Bwah-Ha-Ha! (Evil Laugh!)

My horrible office mate is GONE! Yay!
I traded out my little computer moniter for her big one! Ha-ha!
Today is a good day!
Tomorrow is the Brighton Show... Wish me luck!
:)
Happy Weekend!

Super Cute Appy on Craigslist!

Love Him! Only $500!?! I want! :)

Link
Good thing I don't have any money, or I would be hitching up the trailer tonight! :)

Ha!

GraphJam

Love!

Appy mare on CL for $600.. She is SO cute! Link

Stolen Horses...

From TMZ Nicolette Sheridan, from Desperate Housewives, her boyfriend?

Craigslist Horse

Cute! Link

Abandoned Places in Russia

There are a LOT of creepy abandoned places in Russia! Yikes!
Click here for more.
Abandoned Car Factory

Abandoned Railroad Town.. Creepy! (In the middle of Siberia... only accessible by helicopter... scary!)
This one is pretty... An abandoned railroad station... (still scary!)
Edited to ad (More Russian stuff...)
This guy's art is really neat! He takes a photo from WWII Russia and blends it with modern day... CREEPY! Link

Rain Date for Brighton Show

May 23rd Horse Show has been canceled due to rain! The show has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 30th, 3:00 p.m.
Fun!

The Turtles Are Awake

Margo And Petey

Enjoying their new paddock...

Mmm... Pizza!

Can you guess which pizza is the healthier one? :)

The Countdown Begins...

Cute Mare on CL...Link
And another...Only $400! Cute! Link One more...Link
So...
My Dad gets all paranoid about me saying anything bad about the HORRIBLE girl I share an office with at work, but this is her last week! I am SO happy! Only three days left that I have to put up with this chubby, grouchy, crabby, little woman!!! I wonder if "The City," where she found a new job, will let her take 2 hour lunches? Oh, they have benefits that "she just can't pass up on" (eyes rolling) GAH! I pray to God for the strength to keep my mouth shut for the next three days! Just let her leave, PLEASE!

In other news,
It was a fun weekend at the cabin, even though it rained. :(
My paddock at home is a muddy, muddy mess! I am researching footing for it... Yuck!
My horse show got cancelled because of rain on Saturday, after I spent 4 hours getting Margo ready...
Back to work today... Blah!

Random Songs I Love

More for me than for you, so I have some easy links to follow...
:)
I already posted this one...

I love Peter Sarstedt's "Where do you go to my lovely"
Napster is nice to offer free music online, but you have to delete your cookies every 25 songs, or they won't play for you! Blah!
I also love Bill Wither's "Aint no sunshine when shes gone"
Will add more later!
Have a nice weekend!

OMG! Worst Horse Ad EVER!

Seriously, WTF? Link
Edited to ad:
I linked over to their website and found this picture... What is with this guy and picking up equines????
I'm sure they are nice people, this is just silly though! *Opps! That is the lady holding the donkey... Oh my... :)

Trail Rides and Shows

Tara and I were able to get out to Busiek yesterday and enjoy a nice trail ride.

Tomorrow is a little show at Brighton Saddle Club, I will be going and showing Margo in the halter class and walk/trot western pleasure. I might do the walk/trot/canter w.p. if there isn't many people there... I hope there is a small turn out! Margo needs practice! :)

Also, there is a Sho-Me show tomorrow in Marshfield, so I hope a lot of people go there instead!

Finger crossed... Wish me and Mags luck!

Fail

At MU! :)

Craigslist Horse

She is pretty cute... Her name is Raspberry... :) Dang, lost the link... Oh well, on StL CL.

The Obese (or Just Fat) Horse Diet

Well, Margo isn't that fat! :) Almost though!

I got out the weight tape last night and here are my two's appx stats:

Margo: 15.1 hh, 1,190 lbs
Peter: 10.2 hh, 510 lbs

It is recommended to feed 1.5 to 2% of horse's body weight in roughage (hay) per day. For them to lose weight, you should feed for a goal weight you would like to reach (incrementally). So, I would like to get Margo to 1000 lbs 1st, so that would be about 15 lbs of hay per day. Pete, I would like to get him down to 480 lbs 1st, that would be appx 8 lbs of hay per day. I am not going to calculate in their time out grazing, since it is minimal.

