PSA... PSA.. P!S!A!

It's been a little while since I did a PSA at Oh HorseFeathers, and this one today just *screamed* out for it. Literally- It.Screamed.

What did it scream, you ask?

It screamed, "HOLY CRAP PEOPLE, TRY USING YOUR BRAIN- or what is LEFT of your brain- ONCE IN A WHILE! Horses and ponies are NOT Rocket Science!"

What got my knickers in such a knot? Weeeellllll.... perusing the local sale ads once again, (I know. Every time I look, I say I need to STOP looking. It never works...) Anyways- while perusing the local sale ad, I came across this "gem".


"I need a Pony Bid with some Whow........for a hard headed Pony. If you got one laying around and don't need it anymore please give me a call or text at XXX-XXX-XXXX"


First tip: READ YOUR AD PRIOR TO POSTING. Bit -- Bid, there really *is* a big difference. If you wish to "bid" on a "bit", that would be one thing. But somehow I don't think that a "bid" is going to help your situation.

Next tip: What the hell is WHOW? Is that "WOW" with a bit of a British accent? And why might you need to WHOW your pony's hard head?

Moving on, to what we can only assume the original poster might have been attempting to say in a request for a stronger bit for a pony who apparently has no whoa- please. Teaching a pony to STOP on COMMAND is truly not that difficult. Unless the pony just *happens* to be smarter than the handler. (Which in this case......)

I'm not trying to be an uber-biotch here. But teaching a whoa starts with consistent handling. It starts with the handler using one cue, repeatedly, consistently, until you begin to see the WHOA coming into place. Placing a tougher bit into the pony's mouth is NOT going to "solve" your problem with your hard headed pony. In fact, cramming a bit into your hard headed pony's mouth to FORCE a whoa is going to wind up with the pony probably flipping over on top of who ever happens to be mounted on him/ her. And since this is a pony we are discussing, one can only assume it is a child that will be mounted upon the pony. Child, mounted UNDER pony = A Very Bad Thing.

Listen, sale ad poster, please- take some time and think about what you are doing. Approach the possibility of TRAINING the pony, instead of FORCING the pony. There are lots of people who can help, who are actually QUALIFIED to provide the help. All one needs to do is ASK. 'K? K, thanx.

And yes, I DO need to stay the heck away from local sale ads. Too many things on there are shocking, heart breaking and make me spend entirely too much time wandering about wondering "WHAT THE HELL???"

That is all.

The Mystery Hoof

Before we get into the hoof today- give aways (yes- TWO of them!) at Girls With Guns!
Check them out and WIN!


Meet Tulip. That's her, on the left.
To her right, is a very good friend of mine, Cindy.
Cindy runs/ lives/ breathes/ is the heart and soul of Central VA Horse Rescue.
Of which Tulip is a recent resident.

Poor Cindy did not know what she was getting into.

Tulip arrived with a host of problems.
Canker in all four feet was the biggest and most obvious.
I can hear you now- she had WHAT?
Canker.
And a very severe case of it.

The most basic definition of canker I can give is this:
It is a massive amount of excess tissue granulation
(think proud flesh almost),
that invades and takes over the sole and frog.
The amount of excess growth creates problems with
necrotic tissue and infection.
According to Cindy (and Tulip), it smells.
How bad?
Well, I'm betting Cindy will have a memory of the aroma for .. oh...
the next three months or so?

Treatment:
Surgical removal and debridement of the infected areas. All excess growth is removed.
In many cases, this destabilizes the hoof, and a hospital shoe is applied.
Follow up treatments are done daily, as prescribed by the attending vet.

There are a *HUGE* amount of questions about canker.
Some of mine are:
Why is it predominantly seen in drafts?
Are there environmental factors involved?
Is there dietary involvement?
What can be done to head it off?
What are the early warning signs?
What is the trigger to this excess growth?

I have not found the answers to my questions.


Now- before we get to the images below, be warned. I held back on the most graphic- but some of these are still pretty bloody. And in the very first photo, you'll see on Tulip's belly
what looks like... something very very swollen.
It is- that is her udder.
She has edema from liver issues, which were caused by a staggering parasite load.

Here are also links to two video clips- and yes, they are graphic.
But FASCINATING. (I can't thank Cindy enough for getting those for me!)

Canker Removal
Canker Removal 2

Interested in finding out more about Tulip? Find her on
Facebook!

We're *STYLIN'*, Baby!

