On either side of a viewing ramp, the pens at the Central Oregon Livestock Auction are a slow-moving sea of lumbering cattle.

In a nearby enclosure, a lonely mare attracts the attention of Chris Buller and four of his young Rez Riders. They peer over the railing at what looks to be a healthy and sweet-tempered animal.

Buller, 40, makes it a practice of coming each week to this stockyard in Madras to shop for old horses nobody wants. Funds for his 3-year-old horse-focused nonprofit organization — Faith Trails of the Rez Riders and Sanctuary — are limited but with them he buys horses, trains young people to ride and care for them, and often resells the animals to families with beginning riders.

Many horses that end up at the regular Wednesday morning bargain hour were once loved and ridden by children who grew up and moved away, Buller explains. Eventually, the families tire of caring for them.

Typically, that happens during winter months when there’s nothing for animals to graze.

“Hay’s really expensive this year, especially,” Buller says. “A lot of great horses just don’t make it.”

In Madras and at other auction yards, old, saddle-ready horses are bought on the cheap and transported to slaughterhouses in Washington and Canada for pet food or products overseas.

Hiram Yaw Jr., 12, was selected, along with three high school girls, to join Buller on this last-minute field trip to the stockyard. Buller works part time as a substitute teacher in Jefferson County schools and keeps careful tabs there on kids in his program. Hiram, or “Junior,” as his mother calls him, has made outstanding progress and is on the honor roll for the first time.

Hiram, a Warm Springs resident, has been through a lot in his young life, explains his mother, Pamela McDermott. There was a divorce, she says; the father who once pampered him is no longer in the picture. Then the child’s grandmother died. And McDermott, who suffers from severe rheumatoid arthritis, says she cannot keep up with her three kids.

But since falling under Buller’s wing a year ago, she says, “he’s really changed a lot.” He’s happier, she says, “and his attitude has improved; he has more respect for people.”

McDermott likes the fact that she and other family members are invited along to every Rez Riders event, training session and gathering.

Hiram’s eyes linger on the mare in the pen. Buller says he will pass the horse over in search of a gelding, but the freckled, wiry boy looks on for a few extra moments. Finally, he leaves the railing and joins his Pied Piper-like mentor, who is striding toward the auction arena, his charges following close behind.

The sights and sounds of the auction leave Buller’s crew speechless.

“It’s like something you see in the movies,” Mariah Rodriguez, 16, finally manages to say.

An auctioneer’s singing staccato and the animals’ regular complaints hypnotize the kids. Buller, who fits right in among the booted, hatted men around him, takes notice of his newcomers’ wide-eyed expressions, and he smiles.

Success in school is key, he says, but this field trip is a learning experience, too.

“It’s important that they see what a big part of the economy this is, right here in Madras,” he says.

More lessons are in store.

Buller’s 30 or so regular riders will have the chance to help run the Ikiutan Stables at the Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort on Warm Springs, starting this summer. Buller, who leases two small ranch areas, one on and the other adjacent to the reservation, will embark on a new enterprise with his kids at the resort.

The Rez Riders, Buller says, will help him clean up the existing stalls and build additional ones for guests who bring their own horses to ride on the reservation.

They will also build a new round pen and arena.

Buller hopes to have his kids running nearly everything. They will man the cash register, keep the books, lead trail-riding groups and carry on conversations with the customers.

“I’m trying to teach them to network,” he says. “They need to know how an entrepreneur thinks.”

He estimates that with tips, the kids could make up to $10 an hour. They will get a free meal every day that they work and will be allowed access to the resort’s swimming pool.

“They’ll get exposed through this to all kinds of people,” Buller says.

A week after the field trip to the auction yard, Buller finds what he is looking for — a horse around 15 years old, with a calm temperament. He won her with a $208 bid — nearly the same amount his kids raised at a hot dog sale in Redmond the day before.

“She would have been just dollars on hooves,” he says of “Roja,” who was destined for the slaughterhouse. “But now she’ll be happy, and the kids will love her.”

A horse that fell into a ravine in Carmel Valley has been rescued.

The accident happened after 4 p.m. Friday at Carmel Country and Carmel Mountain roads.

The horse was walking across the ravine when he lost his footing and fell backward into the ravine, according to reports.

Crews used shovels to dig the horse out because he could not be air-lifted.

Rescue crews said the horse did not suffer any injuries.

