I've never been more excited to see a play! Can't wait to get tickets to this magnificent event.
WAR HORSE
Genius isn't too strong a word to describe this astonishing production.
Daily Telegraph
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At the outbreak of World War One, Joey, young Albert's beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. he's soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary odyssey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man's land. |
But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home. |
The National's new epic is based on the celebrated novel by the British Children's Laureate (2003-05) Michael Morpurgo. Actors working with magnificent, life-sized puppets by the internationally renowned Handspring Puppet Company lead us on a gripping journey through history. |
Dates
Previews from 17th March 2011
Opening night 14th April 2011 |
Kudos to Madeleine Pickens for her work in bridging the gap between Bureau of Land Managment (BLM) and ... common sense. Click below to read the entire article ... Freedom within reach for America's captive mustangs |
| Wild horse champion Madeleine Pickens has announced a breakthrough deal with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which brings freedom within reach for more than 36,000 captive mustangs. |
| Pickens, wife of Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, has emerged from a series of meetings in Sacramento and Washington DC with news that a deal has been done under which a pilot programme can be launched with 1000 wild horses. |
Dogs improve office productivity! And that's a fact ... read this great article in The Economist. "Animal and human behaviour: Manager's best friend" URL: www.economist.com
This comes as no surprise really ... but an interesting article on our four-legged friends. Horses Never Forget Human Friends |
Horses not only remember people who have treated them well, they also understand words better than expected, research shows. |
| Horses remain loyal to humans with which they have had past, positive encounters. |
| The animals remember people even after long separation. |
| Horses understand vocal commands better than expected. |
| Horses reacted positively to trainers they recognized as friendly, even after not seeing them for eight months. |
Human friends may come and go, but a horse could be one of your most loyal, long-term buddies if you treat it right, suggests a new study. |
Horses also understand words better than expected, according to the research, and possess "excellent memories," allowing horses to not only recall their human friends after periods of separation, but also to remember complex, problem-solving strategies for ten years or more. |
The bond with humans likely is an extension of horse behavior in the wild, since horses value their own horse relatives and friends, and are also open to new, non-threatening acquaintances. |
"Horses maintain long-term bonds with several members of their family group, but they also interact temporarily with members of other groups when forming herds," explained Carol Sankey, who led the research, and her team. |
"Equid social relationships are long-lasting and, in some cases, lifelong," added the scientists, whose paper has been accepted for publication in the journal Animal Behavior. |
Ethologist Sankey of the University of Rennes and her colleagues studied 20 Anglo-Arabian and three French Saddlebred horses stabled in Chamberet, France. The scientists tested how well the horses remembered a female trainer and her instructions after she and the horses had been separated up to eight months. |
The training program for the horses consisted of 41 steps associated with basic grooming and medical care. For example, the horses had to remain immobile in response to the verbal command "reste!" which is French for "stay." The horses also had to lift their feet, tolerate a thermometer inserted into the rectum and more. When a horse did as it was instructed, the trainer rewarded it with food pellets. |
With tasty rewards, the horses "displayed more 'positive' behaviors toward the experimenter, such as sniffing and licking," the researchers wrote. Horses do this as a sign of affiliation with each other, so they weren't necessarily just seeking more food. |
The scientists added, "Horses trained without reinforcement expressed four to six times more 'negative' behaviors, such as biting, kicking and 'falling down' on the experimenter." |
Nevertheless, after the eight months of separation, the horses trained with food rewards gravitated towards the same experimenter. The horses also seemed to accept new people more readily, indicating they had developed a "positive memory of humans" in general. |
"From our results, it appears that horses are no different than humans (in terms of positive reinforcement teachings)," according to the researchers. "They behave, learn and memorize better when learning is associated with a positive situation." |
While people often train dogs in this way, also using verbal commands, Sankey and her team point out that "the majority of horse-riding training is based on tactile sensations -- pressure from bits, movements of riders' legs, weight change in the saddle." |
Since "horses are able to learn and memorize human words" and can hear the human voice better than even dogs can, due to their particular range of hearing, the scientists predict trainers could have success if they incorporate more vocal commands into their horse training programs. |
Jill Starr is president and founder of Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue, a non-profit that provides refuge, training and adoption placement for otherwise slaughter-bound wild mustangs and domestic horses. |
Starr told Discovery News that she's observed horses responding well to verbal commands, such as "trot," but she still feels "horses and people get along better if the person doesn't chatter, since this causes the individual to have greater awareness of body language that is more familiar to horses." |
She, however, agrees that horses are loyal, intelligent and have very long-lasting memories -- of both good and bad experiences. |
Starr said, "Horses can be very forgiving, but they never forget." |
'Cavalia' mixes big top spectacle with feats of horse riding and training at Meadowlands |
With "Cirque du Soleil," Normand Latourelle sought to reinvent the circus. With "Cavalia," a lavish, heart-stopping mix of equestrian feats, acrobatics and live music, Latourelle seeks to re-imagine the horse show. Over the last six years, "Cavalia," has been performed in some 44 cities around the world, but it makes its debut performance in the tri-state area at the Meadowlands this month, housed in its signature White Big Top. Some 60 horses travel with the show, which Latourelle says tells the history of humanity through the history of the horse and its relationship with man. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)
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Great article by Christina Batista on the equestrian extravaganza "Cavalia", now playing under the White Big Top, Meadowlands Sports Complex, East Rutherford, NJ from June 9 - 27. RUN to see this show before the performances move to Montreal!
