More on the Video

Of course, the comments on that video that Arabians have been bred to be crazy and the breed has been ruined by that type of breeding also pushed my buttons in a big way. While some breeders have bred for characteristics that are not desirable to everyone, there are plenty of responsible breeders in the Arabian industry. The breed has continued to improve over the years and the great disposition the Arabian horse is known for has not been compromised by current breeding practices. There are many breeders who consider producing a good minded horse to be an important part of their breeding decisions.

I got started in this industry fairly late in my life and sure wouldn't have wasted my time with a horse that wasn't worth that effort. I have NO TIME for stupid mistakes or crazy horses and I wasn't sucked in by either. I expect Arabian horses to be both beautiful and kind. I have rarely been disappointed.

I've come across a couple stallions in my journey that were real buggers, but it's people who turned them into those angry horses, not their breeding. Such things do happen to horses of any breed.

I've never met an Arabian horse that is downright crazy although I did met an older thoroughbred mare that was pretty darn close. Again, people made her that way. She was too old to fix at that point but still her behavior doesn't mean all thoroughbreds are crazy. It means there are reasons for this behavior....and it's usually people.

There were also,lots of comments on this video about how poorly the people in the ring handled the situation. However, when I looked at the video that's not what it looked like to me. Sure things were confusing. That's what happens when things get out of control.

As a show manager I can tell you when sh*t happens, you don't really have time to think about what you're going to do. Reactions are instantaneous and hopefully appropriate but that's not always the case. You try things and hope they work. If they don't you try something else.

The bigger the wreck, the more difficult it is to get things under control. The more horses, the more people involved the risk factors go up exponentially. All you can really do is give it your best shot and hope it works.

In this case there was a lot going on. Originally there were seven horses and carts in that arena, three judges, one announcer, one ring steward, probably only one scorer and a photographer probably with an assistant. When the timeout was called because the horse was out of control, other people slipped into the ring to assist. You can bet there was probably one additional person per horse and those were probably the trainers of those horses since this was an amateur driving class.

In all that's a lot of people trying to solve a problem no one has the time to discuss, thinking on your feet is the only way. Mostly you have people working individually trying to do what each thinks will work. While it may not be the most effective, it's still better than expecting someone else to fix the problem. It takes courage to step in to such a situation and try to help.

Some basic understanding of a horse's behavior under such circumstances would be important to know to determine the "right" thing to do. And, of course, there really is no "right" thing because each horse will respond differently to the stimuli. You might have a general idea of what might work but it's a guess at best.

In this case the horse was being "driven" forward by the cart or harness trailing behind. That's one of the things that makes driving classes so dangerous. When things go wrong, they go really wrong fast because the equipment used to help keep the driver and horse safe in the first place actually become part of the problem once things go wrong. The terrified horse can't see what's after him/her but can feel the drag adding to it's terror.

The horse's primal response is to escape pressure and that's exactly what it was trying to do. All other stimuli is secondary in such cases and may not even get noticed at all if the horse is "spooked enough." Attempts by the people to control this horse's movements were futile but the men were talking among themselves changing up things trying to find something that would work.

Since this horse couldn't immediately be stopped, obviously controlling the movement of the horse would be ideal. Accomplishing that goal is another matter. Wanting to keep the spooked horse against the rail was a great plan, but none of the spooking horses in this case really responded to attempts to accomplish that goal.

In the course of events the original spooking horse caused two other horses to break loose from handlers and spook. Someone managed to grab that second horse pretty quickly so it didn't cause even more mayhem. The third horse that took off dumped its handicapped rider out of the cart onto the ground. An onlooker drug the handicapped driver back towards the gazebo area getting her out of the open. However, she was later knocked off of her chair by her horse again because none of these loose horses respected the "barrier" that was that center ring gazebo., further testament to how out of control and unpredictable these horses were.

People were criticized for jumping out in front of the terrified horses. Yet, a horse wearing blinders only has that limited field of vision that is mostly to the front. How else did people expect anyone to affect a change in the horse's momentum without getting seen by the horse. All movement to the side of a horse wearing blinders is useless when it comes to controlling the movement of a loose horse. A change of direction, a break in stride, things like that are usually accomplished by breaking the horse's field of vision with some kind of barrier. Normally galloping horses can be turned or slowed when their path is intersected. That didn't happen here.

And yes, some people called the men trying to grab the spooked horse by the bridle crazy. Others would call them heroes. Many a spooked cart horse has been stopped by just such a man. And more importantly from what I know, that's usually the way those horses get stopped. Rarely does the horse get run down and quit on its own.

I know the horse that spooked at the show when I was manager was stopped by the ring steward who grabbed the horse thus saving the driver and the horse from a bad wreck. The ring steward injured his shoulder but he'll do it again, I can assure you.

Having the horse run itself down and get tired enough to quit would be good if the horse would stay in that outside area. But as you see on this video, these horses headed straight into the center ring gazebo, over carts, people and other horses. The unpredictability of these horses' behavior dictates some kind of intervention.

In this wreck the first horse was grabbed at unsuccessfully several times before someone was finally successful. The point is.........someone finally was successful thus removing this horse from the mix. Someone managed to catch that second horse very quickly before it even made an entire lap around the arena. I'm pretty sure that played a big role in this whole thing not ending much worse.

From the video there's no way to tell whose idea it was to rope that last horse but however it was, was brilliant in my book. I've looked over and over at that clip of the rope flying and bringing that horse down. All the time thinking there would never even been someone at one of my shows that good with a rope let alone in the right place at the right time. You can bet no one called the show office on the phone requesting the guy with the rope come show up and save the day. Talk about luck!

But then that's my point. You do what you have to do. Those who have the heart to try jump in there and give it all they've got. Those that don't sit back and criticize. In the end, no one was seriously hurt...........neither human nor horse. Considering the way this thing looks, it's a miracle but that miracle happened because those horses were finally stopped.........all three of them.

What about This Video?

Watching this was chilling even knowing the outcome ahead of time. I'd heard about this wreck sometime last year because I'd been told a friend of mine was actually injured trying to stop one of the horses. I had not, however, seen the video until now. Guess I didn't even realize that video existed, although I should have knowing it was a regional championship class. Those classes tend to all be video taped and it's surprising how many actually find their way to YouTube.

This type of video is not my usual posting fare. It's bad enough it happened without some using it for entertainment or to promote their ulterior motives. But leave it to people through YouTube to make a bad thing worse. Some comments regarding this video got my blood boiling for a number of reasons so I guess I'm going to take this opportunity to do some venting and maybe a little educating.

I have to say some people voicing their opinions on this subject have made a lot of assumptions. There must be something or someone responsible for this kind of wreck so it's either the crazy breed or lousy training among other things. Did anyone ever consider that stuff just happens sometimes? In life...........and with horses?

And, of course, it wasn't controlled immediately because the people in the ring were too stupid to do so. The people watching the video are much more insightful than the dopes in the ring. Yet I wonder how many making those criticisms have ever dealt with a panicked horse, let alone a scared driving horse freaked out dragging a cart. From the sounds of their comments their don't know much about horse behaviors either. Yet they have all the answers about this situation. How could that possibly be when no one has all the answers no matter how hard he/she tries? So let's start off with my thoughts about theirs........

The assumption that the only horse that will bolt in the ring is a poorly trained one is most definitely false!

