Membership Meeting. August, 2017 Vol. 23, No. 8. From the President s Pen By Cathy Roberts. Program. September 14, 2017

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1 August, 2017 Vol. 23, No. 8 From the President s Pen By Cathy Roberts Please attend the upcoming meeting in Durango if you are able. This is a great opportunity to let your voice be heard. Thank you for representing the equestrian community. - Cathy If we are going to protect the vital role public lands play in our state s health, happiness, and local economies, Colorado must promote a new statewide ethic for volunteer outdoor stewardship. These are the facts: Use of Colorado s public lands is booming as more people flock to the state; and Government spending for essential land stewardship activities is waning. To tackle this challenging dynamic, the Colorado Outdoor Stewardship Coalition has spent the summer travelling the state to hear directly from dozens of individual land managers and individual organizations who work every day to protect our public lands. These summits are laying the foundation for a transformational expansion of volunteer stewardship activities and impact in Colorado and we need your participation to succeed. Supported with initial funding through Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), the Statewide Stewardship Initiative is an effort aimed at building the vital longterm stewardship infrastructure Colorado needs to sustain its outdoor recreation and natural resources. You and your organization can help shape outdoor stewardship for years to come, but you only have two more opportunities to do it. Please RSVP now for the final regional fact-finding summit on August 24th in Durango. In these afternoon sessions, you ll work with other key stakeholders to identify and problem solve barriers to expanding volunteer stewardship in the state, especially around best practices for volunteer stewardship projects and uniform metrics to measure impact. These sessions along with a comprehensive review of key resources and literature will help establish a new standard for outdoor volunteer stewardship in Colorado. And our work on best practices for planning projects and impact reporting standards is exactly the type of collaboration and data-driven program work that funders have been pleading for years. To get this right, we need to hear from you. Please RSVP now for the upcoming regional summit at register?id=6&reset=1 Respectfully, Ann Baker Easley Executive Director Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado Membership Meeting September 14, 2017 Program Your Horse s Nervous System presented by Dr. Petra Sullwold 7pm La Plata County Fairgrounds Inside the August HIGHLINE Search & Rescue Presentation... 2 Your Horse s Nervous System... 2 Colorado Trail Maintenance.. 2 Bighorn Sheep Project How to Stop Your Horse... 3 Help BCHA Grow... 3 Baling Twine Recycling... 3 Chainsaw Safety... 4 Public Input Sought Calendar of Events Mustang Rally... 6 Best Horse Practiaces Summit... 6 Board Meeting Highlights... 7 Meeting Ella... 7 Advertising Contact the editors: Kathy Sherer or jksherer@q.com Jordan Junkermann or jjunkermann.2011@gmail.com

2 August 2017 FOUR CORNERS BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN 2 Search & Rescue Presentation By Kathy Sherer Your Horse's Nervous System Thank you to Butch Knowlton and Ron Corkish for a great presentation on July 13th. Lots of important information was shared regarding Search & Rescue including the following: Calling for help * When you find a cell signal, stay in that spot and don't move around. * A text can get through better than a call, but you can't text 911. Instead, text a friend or family member. * Attach a photo to your text because coordinates will be attached to it. Waiting for a helicopter * Keep people busy by having them build a shelter for sun or rain. * Unload all firearms so there isn't another injury. * Find a flat, open area for the helicopter to land. * Pick up any debris that could blow up into the rotors. * Keep horses far away from the landing area. * Have someone stand at the landing spot and wave something blue or yellow. * Hold a scarf or ribbon in the air to show the pilot wind direction. The presentation at the La Plata County Fairgrounds on September 14 at 7PM is sure to be fascinating. We'll be exploring the most complex and powerful system in the horse's body with Dr. Petra Sullwold. Come and learn about the basic parts of the nervous system and how it affects the health and performance of your horse. Colorado Trail Project By Jon Sherer After my Lost Summer of 2016 (due to hip replacement) it was great to get back out on the trail and do some trail work! On July 15, four of us (myself, Chuck Wanner, Linda Honeycutt, and faithful packer Mimi Salber) rode our adopted section of the Colorado Trail on our annual work project. The wildflowers were beautiful, the weather was great (only a little hail) and the scenery was stunning. It was a busy Saturday on the trail and we encountered many hikers and mountain bikers as we rode. We informed them that our club was doing trail maintenance and they were all very appreciative of our efforts. This year, there were no trees down across the trail, so the chainsaw was never unpacked. But there were plenty of low-hanging branches to trim out of the trail corridor and numerous water bars to clean out. It was an enjoyable day and even Trigger had fun getting petted by a couple of young girls from Denmark who were thrilled to pet a horse! F O R S A L E 16 flatbed trailer with diamond plate tool box 3,500 miles like new Lived under cover most of it s life $2,600 OBO Call Dennis at

