Horses

Maria Vogel was rockin' in the saddle Saturday at an age when many folks are rockin' a chair. The 65-year-old Adamstown, Md., woman was awaiting her turn to joust at Fairplay Days at Old Tilghmanton Tournament Woods, mounted upon Fadjur, a 26-year-old Arabian. "My obituary will read, 'The oldest novice in the history of the sport,'" joked Vogel, who competes using the moniker "Maid of Visa. " "Like the credit card," Vogel said. "Charge, Maid of Visa," tournament announcer Linda Minnick said over the public address system.

They have been likened to “skeletons walking around,” so emaciated that their rib cages are showing and the tops of their backs are sunken. Many of the 13 horses brought to Days End Farm Horse Rescue from a farm in Queen Anne's County, Md., are suffering from heavy infestations of parasites such as lice and worms, said Brooke Vrany, assistant director of the horse rescue group. They were in such an advanced state of emaciation that normal deposits of fat around their eyes were gone, she said.

Animal control officers this week removed eight horses from a home in the Bedington, W.Va., area due to suspected malnutrition, the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office said in a press release Friday. Three of the eight horses had “little ones” that were also taken to allow continued nursing, the press release said. Animal control officers discovered the horses' condition during a routine inspection, when they also found food and water at “questionable levels,” police alleged.

Organizations involved in the rescue of 75 horses from a Sharpsburg farm in December still are trying to find homes for most of them. The Humane Society of Washington County will help people schedule appointments to see the horses that remained in Washington County. The phone number is 301-733-2060, ext. 237. Days End Farm Horse Rescue in Woodbine, Md., has posted pictures and descriptions of the horses it has at its Web site, www.defhr.org. It can be reached at 301-854-5037 or 410-442-1564.

More than 15 firefighters responded to 10389 Newburg Road in Lurgan Township, Pa., on Sunday morning after receiving a report of a horse slipping through ice on a pond. When crews arrived shortly after 11 a.m., they found five or six horses standing on ice covering a large pond, according to Kevin Singer, a captain with the Newburg-Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department. One of the draft horses had fallen through the ice, Singer said. Singer said firefighters, who remained on land, used feed to lure the horses off the ice. They used rope to pull the remaining horse out of the pond.

Karen Davis enlisted friends Stacey Schaab and Beth Przybylski to join her for last year's National Pike Festival and Wagon Train in Washington County because she had just finished radiation treatment for cancer. “Now, I can't get rid of them,” Davis joked Saturday afternoon at City Park in Hagerstown, where the trio stopped with the caravan of wagons, horses and people for the weekend ride. The National Pike Festival, which celebrates the historic, 19th-century road that helped extend the Baltimore-National Pike to Cumberland, Md., kicked off Friday with an overnight encampment at Plumb Grove near Clear Spring.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- All of the horses seized earlier this month from an equine rescue in Berkeley County have been adopted, Berkeley County Sheriff's Department Capt. Scott Richmond said Monday. Authorities took more than 50 horses and two young cows from Hidden Meadows Equine Rescue Inc. at 227 Edward Drive off Scrabble Road on Sept. 11. Seven horses died and another had to be put down at the equine rescue in the days leading up to the seizure of the animals, which were found with little to eat and no water, police have said.

While many children kick back and relax on their Presidents Day break from school,  learning never stops for the 4-H Horse Project Members in Washington County. Presidents Day found these students at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center in Keedysville busily engaged in a series of workshops designed to provide hands-on learning of the knowledge needed for them to advance in the state's Horsemanship Standards Recognition Program. Classes this year focused on the more advanced concepts required for levels three and four, said 4-H leader LeAnn Johnson.  “We have worked hard to develop the resources needed to support this learning,” she said.  Each participant received guidebooks for levels one through four depending on their advancement.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Authorities seized 56 horses and two young cows Saturday from the operator of an equine rescue organization after they were found with little to eat and no water east of Martinsburg, the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department said Monday. Seven horses died at Hidden Meadows Equine Rescue Inc. at 227 Edward Drive off Scrabble Road and another had to be put down there Friday after it was found dying before the other animals were seized, said Deputy Scott Myers, who is investigating allegations of animal cruelty.

A hay caravan made its way Saturday from Monkton, Md., in Baltimore County to Washington County carrying 450 bales to donate to the Humane Society of Washington County to help care for horses the Humane Society seized last year. Several people from around Maryland donated hay to help care for about 70 horses the Humane Society took from a Sharpsburg farm in late 2006. The society has assumed responsibility for the care of all of the horses it found at Windrinker Farm, said Katherine Cooker, manager of development and community relations.

