Ignorance in the Horse World

Here in the last week, I've encountered some ignorance.

Now, I encounter ignorance a lot. That's nothing new. And there's really nothing wrong with ignorance, unless you're unwilling to learn and become ignorant no longer.

However, this time, it was two separate but vaguely related issues. Let's start with the first one, that actually occurred last week.

I have some neighbors. Nice neighbors really, friendly. They were given (given as in FREE) three horses. A severely emaciated dun filly, a bay mare, and a dark bay stallion. I know these horses were free because they were offered to me first, by another neighbor down the road. The horses were starving to death, tied to trees. Nice, right? There was no way I could afford to take on any charity cases, so I of course, declined.

So, neighbors get these horses. Fine, whatever. They put up fencing and seem to be doing alright. I finally got the chance to speak with one of them, and asked what their plans were with the stallion.

"Oh, we're going to see if he breeds good."

????????????

Huh?

If he BREEDS GOOD? What the hell does that even mean? Anything with a penis and a pair of testicles can breed! Are they expecting him to throw his oh so lovely posty legs and his ewe neck and his giant horrid looking head? How about his shitty attitude?

Ugh. Keep in mind this stallion's already been pastured with both mares. And sure enough, I looked out my window yesterday morning and there's a little foal running alongside the older mare. A colt.

Sigh.


Now, onto the second issue. I was invited to join a rescue "group" on FB. I figured, hey, I've spent nearly my entire life rescuing everything from reptiles to wolves, why not. Within hours, I noticed a post about how the people were rabid anti-slaughter (horse) and were staying friends with certain well known pro-slaughter advocates to "keep an eye on the enemy."

Lolwut?

I came right out and said that I am pro-slaughter and got bashed right off, after which I left the group. Sorry, don't need that! Nevermind the YEARS of rescue I've done with an amazing amount of species, including horses, goats, reptiles, and exotic mammals. I wonder if they're all vegetarians? Because *in my opinion* anyone who eats meat but is anti horse slaughter is a hypocrite - slaughter is slaughter, no matter the species.

Believe it or not, you can be concerned and fight for the welfare of animals AND enjoy eating them. I love my goats but I will certainly raise up some goats to eat. Pigs too. I've eaten horse and I'd do it again. It's about the humane treatment of animals. That includes animals used for food.

I've eaten horse and I'd eat it again. I raise goats, love goats, keep goats as pets and milkers and companions, but I love to eat goat too. And I fully plan on raising some meat babies next year.

Sorry people. Horses don't shit rainbows and butterflies. They crap just like every other animal. Slaughter is slaughter.

Horse Camp

Well it's done! The Spyder has gone off to "Horse Camp."

Now, for those of you who don't know about Horse Camp, it's what we call my friend's place about three hours away. She has more horses than I do, several geldings and a colt about a month older than Spyder. I on the other hand, only have Spyder's dam and a pony mare.

Not real conductive for a youngster. They need an environment where they can learn horse manners from other horses and grow into model citizens.

Enter: Horse Camp. My friend very kindly agreed to host Spyder for a few months, so he can learn these manners from his new big brothers.

Saturday morning they arrived, hauling a trailer. Spyder of course has never seen a trail before, but he didn't seem overly concerned, even with the loud and potentially scary noises it makes. We let him have a look, sniffing and looking inside for a bit. Then we introduced an entirely new maneuver: stepping up. He was terribly confused at first as to what we wanted, but he spent some time with a hoof on the trailer floor, then two front hooves, thinking about this. Eventually with a bit of help, in he went!

He was a little startled, but very calm and collected about the entire thing. We let him stand for a little while, then I walked him out of the trailer, introducing stepping down. He took it pretty well, and in no time we had him back in the trailer. Time to go!

It was a long three hour drive, nerve-wracking for me, but Spyder appeared mostly unconcerned. We arrived and unloaded without much incident and walked around, stretching his legs, then took him into the barn. That's when the neighing started! He talked to all of her horses and called for Jetta, who of course was back near home. He was a little nervous, but he didn't act out.

We introduced him to the stall and he drank water and nibbled at the hay net. He was unhappy looking. We went inside for a bit and came back out to feed all of her horses. Now it was obvious Spyder was not feeling well. The stress from the day had given him a tummy ache. He was not running a fever and had good gut sounds, but he was distressed, kicking his belly and crying. It was the same behavior he'd shown after a strong rainstorm, the first he'd ever experienced, which stressed him out a little.

