3 pastured pets?

As I made my way out the door this morning carrying two buckets of grain for the horses, I noticed something a little odd....Twiggs came running first, down the hill through the gate and slid to a stop in the mud at her bucket. Next came Ronan, trotting down the hill, through the gate, tossing his head in his attempt to look like a stud muffin. He, too, slid to a stop at his bucket.

And wait, something else is running down the hill....it's the pig!

The pig that wanders our neighborhood from time to time and always stops to visit my horses and scrounge for dropped grain underneath their buckets. So here comes the pig, down the hill, through the gate, and low and behold, trots all the way down to the salt block holder like it was her bucket!!! HAHA!

She just stood there looking at me like, ok, my turn! Once the Dachshunds started barking at her, she turned and trotted out of the pasture and down the road....haha....I have no idea where she lives or even if she has a home. But she does look fat and healthy.

These pictures were taken from a different time the pig did the same thing.

The weather is finally warming up and I've ventured out of the house briefly today. Only to feed the ponies and pull off the little hoop tents we built in the garden so the plants could get some nice sunshine. Our red lettuce is doing really well but the broccoli looks a little wilted by the cold. The snow is finally melting and the ground is mushy and wet.

Steven and I have been on a big organic kick lately. Watch Food, Inc., you will be too! That movie opened my eyes and made me aware of what I was eating. I've been overweight for awhile now and I've never really thought about what I was eating. It was whatever was convenient and tasty. And that is definitely a recipe for disaster. So, by watching what we put in our mouths, I've lost 5 lbs and Steven's lost 20. He did start 2 weeks before I did. We have a new litter of kittens. (UGH) Bella got out before we were able to get her spayed. We missed the date for the cheaper humane society program that has spays and rabies shots for 50 bucks so we were saving to take her to a regular vet since that would cost upwards of 200-300 bucks. (because they require all kinds of tests and vaccines) So we were saving and then Mulligan, our Dachshund got sick. 400 dollars later, we were not able to get her spayed. So, on Christmas Day, 5 little fluffy kittens were born. One is black and white and looks just like her daddy. We named her Noel. The other 4 are all dark grey. Hopefully we will be able to find good homes for them!

Holidays and First Day of Winter

No white Christmas for us here in East Tennessee. Late last week they were forecasting snow but now just rain. Bummer. My parents are driving up late Christmas Eve with my brother. We plan to go to Ober Gatlinburg so at least we will be able to SEE some snow! I've got a lot to do this week. From last minute Christmas shopping to grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning. Our cat should have kittens any day now...Unfortunately. She only got out twice. Little whore. Haha. We've been meaning to get her spayed for some time but it seems like everytime we save up the money, something major happens such as Mulligan the Dachshund getting sick and having to go to the vet (400 vet bill) or going to get tires rotated and them telling you that you need new tires (400 more) etc etc....That's life though right...

Sigh*

Watching the early show on CBS. They are talking about easy switches to cut calories on your holiday baking. I figured I'd share since they are some easy ideas!

Pie - cut 700 calories by using half the sugar. You don't change the chemistry of the pie and you can really taste the fruit.

Puddings / Pie Fillings - instead of heavy cream use 2% milk, still get creaminess
Cut 744 calories and a lot of fat

Cookies - change flour to whole wheat flour, can do half and half....more about nutrition than calories

Cheesecake - use part skim ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese. Save 60 GRAMS OF FAT. Double the protein.

Brownies - use pumpkin puree instead of oil. Save 900 calories and 100 grams of fat. Makes MORE moist. Supposedly REALLY good.

Chocolate Cake - use 3 tbs cocoa powder instead of chocolate, save 80 calories instantly!

Happy Holidays!!!!

Snow Day

We had our first snow of the season last weekend. I snapped a couple of pics. Today, the wind is ferocious! I'm convinced it's going to blow a tree down. Wow!

I think snow is just so beautiful! I love how it makes the trees look. I don't know if I like it so much because I didn't grow up with snow or it just really is that pretty!

Buffet from Goodwill

I've really been slacking! And you'd think I would have plenty of time to post on my blog since I've been completely unemployed since the middle of November. We had snow a couple of days ago and it was beautiful. I'll post pictures. I've taken lots of pictures over the past couple of months that I planned on putting up here but haven't gotten around to yet.