3 August 2017 FOUR CORNERS BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN 3 Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Your Help is Needed Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Columbine Ranger District need our help in studying Bighorn Sheep. When you're riding in the back country, please keep a lookout and report what you see. If at all possible, this is what they want to know: total number in the group number of ewes, lambs, yearling ram, yearling ewe, and rams with 1/2 curl, 5/8 curl, 3/4 curl, etc. the date and time of sighting your GPS location and/or compass bearing if you're in an area where sheep are expected and you don't see any, report that too Refer your questions to: Brad Weinmeister, Terrestrial Biologist, Durango Area Office, Colorado Parks and Wildlife or Chris Schultz, District Wildlife Biologist, Columbine Ranger District Help Back Country Horsemen Grow By Freddy Dunn, National BCHA Chair You belong to a unique organization. BCHA is the ONLY national organization dedicated to maintaining equestrian trails. If trail riding is your passion, helping to maintain trails and working with land managers through BCHA is the best way to protect access to trails today and forever. BCHA would like to increase its impact and benefits to trails and our members. New programs would enable BCHA to: * Provide more resources to state BCH units * Provide more education to grassroots members and leadership * Increase the number of grants for boots-on-the-ground work * Improve advocacy for trails at the state and national level * Develop youth programs to identify tomorrow s trail riders and leaders The Trails Forever Fund will be the source of funding for this growth. Will you donate a small amount ($5 to $10 a month) to help get these programs started? Small amounts from our many members will add up to a large impact. Those who give $60 or more during one year will be awarded with recognition in the newsletter, a BHCA pen and BCHA bumper sticker. OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE 300 DONORS. Thank you! A Tip From Julie Goodnight: How To Stop Your Horse When it s time to stop do you use your seat or hands first? Teach your horse to hone in on your seat cue and you won t have to pull on his mouth. Exhale, drop your shoulders down toward your hips and feel your two seat bones push down and forward into his back. Your center of gravity shifts toward your horse s hind end. As you sit down, your legs will naturally relax and move off the horse s sides. This seat/weight cue is very easy for your horse to feel. When he has the option to respond to your stopping cue before he feels you pull on his mouth, he ll happily and promptly stop. Baling Twine Recycling By Chris Smyth The twine drop-offs at the CO-OP here in Durango and in Cortez are up and running! Twine may only be dropped off while the CO-OP is open because the collection bag is located in the fenced yard. Please ask an employee to direct you to where it is located. ONLY clean twine is being accepted. Please do not drop off twine that is contaminated with large amounts of hay or mud. If your twine is contaminated with hay or mud, please discard it in your own household trash or shake off the hay. Do NOT place twine-filled grain bags in the collection bag. The success of the program depends on everyone sorting their twine before drop-off. Also, please be sure to place all twine in the twine collection bag don't leave anything outside the bag. We need to respect that the CO-OP is allowing us to have this collection point in their yard They could terminate the collection point at any time if it is being abused. Thanks!

