Cars "Threaten horse-riding skills"

From the BBC

Horse-riding skills are under threat because of a growing reliance on cars, experts say.

The Royal Institute of Horse Riding (RIHR) said increasing dependence on technology means people are losing the ability to get around on a horse. The RIHR wants schools to encourage the teaching of basic horse-riding because few pupils can ride one. Its president, Roger McKinlay, said society is "sedated by steering wheels".

Mr McKinlay added: "It is concerning that young people are no longer routinely learning at home or school how to do anything more than press an accelerator pedal to get anywhere.

"Many cannot put on a saddle, canter, gallop or get to their destination with just a horse, let alone wonder at the amazing role straw plays in looking after horses.

"Instead, generations are now growing up utterly dependent on the internal combustion engine and petrolget around. The RIHR believes that horse-rising can develop character, independence and an appreciation of biology and shovelling shit.

Man chased by cow - YouTube video

Eighteen Thirteen seconds of awesome!

Does a horse count as a cow?

From The Daily Mail:

A stable girl has died after being kicked in the head by a horse she had been helping give birth. Lucie Simpson, 20, was knocked down just weeks into her new job at a riding school after being asked to assist a vet in delivering a foal.

I don't know why they describe her as "stable"; I'd have said "much-loved" or something a bit more positive.

Cow attacks finally go mainstream

From The Metro:

Although dog bites accounted for about half of all the 12,410 admissions caused by animals, there was also a 19 per cent rise in those caused by bites or stings from insects that included bed bugs, mosquitoes and fleas. In total, bites and sting cases went from 3,040 in the previous year to 3,620 in 2010/11, with London the worst-affected of the regions.

Some 2,560 admissions were for people bitten or struck by cows, horses and pigs.

Horse attack

From the BBC:

A woman has died after a horse hitched to a carriage bolted and crashed into spectators at an event in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk...

St Edmundsbury Borough Council Chief Executive Jeff Rivers said health and safety officers were investigating... Mr Rivers said:

"Unfortunately one of the horses, that wasn't actually being used at that time, was being held by a member of staff. But something happened so the horse took fright, bolted, went round the circuit it had traditionally done when it was giving rides, and then broke away from that and crashed right down the middle avenue where most people were."

It's not just cows...

From the BBC:

A West Lothian teenager has died after apparently being kicked in the head by the horse she was given as a birthday present... The Linlithgow Academy pupil died as she was taken to Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline.

"Coleen Nolan feared she would have arm torn off by crazy pony"

Spotted by Anti-Citizen One in The Daily Mirror:

The 'This Morning' and 'Loose Women' presenter, 45, was at the stables near her Manchester home on Friday afternoon when she saw a big ginger pony called Ade had his head collar caught on the lock of a stable door. Coleen, who has been signed off sick from her TV commitments this week, said:

"He was clearly distressed so I tried to lift the collar free. But he reared up with all his strength, crushing my hand. I thought he was going to pull my fingers off or yank my arm out of its socket. I think he would have done it too but the door smashed open, freeing my hand. I knew my fingers were broken. The middle one was hanging half an inch lower than the others. The doctor said I was lucky not to have lost my fingers. Instinctively I popped it back in the socket, though it was still pointing at a strange angle."

Or that was her excuse, anyway.

"Buzzards go on the attack in Herefordshire"

From The Hereford Times:

AN ANGRY bird is preying on passers-by in a quiet lane near Bromyard.

People around Pencombe are watching their heads following a series of buzzard attacks. Joggers, cyclists and horse riders have all been attacked near an orchard east of the village. At least two people have been left slightly bloodied while another was left "seeing stars" after a swoop on a horse rider.

This is slightly off the topic of cow attacks but the accompanying staged picture is priceless.

UPDATE: More bird attack tomfoolery over at JuliaM's.

Just horsin' around

Don't get me wrong, I love and admire Britain's Got Celebrity X-Pop Factor Talent finalist Leona Lewis as much as the next God-fearing citizen...
... but isn't it ironic that she was attacked in the face. By a horse?

I didn't know that horse-riding was that dangerous...

From The Telegraph:

In the article, titled "Equasy: An overlooked addiction with implications for the current debate on drug harms", Prof Nutt wrote that "equasy", short for "Equine Addiction Syndrome", had caused 10 deaths and more than 100 road traffic accidents a year. Through hunting, it also led to "gatherings of users that often are associated with these groups engaging in violent conduct... Dependence, as defined by the need to continue to use, has been accepted by the courts in divorce settlements ... Based on these harms, it seems likely that the ACMD would recommend control under the MDAct perhaps as a class A drug given it appears more harmful than ecstasy."

... David Raynes, an executive councillor at the National Drug Prevention Alliance said: "Professor Nutt has made numerous unwise comments prejudging the ACMD review of Ecstasy. Is he on a personal crusade against the laws enacted by Parliament?

Professor David Nutt - you rock!

Rather disappointingly, the National Drug Prevention Alliance/Positive Prevention Plus appears to be a proper charity run by nut cases ... but half their income (Note 2, page 4) was from Drug Free America, who in turn are a USA-based fakecharity, who got $1m dollars - the bulk of their funding - from "Public Support and Revenue", see page 13.

Bingo. What complete and utter shits. If the US government has something to say, then it should say it, trying to influence UK drugs policy like this is totally underhand.