Clare Tone

Gunbarrel Hill Open Space

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What is the future of our open space properties? By Linda Parks I had the opportunity to attend the first Gunbarrel Hill Open Space meeting in January hosted by Boulder Open Space and Mountain Park (OSMP) where OSMP has started asking for the community’s help in realizing the vision of this open space (many of us who ride this area may know it as Heatherwood). This area currently appears to be a healthy and balanced wildlife habitat, it is also an enjoyable recreational area for hikes and horseback riding. The Gunbarrel Hill open space is bordered west to east by 75th and 95th Streets, and north to south from Lookout Road to the White Rocks area. I affords one with spectacular views of the front range and the snow capped Longs Peak, along with rolling grasslands, songbirds and great footing for a lovely canter. The evening opened with an informative presentation about the history of the area, the work OSMP did on restoring it, and the ecosystem it created along the way. The reseeding of grasses to restore the fields (one of the longest prairie restoration projects in OSMP’s history), has assisted in the return of ground nesting birds, like the endangered grasshopper sparrow, which will only nest in healthy prairie grassland, to a species of butterfly that will only lay its eggs on two types of grass, and our beautiful meadowlarks. After the presentations concluded there was a Q + A period. I voiced my concerns to OSMP and asked if they had a defined plan to maintain the prairie […]

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BCHA Announces Retirement of Longtime Board Member Suzanne Webel

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Suzanne Webel has been a BCHA member almost since its inception in 1971. She spent more than 24 years on the BCHA Board, including several stints as President as well as in many other roles, including Secretary, Treasurer and External Vice President. She has advocated tirelessly for equestrians with a focus on trails, zoning, public land management, and agriculture. When she’s not volunteering on nonprofit boards, she actively manages her family’s 80-acre boarding and hay farm in central Boulder County. BCHA was Suzanne’s passion and she has truly given her heart and soul to this organization and to its mission. In recognition of her extraordinary commitment and accomplishments, the BCHA Board awarded her the BCHA Achievement Award in 1998, and the BCHA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. Suzanne has now moved on to other pursuits, including her responsibilities as President of the Boulder Area Trails Coalition (BATCO). She will, of course, continue to advocate for horses and horse people in Boulder County. BCHA thanks Suzanne for her many years of service and dedication to the horse community of Boulder County.

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Marty Marten Memorial Gathering & Service

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Jody Marken asked BCHA to extend the invitation to participate in Marty Marten’s memorial on February 17, 2019. Here are the details: Hello Wonderful Friend— Please come and join together with other friends to share stories and tell some tall tales, so that we can remember pay tribute to Marty. Marty Marten Memorial Gathering & Service Sunday, February 17, 2019 Noon – 3 PM (Service at 1 PM) Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center 11968 Mineral Rd, Longmont, CO 80504 Memorial donations to honor Marty may be made to the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center. Jody is collecting photos (for a slide show) and stories for the gathering. If you have any that you would like to share please e-mail Jody by the end of January. If you could, also let Jody know if you would like to speak and share your stories at the gathering. Please share with friends.

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Happy Trails Marty

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Many people in the horse community knew of Marty Marten. Marty passed away early Christmas in Kansas—four days away from his 71st birthday with family near. Marty made a huge impact on all of our lives—humans and horses alike–helping others get to a better place. I recently received an e-mail from Jody Marken about Marty. Our thoughts and prayers are with Marty’s family. He was a friend of the Boulder County Horse Association for so many years before he moved back to Kansas to be closer to family as he dealt with health issues. He never let go of his hope, and he cherished his faith in God. Marty received the Colorado Horse Council Horse Person of the Year Award in 2007 in recognition of his contributions to the Colorado horse industry. “Marty Marten is an author, trainer, teacher and mentor. A student of Tom and Bill Dorrance, Ray Hunt and Buck Brannaman, Marty has trained countless horses and riders, and through his hugely popular books and clinics has made the world of practical horsemanship available to many who would not otherwise have the chance to experience it. His contributions of expertise, time, experience and patience have changed the lives of horses, horsemen and horsewomen throughout the West.” For many of you who have one or more of his books take a moment and open the cover. Maybe you will be lucky enough to see—“May you always ride good horses and happy trails”—how he often signed his books. I reached for my book today to read “To