I searched the internets for a horse diet, and found that it is like a human diet, you have to figure out what is best for you. I got slightly hysterical, but I think it was because I was reading too much into diets for horses who have already foundered. Mine have not foundered, they just need to lose weight.

So... Here is the best "Horse Diet" plan I could come up with (probably will be tweaked as needed):

Monday-Friday:
5 am - Dan lets horses out of paddock for morning grazing as he is leaving for work
6 am - I muck out paddock, set up morning hay (1 flake for Margo, 1/2 flake for Pete and "grain" 1 small handful for Pete, 1 large handful for Margo. (Both with salt and minerals) (Grain is actually low-fat grass hay pellets, it tricks them though!) Put both horses back in pen as I leave.
5 pm - Whoever gets home first gives horses 1 flake of hay to split.
6 or 7 pm - Turn out on grass for 1 to 2 hours, when they come back in, they get the "grain" handfuls again, with salt and minerals, and a small scoop of applesauce with MagOx mixed in it.
9 pm (or right before bed) - 2 flakes for Margo, one flake for Pete (broke apart and spread around paddock)

So, that is my plan for now. I want to add in either Farrier's Formula or SafeChoice as a supplement, so they are getting their daily requirements (minerals, vitamins, etc) in...

As for the good news...

Margo had withers this morning!!! She was so fat over her withers, it was like a squishy pillow, with no definition. This morning, her 'shoulder blades' were defined and distinguishable from her withers (spine) YAY!

She is still fat in other places, but she does not have a crease down her back, nor fat deposits over her eyes, so she wasn't/isn't obese, just chunky. :)

Cake Wrecks...

Too funny! Link

New Three Board Paddock Fence!

Doesn't it look nice?!
"Stair steps" down
Neat post toppers Mom saw at Lowe's, thanks for the tip! I love them, but they are stuck on with caulk stuff, hopefully they horses won't figure out that they can be pried off...
We put the boards on the inside, so they won't get loose from the horses leaning on them...
Pete is glad that the space between rails is at his eye level.
Pete is glad his head fits through the rails... (Good grief!)
Margo is mad...


There is a concrete pad in the paddock where a water faucet comes out of the ground (previously broke off by an old horse of mine.) I would like to rent a concrete saw and bust out that pad, maybe just leave enough of it to protect the water pipe and set my tank on top of?
Looks nice with the gate hung...
Everybody is happy!

Dan's Present to Me

Dan called me and told me he got me a present yesterday... Just what I always wanted! :) No, seriously... :)

Margo

Modeling her new saddle pad I got a few weeks ago... You can wear whatever you want when you ride at home... :)

Parent of the Year...

"Was broke to ride as a 2-3 year old but hasn't been ridden for 2 years" BUT, I will put my tiny, tiny child on it, without even a halter for control. YIKES! Link
Edited to add:
OMG! Look at this one! What are these people thinking???
Link

Downhill?

Dang, looks like two different horses put together! (From today's CL Farm and Garden)

Daniel and I had a productive weekend. Since my two fat horses need to be kept off the lush spring grass, we desperately needed to fixed the fence on my pen. It was old, loose barbwire. (Yuck!) We ripped it all out, sunk posts on Saturday, and built a three board wood fence on Sunday! It looks SO good! It is like the Taj Mahal of fences! :) Haha~ I will take pictures tonight. I wanted to do a before and after picture, but my camera batteries were dead! Blah!

Tara and I rode at Wilson's Creek yesterday, that was really nice. We are going to try and go to Busiek on Thursday. Fun!

Cute Mare

Link

Today is the BEST Day (Ever?)

Holy Cow!
My horrible, hateful, bitter, unpleasent, nasty office mate just told me that May 29th is her LAST DAY!!!
She put in her two weeks!!!
THANK YOU GOD!
:)

Steps to Avoid Laminitis

Found online here Link
The management goals in preventing ‘grass’ founder should be observed from the start of spring or following late summer rains, when pastures are likely to grow rapidly and produce either fructan sugars (spring pastures), or high soluble carbohydrates that overload into the hindgut of grazing horses (autumn pastures).