We gave him a bit of pain reliever and he soon calmed down, and when we returned later that night to check on him, he was eating hay calmly.

The next day he was very excited to come out of the stall. We walked around, then went to check out the pasture and look at things. He was still quite talkative, but continued to listen well for the most part.

We then introduced him first to Icee, a large three year old Quarter Horse gelding, and Tiger, a Mustang gelding.


Icee and Spyder seemed to get along fairly well, while Tiger seemed a little more irritated with the new youngster. We spent a little more time with Spyder, then we put him back into the stall and said our goodbyes. He'll be allowed into the pasture when my friend can keep an eye on him just to make sure all goes well, and then likely he'll continue to be pastured 24/7 except for when he's brought in for feeding, much like he was here.

On the whole, he behaved marvelous. I have no doubt he'll soon fit right in and have a great time out there with all the other horses. And I'll likely be going out there next month, and even if I don't make it, in January for sure, when we'll be taking him to get gelded.

But it was very hard to leave him.

A Bit of my Own Art

Now for once, I'll talk about my own art!

As you may remember reading, (or not, I can't always remember what I've wrote about), I have started doing art again.

Mostly painting. Painting models. Breyer horses have been my main base so far, but I've done a couple of other models as well.

The blog picture today is a plastic goat I've just finished. I thought it turned out pretty good, I painted it to look like my favorite doe, Hope.

What do you think? It's just a cheap plastic goat, but I found it with a group of Breyer bodies and figured, why not? Especially since it's pretty close to scale for my Traditional Breyers, so the newly painted Hope goat fits right in. I'm rather pleased with it.

My husband came home clutching a Wal-mart bag and produced from it a package of higher quality brushes and a bottle of glitter turquoise paint. He brandished these offerings at me with an air of gleeful excitement.

What else could I do but grin? Sure, most horses and goats don't come in shades of turquoise or glitter, but he was so delighted with his find, it was infectious. How can you resist that kind of support and dedication from your significant other?

So I pulled a unicorn Paddock Pal Breyer from it's package and it's getting a deco-style repaint. I wonder how it will turn out?

Another Plug: Photography

Yup, this is another plug post. I am trying to avoid some situations going on right now, and am not ready to post anymore information about them, so I decided to pimp another friend's small business.

From their Facebook Page:

Goding Photography is a brand new photography business that is dedicated to providing only the best photos for you, your family, or your friends. I have had the privilege of photographing several weddings, school/senior portraits, a few families, and even a baby. I am seeking to gain more experience and confidence and am always open to trying new things. Located in historic Springfield, Vermont, I have had the opportunity to photograph some of the beauty of Vermont and I am also selling prints of those photos as well.

I am willing to travel within a 20-mile radius to do a photo shoot. Prices are *always* reasonable and very flexible. Ultimately, I want you to be happy with both the photos you get and the price you paid for them.

No more spending hundreds on a photo shoot that only gets you a few decent photos! I specialize in photography outdoors and prefer a natural setting to an indoor setting. I am working on my indoor setting skills, and am willing to try anything! Let me know if there is anything I can do for you, or if you have any questions!

I recently received several prints from Goding Photography to place in my kitchen and bathroom, and I tell you, I am extremely pleased with them. They are ten times more beautiful than the web images. And not only that, Goding Photography went out of their way to procure me some images of mushrooms for my kitchen.

She is located in Springfield, VT if anyone looking for an affordable photographer for their event.

Tough Decisions

Have you ever had to make a tough decision? Well of course you have, it'd be ridiculous to think there's anyone out there who hasn't, right?

That's what I am faced with right now. A tough decision.

I really won't go into specifics for several reasons, but hopefully I can muddle on through this post without them.

Perhaps I'll just list the questions I am asking myself right now in an attempt to puzzle out what the right choice in this situation is.

Can I really allow myself, and others (others are the most important) to be treated the way they have been? To be hurt? To be ridiculed and offended?

Can I stand strong in the face of opposition that believes itself correct and believes me to be in the wrong? Can I hold strong to my resolve that for once, I am blameless, the ones around me being hurt are blameless?

Am I strong enough to take a step that will cause pain, unhappiness, a shattering of something I've worked my heart and soul into? A step that might bring greater comfort and peace in the end, but it will be a long and difficult step in the taking.

Am I up to this step to even begin with? Have I matured enough? Do those around me trust me? Do they support me? I am afraid to ask them these questions. I do not wish to place any burden on their shoulders when the choice hasn't even been made.

