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Home > Articles > Taking a Stand With United Horsemanship
Taking a Stand With United Horsemanship
by Tomas G. Teskey D.V.M
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As a veterinarian caring for equines in Southeastern Arizona for the
past seven years, I am beginning to realize that the majority of the
problems my clients and their animals are dealing with stem from tensions
within an artificial environment. Horses often cut themselves on wire or sharp
edges of buildings, are plagued with coughs and pneumonia from living in
poorly ventilated stalls and barns, become colicky from once or twice a day
feeding of rich feeds, come up lame from standing in manure or mud, have
sores on their bodies from flies and other pests they can not escape,
become overweight and lame from lack of exercise, and develop psychological
problems from being housed in such small areas.
When in doubt about what is best for an animal, do we need to look any
further than what nature has provided these animals for millions
of years? Equines evolved with space enough to run from predators with
those long, athletic legs, free access to grazing and browsing whenever
they wanted, access to water every day--even enough water to swim in should
they desire, moving to and from these favorite feeding and watering areas
each day, every day, often covering twenty or more miles. There are still
horses in the Western United States that live this lifestyle and are some
of the healthiest equine specimens you would care to see. Adopting one or
more of them has become possible and commonplace as the herds are managed
every year, and I have been called to consult on many of these mustangs as
they begin to share their lives with their new stewards.
Many times I get called out to help because they develop a cough or
belly ache or injure themselves on a fence, and very often because they are
in desperate need of hoof and teeth care. Taken out of their natural
routines and long distance, daily movement, their feet grow unchecked, and
I am requested to come and help in efforts to trim their feet. I have been
asked to sedate and even anesthetize these mustangs in order for myself or
a farrier to trim their feet, as they are often too wild to handle, even
months after their adoption. Thus, animals that were conceived in Nature
and started out as specimens with magnificent athletic ability are now
experiencing multitudes of problems, brought on strictly by interaction
with an artificial and inadequate habitat.
Those folks that help round up the herds of mustangs in these areas in
the West can tell you how fleet of foot these animals are and how they
float over the rocky and uneven terrain, continuing for many miles at a run
as they are headed towards the catch pens. If we could more closely mimic
the environment these horses come from, the natural environment that molded
them in to the free-spirited creatures they are, shouldn't we be able to
keep them healthier in all respects? And WE would be happier, too, with
fewer unnecessary veterinary and farrier bills, caring for a horse that is
moving soundly, able to run and socialize and frolic and on it's way to
living a full life, a far cry from thinking that twenty years is a normal
lifespan. Our equine companions must have free access to forage and
minerals for the largest part of thier lives, clean water at all times, an
area of standing water or mud to get their feet in if they desire, at least
one other equine in the same enclosure at all times, no blankets or other
clothes, a natural hair coat and properly trimmed bare feet at all times--I
know this to be true in my heart and in my gut.
I have had the opportunity to see so many lame horses in my
profession, usually every day, and greater than 80% of them are
lame/painful because of shoeing problems or improper trimming. Shoes
reduce circulation to the hoof and prevent the normal and VITAL expansion
movements of the hoof. Standing around in a small area, or even in a stall
overnight, also prevents normal circulation in ANY hooved animal, as does
living in too-soft terrain. Steel hurts horse's feet and the lives of
the majority of horses in the world today are drastically shortened due to
lameness problems stemming directly from shoeing and/or ignorant trimming
practices. It has been my experience in my equine veterinary practice that
inadequate or incorrect hoof care is the leading cause of poor quality of
life and premature death.
We are coming around again to an understanding of what horses need to
happily survive with us as their stewards. We can not care for the horse
as well as Nature, but we can work towards mimicking Her the best we can.
From studies on wild horse feet and other important research, we are
understanding how function follows form and form follows function--horses
under our care are beginning to enjoy greater soundness and longevity that
they have largely been cheated out of in the past one-thousand years.
In partnership with United Horsemanship and the teachings of such
advocates as Martha Olivo, we are endeavoring to become more free. We,
like the horse, are freedom lovers, and the relationships we develop and
nurture with these animals are a vital part of our relentless pursuit of
life, liberty and happiness.
Tomas G. Teskey D.V.M was born in Fort
Collins, CO as his father was finishing veterinary school. He was then brough
back to the Dugas ranch in central Arizona where his family homesteaded in 1887.
He grew up with the animals and four brothers and sisters, and was off to college
in Prescott and then Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He then headed
back to his birthplace in Fort Collins to attend veterinary school at Colorado
State University with a new bride. Dr. Teskey and his wife came back to Arizona in
1995 with three daughters, and had one more daughter in 1997. He has been practicing
in the same county in Arizona since that time, and mostly working on horses and
other livestock. Dr. Teskey has attended both a two-day clinic and a 10-day groom
course of Martha's, and is working on implementing the Whole Horse Trim into
his practice as much as possible.
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