NEWS in 2022

PRESS RELEASE MARCH 1, 2022
Our local Roaring Fork Valley Horse Council(RFVHC) nonprofit organization created this Trail Safety sign, which has been nationally recognized by the Kentucky-based Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR).

In 1996, members of the United States Pony Club’s Task Force for the 21st Century identified loss of land and access as the greatest threat to the future of equestrian activities. The Equine Land Conservation Resource (ELCR) was founded to address this threat and to preserve land for equestrian use.

This sign and RFVHC text appear in the Michigan Trails Representative, Jenny Cook’s Trails Safe Passing Plan: Stop, Speak and Stand Back, just published in the ELCR Spring 2022 Newsletter for National distribution. https://elcr.org/trails-safe-passing-plan/    Look below for the Download of the Power Point Plan. The Trails Safe Passing Plan: Stop, Speak and Stand Back educational PowerPoint presentation is available here. (This large file can be accessed in the link above, and we ask you share it with your user groups, friends and families. Anyone that trails!)

The dramatic increase in outdoor recreation since the onset of the COVID pandemic adds increased pressure on already overcrowded and undermaintained trails, which can lead to more potential conflicts between user groups on both public and private lands. 

The Trails Safe Passing Plan: Stop, Speak and Stand Back is an educational resource developed to help all trail users to better understand a horse’s natural prey survival instincts; how they perceive threats and how they react to their environment. Understanding these horse facts can help eliminate fear of horses and will provide a plan of safe action, when encountering horseback riders on the trail. 

By supporting organizations like the RFVHC, the ELCR and your own state horse trail riding groups you can assist the equestrians by “keeping horses on trails”.  RFVHC President and Aspen native, Karin Reid Offield began riding horses with the “Aspen Riding Club” that started in 1952 adds, ”The RFVHC works every day by supporting our own Roaring Fork Hounds Pony Club founded in 1970 and by preserving and protecting our Western Heritage history for our kids and families.  We are so pleased and proud to become a part of this national program.”
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Recognizing that the community of trail users continues to grow at an exponential rate, ELCR joined an unprecedented consortium of advocacy groups, brands, media outlets, and ambassadors that have come together to create the public awareness campaign “Trails are Common Ground (TaCG)” in February 2021.The campaign elevates the importance of respectful, inclusive, safe, and enjoyable experiences on trails.  All trail user groups are invited to participate. To learn more about the campaign and how you can support the movement go to https://trailsarecommonground.org/

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HOW TO MANAGE YOUR HORSES DURING THIS COVID CRISIS
To our supporters and members of the Roaring Fork Horse Council. Below,  is the best equine facility advice of how to handle equine decisions and information we could find that covers many issues about equine activities. These are national guidelines, so please follow first, your own stable regulations, and state guidelines put in place by the owner/s managers teams.
Your stables are looking out for YOU and your horse..

Information from the Equine Disease Communication Center in Lexington, Kentucky
The Equine Disease Communication Center, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., is a horse industry initiative developed to protect horses and the horse industry from the threat of infectious diseases in North America. Developed March 2020 by the AAEP Infectious Disease Committee. Support for the EDCC comes entirely from sponsor donations which are tax deductible. To learn more about the EDCC, visit http://www.equinediseasecc.org/

1. HERE IS A LINK FOR INFORMATION FOR ALL BREEDERS, BREEDER SHEDS & TRANSPORT DURING THIS TIME - super important details!   http://equinediseasecc.org/Content/ContentDocs/COVID-19_Sheds.pdf

2. Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in Equestrian Facilities
FACILITY PERSONEL:
• Restrict access to a boarding facility to essential personnel (veterinarians, farriers, equine caretakers, trainers, and essential owners).
• Prohibit non-essential persons (students, friends, family members) from entering the facility.
• Stay 6 feet apart from other people and do not congregate.
• Do not allow access to the facility to anyone who has been exposed a person with symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, shortness of breath, or fever) or if the person wanting access is showing any symptoms of COVID-19. View the CDC’s guidance on COVID-19 symptoms here.
• Limit crosstie use to every other crosstie.
• Use an online sign-up form to encourage horse owners to commit to an hour that they will be riding or visiting the barn, and limit each time slot to ensure that no more than 10 people are on the grounds at a time.
FACILITY ENVIRONMENT:
• Please do not touch anything unless you need to use it.
• Avoid sharing equipment and supplies between persons.
• The virus can persist on non-porous materials (leather bridles/saddles/halters, nylon halters/lead ropes, gate latches, door handles, spray nozzles) longer than porous materials (cotton lead ropes, saddle pads).
o Clean communal leather tack daily with tack cleaner in your own bucket and water
o Disinfect gate latches, spray nozzles, cross tie snaps, pitchforks, wheelbarrows, and other frequently used non-porous surfaces regularly or after contact with personnel.
o Stall door handles, hose ends, light switches, and feed scoops are handled by many people and should also be cleaned and disinfected frequently.
o Only designated individuals (trainers/staff) are to move and set jumps or other arena equipment.
o Prohibit the shared use of grooming supplies, helmets, and tack as these may be sources of environmental transmission of COVID-19 to other humans.
• Although there is NO EVIDENCE that horses can contract or become ill from COVID-19, practice good hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds or using a >60% alcohol hand sanitizer after touching a horse, communal areas, or communal equipment to prevent environmental spread of the virus. 
Hand sanitizer is not as effective as soap and water, so only use when there is no soap and water available and hands are not visibly soiled.

3. UPDATE: If an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19
If an employee is confirmed to have COVID-19, employers should inform fellow employees of their possible exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace but maintain confidentiality as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Employees exposed to a co-worker with confirmed COVID-19 should refer to CDC guidance for how to conduct a risk assessment of their potential exposure.

4. What happens if YOU GET SICK  http://equinediseasecc.org/Content/ContentDocs/COVID-19-Caring-for-your-horse-during-a-pandemic-finalxx.pdf.   Who will care for YOUR HORSE? Here's a link to a document that you can follow and create instructions. 

5. Need help to feed your horses? We will become a partner in a Covid - Hay Bank - Please contact us for more information. 

6.. This photograph you can download as a poster in your barn.   https://aaep.org/sites/default/files/images/COVID_19andBarn_%20safety.jpg
Here is the link to download and print.


​​DEADLINE April 12, 2020 - Mountain Lion Management Plan for the Western Slope https://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/PopulationManagementPlans.aspx

RED ALERT! Electric Bikes 
We need to direct our readers to respond immediately BLM, US Forest Service, and DIO directly and please copy us. These are the email addresses copied on the Wilderness Society letter. We press all horsemen, horsewomen, friends and outdoor recreationalists to write  to the following leaders and land managers. We need a ground swell of your voices to help keep trail use organized and in keeping with traditional hiking, horseback riding and human powered bicycle use. 

The Secretary of the Department of Interior has already made the decision regarding e-bikes being allowed on multi-use trails. Horsemen will most likely see ebikes on the Crown, Redhill, our Historic Sutey Ranch , and other BLM managed lands and possibly on other US Forest Lands . On August 29th he issued order # 3376 . In a nutshell, ebikes could be allowed anywhere on the Department of Interior managed Lands (US Forest, BLM, US Fish & Wildlife Agency) where other types of bikes are allowed including mountain bikes. Unless our voices can be heard. 

As horsemen and horsewomen, you need to become involved locally and stay informed if you find this concerning. The following link is a letter of protest signed by many agencies including the Back Country Horsemen of America explaining the negative impact this new order will have on our public lands and our enjoyment and safety. Here is the link to the Wilderness Society letter you can use: https://www.wilderness.org/articles/media-resources/letter-outdoor-groups-opposes-allowing-e-bikes-non-motorized-trails-public-lands


HERE ARE THE EMAIL LINKS FOR YOUR LETTERS, the postal addresses at the end of this report  are for below: 
Vicki Christiansen - Chief, USDA Forest Service vcchristiansen@fs.fed.us
Dan Smith - Deputy Director, National Parks Service Daniel_Smith@nps.gov
William Perry Pendley/Michael Nedd – Acting Director(s), Bureau Land Management blm_wo_director@blm.gov
Andy Tenney -Division Chief, Recreation and Visitor Services, Bureau of Land Management atenney@blm.gov
Michiko Martin - Director, Recreation, Heritage and Volunteer Services USDA Forest Service michikojmartin@fs.fed.us
Bob Ratcliffe - Division Chief, Conservation and Outdoor Recreation National Park Service robert_ratcliffe@nps.gov
Roaring Fork Valley Horse Council : RFVHC.colorado@gmail.com 

