13 April

The Carriage Horses: Paul and Pam In The Eye Of The Storm

by Jon Katz
The Carriage Horses
The Carriage Horses

At the moment, the New York Carriage Horses are the eye of the storm in the deepening culture war between the people who call themselves animal rights supporters and the people who choose a life of loving and living with animals. For centuries, people have been drawn to working animals because they exist in connection with human beings and their lives. That ancient and historic idea is being challenged, all kinds of animals – horses, ponies, donkeys, chickens, elephants, goats – are being driven from living and working with human beings in the name of giving them their rights.

Pam Rickenback and Paul Moshimer, who run the Blue-Star Equiculture farm,  are gracious and generous – their love for their rescued and old horses is palpable, in their eyes, the way they treat the people who work for them, and in the actions and  demeanor and trust of their horses. But I sat across from them at a lunch table today and the tension and concern in their eyes was also evident. They have done nothing wrong, broken no laws, are committed to the rescue and good care of 32 draft horses, yet their lives are a battlefield, shrouded in anger and conflict and uncertainty.

They are accused of wanton abuse and cruelty almost every day, their donors are threatened and harassed, people have come to the farm in the night to cut their fences and release their stallions, who were nearly killed. They live in constant fear and tension, it is evident how exhausting and wearing it is to them, and to the students, interns and volunteers who accept almost continuous threats and abuse just to  help care for the horses.

This is an injustice, and a mad and irrational one. Pam talked about her strong connection to Native-American culture, her sense of the spirituality of the horses, she draws from it to remain grounded and calm. She is an environmental and peace activist as well as a horse rescuer, yet she is often treated as a criminal and a monster, she cannot hide the pain in her eyes. People tell  her almost  every day that they are afraid to support her work or help the horses in her car. She and Paul have suffered greatly in their lives and come together just a few years ago, they have a powerful connection with one another, and they give one another strength to continue their work.

I could really not imagine why running a farm that rescues and re-homes and cares for aging horses should be the subject of so much hate and abuse and accusation.  Nor can I imagine how rational people who love animals can believe it is a crime for animals to work. They are driving the animals from our world, people like Pam and Paul are working to keep them with us. It is, I told them, a sickness in our world, I believe the horses are calling out for us to help  heal this ugly wound. These two do not need my advice, but I decided to give it. The challenge is to tell the true story of the horses and their mission and trust in the wisdom and compassion of most people. I believe it is there, the horses in New York are finding it, I wish for Pam and Paul that they find it as well.

You cannot, I said, love animals and hate people. They are both the same. But I think they already knew this. I wish them peace and compassion, life in the eye of the storm is a hard place to be.

13 April

Seeing The Draft Horses: The Gift Of Animals, The War On Animals

by Jon Katz
The Gift Of Animals
The Gift Of Animals

The draft horses are powerful creatures, spiritual creatures. They have worked alongside human beings for hundreds, if not thousands of years, they helped build our world, they helped settle our country, they made our cities possible. It was stirring to see them, to touch them, to photograph them.

They have always worked, they have never lived in nature, they have always been around people. They speak to us of Mother Earth, of the natural world, of our long and rich history living alongside of animals, most of whom have been driven out of our world by greed and ignorance. If the horses in New York are banished from the city, it will be a catastrophe both for human beings and the animal world, a literal license to kill for horses and other animals all over the country.

The horses I saw today were either retired carriage horses or draft horses rescued from farms or other places. Six horses came from a family after their owner committed suicide, they were facing imminent euthanasia from the surviving spouse.  I saw some beautiful old horses, some in their 40’s, their heads high with dignity and calm.

The war on animals threatens these animals with slaughter, isolation and extinction. The animal rights movement and their political supporters believe it is abuse for working animals to work.

They believe these horses should only live on rescue farms where they never work or on the farms of the wealthy. The war on animals aims to drive these horses from any kind of work and from all of  our cities where they still remain. I believe the horses called me to come and speak on their behalf, I believe it more after seeing them today.

They have always been with us, they have a right to be with us, as much of a right to be in New York City as we do. I am committed to speaking out in the hopes of saving them from this horrifically misguided notion of what saving an animal means and of what an animal needs.

It was a gift to see these wonderful animals today. I think of the gift of animals, of the war on animals.