Wow- even though I've been more absent than present in the equi-blogosphere for a few months, I was really shocked and tickled pink to realize that people are still here reading. Several bloggers bestowed the Stylish Blogger Award to Oh HorseFeathers!, and I'll be honest- I feel guilt in accepting it. Why? Because I don't get much chance these days to visit and make friendships, and enjoy other bloggers. (Depressing, right?) And yet, even though I'm not able to be around as much, fellow equi-bloggers are still reading, writing and learning from the information available here. A heartfelt THANK YOU to ALL of the bloggers who have passed this award along to us. And to avoid ruffling any feathers (because my memory these days? Yeah-- SUCKS. And I wrote down who gave me the award too- and you know what? I can't find the flipping list! ARGH!) Anyway- to avoid ruffling any feathers or accidentally missing someone, I am sending out a generic THANK YOU. (If that isn't proper... well.. give me what for about it.)

Right. Sappy. So not my "style"! Moving on, The Stylish Blogger Award comes with several responsibilities- first is listing and linking back to the blogger(s) that gave the award. (We've already covered THAT part, right?) Next is I'm supposed to tell you seven things you may or may not know about me. That is going to be a challenge- what you see and read on the blog is what you get in real life too. (Pretty much. I probably "talk" more blogging, since this is a captive audience.) Then, there is the last part, which I am once again going to break the rules over. (Yep. Rules. Out the proverbial window.) The last part is passing the award along to 15 recently discovered bloggers. I've got to think about that.

While those tires are burning, let's delve into seven things you may or may not know about me.

1) (*coughcough* wait-- the smoke is getting REAL thick in here from all this thinking stuff...*coughcough* Must. Turn on. Exhaust. Fan.)

1a) Wow this is miserable. I hate talking about myself.

2) *knocking on screen* Hey- Rule Maker- can I bend The Rules some more here?.... No? .... Worth a try... Umm...... #2.... *nervously tapping foot*... shoot. Oh! Shoot! I love to shoot! No- wait- y'all knew that already so I suppose it does not count right? Dang it....

3) *puffing air out in frustration* Well Hell Gertrude, this is only number 3? Are you kidding me? There are HOW many more to put in place??? Ok so something simple... Let's see... simple.. me... umm... *snork* yeah and you thought this was going to be a big Expose on Mrs Mom right? NOT!

4) OK! OK!! OK!!! I got one!! News reached me the other day that my Golden Hermit Status has been fully restored! That didn't take nearly as long as I was afraid it would. There's a load off my mind!

5) My Dad says I've loved horses and ONLY horses since I had legs. I think he might be mistaken a tiny bit. I've loved dogs and other animals that long too.

6) ............... (fill in the blank with your favorite cuss word/ phrase, because that's about all I've got left right now... muwahahaha)



The next step was to be the naming of 15 fellow bloggers. This award has been rapidly making the rounds, sooooo.... umm..... yeah, I'm going to break the rules. Again. Which you KNEW was coming, right? Right. I'm going to email/ call/ comment on a couple of blogs to pass this along to. We'll make it a surprise.. muwahahaha... If you WANT to join in though, DO!! Leave a comment here so we can all go read please, but play along!!


In a bit of additional news:

- Tomorrow there will be the follow up post to the mystery hoof post. I'll warn you now- the images are graphic, so if you have a weak stomach, don't look too close. But still look. Do NOT however, follow the video links I'll be providing.

- For you fellow shooters, be SURE to stop in at GIRLS WITH GUNS! GunDiva was lucky enough to attend a SHOT Show recently, and brought back all KINDS of goodies. We'll be doing giveaways GALORE! We are also being joined by a special guest blogger- Tara Janzen. An award winning author, avid shooter, and all around incredible person, Tara will be doing a giveaway as well- you might just be lucky enough to be on the receiving end of an autographed copy of one of her books! (Trust me--- they are SO worth the read!!!!!!)

- For you east coast readers: there is a clinic in the works. Yes, you read that right- a clinic. In person, with Mrs Mom and Mr Mrs Mom/ Dear Husband. Material covered will be The Hoof. NOT how to trim-- but anatomy, form, function, safe handling and what it is you are seeing. Again- this is NOT a learn to trim clinic. This is an educational clinic base geared towards owners in order to understand the marvel at the end of those lovely legs. Time is yet to be determined, but the place would be Broadnax, VA. I'll post more information as I have it, but if you are interested shoot me an email and let us know.

I think that wraps it up for right now. Until tomorrow then!
~MM

Look! A HOOF Post!!

Illness has swept through The Asylum of late, rendering all of us quivering masses of nasty-ness. (Trust me on this one. It has NOT been pretty 'round these parts lately.)

In an effort to take my mind off the endless cycle of tending sick children, a friend sent me the following image below. Let's play a bit of a game- can anyone tell what this is?





