G’day mates, and
welcome to this edition
of Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants!
Today we’ll make our way
to the New England
Brumby Sanctuary
in the town of Armidale
in the state of
New South Wales,
Australia
to speak with members
of Save the Brumbies,
an animal welfare charity
dedicated to protecting
and ensuring a bright future
for Australia’s
wild horses or Brumbies.
Brumbies are widely
known in Australia as
the free ranging characters
in the poems of
the Australian bush poet,
Banjo Paterson.
They descend from horses
brought from England
to Australia
beginning in 1788 and
are thought to be named
after English soldier
James Brumby
who came to Australia
in the 1790’s.
When he was transferred
to the island of Tasmania,
he is said
to have left horses behind
in New South Wales,
where they eventually
became wild.
Another theory is
that the word “brumby”
originates from
the Australian Aboriginal
word “baroomby,”
meaning “wild.”
Today Brumbies are
greatest in number
in the Northern Territory,
Queensland and northern
Western Australia.
Save the Brumbies’ mission
is “to see humane,
controlled management
[of Brumbies] and
the abolition of shooting
of wild horses
in national parks
and public lands
Australia wide.”
Jan Carter is the founder
and president
of Save the Brumbies.
She is a former aerobics
instructor and a retired
professional musician.
She has recorded
an album entitled
“Run with the Wind,”
which was done as
a tribute to the Brumbies
and has also written
a children’s book
about horses called
“The Sunflower Pony.”
In October 2000 there was
an aerial slaughter
of wild Brumbies
in a local national park
here, Guy Fawkes River
National Park.
And news got out
to the public
and local horsemen
and it was pretty bad.
And until that stage
I don’t think Australians
or the wider world
had understood
what is actually going on
behind the scenes here.
And so I’m a very
passionate horse lover
and I thought
it was pretty awful.
I was very upset
and so were thousands
of other Australians.
So I actually took matters
into my own hands
at the time, and I started
the animal welfare charity
“Save the Brumbies.”
And our main focus
in the beginning
was to lobby government
and to try
to instigate changes and
have more sustainable
and more humane
and better plans
and management.
And from there
we evolved into passively
trapping the horses
in Guy Fawkes (Park),
bringing them out,
as we’re doing now
and we have managed
to stop aerial shooting
in our state of
New South Wales here.
We’ve now re-homed
well over 200 horses
in caring homes and
that’s what we do here
at the New England
Brumby Sanctuary.
What are some of
the notable characteristics
of Brumbies?
They’re tough,
they’re hard,
(they symbolize) survival
of the fittest.
And (they are)
very intelligent.
Since I've come
to work with them and to
have horses that come in,
have a fear for people,
to a couple of days later,
coming up to you, and then,
ultimately bond with you,
and put you as their leader,
it's an amazing feeling.
It's sort of gratifying.
Highly sensitive ones that
are timid and scared and
basically petrified of you,
when you eventually
turn them around
they become
(like) kid’s ponies.
They trust you that much
that then they will allow
anybody to do anything.
It's an amazing feeling.
They (have) got
to survive out in the bush.
So all of their instincts,
sight, hearing, smell,
it’s all basically amplified.
These horses will tell you
if there’s a different vehicle
coming down the road
before I even hear it.
They can smell;
the first thing they’ll do
is size you up by smell.
They can smell out
in the bush
if you got a fire coming.
Yes, they’ve got to
survive on smell.
So everything is just
a lot stronger; they’re
much more sensitive
than domestics (horses).
We also asked
Lisa Burgess,
a Save the Brumbies
volunteer, to describe
how new horses
come to the Sanctuary
and get acclimated to
their new surroundings.
Generally,
I've got to go out, when
we get the phone call,
that they’re ready
for pick up at the parks.
I’ve got to go out
and assess them and
make sure that there are
no injuries on them,
and they’re fit for travel
and there's not too many
to go on the one load.
Then they arrive here;
I put them in their yards.
So, they’re here,
they settle down
for a couple of days,
and get used to me.
I feed them up if need be.
(I) just wander around them,
get them used to me.
Then I’ll do any
treatments if necessary
before I let them out.
I like to let them out
between three to seven
days depending on
how they've settled.
If they’re starting
to come up to me
to get their feed, well then,
I can safely put them out
in the paddocks,
which are the smaller
holding paddocks here.
When Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants returns
we’ll learn more about
the pure, natural qualities
of Australia’s wild horses,
or Brumbies.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
I’ve just turned,
oh my goodness, 70.
And I think
I’m known around here
as “the ancient one.”
