Studies of Hereditary Traits in Horses Using New Tools

The horse industry in the United States is diverse. Horses are used for racing, competitive riding, showing, recreational riding, and working cattle. Today the number of horses in the United States is estimated at 9.2 million, down from 21 million around 1900, when horses were a primary source of power and transportation, but up from 4.5 million in 1959 (the last time the United States Department of Agriculture counted horses). According to an American Horse Council study, in 2004 the horse industry had a $102-billion impact on the U.S. economy and provided 1.4 million jobs. The horse industry is growing and important. More than ever, we need each horse to be athletically sound and healthy. Consequently, the thrust of equine genetics research on horses during the last half century has been related to health and physiology...TheHorse

Song Of The Day #110

We'll dip into the old stack of 78rpm records again this morning.

The Tune Wranglers were a San Antonio based western swing band formed in the mid-thirties. Their front man, singer and guitarist was Buster Coward. Over the course of their career they cut 80 sides, with their most famous song being Texas Sand.

Their music is available in the CD format on the 27 track Tune Wranglers: 1936-1938.

The two selections for today though are from the original 78s, and are They Go Wild Over Me (B-6301B) and Sarah Jane (B-6397B).

A huge majority of the listening public believes the first tune could have been written about me, and the second about Sharon.

Mexican gray wolf advocates celebrate release of data

Conservationists have won a battle with the federal government over information they say will help improve a troubled program aimed at returning North America's rarest gray wolf to the Southwest. A federal judge last week ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services to release specific information on the locations of conflicts between livestock and the Mexican gray wolves that are roaming New Mexico and Arizona as part of a reintroduction effort. Conservationists applauded the decision, saying the coordinates will help determine if there are any problem areas and whether steps can be taken to limit wolf contact with livestock in those areas...AP

Predators continue to take toll on the outskirts of cities

Pets are disappearing on the ridges of Sutter Creek, along with barn animals and livestock that have been picked off in broad daylight. Living in the foothills means living with predators, but some neighborhoods claim mountain lions and coyotes have become alarmingly brazen in the past year. "Fifteen cats, one dog and two sheep disappeared just weeks ago," observed Sharolyn Bullock, who lives on Paine Road between Ione and Sutter Creek. "No one would have even realized how large the number was if all the neighbors hadn't got to talking with one another. That's when I started going door to door and put it all together. I think it's a lot of animals to have been grabbed so quickly." One couple who lost a cat in the mass disappearance was Leo and Sally Ott. "Everybody knows when you live up here you live with predators," Leo admitted. "But we've been here 10 years now. I feel like we're seeing three times more activity than we've ever seen before." What troubles Leo are two recent sightings of a large mountain lion near his house. Ranchers in South Jackson have also repeatedly told the Ledger Dispatch in 2009 that the mountain lion problem is getting out of control. "Most of us won't even bother having goats or sheep anymore," said a rancher who wished to remain anonymous. "They just get eaten too quickly now."...Ledger-Dispatch

Researchers: shrinking Teton glaciers will affect water supply

Glaciers on the iconic Teton Range are shrinking, researchers say, joining a growing list of glaciers in North America and beyond that are losing their surface area and potentially reducing the water supply for nearby regions. Two of the Tetons' biggest glaciers have lost more than 20 percent of their surface area since the late 1960s, three University of Wyoming researchers concluded after comparing old and new aerial photographs of the glaciers. The glaciers are a fairly substantial source of irrigation water, meaning the findings have wider implications than simply what the mountains look like to tourists by late summer. People in Wyoming and Idaho and to a lesser extent Utah use water from the glaciers. "From an engineering-water supply perspective, we look at them as frozen reservoirs," said Glenn Tootle, a University of Tennessee-Knoxville assistant professor and co-principal investigator of the study funded by the Wyoming Water Development Commission. The Wyoming Legislature appropriated $225,000 for the study in 2006, one of several water projects or studies lawmakers funded that year in the nation's fifth-driest state...AP

