Six things about me

I was tagged by Solitaire Mare of "A Good Horse" with the meme "Six things about me".

1. Like Solitaire Mare, I've got a large Breyer Horse collection from when I was a kid.


2. I like being busy and get bored easily -- much to my husband's chagrin.

1. While I was in college I couldn't afford to ride horses. I went to a mostly male college, where I got into playing video games, particularly PvP games. Although now that I have horses again I don't play very often.


2. I drink a lot of tea; both regular tea and herbal. I enjoy coffee but it makes me too jittery. My favorite morning tea is Lipton. During the day I drink Celestial Seasonings varieties.


3. I enjoy cooking. I like to innovate and have trouble sticking to recipes. My cooking is mostly old New England style with exotic influences. I enjoy eating just as much and like trying new foods.


4. Besides horses, some of my favorite animals are cats and spiders!

I'm going to tag a couple other blogs I enjoy that I think haven't already been tagged with this one.

I'm tagging:
Five O'Clock Somewhere
and
Eventing Percheron

Overwelmed at the Equine Affaire

Last Saturday my mother and I made our yearly visit to the Equine Affaire. It is a birthday celebration of sorts for both of us, since it falls between our birthdays. We planned to do some shopping and to check out a few of the clinics.

We arrived around 10am. Cars were backed up from the off-ramp for the whole 2 miles to the Big-E. By the time we were inside it was around 11am. So much for our morning. We browsed one building before realizing it was nearly 2pm. More buildings to go, and no lunch yet!

My mother is usual nervous to try something new. But I introduced my mother to Gyro sandwiches last year. So she wanted one again.

After lunch we got back to shopping. That is, we started horse shopping.

The two baby Warmbloods (photo left) were gathering a lot of admirers. "Awwww..."

But we managed to convince ourselves that a baby horse was probably not a good birthday present for my (of a certain age) mother.






After horse shopping we shopped for a trailer to haul them with. This is the trailer we were most interested in, although I borrowed this photo from the dealer's website. It is a Hawk 2-horse straight-load with ramp. If you have any experience with these trailers, let us know!

After all that shopping we bought... nothing! We'd been too hurried to see it all. But we weren't the only ones. Although the buildings were so crowded that we thought we'd faint from heat, very few people had shopping bags. Could it be the economy?

That evening my good friend from Connecticut met up with us to see the Fantasia show. Poor planning on the part of organizers led to us being stuck outside in a thunderstorm (with a tornado watch!!) for half an hour. Don't they know that high-maintenance dressage ladies are flammable when wet? We enjoyed the show however. But none of my photos came out well. So if you'd like to see videos, check out these ones taken by another spectator:
Fantasia videos

I particularly enjoyed the aerialist, frankly because he was shirtless. I made a point of hooting and whistling enough to scare my mother back into the depths of her seat. More shirtless men and horses please!

We got home around 2:30am, exhausted. Next year we resolved to get a hotel room.

BLM will delay decision on management of mustangs and burros

From The Horse: Government Delays Decision on Euthanizing Wild Horses

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will round up fewer wild horses and try to shuffle funds within the agency to hold off for now on euthanizing large numbers of the animals in an effort to control herds and spiraling costs, an official said Monday.

Deputy Director Henri Bisson said maintaining the wild horse and burro program for another year will give horse advocates, the BLM, Congress, ranchers, and wildlife advocates time to explore possible solutions and let "cooler heads prevail."

read the whole article...

Update: Government entertaining other options, including an offer from billionaire couple Mr. and Mrs. T. Boone Pickens to create refuge for some horses. read more...


This is the latest update on this story, which I blogged about twice before (1, 2). Personally I'm happy to hear that they'll take more time to consider possible solutions. I hope that a neuter and release program will be considered, as well as tourism opportunities ("Come and see the American West on a safari! See our Mustangs, Bison and more!"). I'm no economist, but when the dollar is low against foreign currency, that might get some interest.

Let's keep this between us

You know you've got a good friend when you've seen their bathroom at their worst. So let's keep this one between us...

Our hose had frozen outside. Where could I thaw it? The previous owners of our house put in a snazzy guest bathroom suite during the home-improvement boom. There is a nice, deep shower. Hmm... I went to get the hose...