I don’t know that
wisdom comes with that,
but I do keep fit.
For many years I was
an aerobics instructor,
so I’ve always been
actively very fit.
It’s just quite simple for me,
it’s a good philosophy.
I just don’t like eating
dead flesh;
I prefer a herbivore diet.
I do think it’s
a healthier way of living,
my body tells me that.
Welcome back to
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants
on Supreme Master
Television
as we return to
the New England
Brumby Sanctuary
to chat with Jan Carter
and Lisa Burgess
of Save the Brumbies,
an animal welfare group
that operates
two horse sanctuaries
to protect Australia’s
wild horses or Brumbies
and also facilitates adoption
of these splendid beings
through their
“Adopt-A-Brumby”
program.
In the wild, Brumbies
live in family groups
called “mobs”
which can be as large as
40 to 70 horses.
However a mob
is generally much smaller
and consists of
a lead male or stallion,
a lead female or mare
and five to 15 mares
and their babies or foals.
Mobs are hierarchical
in nature with each horse
having their own place
within the group.
Young males, called colts,
form their own mobs.
The male is usually
at the top? Or the ladies?
No. The ladies!
Everybody thinks
the stallion's the boss.
The stallion's not the boss.
A stallion's down the bottom
of the order, unless
he's a dominant stallion.
You've got
in a mob situation,
you’ve got your lead mare,
you've got your second
in command,
then your third, then
your fourth, and fifth,
depending on how many
there are in the situation.
And then you got
the stallion at the bottom.
With a bachelor group
of colts as well, you’ll get
that same order of things.
You got the leader,
and you got the second,
third, and fourth.
It works;
it's just a natural thing.
The stallion is
basically there to protect.
If any danger’s out there,
he'll protect them, and
he'll be chasing them away,
or defending them.
Mares give birth
to their foals generally
in the springtime.
Brumbies are
a wide range of colors
including bay or a
reddish-brown body color
with a black mane, tail,
ear edges, and lower legs.
They are generally
13 to 15 hands high or
130 to 150 centimeters tall.
Can you tell us
about these horses,
just behind you?
The two we’re looking at
here at the moment,
probably came in
about eight weeks ago.
They've been gelded
(neutered).
Actually they came in
just before Christmas.
One, the bay, is a
four-year-old gelding now
and came in as a colt.
He came in
as a bachelor colt
on his own.
He's sort of a bit older
and this little boy,
little chestnut one's
a little yearling.
He came in with the mob
of youngsters over there,
the mare
and a little stallion.
Dad's over there;
he's only going to grow
a maximum 13 hands
(130 centimeters high).
They've settled now,
ready to be re-homed;
(for) somebody
(to) have a look at them
and fall in love.
Actually, Dirado,
he's more than likely
been placed.
Someone's coming up
this afternoon
to have a look at him.
Are they a very
affectionate species?
Yes, when they bond
with you.
They’re highly intelligent.
And my own Brumby,
Adam, he’s
Save the Brumbies’ mascot,
a very, very sharp horse.
Brumbies have
excellent memories
and Ms. Burgess
has witnessed this trait
in these wild horses
first-hand.
I went and saw a horse,
I’d only handled him once.
When he first came in,
(I) hadn’t seen him
in three years,
he knew me straight away.
I just did
the first handling and
it was just straight away,
basically he remembered.
Why is it so important
for you to be a part of this?
To do what you do,
working with
these Brumbies
and saving them,
and giving them homes.
Well, for me,
I’m a horse lover.
I think, for us
it’s all voluntary, and it is,
for both Lisa and myself,
it’s, I think
a lot of the time, passion.
I think my best memory is
feeding an orphaned foal
late at night, seeing
the moon and the stars;
they are beautiful moments.
And I think to see a horse
come from the wild,
know that we have
rescued the horse
from a bullet
and from an untimely
and cruel death.
And to see
that horse rehabilitated,
homed with a caring family
and to have emails and
photographs sent back.
People are so proud of them.
I think that’s its reward.
We’re doing it
basically out of love.
(Out of love, well it is ...)
For me, they deserve
every chance they can get.
They’re a good animal;
they certainly
deserve our respect.
We thank Jan Carter and
Lisa Burgess for sharing
their love and passion
for the wild horses
of Australia with us
and for opening our eyes
to these wonderful beings.
May God continue to
bless them in their work.
Please join us again
tomorrow on
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants
for part two of our program
on Save the Brumbies.
For more details
on Save The Brumbies,
please visit
Jan Carter’s
“Run with the Wind” CD
is available
at the same website
Friendly viewers, thank you
for your company today
on our show.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment,
after Noteworthy News.