Horse activities are dangerous no matter how well trained the horse. The best trained horse in the world can get frightened and forget all his training reverting instead to instinct. It is part of the nature of the horse, no matter how hard we want to deny it. A horse can be stressed to such a point the little switch in their head clicks over to autopilot and instinct kicks in. Thinking otherwise can only make us vulnerable and unprepared, not to mention eventually get us hurt.

The accident that happened at the horse show I managed did not occur because of poor training. This horse was trained by a person known throughout the industry for his driving horses. He's been doing this for a long time and he rarely has a wreck. There is no way this man would ever take a horse into the ring to show that wasn't ready to be there. He would never risk his own life nor the life of his horse doing such a thing.

Then it had to be Arabian horses or part Arabian horses because of the assumption Arabians are all crazy. The assumption that any breed is all anything is equally false let alone the one that Arabian horses are crazy.

This mishap did occur at an Arabian Horse show but not because the horse was crazy. It was the Region 11 Championships held in Springfield, IL. I don't recall whether it was a purebred class or a part-bred class but just looking at the horses, I would think probably pure-breds. Not that the horses' behavior is a clue but looking at the "breed type" of the horses suggests purebreds to me.

People who have trashed Arabian horses in the comments on this video are just showing their ignorance if you ask me. All those trite things said about Arabian horses are biased and false. They say more about the people repeating them than the do the breed.

This wreck did not happen because it was Arabian horses. It happened because of the nature of horses as prey animals to flee when frightened. There is also the fact that driving classes are inherently more dangerous than other classes.

That doesn't mean I am trashing driving classes at Arabian shows or any other horse shows. I am stating the simple fact it is more difficult to control a spooked horse pulling any kind of vehicle than one with a rider on its back or a horse in hand because the vehicle itself becomes a source of "pressure" for the horse adding to the problem. Being unable to control the vehicle itself becomes an issue that directly affects the horse.

With that being said, accidents in driving classes don't happen often. While I have heard "stories" about driving wrecks that happened before my time, actual incidents since then that I am aware of are few.

In the number of years that I have been showing (about 20 years) I have only witnessed one incident in a driving class. A second incident occurred at a show I managed and a third happened at a pinto show where I knew exhibitors in the class. Then there is this wreck which I heard of within a week of its occurrence since this kind of news travels fast.

Some commented that the wreck happened because it was amateurs driving the horses. That's another off base assumption.

Surely there are amateurs out there showing who aren't really great at what they're doing. But there was nothing on this video that suggested that the driver caused this wreck or did anything to make it worse. Yet there were those people commenting who just seemed to feed off what other people said instead of looking for the truth.

Also, there are some very accomplished amateurs out there driving horses as well as riding them. That driving horse that spooked at the show I managed was not only driven by his amateur owner but trained as well. I hope some day I have as many national championships to my credit as he does.

Being an amateur doesn't make one incompetent. Jumping to conclusions like this, however, can make people look like *sses sometimes.


I have lots more on this rant to continue tomorrow and, of course, I'm open to your two cents worth as well. So step and and have at it!

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Sunday Stills Challenge - - Landscape

Mother Nature contributed to this week's Sunday Stills Challenge by contributing lots of white stuff overnight. Snow was NOT in our forecast but the grand lady bestowed about 6 inches of the fluffy white stuff despite the protestations of the local weathermen.



All I can say is it's prettier than the mud it's currently covering but still just as big a pain in the neck. I didn't even get my last load of horses worked yesterday due to this beginnings of this storm. I was hoping to get them caught up today but the snow will have to melt much faster than it's current rate. In the meantime Delilah is loving the snow. She's pretty sure that this stuff was intended just for her pleasure.




These pictures are the view from different angles from my house. The poor little oak trees in the first pic don't know what to think about that much weight on their poor tender boughs.



With yesterday's landscape hidden the muddy banks of the creek have been disguised covered in this cold blanket of white. The trees and surrounding shrubs reach majestically towards the sky decked out in Mother Nature's finery. From the dismal ravages of a hard winter all have been transformed, like Cinderella now ready for her ball.



But just like in Cinderella's story the clock is ticking with temperatures predicted in the 50s. As the hands reach closer to noon the heat rises and the snow drips from the limbs. The process is slow and painful as the beauty gradually disappears into more wet pools and eventually even more mud. Just another of Mother Nature's tricks this wierd and wild spring.





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Tactics for Tough Ticks

We've lived on this farm for over twenty years. In all of that time I've never seen a tick or heard of one anywhere in our neck of the woods. Western Washington just isn't known as tick country from anything I can tell. At least the kind that bother horses, that is.

That doesn't mean I don't keep my eyes open for the nasty little buggers. Who knows when they might find a way to creep into our lives and mess with our heads a bit while they're dining on our horses.................right??

Eastern Washington on the other hand is tick country. The insects prefer the hot dry climate that side of the Cascade Mountains provides. On the occasion I've taken Arabian horses to that side of the mountains I've paid special attention for sign of the nasty little creatures.

I have to admit in the middle of winter (I realize it is supposed to be spring but it's definitely still acting like winter here) the last think I expected to find on one of my horses was a tick. But guess what, that's exactly what I found on Dandy's shoulder last week.

At first I thought it was fungus. I've certainly been battling that kind of health issue with my Arabian horses for a considerable part of this winter. With the moist, windy, cold temperatures the climate has been particularly kind to the kinds of fungus that plague horses.

This raised up tuft of hair looked just like another lesion of fungus ready to pop exposing the usual gray skin that tells of its existence. Only scrapping at it with my fingernail when the hair flaked off what was exposed was a rounded, red ugly something or other I didn't expect.

Having never actually seen a tick on a horse before I really didn't know for sure so I called for Richard. With one glance he confirmed my suspicion, poor Dandy definitely had a tick embedded in his shoulder and not just any tick, this was one hurken mother, I can tell you.

After some work, Richard extricated the thing from Dandy's flesh. Then we treated the sore and dusted the horse looking carefully for anymore of the nasty buggers.

But that's not the end of this tick story. Yesterday I found two more of the blood sucking creatures. This time on Dandy's head (which Richard tells me in where they usually start their infestation on a horse.). One was right in a crease at the base of Dandy's ear. The other was embedded in his forelock.

I've checked out my others horses. So far not one of them has been found with a tick. I can't even imagine where these ticks could be coming from since they're just not known in this part of the country.

Well, actually, the more I think about it, the more I suspect that hay we received because of flooding damage on our farm? That hay came from eastern Washington and ticks have been known to travel in hay.

That hay is stored right over Dandy's stall. None of the other horses are positioned with the hay overhead like that. If the ticks were in the hay, they could fall right down onto poor Dandy. Since that's my only theory, I'm going to have to figure out how to "treat" this source to get rid of the ticks.

The hay is nearly gone. But even at that, the loft will have to be treated as a precautionary measure. The problem is so many insecticides are now banned finding something to kill these ticks could be a real chore. Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated! In the meantime Dandy seems none the worse for wear although his shoulder is still sore and he's pretty cranky about having that ear touched. Poor Boy!

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Spring Treasures

I'm way too tired to write but thought I'd share this pic I got by email today from my friend, Bev. This is her mare, Sylvia, with her new colt born Tuesday morning. Bev is pretty excited about this new boy and so is Sylvia. I can't wait to see him in person.

Bev is now done with her foalings for the season. I haven't even gotten started yet. But as tired as I am tonight, I'm grateful that foal watch is still a ways down the road. Although I can hardly wait for a spring treasure of my own.