1. Restrict access to lush spring pastures to 1 ½ hours in the early to mid-morning (after the dew has dried off) and again in the mid to late afternoon, as the peak production of fructan sugars in the leaves of the plant from sunlight photosynthesis occurs over the late morning to mid afternoon period.

2. Do not leave susceptible horses and ponies out to graze overnight during cool nights or on lush pasture.
Although the concentration of fructan sugars in the leaves decreases at night as they are transferred to the plant stems, horses and ponies often instinctively graze in the early evening and can take in large volumes of grass. Even if hay is offered in the evening to reduce the desire to graze, many horses and ponies will instinctively graze after consuming hard feeds and hay.

3. Always soak good quality grass hay, eg. grass and clover hay grown in early spring containing high levels of fructan sugars or soluble carbohydrates, for 1 hour in double its volume of lukewarm water. Remove and air dry and drain away the water. Do not add the soaking water to the feed. Ensure that the hay is free of mould or a “musty” smell for up to 60 minutes after soaking or until it is dry. A polywoven chaff bag is a suitable soaking bag to reduce leaf loss.

4. Offer chaff or ‘soaked’ hay before turning out to graze in the early morning or late afternoon to fill the stomach and limit the rate of fill when grazing as well as dilute the intake of fructan grasses.

5. Consider the daily use of Virginiamycin (Founderguard)® to suppress D-lactic acid producing bacteria and the cascade of damaging bacterial toxins during high risk periods, or a Foundermask to limit grazing.

6. Regular exercise in ‘cresty’ overweight ponies, that are insulin insensitive, can help reduce the risk of laminitis by utilizing more glucose on a daily basis.

7. Maintain short toes by ensuring the horses/ponies hooves are trimmed every 3-4 weeks so that there is less rotational force on the pedal bone on any devitalized laminae that are coping with the effects of circulating toxin. Long toes increase the deep flexor tendon downward rotation force on the pedal bone in standing animals, especially overweight horses with low heels as a result of chronic laminitis.

Diets, Blah!

Fatties!
Well, I started a diet, because I quit smoking and started eating all the time! I had to stop that or I was going to gain twenty pounds! :) Well, I have lost three pounds so far, and I cheated really bad last week! Ha! Oh well, at least I am not smoking! Two weeks today!

So, my farrier was out last night, to do Mags and Pete's feet. He said that they are both super freaking fat. He also said Margo has GAINED weight since the last time he was out. He claims that if I don't dry lot her ASAP, she is going to founder on me! GAH!

So, now her and Pete are going to have to live in the little pen (35'x50') between my barns (with the stall.) My farrier suggested they live in there 24/7, with one flake of hay in the am, and then turned out for one hour in the evening. He also strongly suggested that I lunge or ride Margo for at least 30 min everyday!
Why do I have to have such fatties?! Now I will have to start mucking the pen everyday too!

And, Daniel and I are going to HAVE to fix the fence around the pen. The section dividing the pen from the backyard is super loose barb wire. Dan said we can afford to do a board fence there, which is going to require the digging of 6 holes for posts, also the purchase of wood. (Anyone want to come out and help on Saturday?)

Poor me! :(
Why do they have to be SO fat??
I thought I was doing good to cut them down to just the 3/4 acre around the barn! I guess not. My farrier suggested I do this (keep them in pen, etc) until the next time he comes out (appx 6 wks) then he will help me decide where to go from there. Basically, Margo (and Pete) cannot be out on any grass until, probably, the end of summer... *sigh...

Horse of the Day

Only $700!?! Link
Edited to add this cute mare, I love her!
Link

Well...

Tomorrow will be two weeks since I have had a cigarette! Yay!
I can't believe I quit! :)
I will never touch another one again.
:)
Also, Happy Birthday today to rpatz. (Looks young in this picture!)(He is the guy from the Twilight movie, in case you are living in a cave) Ha-Ha