COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, March 06, 2014

American Cavalry Method - Training for Endurance



 

Endurance Riding


The Tevis Cup is the worlds oldest modern endurance ride, first held in 1955, it is
"the world's best-known and most difficult equestrian endurance ride."
Historically only 50% of the starters each year will finish the event.



The narrow trail was flanked by a sheer cliff on the near side and straight drop-off on the off side, riding a horse in those circumstances is not for those that are ill prepared.
Navigating those terrain features it is necessary for the riders to be fully engaged with their mount, using skills that are all but forgotten in the modern world, while put great trust in the horse they are riding. The horse can trip, or slip while on the lip of a cliff, it could be disastrous.


Tracy McIntosh of Glidden, Iowa and Amigo, her Iowa-bred dark bay Arabian gelding, took up the challenge of the  annual Tevis Cup, often considered to be the pinnacle of endurance horseback riding in the United States. The 100-mile course, which takes horse and rider over a series of extreme and demanding demanding set of terrain features — mountains, canyons and switchbacks — all covered within 24 hours. 

Starting at the Robie Equestrian Park near Truckee, Calif., the trail takes the teams across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, to the finish line at the Gold County Fairgrounds arena in Auburn. Right out of the gate the horses left the 6,200-foot elevation at Squaw Valley and climbed to Emigrant Pass, at 8,750 feet.

For Tracy McIntosh, that was a grueling start but also the favorite part of the ride.
“That was really beautiful climbing. And the scenery was beautiful up there,”
 
That change in elevation, right at the start was hard for Amigo. But his bloodlines and training were evident in his performance. Tracy explains that Amigo is from true cavalry stock, the progeny of Polish-bred Arabians that were brought to the United States by that famous cavlryman, US Army General,. George S. Patton.Jr.  She observed that Arabians used in endurance riding are quite muscular and fit, when compared to their show horse cousins.

“In Iowa, there’s no place you can train for those elevations,” she says. “You can’t really train for the altitude. You just have to put in your miles and try to do some hills.”
“You don’t have a lot of trail space,” she says. “The trail can be barely a foot wide. They’ve widened it a little bit, but you have cliffs and you have dropoffs, so you can’t add too much.”

With the course crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains, she remarks,
“It’s tough stuff. You just have to trust your horse you won’t slip and fall.”

Canyons also are some of the toughest parts of the trail.
“They go down for three miles, then up for three miles,” McIntosh says. “That’s tough on a horse at that elevation.”
 “Some people say you get to know your horse even better than you do your spouse,” she says. “And trusting your animal, that’s pretty neat being out there alone your horse. You understand your horse if he’s not feeling well. Looking out for each other is part of the game. You’re aware of what’s going on with your horse.”

 


Preparing Horses for an Endurance Ride.

 


There are many different ways to condition both horse and rider. The best methods have a slow beginning, with an increase of the distances ridden, then as the horse’s conditioning improves, so too will the rider’s. When both are ready, begin increasing the speed. Pushing either member of the team too hard, too soon merely increases the likelihood of injury to horse or rider. 

The principles involved in this specialized conditioning program predate the modern sport of endurance riding. As with the rest of the American Cavalry Method this ancient knowledge does not change with the wind, Considering that it is built upon the solid foundations of equine physiology. It is a method adapted for preparing a novice horse and rider for their first endurance ride. 

A rider can proceed in confidence with this program, knowing that it is a time proven method of preparing healthy novice horse to complete an 80km ride. Laying a foundation of fitness that the rider can build upon, developing a personalized program on the initial results of this training. 

Definition of Terms
Conditioning: Working the horse to a state of fitness that allows it to complete endurance rides without damage.
Hard work/ workout: This is a relative term that refers to work where the horse is asked for a greater effort than he is accustomed to. After ‘hard work’ tje horse’s pulse rate will be higher than its norm, for twenty minutes after the workout. The elevated heart rate is an indicator that the horse had been physically stressed.
Recovery day: These training sessions ar scheduled for days follow hard work sessions, permitting full recovery from the previous day’s physical stress. Light work can include twenty minute longe sessions (ring work) at a steady trot, schooling, a gentle hack or outside ride.
Rest day: Typically a Sunday. No work at all.
Exercise: A work session that does not physically stress the horse. 

Introduction to the  Long Slow Distance Ride

The varied periods of time that are required for different parts of the body to adapt and condition are known:

Heart and lungs - Ninety days
Muscles - ninety to one hundred and eighty days
Tendons and ligaments - six months to a year.
Hooves - Seven months to  year
Bone – one to three years


THE PROGRAM

Begin working at going a Long Distance - Slowly
Most modern horses have led a life of comparative leisure, this program will lay down foundation of stamina, core strength, simply by training horse and rider over long distances - slowly.  As with the horse’s preliminary training, the Cavalry Method continues to mix arena and outside work. The horse should be worked on the longe, at the trot, one day a week. Arena sessions for basic schooling should be scheduled for one day a week. Workout sessions are done on outside rides.

PHASE 1 (WALKING) lasts 6 weeks

We start to prepare the horse both physically and psychologically for the intensive exercise to follow. Starting by conditioning the legs and tendons of horse and rider. To improve the mental attitude of the horse, improving the disposition and obedience. For the horse to become familiar with the open road.