May the love of Heaven
always shine upon us all.
Beloved friends
welcome to another edition
of Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants!
Today we once again visit
the 570-hectare
New England
Brumby Sanctuary
in the town of Armidale
in the state of
New South Wales,
Australia operated by
Save the Brumbies,
an animal welfare charity
dedicated to protecting
and ensuring a bright future
for Australia’s
wild horses or Brumbies.
Save the Brumbies’ mission
is “to see humane,
controlled management
[of Brumbies] and
the abolition of shooting
of wild horses
in national parks
and public lands
Australia wide.”
The majority
of the Brumbies
taken in by the group
are from the Guy Fawkes
River National Park
in New South Wales where
wild horses are at risk
of possibly being culled.
Save the Brumbies
has an active program
to seek out
wonderful new homes
for these splendid beings.
Jan Carter is the founder
and president
of Save the Brumbies.
She is a former aerobics
instructor and a retired
professional musician.
She has recorded
an album entitled
“Run with the Wind,”
which was done as
a tribute to the Brumbies
and has also written
a children’s book
about horses called
“The Sunflower Pony.”
We are an animal welfare
charity first and foremost.
Our first priority is
always the horse.
We’re all volunteers.
We feel that every horse
deserves a chance at life.
So horses that need
a high level of care,
it could be
an orphaned foal,
a horse that’s down
in condition
or an injured horse,
then we care for them.
Some of the most
disadvantaged horses
finish up just
the sweetest, best horses
that you could imagine;
you wouldn’t know them
a year or two later.
So we feel that
every horse deserves
a chance at life,
whatever the case.
None of our horses are
ever disposed of through
abattoirs or public sales.
We are very careful
in our placements.
We check out the people
first and we make sure
that the horse and
the person suit each other.
Brumbies are widely
known in Australia as
the free ranging characters
in the poems of
the Australian bush poet,
Banjo Paterson.
They descend from horses
brought from England
to Australia
beginning in 1788 and
are thought to be named
after English soldier
James Brumby
who came to Australia
in the 1790’s.
When he was transferred
to the island of Tasmania,
he is said
to have left horses behind
in New South Wales,
where they eventually
became wild.
Another theory is
that the word “brumby”
originates from
the Australian Aboriginal
word “baroomby,”
meaning “wild.”
Today Brumbies are
greatest in number
in the Northern Territory,
Queensland and northern
Western Australia.
Lisa Burgess, a manager
with Save the Brumbies,
takes tender care
of the horses that
come to the sanctuary.
Let’s now meet one of them
who unfortunately
has sustained an injury,
but is in the capable hands
of Ms. Burgess.
This little girl is Aribella,
a three year old filly.
She had a tendon injury
running around
in the paddock;
she jammed it
between a couple of rocks.
She has just been placed,
but they don’t mind
whether she’s injured
or not, but
I’m still in the process
of treating her.
She was never taught
to lead before
she injured herself.
That all happened after.
It was fun. Come on.
Don’t worry about them.
It’s alright.
Come over here.
That a girl. Good girl.
How long does it
normally take to recover
from something like this?
Depending on injury….
generally
a normal tendon injury
you’re looking at
a pretty much minor
eight week recovery.
This injury,
six months to a year.
She’s hurt the suspensories,
the flexor tendons,
every one.
The vet came out
and checked her.
So she’s getting there.
We’ve got a poultice
on her now, and this is
just pretty much beaten up
support bandage
more than anything else,
but she runs around
as if she’s got absolutely
no injury whatsoever.
Just goes to show
how tough she is.
So this is
a daily occurrence.
It went from twice a day,
to now, basically I’ve got
the TuffRock poultice
on her at the moment,
which has been helping it.
And is this just
to prevent the infection
from setting in?
No, this one’s actually
to help swelling.
The TuffRock,
the poultice you can use it
for open wounds
and to prevent infection,
but this is just
to counteract the swelling
and to help
the healing of the tendon.
It’s supposed to be good.
It’s the first time
I’ve used it, but
I’ve heard of good results.
And I must admit though,
the way it’s
taking the swelling out,
I’m quite surprised with it.
Is it just a natural remedy?
Yes it’s similar to clay.
When Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants returns,
we’ll learn more
about the fine work
of Save the Brumbies.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
Save the Brumbies,
we’re a very practical
organization.
We handle
up to 60 horses a year,
which is a lot
to handle and manage.
We’ve placed, very many
hundreds of horses
now in good homes.
