Thursday, October 29, 2009

Changing the Subject

Lets go from Gross and disgusting to something better. In my email inbox this morning, I recieved a message being forwarded around. This one came from a customer here at work, from another state. No I won't name names and get anyone in trouble.

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In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different, the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion business.)

CNJ in- No idea who or which shop this is so don't bother to ask me.

The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last yearand we never got the flu.

If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case... Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!!!

Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:

I don't know about the farmer's story...but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill...I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar...placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs...sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better.

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

CNJ in- I know garlic and onions planted in spots in the garden will help keep pests and insects OUT!



Then I got this one concerning the H1N1 virus. Thank You Fern Valley.

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Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

The following message given by him, I feel makes a lot of sense and is important for all to know


The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat or bathe).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one.. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

I suggest you pass this on to your entire e-list. You never know who might pay attention to it - and STAY ALIVE because of it.


CNJ in- So get out you onions and garlic, rinse and gargle with salt water frequently and wash your hands. Hopefully we can all get through this winter and feel well enough to get our daily stuff done.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Long awaited?

I hardly think so.





This pallet of product? has been sitting there for at least 2-3 weeks now. The pile behind it is an ingredient for the processed feed they manufacture. Any time of day there are flocks of pigeons on the pile. Several are dead and decaying and can be found on the properties surrounding this one.


This pile sits along the fence just outside the building in the first picture. Yum! see all of the plastic in the pile? There is an assortment of straw, pallets, plastic and who knows what in and under this one.


Then behind the building, you see the grains and other products coming through the walls and piling up between the trash- barrels, conveyor belting, pallet jacks and all sorts of things...


Then the pile across from that containing tires and broken plastic, metal shelving and who knows what else.


A view under the roof of part of the rest of the facility. Also showing either ingredients or finished products sitting on pallets. Behind them, pile after pile of feed ingredients.


And what is that 'little black box' there by the fence? Yep, a bait block for the rats that are living there. There are several along bordering fences and throughout the property.

One question I have here, why would the rats touch or consume the bait block, when they have an entire yard covering several acres, full of feed and feed ingredients? And when they consume the bait block and die, does the guy driving the front end loader see the rats as he scoops another bucket load for the process?

******
What you cannot see in a couple of the pictures is one of the neighboring companies. A bakery which sells a number of different products across the southwest- Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado New Mexico and Texas. Their products are marketed under 5 different brand names. The facility directly behind this, used to warehouse Flemming Foods.

Now I can understand that anywhere you have food or food products, you run the risk of bugs and rodents. I get it. But to have a facility where no effort is put forth to clean it up or remove things no longer in use, especially when you produce a food product just floors me. Adding to that the nature of the neighboring businesses, residential neighborhood and the food chain? YUCK!

The company that manufactures this brand of feed and goes by two other names as well, produces pig, cattle and HORSE feeds. Mostly grain supplements. They boast being one of the leading companies in the industry. After seeing this and several more photo's of their facility, both ground and aerial views, and knowing a few more things from first hand insider info... You couldn't pay me to take a bag of their stuff. I value my animals and my own health too much for that.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Maybe more than you wanted to consider

Recently I have been enlightened in a few ways of how little protection some of us have, while others are guarded beyond belief. I have also found many agencies and corporations employing people, yet granting them no authority to authorize or approve- anything. Remind me please, why then, do they even have a job?

While considering how important nutrition is in the look, condition, overall health and appearance of an animal and including ourselves, it is amazing how far some companies go in pushing the limits of their own industry boundaries, in the production of their products. Every industry has standards. While some companies easily exceed them, others miserably fail to even reach them.

As consumers, when purchasing their products, we are placing some amount of faith in their compliance to regulations and ability to go above and beyond the minimums allowed in their industry. Bottom line? We buy it because we hope they have done the research and then taken the steps to do everything possible to protect, preserve or maybe enhance the health of whoever is eating what they have produced.

When it comes to feed- hay can be assessed fairly easily. You may look at it before you buy it, as it is loaded for you to take home or when it is delivered and stacked at your place in the feed barn. Some of us aren't home at the time of delivery, but have established a relationship with our supplier and if there is any problems such as mold, the bale can be returned for credit or replaced. You may even know the grower personally and buy directly from them. The last chance you have to look at the hay is just before you cut open the bale and as you feed it.