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Wordless Wednesday

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Delilah's Competition

Did I mention that we have cats? Two felines to be exact live here with us. They are indoor/outdoor cats coming and going as they please. Both spend as much time in the barn as they do in the house. Both catch their fair share of rodents on their barn tours. Both are pretty darn comfortable with the horses.........comfortable enough to sit perched on their backs from time to time.

These cats are no dummies when it comes to dogs. We had two dogs before the cats ever came to live here as kittens so they know full well what life with dogs can be like. They do not, however, have experience with puppies............well, that's until Delilah arrived on the scene.

The cats, being cautious creatures, sat back and observed the puppy before deciding how to deal with her. But it didn't take long and each cat took her turn at rubbing up against this new addition to our family. Delilah, on the other hand, had never seen anything like a cat before. She wasn't sure how to take this gesture of friendship so she did what puppies do best, she chased the cats. Then Delilah was disappointed to find the cats didn't want to play that game.

Most of the time the cats and the puppy coexisted with some undefined truce. Each keeps her distance from the other. For the most part the cats had moved into the back part of the house leaving the front rooms for the puppies domain. However, that confined space seems to be getting old for both cats. They are now beginning to emerge into the front rooms. Not only that but they are beginning to engage in what was their usual routine before the puppy arrived.

That would be ok with Delilah except for one thing. She just can't stand a cat sitting on any human lap. Delilah is pretty darn sure it's unfair for felines to perch where she is NOT welcome. Delilah would definitely like to be a lap dog. She has no concept of being too large for such things. She sits and barks at whatever offending cat is taking up HER space. Delilah will not stop barking until the cat gets up and leaves.

As you might guess, it can get pretty noisy around here with the dog's relentless barking. The cats have about had all of this dog they can stomach and now are beginning to fight back. Squeaker, for one, will reach over and bop Delilah on the nose to get her to shut up! Never a dull moment at our house.
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Distractions

Show season is fast approaching and there's still so much to accomplish before we are ready. Even though the season hasn't started for us, it's only three months until the regional championships. Looking at that as a deadline makes me feel like I need to knuckle down so we'll be ready in time.

Yet, distractions seem to be the name of the game. It's breeding season and that needs to be a priority as well if we want to keep up with a supply of young horses to train and market. And, of course, breeding season and foaling season go hand in hand. The countdown is on for our first half Arabian foal ever with only one month until Dare's due date.

This fall's project of adding three stalls has stretched on through the winter and now into spring. The weather hasn't co-operated all that much making it easy for Dave to procrastinate. It's been slow going. However, the mares are coming home at the end of this month whether the stalls are completed or not. I can't get them bred if they're somewhere else so the push is finally on to get those stalls complete.

Like those things aren't enough, I am managing a Morgan horse show the first week in May. The show will be at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe so I'll be gone from here for an entire week.

This will be my first experience managing a show for a breed other than Arabians so currently I'm spending lots of time catching up on the
rules. As for the different classes, I think I'll have to get my crash course at the show from the sounds of the class descriptions, the visual input will be necessary for me to "get" all the differences.

The show will also have dressage classes which will be another first for me. While I have ridden in a dressage schooling show one time, this will be my first experience as a show manager dealing with the USDF. They have their rules as well, so that's another set of rules to learn in less than a month plus the requirements for setting up a dressage ring and such.

There are also differences in the expectations of these exhibitors than those I have dealt with in the past as well as differences in the facility and how things operate there. For the next four weeks I'll be spending as much time as possible getting a handle on this project. My already complicated life has stepped up another notch or three. Wish me luck! I think I'm going to need it.

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Update on Delilah

Some of you might be wondering how things are going with the new Siberian Husky puppy. Frankly I'm wondering that myself. I'm beginning to think this particular breed is a bit too spunky for us old folks.......well, maybe age has nothing to do with it. Even Lindsay seems to be getting frustrated, so maybe we're not a genetic match.....who knows. Let's just say that life here is more complicated than expected.

Delilah the devil dog is definitely living up to her new handle. She likes to get wired up around dinner time and bounce off the walls. The worst part of this is her very oral idea of entertainment. Those sharp puppy teeth are no fun. At least for us.........and my furniture and carpet, I'm pretty sure she's having a blast.

Dave's idea of correcting the puppy just winds her up all the more. He likes to act like he's an expert when he really has no idea about the proper way to train a dog. Then there's me........I've never claimed to be much of a dog trainer. However, if I'm going to survive this puppyhood I think I'm going to have to get on the stick and learn. Delilah is more than willing to be top dog if I let her. What a wreck that would be.......

Delilah gets so wound up, I've even tried putting her in her crate for a time out. She gets so distressed she poops all over herself. That doesn't seem to be the right answer. And frankly I'm not sure what really is. What seems to work one day is totally ineffective the next. I think it just depends on her mood. God help us if her mood is ever bad........

I think my biggest concern is that Delilah won't outgrow this behavior. I can understand the urge to bit any and everything has to do with teething. But the lunging with her teeth has me concerned. I have visions of an adult dog needing to be muzzled every time she gets excited. That wouldn't be any fun for her or for us.

Puppy classes for Dave and Delilah don't start until the first week of April. Fpr me that time can't come soon enough. Getting someone besides me to show Dave the "right" way to deal with the dog will surely be more effective. He just sort of shines me on............and I know his inconsistency is definitely part of the problem. So maybe in all fairness it should be "Delilah the devil dog and her trusty sidekick, Dave!



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Farrier Friday....................

It seems like I'm stacking my Friday's up here lately. With last week being something of a Freak Friday followed by this week's own special brand of hectic, I hope this isn't some kind of pattern I'm setting here. If so I think I'll need to take a vacation soon.

The day started off at 7:30 at the gym with Richard. While I'm grateful for the later starting time than what was our usual 5:00 am start, I'm not that sure I'm excited to be back working out at the gym. I do remember I seemed to feel better when I was working out on a regular basis but this on again off again schedule of late has left me nothing but tired and sore. Guess that means I need to get back to making the gym a regular part of my routine.

After and hour at the gym and a quick hop, skip and jump through Safeway for Richard's daily yogurt (YUCK!) I hoped to have time for a quick change of clothes, a quicker breakfast and a brief stint cleaning out the horse trailer before the farrier arrived. But the farrier was late and I was lucky to get the first two tasks accomplished. Cleaning out the trainer so it was ready for Richard to pick up a load of horses got passed off to Lindsay (as if poor Lindsay needs another chore).

But having the farrier arrive early on trim day is actually a good thing. With a barnful of horses to trim and most of them youngsters it helps to have things not be rushed. The horses pick up that kind of feeling pretty quickly and it doesn't make for a fun day.

I never know what to expect from the young horses. It seems like each visit with the farrier elicits a different response in the very young. Despite lots of time running a rasp over their hooves to "teach" them, nothing prepares them for those nippers. You just never know how they're going to react.

Today we started off with the yearlings. I should know better and leave the real youngsters for the last this time of the year. By the time I get done wrestling with them I've broken out in a sweat and the layers of winter clothing begin to come off. Then as we get into the "more broke" horses the chill sets in and I never do get warmed back up. I should clearly be doing the sweat producers at the end so I can finish up warm instead of frozen solid.

I thought that by this time Scarlet had enough experience with the farrier that we could do her trim in the aisle like the big horses. Scarlet made it clear early on in the process she's not quite ready for that one yet. We headed back to her stall where I could use the corner to keep her in one place long enough to get her hind feet trimmed. Poor Scarlet is pretty sure those nippers are going to nip more than her toes............