It has been more than 21 days since the last horse left the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center (EMC) in Leesburg, VA, prior to a report of neurological equine herpes virus-1 (EHV-1) on the premises. On Tuesday, March 13, State Veterinarian Dr. Richard Wilkes announced that, except for four quarantined premises, the state’s horse community may resume normal activities.

Immediately upon the report of EHV-1, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) quarantined 10 Virginia premises, including the EMC. State animal health officials began a rigorous surveillance program of the horses that had contact with the Center, asking owners on quarantined farms to monitor temperatures twice daily and immediately report horses with elevated temperatures or any neurological signs. VDACS veterinarians tested horses showing any signs of possible EHV.

Dr. Wilkes cancelled public sales and auctions the first weekend in March and recommended that event planners consider carefully whether or not they would go ahead with scheduled events. Many cancelled shows. trail rides, or fox hunts voluntarily in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

“Virginia’s horse community really stepped up to the plate and did the responsible thing,” said Dr. Wilkes, “and their actions helped us contain the virus to the premises where horses had contact with the EMC. I applaud them for their wisdom and sense of responsibility. It is difficult to assess the impact of EHV-1 on Virginia, but this much is certain—it could have been far worse if the disease had spread to other farms and other parts of the state.”

While horse activities may begin returning to normal, Dr. Wilkes cautions everyone that there is still a low risk of spreading the virus. Now as much as ever, horse owners need to practice strict biosecurity. Visit www.vdacs.virginia.gov/animals/ehv.shtml for detailed information from the VDACS website.

VDACS offers these equine biosecurity practices to limit the spread of EHV-1 and other infectious diseases:

-Wash your hands with soap and water or use a dry sanitizer after handling each horse;
-Avoid nose-to-nose contact with horses who may have been exposed;
-When entering or exiting a stable or barn, wash hands and disinfect outer footwear using footbaths;
-Clean and disinfect trailers after use;
-Minimize the use of shared equipment such as water buckets, lead ropes, grooming tools; label these items as belonging to each individual horse;
-Any equipment and tools that are shared, such as pitchforks, shovels, twitches, etc. should be disinfected daily and between horses;
-Carefully fill water buckets and feed troughs so that neither the water hose nor the feed scoop touches the bucket or trough;
-Do not share multi-dose oral medications between horses; and
-If possible, keep horses which were off the farm and possibly exposed to an infected horse isolated from other horses for at least two weeks on their return.

A NEW police initiative called Horse Watch has been launched to prevent stable and livery crime.

Launched by Avon and Somerset Constabulary, the scheme advises horse owners on the security of livery yards, the marking of horses, ponies and all associated tack, trailers and boxes. It will also offer help and support to victims of horse-related crime.

It has been launched following a recent rise in incidents in North Somerset.

Police Community Support Officer Vicky Skeath said: “We have already held tack marking sessions which have proved successful. We marked £15,000 worth of tack on the first session alone.

“We urge people to register their horses and equipment to avoid becoming a victim of equine crime.

“The scheme is currently looking for sponsors and donations. If you are interested in helping please contact us.”

A HORSE was saved from a distressing death by good Samaritans and firefighters in Lydiard Millicent.

About 20 people came to the aid of Paul Garside, who found his horse stuck in a bog between huge straw bales and a fence.

The 32-year-old stallion, called Bikon, was lying in an awkward position on his side, worn out from trying to escape.

Owner Paul, pictured, who has four other horses, said: “In all the 20 years we’ve had horses, we’ve never seen one trapped like this. I have no idea how he did it.

“He was absolutely exhausted when we got to him.”

The farmer called Westlea Fire Station, and officers arrived within minutes.

Passers-by also joined the rescue, which took about three hours.

Ground workers who were driving past with a mini-crane stopped to offer a hand.

They were able to move the bales to give rescuers more space to free Bikon.

Dave Adamson, the acting watch manager at Westlea Fire Station, said they tried to get the horse on its feet using lines and airbags.

“Every time we tried to lift him up, he kept sliding back into the mud,” he said.

“The horse was exhausted as it was probably up all night.”

The vet considered putting the stallion down but instead gave him a shot of glucose which give him the energy to stand up.

Mr Garside was overwhelmed with the help he received.

“I want to say thanks to all involved. It was incredible,” he said.

“The horse would not be alive today if they hadn’t helped. I didn’t even get some of their names.”