A bale containing trash may be one that was near the edge of the field. People being the way they are anymore, some of them have no regard for others or problem with littering. It happens and the farmer sometimes has little chance to catch it or prevent it from going through their mowers or baling machinery. Trust me, they don't like having their equipment break down or blades dulled by this trash, any more than we like finding it in a flake of hay at feeding time! And it always seems THAT flake finds its way into the feeder of the horse owned by the pickiest owner who can be especially tough to deal with, anyways.

When shopping for supplements and grain though, there isn't much for anyone to go on. You read the tag on the bag, the list of ingredients and the listed percentages of vitamins, nutrients, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, palatability and other things. You figure the pellets, powders, gels and liquids are produced in a relatively clean environment. At least you hope they are, but unless you are nearby or close enough to go visit the facility- you really have no way of knowing what's really going on. Even then, not all of them host tours or may be willing to show you around.

With human consumption products, the health department has inspectors who routinely go through restaurants and food processing facilities to ensure the cleanliness of the plants. They are looking for violations, but also give tips on ways to help prevent the violations. If there are violations, the offenders are given a written report of what is wrong and a time period in which to correct it. Too many violations and no corrections being made- they shut things down.

But taking it a slightly different route, WHO is checking the feed manufacturing plants? They are making the grains and supplements we feed the animals we may later be butchering for consumption. In the case of dairy cattle, the milk is collected twice daily and processed for distribution. Sure the facilities are checked by health inspectors, the milk is pasteurized to help reduce the chance of contamination, the farmer checks the cows at milking... but the cows are still eating the grains provided by the company the farm owner purchased it from.

I will be posting pictures to go along with all of this, but they are on another computer and cannot be accessed at the moment. Trust me, they are enough to turn the stomach of even the hardiest of our bunch. Especially when you take into consideration the course of the entire process.

That says a lot when you consider how excited horse people can get over a pile of poop in some circumstances! Or how some of us can clean a sheath without using gloves, open an abscess in a hoof and bring instant relief as well as releasing an incredible stench or just plain deal with or DO things that the mere thought of causes others to lose their lunch!

There are also a few other factors to consider in all of this. I will be listing some of them with the pictures. You may be checking a few things off the next grocery list. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Lost and Found

In my post about people bragging about low end accomplishments, I mentioned a horse who another person (we will call her M) had been searching for, for quite some time.

M had known the breeder and the horse back when he was a youngster, had taken a shine to him and there was just something about him. The horse had been sold at one point, sat around doing nothing for 6 months and was bought back by the breeder. Later he was again sold and wound up here in Arizona.

It was rumored that horse had broken his navicular and was unsound. The owner deemed him a 'killer' and claimed he had injured a few people because of his bad behavior. So she she put him up for sale. The breeder offered to buy the horse back, but the owner balked. Refusing as she thought her purchase of the horse was part of a scam. M had seen the ad and contacted the 'seller' in hopes of bringing him back home. Both M and the breeder were offering to take him in. **I also wish to note- the breeder also has the first right of refusal written into all of her sale contracts.**

The seller however, upon learning M was also in the same state as the breeder, was having no part of it and stated something along the lines of "I will send him to the auction before letting him go back there!" In other words, she would rather the horse die a horrible death than go back to a loving home.

*Go ahead, vent your frustrations and speak your mind. Probably similar to what others are thinking anyways.*

Fast forward a couple of years.

A while back M contacted me after reading and posting on another blog- FHOTD where a lot of us initially met... She was looking for Al, he was last known in this town, I would love to find him and just know he's ok.

Well drop me an email- I live there! I'll see what I can find out. Happy to do so, know a lot of horse people across the spectrum of disciplines- you just never know.


Missing, as if on a milk carton...

So over the past year and a half or better, M and I have emailed back and forth about a number of things, sent Horse for Sale ads back and forth and been in touch pretty frequently. Recently we started texting, which is great because a couple of weeks ago in digging for the 'dirt' I was asked about, there on the one website pops up a picture of a horse similar to what I remember Al looking like, as being described and listed under the same 'alias name' she had mentioned that miss "I'll send him to the killers" had given him. WOW!

I text her that "OMG! I think I just found your horse!" I fire off an email with links and tell her where to find him on the website. She in turn fires back the picture above and we both start comparing the markings.



We find one thing that throws us off. The front sock. In one picture it's on the left, the other it's on the right. What the??? So we both look closely and are skeptical and critical. We determine that's gotta be him or that horse has remarkably similar markings! What are those odds? We also consider one of the pictures being flipped around... Something has to explain it!