Work at the Longe

Start with Outside Work – Four times in the first weels, building  up to two or hree hours of active walk per session. The objective is for the horse to walk with purpose and not lag. The training is to walk properly and not jog, move on a loose rein with his head down and neck extended, allowing the back to move freely and develop the back muscles. Terrain features should be varied as possible – rough ground, up and down hills and ridges. Working in sand is beneficial, even tar roads for limited distances. These work sessions are done at a walk – the horse can trot on the longe. Work at the trot and canter is done in the arena sessions. The preliminary outside work sessions are performed at the walk, even up hill.

Walking uphill develops a strong muscle base .A few weeks of this work and there will be observable improvement at the end of the first phase. Take and compare before and after photos of the horse’s haunches. Taken from behind, with the tail pulled out of the way, be sure to observe the inner thigh muscles too.
In between the outside rides, one day lunging, one day school.

In the last 2 weeks of Phase 1 you can begin trotting short distances during the walking sessions in preparation for Phase 2.

PHASE II (Trotting) lasts 4 to 6 weeks.

In Phase II the objective is to develop stamina of horse and rider. Training to trot overlong distances in cadence and at a constant rate of march. The development of the trotting muscles and teach the horse to move freely at the trot. Not allowing the horse to break into a canter, but to stay at the trot until asked to canter. Developing the rider’s legs to be strong enough for riding long distances at the trot. While preparing the horse for the more physically intensive work to come.


Three to four outside workouts per week. -.Begin trotting slowly and alternate with periods of walking when the horse becomes tired or shows signs of respiratory distress. Gradually increase the work until the horse and rider can move freely at the trot for two hours without a break. With younger or unconditioned horses the longer this level of performance may require. Incremental improvement should allow for a gradual increase in the rate of march in this phase. The horse must move freely and relaxed at the trot, with with the head low, neck extended and back rounded. When moving this way the horse will develop long powerful strides. 

It can take years to master the ground-eating trot that a competitive hundred miler makes look easy. The objective in this training is not speed, do not ask the horse to pick up the pace. Typically it will throw the inexperienced horse and rider off balance and then onto the forehand. In that position the horse will begin to hang on the reins, it gets harder to stop and turn, all the while putting strain on the forelegs. 

Better to collect the horse, and then move in correct balance. The horse will start pushing the pace, as the physical condition of horse and rider naually improves from the work. Maintain a steady cadence, find the rhythm in the trot. Remember, this phase of the training is still at the trot, if the horse breaks into a canter the muscles that we are conditioning will not develop to their full potential. 

In between the outside work - Two days for recovery, inclusive of one longe work session, and one saddle session in the arena

A rest day is essential.  For both horse and rider. When the horse is ‘off’, starts the work with low energy, a few days off  can be beneficial. The horse could be ill, or mentally overwhelmed by the work.

There is no hard and fast rule, at this point in the training, horses, like people are not of uniform ability in adapting to the work. If the schedule is overwhelming either the horse or rider, fewer outside rides each week could be the answer. Judge each horse’s condition, individually. Chck their respiration rates, before and after the work, as well as the horse’s heart rate. These physiological signs, as well as the ‘feel’ of the horse, will all need to be in good condition before you go to an endurance ride.

PHASE 3 (Canter) lasts 2 weeks or longer

Cantering:


Conditioning the horse’s heart and lungs is achieved in this phase of the program. The horse will learn canter rhythmically and a constant rate. 

Cantering – Two sessions each week, with up to five sessions over the course of fourteen days. Start out at the trot and begin to canter for short distances. At this point alternating the gaits will begin to clear lactic acid built up in the muscles. Increase the distances gradually, the objective being to canter for a one hour during the two hour training session. Movement at the canter, equalling the time spent at the trot. The horse must be able to move at a controlled canter when in the company of other horses. Cantering relaxed on the rein at a constant rate of speed. Do not sprint the horse at full speed, if the horse feels fit and is in good physical condition, longer rides can be taken.

After the outside work there should be two to four days dedicated to recovery, longing and arena work on those days will be sufficient. 

Days off are important. At least one day of total relxation, and up to three. Monitor the horse closely, if there is any sign that he is ‘off’ do not hesitate to add another day of resst or minimal activity.

PHASE 4 (Building reserves/Tapering) lasts 1 week.

Building Reserves



In the week prior to the Endurance Ride, work the horse lightly, keep it excercised but do not stress it before the competition.
To prepare both novie horse and rider for their first, slow 80 km Endurance Ride will have taken three to four months of steady, methodical work. For the first time Endurance rider, on a novice horse it is certainly acceptable to ride a shorter distance, entering thirty or sixty km events prior to that first attempt at eighty km. The experience will improve the rider and subject the horse to the stress of the longer distances over a greater period of time. 

A novice horse is allocated five to six hours to complete the 80 km course, depending on the terrain. The novice rider should consider finishing the equivilent of winning that first 80 km ride. The experienced rider mounted on a novice horse will be building on the foundation laid in the training program, adding the first of many accomplishments to come in the horse’s career. It won’t be until the third season of endurance competition before it will becoe clear what level of performance  the horse is truly capable of, with regard to speed over long distance.