4 August 2017 FOUR CORNERS BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN 4 Chainsaw Safety By Julie Figg Spring and summer are the peak seasons for trail maintenance. Chainsaws are part of the arsenal used by Back Country Horseman to clear downed trees from our many trails. Chainsaw use, whether it's on a planned trail project or a club outing, comes with safety rules that must be followed to ensure that we walk out of the woods with the same number of body parts that we started with. Proper use sets a good example to other people about how this piece of equipment is properly used. This spring, I attended my first chainsaw certification class. Two days of instruction gave me a whole heap of respect and sore arms for a chainsaw. I would like to remind all club members about how important it is to use a saw properly at all times. First and foremost, proper clothing and protective gear MUST be used. There is no skimping on this rule! This gear is as follows: hardhat, wrap-around eye protection, boots that are heavy duty, 8 inches high and cut resistant, gloves that are slip resistant, hearing protection approved for 85 decibels, long-sleeved shirt, pants that are not loose fitting and cover boot tops, and chainsaw chaps. All this safety gear is absolutely necessary. Chainsaw injuries happen quickly! Body reflexes are a poor first line of defense against the swift accidents that can happen. The average chainsaw laceration requires 110 stitches! Secondly, adhere to safe chainsaw practices. If you are a club member and are on a trail project, you must be chainsaw certified. Even if you're Paul Bunyan, no card/ no cutting/no exceptions! There are 3 certification levels: A, B and C. A is the newbie level and has restrictions for use; however, it's where every sawyer must start. I highly recommend participating in a saw safety course. I was very skeptical that I could learn to operate a chainsaw, but after 2 days of instruction, I feel that I could fire one up and do some cutting. Safe chainsaw practices include, but are not limited to: saw maintenance, situational awareness and complexity, and proper handling and positioning of the saw. If a chainsaw is being used during any 4CBCH event, there must be a safety meeting prior to any cutting being done. Escape routes, first aid, sawyer responsibilities, and safety zones should be discussed. The sawyer must take the lead to ensure that all of these safety practices are maximized before the saw is turned on. As a 4CBCH member, motivate yourself and others to actively embrace chainsaw safety. If you are a carded sawyer, remember that it's your job to set a good example for others. Public Input Sought For Boggy Draw Trail System The Dolores Ranger District of the San Juan National Forest is seeking public input regarding a proposal for new trail construction within the Boggy Draw Trail System located approximately 3.5 miles north of the town of Dolores. The proposed trail expansion would add 25 miles of new non-motorized trails within or immediately adjacent to the current trail system. Boggy Draw has seen heavy recreational use for two decades and continues to grow in popularity. Local partner groups, as well as unaffiliated riders, have requested additional mountain bicycle riding opportunities in the area. Boggy Draw is one of only a few places on the Dolores Ranger District offering a looped trail system that concentrates recreational use within a heavily managed area while allowing other areas in the forest to remain less developed. The proposed action is designed to expand on an already established, high-quality trail system close to Cortez and Dolores that minimizes the environmental effects of unmanaged recreation through effective design, signage, and maintenance. It also seeks to provide economic benefit to Montezuma County and its municipalities through increased recreational opportunities. A project scoping document, map, and electronic comment form are available online at The 30-day scoping comment period will end on August 21. Written comments may be mailed or handdelivered to Dolores Public Lands Office, Hwy 184, Dolores, CO or faxed to (970) For questions or to provide oral comments via telephone or in person, contact Tom Rice, Recreation Staff Officer, at (970) or Debbie Kill, NEPA Coordinator, at (970) Comments received will be part of the public record and available for inspection.

5 August 2017 FOUR CORNERS BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN 5 August Calendar of Upcoming Events 19 Pine Piedra Stock Driveway Project CANCELLED 19 FCCRA Horsemanship Clinic with Dennis Brazeal 9 AM to 3 PM Sauls Creek Stables For more info visit website fccrahorse.com or call Hermosa Creek Wilderness Trash Pack-Out with USFS Contact: Jon Sherer (jksherer@q.com or ) 26 4CD&CTA show: Hunter/Jumper Riversong Ranch Contact: Rachael Mikelson (rjmikelson@gmail.com) September 6 4CBCH Board Meeting, guests are welcome 6:30 PM Contact: Cathy Roberts (cathyroberts08@gmail.com or ) 8-10 Parelli Savvy Summit, Parelli Ranch in Pagosa Springs Go to for tickets and information 9 Farmer Cabin closing and picnic, RSVP for free lunch by Sept. 6 Contact Bob Croll (crollcabins@gmail.com or ) 14 4CBCH Membership Meeting, The Nervous System of the Horse by Dr. Petra Sullwold 7:00 PM 16 Mustang Rally Treasure Hunt Trail Ride & Obstacle Challenge Bloomfield, NM Fundraiser for the Jicarilla Mustang Heritage Alliance (see page 6) 16 Happy Trails Festival, Buckley Park, 11AM-5PM 23 FCCRA Futurity, Maturity and Open Horse Show 8 AM to 4 PM La Plata County Fairgrounds For more info visit website fccrahorse.com or call October 4 4CBCH Board Meeting, guests are welcome 6:30 PM Contact: Cathy Roberts (cathyroberts08@gmail.com or ) 5-8 Durango Cowboy Poetry Gathering ( Ride with 4CBCH in the parade on Oct. 7 more details in the Sept. Highline 8-10 Best Horse Practices Summit, Strater Hotel and La Plata County Fairgrounds (see page 6) For more information go to CBCH Membership Meeting, Horse Nutrition with Con Kemple 7:00 PM Pete Ramey natural hoof care clinic in Taos, NM Info at

6 August 2017 FOUR CORNERS BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN 6 The Best Horse Practices Summit, a new equine conference in Durango this October, has attendees coming from 15 states and Canada to see and hear from some of the best minds in the horse world. Find more info and register at: besthorsepractices.com/summit/ See the 2017 Summit lineup below. Wendy Williams, author of the best-selling The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion. Dr. Robert Bowker, former director of the Equine Foot Laboratory at Michigan State University. Dr. Gerd Heuschmann, German veterinarian, rider, and author of Tug of War: Classical versus Modern Dressage. Dr. Sheryl King, professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University and a popular international presenter on equine behavior. Dr. Steve Peters & Martin Black are co-authors of the popular book and DVD, Evidence-Based Horsemanship. Warwick Schiller, National Reining Horse Association Reserve World Champion Jim Thomas has started scores of BLM wild horses and competed in multiple Extreme Mustang Makeovers. Randy Rieman, Bryan and Kate Neubert will celebrate the legacy of Bill & Tom Dorrance.

