April and her team are the ones feeding and caring for these horses day after day.”