Richard and Jessica arrived at this point to pick up a trailer load of horses to work. Since the yearlings were already trimmed, they loaded them both up and also took Legs who wasn't on the list. There was a little chit chat about who would go next since Richard expected he'd be done before me. I, on the other had, expected to be done first. The race was on.........

Surprise also had her first attempt at the barn aisle trim. Aside from striking at me to make sure I realized she hadn't been in THAT barn before, Surprise did surprisingly well.

Trouble was trouble. There was no doubt about that. He wanted to be out running free instead of standing still getting his toes trimmed. I still have to marvel at how good his legs look from the way he started off in this world. You'd just never know he was born with legs that went every which way but the way they should. That and I noticed he's growing again. This time leaving Surprise in the dust.

Gypcy surprised the farrier and I both and actually acted like a big horse for the first time. She's always been a bit on the skittish side but today she stood like a rock and her eye stayed nice and soft.

The two year old colts are always their own little challenge. Today was no exception. Although Andy was mostly naughty over just one leg instead of all four.............so I guess that's an improvement. And Patriot must have decided to show Andy up. He's was actually pretty solid for a not quite two.

By the time it was all said and done we'd finished sixteen trims. I won't scare you to death with the totals of that bill but suffice it to say I'm really appreciating my new farrier and his thinking that getting through that many trims in only three hours deserves a discount.

Once the farrier was paid and the next appointments all scheduled, I called Richard to see where he was at with his schedule. While he'd finished with my first load, he wanted to work Reflection before he brought them back so I actually had time for lunch for the first time in a week.

When Richard brought the horses back, I took off coolers, leg wraps and fixed lunches for those that needed them while Richard went off to grab a quick lunch himself. Then I loaded up the next batch of victims and headed off to Richard's just in time for a big ugly storm to blow through. I was soaked before I ever got the first horse into Richard's barn.

I have to say by the time we finished with those three horses it was already 5 o'clock and I was too cold and exhausted for another load. I didn't even ask Richard what he thought about it. I just called an end to the day. Went home and took a nap. I sure hope tomorrow is a bit slower. Maybe I'll skip the gym..............


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MiKael Meets Richard..................Tested........... Part 3

Things were weird around here last Wednesday. The weather was ugly and unpredictable with scattered snow, hail, rain and high winds. Richard had gotten a new cell phone and the thing wasn't working right. He couldn't retrieve his voicemail, nor was he getting text messages. The lines of communication were down and tension was up...........bigtime! No one likes to be left dangling...........no one!

By Thursday we still had not heard from the party in PA. Even though Richard now had his phone fixed we had no idea if the horse had been picked up or if the people were coming at all. The weather wasn't co-operating either with predictions for the weekend not good for showing horses. We proceeded planning like things were still a go even though we didn't know anything for sure.

Friday was probably the low of the week. Richard found out sometime the night before his mother was in a coma. If that wasn't enough we had this thing hanging over our heads. There was a message for Richard to call the woman at 11:00 am. but no more information than that.

Again my instincts kicked in, I suspected that something was up and it turned out that I was correct. When Richard did call, the woman was in a meeting, so he called her house to speak with the sister. Talking with the sister it was clear the whole issue of price was still not settled.

While Richard was speaking with the party wanting the horse, the other sister patched through in a three way call. She told Richard the van was coming in an hour and asked if I was dropping my price. She pretty much threatened Richard. If he didn't get me to lower my price, she wouldn't send the gelding to him for training.

Penalizing Richard for something he has no control over just doesn't make sense. How did she think Richard was going to change my mind anyway? Lie to me maybe and tell me the horses are not as good as they are?? Wasn't integrity the reason she wanted to send the horse to Richard in the first place...........because she could trust him to be honest both in actually training the horse AND in his evaluation of the horse?? Funny how the woman wanted him to have integrity towards her but NOT me! She didn't care if he screwed me as long as she won. Nice woman, wouldn't you say?

Well, if she expected Richard to screw me, she expected WRONG! I heard Richard's half of that phone call. I could gather from it what this woman was saying.

She kept talking about the economy and how she had cash and we "should" need it enough to settle for her price. She just couldn't get over the fact that her cash wasn't going to sway this deal.

She told Richard she'd could get two horses with show records for the price she was offering. Richard told her she should hook up her horse trailer and go get them. It still didn't change what we wanted for these two horses.

This woman didn't really want those two other horses, however, she wanted mine but for her price. Funny she couldn't figure out that appeal that had her hooked was what made my horses different from the others. She was hung up on show records and totally missed what Richard was telling her about quality and disposition. She was comparing apples to oranges but she just couldn't get over herself. That feeling that being rich somehow entitles you to have whatever you want seemed to get in the way of her common sense.

The next line of attack was to ask Richard if he agreed with me about the price on these two horses. When he responded that he totally agreed, this woman replied Richard was blind to my horses. It couldn't possibly be because the horses were worth more as far as she was concerned. It must be some kind of ignorance on our part. Yet there's her sister still talking about how pretty Percy is when Richard tells them again to go buy those horses down the road.

The funny part about this is Richard and Angie both didn't used to believe in my horses at all. It's only been after working with them they have grown to realize how different their are from others. Richard and Angie are not fans because they are blinded by our friendship. They are fans because the horses have earned that loyalty. Definitely something these woman didn't understand.

So the woman made it clear she wasn't going to send the horse to Richard for training because he wouldn't "get" me to see the light. Then she had the nerve to ask Richard if he was mad. What did she expect he would be? She told him for six months this horse was coming for training in Feb and that he would stay for a year. He'd turned other training horses away because he had already promised her. But his word was the only word that counted because she didn't get her way.

I had to chuckle when I heard Richard say, "I guess I won't be seeing you at Nationals this year. We'll be qualified so we'll be there!" The implication was clear that with the decisions she was making she didn't have much chance of being qualified herself.

Even at that the other sister left off saying she'd come to see Percy at a horse show sometime this year. Richard made it clear once these horses hit the ring, their prices will go up...........a lot! If she waited for a show it was going to cost her.

That was the end of the "deal" from Pennsylvania. We went back to work and relished how fortunate we are to be working with great horses with talent and a great work ethic. Some people will never know what it's like to work with such horses..............but that's ok with me........and Richard. We're both pretty pleased to be working with the ones that we have.


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MiKael Meets Richard..................Tested........... Part 2

As we got closer and closer to the estimated date of arrival it seemed like the "major principles" began to shift. Instead of the sister who was shopping for the western horse calling the shots, the sister with the horse coming to training seemed to be in charge. She was the one making the arrangements and deciding when they were coming and it all centered around the arrival of that gelding.

Then by the middle of February, this woman asked Richard about the price we wanted for the two horses. I knew right from the start that this was a problem. I could just feel it in my bones.

When people are telling you they can afford to buy whatever horse they want, even keep it in training on the other side of the country while flying in for lessons once a month, it doesn't surprise you when questions are NOT asked about pricing. But then when those same people decide they need to know about prices right at the last minute when they've been planning this trip to see said horses for months, something's up. And that's exactly what I told Richard.

On the matter of pricing horses, right from the get go I had been telling Richard I was NOT interested in selling horses at a reduced price just to move them. For me, to continue on breeding horses I need to get a fair market price for my horses. The whole purpose behind getting these horses broke and in the ring is to do just that.