NEVADA-UTAH TRUCE: States strike water deal

A potential water war between Nevada and Utah might end in a truce before a single shot is fired. Water officials from the two states have reached an unprecedented agreement over a vast groundwater basin that is split by the border and targeted as a water source for thirsty Las Vegas. The agreement divides groundwater in Snake Valley between the states and provides protections for farmers, ranchers and other residents. It also could clear the way for the Southern Nevada Water Authority to tap the basin, though the agency will have to wait another decade for approval of its plans there. As part of the pact, Nevada agreed to delay a hearing on the authority's water applications in Snake Valley until September 2019 to allow time for additional environmental studies. Roughly two-thirds of the basin is in Utah, which is where most of the water use now occurs. Nearly all of the basin's recharge comes from the Nevada side of the line, where the north-south ridge of the Snake Range rises above 13,000 feet to comb rain and snow from the desert air...LasVegasReviewJournal

Western Utah ranchers call water deal a ‘death sentence'

Thursday's decision to split underground water in an aquifer that straddles the Utah-Nevada border might seem like a compromise between the two states, but many people who live in the Snake Valley call it a "death sentence." Residents feel any water taken out of their valley will destroy farms, ranches and their way of life. "This is an unmitigated disaster in the making," said rancher Cecil Garland. "It's a moral issue, and it's morally wrong to do what they're doing." Garland is a rancher in the remote town of Callo, Utah, in the middle of the Snake Valley. He says any water taken out as part of the proposed agreement will ruin the valley. "By what incredible right in this so-called ‘land of the free and home of the brave' do huge metropolitan areas feel that they have the right to walk in and take the most sacred commodity? They call it a commodity, we call it a way of life," Garland said. Terry Marasco agrees. He's a businessman who lives in Baker, Nev., and has been fighting for water rights in this valley for years. He doesn't want it to go anywhere but here. They should lock the basin and not destroy a huge, huge aquifer," Marasco said. "This is not an opinion pulled out of the air. It's pulled out of thousands of scientific references."...KSL-TV

The Clean Water Act

Imagine that the puddle which formed in your yard during the last heavy rain could be regulated by federal agencies, like the Army Corps of Engineers. Or if you were a landowner working with federal agencies to restore wetlands or improve fish habitat, and found that the already daunting set of regulatory hurdles had been doubled or tripled. Imagine you are responsible for bringing clean water to a city like Denver, and found that your facilities couldn't be operated under new law. Under proposed legislation "clarifying" the Clean Water Act, these scenarios will be real. The Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA) is currently before Congress. A key change brings all waters of the U.S under regulation by federal agencies like the Corps. This legislation is sure to further muddle the regulatory landscape. The current Act has kept courtrooms busy, despite recent U.S. Supreme court decisions and guidance from federal agencies. The reality is that an expansion of the Act will restrict the ability of states, municipalities and individuals to adjust to such variables as changing snowpack and runoff due to climate change. The dying forests of the West present another watershed challenge that we must be prepared to address, post haste. We live in a time in which people in the water community need more flexibility, not less...DenverPost

Baxter Black's humor helps serious cause in La Junta

Nearly 400 people packed the Koshare Kiva Saturday to hear Baxter Black, America’s most recognizable cowboy poet and storyteller, perform a benefit for the Not 1 More Acre organization. Not 1 More Acre has filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Denver to stop the U.S. Army from expanding Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. Briefs have been filed in district court and are being reviewed by Judge Richard Matsch, who hasn’t issued a statement on how he might let the case proceed. The event Saturday night, though, was to help the threesome who started Not 1 More Acre – rancher Mack Louden, Jim Herrwll from Otero Junior College, and Jean Aguerre from the Trinidad area – offset the tremendous costs in fighting the legal battles in court. Louden, Aguerre and Herrell got a standing ovation when they were introduced by Black, who spent nearly two hours on stage telling his hilarious stories, all in poetic format, and making people laugh until they had tears in their eyes...AgJournal