Maintain a Record

Track the horse’s physical condition as training progresses. Monitor the heart and respiration rates, before and after each training session. The pulse can be checked by placing a hand behind the horse’s left elbow, a stethoscope or a heart rate monitor can also be used. Check the horse’s heart rate before each training session. Typical ‘at rest’ heart rates range between 28 and 48 beats per minute.. At the start of the conditioning program the typical resting pulse, could be 42. As the training progresses that resting pulse rate will drop, down to 38 or 36. High resting heart rates, around 66 would be an indication of excitement or fear, it can also be a symptom of pain or fever often associated with colic or biliary fever.
Five or ten minutes after each work session monitor the horse’s heart rate, as the program proceeds the recovery times will decrease as the horse becomes fitter. Weather conditions can influence the respiration and heart rate recovery times.




108 comments:

  1. I traded in rides on my sister's horse for a Whizzer Motorbike.

    Never looked back.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sure did duck quick like tho, when the wife's sister's Arabian tried to erase my head on a low hanging 100 year old Oak limb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. (Traded in my Whizzer for The Farm)

      Delete
    2. Actually, it was my brother's Whizzer, and he's forgiven me for that.

      ...not for Bulldozing the Family's 55 Buick 4 door Hardtop that he lent me tho.

      I see his point now, having seen what Jay Leno's Collection and Carolla's Lambos have done, investment wise.

      I thought I was just composting some All American Detroit Iron.

      How little I knew.

      Delete
    3. Details, Watson, it's all about details if you're gonna git 'em to believe.

      Delete
    4. Don't hurt much if it's the Truth Too.

      ...although Rufus has yet to learn.

      Delete
  3. Malatone B Bouasym hails from From Grand Island, Nebraska.

    She Studies Electronics at University of Hawai'i Maui College.

    Questions?

    See previous thread -


    T h e L i b e r t a r i a n- Michoacán - Civil Defense and Mexican Special
    Forces- Closing in on Knights Templar Leaders

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great Lakes levels expected to rise on ice, snow fall...
    Flooding warned...

    ---

    Are you gonna be OK, Quirk?

    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  5. 'bout the only ice my snow might fall on is Shave Ice.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm still a sucker for
    T-111
    .

    Like love, there's just no 'splainin it.

    Brown Stain, or painted Grey.

    (My house here)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "T1-11 siding is perfect for use on barns and sheds."

      ---

      I'm hoping to get a downgrade from a barn to a shed with the IRS.

      Taxes saved would buy a lot of Sierra Nevada.

      Delete
    2. ...meant to say The County of Maui, of course.

      Don't think the Feds are taxing my Shed.

      ...yet.

      Delete
  7. (Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice Pic shows T-111 painted Grey, just so you know I'm not having visual hallucinations, yet.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. hmmm, the Libertarian is now a horsie blog. Will we get all 80 some odd thousand words of already published stuff reposted for our edification?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Don't read it if it doesn't interest you, Ash.

      Post something that does.

      How often does this blog stay on topic anyway?

      At least rat took the initiative to put up a post as we neared the 200 mark.

      .

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    3. True that and I am, by any means, NOT one to urge people to stay on topic. Still a pony blog :- 0

      Delete
    4. Cavalry, Ash, it is not the horse, it's the Cavalry.

      It is Mexico.
      It is Black Jack Pershing.

      It is 50,000 government horses penned up, being fed $4 million dollars worth of hay, every month.

      Soon we will get to the thread about Prisons, where inmates break and begin training small numbers of the government horses. They can train them, but the market for them is limited. We have already 'touched' on the Remount Service, that supplied horses to the cavalry, now the BLM has 50,000 of them penned up.

      Quite an inventory to draw rom

      We will look at the lack of an adequate border fence, as the engineering and construction costs, over the terrain features, would be astronomical. And would still have to be manned. Because the remote sensor systems have all failed in practical application.

      We will be looking at how the Cavalry was structured and the manpower requirement needed to patrol the border, when it was done on horseback.

      Tie the pieces together, Ash, in a long story arc.

      Because that is what is happening.
      Is for the exclusive reading and use of the folks at the Libertarian, no, it is not.

      Delete
    5. Ash, Rat is posting about what no one will argue back on.

      And the only reason I can post is that deuce has lifted the approved blogger list as he deleted me from the blog roll.

      Delete
  9. Not one on topic in the last thread, Doug. No one seemed to share his fascination for drugs, violence, guns, death and criminality.

    I like the horse threads but I'm the only one I think, the rest of you are all city slickers and may not have seen a living horse in your lifetimes.

    It's his only topic that isn't pure horse shit. He does know his horses. Which is something. Smidgeon II doesn't a thing, for instance.

    Look at this way, at least he is not threading about the Jews.

    Where is Miss T?

    Miss T, where are you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Potato Head is such a fat ass you'd need a crane to put him on a horse, then the horse would collapse. He rides around the golf course in a special 'lard ass' golf cart.

      Delete
    2. Look at his body weight to leg weight ratio ! I'm surprised he can stand up.

      Delete
    3. Might be a photo shop.
      *****************

      Obama poll numbers hit new low.

      Delete
  10. .

    Must admit that I have taken a certain guilty pleasure in seeing the administration's pompous and hypocritical pronouncements on Ukraine be met by a smug smile from Vlad the Impaler. It was especially gratifying to see John Kerry's presumption in grabbing the new Ukrainian prime minister and stowing him on his plane for a flight to Paris with the expectation that he could broker a meeting between the guy and the Russian Foreign Minister only to end up with a Russian no-show.