Links to information from the Wilderness Society including letter of Protest sent to Department of Interior 
https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/here-are-facts-e-bikes-and-public-lands
https://www.wilderness.org/articles/press-release/national-groups-blast-interior-dept-opening-non-motorized-trails-e-bikes

Please review, send a letter yourself to our local BLM Agency in Silt, Colorado, US Forest Service. Below is the postal contact information.  Please CC.  your letter to the RFVHC. Email addresses to important law makers are listed above. The RFVHC Postal Address is: Box 127 Snowmass, CO. 

BLM Silt Co Office:  https://www.blm.gov/offi…/colorado-river-valley-field-office
Mailing Address: 
2300 River Frontage Road
Silt, CO 81652
Phone: 970-876-9000
Please CC: 

US Forest Service Supervisors Office: https://www.fs.usda.gov/land/whiteriver/landmanagement
White River 
National Forest
Supervisor's Office
900 Grand Ave. 
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
(970)-945-2521 

Dept of Interior Secretary
feedback@ios.doi.gov The current interior secretary is David Bernhardt, who held the office in an acting capacity until April 2019. He succeeded Ryan Zinke who resigned on January 2, 2019. David Bernhardt is from Rifle.
Mailing Address: Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240


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COLORADO OUTBREAK FOR VSV 2019-2020-2021 Equestrians please stay aware and up-to-date in your area.
Click twice on these links to open
VSV Update: Colorado Vesicular Stomatitis  
The National link from the USDA  Updates on Equine Health & Diseases will also keep you, your neighbors, stable help, and equine friends "in the know" for all up-to-date equine news.  

Please let the RFVHC, the Colorado Horse Council or the Colorado Department of Agriculture know if you need help. A "need" for a blue ribbon, a championship, a horse sale or transport, or a training job is not important enough to put our local valleys and our animals in risk.  
MAKE PLANS TO CHANGE YOUR PLANS - KEEP THE Roaring Fork Valley and beyond SAFE, and our counties "OFF" THIS LIST!

HERE IS A GUIDE FOR YOUR VETS - MAKE SURE YOUR VET IS AWARE! 
https://drive.google.com/…/1pr0wyN2IRz7LNyC-L4mU2Ssyuu…/view
PHOTOGRAPHS OF SHOWING SYMPTOMS IN HORSES
https://drive.google.com/…/1AWC-7db4_vhlnNqT7TZDQ7Knxj…/view
PHOTOGRAPHS OF SYMPTOMS IN CATTLE
https://drive.google.com/…/1iFf54b75AvZJbJ13q4kSrVKv_S…/view

THE HISTORIC SUTEY RANCH - PERFECT FOR HORSEBACK RIDERS - YOUNG HORSES, BEGINNER TRAIL RIDERS

RFVHC Letter to The Colorado River Valley Field Office - BLM (PDF)

​Please go to the PROJECTS PAGE for more Suety and Haines History During the summer and into the fall, the steps to finalize the designs for the Historic Sutey Ranch equestrian parking and the Mountain Bike Trail are reaching consensus. The work that was done on equestrian parking by the New Hampshire Horse Council is being sent to the land managers, so that we can be assured the parking configurations for the Sutey Ranch are sufficient. Here is a  equestrian parking document for your education and review:http://www.nhhorsecouncil.org/NHHC%20Forms/Equestrian%20Parking-General.pdf

         SPEAK UP FOR EQUESTRIAN PARKING  -  
​Without parking lots equestrian's are not able to access our beautiful trail systems     

Thank the BLM and neighboring Land Managers for helping us travel the Crown Jewel Trail
  2018-19-20-21 RFVHC Project

​ROARING FORK VALLEY HORSE COUNCIL
P.O. Box 127, Snowmass, Colorado 81654
* 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization *
rfvhc.colorado@gmail.com   Facebook: www.facebook.com/keephorsesontrails/
​Instagram: www.instagram.com/rfvhc/