I found an awesome deal at Goodwill the other day. I went in and saw this buffet under a pile of stuff. It was beautiful and I couldn't believe someone had not picked it up yet. The price tag said $65. The next weekend was a 50% off storewide sale so I returned on Saturday to buy it. To my surprise, it was STILL there! I bought it for 35 bucks and was thrilled.

I stopped by Lowe's on the way home to purchase a piece of trim to replace two pieces that were broken off.

When I got home, I sanded it down. Then I mixed flat black paint with a glaze. I painted the buffet with this mixture and wiped off some of the glaze, leaving the color in the creases and on the edges of the wood. Next, I applied a paint-on polyureathane. Once it dried, I noticed the finish had bubbles in it. I lightly sanded it again and applied a finishing wax. Here is the final results!

So, I figured since I've been on hold with the Tennessee Unemployment office for the past 20 minutes, I might as well sign in and post on my blog! The unemployment call center really needs to hire some additional people to decrease this hold time....I mean, it's not like they don't have plenty of people to choose from.. I'm still working 1 day per week at my previous job but I am still qualified for benefits, as long as I am not making more than my weekly benefit from the unemployment insurance.

Just got off the phone, finally. My call log says I was on the phone 1 hour and 1 minutes. WOW! I haven't been on the phone that long since I was in college! I really hope the economy turns around soon. I know the job market will take a while to recover but there are so many people without work. Something needs to change soon. Speaking of change, where's all the good changes Obama promised? I haven't seen anything. But I wasn't really expecting it, that's why I didn't vote for him. Something's gotta give. Have you heard that song by Sugarland? I love it. One of my favorite bands. Jennifer Nettles voice is so distinctive, beautiful, and strong.

I'm just skipping along from topic to topic in this post, huh?

Man, Fall is ALL around me! This weather in East TN the past couple of days is marvelous! Highs barely getting into the 70s and lows dipping into the mid 40s. Heaven, I tell ya! I can see signs that Fall is just around the corner in the leaves too! Many are starting to change. The horses are starting to get a little fuzzy too. I'm going to go groom and saddle the horses so when Steven gets home from work, we can go on a ride together. We haven't ridden in so long. See ya!

Get the bug Mulligan!

Today should officially be dubbed Spider Day! I've had probably 5 encounters with spiders today. One gigantic one in the basement came crawling out when I picked up a towel that was on the floor. Luckily, my wonderful bug eating Dachshund came to my rescue! Then I encountered 3 more cleaning up around the house, and one daddy-long-leg outside the back door. I then saw his friends, about 6 more on the wall outside. Ugh! I HATE spiders....or any bug for that matter. Maybe I should call an exterminator?

Homemade Bread

I made homemade bread! Yes, REAL homemade bread. I can't believe it. I've been putting off trying for so long because it just seems sooo hard! But, I found this great recipe here. It's so simple, I've already made a 2nd loaf as well! Steven loves it which made me feel really good. I've never thought of myself as a good cook, or even decent for that matter. So, hearing how much he liked it really boosted my confidence. I found this recipe too. Doesn't it look yummy? I am looking forward to Fall so much. It is beautiful here in East Tennessee during Fall. It's my favorite season (besides the Christmas season :)

I've begun decorating the house for Fall too. I've put up my fall wreath, this little tin scarecrow, and wire pumpkin (both hold candles) and also this tin sign that I picked up a the thrift store. I'll have to remember to snap some pictures of them. I still have a box of fall decor down in the basement somewhere. I've been putting off going to get it because I absolutely HATE basements. I'm convinced this is why our laundry is always behind. It's just too buggy, damp, moldy and dark. And since we are renting, we really can't do anything about it. Oh well. I'll try to remember those pictures!

Labor Day Weekend

Wasn't full of too much action but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Most of the time was spent lounging around the house, either watching tv or chasing kittens......Anybody want one? We have got to find homes for them soon. In our green room, we do not have a door...only a child's gate which the kittens have no learned to climb and escape. We have tried to put cardboard, plastic tops, anything we can think of to keep them in but nothing has worked yet. They are cute though. I was thinking of advertising them with a $25 gift certificate to go towards having them spayed / neutered. *If we can afford to*

I'm still working but it won't be for too much longer. I can't remember if I mentioned it but the company I work for is going out of business. I'm only sticking around to finalize things with the accounting mess. Afterwards, I will start looking for a new job. In the meantime, I will try to get the house straight. I feel horrible that we are still practically living out of boxes. I just wish Steven and I could move somewhere that we actually own so I don't feel like we will have to move as soon as I get the house half way how I want it. I get so frustrated sometimes because we are still renting. I know we aren't married yet but we have been together for 3.5 yrs and have lived together for pretty much 2.5 yrs. We have a lot of debt from student loans and such from college so we cannot buy a house. It's really frustrating when I talk to my friends from high school and they all own their own home, are married, and most even have children. I feel like I'm really behind because I went to college. And It's Not Fair!