Drought Hits Historic Levels In Parts of Texas

New information shows that at least nine Texas counties are experiencing their worst drought in history, and much of the state is facing the worst drought conditions in the United States, according to information compiled by Texas A&M University researchers. Contributing to the problem is the heat – Texas is having one of its hottest summers ever. John Nielsen-Gammon, professor of atmospheric sciences who also serves as the Texas State Climatologist, notes that areas in South Central Texas are experiencing their driest period ever. These include the counties of Bastrop, Caldwell and Lee in Central Texas and Victoria, Bee, San Patricio, Live Oak, Jim Wells and Duval in South Central Texas. “These core drought areas are experiencing their most severe drought on record, at least since 1895 when modern record-keeping began,” Nielsen-Gammon says. “About 26 percent of the state is in ‘extreme’ or ‘exceptional’ drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor...PressRelease

Program matches aging farmers with their replacements

How did this thirtysomething Garth-Brooks look-alike, who had the drive but not the dollars, get started farming in Iowa? He had an instant mentor here: John Adam, who planted his boots in this rich black earth as a 19-year-old newlywed and over the next five decades, helped raise four children, harvested corn and beans, bred sows and collected a wall of plaques, honors — and seed caps. Now, the two men are working together on Adam's farm. One day, if all goes well, Phillips hopes to call part of this land his own. This is farm matchmaking, a down payment on the future of rural America. It's an increasingly popular idea across the country as a growing number of states try to pump fresh blood into graying fields. Farmers are getting older and working later in life: The average age rose to 57 (from 55) and the ranks of the 75-and-up set increased by 20 percent from 2002 to 2007, according to a recent survey. Meanwhile, the number of those younger than 25 has dropped by nearly a third. The high cost of getting started is intimidating, even for farming enthusiasts such as Phillips. So what to do? Pair the two generations in special programs. Aspiring farmers then don't have to dig themselves into a half-million dollar hole to launch their careers and can hook up with a farmer in his 50s, 60s, or 70s who can plan ahead. If their personalities mesh, the two can become partners. Later, the hope is the established farmer will sell, rent or make some other arrangement that keeps the younger one on the land. There's a broader goal, too: Save the family farm. And a bonus: Put more kids in rural schools, pour more money into Main Street, preserve small towns...AP

Decomposing Cows in Fresno River

Three dozen stampeding cows plunged about 50 feet into a granite canyon just below Bob Keith's mountainside home outside Coarsegold. Kirsten Gross, the Director of Madera County's Animal Shelter said, "It appears something scared and startled them and they went off a cliffside." Nearly a dozen cows survived the fall but couldn't climb out of the rocky hole. The impact killed the others and authorities believe they've been decomposing in mid 90 degree temperatures for a week. Gross said, "Obviously we have some health and safety issues with carcasses in the Fresno River." The rugged area is normally submerged by the roaring Fresno River. Only every summer the Madera County Irrigation District cuts off the flow. Keith said the farmer was upset because, "He thinks he could have probably saved 10 or 11 of them." Keith himself said he was disturbed. That Madera County Sheriff Deputies didn't give the farmer a chance to save the pricey animals that did survive. "The Sheriff's Department told him that they didn't have time to stand around all day for him to make a decision. And he says well, you do what you have to do and so they shot em all."...abc