In looking up the listed owners name, I came across their address and phone number. Copy, paste, chanting "Google maps is my friend" and BAM! They live almost directly behind one of our friends. How's that for a small world?

But it doesn't end there...

M looks up the owners info on USDF and finds an email address. Types away in excitement and tells the new owner where she seen pictures of the horse and asks if it is him? I knew him as a youngster and he's always been "the one that got away". That was last Monday.

A few days go by and she receives an email from the current owner that YES! It is the horse she has been looking for all this time and he is just as sweet and wonderful as M described and remembers him. Saturday I received a text from M- "OMG! That horse IS Al! You Rock!" or something like that. (Honestly I don't remember word for word and since I had to reset my phone because it had issues- poof it's been erased. Phooey for technology sometimes!)

So M forwards the email where I learn, the new owner has had him almost 5 years now. Yes, when she bought him he had hoof issues, but since moving across the country to the Carolina's, he has dramaticly improved. They are both there while the owner is on a temporary assignment. So Al's owner is wishing to contact the breeder and has attempted to do so, to let them know that the horse is fine and doing great. M has offered that if he ever needs a new home- he's got one waiting for him. No question about it!

The twist you are all waiting for? The new neighbor 3 doors down from them, came by one day. Turns out she had bought this horses full sister a couple years back!

How is that for a GREAT story and a happy ending?

Monday, October 19, 2009

They say things happen in three's...

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I sure did!

There were a few things that happened over the weekend, that just have me flying high atop a silver cloud. Not just a cloud lined with silver, no, no. A SILVER CLOUD!

1. The horse I mentioned in this post about there being more to showing than just looking pretty, has been confirmed it IS the horse another poster has been searching for, for quite some time. I received a text and an email confirming that "OMG!!! IT IS HIM!" and how much I rock for finding him. I am just happy to say he has been found, is in a great home and there is another exciting twist to this story which I will be posting as soon as I get everything right. The twist proves yet again, just how small the horse world really is.

2. In checking my voicemail I found a message from a woman requesting I contact her in regards to body clipping her horse for an upcoming show. Her trainer recommended she give me a call to do the job. Her trainer had called me around this time last year about clipping a few horses, which I couldn't do because I was due to have the girls, in just a week or two. Funny thing about all of this? I have not met this trainer yet. I wouldn't know her from anyone else, even if I was standing right next to her.

In trying to sort out how this person knows of my work (???) I can only determine she has seen the horse which I finished the clip job on, that was started by another. I am presuming the horses owner spoke highly enough of my handling her horse to pass my number along to the trainer. This horse is one of her 'babies' and I have to add- the person who started the clip job on this horse had to use tranquilizers, just to clip the neck and body of the horse. In finishing the job, which included touching up some of the work already done, the only time the tranquilizers were needed, was when it came to doing the mares ears. Seeing as how the majority of the horse population does not enjoy this part and sedation is generally necessary- no big deal. The horse stood relaxed and calm and let me clip away. Just as it should be.

This is a horse leased by one of her students. The students mother worked with a friend of mine. Our mutual friend had asked if I could finish the job. Another funny twist here? She had never seen my work prior to this either!

Then comes the last part-

A few know of the fly masks I make and the two that I sent to another blogger Dena. She featured them on her blog Living Beyond the Dream and very briefly described the excitement she had felt upon receiving them and how impressed she was by the craftsmanship and quality they possess. Which leads us all to...

3. In reading the blog from the group over at the Back In The Saddle Project, I learned about their mini 'Lil Bit and how he has to wear a mask because of his torn and half missing eyelid. Poor kid! So I asked for an address and sent them one too... Wanna see for yourself the mask and what they had to say about it? Take a look.


So it's easy to see why I am in such a good mood to start the week out. I am sitting here atop my Silver Cloud and enjoying the view. Anyone care to join me? There's plenty of room and snacks to go around.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

No Hoof, No Horse

Those 4 words hold more truth than a lot of people wish to admit or grant them. Yet in my experiences with horse people, the hooves are often one of the most overlooked and ignored part of the horse.

UNTIL...

*cue dramatic music*

something goes wrong with them!

Even then, unless it is causing a major head bobbing lameness- some owners, riders, trainers and otherwise people you would think know their stuff, don't catch what is really going on, let alone wrong, with their horse.