7 August 2017 FOUR CORNERS BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN 7 August Board Meeting Highlights Board Members Present: Cathy Roberts, Kathy Sherer, Larry Zauberis, Chris Smyth, Bill Gilbert, Julie Figg, Chuck Wanner, Vern Jahnke, Ken Hoff Committee Chairs: Jon Sherer Guests: Colleen Hoff Minutes from July 5, 2017 Approved Treasury Report August accepted Trails: The Colorado Trail project was completed on July 15. The Pine Piedra Trail project (August 19) is cancelled. The Crater Lake trail only has 2 trees down so that project is cancelled. Nothing is planned for Granite Peaks. We will participate in the Hermosa Creek trash pack-out August Special Projects Two new projects are being considered: a parking area in Saul s Creek and a water crossing in Fall s Creek. Twine Recycling The racks and bags have been installed at the Durango and Cortez Co-Ops (see page 3) Programs Discussion took place about low attendance at the monthly membership meetings. It was suggested that we change the locations to someplace with food. The Board would like input from members. Coming up: * September Nervous System of the Horse, Dr. Petra Sullwold * October Equine Nutrition, Con Kemple * November PowerPoint and Election at Sky Ute Museum Farmer Cabin The roof is still leaking and needs repair. The outhouse has been repaired. The date of the closing/picnic has been changed to Sept. 9 th. Happy Trails Festival We have been invited to participate in this event on Saturday, Sept. 16, 11am to 5pm, at Buckley Park. We need people to cover shifts at our booth. Contact Cathy Roberts (cathyroberts08@gmail.com or ) Board Election Contact any board member if you are interested in serving on the Board in The next 4CBCH Board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on September 6, Meeting Ella By Kathy Sherer Thanks to Ginny Elder, many of us got to meet Ella on August 16th. Ella is an 18-year-old, 18.1 HH Oldenburg mare (I m 5 7 and her withers are well over my head). Ella has quite a story, beginning with surviving hurricane Katrina. She was once a level 3 dressage horse, but due to some not-so-positive treatment, she learned to distrust people, the saddle, the bit, and the reins. Ginny demonstrated a few of the positive reinforcement (+R) techniques she has used to help Ella learn to enjoy her life and work again after a tumultuous journey. These techniques can open doors to a better relationship with your horse and provide insight into problem solving.

8 August 2017 FOUR CORNERS BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN Tack/Saddle Repair Custom Orders owsaddles.com 8 John Owens CR 220, Durango, CO P.O. Box 1818, Apache Junction, AZ john@owsaddles.com JON SHERER AUTO HOME LIFE BUSINESS Frontage Road in Bodo Park

9 August 2017 FOUR CORNERS BACK COUNTRY HORSEMEN 9 P.O. Box 321 Durango, CO O ur purpose is: to perpetuate enjoyable common sense use of horses in the backcountry; to work to insure that public land remains open to recreational stock use; to assist government agencies in maintenance and management of public lands; to educate, encourage and solicit active public participation in wise and sustaining use of the backcountry. Please report your volunteer hours! Go to and click on Volunteer or contact Cindy at morincindy7@gmail.com Is your membership status current? An application form can be found at under About Us then Applications & Forms FARMERS SUPPLY MILL 696 Saw Mill Road P.O. Box 1726 Durango, Colorado For All Horseman s Needs: Feed Tack Shoes Nutritional Info Advice Manufacturers of: Winners Choice Vitamins Super B-Calm for the nervous horse Hoof Bio-Life for problem feet Bone Mender for broken bones Hoof Soak for infections in the hoof If we don t have it, we ll get it for you LIVESTOCK EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES FENCING FARRIER SUPPLIES ROPES PET FOOD & SUPPLIES ANIMAL HEALTH SUPPLIES VACCINES FERTILIZER TACK & GIFT ITEMS CUSTOM ORDERS All types of feed: horses, cattle sheep, goats, pigs chickens, rabbits Open Mon-Fri 7:30-6, Sat Hwy. 160 E, Gem Village, Bayfield All major credit cards accepted