Karen Davis enlisted friends Stacey Schaab and Beth Przybylski to join her for last year's National Pike Festival and Wagon Train in Washington County because she had just finished radiation treatment for cancer. “Now, I can't get rid of them,” Davis joked Saturday afternoon at City Park in Hagerstown, where the trio stopped with the caravan of wagons, horses and people for the weekend ride. The National Pike Festival, which celebrates the historic, 19th-century road that helped extend the Baltimore-National Pike to Cumberland, Md., kicked off Friday with an overnight encampment at Plumb Grove near Clear Spring.

Doris “Doey” Glessner was known for her spunk and style. Her zest for life was contagious, and she shared her life lessons with others by example. Youngest son Neal Glessner of Hagerstown said an appropriate epitaph for his mother would be, “She left a little sparkle wherever she went.” Even Doris' name changed over time. It started when older sister Evelyn's daughter took to calling her Doey because she couldn't pronounce Doris. That side of the family began using the nickname, then a few more special people, then over time, more and more, Neal said.

While many children kick back and relax on their Presidents Day break from school,  learning never stops for the 4-H Horse Project Members in Washington County. Presidents Day found these students at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center in Keedysville busily engaged in a series of workshops designed to provide hands-on learning of the knowledge needed for them to advance in the state's Horsemanship Standards Recognition Program. Classes this year focused on the more advanced concepts required for levels three and four, said 4-H leader LeAnn Johnson.  “We have worked hard to develop the resources needed to support this learning,” she said.  Each participant received guidebooks for levels one through four depending on their advancement.

There were thoroughbreds and foals, muscular lines and wavy manes, but all without horse trailers and with a much easier cleanup Sunday. Saddles-n-Spurs, the 4-H horse club, held its fourth annual model horse show Sunday at the Washington County Agricultural Education Center. Instead of riders lining up at the gate to a show ring, young girls carried their entries of model horses to the center tables and dusted them off before the judges gave the models a scrutinizing eye. Like their real-life counterparts, the model horses were judged on the body and build of their breed, said Rebecca Lawson, a judge from Boonsboro.

More than 15 firefighters responded to 10389 Newburg Road in Lurgan Township, Pa., on Sunday morning after receiving a report of a horse slipping through ice on a pond. When crews arrived shortly after 11 a.m., they found five or six horses standing on ice covering a large pond, according to Kevin Singer, a captain with the Newburg-Hopewell Volunteer Fire Department. One of the draft horses had fallen through the ice, Singer said. Singer said firefighters, who remained on land, used feed to lure the horses off the ice. They used rope to pull the remaining horse out of the pond.

Saddles 'n' Spurs, a 4-H Club, will hold its Washington County Open Model Horse Show Sunday, Feb. 17, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Washington County Agriculture Education Center's multi-purpose building. The center is at 7303 Sharpsburg Pike. The show is open to those ages 18 and younger. The classes include: Fun division with a two-entry limit per class and open to all brands of horses Performance division (limit one entry per class - Breyer/Stone brands only) Halter (limit two entries per class - Breyer/Stone brands only)

Gentle giants exhibited by the Carbaugh family of Greencastle, Pa., took home several blue ribbons Thursday during the Draft Horse Pleasure Show at the 2013 Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. The Carbaughs placed first in a variety of classes, including senior youth cart (ages 14 to 19), team hitch commercial, youth team hitch and youth riding. Judges for the show were Tom and Judy Smith. First-place winners for the Draft Horse Pleasure Show were: Men's Cart - Linda Bunning/Walter Rice, Benchfield Farms, Cumberland County Ladies' Cart - Emily Mitchell, Crystal View Carriage Services, Carbon County Junior Youth Cart (8 to 13)

A motorist struck and killed a horse that was standing in the roadway on Broadfording Road Thursday morning, police said. The Washington County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that Brent Roberts, whose age and address were not provided, was driving east on Broadfording Road. His vehicle hit the horse at about 7 a.m., in the 16000 block of Broadfording Road, east of Broadfording Church of God, near Hagerstown, deputies said. The horse died before deputies reached the scene.

A horse show in Inwood, W.Va., next week is one of two major annual fundraisers needed to keep the word of God spreading among the 1,000 or so “backstretch” workers at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races. The money augments the $100,000 annual budget of the Charles Town Race Track Chaplaincy. It pays for a full-time chaplain and two part-time secretaries, said M. Victoria “Torie” White of Shenandoah Junction, W.Va., a member of the chaplaincy's council. The chaplaincy is an arm of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America.

The re-enactment portraying the battle at Burnside Bridge was held at 2 p.m. and cavalry skirmishes were featured at 11 a.m. The cavalry skirmishes were not scripted, so re-enactors were allowed to react to each other however they wanted. Pangburn weaved stories into his narration as battles played out on the field. He talked about how horses learned to understand horns used on the battlefield to instruct soldiers on troop movements and how cavalry forces would not stay in one area very long because horses needed new areas with additional sources of food.