Clare Tone

Giving Back—Colorado Horse Rescue

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By Mary Cook Recently retired, I found myself with time on my hands that I wanted to put to good use. I decided to apply to be a volunteer at the Colorado Horse Rescue (CHR) in Longmont, Colorado. Having been a horse lover all my life, and a horse owner for the past 20 years, this seemed like a natural way to give back. After completing orientation, I found myself at work, once a week, as a barn volunteer. What does volunteering at CHR mean? Well, CHR has on average 55 to 60 horses ranging from babies to geriatrics, or “geris” as we fondly call them. These horses come from every walk of life, and as CHR might say, “the only difference between a rescue horse and any other horse is a set of circumstances.” From owners who are sick, to owners who can no longer financially afford to keep a horse, to owners who have older horses with health problems who can’t bear the thought of having to put them down, there are a myriad of reasons why horses end up at rescues. There are also many horses that are rescued from local livestock auctions, where the majority, who are not rescued, are transported to slaughter in Mexico or Canada—a fate not deserving of these animals. As you might expect, there is plenty of mucking, feeding of special diets, haying, watering, and loving. It’s a rather physical job having to lift 50 pounds bags of feed, hay bales and manure buckets, but I found myself connecting with my fellow volunteers […]

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Baby it’s Goin, Goin, Gone—a spectacular landscape soon to be was!

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By Linda P “After purchasing the land in the 1980’s, Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) partnered with the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service to stabilize and improve the soil by seeding native grasses. Thirty years later, the grass cover and height create some of the best ground nesting bird habitat in Boulder County.” It’s hard to believe the above description from my current visit to this open space. Here we go again with another public hearing on the Gunbarrel Hill Integrated Site Project on February 13th. Last week I loaded up my horse and met two friends at Gunbarrel Hill. We tacked up and went to take a look at the current conditions. As we rode all our familiar trails (trails ridden for more than 20 years) we found that the four—North, South, East, West prairie dogs (PDs) colonies have exploded and are quickly coming together. The marvel of the 30-year grassland restoration is turning into a wasteland—just another badly managed City of Boulder Open Space property. Like a swarm of locusts, PDs are devouring everything. We silently walked past holes, so many only just recent (within the last few months). Our emotions went from anger, to a deep sense of loss, because we knew it will all be gone soon. My crystal ball says, “without immediate intervention, and yes that means lethal control, this 30-year restoration project will be gone within one to two years.” So I ask, where are all those ground nesting grassland birds going to go? How is our visitor experience

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Boulder County Launches Trails App

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The Boulder Area Trails App is designed to connect local communities, enable users to find trails by use or type, allow users to plan routes, and link users to agency websites for more information. As the weather warms up you might find this new App useful in planning your next ride or hike on Boulder County Open Space. ONE APP ALL THE TRAILS Provides a single source for all designated public recreation trails and trailheads in and around Boulder and Broomfield counties. REAL TIME TRAIL CLOSURES Trails closures are posted as soon as they are announced by each participating agency. OFFLINE MAPS The app will continue to work even when there is no cellular service. SET FAVORITES Select your favorite trails and trailheads for easy access. The application includes trails from 12 agencies including: Boulder County City and County of Broomfield City of Boulder City of Longmont City of Lafayette City of Louisville Rocky Mountain National Park Town of Superior Town of Erie Town of Lyons Town of Nederland USFS Download the Boulder Area Trails App For more information visit Boulder Area Trails and/or read John Spina’s article.

