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Show C5 The Emery County Review, Tuesday, October 7, 2008 ANIMAL LIFE Pet & Livestock Health, Training Tips and Information San Rafael Back Country Horsemen Organization works to preserve access to public land for horse lovers Wayne Ludington Do you enjoy riding horses on the public lands in Carbon and Emery County? Many important decisions have been made without input from horsemen and will continue to be made without us, though often with input from those who prefer not to see horses or mules on any trail or in any back country areas. You need to be a member of the San Rafael Back Country Horsemen. The San Rafael Back Country Horsemen, a Carbon and Emery County organization is affiliated with the state organization, Back Country Horsemen of Utah and national organization, the Back Country Horsemen of America. The national organization actually started in 1973 in the Montana’s Flathead Valley. A group of horseman got together and started Back Country Horsemen because of the fear that unless something was done horsemen would start losing access to public land. BCHU was formed with a three-fold purpose: to volunteer service in the backcountry, to educate horsemen on minimum impact horse handling, and to get involved in public land use planning. It was the original assumption that Back Country Horsemen would be a different type of organization, not the usual special interest one, normally operating as a protest group. It was felt that a service club, doing work in the back country, would lend credibility to the group when it became involved in criticisms of agency management. It was also recognized that some of the complaints against back country horse use were justified. Consequently, it was determined that an educational program should be a fundamental principle of the group. So, service and education joined a determination to protect our heritage of back country stock use as composites of the “purpose” printed above. The name was chosen because it signified an interest in much more than just wilderness. Back Country Horsemen are interested in perpetuating recreational stock use on virtually all public lands. The BCHA has grown to include all of the western states and several Midwest and eastern states. The Back Country Horsemen of Utah was formed following the national goals. Presently there are 12 chapters of Back Country Horsemen scatter throughout Utah. The San Rafael Back Country Horsemen chapter was formed in the Carbon and Emery area in 2006. This chapter has continued to grow since that time and has been involved in several volunteer projects for the Manti La-Sal National Forest and the Price Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management. They have also gone on a Art Johnson from Spanish Fork and Justin Jennings from Cleveland make their way through a pass in a fence at Old Folks Campground in Huntington Canyon. The pass allows riders to go around the campground instead of through it. Percilla Burton from Cleveland, Dale Wharram from Price and Wayne Ludington from Spring Glen ride in Chute Canyon in the southern portion of the San Rafael Swell. The canyon is in the Crack Canyon Wilderness Study Area and makes a great late winter, early spring ride. number of trail rides in the San Rafael Swell and the Manti La-Sal National Forest, and have worked to record some of those trails for future reference for the land managing agencies. The SRBCH helped to construct the Horse Canyon Trailhead in Scad Valley, constructed the foot and horse bridge that crosses the small stream next to this trail head, clearing 28 miles of trails in Huntington Canyon this year, and GPSed equestrian trails in Black Canyon. They have gone on numerous trail rides including Virgin Springs, Box Flat, Black Canyon and an annual February ride in Chute Canyon (near Goblin Valley State Park),. Recently the San Rafael Back Country Horsemen cooperated with the Manti La-Sal National Forest to clear and maintain nonmotorized trails in Huntington Canyon. Twenty volunteers came from all over the state congregated in Huntington Canyon to participate in this large volunteer project. They cleared over 28 miles of trail from blown down trees and created a new trail around the Old Folks Flat Campground. They centered their work in the Huntington Canyon and the trails they cleared included Mill Canyon, Horse Canyon, Mill Fork Canyon, Gentry Hollow, Sawmill, Stuart Guard station trail, Left Fork of Huntington, and parts of Bull Pasture and Wild Cattle. These volunteers travel a totaled of over 2,000 miles to do this work while donating $1,150 in equipment time, utilized 23 riding and pack