    What can I say? The hypocrisy out there really gets to me.

    However, that being said, I am also kind of getting tired of that smug little prick, Putin.

    Over the past year, there are things to thank Putin for, Syria and Iran come to mind. As for Crimea, we might as well forget about it. It's gone, if not de jure then de facto.

    That being said, at some point Putie will have reached the limits of his entertainment value and will need to be contained. The current allied (well to be honest, US) proposals are a joke. Six planes and a tanker are going to change the balance of power? I don't think so. Sanctions? The US has little leverage in the sanctions area since we do so little trade with Russia. Cutting off visas and visits to the US? What ruin a vacation or two? Putin isn't even on the list for those US sanctions.

    The EU consists of 28 countries and they all have different ideas on what they will and won't do. And Putin can punish many of them as much as they punish him.

    The US, especially the GOP, are talking about long term solutions like exports of LNG that likely would affect Russia. However, I'm not sure how they would affect this country, although they would certainly help Big Oil. And, as mentioned, they are long term. The neocons are pushing for putting missiles into Poland again but those type of actions by the US and NATO are what has made Russia more paranoid than usual as it is.

    However, there is one move the US could do that would grab Putin's attention immediately. We could take a tip from
    Reagan's playbook and simply cancel the new Salt treaty. Most people seem to think Russia got the best of us on that deal by limiting any expansion by the US while allowing the Russians to just junk some older generation equipment. The Russians lost the Cold War because they could not afford to keep up with the US either in money spent or technological improvements. Putin knows he doesn't have the resources to keep up with the US now. IMO, the threat of cancelling the Salt agreement would likely result in a quick attitude adjustment on Vlad's part.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why do you think an Arms race would benefit the US more than Russia?

      As to Putin gloating, I don't think so. I think he's done what he's done more out of fear and necessity (well, in his eyes anyway) than out of desire. A restive populace isn't easily governed with an iron fist. Many perils lie there.

      There is a certain amount of schadenfreude in seeing Putin throw back similar arguments as used by the US when it violated Sovereign nations.

      Delete
    2. How would it benefit the US government to spend ever more money it does not have?

      On weapons it does not need, and will not utilize?

      How many more nuclear weapons would the US put in Turkey?

      Delete
    3. .

      Frankly, I don't think an arms race would be necessary. Merely, the threat of cancelling Salt or the talk of it in Congress would likely be enough of a wake up call to remind Putin he doesn't hold all the cards.

      On the other hand you might be right. The change in the treaty was the first thing that came to mind when viewing the 'feckless' attempts that have been mentioned in punishing Russia so far.

      Still, Putin needs to be dealt a setback now and then just so he can get his head screwed on straight again.

      .

      Delete
    4. and the Ukrainians may be just the folk to do it.

      Delete
    5. He wanted the Crimea, he's got Crimea.

      They will vote on he 14th to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian ederation.

      Then they will.

      Look at a map, the choke point is obvious.
      The Ukrainians would lose.

      There is no one that is advocating for a military response from NATO or the US,
      no one that knows anything about it, anyway.

      There is that region further to the north, but that region is never discussed, and it's not worth figuring it out, 'cause no one talks about those folk. It is all about the naval port.

      Delete
    6. In 'Dune' it was 'all' about the "Spice", now, in Europe, it is all about the natural gas.

      And Russia, as Bloomberg put it yesterday ...

      To Big to Sanction

      Delete
    7. Not all is determined by military force Jack. I'm not sure Putin "wanted" Crimea, but he is settling for Crimea. He "wanted" all of Ukraine.

      Delete
    8. Nope, that does not seem to be the case, Ash.
      Or there would be great agitation in the north, where the Russian influence is just as great, where the population breaks down in a similar manner as in Crimea, and 'Nothing' is happening, there.

      It is all about the Crimea, it always has been.
      It is not about Kiev.

      They are a basket case, in Kiev, needing upwards of $15 Billion USD, post haste not to 'fail'.

      Delete
    9. Are you suggesting that his installing puppet Viktor Yanukovich was just a ruse in order to get Crimea? I think not. While Crimea and Russia have a long history the rest of the Ukraine has some value but that prize has been slipping away for quite some time.

      Delete
    10. Th 'Puppet' won the election, was acknowledge the legal President by the same Parliament that deposed him.

      If the ratification of his election by the Parliament was fraudulent, so was his impeachment.
      I do not think that is the case.
      I think he won the election, then let the opportunity for corruption run amok.

      As for 'Sphere of Influence' expansions and contractions, perhaps from a generational view, the Ukraine is 'slipping' from Russian influence,but only if one puts an arbitrary start/ finish to the story. Then only on the current map, not on the underlying ethnic and linguistic challenges they face.

      Delete
  11. Unless he wants o buy saddles and tack for the Cavalry Squadrons will be be advocating for, to control the border.

    At least, I'd think upwards of a twenty part series, why we need to, how we can and the historical background, laid as part of the educational foundation, as the program is advanced. Different exercises and civic services a horse mounted cavalry serve.

    We will definitely be visiting the use of the horse in Afghanistan, by US forces, there.