In that same aspect, I desperately want to ask these people I trust, what THEY feel is the better choice. But again . . . I feel this decision is mine and mine alone. Which is sort of stupid to think, since I wasn't the only one hurt, I'm not the only one being hurt. And I sure as heck won't be the only one affected. I just . . . hate to ask and put any kind of pressure on anyone but myself.

Ah well . . .

I make no choices on a whim anymore, and have given myself a good long thinking period on it. I've set a day by which I SHOULD know either way, and then the process will begin, slowly. Will the process be the healing of this widening break, or will it be the process of tearing it into two.

Only time will tell.

A Great Artist

Today I'm plugging a great artist. Who just happens to be one of my best friends and a sister to me. Minxed Arts creatures beautiful traditional and graphic art, specializing in Anthros and animal art.

I personally have had art done by her, and I have commissioned her to do the cover for my short novel, if I can ever manage to finish it. I know she will do an amazing job.

Her prices are extremely reasonable. You could have your pet done, or commission something beautiful and completely unique for yourself. She even does some risque art, although you won't see any examples of THAT on her Facebook page. You'll need to request that via message. You can request both a digital copy of the art, or have it printed and shipped.

I absolutely plan on having her do more art for me, and I'll be glad to pay her prices. They're a bargain in my mind.

And even more interesting, she's having a bit of a contest on her Facebook page. When she reaches 100 Fans, she'll give away a piece of artwork to one of those lucky fans. Why not give it a go? That lucky fan could be you.

Woe Is Me

Yeah, so, fair warning. This blog is full of my complaints, self pity, and worries. If you're interested in keeping alive your belief that the great Epona is tough as nails, skip this post and carry on your merry little way.

That goes for those of you who can't be arsed to read such things as well. No one's forcing you to read it, I promise!

Now, anyone who knows me online knows I stay pretty upbeat. I spend a lot of time talking with other people who have problems or are having problems. I have a unique perspective on things and I've been there, done that when it comes to a lot of other things.

So I'm pretty capable of helping people out. And I do it quite often. I solve problems, soothe issues, lift spirits, make someone smile. That's what I do. I like it. I'm good at it.

But sometimes . . . just sometimes, I wish the roles were reversed.

If you keep up with me, and surely you do, or else why would you bother to read this crazy blog, then you know my grandfather passed away. I was close with my grandfather, closer than I knew, I think. I won't be able to attend the funeral, which bothers me, but with a budget as tight as ours, there's just no way in heck we could afford to go to California. It's not even an option.

So that's got me a bit down and out, I admit.

Now add on my worries. The main one is winter. I'm afraid of winter, deathly afraid. Not only is it COLD which I really can't stand, but this drought. This drought has made finding hay impossible and expensive. It's frightening. If you can't afford to buy a truckload, then you can't get hay. I have no where to store more than about 15-20 bales of hay. I've never had to worry about that before, I only have my little herd and a few ponies. And we used to have plenty of grass.

Now we have dust. Dust and no hay and feed prices are rising as well. Horses are being given away left and right in our area, or left in their fields to starve to death. I'll put a bullet in my horses' heads before I even come close to allowing that. But all the same, it scares me. Spyder won't be here, he'll be at my friend's. Is it "right" to ask them to take on another horse when winter is going to be so hard hay-wise? It makes me uncomfortable. Jetta, Jetta is easy, she gets fat looking at food. Apple was easy last winter, they were on low quality hay because I thought they were both FAT and they were doing well. Until she had her colt, she was in great weight. Now she's just not finally coming back from it and I'm afraid she'll be hard to keep up this winter. I pray she goes back to be an "easy keeper."

Winter scares me.

And I'm upset over some things. I put a lot of effort into certain things online. I give everything I have, because I'm dedicated and I enjoy it. It's one of my "escapes" where I feel comfortable, among friends, happy.

And lately I've really "needed" that escape. Only to sit there and realize, without me driving the whole thing, no one can be arsed to do anything. When I need my escape the most, no one can be bothered to help me. And it was a huge disappointment for me. I feel like walking away and saying "screw it" because if I put all this time and effort into it, what's it for?

But I know better. It's just been a slow week I suppose. It'll pick up, even if I have to shake off my own pathetic feelings and drive it myself again. Because that's what I do. And the next time someone comes to me needing my help, I'll sit back, open another soda, and help them along their way.

Because that's what I do.