Don't give your old horses away!

 

Think long and hard !

Colorado Horse Rescue Network

rondtsSeop htiaa3c hf39,901u7M0279cal20a1t3rhclc163410u9tc0i  · 

So you think it's safe to rehome your old horse? Nearly every emaciated senior we get eventually has a previous owner contact us just shocked at how their horse ended up. They gave their senior away to a loving home with kids. Now a year or two later it's fighting for it's life from neglect and starvation.

Truth is, the safest place for your old horse is with you. Period. Can't keep it for whatever reason? PUT IT DOWN. Save it a slow miserable death with strangers. And yes, the slow starvation of an old horse is painful and cruel. This isn't your great aunt in a nursing home with medical care and medication, this is a horse who's eventually going to start breaking down it's own organs just to stay alive. It's not pretty, and it's not natural. In the wild it would be killed by predators or a storm long before it's heart stopped. It never fails, every day someone sends me a listing for an old horse with "lots of life left". You know how many seniors I find great forever homes for? Not very many. Everyone wants a horse under 20. And the ones willing to take a senior are often shocked at the cost to maintain a horse over 25. All I see when I look at those listings is a walking skeletonat at a sale barn or a sheriff calling me about an emaciated old horse someone doesn't want in the next 12 to 24 months. Stop kidding yourselves that someone is going up care for your old horse. 9 times out of 10 they won't. Let it die fat, happy, safe, and with YOU.

Bernadette was a free kid's horse, given away. Turned out well right? Moses was at a gymkhana last summer doing leadline, his owner a self professed trainer and rescuer. Again story book ending. Lily, a champion endurance horse given to a family for a special needs boy... came to us 2 years later a bcs of 1 and was said to be blind and crazy (she was neither). I can go on... twenty stories come to mind. Even an old horse we offered to take, who's owner sent it instead to a kid's camp in the mountains... we didn't get that one in time she died the day we picked her up. Owner was shocked. How could this happen? Well it happened because you gave away your old horse. So stop it. Right now. Can't afford to put it down? Call me. We will help.

But for the sake of your horse, don't give your old horses away!

ADS Rulebook Glossary

 ADS Rulebook Glossary

Criteria for inclusion in the Rulebook Glossary:

1.       The word or terms must be or have been published in the ADS Rulebook

2.       Definitions to be approved by the ADS Technical Committees for inclusion in the Official Glossary

 

Article 2 Definitions of Terms

For the purposes of ADS Driving competitions, events and clinics and the rules thereof, the following definitions are commonly understood to mean as follows:

 

