Niobe Thompson brings us a new documentary about humans and horses | Nature of Things

Raoul Bhatt

Published

7 years ago

3 minute read

Equus Doc: Story of the horse Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/equusdoc/

We’re surrounded by facebook posts, insta-stories & tweets, giving us, which seems like weekly, teasers of how the world is making innovations in human transportation. With tap ready headlines like “Canada falling behind in the race to build Elon Musk’s hyperloop.” Always driving us to look for the next best way to get to point B. But did we ever stop to wonder, and look back, before the world of trains and Teslas, how humans transformed the world of around us with horse power.

 What is it that makes humans and horses so perfect for each other. And how have we transformed the wild horse we tamed 6,000 years ago into over 400 specialized breeds today.

To answer these questions, Canadian celebrity anthropologist-turned-filmmaker Niobe Thompson, part of David Suzuki’s team at Nature of Things. Takes viewers on an epic journey across eleven countries on three continents and back in time to the mysterious beginnings of the horse-human relationship. Over three spectacular hours of cutting-edge science and gripping adventure, split up into a three part series launching Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 8PM (8:30 NT), with episodes 2 and 3 airing on subsequent Sundays. Thompson explores the evolution of horsepower, discovers how our ancestors tamed the horse and learns fascinating new insights into the body and mind of this unique animal.

Tickets for Advance Screening at the Winspear Centre on September 17th @ 6PM
https://www.winspearcentre.com/tickets/events/other/2018/equus-story-of-the-horse/

Thompson goes a global adventure of discovery, living and riding with horse nomads in Arabia, Siberia and Mongolia, travelling into the field with archeologists, geneticists, and horse psychologists, and above all, getting friendly with horses everywhere he goes.

In Episode 1, Origins, Thompson takes us 45 million years back in time to meet Dawn Horse, a creature that led to all horses today. Tiny, forest roaming, vulnerable to predators, and a fruit eater, Dawn Horse’s fossil remains are brought to life by evolutionary biologist Martin Fischer and Thompson’s team of 3D animators.

How do these huge animals practically fly? Thompson visits some of the fastest, and most valuable, horses on Earth, and learns how elastic energy and a bizarre ability to breath-hold make these some of the fast land-runners in nature.

Why are horses so willing to please? Through some fascinating experiments, English horse psychologist Karen McComb discovers that horses use 17 different facial expressions to communicate. (That’s one more than dogs and three more than chimpanzees!)

Thompson spends a day in the Canadian Rockies with “extreme cowboy” Jimmy Anderson, a horse whisperer who has left the old idea of “breaking horses” behind. Anderson doesn’t break horses – he starts them. We get to learn his secrets, as he starts an “unbroke” colt.

Excerpts from https://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episodes/equus-the-story-of-the-horse

Related Topics:David Suzuki nature of things niobe Thompson

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Master agreement approved for event park and Village at ICE District

Published on August 27, 2025

Todayville Edmonton

News release from the City of Edmonton

City Council has approved the Master Agreement between the City of Edmonton and the Oilers Entertainment Group (OEG) to develop the Public Event Park and the Village at ICE District. Along with the Government of Alberta and the OEG, the City is working to accelerate the development of more housing, new public infrastructure and economic opportunities in the city’s downtown area. In addition to creating new development in the ICE District, the signing of the agreement enables the City to access provincial funding to demolish the Coliseum and continue to progress work on Exhibition Lands.

The total cost of all projects is $408.2 million, which will be shared among all three partners and will deliver:

A new indoor/outdoor Public Event Park in the ICE District
A 2,500 unit community in the Village at ICE District
Demolition of the Coliseum and work to advance the early stages of the Exhibition Lands development

“This type of investment in downtown helps answer the call of downtown vibrancy and could have a cascade effect to stimulate further investment,” said Edmonton City Manager Eddie Robar. “We thank all our team members that had a part in getting this agreement negotiated and in place, as it was a lot of work and represents a huge step forward.”

The event park, estimated at $250 million, will increase downtown vibrancy with events that bring people downtown including low-to-no-cost events for the community as part of the Public Benefits Agreement. It will also generate positive publicity and enhance Edmonton’s reputation as a world-renowned destination, while adding to the local economy.

The preliminary work for the Village at ICE District, estimated at $68.2 million, will expedite the development of 2,500 new housing units and stimulate an estimated $1 billion in private sector investment. It will also lead to the creation of a new downtown park and enhance public streetscaping, including wider sidewalks and pedestrian crossings.

The Coliseum Demolition and Improvement Project, estimated at $90 million, includes $55 million from the provincial government and $35 million from the City of Edmonton. This project will fund the demolition of the Coliseum and the construction of public infrastructure in Exhibition Lands to help create a unique, centrally-located infill urban community that is well-connected to downtown and other areas of the city in the coming decades.