Mr Garside is not sure why the horse wandered into the mud between the bales and fence.

“I don’t think he was trying to get to the hay as we leave plenty bales for them in the middle of the field,” he said.

“He was probably trying to talk to the mares next door in the other field.”

Mr Garside said that the animal is lucky to be alive.

“I’m still amazed that he is alive. He kept trying to get up and could have died from exhaustion,” he said.

“He’s not looking that good and is still limping a bit.”

Rescue workers from Horsham Fire Station and a specialist animal rescue unit based at Storrington Fire Station were called to the pond in a field at Bashurst Hill, Itchingfield at 14:29 yesterday afternoon, after witnesses reported a mare was “lying down in the water” and “drowning”.

Onlookers and the owner of the field held the horse’s head out of the water until rescue workers arrived. Animal rescue equipment was used to pull the horse out of the water, which was afterwards treated by vet Becky Stubbs from Arundel.

“She must have stumbled into the pond,” said Kieran Smith, watch commander of Redwatch Horsham. “I expect she was in the water for about an hour and a quarter in the end. She was not injured but was quite distressed when she came out because she’d been sitting on her hindquarters for so long.”

The vet administered some painkillers and after three quarters of an hour the mare was returned to her stable.

Thanks to a quick-thinking motorist, more than three-dozen volunteer firefighters and a backhoe, Santana, an 8-year-old horse, is back on his feet after a rescue from being trapped under thick ice in a small pond in Rutland Town.

“He’s pretty nervous,” Amy Webster, Santana’s owner, said as she petted her horse’s mane moments after he stood up for the first time after being freed late Tuesday afternoon from the icy pond on the grounds of a stable on Dorr Drive. “He’s really cold. I’m just relieved.”

The horse appeared quite cold, but healthy, Rutland Town Fire Constable John Sly said after the 90-minute rescue was complete.

“It looks like it’s going to have a happy end,” Sly said. “You can see some scrapes on the inside of his legs, but nothing is broken. He wouldn’t be standing if there was.”

No one quite knows for sure how long Santana was caught under the ice.

It was a motorist driving on Route 4 overlooking the stables who first spotted the horse in the water.

“I was driving by and looked out and saw the horse in the pond,” said Craig DeCato of Clarendon. DeCato said he turned around, went to the scene and then called police.

“I have no idea how long he was in there,” DeCato said of the horse. “I’m just glad I could help.”

The pond, which measures about 30 feet by 70 feet, is located on the grounds of the expansive fenced-in pasture.

Sly said about 90 minutes passed from the time DeCato first spotted the horse until the animal was finally free and back on his feet around 6 p.m. Tuesday. The horse was on its side with only its head above water.

“He got in from the western edge of the pond and in trying to struggle, he got wedged halfway under the ice,” Sly said. “He had his right-side legs underneath the ice and his left-side legs on top of the ice. He just couldn’t get his footing.”

The firefighters and rescue workers placed straps around the horse and tried to pull the roughly 1,200-pound animal from the 3-foot-deep water to no avail.

“Don’t give up on him yet, he’s a fighter,” a woman told Webster, the horse’s owner, who was in tears as she watched.

In addition to the group of rescuers, about a dozen other onlookers gathered near the pond. Several other horses boarded at the stable kept a safe distance.

A neighbor then arrived at the scene with a backhoe. The straps around the horse were attached to the backhoe, which then slowly pulled the horse up out of the water.

Once free from the pond, the horse did not rise to its feet. Several blankets were placed over the horse and for about 20 minutes, the group of rescuers tugged and pulled to try to get the horse to stand.

At one point, firefighters considered filling airbags under the horse to get him up.

However, that didn’t prove necessary.

After getting hot water splashed over his legs, Santana finally rose to his hooves.

“Good job, Santana,” one woman onlooker shouted.

“As soon as he found out he was going to be put on top of airbags, he decided to move,” one firefighter said.

About 40 people helped in the rescue effort, including members of the Rutland Town Fire Department as well as firefighters from Clarendon and Ira.

Rutland City Police officers also pitched in at the scene, as did several other people with horses at the stable.

Following the rescue, several of the firefighters went up and petted the horse.

“He hates water,” Webster said of Santana.

“He’s probably going to hate it even worse now,” replied David Schauwecker, one of the volunteers who helped rescue the horse.