Tall Tales & Stories from Texas

Bert Wall couldn’t wait to actually get his hands on the novel he just completed, “Seminole Bill.” The only problem seemed to be actually tracking the book down. Late last week, the first 100 or so copies were due to arrive at the local author’s house, but the best Wall knew, they were wandering around lost on a UPS truck that very moment. With a tooth pick pinned between his teeth and a pair of cowboy boots beneath him at the foot of his couch, Wall phoned an employee of his publishing company, speaking with “a little lady from Chicago” to try and get the books down to Texas. “Seminole Bill” — based on a real-life Colt-carryin’ African American cowboy — is no exception. “In this new book, to me this is the way Texas was and the way Texas should be today,” Wall said. “We were freaking renegades. Texas was born from nothing but hell raisers and renegades and look where we got... Pretty good ‘til lately.” The rancher, author and real estate broker ran across the main character for his new book, Seminole Bill, more than 20 years ago in a local newspaper. The short article explained how Seminole Bill was found alongside a burned out wagon by two cowboys crossing the West Texas plains. They take him back to their ranch, and with the help of a Seminole woman, raise him as their own. “This book takes Seminole Bill through where he’s learning to be a cowboy, where he’s learning to be a gun fighter, where he finally sees and learns about black people. He doesn’t know black people for a long time, you have to remember,” Wall said...SanMarcosRecord

On the edge of common sense: Home gardens good for this nation

Mrs. first lady Michelle Obama's organic gardening is good for all of us involved in agriculture. So few have the time or interest or space to grow anything they eat, that they have no way to relate to the land and what it takes to make it fruitful. Even fewer know how to can or preserve their homegrown produce for winter's larder. She, the first lady, is a modern suburban dweller and has adopted the banner of "organic," which has now morphed into a brand name like NAVY or Danish Ham. I doubt she could explain the difference except to say, "no hormones or chemicals," but it doesn't make any difference. Organic has become a great niche market for "real" farmers too. It is a high-end product like prime beef, wild salmon or Roquefort cheese. However, home gardening may be making a comeback, whether you choose to use chemical fertilizer or fresh chicken manure. People out of work have more time on their hands and are on a budget. As Steve said, "When you've got enough to eat, you've got lots of problems. When you don't have enough to eat, you have one problem."And yes, I do have a garden. It looks like the solitary confinement cell in "Cool Hand Luke!" It is javelina, jack rabbit, locust, bird, rattlesnake, rat, cottontail and cowdog proof! Good enough for six rows of jalapenos and tomatoes. You'd think I'd have an abundant crop; alas, this morning I called the extension service Master Gardner. DIAGNOSIS: Blossom end rot. ETIOLOGY: Too much water. TREATMENT: Stop it!...Amarillo.com

Song Of The Day #109

To get your blood flowing and you in the swing of things on this Monday morning, Ranch Radio is offering two tunes by Bill Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers.

I've written before here about this artist.

The first tune, from the original 78rpm (Bluebird-7128B), is Fan It. If you can listen to this tune and sit still in your chair, you better call the doctor quick.

The second selection, also from the original 78rpm (Bluebird-5788A), is the upbeat fiddle tune The Lost Wagon.

Go West, Mr. President, to America's wilderness

President Barack Obama is hardly the consummate Western outdoorsman. The Marlboro Man he's not. He's spent his adult life in big cities — New York, Chicago and, now, Washington. Basketball, golf, and bodysurfing are how this jock rolls. Indoor daily gym workouts are the norm. Hunting, climbing, rafting — not so much. Yet there he was on a summer weekend, enthusiastically soaking in America's vast wilderness. He toured Yellowstone National Park, checking out Old Faithful. He strolled trails along the Grand Canyon's rim. He cast a fly while fishing in a Montana river and spent a night in a mountainside lodge. "Pretty nice, eh," Obama said Sunday as the family took in the breathtaking view from the Grand Canyon's Hopi Point under a magnificent blue sky and overlooking a 5,000-foot drop to the Colorado River. "Last time I was here was when I was 11 years old." Asked by a ranger if it looked the same, he said, "It does!" Obama, aides say, had pressed them for a while to schedule a parks trip. The last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, often vacationed in the West; his pollster used surveys to decide the best place for him to spend his leisure time, politically. As Obama tended to presidential duties this weekend, his wife and daughters spent 90 minutes whitewater rafting in rain and, at times, hail in Montana and went peach-picking in Colorado, bringing some back for travelers on Air Force One...AP

Cowgirl Sass & Savvy

You Cain’t Miss It

Julie Carter

Whether its dark or light, day or night, cowboys have an unerring sense of direction.