I know I'm whining....I'll stop. Ugh!


On another note, we haven't gotten to ride at all! Seems like when we plan to, it rains....or we get stuck driving T-posts instead.....

Groom Groom

I think everyone has a routine when it comes to grooming our horses. I'll admit, I haven't groomed as much lately as I should because I haven't ridden much. However, when I do ride and groom, I have a routine. I learned my grooming habits from my first English trainer. She was very picky about grooming, to the extent of no dust before a ride and no sweat marks after. So, I thought I would share with you my routine and tools for grooming my horses.

Step 1: Rubber Curry Comb

Used in big circular motion on large body, down to knees and up to head. This step stimulates the skin and gets blood circulating while bringing dirt up to the hair surface. It also loosens dried mud and hair.

Step 2: Summer: Medium Brush Winter: Hard Bristeled Brush

In the winter when coats are thick and dried mud is more prevelant, the brush with stiffer bristles does the job better than a medium brush. This step will remove most of the dirt, dust, and mud from your horse's coat. Sometimes if I am in a hurry, I will skip Step 1 with the curry comb and Step 3 with the finishing brush and only do this step. It does a good job.

Step 3: Finishing Brush

Using this brush last will remove all left over dust from your horse's coat and really make it shine! These brushes are usually very soft. Sometimes, the will have short bristles like the ones pictures and sometimes they will be longer so you can really "flick" off the dust at the end of your brush stroke.

Step 4: Hoof Pick

Some people do this step first, some last, some in the middle. Wherever you do it doesn't matter, it just has to be done. I like the hoof picks with the brush on the end so I can brush off mud on the front of the hoof too while I'm picking out the bottom. Every horse person has a ton of hoof picks laying around, I can guarantee it!

Step 5: Mane and Tail

My single most important tool when grooming mane and tail is my Oil Sheen Hair Spray by Isoplus! It can be purchased at any grocery store that sells African-Amerian hair products. This product is really cheap, like 2-3 bucks for a can, and it works wonders! It smells great, helps tangles tremendously, and puts a nice shine in hair. It won't dry out tails either! I will NOT brush my horse's tail out without this because breakage is a lot more prevelant when it isn't used. I also use a human hair brush for mane and tail because I think it offers less breakage than a tradition horse comb, especially when you use the oil sheen. There are horse products similar to this oil sheen and they smell exactly the same. But why pay 20 bucks for the same product when you can buy it for 3 at the grocery store? ....Just sayin.

Step 6: Face Grooming

I always do the face last for some reason. I use a soft rubber face curry and then use the finishing brush to brush away the dirt lifted up by the curry. Then, I take a damp cloth and wipe the nostrils, around the eyes, ears, and anywhere else that needs a damp cloth to take off dirt.
So, that's my full routine. Granted, I don't do every single step every time I ride, but this is my most used routine.

If you do this routine with your horse, I can guarantee your pony will look fabulous!

Happy Grooming!

Quiet!

This weekend was hot! Steven and I didn't do much. Saturday night, we went to the local auction. Tack started at 5 with horses following. I'm shocked at what they are going for these days. Registered AQHA broke mare....you'd be lucky to get 300. I keep meaning to bring the list of horses and prices they sold for to work so I can post it but my memory is failing I'm afraid.

Steven and I went to get another chicken from the same guy we bought our first two. Somehow, we ended up coming home with 3 instead. *Sigh* We should have PLENTY of eggs now!

It's been rainy most of the day. I need to call the new farrier. Twiggs needs a trim and Ronan needs front shoes put on. I kept them off recently because I knew I wouldn't be doing much riding with the move and his feet do better if they have a break every now and then.

I really want to go riding soon....I'm having withdrawals!

Trip to the Vet

I took the horses to the vet yesterday for teeth floating. Twiggs needs to go back in 6 mos to file one exceptionally tall tooth down again. The vet gave both horses the same dose of sedative but I guess Twiggs is a light weight! She was much more "drunk" than Ronan.