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A Good Resource on Trails in Indian Peaks Wilderness

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Before heading out in the high country, whether on horseback or on foot, it is a good idea to check your local weather conditions, and carry an emergency kit for both you and your horse. I found the Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance (IPWA), a Boulder-based nonprofit, a good source for information on trails in the Indian Peaks—just a short drive from the Front Range. This area is one of the most heavily used wilderness areas in the U.S. With 73,391 acres, the  Indian Peaks Wilderness is located primarily within the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and includes more than 50 lakes, 28 trails covering 133 miles, and six mountain passes across the Continental Divide. Elevations in the wilderness vary from 8,400 ft. to more than 13,500 ft. IPWA volunteers assist the U.S. Forest Service (FS) by going on hiking patrols during the summer and winter season’s to help protect our local wilderness areas. Their trail reports, which can be found on their website, list the conditions of the trails. For more on summer trail conditions or to volunteer for this wonderful organization please visit IPWA. Other resources: USFS Website  Backpacking information/permits, trail maps, and more visit: Indian Peaks Wilderness at USDA. Additional trail information, check out: Protrails.com. NOLS: For Wilderness First Aid offers classes locally. I took mine through REI here in Boulder, CO. Have a safe and surprising summer! LindaP

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Wild Parsnip—Who Knew!

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A friend of mine posted this information about the Wild Parsnip plant today on my Facebook feed. I have seen this plant many times but never knew it could cause such a violent skin reaction, let alone kill a horse. – Linda P Wild Parsnip (or Water Hemlock) Wild parsnip or water hemlock is one of the most deadly of poisonous plants that grow in the fields or open range country. In Colorado it is usually found growing on ditch banks or in meadows. The common garden parsnip, as well as the cow parsnip, are related but quite different plants and are not dangerous to livestock. When a garden parsnip escapes from cultivation and grows wild it does not become poisonous. All parts of the plant are poisonous but more especially the root stalks The poison is a resin known as toxin. The root and stem of one plant will kill a horse in an hour. After a horse has eaten wild parsnip he will manifest symptoms of violent colic within a few minutes. He soon develops symptoms of cerebral frenzy, saliva flows from the mouth, the pupils are wildly dilated and the breathing is labored. The poison in wild parsnip js rapid in its action that any remedy to be effected must be given promptly. In an animal that can vomit an emetic should be given without delay. Morphine to relieve the terrible pain and melted lard or some other fatly substance may be given. It is doubtful whether permanganate of potash would be effective in

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Is Your Horse in a Good Mood? See if It Snorts.

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My horse, Abanico, snorts and talks quite a bit. I found this article forwarded to me by my dear friend Mary Cook quite enlightening! I hope you find it as well—Linda P Published in the New Your Times By Karen Weintraub July 11, 2018 Photo Credit: Miguel Vidal/Reuters No one can talk to a horse, of course. But a new study set out to find whether horses are trying to tell us something when they snort. In the study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers in France determined that the snorting exhale that horses often make may be a sign of a positive emotion. Mathilde Stomp, a doctoral student at the University of Rennes who led the research, said she set out to understand whether the snort could be used as an measure of the horse’s mood. She and her collaborators recorded 560 snorts among 48 privately owned and riding school horses. All the horses snorted — as little as once or as often as 13 times an hour. The horses mainly snorted during calm and relaxing activities, and those that spent more time out of doors snorted the most, the study found.