    Which will be but on of the historic references that will be used to illustrate the soundness of the proposal.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Gaza gunmen use booby-trapped horses against IDF
    Army continues to investigate foiled terror attack south of Karni crossing. Initial probe reveals cell believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda arrived with trucks, horses loaded with explosive devices, may have planned to kidnap soldier

    An Israel Defense Forces' investigation into a major terror attack thwarted Monday morning south of the Karni crossing in the Gaza Strip revealed that the gunmen, believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda, arrived at the crossing with several trucks and at least five horses loaded with explosive devices and mines.

    According to the army, it is possible that the gunmen had planned to kidnap a soldier.

    A new organization called "the army of Allah's supporters" claimed responsibility for the foiled terror attack. The organization said it would release details about the attack later in the day

    About 10 to 12 terrorists took the horses off the truck and began planting the devices near the fence. At this stage, they were spotted by an IDF force and began firing at soldiers from Golani's 13th Regiment.


    Got to love how Jack Hawkin's butt buddies the palestinians treat horses

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3728087,00.html

      Delete
    2. Do you believe they got Anti-Semites in the Ukraine, WIO?

      I was shocked, SHOCKED!

      Delete
    3. LOL why do you think my ancestors LEFT Kiev in 1910?

      Assholes to the left, assholes to the right, the Russians and Ukrainians deserve each other.

      Delete
    4. Just like in Syria…. Assholes on the right, assholes on the left.

      But not to worry, Deuce and Rat stand by the Arab palestinians. (who are really nothing more than arabs that left syriaand other arab shitholes) to live near Jewish who paid better for employment… Go back 100 years? There were as many arabs in the Jewish homeland as the population of Guam…. Which aint saying much….

      Delete
  13. Jackrat just passes horse gas. Some days ago he was assuring us Ukraine would be divided up between east and west Ukraine. Now he is just talking Crimea.

    He just say whatever pops into his 'mind' at the moment, usually based on the latest news items.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Crimea gets it's water from Ukraine.

    Some days they don't.

    Also rely on Ukraine for grain.

    Much of Crimea gets less rain than Los Angeles.

    Gas also piped through the ,Kraine, of course.

    Krainiacs could easily make life even harder for the Criminals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And Ukraine gets its energy from Russia, as does France, Poland, to a lessor extent Germany, as they have gone 'green'.

      Putin holds the hole card, major sanctions will be met with nationalization of US and EU properties in Russia.
      He can turn off the gas.

      Remember when OPEC used an embargo as a weapon, when the US and EU sanctioned Iran?

      The Iranians had no leverage, OPEC did.

      The EU will not take the risk of bringing their economies down to the Russian level.
      While the Russians seem to thrive on deprivation.

      Delete
    2. Not to worry, much of Europe will import natural gas from Israel in about 3 years….

      Fuck Russia.

      Delete
  15. With Obama sitting in the White House we won't do a thing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What would YOU have him do?

      What is Farmer Bob's policy prescription?

      Delete
    2. Farmer Bob's policies?? - flap gums and squawk "Obama is a Muslim purposely weakening America - don't call me names, don't call me names, Deuce has rules, Deuce has rules.....DEUCE HELP save me from the jackrat".

      Delete

  16. Flashback- Senator Obama pushed bill that helped destroy more than 15,000 TONS
    of ammunition, 400,000 small arms and 1,000 anti-aircraft missiles in Ukraine


    Obama traveled to Ukraine with Sen. Dick Lugar in 2005 just seven months after he became a senator, touring surplus weapons stockpiles.

    Most of the small arms and ammunition were left over when Soviets withdrew from Eastern bloc nations, and later dumped in Ukraine

    The two senators secured U.S. funding to help destroy the weapons instead of leaving them intact
    Ukraine exported more than 700,000 small arms in 2004-2007, including 101,000 each to Libya and the UK, and 260,000 to the U.S.

    But most of the ammunition stockpiles – crucial for keeping a standing army battle-ready – were destroyed.

    The two met in Kiev with President Victor Yushchenko, making the case that an existing Cooperative Threat Reduction Program covering the destruction of nuclear weapons should be expanded to include artillery, small arms, anti-aircraft weapons, and conventional ammunition of all kinds.

    After a stopover in London, the senators returned to Washington and declared that the U.S. should devote funds to speed up the destruction of more than 400,000 small arms, 1,000 anti-aircraft missiles, and more than 15,000 tons of ammunition.

    Many of the artillery shells shown in photographs from Donetsk, multiple weapons experts told MailOnline, would be the same types of ammunition required to repel advancing Russian divisions as they advanced to the west, had they not been destroyed.

    Payback: Obama presented Lugar with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in Novemvber 2013

    "IN RETURN FOR THE SECURITY ASSURANCES..."

    Clinton, Russia and the
    Budapest memorandum


    The Budapest Memorandum of 5 December 1994 - officially the Memorandum on Security Assurances in Connection with Ukraine's Accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - was signed by the Presidents of Ukraine, the Russian Federation and the US, and the Prime Minister of the UK to provide national security assurances to Ukraine.

    In return for the security assurances by the great powers, Ukraine decided to give up what was then the world’s third largest nuclear weapons stockpile and acceded to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

    It was Bill Clinton that got the whole thing started, and the whole thing was reaffirmed in 2009.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The rain in Kraine falls mainly upon the plain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The only good in Kraine are those who raise grain.