Here is Twiggs getting her teeth floated:

Here is droopy! HAHA she kept her tongue out for about 20 minutes I think!

Ronan went first and this pic was taken once he finished and was waiting for Twiggs. You can see his head is only being held up by his halter! haha

I think sedated horses is one of the funniest things to see haha.

Back to Life!

Whoa! Crazy week! Steven's parents and sister and the youngins are all gone. They all helped so much. If you are reading, Cherie Thank you soooo much for tackling the laundry pile. Hopefully now I will be able to keep it under control. Steven's dad managed to get a lot of projects around the house finished. We were able to get a railing up on the side patio. He finished the baseboards and shoe molding in the bath and kitchen. They also built a chicken coop for our new chickens. Not sure of their breed but we have already collected 4 eggs! I'm pretty sure only 1 is laying though. Hopefully the other will start soon! I didn't get any pictures while everyone was here. The girls had a lot of fun playing with all of our animals. A, the youngest girl, received a special treat. Cherie signed her up for a reading program and she received a reward for reading 25 books this summer! Her first request? To spend some alone time with me! How cute! So, we saddled Ronan and rode to the top of the mountain behind our house to look at the pretty views. She had a lot of fun! I'll miss them all! I guess now I've got to get back into the routine of everyday life.

Vacation Time!

Going on vacation .......RIGHT NOW! See ya!

Poor Kitties

We are down to 3 kittens. Unfortunately, Mulligan managed to get in their room and thought they were squeeky toys. He killed one right off the bat and the other two didn't pass until later. It was so sad and I felt so guilty for not making SURE he couldn't get in there. We allowed him to come in with us a couple of times so we could teach him to be gentle with them. He did great when we were there. I think he just tried to pick them up and crushed them. We are left with the light grey male, 1 black male (runt), and 1 black female. So so sad!

I think I forgot to add last post that Lily, the coonhound, killed our last chicken too. She kept flying over into her pen and finally, I guess she couldn't get away fast enough. We are looking for a new home for Lily. She also chewed through the satellite cord and we were without satellite for a week! Ugh!

Ponies are behaving though!

On a lighter note, Steven and I made some progress in the kitchen. I finished painting the cabinets and he put up the bottom doors. It looks so good! I can't wait to see before and after pics when it's all finished!

Steven's family is coming into town this week. I'm so excited! Hopefully, the rain will hold off and we can get some play time in! The forecast doesn't look great though. At least 30-40% chance of rain with two days having a 60% chance.

Crazy weekend

Wow, this past weekend and first part of this week has been a little crazy! On Friday when Steven and I got home, we couldn't find our cat. The cat was named Barack and he lived in our barn for the past year at our old place. The mom of our past boarder told me he was male and quite frankly, I never bothered to look. I also figured since he was male we would have a little more "time" until we had to get him neutered. Well, my friends M and E came over to help me pack up the horses for the move and picked up Barack and said, "I think he's pregnant!"......What?? ...........Well, sure enough Barack is not male but female and has been renamed to Michelle. She has gone from a barn kitty to an inside kitty and is loving life. Back to Friday, Steven and I couldn't find her so we started looking in the guest bedroom that isn't finished yet (by isn't finished I mean only has one coat of paint on the wall and the floors are still covered up, etc.) There she was, behind the blow-up mattress we still haven't taken down from when my parents were here. She looked at me and meowed a couple of times and I told Steven that she would probably have her kittens that night or the next for sure so I put down a towel. Sure enough, we went to Lowe's, our second favorite store only falling short to tractor supply, and by the time we got back, we had 3 baby kittens! We sat around and watched the next 2 births and by the next morning, we had 6. Poor momma, she did so well though! I don't think she got up for the first two days but now is finally taking breaks by coming and napping on the couch for awhile. She's a great mom too. We have 3 greys and 3 blacks, 3 girls and 3 boys, all long hair like momma I believe. Anyone want a barn kitty? I will try to get pics soon!

On Saturday, we finished the chicken pen and put up gates for the dogs so we could let the coonhound Lily off the run and just let her have the whole back yard.

Sunday, friends M and E came over to ride a little. E did well on Ronan and I gave her a short lesson. Afterwards, steven and I decided to ride out on top of the hill behind our house. We already knew that there was a pretty good view from up there but we had no idea how good! It is absolutely beautiful. You can see mountain ranges west and north from the hill and you can see for miles and miles and miles! I didn't think to bring my camera since it was a last minute horseback ride up the mountain. We continued on along the fence line and down to the bottom of the hill by a small watering hole. Ronan and Twiggs both did really well considering they haven't been ridden in awhile and it was the first time either one had been out of their pasture at the new place. I can't wait to go back up there, it's so pretty!