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Trail Riding Skills: it’s all about ATTITUDE

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By Randy Winter Trail riding with horses, like many other ways people enjoy being with their horse, is a skilled discipline not to be taken lightly. Some of the trail skills for your horse are: trailering, obstacle negotiation, control of spook response, maneuverability, gait control, sure footedness and group manners. These are all equine-specific skills to be worked on and improved upon to enjoy time out on the trail. There are also trail riding skills for the rider, such as riding posture, tack suitability, group manners and clothing choice. But in this article, I’d like to specifically emphasize a rider skill that is often forgotten but extremely important, and that is Attitude! As a middle school teacher I learned the importance of controlling my attitude in the classroom and had this poem by Charles Swindoll on the wall by my desk for about 20 years: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we

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The New Grindstone Quarry Trail at Heil Valley Ranch

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By Randy Winter There were lots of smiles all around at the grand opening of the Grindstone Quarry Trail at Heil Valley Ranch on October 9th. This is a 1.4 mile pedestrian/equestrian only trail beautifully winding it’s way up the east side of Geer Canyon Road. In addition, there are four horse trailer parking spaces at the new Corral Trailhead ready and waiting to be used. The Corral Trailhead is just a few tenths of a mile after you turn off Lefthand Canyon Road. My wife, Cheryl, and I checked out the trail last Sunday. The weather was perfect. Bright sunshine, cool temperature and a slight breeze at times. Saddling up, our horses were aware of the Sunday commotion of others preparing to enjoy the day as we were. We could see eyes looking our way with smiles and as Ranger Kevin Bradley passed by he shouted a “glad to see equestrians out here” greeting. The horses with their growing winter coats approached the trail with eagerness and ears pricked forward. A few well configured steps going down and up, across a dry creek bed quickly diverted our horses attention to the trail and the task ahead. We continued up a path well constructed with switchbacks supported by quarried layers of rock. Thanks to all those who volunteered and were part of the County work crew to create such a welcoming trail. A few bluebird boxes could be seen waiting for occupants next spring. Families with children were the major obstacle along the trail as we

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BCHA Awards its Two Youth Scholarships

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Congratulations Maddie and Liz! When the BCHA Youth Club formed three years ago, one of its primary objectives was to raise money for two new youth equestrian scholarships. The BCHA board is pleased to announce the names of our first two recipients: Madeline “Maddie” Williams $750 Collegiate Scholarship Awardee Maddie spends almost all of her spare time either riding, training, or taking care of horses. Her special interests include natural horsemanship, ranch versatility, and reining. She has shown horses through 4-H at the Boulder County Fair and in St. Vrain shows, but she has also honed her equine evaluation skills as part of St Vrain’s Horse Judging Career Development Event Team. Her last year earning was 4th Place at the 2018 National FFA competition. Maddie also takes pride in her dairy cattle showmanship and judging skills. She will be attending Aims Community College this fall, and will graduate in two years with an Animal Science Associates Degree, after which she intends to transfer to CSU in Ft. Collins, to study Equine Veterinary Sciences. “I plan to beome a holistic equine veterinarian,” says Maddie, explaining that she wants to help horses using all kinds of healing techniques, including acupuncture, equine dentistry, farriering, chiropractic treatment, herbal remedies, and laser therapy. Liz French $250 Teen Scholarship Awardee Liz first sat on a horse at the tender age of two, this was also the age she first fell off a horse—she reports with a smile.From then on she was hooked. Liz recounts how her first pony, Lucky, taught her about getting back

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Maria Wasson of West Winds Farm

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By Ann Hayes Photos by: Pat Jarvis ©2019 How do posture and balance contribute to excellence in horsemanship? Ask Maria Wasson who, with her husband Stephen Miller, built West Winds Farm in Longmont on 40 magnificent acres at the base of the Colorado Rockies. West Winds Farm is not only Maria and Stephen’s home but  also a productive hay farm. Moreover it is home to “West Winds Center for Equestrian Arts” which comprises a large central barn and two full-sized riding arenas. There are pastures, ponds and satellite sheds for the horses that live on the property. This is Maria’s domain. Here she trains horses and educates riders in a unique style—a style that draws on many disciplines but is very much her own. Maria grew up in the Denver area and was drawn to horses early in life. A whiz-bang rider from the get-go, she became an A-rated United States Pony Club (USPC) rider, the highest rank attainable in that program. During a year abroad in college, she attended the University of Sevilla in Southern Spain learning Spanish and riding a multitude of horses in different disciplines from Grand Prix Dressage and Doma Vaquera to race horses and parade horses. Returning home, she undertook serious dressage competition, winning RMDS and FEI championships on her own horses Andiamo and Orcas. A strong mastery of principles of dressage underlies her riding and teaching. Maria has a passion for understanding how learning happens in herself and others. Armed with a graduate degree in Education from the University of