      Delete
  18. Gun Control works every time it's tried.

    ...for the Criminals.\

    Just ask Mr. Potatoe...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those with the guns control the QuikStop.

      Delete
  19. RAT: PLEASE TELL ME IF THOSE PENNED UP HORSES ARE ALLOWED TO BREED AND MULTIPLY.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a horse's rights issue.

      Freedom to Multiply Should Always Apply !!

      PETA

      Delete
    2. Farmer Bob now stands with PETA.
      Pro abortion for People, anti-contraceptive for horses.

      Delete
  20. "Mummified Body Found In Foreclosed Detroit Home..."

    Hope it's not Quirk's Mummy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm confused though. The mummy of Quirk, or the mummy of Quirk's mummy?

      Remember, Quirk is a designer baby, and had three parents.

      This can quickly get very quite quirky.

      Delete
  21. Jackass LIES, and he KNOWS it.

    I have never said I am Pro-abortion.

    I am personally against abortion, while recognizing other people have different views, and that some circumstances are excrutiating.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Off to battle The Faucet, and my gambling experiment.

      Cheers

      Delete
    2. Oh, Jack Hawkins said it was Farmer Bob, who in November of 2008 called or aborting Black babies.

      If that is not 'Bob" but some other 'Bob' so be it.

      But in November of 2008 'Bob" wanted, endorsed and advocated for aborting Black Babies, it was a sad day, indeed.

      Delete
    3. Oh, Jack Hawkins said it was Farmer Bob, who in November of 2008 called FOR aborting Black babies.

      Delete
    4. Maybe the current rendition of 'Bob' does not remember 2008.

      Maybe he is a different 'Bob'

      But Jack Hawkins stands by the allegation, four square.

      Bob approves of abortions, or denies the humanity of Black people.

      Delete
    5. Margaret Sanger is a Saint of the Left.

      Amen

      Delete
    6. Some societies, babies are no people until they are a year old. Or so I have read ...

      Eskimos would put first born girls 'out on the ice', or so went the Hollywood rendition ....

      Some tribes consider themselves to be 'Human' and all others, something less.

      'Bob' is one o them, or his mind has lost touch with his past . . .
      . . or it is not the authentic 'Bob' who now uses the sign-on of 'Bob'.

      Delete
    7. Some tribes consider young virgins to be Volcano Treats.

      Delete
    8. In the Hawaiian religion, Pele ( /ˈpeɪleɪ/ Pel-a; [ˈpɛlɛ]) is the goddess of volcanoes. She is a popular figure in many stories of ancient Hawaii known as Hawaiian mythology. Ka wahine ʻai honua ("the earth-eating woman") is an epithet for the goddess.[1]

      There are several traditional legends associated with Pele in Hawaiian mythology. In addition to being recognized as the goddess of volcanoes, Pele is also known for her power, passion, jealousy, and capriciousness. She has numerous siblings, including Kāne Milohai, Kamohoaliʻi, Nāmaka and numerous sisters named Hiʻiaka, the most famous being Hiʻiakaikapoliopele (Hiʻiaka in the bosom of Pele). They are usually considered to be the offspring of Haumea. Pele's siblings include deities of various types of wind, rain, fire, ocean wave forms, and cloud forms. Her home is believed to be the fire pit called Halemaʻumaʻu crater, at the summit caldera of Kīlauea, one of the Earth's most active volcanoes; but her domain encompasses all volcanic activity on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. [2]

      Pele shares features similar to other malignant deities inhabitants of volcanoes, as in the case of the devil Guayota of Guanche Mythology in Canary Islands (Spain), living on the volcano Teide and was considered by the aboriginal Guanches as responsible for the eruptions of the volcano.[3]

      Delete
    9. And jack believes every sperm is sacred and should be afford full constitutional protection.

      Delete
    10. No, not sperm, but fertilized eggs, which have reached 20 to 25 weeks of gestation.

      Not the same thing as sperm, Ash, not at all.

      That you would conflate the two, either an ignorant statement, or one designed to misrepresent the facts o the debate.

      Delete

    11. And the sacredness ...

      Right out of the secular Declaration of Independence ...

      LIFE, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness, those are just the inalienable rights that were put forth, in the writing.

      Inalienable rights that are well worth defending against the forces of darkness.

      Delete
    12. What is it that renders the being worthy of constitutional protections at, what was it 20, or 25, weeks of gestation? Where do you draw the line and why? In any case that makes you pro abortion, No?

      Delete
    13. I don't apply labels, Ash. I'll leave that to you.
      I never claimed to be either anti or pro abortion.

      Any more than I am pro or anti mastectomies.

      Why 20 to 25 weeks, that seems to be a reasonable balance point for the 'rights' of the mother and the 'rights' of the human fetus.

      Delete
    14. You have launched into histrionics over the years on just precise definitions. Just upstream you called bob pro abortion for advocating a similar attitude as yours just expressed.

      Delete
    15. The 'State' owns you, Ash.

      That has been demonstrated in the Selective Service legislation and its Constitutionality.

      The 'State' has a 'Right' to your life.

      So it is all a matter of balancing the individual's 'Rights' with the Authority of the 'State'.