A few know, that I do and will trim our horses feet as needed and I worked on one just last night. But I leave the shoeing to the farrier and also ask him to check my work. On the right hand side you will find a link to The Natural Angle which is on the website for Farrier Products. There they have a whole host of articles, yours for the reading, to learn what to look for in a good trim or shoeing. Packed with knowledge, easy to understand and pictures for those of us who need them.

As a horse owner, you owe it to your horse to read up on it. As a consumer, you owe it to your checkbook to read up on it. Why pay for substandard work, when often, quality work costs the same? As we all know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This same rule applies to the hooves. Probably more so than any other part of the horse.

Above a horse for sale ad C3D sent me, I recently found an ad for a new product on the market-



The RidersRasp was designed by a person claiming 'Certified Journeyman Farrier' status who promotes it as being easy to use by everyone, for rounding off the hoof edge to prevent chips and cracking.

But similar to the words of a late night infomercial, "Don't stop there..."

It goes further in the promo, to being used to round the edges of the hoof every 2-3 weeks enabling the user to extend the length of time between trims by a professional. Sounds fair enough. But they state using it every 2-3 weeks is extending the length of time between trims from 5-6 weeks to 7-8 weeks. Um, last I checked, shoeing or at the very least trims, are recommended every 6-8 weeks ANYWAYS... depending on the horse, their workload and rate of hoof growth of course.

Here's where I have issues with things they state on the website. There was plenty to choose from, so I picked just a few. I'm not sure how to change text color so I'll use Italics to highlight their statements.

A conventional farrier’s rasp is difficult to use and best left to a professional. It needs two hands to operate, requiring the user to stand with the horse’s foot between their legs, often bearing the weight of a leaning horse. Standing under the horse is not only difficult, but can be dangerous.

Steadying the hoof between your legs, does not mean the horse will or should lean on you. Ours know leaning on anyone working on them is not an option. They have 3 other legs to use, which they should. It is not the farriers job (or mine) to hold them up and I don't expect anyone to do so. This is where working with your horses feet or not, shows. You can certainly teach them not to lean on you. Standing under them is actually not all that difficult. Dangerous? Sure it can be, but working with horses puts you in a level of assumed risk anyways. We all know anything can happen at any given time.

When used by a non-professional, a conventional rasp can also remove too much hoof wall which can cause soreness, lameness and compromise the hoof’s balance.

A person claiming to be a professional can also do the same damage. We are all human after all. Next?

Rounding encourages symmetrical growth and maintains the hoof capsule’s correct balance by eliminating flares and dishes.

So rounding off the edge at the bottom of the hoof, eliminates flares and dishes further up the hoof? How? How does filing the lowest edge of the sides reinstate the balance across the bottom of the hoof, from side to side & front to back?

Typically, rounding is done by a hoof care professional, but now you can supplement your horse’s hoof care regiment with RidersRasp™ between trims for healthier hooves!

If the professionals are already doing this and doing their job right to begin with, why does anyone need to fix things between their visits? Keep an eye on things- sure, but keep rounding off the edges? Not unless you are riding in some seriously rough terrain, but then wouldn't some people consider shoeing as an option or using boots on the horse for protection?

There are several other things, that when reading the text with an open mind and considering it with common sense and logic- it just doesn't seem to have any. Makes you wonder sometimes, doesn't it? Why the condescending tone? Are all consumers that gullible? There are also a couple of other things offered on the 'products' page that will raise a few eyebrows for sure. I'll leave those for everyone to have at it over, in the comments section.


Now in all fairness, it is stated on the website that rounding the hoof edge after a horse loses a shoe, will help prevent chips and splitting until the farrier can reset the shoe. That is something where I can understand having this product or a standard rasp available and putting it to good use.

Friday, October 9, 2009

There's more to it than that

I was going to post a photo with this topic, but in delving into the legalities of the one I wished to use, because I choose not to cross any lines I shouldn't- no picture. SooOOoo, again, use your imagination folks.

Here on the blog, while I am addressing all of the grooming techniques and procedures a lot of people go through in preparation to showing their horse(s), there's a bit more to showing than just making the horse 'pretty'. There's more to winning than having the best looking horse in the ring. Boy is there ever more to it all, than just that...