Fire away. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has to say on this!

Almost A Year- And What A Year It Was!

"Soft Kitty,
"Warm Kitty,
"Little ball of furrrrrr...
"Happy Kitty,
"Sleepy Kitty,
"Purr purr purr!"

Last night, as I was tucking the Locust Brothers in bed, it dawned on me- we ought to be coming up on a one year anniversary of sorts. On January 19, 2009 we were taken over by my ever present little companion, Kitty Biscuits the DAT.

The Year Of The DAT has been a blast. She rules the roost with a sharp tipped, velvety soft iron paw. Always up for adventure, DAT is ever on the look out for "trouble", often creating it when it suits her.

I can go no where with out a fuzzy little escort. Kitchen, bedroom, laundry, shower- no matter where I go or what I may be doing, DAT is soon to follow. Right down to kicking Jo the Wonder Nanny Dog out from under my computer desk.

Poor Jo... she just does not stand a chance against the DAT. Innocent old Jo will be peacefully snoozing on the floor, or looking up at me with her tail wagging happily. That is pretty much all it takes to get the DAT excited-- Jo. Breathing. She'll sneak up and pounce on Jo and "Boop" her- tail, nose, legs, belly- anywhere within reach.

People keep telling me that DAT will grow out of her antics, and all I can say is, Man I hope NOT! We love her like this. She even has Dear Husband wrapped around her furry little paws. The two of them have a secret code. DAT will swat him, he'll reach down to pet her, and she'll trot off towards the washing machine, tail wagging and looking back over her shoulder at Dear Husband, blinking those emerald eyes at him and purring the whole time... He of course, follows her... and they meet with DAT perched on top of the washer. I know- sick huh? But that is the only place he can pet her and have her happy. The rest of the time, they keep up a pretty good front. Dear Husband plays with the kitty and kitty plays back- they play so rough that you'd think they were trying to kill each other. Funniest darn thing to see... Of course, *I* am not supposed to talk about any of this, as Dear Husband fears he would lose his Man Card for loving a fluffy butt fuzzy kitty.

Ahhh Kitty Biscuits DAT. I'm so happy you arrived here to take over our home and our hearts. You have brought smiles on the darkest of days, in the worst of times. You never cease to make us giggle. And I can even forgive you for bringing your Very First Furred Animal Catch into the house a few nights back. You are a wonderful kitty, DAT, and I hope you stay JUST the way you are for the rest of your life.

Arizona Rampage

While I have been AWOL once again, I did want to express my heartfelt sympathies for the victims in this incident.

I also wanted to offer a bit of advice- which you can find over at our other blog,

Girls With Guns.

Dear Husband shared his expertise. With the climate of the day, I suggest everyone- whether or not you support our Constitutional Right To Bear Arms- read the post and learn from it.

Girls With Guns. Read it. Learn it. And stay alive.

Tough Subject

There is no doubt that owning a horse, dog, cat, bird etc etc etc brings about endless amounts of joy, happiness, wonderful memories and never ending adventures.

Wait- except there are times when those adventures DO end. Animals generally do not live as long as we humans do. They age, often suffering from age - related issues and chronic illnesses that are often times painful, leaving the animal in a constant sate of dis-comfort.

Part of our responsibility as horse owners is proper stewardship. We are entrusted with these animals to do right by them all through their life- AND at the end. We as humans tend to look at a situation and think with our hearts, and not as clearly as we should as we allow emotion to cloud our ability to make the best decision possible.

Now, I am sure that what I am about to say next will piss off quite a few. So be it- this is something that has been weighing on my mind, and it NEEDS to be addressed. Part of the weight comes from phone calls and emails, or face to face interactions with horse owners who are working on justifying keeping 800 year old Dobbin alive. (Dobbin- who might just happen to have a laundry list of illness, lameness and dietary requirements that is longer than I am tall.)

Yes, I am talking about euthanasia. Doing the deed- manning up, cowgirling up, and putting a loved horse to sleep and OUT of further pain and suffering. We have become, I am convinced anyways, a death phobic society. I can not tell you HOW many times we've been contacted in various forms to take on a very aged, very sick, very lame and in MY opinion, very much suffering equine- to give it a home and try to nurse it back to some semblance of health.

And for those of you sitting there guessing at my general reply to people in this situation-- I try to be as kind as I possibly can. Look, I am not out to piss off the entire world-- just a select few now and again. I understand that these owners love their horse. But I am sorry- asking someone else to step in and take over the job and euthanize your horse is a pretty crappy deal. The endless arguments of "But he is HAPPY!", "But she was a RESCUE!"... but but but... Please. Save it.