Now that we are nearly there, I do not want to short change myself or my horses. Richard and I put our heads together and came up with what we believe to be a fair package price for the two horses.

The sister who's now in charge didn't see it that way. It was her belief that with the sagging economy and her cash we should be willing to sell for the price that she was willing to pay. Which is her prerogative, I guess, but that doesn't mean that I have to accept whatever she offers.

She didn't particularly see it that way either. To the contrary, she continued to push and push for me to accept the price she was offering...........which I might add was nearly half as much as Richard and I had decided would be fair market value for these two horses.

Over and over this woman tried to convince Richard that her offer was reasonable considering the market etc. Not only that but she thought it was Richard's responsibility to see to it that I saw it her way. She not only talked to him about his "commission" (which happens to be zero) but also about the gelding's training like somehow it was part of this deal.

From the beginning of this dialogue I was offended. It makes no sense to me that people want to negotiate prices on a horse they haven't even seen. How can you tell if a horse is worth the price or not without even looking at the horse? To me there was no point in discussing any of this until they had seen the horses. That was what the trip was about, after all, looking at the horses. Seeing the horses in person would show what makes them special.........and special definitely has a bearing on price.........in any market, I might add.

A couple of weeks ago the plans changed again. Now the junior rider(this woman's daughter, it turns out) wasn't coming at all even though one of the horses was supposed to be for her. It was only going to be the two sisters. It was looking less and less to me like this was going to happen at all.

The date of arrival just kept getting bumped and bumped. Based on the progress of the hauler getting his Scottsdale horses back home and so on. We finally ended up with a projected departure from PA of last Wednesday making their arrival at Opus Arabians a few days after that.

To be continued..........

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MiKael Meets Richard..................Tested...........

The last few weeks on this Arabian breeding farm have been very hectic. Between a party coming from Texas to look a couple of horses and another from Pennsylvania looking at a different two horses and still trying to keep up our regular training schedule with all of the other horses, I've felt pretty much like I've been meeting myself coming and going.

The fact the arrival date for the second party kept shifting farther and farther out didn't help with the confusion or the stress. But I began to feel like things were actually coming together.

I did get both horses body clipped despite my trepidations and the horses were coming along nicely in their training. Other than a few little things that needed to be last minute, I was finally feeling ready for this visit although I wasn't totally convinced it was really going to happen at all.

You see this whole thing has been a bit strange pretty much from the start. It began when a woman who follows Richard's journal asked him about Percy......and then Vee. She was interested in the horses, one for herself and one for her niece. Next thing you know a visit to see the horses was set up for January.

Before long, the woman's sister asked if she was invited as well. From there this whole thing somehow seemed to change. The visit was rescheduled to February after the Scottsdale show. That's when the sister was sending a gelding to Richard for evaluation and training. This plan for the training horse had been in place since way back in late August.

It seems this gelding had been in training with a Big Name Trainer and not gotten what the owner considered to be a fair shake. She was hoping she could rely on Richard's integrity to determine if the horse had a future as a show horse or not. (Just for the record, this would be the very same BNT that had been involved with our boy, Rhythm. So you can guess the possibilities here!)

I'm sure you must be wondering what this gelding coming to Richard for training might have to do with me selling horses. Well, quite frankly, so are Richard and I. But hold on for the ride and I'll try and explain it to you.......

To be continued..............


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A Different Sort of Rescue Story.........The Plan for Future Rescues

Earlier this year Pierce County was to make decisions about contracts for horse rescue. As part of this process they formed an equine task force composed from those earlier volunteers at the two horse summits. The Eatonville Dispatch covered the story County builds horse rescue network

The task assigned by the county to this group (composed of equine volunteers as well as a vet and a horse trainer) was to tour the facilities of the seven facilities that had submitted RFP's (Request for Proposal) for consideration to provide horse rescue services for Pierce County.

Of the seven was the rescue, Hope for Horses, that had been involved in the Waller Road rescue. Despite the testimony of concerned citizens that Hope for Horses was not doing an adequate job of caring for rescue horses, the organization was still considered by the county to be a viable resource in the care of needy horses.

Along with newly elected Pierce County Auditor, Jan Shabro, and members of her Animal Control staff, the Equine Task Force did site inspections of each facility including the Hope for Horses facility sometime in early February. For the first time ever horses in need in Pierce County actually had real horse people making decisions in the bureaucratic process about their care.

The Eatonville Dispatch covered this story as well. Bruce Smith wrote Shabro visits equine sites in Graham "The exact composition of the network, such as how many facilities would be included and what type, has not been determined," McCarty said during the Hagerman stop.

Around the beginning of this month the county did a press release naming the facilities that had been chosen to make up the new equine network for Pierce County. The facilities chosen were Fox Run Farm and the Pegasus Program, Tacoma Equine Hospital owned by Dr. Linda Hagerman, The Rusty Bar Ranch, and E and K Stables of Auburn. Hope for Horses was not on the list.

Now for those of you that are thinking that one voice can not make a difference, you might think of how far this story has come. From Dec 31, 2007 when the first two horses were seized from the Waller Road site through to now a lot of things have happened. While the county always considered Rose Corey to be a thorn in their side, her constant vigilance on this issue certainly had an effect on the outcome here.

At least for now, the horses of Pierce County that need help will remain in Pierce County for care. Rescue horses may not have been high on the county's list of political agendas before but that has changed. County officials clearly have the message that its citizens are willing to be get involved to see that rescue horses are handled in a manner deemed appropriate. And while that equine task force has been disbanded for now, there's little doubt if the politicians should "forget" the importance of the proper care of horses to many of its citizens, the uproar could easily result in its reemergence. The voice of the horse community in Pierce County has made a difference.

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Sunday Stills Challenge - Water......and Arabian Horses, of course!

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge was "Water." I knew when I first saw this challenge what I wanted to post but didn't know if my horses would co-operate. Since "water" seems to be one of their favorite things.........there's no telling what will happen when they're turned out near the creek.



Sometimes there's lots of slashing. Other times there are what you'd have to call downright water fights as they throw themselves into the creek to get another horse drenched. When that happens in the winter, it always makes me shudder from the very thought of that cold cold water......

In these pictures we have a band of fillies and mares, my Legs' daughters to be exact. After just being turned out after a few days cooped up inside, I was hoping there'd be lots of "water" play.



The girls first ran around bucking and kicking with even a bit of squealing thrown in. It wasn't until they began to settle a bit that they headed for the creek. I knew then that the "wild water" was going to be out yet I still held out hope for some kind of water games.



With my camera in hand (now when did that ever work with horses?) I stood there hoping for some kind of action shots but the only game these horses wanted to play was "sentinel." An ok game for the horses but not nearly so much fun for the photographer.

But sentinel is what it was. Gypcy and Rhapsody went on point while the others blew in the water. (Drinking out of the creek seems not to be much of a priority, it's mostly about play to this herd.) Until Gypcy and Rhapsody decided it was time to alert the herd and flee.......probably laughing along the way with more bucking and kicking and a little cavorting thrown in for good measure.



This last picture is the same spot in the creek where the fillies had played. If the creek bed could speak I wonder what stories it would tell about these horses and their antics.

Well, that's it for my Sunday Stills Challenge this week. I'd really hoped to get pictures of the major water fights but with camera in hand there probably wasn't much chance of that. I'm sure I'll see those games again when my camera is in the house or my battery is dead.


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Freaky Friday........for me anyway...............