So our main focus
is saving horses
in a practical sense
and re-homing them.
But we also do
what we can to affiliate
with governments
and try to improve
management plans.
Welcome back to
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants
on Supreme Master
Television,
as we continue our chat
with Jan Carter
and Lisa Burgess
of Save the Brumbies.
Could you tell us
about the horse
in the very background,
how they came here.
Did they just
come here recently?
Okay, the ones
right over the back,
a little bay fellow
just walking away,
he's a yearling.
They came here five o'clock
Wednesday afternoon.
The mother, the pale,
light color, I don't know
whether you can see her,
just over the back,
she's about
a four year old mare and
she's got a little filly foal.
They came in
as a family group, in a mob
sort of trapped together.
They are very quiet.
It's yes, very, very
rewarding to be able to
just sort of go in there
amongst them and
just feed them out and,
they’re following around
already.
We asked Ms. Burgess
about the diet
of the Brumbies.
They are naturally vegans!
They’ll forage on anything.
But the Lucerne hay here,
is a supplement feed.
Lucerne is very rich.
And these Brumbies
don’t need much of it
because they’re used to
out in the bush
where it’s tougher
and poorer quality.
And, they’ll graze
on herbs, they’ll eat,
chew a bit of bark
occasionally if they need
a bit of roughage.
They’ll eat stone
and gravel just to sort of
to wear down their teeth.
When people find out
about the work
that you’re doing and
when people learn more
about the brumbies,
do you find
that more people
want to support
what you’re doing?
Definitely.
I think we’ve grown a lot.
And we’ve also
been instrumental in
assisting other groups now
to start up.
We helped the Victorian
Brumby Association
start three years ago.
A lovely caring lady
in Queensland who
adopted two of our horses
some time ago,
has now formed
a re-homing group
in Queensland,
and we have people
in the Hunter Valley.
We have people down
in Western Sydney.
There’s a group
in Western Australia;
through our network
we had a call recently
about an orphaned foal,
on an outback property
in Alice Springs.
We were able to
put that person in contact
with Darwin
who knew somebody
in the area and that foal
was able to be rescued.
We couldn’t do it ourselves
because we were
too far away, but through
our network of contacts,
were able to
possibly help that foal.
Several years ago
we established
the Australian
Brumby Horse Register,
so the brumbies are now
a registered breed
in this country,
similar to the Mustangs
in the (United) States.
We asked Jan Carter
for her opinion
as to what the future holds
for the Brumbies.
Within possibly five years,
I think, we will see
some form of protection
for them in our own state,
New South Wales.
Our patron is
Andrew Stoner,
who is leader of
our National Party here,
and he has signed
a memorandum
of understanding
that if elected to power
next time around
he will see the Brumbies
of the Northern Tablelands
and the Snowy Mountains
protected.
He would like to see
prison schemes set up
where the prisoners can
learn to work with horses
and bond with them
and get a lot of
psychological benefits from
those sorts of programs.
He wants to see this
sustainable management.
He agrees totally with us
that the Australian Brumby
is part of our heritage.
In sustainable numbers
they belong in
non-threatened areas
of our national parks.
We hope eventually
that will come to pass.
I think it’ll be probably
a little bit longer
before this is applied
to the rest of our country,
but I do sincerely hope
the work that we’re doing
and other affiliated groups
like us are doing,
we are raising awareness,
we are getting
the message out there.
To close, we have
some final thoughts
about saving these
magnificent wild horses.
Give them a chance!
Basically,
that’s the biggest one, is
give the Brumby a chance;
let them surprise you.
I think for me
animals generally
have so much
that we don’t even begin
to comprehend
or understand.
I think animals are
extremely close,
obviously, to nature.
They were put here
for a purpose,
they were not put here
for us to use and discard
in any way that we want.
Animals,
all living creatures,
deserve our respect.
And in our case
with the wild horses,
definitely they deserve
our respect and our love
and they deserve
the right management.
And I think that’s why
we keep going forward.
For their protective
and loving care
of the wild horses,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
is honoring
Save the Brumbies
with the Shining World
Compassion Award and
a donation of US$10,000,
or approximately
AUD$11,500,
to help further their work.
Our sincere thanks go to
Save the Brumbies
for all they are doing
for Australia’s wild horses.
May the organization
continue to help
many more Brumbies
find loving homes!
For more details
on Save The Brumbies,
please visit
Jan Carter’s
“Run with the Wind” CD
is available
at the same website
Thank you
marvelous viewers
for your kind presence
on Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment
after Noteworthy News.
May your spirit
run freely in the fields
of eternal love!