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A Call to Action: Prairie Dog Management Practices

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On Tuesday May 7th at 6:00 PM the City of Boulder Open Space Board of Trustees will be presenting their recommendations to Boulder City Council on prairie dog (PD) management. We are asking our members to please consider taking the time to attend this meeting, or to write a letter to all City Council members (e-mails below), and to support the OSBT’s recommendations (see attached). Boulder County has a rich agricultural heritage, which began in the late 1860s and the future of agriculture in Boulder County and the health of our grasslands should be of concern for all citizens. The mission of Boulder County Open Space is to preserve and protect the natural environment and land resources that characterize Boulder. We foster appreciation and uses that sustain the natural values of the land for current and future generations. The proper stewardship of our grasslands, includes maintaining a healthy balance for all species and should not favor one component to the detriment of others. Continuing to protect agriculture as way of life, and the farmers that lease and care for the open space agricultural properties also needs to be protected. The voice of private property owners and the concerns they have about adjoining open space land management practices also needs to be heard as escalating numbers of colonies are destroying their lands. No one denies that prairie dogs (PD) are important to the ecosystem, but when one species numbers causes the destruction of another through lack of natural predation, and destroys grasslands then they must be managed, and all

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Trailering 101: What an Informative and Fun Clinic!

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We would like to thank Christy Jemail and all our participants for coming out to Boulder Valley Ranch for the Trailering 101 clinic. What a beautiful day to be outside with Christy Jamail and all that attended our first Spring clinic! We were able to present three horses for Christy to work with, and also had three different trailer types at hand. For our demonstration we offered a: Bumber pull, two horse slant, Gooseneck, living quarters slant with a ramp and back tack room, and Two horse gooseneck slant with a back tack room The three horses at hand are boarded at Boulder Valley Ranch. Max, an Arabian had not loaded in some time; Moon, a mustang, had slight backing issues; and Nico, an Azteca, had bolting out issues. Christy started out with Max, and she quickly surmised that Max needed some ground work before she even thought about loading. Christy spent a good 30 minutes or more getting this geldings attention on her, while watching for him to relax and accept her as the leader. One of the things Max did was to throw his shoulder into her, so she worked on moving him away from her until he began to give her more respect. As the group watched, we had time for questions, learned ground techniques, and grew to understand the connection you need to establish with any horse before loading them into a trailer. When Christy felt that Max was ready she approached the ramp trailer. Max had never used one and it had

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What is Happening to Our OSMP Agricultural Lands and Open Space

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All Boulder County Horse Owners, Agricultural Property Owners and Lease Holders, and Open Space and Mountain Parks Users should be concerned about the detrimental effects of having too many prairie dogs on our Open Space properties. We encourage you to get active now. That means getting out to attending City Council and Open Space and Mountain Parks meetings as much as you can in the next few weeks. Decisions are now being made about the forthcoming Grassland and OSMP Agricultural Land Management Plans that will affect us all. For starters, we will be seeing a 30% decrease in funding for OSMP management over the next few years. So what is the “prairie dog problem?” Over the last few years, many of our agricultural lands and open space properties have been dramatically and negatively affected by an over population of prairie dogs, which is the result of a lack of predators, fragmented land parcels, and current management policies. Essentially, the prairie dog problem is one of density and overgrazing, which has led to destruction of our agricultural land, diminished economic value, and a decline in ecological diversity. Although Boulder County authorities once believed that, “the presence of prairie dog colonies…leads to …overall species richness in the grassland prairie,”1 today’s increased density and size of the colonies has resulted in the opposite effect. Ranchers who have been leasing and managing open space lands are pulling out of their leases. Why? Because production yields of hay and grazing acres have been so depleted by the over grazing of prairie dogs. This

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