Let's take a look at it from my perspective.

First, there is generally the issue of transportation from where the horse is at, to my home. No, getting someone to trailer a horse is not the problem. The problem, nine times out of ten, arises from the condition of the aged, lame, debilitated horse. And the fact that most often, the horse would die in transit from point A to point B. Somehow, winching a dead horse off a trailer when it arrives at point B- which would be The Asylum- is really really NOT appealing to me.

Second, there is the fact that I have children. A six year old, and a soon to be five year old. I'm sorry if the fact that my children want to RIDE and learn about horses offends you, but that's the fact. Kids and adults want to RIDE.

Third is those same boys mentioned above? Yeah- I'm sorry, but bringing in dying animals on a routine basis is a pretty crappy deal for them too. Yes, they have a good understanding that animals die. The Cub helped to say good bye to a beloved old family dog when he was three. He helped dig the hole to bury the old fellow in, carry the dog to the hole, and cover him up. He shed his tears right along with the rest of the family. And to this day, three years later, when the kids are out playing he stops to say Hi to Spanky, and makes sure that the other kids don't run over top of the grave. They know animals die. I will not shield them from it, but I am also not going to drown them in death either.

Fourth is financial. Yep- here is where people are going to call me a cold hearted b*tch. I have dared to broach the subject of finances coupled with aged, suffering, dying horses. Before you get too lost in calling me all manner of nasty names, take a good, hard look around at the sheer numbers of young, healthy, sound, often started under saddle, with NO health issues horses that are available for free or next to free right now. Look at the numbers of higher- end horses that are available. Tell me----- does it make financial sense to prolong the life at extremely high costs of a gravely ill horse when for the same amount of money one could "save" two to three or more other horses? Horses that can be ridden and that can spread years of joy? Not to me it doesn't.


Oh boy I can hear you now getting your knickers in a massively HUGE wad. "Oh that Mrs Mom is a horrible horrible person! She is saying we need to euthanize all the old horses to make room for the young horses! What a miserable horrible B-I-T-C-H!" Don't deny it people, you know you are pissed because I dared suggest euthanizing horses in the first place. But to target the old and sick ones just to help the younger sound ones is incomprehensible, right? Right. I'm evil. Horrible. Uncaring, cold hearted, selfish, miserable, nasty, and should never ever own another horse again.

Which just goes to show-- you don't know me at all. I'm not going to sit here and convince you that I dearly love senior horses, because you'd have to be able to look past your own indignation and self- righteousness first. What I am saying is: make your OWN decisions for your horse. Do NOT try to pass it off on someone else, so you can go along pretending that you did a wonderful thing and that old Dobbin is now healthy, hale and hearty, romping in a pasture somewhere with two little boys loving all over him, and they all Live Happily Ever After.

Man. Up. Do the RIGHT thing by old Dobbin, and BE there at the end for him. He was there for YOU for a very long time. Be as mad/ disgusted/ pissed with me as you want- I don't care. You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror everyday, not me. You have to be able to live with any and all decisions you make, and sleep at night knowing you have done right or wrong.

Each and every horse owner should understand that coupled hand in hoof with the joy and happiness comes the chance of death, pain and suffering. The responsibility of feeding and maintaining health does not end there- it extends to being able to make the decision when it becomes necessary to put a horse down.

That's it. All I wanted to say. Be able to make the decision when it is needed, and don't try to dump YOUR job off on someone else. Make your decision- whatever it may be, either to pour money into them and keep them alive, or end their suffering and save that money to help another- but make the decision and stand by it and Dobbin at the end.

Fire away-- I'm sure there will be some interesting comments and criticisms from this one.

Well That's A Helluva Thing...

I have posts planned... time however is currently an issue.

But I need to make time for this:

Jennifer from How Did This Happen? has had a rather rough New Years. On Thursday night she was in the paddock with her gelding Romeo. Long story short, she wound up getting a bad kick directly to the chest. She was taken to the hospital, where she still remains. There is nothing broken rib or sternum wise- but her heart is bruised. Her cardiologist described it thusly: when the hoof impacted her ribcage, there was enough force behind it with "proper" placement that the blow essentially created a mini-heart attack.

Hell of a reminder that horses are big. Hooves are hard. The muscles connected to those hard hooves are incredibly powerful, and once set in motion those factors can and will do damage.

If you are the praying type, please say a prayer for a speedy recovery. Poor girl is going batty being confined and restricted to a hospital environment, and once home she is looking at yet another solid week of minimal activity and resting.


Soon as time permits, I'll make time here and post. Bear with me...
~MM