Monday, Steven and I had a pretty good scare. I got a text message from our landlord that read, "Apparently, one of your horses has jumped the fence." I couldn't get her to answer her phone to get more info so Steven left work and came to pick me up (we commute together) and we drove out to the house. (45 min drive) Turns out, Twiggs (surprising because we were sure it was the knucklehead) had, I think, walked through the hot wire fence because it wasn't hot. We put her back in and stopped by the co-op to get a charger on the way back to work. Thankfully, she did not get out again before we were able to get the fence charged.

Tonight, I'm going to my former supervisor's house to go over some issue I have at work so she can explain some stuff to me. Steven is going with and J, her husband, is cooking burgers and taking him fishing. I hope the rain holds off!

This morning, I was reading http://ihateyourhorse.blogspot.com/2009/07/tell-me-please.html. The topic was animal communicators. I was extremely surprised to find that every single post by someone that had used one gave them good reviews. One story was especially emotional.

* The comment below was borrowed from the comments section on the ihateyourhorse blog.

Everytime I read this, I get goosebumps!

Susan said...
I actually have a good communicator story. I used to ride at this barn years back. The woman who owned it had a gelding she loved more than anything. He was getting on in years and started to have some health problems. She had out vets, chiropractors, and pretty much any one else she thought could help her. Well she ends up bringing out a communicator.The woman talks to him and hits on a lot of things that are true about his life and personality. When they got to the big health question, the woman paused and then looked at his owner and said, "He's ready to go, but your not ready for him to leave. He's staying here because you ask him every night not to leave you yet. When you are ready, he'll let go."The owner started crying because she actually did in fact have a nightly ritual of asking the gelding not to leave her yet. She always did it alone and none of us knew this was going on.A few weeks later as she went to leave for the night she put him out in his favorite pasture,gave him a kiss, and said, "I love you, it's OK if you want to let go now. I'll be alright."They found him dead in the pasture the next day. None of us thought it was a coincidence that he died the very first nigth she told him he could leave.I wish I'd kept that psychic's name...
July 15, 2009 4:48 AM

WOW!

Do you have any animal communicator stories?

Today is my birthday. My mom, dad, and brother (i.e. MOM) sent me a beautiful bouqet of flowers. And she paid for me and Steven to get new iphones. Thanks Mom! I think Steven forgot :(.

Interview from the 2009 Sound Horse Conference

This is an anonymous interview from the 2009 Sound Horse conference. This person agreed to call in and tell what he/she knew of the industry. He was the owner of 20+ padded show horses.


Interviewer: the purpose of our call today is to talk about the, problems of soring in the Tennessee
walking horse breed, and perhaps related breeds, and I understand, caller, that you have
some information relating to that. Is that correct?



Horse Person: I hope so. I have been a padded horse owner. And, I no longer have them, but I know
quite a bit about it.



Interviewer: …how long were you a padded horse owner?



Horse Person: For about 5 years.



Interviewer: OK. Do you still own Tennessee walking horses or other gaited horses?



Horse Person: Yes, sir, Tennessee walking horses.



Interviewer: Could you tell me a little bit about…going back to the time when you were a padded horse
owner and were showing horses in padded horse classes…whether you have any knowledge
of soring practices or other practices that might fairly be expected to cause the horse to
suffer pain.



Horse Person: Oh…yeah. Umm, all of…every colt that I ever put in padded training was sore…every
one of ‘em…because they were competitive.
And anything that’s gonna be competitive where I am, which is Kentucky, Tennessee, and
Alabama, if you’re gonna show there, you’re gonna have a sore horse if you wanna compete.
Everything from, you know, just typically…an easy horse to sore is just a Go-Jo. You know,
that’s one that…pretty natural horse. One’s that are harder, they’ll fix ‘em all the way
around. I’ve had colts that have…I’ve caught standing in buckets of ice because they wanted
to show ‘em in 2 days and they had purposely foundered ‘em.



Interviewer: I think you used the term “Go-Jo.”



Horse Person: Uh huh. It’s a very mild hand cleaner that people use. But if it’s put on a horse and
wrapped, then it’s used in other ways. Just like CopperTox which is for horses, but used the
wrong way it’ll sore horses.
Interviewer: OK. Do you have personal knowledge that Go-Jo or CopperTox or both of them were used
on your colts when you were showing?