      Delete
    16. So, arbitrary lines are fine if the State draws it - that's a feeble argument for accepting what the State dictates.

      Delete
    17. Yea, so what.

      I have never claimed to be anti-abortion. Not once.

      I have stated, REPEATEDLY, that there are religious leaders who claim that abortion is murder.
      I stand by by statements.
      The Pope, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, and probably some Mullah somewhere have all denounced abortion as murder.

      I have often pointed to the hypocrisy of those that proclaim their Judea-Christian religious convictions wile supporting the 'right' to abortion. As well as the hypocrisy of a 'religious state' that flaunts religious doctrine by murdering, under the definition of their own religious leaders, their own people.

      Delete
    18. And you fancy yourself a libertarian - sheesh!

      Delete
    19. I do not believe that the US is a 'Christian' state. It is not a 'Jewish' state, it is certainly not an 'Islamic' state.

      Other polities claim to represent a sect or religion, then disrespect it, by committing what their own religion defines as murder. That is worth noting, as it defines the moral state of the 'religious' polity.

      Delete
    20. A Librarian, Ash, as has often been stated, tambien.

      A Librarian, not a Libertarian.

      I do tend to vote for Libertarians, but they never win.
      So it more a vote against the one party system that dominates in the US, more than an affirmation of any particular policy position presented by Libertarians.

      Delete
    21. Tubers are Sacred...

      Protect the Potatoe!

      Delete

    22. And I would never DENY the political reality, in any country, just because I found it despicable.

      Delete
    23. Is a Canadian Potatoe a Contradiction in terms?

      Delete
    24. The Selective Service is the Law, it airms the authority of the State over the lives of the citizens.
      The State's 'Right' to their life.

      That is neither a sign of my support for or of my opposition to such legislation.
      It is an affirmation of political reality.

      Delete
    25. ... it AFFIRMS the authority of the State over the lives of the citizens

      Delete
    26. All fine and dandy jacko but, in the end, your answer is because the State said so. Good argument dude. Carry in preachin'

      Delete
    27. I tend to see myself as a Pragmatist, more than anything else, Ash.

      pragmatist
      A pragmatist is someone who is pragmatic, that is to say, someone who is practical and focused on reaching a goal. A pragmatist usually has a straightforward, matter-of-fact approach and doesn't let emotion distract them

      Delete
    28. Jack HawkinsThu Mar 06, 08:45:00 PM EST
      I tend to see myself as a Pragmatist, more than anything else, Ash.


      Pardon me while I laugh my ass off....

      Delete
    29. Love to be entertaining.

      I knew that nobody could be on television week after week as themselves and exist for any length of time,
      because no one has that rich a personality.... So I knew that I had to create some characters.

      JACKIE GLEASON

      Delete
    30. What I am saying Ash, is that the Government does decide, it should be a POLITICAL decision, not a Judicial decision, where the balance should be fund. The 'Rights' of each physically united participant in the pregnancy should be protected, but the balancing of the 'Rights' should be done by legislatures, within the boundaries defined by the Courts.

      Delete
    31. I join Anonymous in laughing my ass off, too.

      Delete
  22. The First Ever 2014
    Cadillac Electric Ad Drives Libs Nuts!


    Here’s the transcript:

    Why do we work so hard? For what? For this? (looking at a nice pool in his back yard) For stuff?

    Other countries, they work, they stroll home, they stop by the cafe, they take August off. Why aren’t you like that? Why aren’t we like that?

    Because we’re crazy, hardworking believers, that’s why. Those other countries think we’re nuts. Whatever. Were the Wright Brothers insane? Bill Gates? Les Paul? Ali?

    Were we nuts when we pointed to the moon? That’s right, we went up there, and you know what we got? Bored. So we left. Got a car up there and left the keys in it. Do you know why? Because we’re the only ones going back up there, that’s why.

    But I digress. It’s pretty simple. You work hard. You create your own look, and you gotta believe anything is possible. As for all the stuff, that’s the upside of only taking two weeks off in August. N’est-ce pas?

    ReplyDelete
  23. The South Can't Rise Again.

    Gravity Rules.

    Then again, they're not Canadians.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Radioactive Gambling Report

    Quantum Uncertainty Burst - Supernova


    J A C K P O T

    heh

    heh

    heh

    You bloggers are all a bunch of lazy SUCKERS

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arguing with a rat all day.

      Sad.

      heh heh heh

      Delete
    2. I don't understand my wife.

      She's always pissed when I win a jackpot.

      "Taxes" she says, "Taxes".

      Delete
  25. Pope Francis admits stealing rosary cross from confessor's casket.........drudge


    I will not comment. I like the guy. Though I have a good one on the tip of my tongue.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Missouri Teachers Object to Being Shot During Drills.........drudge

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder if Mississippi teachers are that bright?

      Delete
  27. Brutal: Just one in 10 uninsured who qualify for ObamaCare exchange plans has signed up

    Mar 6, 2014 6:01 PM by Allahpundit

    http://hotair.com/archives/2014/03/06/just-one-in-10-uninsured-who-qualify-for-obamacare-exchange-plans-have-signed-up/

    ReplyDelete
  28. Ben Carson can beat Hillary, and fix the health care fiasco too.....

    http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/is-ben-carson-the-republican-who-can-defeat-hillary-clinton-20140306

    ReplyDelete
  29. For those keeping count, the latest ObamaCare extension delay is Number #33.

