JULY 2026 NL
Happy Semi quin centennial Birthday to the United States! This 4th of July marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence!
Holiday Safety for the Horse
The birthday of our great nation gives us cause for celebration. Firework displays may be entertaining to us but cause fear and panic even in gentle horses. Try and be proactive before the noise and lights begin. Bring the horses into the barn with a fan and music to temper the noise and prevent injury. If you don’t have a barn, limit how much room they have to move in by confining them in a small paddock. Horses that panic in a large pasture may run and hit a fence at full speed, causing injury. Keep hay in front of them to help keep their mind away from anxiety. Chewing activates the rest and digest state, which lowers heartrate and re directs the brain away from anxiety. A horse with a full hay net is calmer than one standing in an empty stall or corral waiting for something to happen. Putting cotton in the horse’s ears helps decrease the nose. We have oral tranquilizer if needed to help calm your horse.
At least with all the recent rain we won’t have to worry about our pastures catching fire from the fireworks!
Holiday Schedule
On Saturday, the 4th of July, we will not be open for our Saturday clinic. If you have an emergency, Dr. Hayes will be on call throughout the holiday weekend.
Our Nation’s Independence
The Declaration of Independence, the founding document of the United States, announced that the13 Colonies severed their ties with Great Britain. Declaring themselves as independent states through Thomas Jefferson’s bold words:
“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new Government.”
There are 27 specific grievances against King George which included No taxation without representation, cutting off trade, and denying the right to a trial by jury.
John Hancock was the first signature as president of the Continental Congress. The other 50 delegates signed by state from north to south with some signing a month later. Famous signers include Thomas Jefferson, primary author of the Declaration of Independence and 3rd US President, John Adams political powerhouse 2nd US President, Benjamin Franklin age 70 statesman, printer, scientist, Samuel Adams of Sons of Liberty, Alexander Hamilton treasury secretary, Arron Burr (who shot Alexander Hamilton in a duel). George Washington did not sign. He was serving as commander in chief of the Continental army and was not a delegate to the Continental Congress. As the 1st President, he is “the father of our country”.
In 1826, the celebration of the 50th anniversary of American independence was in Washington DC with John Quincey Adams (son of John Adams) as 6th president. John Adams (age 90) and Thomas Jefferson (age 83) were asked to attend but could not due to ill health. Providentially, they both died on July 4.
THE GREAT SEAL of the United States was also proposed on July 4, 1776. It is on the back of our $1 bill. The front of the seal is on the right side, and the back of the seal is on the left side of our dollar bill with George Washingon on the front. Below the seals, the words THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES.
On the front of the great Seal is an American bald eagle with a shield of 13 vertical stripes. In its left talon is 13 arrows and in its right talon an olive branch. The eagle’s beak holds a scroll with our motto E Pluribus Unum. A crest of 13 stars from which a glory illuminates is above the eagle’s head. All thirteens represent the original 13 states. The Latin E PLURIBUS UNUM means “out of many, one” which is the joining of those states into one nation. Charles Thomson, the designer of the great seal, said that the shield is “born on the breast of an American Eagle without any other supporters to denote that the United States of America ought to rely on their own virtue”. The olive branch and arrows denote the power of peace and war which is exclusively vested in Congress. The eagle’s head is turned toward the olive branch.
On the back of the Great Seal, in Thomson’s words, there is “a pyramid unfinished. In the zenith, an eye in a triangle surrounded by glory proper. Over the eye, these words ANNUIT COEPTIS ‘he approves of what has been started’. On the base of the pyramid, the numerical letters MDCCLXXIV (1776). Underneath the pyramid is the motto ‘NOVIS ORDO SECLORUM which means New Order of the Ages.” Thomson explains “The pyramid signifies Strength and Duration. The eye over it & motto allude to the many signal interpositions of providence in favor of the America cause. The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Independence and the words under it signify the beginning of the new American era which commence from that date.” Christopher Flannery wrote “the unfinished pyramid under the eye of God, the early work of American Freedom, aspiring to be worthy of divine approval, is always unfinished. Thomson concludes “to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor”.
The 13 colonies listed in chronological order of their founding:
Virginia 1607 (Williamsburg) Massachusetts (pilgrims)1620 New Hamshire 1623 Maryland 1634 (for queen Mary) Connecticut 1635 Rhode Island 1636 Delaware 1638 North Carolina 1653 South Carolina 1653 New York 1664 (formerly the Dutch colony New Amsterdam) New Jersey 1664 Pennsylvania (William Penn) 1685 Georgia (King George II) 1732.
Have a Happy and Safe 4thof July!
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