08/28/98

Save the Lipizzan Horses!

The Bosnian War has extracted a terrible price from a herd of helpless horses, the rare Lipizzans. Developed over 400 years ago by the Hapsburg monarchy for its use during times of war and peace, the Lipizzan is the true horse of royalty and is appreciated for its intelligence, classic beauty and harmonious athleticism. With fewer than 2,000 purebred Lipizzans in the world, the breed is considered rare and extreme care is needed to insure its preservation.

Sue Brander, a freelance writer and avid horsewoman, sent me the following information, which outlines the plight of these horses and efforts she has mounted to mobilize rescue efforts via the Internet.

"From a pre-war herd of 200 Lipizzans at the Vucijak stud farm in Bosnia, only 64 remain, and some of those are 1997 and ’98 foal crop. Stallions are tied in stalls all day without exercise because there are no fences remaining. The stud lacks the equipment and hands to raise its own food for the horses. The remaining horses need food and medicine in the short term, and the stud needs to buy equipment and rebuild to reach basic equine management standards and become self-sustaining.

"Throughout history, the Lipizzan herd has survived by fleeing in times of war. They did not flee when this war began, and now they are trapped. For many Americans, the obvious solution is to airlift the surviving 64 horses out of Bosnia to a safe haven.

"Unfortunately, there is no General Patton to save the Lipizzans, as the great American general did in the last days of World War II. We could raise the money to do it. But the Croats claim they own the horses. The Serbs claim they own them. If the Croats ship them out, they fear the herd will be turned over to the Serbs in international negotiations. These horses are hostages of human hostilities. The time may come when they can live in peace, or escape to peace. That time will never come, if they starve and die of diseases while we argue and wring our hands."

When Sue first wrote about the desperate plight of these horses, she didn't think there was anything she could do except report the facts. But after giving it some thought, she decided to collaborate with her artistic daughter, Sarah, and create a tee-shirt to sell to help save these priceless horses. The shirt depicts a Lipizzan rider doing a levade. Sue found out that the moneys made from the sale of the shirts would be forwarded to the Lipizzan International Federation in Belgium, which in turn would control expenditures for food, medical supplies and building materials as needed.

Putting a sales and marketing campaign together without the Internet would have been prohibitively expensive. But it was all planned and carried out, coast-to-coast, with help from Nancy Stockdale, Manager of the US Lippizan Registry in Salem, Oregon. Sue and Nancy created a national fund-raising campaign via e-mail messages and one 50 minute phone call (at 10 cents a minute.)

Not only has Sue mounted an Internet campaign to raise funds for the Lipizzans, but she has also written articles for publication in magazines, newspapers and television. She's on the trail of live national media coverage, as well.

Anyone interested in joining Sue's efforts to save the Lipizzans, can contact her at: sbadger@snet.net.

Or contact Nancy Stockdale at the US Lipizzan Registry, 707-13th Street, Suite 275, Salem, Oregon, 97301. Email address: USLRoffice@aol.com

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Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.