    Get that, NUMBER #33

    This one moves some things out past the next election, so as to not stir up Low Information Voters.

    Every dumb vote counts.

    This information is provided to you from Yours Truly, your certified Fox News Watcher.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Opinions
    How the Ukraine crisis ends
    1023
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    By Henry A. Kissinger, Published: March 5

    Henry A. Kissinger was secretary of state from 1973 to 1977.

    Public discussion on Ukraine is all about confrontation. But do we know where we are going? In my life, I have seen four wars begun with great enthusiasm and public support, all of which we did not know how to end and from three of which we withdrew unilaterally. The test of policy is how it ends, not how it begins.

    Far too often the Ukrainian issue is posed as a showdown: whether Ukraine joins the East or the West. But if Ukraine is to survive and thrive, it must not be either side’s outpost against the other — it should function as a bridge between them.

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    Russia must accept that to try to force Ukraine into a satellite status, and thereby move Russia’s borders again, would doom Moscow to repeat its history of self-fulfilling cycles of reciprocal pressures with Europe and the United States.

    The West must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country. Russian history began in what was called Kievan-Rus. The Russian religion spread from there. Ukraine has been part of Russia for centuries, and their histories were intertwined before then. Some of the most important battles for Russian freedom, starting with the Battle of Poltava in 1709 , were fought on Ukrainian soil. The Black Sea Fleet — Russia’s means of projecting power in the Mediterranean — is based by long-term lease in Sevastopol, in Crimea. Even such famed dissidents as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Joseph Brodsky insisted that Ukraine was an integral part of Russian history and, indeed, of Russia.

    The European Union must recognize that its bureaucratic dilatoriness and subordination of the strategic element to domestic politics in negotiating Ukraine’s relationship to Europe contributed to turning a negotiation into a crisis. Foreign policy is the art of establishing priorities.

    The Ukrainians are the decisive element. They live in a country with a complex history and a polyglot composition. The Western part was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1939 , when Stalin and Hitler divided up the spoils. Crimea, 60 percent of whose population is Russian , became part of Ukraine only in 1954 , when Nikita Khrushchev, a Ukrainian by birth, awarded it as part of the 300th-year celebration of a Russian agreement with the Cossacks. The west is largely Catholic; the east largely Russian Orthodox. The west speaks Ukrainian; the east speaks mostly Russian. Any attempt by one wing of Ukraine to dominate the other — as has been the pattern — would lead eventually to civil war or break up. To treat Ukraine as part of an East-West confrontation would scuttle for decades any prospect to bring Russia and the West — especially Russia and Europe — into a cooperative international system.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ukraine has been independent for only 23 years; it had previously been under some kind of foreign rule since the 14th century. Not surprisingly, its leaders have not learned the art of compromise, even less of historical perspective. The politics of post-independence Ukraine clearly demonstrates that the root of the problem lies in efforts by Ukrainian politicians to impose their will on recalcitrant parts of the country, first by one faction, then by the other. That is the essence of the conflict between Viktor Yanu­kovych and his principal political rival, Yulia Tymo­shenko. They represent the two wings of Ukraine and have not been willing to share power. A wise U.S. policy toward Ukraine would seek a way for the two parts of the country to cooperate with each other. We should seek reconciliation, not the domination of a faction.

      Russia and the West, and least of all the various factions in Ukraine, have not acted on this principle. Each has made the situation worse. Russia would not be able to impose a military solution without isolating itself at a time when many of its borders are already precarious. For the West, the demonization of Vladimir Putin is not a policy; it is an alibi for the absence of one.

      Putin should come to realize that, whatever his grievances, a policy of military impositions would produce another Cold War. For its part, the United States needs to avoid treating Russia as an aberrant to be patiently taught rules of conduct established by Washington. Putin is a serious strategist — on the premises of Russian history. Understanding U.S. values and psychology are not his strong suits. Nor has understanding Russian history and psychology been a strong point of U.S. policymakers.

      Leaders of all sides should return to examining outcomes, not compete in posturing. Here is my notion of an outcome compatible with the values and security interests of all sides:

      1. Ukraine should have the right to choose freely its economic and political associations, including with Europe.

      2. Ukraine should not join NATO, a position I took seven years ago, when it last came up.

      3. Ukraine should be free to create any government compatible with the expressed will of its people. Wise Ukrainian leaders would then opt for a policy of reconciliation between the various parts of their country. Internationally, they should pursue a posture comparable to that of Finland. That nation leaves no doubt about its fierce independence and cooperates with the West in most fields but carefully avoids institutional hostility toward Russia.

      4. It is incompatible with the rules of the existing world order for Russia to annex Crimea. But it should be possible to put Crimea’s relationship to Ukraine on a less fraught basis. To that end, Russia would recognize Ukraine’s sovereignty over Crimea. Ukraine should reinforce Crimea’s autonomy in elections held in the presence of international observers. The process would include removing any ambiguities about the status of the Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol.

      These are principles, not prescriptions. People familiar with the region will know that not all of them will be palatable to all parties. The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced dissatisfaction. If some solution based on these or comparable elements is not achieved, the drift toward confrontation will accelerate. The time for that will come soon enough.

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html

      Delete