It's been a long day and I didn't get nearly enough done. Dave had a minor surgery today and he's not a really good patient. What is it with some men anyway? I think the stress has me too pooped to post so I'm off to bed instead of writing..........Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Wish me luck! I'm probably going to need it.

I love this picture of Legs. Just looking at it makes me smile......after a day like this the smile feels pretty darn good. Did I mention this horse is now going awesome under saddle?


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A Different Sort of Rescue Story.........The Backlash Continues

I wish I could say that this story ends here but that is certainly not the case. At this time Hope for Horses still has a number of horses from the Waller Road seizure. One of those horses was euthanized at some point and the others are still needing homes. The former owners have yet to stand trial for their neglect of this herd of 15 horses and my county still has "issues" to deal with in regard to their handling of abused or neglected horses.

There was another horse summit held for Pierce County in Gig Harbor this time. Concerned citizens at both summits volunteered their services to help the county made appropriate decisions in the care of needy horses. The county seemed reluctant to employ these resources at this time.

As election time rolled around the tension mounted. There were enough horse people riled up over the handling of this Waller Road case to keep the heat on county officials. Rose Corey wrote the following Letter to the Editor of the Eatonville Dispatch McCarthy's Haywire Horse Summit as the Pierce County Auditor, Pat McCarthy, began running for Executive of Pierce County Council. With the possibility of a county contract going to Hope for Horses, things were definitely heating up.

In December a group of concerned citizens adressed the County Council regarding a plan by the Council to establish a horse rescue case management network. At the center of the citizens concern was Pat McCarthy (now the newly elected Executive of Pierce County)m her Animal Control officers and the participation of Hope for Horses in the "rescue" of the Waller Road neglect case. Further concern was the perception that the County would strengthen its relationship with Hope for Horses as the county began the process of seeking bids for future horse rescue situations.

Horse Rescuers Voice Concerns appeared in the Eatonville Dispatch. Again this article was written by Bruce Smith who by this time one could say had clearly taken on the cause of needy and neglected horses in our county.

The actual testimony given to the Pierce County Council and related correspondence are here Video Testimony (Dr. Hagerman, George Wearn)

Dr. Hagerman letter submitted to the Council

Email from Rose Corey to Pat McCarthy and PC Council

This would be where things left off in December of 2008. One year after the first two horses had been seized from the Waller Road site. But even at this, it was not the rest of this story.



To be continued............

Wordless Wednesday

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A Different Sort of Rescue Story.........The Backlash

When Valor and Teddy were originally removed from Creekwood Farm and sent off to Hope for Horses, there was an uproar in my county. Then in April 2008 when the Arabian stallion(Valor) was returned to Creekwood Farm from the Hope for Horses rescue in worse condition (remember this is corroborated by the vet) than when he had left there in January, the uproar turned into outrage.

Horse people across the county were appalled by what had happened to Valor while in the care of Hope for Horses. The county officials in an attempt to quell the backlash decided to call what they called a "Horse Summit." The summit was being touted as a vehicle to organize standards for horse rescue in our county, the fact those officials were only prepared for 25 people to show up speaks some to their real thoughts on the subject. Personally I think they just wanted to say they had done something to get people off their backs. They had no idea how outraged citizens really were or they' have been prepared for what followed.

The people in attendance were fired up because of what had happened at the Waller Road rescue (that would be Valor's case) and concerns about even more rescues down the road because of issues with the economy etc. They wanted to know what happened and why as well as solutions so this didn't happen again. But officials dodged the discussion about the Waller Road rescue telling the crowd to put that in the past. The county claimed they were looking for solutions.

The Eatonville Dispatch headline read Over 200 attend Horse Summit
This article covers the discussions that were allowed that night seeing as how the county didn't want to talk about the Waller Road rescue. It would be interesting to note that both Hope for Horses and Rose Corey were present at this summit.

Over the course of this time there have been many outraged citizens/horse owners who have voiced their opinions of the entire situation. Not just Hope for Horses has been the target of this outrage but the process of the county has also been in question. This letter to the editor posted again in the Eatonville Dispatch is a good example. Horses, Lies and Videotapes
speaks to those issues.

It took almost another month before the Appy colt was returned to Creekwood Farm. Hope for Horses thought it would be better for the colt to gradually wean him from his mother. ( He'd been weaned in the first place when he was taken to Rose's but reunited with his mother at Hope for Horses. The mare began lactating again so the foal continued to nurse.)

I don't understand why the foal was reunited with his mother in the first place. As a breeder when I have a mare who is not doing well with a foal at her side, I remove the foal. Then both horses have a chance to thrive. Together, it's a tough go. Why Hope for Horses thought this might be different in a rescue situation makes no sense to me. It would be interesting to know what the thinking was behind that decision. This is one of my questions I would like to have asked John Edwards.

In addition most breeder's wean anywhere from 3 to 6 months of age. This foal was "aged" by the vets at about 6 months at time of seizure. Again, why these decisions about this colt were made by Hope for Horses would be interesting to note.

I'd also like to note here this foal was born with angular limb deformities. With my experience with my twin foals I'm pretty well versed in this particular birth defect. I understand what causes it and I know what's needed to treat it. It's a difficult issue that needs to be dealt with.

This diagnosis is another one of those things that Hope for Horses decided was incorrect. To them the foal actually had a bad case of early cow hocks that were made worse by the muddy conditions. (this quote is from the Random horse post
Now, remember I saw this colt at Rose Corey's. He did indeed have angular limb deformities. Hocks were not his only issue. Of his four legs each one deviated in a different manner.

What's disturbing about this to me, is Hope for Horses repeatedly seems to ignore what the vets say only to decide for themselves what is or isn't the problem. Then they do whatever they think is best instead of going by vets orders. They seem to believe that they have so much more experience they don't need to be bothered with outside input from professionals. Yet, they can't even "see" what is right in front of them.
Their solution always seems to come down to "less" of something. Whether it be feed in their version of "ramp up" or farrier care for deviated limbs, both these decisions cost less. Is this a pattern......or sheer coincidence?

Teddy Bear is back! again written by Bruce Smith.

Since there was a difference of opinion on whether the foal was ready to be weaned. With negotiations involving state representative, Dawn Morell, (a horse person, thank goodness) a compromise plan was reached to have a vet evaluate the colt's condition.

Even after that was done, the county claimed the vet was against the transfer. But when Rose's attorney spoke with that vet, he said the horse was good to go. More proof somewhere between Hope for Horses, the county and Rose there were huge breakdowns in communication at the very least with lots of resulting problems. Although in that Random Horse post it looks like Hope for Horses felt after Rose's complaints about the stallion's condition they just want him in the best shape possible and after what happened with the stallion HFH documented like crazy people.

Then there were final issues with transporting the foal. Hope for Horses says those were the issues of an independent transport but by this time I don't know if anyone on this end was really listening to anything Hope for Horses said. The relationships between all three parties had deteriorated so. Rose picked up the horse herself. Teddy was home in late April.

To clarify , Hope for Horses billed the county until the point the owners gave up their rights. That was in April, the county was off the hook, so to speak, for anything more to do with the horses. Since that time they have maintained the rest of the herd of horses at their own expense. At this point ownership of those horses went to Hope for Horses. They are now free to sell them if they chose and keep whatever monies they make.

To be continued...............

The Backlash continues

Photo credit Bruce Edwards of the Eatonville Dispatch

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A Different Sort of Rescue - - Beginning Again...........