There on the doorstep sat my Ariat winter boots, with a light coating of mud. Their tops were sagging over. They looked so unhappy. I really love those boots. They deserve better than that.

Let's not discuss what I did next - especially not with my in-laws when they come to visit. But don't worry, I'll disinfect the shower once my boots are clean and dry.

Horseless Friday: Baby basking

Do you see it?...
....

Maybe I'll make a crazy quilt...

I present a gallery of Armani's blankets so far this season.

I-Been-Beeta-Up

Not-So-Tuff

Weather-or-Not-You-Like-It-I'm-Not-Wearing-It-Mommy

Fortunately he is an odd size. My mother won on eBay two new I-Sure-Hope-It's-As-Tough-As-Rambos in size 69" extra wide. Oh and remember how I mentioned that I'd gotten him a new halter recently? Yup, you guessed it... I'll be shopping for a new-new halter this weekend.

US Government, BLM must revise wild horse program

From The Horse: Report: Government Must Revise Wild Horse Program
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) needs to consider euthanizing wild horses or selling many of them to reduce spiraling costs of keeping them in long-term holding pens, said a government report Monday. ...read the whole article


I posted about this issue a while back. The article notes that the BLM has the authority to euthanize or sell horses "without restriction" (i.e. to Mexico or Canada for slaughter for human consumption) but has not done so yet in deference to public opinion. The article notes that some other options may require Congressional approval.

So if you have a strong opinion, I suggest that you may want to contact your Congress members. You can input your zipcode here to find them. Telephone calls and mailed letters are supposedly more persuasive than emails.

If you are interested in adopting a mustang, you can view a gallery of horses available via the internet. The photo accompanying my post is of one such horse, Marilyn. The BLM also hosts in-person adoption events around the country. (Although not so much in the north-east I've noticed.) I've never owned a mustang myself. But a friend of mine was pleasantly surprised to see a mustang ribbon at a dressage show recently.

I'll have what she's having.

I'm sure most pet owners out there can relate. Everything I eat is delicious. A couple evenings ago, I brought a pastrami on rye to the barn. I rode Armani first. Then I thought I'd have a little snack while I groomed Huey.

"Mmm!" said Huey. I always give Huey treats at chest level. So he stuck his muzzle to his chest and nickered, "Mmm MMMM!"

"Huey, you are a vegetarian." I tried to explain.
"Uh uh. Mmm!" Huey insisted.

I presented Huey with a tiny corner of my sandwich. "Huey, you'll see. We've been over this before." He slurped it greedily. Then he paused and thought. Then he opened his mouth wide and vigorously shook the sandwich out. "I told you. You are a vegetarian." I went back to eating my sandwich.

Huey put on his "cute" face made big eyes at me. "Mmm! MMM!" said Huey. So I got Huey an apple instead.

Later that evening, I ate a salad in front of the TV. Baby, my cat, pawed my leg, "Murrrph?"

"No, Baby. Kitties are carnivores."
"Murphle Muuuuurph?" I put a piece of lettuce on the floor. She sniffled it, shook her head and sniffed again. Then she snorted and pushed a magazine over it in disgust.

"I tried to tell you, Baby." I picked up the offensive lettuce and went back to eating my salad.
"Murph?" Baby asked. I sighed and took her to the kitchen for a treat.

An award - thank you

The author of Behind the Bit has very kindly nominated my blog for an award. Thank you very much!

If you haven't already read Behind the Bit you really should! The blog is extremely informative and entertaining. For an good sample of what you'll find, check out this recent post on blindness in horses.

How I spent my birthday

My birthday was last week. How did I spend the evening? With my horse, of course!


Armani and I shared a couple of bananas.

I buy discounted, overripe fruit and vegetables at the super market for him. They are natural, nutritious and some come in their own convenient "wrappers". They are also low in fat and carbohydrates. So I give Armani a couple vegetables or fruits a day. Armani has enjoyed everything he's tasted so far.

My mother, on the other hand, thinks baked goods say love. She bought two tubs of "apple" flavored cookies for Huey. But Huey spat out the banana I offered him. He's a man of simple tastes.