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The Curious History of Horses in North America

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Caption: Fossilized horse teeth—a molar and an incisor with some enamel remaining—from approximately 13 million years ago  (made you look!) Serendipity struck while I was doing research on the limber pines at Pawnee Buttes, near the junction of the boundaries of CO, NB and WY. While on a break, I found shade and a soft seat on a pile of sand eroded from a tall cliff. I was sifting the soft sediment with my left hand when my fingers encountered something hard just below the surface. I extracted it and found myself staring at a fossilized tooth, an incisor that retained some of its enamel. A few minutes later I found a molar. These were from an ancestor of modern horses that lived 13 million years ago (mya). My lucky find of fossil teeth reminded me that horses were native to North America (NA), but their history has some intriguing twists and turns during their migration around the world. The family Equidae, which includes horses, zebras and asses, evolved in NA during the Eocene Epoch, 54 mya. The genus Equus, including the horse, Equus ferus, evolved during the Pliocene, between 4.5 and 4.0 mya in NA. During glacial periods, accumulation of ice on land lowered sea level to the point that an enormous expanse of land called Beringia connected current day Siberia and Alaska. Approximately 4 mya horses spread across NA and some populations migrated across Beringia to Asia and then to Europe. As recently as the Pleistocene Epoch (2.5 mya to 11,700 ya) the family Equidae

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Happy Trails – Hermit Park Update: Limber Pine Trail, Kruger Equestrian Campground

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By Suzanne Webel Larimer County Parks and Open Lands has recently opened a brand new trail complex at its 1,362 acre Hermit Park Open Space near Estes Park. Time to go check it out! Stop near the entrance station and pay the nominal $6 entry fee. It’s worth it, because this is an exceedingly horse-friendly park. There is new, excellent, designated horse trailer parking at the Kruger Equestrian Campground (P-1). The CG itself is a well-designed facility with five level sites, each of which has two sturdy pens with buckets, and the area has a nice restroom complete with a hitching rail! There is also designated horse trailer parking at the end of the road, the Moose Meadow Trailhead (P-2). Assuming you start here, proceed down the road to the new trail junction, “Moose Meadow / Limber Pine” trails. (The previously-constructed trail connection from Hermit Park to Homestead Meadows has now been abandoned because it was hopelessly steep, rocky, narrow, and unsustainable.) Proceed up to the next trail junction. If you turn left on the Moose Meadow Trail you will find yourself on your way to Homestead Meadows (see revised Homestead Meadows trail log). Turn right on the Limber Pine Trail, so named for the tree whose needles are so pliable you can gather a bundle of them and tie them in knots. We didn’t notice any). The trail then meanders for 1.4 miles through somewhat boring piney woods to another junction, the 0.3 mile link trail down to the Equestrian Campground. Continue straight on Limber

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Happy Trails – Hermit Park / Moose Meadow Trail / Homestead Meadows

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By Suzanne Webel Thank you, Larimer County, for Hermit Park!!! Goodbye, Lion Gulch, and good riddance. I have spent many hours over the past thirty years trying to find a better access to one of my favorite haunts: Homestead Meadows. And for 30 years I have been frustrated by the steep, rocky Lion Gulch Trail, by private property owners blocking access to the National Forest, by no-public-access conservation easements, and by impassable four-wheel-drive only roads. Then, in 2007, Larimer County stepped up to the plate in a magnificent way and purchased Hermit Park from Hewlett Packard, thereby opening up a very civilized, scenic, and historic access to Homestead Meadows. Even more miraculously, they took less than a year to open the entire property to the public, complete with trailheads, cabins, picnic areas, campgrounds, and – gasp – some nice trails! Land managers in the People’s Republic might note that Larimer County Parks and Open Lands feels that it is doing a good job protecting its natural resources and welcoming the public to enjoy those resources, and came to that conclusion without much drama in a reasonable amount of time! Access the property from Highway 36 just east of the crest in the road before it descends to Estes Park. At the time of this writing there is a nominal fee of $6 per vehicle. Stop in for a map, if you wish, and proceed up the dirt road to the Kruger Rock Parking Lot, the Kruger Equestrian campsites (!), or to the Homestead Meadows Parking Lot.  

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