Recently I attended a sport horse inspection across town, where, in the barn before things got started, we were discussing another person and their horse. The oh ever so proud owner, has been going on and on and on, to everyone and anyone who will listen, about how well the horse is (finally) doing. The others I was discussing things with, just knew there HAD to be more to the story, so they asked me to find out what I could and report back.

That was on a Sunday and by Monday afternoon, I had my 'dirt'. Yeah. Like that took any time at all? Oh Puhleeze!

The amazing thing in all of this though, is the great lengths people will go to, to brag about their own or their horses accomplishments---> when ALL of it can be checked out! SOMEWHERE... there are listings of year end standings, class placings, show results, breeding/pedigree verification, certifications, fines, suspensions and just about anything else, good, bad or indifferent, involved with showing. With the Internet- all of this information is easily accessible to anyone caring to look for it.

Taking it a step further- in some cases, people are using their placings, standings and the show results to promote themselves as trainers, their farm as grandiose producers and the results of it all as some pedestal on which they stand while the rest of us should be fawning over them and hailing to them as our leader. Yes, you are all excused for a few moments to go hurl...

What they are doing though, is tooting their own horn, blowing smoke and sunshine up everyone's ass and hoping nobody else reads into it from a realistic perspective and annihilates what they are projecting as 'reality'.

So here's the truth about the horse and owner I was asked to look into and what I found-
An unregistered mare, having been shown twice and winning her two classes with the 'trainer' riding her, not the owner. As the owner is claiming, the horse IS in the running for a year end high point award. Sounds impressive enough right?

Well then, let's take a step back into the real world and take a GOOD look at it all-
*insert drumroll please*
The horse has been in training for 4 years.
They 'won' training level- consisting of walking, trotting and halt.
They are listed as 'qualifiers' for the club high point, but so are 9 others.
The trainer is only listed as a qualifier for high point, with this ONE horse.
Their highest score? 56%


So with the trainer riding the horse, they couldn't do well enough to advance to the next level of dressage? Last I knew, three scores of 58% or better, was required to move up or advance to the next level. They are winning classes but not doing well enough to move on. How sad is that?

They might have won their classes, but with such low scores I have to wonder- Just how BAD were the others in their classes? How many others were IN their classes?

As C3D pointed out to me- the trainer is FEI certified... Doesn't say much for that level of certification either, now, does it? Also please note- this is a Dressage barn. Not a barn focusing on other things, such as jumping or hunters. No, the focus is emphasized solely on dressage.

This 'trainer' is listed as the 'assistant trainer' on their website. So digging further- the 'trainer' in that barn is also a qualifier for high point, but again -One horse. -First level. Again, bragging about scores in the low to mid 60's and a few topping out at 70%.

For comparison sake, I looked at a few of the other dressage barns listed for the state. On their websites, I found a few who did not post scores unless they were damn sure worth bragging about- which mid to high 70's and up certainly are! and found they were also commanding 'Sale Horse' prices of high 5 figures, ($65K, $75K) a couple 6 figures- and getting them. These trainers were also competing on various levels- Training, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and on up, on a number of different horses in each level as well... Now which barns do you think you are getting your money's worth at?

There are a few other 'issues' which are points of contention for me, but seeing as how I have been going on long enough, I'll turn it all over now for the rest of the things you find, which seems to be indicating either the judging is getting extremely tough and not tolerating ANYTHING, or that the level of some trainers is just so craptastic and speyshul- the whole discipline seems to be eroding away because of creatures like them.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Sneaking a Peek

Out of the shadows of the night, came a dark horse with a past...


To curb a few people's curiosity, this is my OTTB mare MAM, wearing a sheet that is still sorta under construction. Yes that slightly visible blob on the trailer fender is my pin cushion and the measuring tape next to it was so I could get the straps the right length. Did you notice there weren't any on it yet?

So under the shop lights out back, she stood patiently and modeled this while I measured, pinned, marked it and snapped a few quick photo's on the iPhone. During all of this- it started to lightly rain. How wonderful was that?


For those who are not familiar with her story, this is the mare I bought, sight unseen (without so much as even a glance at her photo's) based solely on the words of a friend. Her right knee is what ended her racing career and why she will not be going over any fences or crossrails. It is also the one thing that surely would have landed her on the one way truck ride in a trip over the border, had I not found out about her and bought her on the spot. She was supposed to be a quick 'flip'.

Instead, she won my heart, hasn't been for sale for even a moment and now a few years later is still here enjoying life...

Funny how life works out sometimes!