Marty Becker D.V.M. - The Ultimate Horse Lover: The Best Experts Guide for a Happy, Healthy Horse with Stories and Photos of Awe-Inspiring Equines

The
ULTIMATE
HORSE
Lover

The Best Experts Advice for a
Happy, Healthy Horse with Stories and
Photos of Awe-Inspiring Equines

Marty Becker, D.V.M.
Gina Spadafori
Audrey Pavia
Mikkel Becker

www.hcibooks.com
www.ultimatehcibooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

The ultimate horse lover: the best experts advice for a happy, healthy horse with stories and photos of awe-inspiring equines / Marty Becker... [et al.].
p. cm.
eISBN-13: 978-0-7573-9784-4 (ebook) eISBN-10: 0-7573-9784-0 (ebook)

1. HorsesUnited StatesAnecdotes 2. Horsemen and horsewomen United StatesAnecdotes. 3. Human-animal communicationUnited StatesAnecdotes. I. Becker, Marty, 1954
SF301.U48 2008
636.1dc22

2008033960

2008 Marty Becker, D.V.M., Gina Spadafori, Audrey Pavia, Mikkel Becker

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos, and its marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190

Cover Design: Larissa Hise Henoch
Photo: Jose Manuel Gelpi Diaz
Photo Editor: Justin Rotkowitz
Interior Design: Lawna Patterson Oldfield

We dedicate this book to every horse who
lavishes gifts on a human family.

To the families who make sure their horses
health and happiness are a priority.

To all members of the veterinary healthcare team
and everyone involved with animal treatment,
rescue, and rehabilitation.

To all healthcare providers who harness
the healing power of animals to improve
human health and well-being.

To the special love of horses as celebrated
in stories, photographs, memories,
and heartfelt emotions.

And finally to God for the gift of animals and the
life-affirming bond we share with them.

Is something Ultimately important to you?
Then we want to know about it....

We hope you enjoyed The Ultimate Horse Lover. We are planning many more books in the Ultimate series, each filled with entertaining stories, must-know facts, and captivating photos. Were always looking for talented writers to share slice-of-life true stories, creative photographers to capture images that a story cant tell, as well as top experts to offer their unique insights on a given topic.

For more information on submission guidelines, or to suggest a topic for an upcoming book, please visit the Ultimate website at www.ultimatehcibooks.com, or write to: Submission Guidelines, Ultimate Series, HCI Books, 3201 SW 15th St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.

For more information about other books by
Health Communications, Inc., please visit www.hcibooks.com.

Contents

Patti Schonlau as told to Janet Perez Eckles

Chaplain Ken Boehm as told to Chaplain Ed Donnally

Paula Ryan

Melinda Stiles

Mike Donahue

Don MacDonald Jr. as told to Arthur Montague

Theresa Peluso

Kelly Mount

Melissa Rice

Angelina Wilson

Gina Spadafori

Karen Bumgarner

Cary Davis

Pauline Peterson

Diane Wilson

Vanessa Wright

Monty Roberts

Rolland Love

Kathleen Livingston

Kathe Campbell

Chera Cluck as told to Carrie Pepper

Sarah K. Andrew

Cary Davis

Jennifer DiCamillo

Roberta Thomas Mancuso

Lynn Allen

Amelia Gagliano

Maureen Joseph

Elizabeth Kaye McCall

Audrey Pavia

Ellen Nicholson Walker

Terri Smith

Samantha Ducloux Waltz

Melinda Stiles

Jacklyn Lee Lindstrom

Jennifer Walker

Kimberly Henneman, D.V.M., C.V.A., C.V.C.

Sue McDonnell, M.S., Ph.D.

Monty Roberts

Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D.

Pete Ramey

Jennifer Rowan

Mark Baus, D.V.M.

Karen Gellman, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Harry Werner, D.V.M.

Anthony T. Blikslager, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Kate Gentry-Running, D.V.M., C.V.A.

Sarah K. Andrew

Susan and David Hartje

Alberto B. Broce, Ph.D.

T he debt we owe to horses can never be repaid except in our admiration of their beauty, their spirit, and their athleticism.

Horses have been with us for generations. They pulled our plows and our wagons, and they carried our warriors into battle. They rounded up our cattle and turned the Wild West into our home. They are so much a part of who we are that our language is rich with equine references, from long in the tooth to a horse of a different color and many more.

We no longer need horses to take our family into town or our cannons into battle, but our love for them endures. Our nations mounted police officers, no matter how urban their beat, know that they need pause for only a minute before hearing someone ask, May I pet your horse?

For many that fascination, that appreciation, that love of horses extends far beyond the occasional glimpse of one or the rare encounter that allows us to pat an arched neck or feel soft whiskers brush our palm as we offer a strangers horse a treat. For us, a life without horsesour own horsesin it is unthinkable.

We ride them, we drive them, we show them, we race them no longer because we have to, but because we want to.