Horse Person: Yes. Yeah. It was common practice.



Interviewer: OK. Could you describe in a little bit more detail exactly what the technique was to use
these, these substances?


Horse Person: I really…you know, I didn’t…it was kinda turnin’ a blind eye for me.
2
And by the next day, it’s soaked in enough to where they’re tender enough the chain is
gonna do what they need it to do and really cause ‘em, every time the chain touches them it
hurts.


Horse Person: So that even, even when you wash it all off the next day, it’s deep enough to where it’s
still gonna bother them. Their soreness is still gonna bother them.


Interviewer: How frequently was this done, to your experience?
Women: Weekly.


Interviewer: To the horses that you had in training?


Horse Person: Weekly.


Interviewer: OK.


Horse Person: It was done before every time they were shown.


Interviewer: OK. Do you know how far in advance of the show that they would start doing this?


Horse Person: Ah, typically they’d do it Monday through Wednesday and that way Thursday and Friday
they could work ‘em. And by Saturday…but it depended on the horse. If the horse needed a
harder fix, they would do it later in the week so that they still had the results from it for a
Saturday night show, if need be.
They’ll find some…I’ve seen kerosene used. I’ve seen…some of ‘em I don’t even
understand how it can work because they’re bandaged, but it’s common things that you can
buy at any hardware store or any grocery store. And that’s the beauty of it for them is that
it’s easy to get ahold of.
. Diesel, kerosene…they’ve, I’ve…I’ve got a friend that her horse they’ve used jet fuel on
‘em. Don’t ask me how you’d get that, but they do.


Horse Person: Umm, anything that can be an irritant that they can, you know, set and let, get it deep in
on ‘em, they’ll use.


Interviewer: Uh huh.


Horse Person: Whatever it takes to get what they want.
It always depended on the horse. And a lot of times they would go back, like they’d work
the horse afterward. And if the horse wasn’t breakin’ level, they would fix the leg that
wasn’t goin’ as high. And they’d fix it harder. It is an art.


Interviewer: OK. Do I understand, then, that depending on how the horse reacted, they might use
somewhat different kinds of treatments or different intensity of treatment on different legs?
3


Horse Person: Yes. Yes. Definitely. Everything about it is how the horse reacts, and each one of ‘em is
different. I’ve had a horse that didn’t react to the topical way of doin’ it, and so he was
foundered. And he reacted wonderful to that. And it was after I owned him. But, he was a
foundered horse shown every Friday night. And after he foundered, another trainer took him
and started fixin’ him on top of it, and they killed him.


Interviewer: How did you become aware that the horse had foundered?


Horse Person: It was just told to me, like that was…oh, that’s an easy way to do it. It’s a natural fix.
That was the words—it was a natural fix.
It was a horse that I had raised and sold to this trainer.


Interviewer: Oh, I see. OK.


Horse Person: And I checked on the horse to see how he was doin’ because I had raised him. And he
was standin’ in buckets of ice because you had to whip him, they whipped him to get him to
cross ties because he didn’t wanna walk.


Interviewer: Uh huh.


Horse Person: But it’s a natural way for a horse to throw their leg on their back end.


Interviewer: Uh huh.


Horse Person: And I was appalled, and he explained it to me.


Interviewer: OK. Was this something that has happened since you’ve stopped showing padded horses
competitively?


Horse Person: That’s what made me stop showing.



Interviewer: OK. And could you describe what you know about pressure shoeing?


Horse Person: Only the after result. I had it with a…I had horses with a name brand trainer and moved
‘em, and both horses, um, busted open quarter size holes in the fronts of their feet because of
the way they had ‘em shod.


Interviewer: When you say the fronts of their feet, do you mean in the hoof itself?


Horse Person: Yes, the hoof wall. Yes.


Interviewer: OK. So the hoof wall split?


Horse Person: Right below the pastern.
Horse Person: It’s just common knowledge here that that happens if it, after so long…you know, it’s
like an abscess. It’s gonna come out somewhere.
4


Interviewer: I see. Were you aware of exactly how the pressure shoeing was accomplished on this horse?


Horse Person: No. No, I wasn’t.
That’s kinda the sick part. There’s so Interviewery veterinarians that are, they’re involved
enough with it and know how things work, it’s just brushed off to where…ok, soak it a
couple days and he’ll be fine. Go back to doin’ what you’re doin’. So it’s not treated as…it’s
not appalling here.


