Thanksgiving
NEWSLETTER Volume 3, Number 11, November 2006
On Tuesday October 31st a herd of approximately 100 horses was trapped on a lowland
knoll in Marrum, Netherlands (a town about 90 miles north-east of Amsterdam. Despite
the fact that the national weather service put the country on alert for rising
flood waters, the horses’ owners did not make any effort to move them, and
the horses were quickly stranded on the knoll. Dramatic news photos showed the
scared and confused animals standing on the knoll, their tails tucked, backs to
the wind, huddled together. Dry land was only a few hundred yards away, but the
horses were completely right brained at this point, their natural response of
flight had failed them, they had nothing but themselves and the weather to fight,
so they froze.
Rescue workers struggled for three days to save the trapped horses. Marrum’s
fire department used small boats to ferry about 20 horses to higher land. The
Dutch army tried to save more horses, but as flood levels receded, the waters
became too shallow for their boats. Sadly, by this point 19 horses had either
drowned, or died from exposure. The mayor of Marrum suggested using helicopters
to transport more horses to dry land, but thankfully he was advised that the noise
and lights of the helicopters was likely to panic the horses further, possibly
causing more to die. On Thursday, veterinarians checked on the condition of the
horses and animal welfare agents took food to the herd via boats.
On Thursday evening a new plan was developed. Rather than thinking in high tech militaristic terms, a group of horsewomen argued for a solution that used horse psychology to work with the horse’s natural instincts. “Horses don’t need coercion, they need leadership. Don’t force a horse do something, create the conditions to make him want to do it” is one of the foundations of natural horsemanship. The women pointed out that horses can swim and that safe land was only 650 yards away. What the horses needed, they argued, was someone to lead them off the island to safety. Carefully marking the way, four women, all members of Marrum’s Cavalry Club rode their horses (all known to be strong swimmers) on a submerged path out to the island. Supported by rescue workers on the knoll, and small boats which helped to mark the route, the women and their horses encouraged the herd to follow them. Slowly, then more quickly, the trapped horses began to follow their leaders. It was a highly dramatic demonstration of how a horse will put their own fears aside to follow a leader they believe they can trust. At times the horses were up to their necks in water and the smaller horses and foals had to swim, but all but one horse left the island and followed the four horsewomen to safety. The one remaining horse was simply too weak and exhausted to follow; he was rescued later and after medical treatment is expected to make a full recovery.
News reports of the incident carry some powerful images, but to me the most moving was this video footage on a link sent to me by a friend. She said she was in tears as she watched it, and I had the same response. It is a powerful scene of horses saved by other horses and by people who stopped to think through the circumstances carefully and to look at them from the horses’ point of view, not the human’s.
View video here: video.google.nl
Seeing the horses galloping in relief as they reach dry land again makes me feel thankful, and reminds me of the many caring people there are around the world looking out for the safety of horses, but it is also with sadness that I read news reports of this event. The incident would not have happened if the horses’ owners had heeded warnings to move their herd earlier, before the waters rose to flood stage. The Dutch Agriculture Ministry has ordered an investigation to determine whether they should be held responsible for neglect or abuse, according to an AP report, and DutchNews is reporting that many of the horses may die anyway because their owners raise horses, in part, to sell for food. A spokesman for the Dutch animal rights political party is quoted as saying: “The whole world watched their rescue from death by drowning and it is unacceptable for them now to undergo a long journey and die in an Italian abbatoir.” It is a good reminder that we should be thankful for the horses who are rescued, but ever mindful that there are many others out there who still need to be rescued from conditions that, from the horse’s point of view, are intolerable.
Anna Banks, Editor womentalkhorses.com
editor@womentalkhorses.com
Moon Hill Ranch, Idaho