Some of you may remember that a while back I began a series about a rescue of an Arabian stallion and a appy foal. The series began with this post, A Different Sort of Rescue Story

I stopped posting for a while when I was contacted by John Edwards from Hope for Horses, the horse rescue organization involved in this story. He'd asked me if I was interested in their side of the story. I said, "Yes," and agreed to wait for their input before continuing the series.

However, once I posted A Different Sort of Rescue Story - Thoughts and quit writing about this rescue, John Edwards didn't follow through as he'd promised. Other than a couple of phone conversations and a couple of emails not much happened.

In that first phone conversation we discussed briefly the care of the 2 horses, Valor and Teddy. Then I wrote an email asking some initial questions about those horses specifically and some general questions about the others. In response I received an email defending Hope for Horse's right to solicit funds in their rescue efforts. I confronted John Edwards about not answering my questions and why I thought those answers were important if we were ever to get to the bottom of this issue.

John Edwards called me on the phone saying he was concerned that answering my questions was nothing but "he said, she said" and we had agreed not to go down that road. I explained that "he said, she said" to me meant accepting what he might say Rose Corey had said as truth or what Rose might say that HFH had said as truth instead of getting the information straight from the "first" person. When he'd asked me if I was interested in "the Hope for Horses side of the story" that's what I thought I was going to get, John Edwards answering my questions about what had happened to Valor and Teddy while in their care so my readers could hear both sides of this story.

John Edwards agreed that made sense to him and said he would answer my questions. This all happened within the first week. I have not heard from Hope for Horses or John Edwards since. John really didn't come through as promised.

John Edwards did say he was extremely busy and it would take a little time to answer my questions. There was flooding here in January so I gave him some leeway but I think that 2 months is more than reasonable on my part. Since there have been some "new" things that have happened in this story, I thought I should continue before it gets away from me and some pertinent information gets lost.

Picking up where I left off, Hope for Horse disputed Rose's claims that the horse was not well cared for while in their care. Again the Eatonville Dispatch covered the story, Hope For Horses refutes Corey's treatment claims

There is also this blog post on Random Horse by the people from Hope for Horses.
I mean really, Rose Corey, don't you have anything better to do
Obviously the tone of the headline doesn't say much for the professionalism of the organization. In it they posted pictures they feel dispute the claim the horse was not well cared for while in their care.

I have thought about this picture situation long and hard. Hope for Horses claims they were doing what they should with this horse. According to my conversations with John Edwards, they don't know what to say about the pictures. He just said the horse didn't look like that when he left their rescue. He suggested maybe the horse was dehydrated from a stressful transport, maybe the pictures were caused by bad camera angles, who knows. John Edwards claimed the condition of the horse had nothing to do with the care the stallion received at Hope for Horses.

John Edwards did admit that the horse was not getting free choice feed as had been written on the instructions of the intake vet. Suggesting that Hope for Horses knows what starving horses need, Valor had been on a feed schedule that John referred to as "ramping up." When I asked for more specifics, John said the amount of feed the horse was getting was gradually being increased so as not to cause issues for the horse. At the time Valor left Hope for Horses (2 months time) the horse still had not achieved the goal of free choice hay.

OK let's put the pictures aside and think about what the horse looked like when he got off the trailer. He was transported to the office of a veterinarian, Linda Hagerman, in Spanaway. In attendance were the vet, Rose Corey, county officials and other interested parties. Those people ALL gasped as the horse got off the trailer.......even the county officials.

Keep in mind that Valor was under the supervision of Linda Hagerman during the period of time he was in Rose Corey's care, before he was sent off to Hope for Horses in the first place.. She had first hand experience with what the Arabian stallion looked like when he was rescued in the first place. She also knew what the horse's condition was at the time he was taken from Creekwood Farm.

According to her examination of the horse at his time of return, she found Valor to be in deplorable condition. She was appalled at the way the county and Hope for Horses had carried out their mission in the case of this rescued horse. Linda Hagerman actually stated as much at a later county council meeting.

To be continued.........

The Backlash

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Sunday Stills..........Self Portrait.........More or Less

This weeks Sunday Stills Challenge was "Self Portrait." Since Ed admonished us about no cameras in the face I had to come up with another way to photograph myself. No only that but the challenge for me was to take pictures that reflect "me" as well. I didn't want just any old picture of me taken by me, I wanted pictures that tell about what's important to me.



That led to this series of photos that I could take by myself.......of myself......and still tell something about myself instead of just what I look like. My personal image isn't nearly as important to me as who I am as a person. Those who read this blog know that's pretty well tied up here on my Arabian horse breeding farm so I decided I needed pics that showed what I do here.



The first picture is the new puppy, Delilah, and I walking out to the barn. The second is Delilah telling me she'd rather play than do chores. While the third shot is me getting hay from a bale to feed horses.



This fourth picture is my stallion, Scandalous Legacy. The look in his eye tells he's unsure about what I'm up to this time.........he's right to be concerned. You never know what I'll think of next.



This fifth picture is me riding my older gelding, Dandy. He wasn't sure what to think about this either. I only saddled him up "get" this shot. It's not often I mount this horse and then sit there shooting pictures of my leg. This horse is no dummy. He knows I'm up to something............and he really doesn't mind as long as there's a treat at the end.



Oh, and this last pic is what I look like at the end of the day........plum tuckered out from a day on the farm. Who could ask for better than that?

Just for the record, I still owe Dandy that treat........so I guess I'll head to the barn and settle up! Who knows when I'll need his help for another Sunday Stills Challenge and I wouldn't want him to grumble about it, now would I?


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Saturday..........Finally Working Horses

It's been a long week. Between trying to get Vee and Percy body clipped, dealing with the new puppy, vet and chiropractor appointments and Richard falling things just seemed to get more complicated than expected. The end result was horses just didn't get worked most days.

Today was the first day I even made it over to Angie and Richard's place. I arrived earlier than usual per Richard's request only to find he forgotten about telling me the earlier time. That meant I scurried around worrying about being late when instead I was earlied than expected.

As is usually the case, days that start off a little out of sync just seem to stay that way. We did get the two yearlings worked and even managed to get Scarlet's icky legs rinsed off with nice warm water so at least I don't have to worry about her getting chafed from the sticky combination of urine and pellets she somehow gets saturated in. (Have I mentioned how much I hate bedding with pellets?)

Legs got worked for the first time since he cut his leg. Despite starting off reflecting all his pent up energy combined with his dislike of the wind, the horse actually gave me a pretty good ride. At this rate we will be working on achieving that draped rein here soon.

The second load of horses had lots of energy as well. Vee and Percy now pretty much naked gave a new meaning to the words "fresh horse." The cold chill of the incoming storm made for some interesting energy.

Percy seemed to have lost his brain along with his hair. The horse seemed to be preoccupied and acted like he didn't "get" things he'd done really well the week before. Mostly Percy just wanted to go without much intervention from his rider. It was a while before Richard rode him down to the listening co-operative horse he'd been last week.

Vee had her own thing going about losing her hair. She started off on the humpy side although she didn't do much about it until she went into the canter. Even though she was anticipating the gait and going before asked, she still bounced a bit in the back end, not really bucking and not really crow hopping but definitely humped up and a bit springy.

Once I got her past anticipating the canter, working to the left (definitely her "bad" way) every time I put my inside leg on her to move her over at the canter she swapped leads behind. This has not been a regular problem with the mare but it sure was today. I decided to canter her good way to work off some energy. Then went back to the left side again. She was better but still not as good as she'd ended up last week. Not a surprise with most of the week off, but still disappointing.