Seldom to walk, their inner GPS serves them well as they navigate by horse or by pickup.

Not long ago, one cowboy was set to go to a roping in a town about 400 miles from home.

He called a friend in that same town to get directions to the arena.

"No problem," was the response, "You just take one of them roads out of town, go down couple miles, and it's right there. You cain't miss it."

There is no telling how many miles, for decades, have been traveled on just such reliable information.

The topography of the land is always figured into the information given and is clearly thought to be helpful.

In the Texas Panhandle, where there are miles and miles of flat country and endless wheat pasture, the driving instruction will almost always include: "You just go down to that wheat field, turn west, and it's right there. You cain't miss it."

In that same part of the world, directions could include, "You go down past the elevator, down to where that feller was changing a tire last time I went by that way, and then take a hard left. You cain't miss it."

Rodeo cowboys are no exception to this phenomenon.

One set of ropers had a plan to go to the million-dollar roping in Las Vegas. Their directions were to head to El Paso and take a right, with the guarantee of their arrival in Vegas. "You cain't miss it."

Then there was the time Jess and Dan went to a roping down the road a ways.

They had gotten safely to the correct town, but they had no clue as to the whereabouts of the arena.

They, collectively, as it took both of them to form a reasonably intelligent thought if it involved anything except roping, hit on an idea.

Their simple plan was to find a pickup and horse trailer on the move in town and follow it to the arena where the roping was to take place.

It didn't take long until a suspiciously authentic-looking rig with just the right specifications came by. The semi-lost duo pulled out from the local Dairy Queen parking lot and fell in behind the suspiciously authentic-looking cowboy that was driving.

The targeted rig stopped at the Quik Stop, stopped at the tire store, stopped at the feed store, the bank, the Co-op, and then finally headed out of town.

The trailing ropers were quite relieved at this progress because it was nearing time for the roping to start. They followed him along until he pulled into a ranch gate.

When they walked up to his truck and asked him if he was headed to the roping, the man advised them he had just taken his horse to the vet and was now on his way home.

However, he did give them directions to the arena. "You just go on back up this here road a ways, take that left by that big oak tree, and go on down a couple miles. You cain't miss it."

Do you think the fellas at NASA in Houston tell the astronauts something similar?
"You just strap this rocket to the backside of your spacecraft, and just point that sucker toward Mars. It's right up there a ways. You cain't miss it."

Julie cain't be missed with a note at www.julie-carter.com

Video: Redneck Art - BBQ Ribs

Song Of The Day #108

Our gospel tune this Sunday will be Randy Travis singing This Train.

It's available on his 2005 CD Glory Train.

White House proposal to track government website users stirs fears

A White House proposal to end a long-standing policy forbidding government websites from tracking users could lead to "the mass collection of personal information of every user of a federal government website," says the ACLU. Civil liberties groups like the ACLU and the Electronic Privacy Information Center are lining up against a plan, proposed by the Obama administration, to end a policy that has been in place since 2000 preventing government websites from installing tracking cookies on users' computers. “This is a sea change in government privacy policy,” said Michael Macleod-Ball, Acting Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, in a statement. “Without explaining this reversal of policy, the [White House Office of Management and Budget] is seeking to allow the mass collection of personal information of every user of a federal government website. Until the OMB answers the multitude of questions surrounding this policy shift, we will continue to raise our strenuous objections.” Opponents of the proposal point out that tracking cookies can be used not only to keep track of what an individual has done or seen on the website in question, but also to track what other websites that person has visited, and what personal information they have handed over to the website. Thus, it is often possible to identify a computer user based on data stored in tracking cookies...RawStory