An Equestrian Education
                                                                   By Melissa Gasca


  "This country was built on horses - this whole world was built on horses," said "Calamity" Cate Crismani, publisher of trueCOWBOYmagazine, as she spoke to several horse lovers and owners on Saturday at Melody Oaks Ranch in Newhall on the issue of mustang rescues.

Crismani wanted her audience to understand that although Madeleine Pickens, business woman, philanthropist and wife of oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens, recently offered to purchase all 30,000+ captive mustangs in  BLM holding pens, the fight for the rights of mustangs and horses was far from over and there should be no distinction between breeds, both wild and domestic, that need to be rescued or rehomed in this current economic climate.

"The world needs to know these wild mustangs, horses and burros are part of our heritage - they are one of the last American Icons, much like the American Bald Eagle, and should be treated and respected as such," said Crismani.

Crismani also touched on the controversy between BLM leasing interests and the advocates that work to keep the horses free-roaming on the plains of the western United States. 

"These horses, and every species, are sentient creatures and actively contribute to our eco-system by roaming the plains." she said. "and, like humans, they want to be safe and co-habitate with their families."

Crismani was one of a half dozen people who spoke at the "Introduction to Natural Horse Care" informational event hosted by the ranch, a small, private boarding facility that practices holistic and natural methods of board and care for horses.

Tanii Carr of Melody Oaks Ranch organized the event because she wants to educate people about the holistic ways of caring for horses that she's learned in her years of owning and boarding horses.

Several invited speakers addressed a number of topics from equine dentistry to barefoot methods and natural horsemanship, a method that promotes a relationship of communication and understanding between horse and caretaker as opposed to fear and intimidation.

"If I pass on this knowledge, it gives people more information," she said. "I really love educating people and giving them choices."