animals for a total of 218 stock hours, and worked 166 hours in clearing the trails. . The creation of a new section of trail where trails from Steward Guard Station and Mill Canyon Trailheads goes through The Old Folks Flat campground was very satisfying. The SRBCH worked to create a new trail that would allow the trail users (horses, hiker, and mountain bikers) to avoid riding through the campground. As one camper noted, the same people he heard complaining about horses riding through their camps were quick to grab a camera and take pictures of the horses as they were ridden by on the new trail. The San Rafael Back Country Horsemen was formed with the intent to include both counties. To facilitate this, the chapter meets in Carbon County one year and Emery County the next year. Presently the SRBCH is meeting every third Wednesday at the Carbon County Fairgrounds in the expo building. Starting in January they will be meeting in the Cleveland City building. They meet at 6:30 p.m. For more information you can contact Wayne Ludington in Spring Glen or Rod Player in Cleveland. You can also get more information on the organization and planned rides on the website www.bchu.com. DOG TALK Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis Dear Uncle Matty: During the holidays (both Thanksgiving and Christmas), our house is going to be full of visiting relatives. It’s a kind of family reunion, and some of them are getting up there in years. Two elderly uncles walk with canes, and others usually need some kind of assistance. I’m worried about Briskett, our energetic Labrador. She is 13 months old and a real handful. The problem is, she not only jumps up on people when they first enter the house, but if they say anything to her, she’s up and at ‘em or in their laps if they are sitting down. Other than this problem, she is a really wonderful dog. She has not had any formal training, but she caught on to “Sit” and “Come here” all by herself. How can we teach her not to knock people down? -Anne C., in Boston Dear Anne: The problem is the lack of training and a lack of true commu- nication between you and your dog. A well-trained dog will always SIT and STAY on command. And if she is SITTING and STAYING, it is impossible for her to be JUMPING and SCARING your guests, and possibly injuring them. Your options are to hire a trainer who can solve the problems or to work with your dog yourself. Solving the jumping problem is not difficult, but it will require some time and effort. Do not resort to abusive techniques like kneeing the dog in the chest or stepping on her back toes. It is cruel treatment and harms the relationship between you and your best friend. There are a lot of ways Sequoya ADOPT A PET Boarding & Grooming ASSA Member Cheryl Sorensen Alisha Roberts Hand Scissoring & Shaping 28 Years (435) 384-2665 100 East Rock Canyon Road, Clawson 7 miles South of Castle Dale Animal Hospital You’ll Love Me The 1 year old female Border Collie is looking for a place to call home. She can be yours for $62.50, which includes spay and rabies vaccination. An AVID Chip is also available at the time of the adoption for $12. This pet and many others are available at the Emery County Animal Shelter in Castle Dale, 490 West, SR-29. Call 381-2539 for more information. Large & Small Animals (435) 637-5797 or 1-800-718-5797 We Carry Science Diet Pet Food A MeMBer of The AMericAn AniMAl hospiTAl AssociATion J. Boyd Thayn, D.V.M. 1989 Airport Road Price, UT to correct a dog. One of the most effective is the corrective jerk using a training collar and leash. But you must know how to execute the correction properly. See “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things,” Siegal-Margolis, published by Little Brown and available at unclematty. com or at most libraries. There are a couple of quick fixes that may work quite nicely. If your dog is not shy, keep a whistle around your neck or a shake can handy (empty soda can with a few pennies taped inside). Then, have someone greet your dog in the same fashion that usually encourages her to jump. When she does, blow the whistle followed by a firm “NO.” Or use the shake can and say a firm “NO.” When your dog stops jumping, praise her. Repeat this four or five times. If your dog is shy, a firm “NO” may be sufficient as opposed to a loud noise that may scare her. This will help, but you still need to train yourself and this pooch in the basics. Without training, the problems are endless. Remember, don’t get rid of the dog, get rid of the problem. Woof! (Dog trainer Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis is host of the PBS series, WOOF! Copyright 2001 Creators Syndicate, Inc.) |