Then there was Tag. He did get worked once earlier in the week but he'd not been happy at standing in his stall those other days as I'd worked on clipping horses. The horse was kicking the stall toy suspended in his stall almost to the ceiling, then bucking and blowing his displeasure at not working.

Today, the horse was happy to be worked. Still packing a full coat of winter hair, the horse wasn't really bothered by the cold wind or the snow blowing into the arena. His only concern was the other young horse being worked in the arena at the same time. If anything the horse felt a bit put out at having to work in only half the arena. There's nothing that Tag likes more than "booking" down the rail. Circles are just NOT his thing.

The predicted snow storm decided to arrive earlier than expected. It quashed any hopes of that last load of horses getting done. I am such a chicken about driving in snowy or icy conditions and didn't want to take any chances with my horses so Hope, Lucy and Dandy got the day off. I'm sure none of them appreciated it because all three really like to work as well.

Tomorrow, I hope to touch up the clip jobs I did earlier in the week. Getting to see them in Angie and Richard's barn light definitely exposed some "issues." I must admit they did look better than I had expected between my new contacts, ordering the wrong blades and the lousy lighting in my barn. However, I am a perfectionist and I won't be happy until the issues are resolved. I'm pretty sure that neither horse will be happy to see those clippers again.

This picture is Percy at the open house this summer.

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Friday's Take on What Happened on Wordless Wednesday

Sorry, I had to get the NAIS thing off my chest before I dealt with my Wordless Wednesday post. I was being just a bit of a dickens when I did that knowing there was hardly enough information to tell where I was coming from. But I just couldn't resist my devilish thoughts so I went ahead and posted it wondering what the comments would be.

It's interesting to note, I left most of my regulars speechless! But the comments that were left I'm pretty sure reflected the thoughts of most of my readers anyway. I think it's safe to assume some just thought I had finally "lost it." For those I just want to reaffirm I "lost it" a long time ago.




Leah Fry from Barn Door Tagz wondered what in the heck I was up too thinking there was no rhyme or reason why I'd just plunked Tom Jones into my blog. I'm sure she wasn't alone in those thoughts. Being true to the theme of Wordless Wednesday and not my usual blabby self, there wasn't much of a hint about why I made this choice.

Now Midlife Mom from Home on the Range didn't care Tom Jones isn't my normal blog fare. Being a died in the wool fan she was just glad to see him . She appreciated the trip down memory lane the video provided. And I must admit I appreciated that trip myself. I had forgotten about his TV series until she mentioned it.

Then Callie from Midwest Horse even wondered if that meant I'd be throwing my panties at ole Mr Jones sometime soon.............sorry Callie, I hate to disappoint you, unless Tom has added a horse to his act there's not much chance I'll find the time to attend. I've turned into a single minded soul ever since I got that first horse and even those swaying hips (to quote Midlife Mom) won't get me off the place for anything but a horse. Even then the only thing I'd be throwing towards the stage would be carrots for Tom's horse. (My panties are too worn from all the riding to share with anyone.)



Then my friend and long time reader Molly from Holamole' thought it was a Great name. 3 syllables. Sounds good with Damn and Dog. Where did that come from? Could it be related to the one hint left on my nearly Wordless Wednesday? Heck, blog labels are exempt from being counted as words, aren't they?

I certainly did use the blogger label puppies at the bottom of the post making Molly definitely right! It's a great name for our new puppy. Although Richard refers to her as the devil dog, which I hate to admit also fits. So from a family that is big on selecting names that somehow "fit" you gotta ask yourself, "Where did Delilah come from?"

For some reason this puppy speaks of Tom Jones to Lindsay. Every time she plays with her, Lindsay hears Tom Jones singing in her head. And of course, the song ole Tom is singing just happens to be Delilah
Who am I to argue with logic like that? So Delilah it is............although Molly's comments about the name fitting well with Damn and Dog does have some "artistic" merit....... and Richard's point about the devil dog is most definitely true as well. Don't ya think that Delilah the Devil Dog has a ring to it?..............of course, promptly followed by "Damn that Dog!"

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Congressional Hearings on NAIS

It's been a while since I wrote a post on NAIS (National Animal Identification System). That post Horse Owners Are You Aware of National Animal Identification System? 5 Reasons Why You Should Be! was back in April of 2007. Since then NAIS has been going along still under the radar but the situation is now urgent.

The projected date of total compliance by 2009 is right on track. Congressional hearings on NAIS are scheduled for Wednesday, March 11
with the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry . Bills to put NAIS into law, HR875 and companion Senate S814, are being pushed through Congress, as well as an Appropriations Bill with funding for NAIS. This hearing is critical to blocking mandatory NAIS.

So you don't know anything about NAIS. Well, here's an overview by Zanoni at Farmers’ Research Circle

USDA’s plan is to create a livestock tracking system in which
1. every property which keeps livestock, including horses, will have to register with the USDA
2. all livestock will have to receive individual identification in accord with government standards
3. all sales and movements of livestock will have to be reported for a fee to private, industry-controlled databases.

Large industrial farms, such as hog and broiler chicken farms, are exempt from requirements 2 and 3, individual animal ID and tracking reports.

This is content I received in an email from Lady of Chaos.

If you don't want the expense of registering your property and horses and getting permission everytime you want to show or trail ride your horse, then you need to be calling or emailing your politicians before March 11.

Here is a link to all senators, so start calling and emailing, this starts on March 11, lets flood them with emails and calls.How would they feel if every time they want to play golf, they would have to get permission! Big Brother is here!!
Senators Information
House of Representatives Information


Check out the credentials of the person who did the report at the Farmer's Research Circle. Check out my previous post and do some of your own checking on the internet. BUT do it quickly. Time is of the essence.

I don't know about you but the thought of having to report every time I move a horse off my property makes me nauseous. What a nightmare that would be for every training session, every lesson, every trail ride and every horse show etc. for each and every horse.

Now, I know that some think having to report every time you move a horse is ridiculous and couldn't possibly be part of this plan. And you would be RIGHT about the ridiculous part but WRONG about it not really being part of the NAIS plan.

This plan is geared toward ALL livestock, not just horses, and it is set-up to track animals to prevent the spread of disease. It is a typical example of government planning where they haven't totally thought out the impact on the entire industry. The only thing they see is the advantage it would give them in tracking things like Mad Cow.

But what about what it will do to our use of horses? Obviously they haven't thought about that. They've not considered what people actually do with their horses. Tracking each and every time a horse leaves its home can only curtail people's use of their horses.

Then don't forget about taxes! What will a system like this will cost? The tax burden of this system alone should be enough to get it stopped.........and yet, my senators weren't really aware of the issue at all. That in itself is pretty darn scary. Pushing this project through tagged onto some bill and they don't even know what they're voting on.........again, I am nauseous.

The time is NOW to act on NAIS! Sitting back and talking about it won't get it stopped. We've been doing that for years now and look where it's got us.........ready to see it passed into law any day now!

I've spoken with the senators from my state, Marie Cantwell and Patti Murray. I'm going to follow up with emails. I'm also going to send emails to the Representative to the House from my district (Dave Riechart). I've also sent emails out to my friends and I'm asking you all to do the same. If we don't DO something about this..............we're going to have to LIVE WITH IT!

Visit Blog Village and vote daily for this blog Here They are now measuring the rankings by votes out, so if you find my blog on the site, please click that link too to improve my rankings. TY