“These catalytic investments are going to set off the next round of transformational growth and development in our downtown, and these projects demonstrate the impact of real partnership for economic development,” said Puneeta McBryan, CEO of the Downtown Business Association. “It is encouraging for the Edmonton business community to see the Government of Alberta and City of Edmonton working together to take our downtown economy to the next level, coupled with the proven success and significant investment from their partners at Oilers Entertainment Group. We’re so excited to see all of this come to life.”

The City will use revenues from the Capital City Downtown Community Revitalization Levy (CRL) to fund its portion of the Event Park and site servicing for ICE District projects. It will also leverage land development revenues already earmarked in the capital budget for the Coliseum demolition to fund other important early work in the Exhibition Lands development.

Council’s approval of the master agreement and associated capital profiles allows the City to execute the agreement with the OEG, which paves the way for all three projects to progress. The master agreement also ensures that grant agreements between the City and the Province must be executed, confirming the provincial funding contributions for all projects.

For more information:

edmonton.ca/eventparkagreement

Alberta

Edmonton Murder Shows Trudeau Has Lost Control Of Crime

Published on December 8, 2024

Todayville

Harshanedeep Singh from rozanaspokesman.com

News release from the Conservative Party of Canada

After nine years, the NDP-Liberal government has lost control of crime. Violent crime has skyrocketed by 50 percent since Trudeau became Prime Minister and 256 people were killed by a criminal who was out on bail or another form of release in 2022, the latest year available with full data.

On Saturday, Canadians witnessed the shocking, heinous murder of Harshandeep Singh, a 20-year-old security guard in Edmonton, Alberta. Singh was shot in the back while thanklessly doing his job as a nighttime security guard at a central Edmonton apartment building. A promising young life was snuffed out by a cold-blooded monster.

“One cannot imagine how Harshandeep’s family and friends feel,” said Tim Uppal, Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family at this incredibly difficult time.”

Edmonton Police have since arrested two individuals and charged them with first degree murder: “Evan Rain, 30, and Judith Saulteaux, 30, were arrested and charged with 1st degree murder in relation to Singh’s death.”

Early indications suggest that Rain has a known prior violent history, with media reports aligning with Rain’s current age. In 2018, an “Evan Chase Francis Rain”, then age 24, was charged for a violent kidnapping in Wetaskiwin, one hour south of Edmonton. A woman was forced into the trunk of a car at gunpoint. It is not clear from media reports how this case was concluded.

In 2022, “Evan Rain, 28, of Paul First Nation” (45 minutes west of Edmonton) faced twenty-nine charges for a violent robbery in northern Saskatchewan involving firearms.

This is from the 2022 RCMP news release at the time:

Evan Rain, 28, of Paul First Nation, is charged with:

-one count, robbery, Section 344, Criminal Code;
-one count, have face masked with intent to commit an indictable offence, Section 351(2), Criminal Code;
-eight counts, possess a firearm knowing it was obtained by the commission of an offence, Section 96(2), Criminal Code;
-one count, possession of property obtained by the commission of an offence, Section 354(1)(a), Criminal Code;
-one count, mischief under $5,000, Section 430(4), Criminal Code;
-sixteen counts, possess a firearm while prohibited, Section 117-01(3), Criminal Code; and
-one count, point a firearm, Section 87(2), Criminal Code.

The status of these charges is not readily apparent. The RCMP’s 2022 news release does make clear that Rain was already prohibited from possessing firearms: “sixteen counts, possess a firearm while prohibited, Section 117-01(3).”

“It appears that our so-called ‘justice’ system terribly failed Harshandeep Singh – just as it has outrageously failed so many others,” said Uppal. “Harshandeep Singh’s murder cannot be accepted as just an unfortunate, unavoidable reality in our society. Authorities should answer to Rain’s prior police interactions and potential criminal history, including whether he was out on bail or some other form of release order.”

Life wasn’t like this before Justin Trudeau. Since the NDP-Liberal government passed Bill C-75 and Bill C-5, which gave high priority to releasing repeat violent offenders and took away mandatory jail time for certain violent crimes, a crime wave has been unleashed across the country. This was evident in a report from the Fraser Institute which showed that Canada’s violent crime rate is 14 percent higher than that of the United States’.

Trudeau’s only response to this has been to crack down on law-abiding firearms owners and Indigenous hunters which has done nothing to improve Canada’s public safety. Instead, violent gun crime is up by a staggering 116 percent since the Liberals formed government.

Enough is Enough. Canadians deserve to feel safe in their communities. Only Common Sense Conservatives will bring home safe streets by ending Justin Trudeau’s catch-and-release justice system and bringing jail, not bail, for repeat violent offenders.