CAVALIA: A show built on respect |
"That's what Cavalia is, respect for the horse," commented Sylvia Zerbini, the Liberty trainer at Cavalia, after the media got a sneak preview of the show. This quote truly explains the essence of Cavalia, a magical performance showcasing the powerful relationship between horse and man, accompanied by music and fantastic imagery. Cavalia is currently astonishing audiences at the Meadowlands in New Jersey from June 9-20, 2010.
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Throughout the scenes it is easy to tell that both types of performers, people and horses, have a mutual respect for each other, with out it the show would not work. Sylvia also commented, "it is like a playground for horses, they don't stress," which is especially true for her Liberty performance.
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Miniature Therapy Horse is named "Most Heroic Pet in America" by AARP. horse. | Miniature Therapy Horse Proves She Is Magic When Named Most Heroic Pet in America
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| Morton, Ill. (May 24, 2010) – Strebors Black Magic On Demand, a Miniature Horse registered with the American Miniature Horse Registry (AMHR), is spreading a special form of magic as a therapy horse. Known to her many fans as Magic, the black mini with blue eyes was recently named the “Most Heroic Pet in America” by the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons). |
 Magic, owned by Debbie and Jorge Garcia-Bengochea of Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses in High Springs, Florida, was featured in the 2010 May/June issue of AARP Magazine for her heroic efforts as a therapy mini. “I am so proud of her,” Debbie Garcia-Bengochea said. “She has worked with over 4,000 people, but the story that helped her win the ‘Most Heroic Pet’ title has to do with a woman who hadn’t talked in three years.” |
| Garcia-Bengochea said that in September of 2009, a reporter from the Ocala Star-Banner newspaper was taking photos of a Gentle Carousel visit at an assisted care facility. “A woman who had not spoken since she arrived at the assisted care facility three years earlier began talking to Magic. ‘Isn't she beautiful’ were her first words and then ‘It's a horse’," Garcia-Bengochea said. “The activities director began to cry and told the woman she loved her.” |
| Garcia-Bengochea went on to explain that the woman answered "I love you too" – her first words spoken to another person in all those years. “Before Magic left the woman asked, ‘Will she come back again?’ The woman has continued to talk since that visit with Magic,” |
Garcia-Bengochea said. “AARP used this event, and the story and photos the Ocala Star-Banner  published, to select Magic as the Most Heroic Pet in America.” |
| Magic isn’t the only Miniature Horse owned by Gentle Carousel that is working their magic everywhere from nursing homes to hospitals all across North Florida. “We have 26 minis in our program, which is a non-profit volunteer program,” Garcia-Bengochea said. “Our minis have sparkles in their coats and look amazing when they do their visits. We love minis and it’s a great way to have them in the community.” |
| Garcia-Bengochea said the story of Magic being named the “Most Heroic Pet In America” has been picked up by news outlets in Argentina, Korea, New Zealand, Holland and Thailand, just to name a few. “Magic has been with people when they passed away and when they have awoken from a coma,” Garcia-Bengochea said. “Magic is requested so often that she actually has an understudy.” |
The tiny black mini with blue eyes certainly seems happy to be representing the American Miniature Horse Registry, introducing people each day to the remarkable breed. “We can’t cure the many diseases out there, but we do bring magic into the lives of sick people,” Garcia- Bengochea said.Read more at horsesinthesouth.com |
Watch the master at work over the 1983 Newport Jumping Derby course ...
(Posted by EquestrianEdwards on YouTube)
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