13 April

Maria And The Draft Horses

by Jon Katz
Maria And The Draft Horses
Maria And The Draft Horses

It was touching to see Maria, she is beginning to understand and acknowledge her great love of animals and her almost mystical connection with them, I am grateful she agreed to come to Blue-Star Equiculture today, I am grateful we share our lives with one another, it is a new and very powerful experience for me.

She just loved these huge and gentle giants, they came up to her, one by one, and presented themselves to be touched, have their noses rubbed, press against people – their love of people and need to be near them was so evident, they came up to us wherever we went, they seemed so calm and trusting. They towered over Maria and over me, but neither of us was afraid of them or anxious to be around them. Such beautiful creatures, we saw again and again their need to be around people, they have been around people all of their lives and worked almost every day of their lives.

At Blue Star, they work still, except for the old horses, pulling carriages, helping with farm chores, visiting schools. I loved watching the connection between Maria and these animals, they were talking to one another all day. I’m putting up a photo album on my Facebook Page.

13 April

Pam And Paddy

by Jon Katz
Pam And Paddy
Pam And Paddy

Pamela Rickenback, a spiritualist, social activist and former Philadelphia Horse Carriage driver, founded Blue Star Equiculture in 2009 along with Christina Hansen, another carriage driver now working in New York City. Pam runs it with her husband, Paul Moshimer, a former fire chief. The farm has 32 retired or rescued work horses, the limit allowed by Massachusetts state law.

Maria and I accepted an invitation to visit the farm, which is intensely disliked by animal rights organizations because the farm supports the idea of work for horses and farm animals. The fences at the farm have been cut, releasing several geldings who nearly ran into the busy road outside, causing the farm to install a surveillance system. Pam and Paul are the subject of nearly continuous harassment, online and off. Animal rights volunteers harass donors, put up their personal information online, put up photos of horses they claim are being abused, threaten demonstrations and other disruptions.

Pam went out to get Paddy, a retired New York City Carriage Horse driven for years by Stephen Malone, a leader in the carriage trade struggle to keep the city from banning the the carriage horses. Pam says she understood she would be attacked when she agreed to help run the farm.

Pam has a strong spiritual sense of the horses, whom she believe are present on the earth to help promote peace, ironic given that her life and Paul’s are anything but.

The farm believes that the horses are national treasures, that horses and humans belong together and ought not be taken from one another. Blue Star Equiculture believes that work can and does have a positive meaning for horses and for people, and is not a form of abuse, as has been suggested by many animal rights organizations. The farm believes that draft horses, through their long experience of working with people, have a strong need to be with people. Their brochure says that “horses enjoy their work, whether the work is in harness, pulling a carriage or plow, under saddle, or as a companion.

It is this last position that seems to have drawn the fury of the organizations who say they support the rights of animals. I have been around working animals for much of life, they do love work, they need to do it in order to be healthy and survive in our world.

 

13 April

Horse Stories, Tales Of Human Abuse

by Jon Katz
Tales Of Abuse
Tales Of Abuse

I am sorry to say I decided  not to use the real names of any of these students, workers and volunteers at the Blue Star Equiculture farm in Palmer, Mass., which Maria and I visited today. I am hearing a lot of stories of abuse of humans who work in agricultural or other animal-related businesses. One of these students is a student at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and works and studies on the school’s farm, set up for agricultural students and people interested in farming.

Vegans and animal rights “activists” have harassed her online, put up hacked personal contact lists on the Internet, cut fences at the school farm to free chickens who are to be sold for meat and food. They have shouted insults at her, demanded that the school farm be shut down,  acknowledged that they have never had or known an animal who is not a pet, said they would never visit the farm under any circumstances, and refused repeated invitations by her to talk about their concerns. The school’s response has been to tell the ag students not to discuss any of their work on the farm or speak of it outside of their classes.

She is an impressive young woman, articulate, thoughtful, open-minded, she hopes to be a vet who specializes in the treatment of poultry. I am hearing so many stories like this, it is painful and difficult to process. I have no idea what to say to her, other than hang in there, not everyone in America feels the way her tormentors do. It was the best I can do, I have no ready answer for the stories of human I abuse I hear from all over the country every day.

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