EQUITARIAN SESSION Fig. 1. Girls riding on the Standing Rock Reservation.


the Pine Ridge Reservation was $21,089 in 2014. And the per capita income was $6,067. Approxi- mately 61.0% of the population lives below the na- tional poverty line, including 74.6% of those under 18 years of age. Deplorable numbers for life expec- tancy, incarceration, and infant mortality follow. These truly disturbing statistics mean that resi- dents have few opportunities and resources. What they do have is a lot of open-range and free grazing. Horses thrive in an environment to which they are well adapted and with a people who honor them. Working equids come in several forms on the res- ervations. Many serve as recreation and sports horses for youth (rodeo and racing). Several tribal members raise “rough stock” for rodeos. From small contractors who use the low-cost grazing priv- ileges to maintain small bands of bucking horses for local junior and amateur events to individuals with serious breeding programs who aspire to having some of their saddle broncs make the National Fi- nals, these Indian ranchers provide income and jobs to reservation residents. Cattle ranching is an- other use for horses in the Dakotas, even though much of the work once done by horses is now given to the easier to train and faster all terrain vehicle (ATV). In addition, there are many horses that are bred on tribal lands simply because feed is inexpen- sive and because extended families have always kept and raised horses. Many of these animals are never trained and some certainly enter the slaugh- ter horse market. A final category are the “ditch horses” who are abandoned on tribal lands, usually near roadways, and have to be herded onto common pastures to prevent traffic accidents and damage to infrastructure. In fact, nobody knows how many horses are actually on the ranges of the Dakota tribes.


Services provided by volunteer veterinarians, reg-


istered veterinary technicians, and students include castration, lameness diagnosis and treatment, her- nia surgery, dentistry, hoof trimming, acute care for wounds and injuries, and occasionally, humane eu-


310 2015  Vol. 61  AAEP PROCEEDINGS


thanasia. The approximately 500 castrations and 50 cryptorchids that we do a year in the Dakotas are particularly important. Although many ranch and reservation residents still “cut their own colts,” there are fewer and fewer individuals who can do an unanesthetized castration safely and effectively. We certainly do not condone surgery without anes- thesia or analgesia, but several families have been doing their own procedures with a good horse, a rope, and a knife for years. A few feel that this helps maintain their culture. However, most rec- ognize the added safety to all of proper anesthesia, even if they do not necessarily worry about humane concerns. We vaccinate for tetanus and deworm horses on which we do other procedures. How- ever, doing large-scale vaccination and deworming, (something that most tribal members can do them- selves) draws resources from other activities that require more skilled veterinary personnel. Paren- thetically, most of the dentistry we do is for major abnormalities (fractured teeth, abnormal eruption, extractions in older horses, etc.), with most of the horses presenting for examination having really good mouths, presumably due to a very natural diet of long-stem grass. Given that most of the horses are of the same Quarter Horse breeding seen else- where in the country, genetics probably plays a less important part in dental health. On the “rez,” wounds and hoof problems tend to go unattended until they are fairly severe due to a lack of local veterinary service, lack of a basic level of training in the reservation animals, and the fact that many of these horses live on open ranges without frequent human contact. Caring for these injuries can be challenging; however, using the principles of wound healing, techniques such as regional limb perfusion, have resulted in a fair amount of success. Humane euthanasia is occasionally required though, using techniques that do not leave a toxic carcass on the prairie. Hoof trimming of young horses that are not trained (or never will be) is another important func- tion. Soft spring ground and excellent forage tends to make really serious hoof overgrowth common. Often anesthesia is the only option for dealing with badly overgrown, distorted, or cracked hooves. All these procedures provide a wealth of experi-


ence for veterinary students. To optimize their training and to insure that the horses get the best care possible, it is essential that a teaching program follow the following principles:


● Detailed curriculum which students must study prior to their field experience


● Thorough orientation introducing techniques, protocols, and expectations


● Supervision by staff experienced in field med- icine and surgery


● Record keeping on all horses treated ● Followup both in the immediate (daily rounds)


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