ADS	refers to and denotes only The American Driving Society, Inc.
Attendant
Carriage Dog	A dog, riding on the vehicle, serving as a companion
Class	An activity by Entries, judged according to criteria specified in the ADS Omnibus or Rulebook.
Coach Dog	A working dog accompanying a coach
Combination class–	A class in which a horse is driven for a portion of the class and ridden for a portion of the class.
Combination hunter	A Single horse entry to be shown in two or three successive sections: in harness, under saddle, over fences
Combination hunter	A Single horse entry to be shown in two or three successive sections: in harness, under saddle, over fences
Competition	The competitive activities of Divisions/Classes or combinations thereof within the Event/Show.
Competition age	Human -  the age of an individual reached during the current calendar year. (See: Horse Age ) Junior – Unless otherwise defined: Competition age under 19. Adult – Competition age 19 and over. Junior A – competition age: 10 and below. Junior A drivers must be accompanied by a knowledgeable adult horseman at all times. Junior B – competition age 11, 12, 13. Junior B drivers must be accompanied by a knowledgeable adult horseman at all times. EXCEPTION: Junior B drivers competing with a single Very Small Equine (VSE) turnout in a securely enclosed arena need not be accompanied by a knowledgeable adult horseman unless required by the organizer. Junior C – competition age 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Junior C drivers competing with a single horse/pony turnout at their discretion need not carry a groom/passenger unless required by the competition.
Competition Age, Horse	minimum competition age, Multiples - restrictions are applied considering the age of the youngest horse. Combined Driving - four years Dressage - three years Pleasure Driving - three years Recreational Driving – three years
Competition knowledgeable person	A person generally accepted as having experience in competition rules and procedures. Not necessarily licensed by any association.
Competition participant	Anyone who rides on a vehicle or assists an entry at any time during a competition
Competitor / Athlete	The person identified as the Driver on an Entry Form
Concours d’Elegance	An award or class in which a turnout representing the most elegant effect, to include vehicle, harness, appointments, horse(s), driver, passengers, grooms, etc., but above all, general impression is most important.
Course	A series of obstacles or gates that a Turnout must navigate, usually companied by a published navigational map. Dressage Tests, Reinsmanship Tests are not considered Courses.
Disability	Physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which may hinder [a person's] full and effective participation as a participant on an equal basis with others
Dismounting		The deliberate or accidental departure of an Athlete or Groom from a vehicle
Dispensation	The suspension or modification, issued by the ADS, of certain rules or requirements of competition
Disqualified	Prohibited from taking any further part in the Event or winning any prize; may be required to forfeit all prizes won at the event
Division	a group of Entries, combined according to various criteria, including but not limited to driver and/or horse, experience, configuration, turnout, animal size, animal or driver gender, vehicle style, breed, etc.
Draft	a. Draft Pony – Under 14.2 hands, approximate weight less than 1200 pounds b. Draft Small – 14.2-16.2 hands, approximate weight 1200-1600 pounds c. Draft – over 16.2 hands, approximate weight greater than 1600 pounds
Driver	The Competitor or Athlete controlling the reins and whip and brake
Eliminate(d)	Prohibited from taking any further part in a class or competition for contravening the rules; not eligible for an award in that class or competition See: Art 208; the entry remains eligible to compete in the remaining competitions of the show. May be applied where no other specific penalty is prescribed.
Entry	A turnout participating in an event or show, usually defined by the Organizer as the combination of the horse, vehicle and driver
Event/Show	the entirety of activities, classes, competitions or combinations thereof, commencing and concluding as defined by the Organizer in the ADS Omnibus
Excuse(d)	Must leave the competition as instructed by the ringmaster or judge.
Groom	A member of a turnout capable of rendering assistance
Headgear	protective headgear that meets the recommendations of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF); helmet
Horse	In a general sense, any equine
Judged	Participating in a class at least to the point when results have been officially determined by a judge
Knowledgeable adult horseman/competition knowledgeable/technically qualified	for Junior A and B Drivers, may be the groom, when one is required, or may be an additional person – in which case that person is subject to the same requirements and penalties as a groom
Livery	Stable Livery consists of one of the following: (1) A conservative suit, white shirt, dark tie, derby, dark shoes and leather gloves. (2) A conservative jacket, jodhpurs or drill trousers, jodhpur or paddock boots, white shirt, stock or four-in-hand tie, leather gloves, derby or conservative cap. (3) Hunting attire with a hunting derby or bowler.   Full Livery consists of:  a close-fitting body coat with buttons of yellow or white metal to match the furnishings of the harness used (if possible), white breeches, black boots with tan tops, white stock, black top hat and brown leather gloves. The color of the coat remains the owner’s preference, but preferred colors are conservative in nature and, where possible, complementary to the color of the vehicle.
Maiden, Novice, Limit, Open	Pleasure Driving: see Article 214 ; Combined Driving: see Art 913.3
Management	The person(s) responsible for organizing and running the competition.
Measurement Card	An ADS Form recording the official height on an equine
Must, Shall	When the terms “must” or “shall” are used in these rules, and no penalty is prescribed, any competitor who fails to comply MUST BE SEVERELY PENALIZED by the judge.
Official	Judge or Technical Delegate who is eligible to officiate at ADS Recognized Events
Omnibus	list of the details of a competition or event;  prize list if one is published.
Pony	Combined Pleasure
Prohibited, not permitted, mandatory, obligatory, required	When the terms “prohibited,” “not permitted,” “mandatory,” “obligatory” or “required” are used in these rules, any competitor who fails to comply MUST BE ELIMINATED or DISQUALIFIED by the judge, unless another penalty is stipulated
Retire	An entry not wishing to continue in any competition for any reason may leave the competition; although not eligible for an award in the competition from which it has retired, the entry remains eligible to compete in the remaining competitions of the show.
Salute		The acknowledgment by an athlete of the presence of a judge or other persons performed as described in the rules.
Should	When the term “should” is used in these rules, any competitor who fails to comply SHALL BE PENALIZED AT THE JUDGE’S DISCRETION.
Showgrounds		All land used for the Competitions comprising the Event, and areas for exercising and warm-up, stabling and the parking of trailer, Carriages. A showground is a place where driving-related events occur.
Sporting tandem	See Art 229
Test
Turnout	The combination of driver, horse(s), groom(s) and vehicle entered in a competition.
Warning Card	A notification issued by a competition official to any competitor, participant or official for improper conduct or for non-compliance with the rules of the ADS. See ADS Policies and Procedures – Warning Cards
Withdraw	An entry not wishing to continue competing for any reason may withdraw from the show.

The following are definitions currently in the 2022 rulebook and probably can be scrapped.

 

From 2022 Rulebook

Children – See [FEI] General Regulations Appendix A – Definitions

 

Entry – In Driving, the unit composed by the Athletes (Drivers), horse(s), Groom(s), harness and

Carriage appropriate to the turnout as defined in these Rules.

Event Official – See [FEI] General Regulations and Annex 3.

Horse – Refers to a Horse or Pony authorized to compete under [FEI] Chapter 6.

Junior – See [FEI] General Regulations Appendix A – Definitions

Organizing Committee “OC” – See [FEI] General Regulations.

Period of an Event – See [FEI] General Regulations Appendix A – Definitions

Schedule - the list of times and dates at which actions of an event are intended to take place

Turnout – A Carriage with the Horses, harness, Athlete and Grooms.

Young Drivers – See [FEI] General Regulations Appendix A – Definition