Interviewer: another topic that is often discussed concerning soring practices is the topic of scars and
what may be done about scars. Do you have any knowledge about that topic?


Horse Person: Acid packs.


Interviewer: OK. Could you describe what you mean by that?


Horse Person: They’ll apply acid and wrap it, and leave the horse over the weekend. And it’s horrible.
It’s…a lot of times it’s a kill ‘em or cure ‘em type thing, um, just simply because the horse
is gonna be down. It’s excruciating, evidently. And that way the…it depends on how much
they put on, but the top few layers of skin will peel off so that everything will come back
new.


Interviewer: Uh huh.


Horse Person: But…


Interviewer: Is that a technique that you knew was ever used on any of your horses?


Horse Person: I’ve never seen it but I always…anybody that has padded horses knows it…they know
what goes on. It’s just whether or not they admit it. At the time I wouldn’t. No. But yes…
…everybody knows they do. Everybody knows what it takes to get rid of it. And that’s somethin’
you just leave to those that know better, which is the trainer.


Interviewer: Well, but as I, as you’ve explained it to me, at least as I understand it, is that there’s sort of a
common unspoken understanding of what goes on…


Horse Person: Yeah. Everybody knows. If they’re at all an involved owner, they know it’s happening
but they don’t want to know and they don’t…it’s out of sight, out of mind, and let the trainer
do his job and get you that ribbon.


Interviewer: How Interviewery horses did you have during that period?


Horse Person: Ohhh…probably 20 at least.


Interviewer: Alright. Do you have any estimate of, or any knowledge about, out of the, let’s say 20 or so,
how Interviewery of them were subjected to soring practices of one kind or another?
5

Horse Person: All of them. Every one of ‘em. Lots of ‘em died before they were ever even able to be
shown because somebody started ‘em too young and they couldn’t take it.

Interviewer: And what happened? Did they founder or something like that that caused their early deaths?

Horse Person: Three or four of ‘em. It got to the point I wouldn’t call and check on ‘em, because it
seemed like every time I’d sell a baby somebody would kill it. Some of ‘em were started at
13 months old. One in particular was a 13-month-old and by the time he was 15 months old,
he had sold for a lot of money. And by the time he was 16 months old, he had blew his
knees and he was done. Others were, you know, started…they’re typically always started 14,
15 months…always here. And they just can’t take it. A lot of ‘em can’t take it and they’ll
colic and die. Colic is the #1 killer.

Horse Person: Every time my horses showed, they were sore. Every time. There was never a time they
showed clean. Ever. And every time, they passed inspection with flying colors.
Because the trainer picks the shows. And if the government, if they show up then the horses
that you know probably won’t stand, you don’t get off the trailer. And if you have a trailer
full of horses that won’t stand, you leave.
.I would tell you that Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama are the worst. But I see more, you
know, off the wall training practices and more horrid training practices in Kentucky and
Alabama because they’re further away. And Tennessee knows the threat a little more than
Kentucky and Alabama does. So you can see the worst stuff in Kentucky and Alabama. And
it goes on in Tennessee, but you don’t see it. It’s not as blatant.

Interviewer: Are you aware of anything about soring practices that might take place in those kinds of
classes, whether they’re trail classes or pleasure classes or things like that?

Horse Person: Only the pressure shoeing.

Interviewer: Uh huh.

Horse Person: That’s, that’s the only thing that I’m aware of. And I hear more about it and blockin’ ‘em,
and I can’t even go into that because I don’t even know enough about it to tell you anything.

Interviewer: Is there anything that we haven’t talked about so far that you’d like to communicate
concerning this problem or what might be done to stop it?

Horse Person: No, not off hand. As long as it’s stopped at some point, I’ll be thrilled.

FOSH

I emailed the President of FOSH, Friends of Sound Horses, Inc., yesterday about volunteering with their organization. I received a response today from a very welcoming and excited president, Lori. She said she would pass my information along to some other Board Directors to see where my skills can be utilized. I am very excited to begin my journey to end the practice of soring. I'm waiting for her reply like a kid waits for Christmas morning!

Here is the link to FOSH. Please check out there website. It seems a lot more detailed since I last visited several months ago. There is more information on how to get involved. Check out the online store link. I can't wait to order a shirt and bumper sticker!