Stolen Horse Oregon

UPDATE:
Dear ODS Members,
In regards to the horse reported stolen on Sunday, our office has received several reports the horse is safe. We have verified with the Lane County Sherriff’s office that the criminal case has been closed by their office.

We appreciate everyone’s kindness and concern.

This stolen horse alert came out today on the Oregon Dressage Society website. The horse was taken from a barn in Eugene, Oregon, about three hours south of Portland.

At 7:30am, my horse, Woric, was stolen from the farm where he was boarded. A gold pick-up pulling a white slant-load 3-horse trailer pulled up. The grey-haired driver and his tall, young, dark-haired female companion loaded my horse up and drove away.


Woric - affectionately known as Wromeo - is a 6yr. old, 16 hand, black Hanoverian gelding registered with the American Hanoverian Society. He has a white short strip on his face and 4 short white socks. He is sweet, affectionate and gentle. For those of you who saw us at the DevonWood and Lake Oswego shows, you know that we were a very good team.

If you have seen this horse, or have any information as to his whereabouts, please contact Biagina Lazaroni, 541-915-4521. If you were hired to haul the horse, please be advised that you have been - perhaps unknowingly - involved in a crime. If you see this horse offered for sale, it is being done so illegally.

The ODS Office has agreed to post updates on the ODS Website’s news page as they become available.

Biagina Lazaroni, Trainer
www.RisingStarFarms.us
(541) 915-4521

Not so horsey

Back from a wonderful vacation with my best friend from high school. We "geeked" out and did a "Twilight Weekend" up in Forks, Washington. Twilight is a series of books written by Stephanie Meyer about vampires and werewolves living amongst humans in the Northern most tip of Washington. We both enjoyed the books and thought, "What the heck!" "Let's go check it out!" I would have never found La Push, Washington otherwise. What an amazing beach...I want to ride my horse there! I am not sure if you can "trailer in" on a reservation. I will have to do some research:-) The Quileute Indians supposedly descended from wolves, so Meyer based her werewolf stuff on the tribe. We did find lots of wolf-like tracks on the beach....interesting:-) For those that have read the books, we ate mushroom ravioli in Port Angeles, saw Bella's truck, went to see where Dr. Cullen worked, visited Forks high school, went to both the Cullen and Swan house, and even found the La Push/Forks Treaty line! Nerds...I know, but we had a great time. So good to catch up with my friend and feel like we were 15 again.

Elsa Sinclair

We had a wonderful clinic this weekend out at Templeton Equestrian Center, hosted by Elsa Sinclair. Elsa lives in up in Friday Harbor, a little island that is part of the San Juans. She focuses on natural horsemanship and centered riding. I did two one-hour lessons. The first night on the ground and the second night in the saddle. I really wanted strategies for getting her to soften and bend her ribs on the lunge line and under saddle. We worked a lot of spiraling in and out with lots of trot to canter transitions. I enjoyed my time with Elsa. She is a very enthusiastic, caring horse person with lots of good ideas. Another highlight of the weekend, I got to meet my friend Nora's new horse. They did the clinic together and even after two days, you can see a connection. She is thrilled with her new mare and it was cool just to see her so completely happy. This last photo is a picture of Capello, Pasha, and Elsa watching the last ride of the clinic. Capello and Pasha are good friends that board out at Templeton. A recliner in the arena comes in handy after teaching fifteen hours each day. Great clinic Elsa...look forward to seeing you again.

Horse Dies in the Street

Over the weekend, a 23-year old horse was pulling newlyweds in a carriage with a "just married" sign on back when it collapsed in front of the Portland library and died. The incident happened while Portland was experiencing a heat wave with temperatures well above 90 degrees. The horse, Balatore, reportedly suffered a heart attack in the sweltering heat.

This story was so disturbing on so many levels. First, the owner of the horse should have canceled the gig, citing the horses well-being was more important than a few bucks. Second, the people renting the carriage even said, the horse "looked really bad" prior to collapsing, yet they happily got in carriage. Third, this horse died a horrific death. I saw his lips pulled back against white gums and I feel horrified and sick that any owner can calmly drape a small white sheet over their horse and wench him down the street into a rusty old trailer. As he was dragged across the street, they looked at him like he was garbage. Balatore's years of service were poorly repaid as he was hauled away for disposal. Finally, because of a horse owners negligent, idiotic behavior the lines have been drawn and PETA is riled up calling for a ban on horse drawn carriages.

I have talked about carriage horse ban before. This is an excerpt from a previous post.

For me, I would hate to see a ban as opposed to an overhaul of the system. I think the more uses we find for horses, the better. I see the jobs for draft horses diminishing and it would be nice if the world had uses for these beautiful, big horses. If the city could implement some sort of equine labor law and limit hours on the job, mandatory vet checks, and since they are such a tourist draw, maybe the city should subsidise the cost of transport and care of horses into the city from boarding stables with turnout. I would be happy if my tax dollars went to help these horses have a better life. Easy fix--and people can going on enjoying the beauty of these horses and the joy of just being around them and the horses are treated fairly and humanely.

PETA has taken this stance.

Horses do not belong in the city. There is nothing romantic about pulling heavy loads on pavement in the middle of traffic. They walk on hard pavement, inhale exhaust, and spend their days dodging cars and buses. Balatore's death should be a wake-up call to make the compassionate choice to ban the carriage horse industry.

My anger is directed solely at the owner and driver of that carriage. They clearly made poor choices about his well-being and it cost Balatore his life.

How do you guys feel about ban on horse drawn carriages? If interested, here is a link to the story that aired on our news channel and here is a link to a documentary about the carriage industry. It is called "Blinders."

Hittin the Trail

I needed a day to just ride. I wanted to get out into the woods and just be one with my horse. Life has been pretty busy the past couple of weeks. I flew to Colorado to talk with the Parellis, we wrapped on our Keiko Documentary and submitted it to Sundance, I spent countless hours at the chiropractor after the trailer accident, and this weekend was my boyfriend's 20 year class reunion. Whew! I was so happy to hit the trails today and relax. We are in the middle of a heat wave here in Oregon, but you wouldn't know it when deep in the forest. Maddy and I were out for about three hours. I found a couple tree farms I hadn't ridden through before and a great new cantering path. I took a quick video clip while riding through and even managed to set my camera on a stump and get a "not so great" self portrait. Dang leaf! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.