Fort Hood...

Our thoughts and prayers are with the soldiers stationed at Fort Hood
Their families,
and friends.

May God have mercy on our Country,
Keep and protect those who keep us safe,
and
Bless those He has called to be with Him.

Want To be A Writer?

Yesterday, we took a look at Ms. Alison Hart's book, "Shadow Horse" and her bio. Today, I am happy to provide you with some thoughts from Ms. Hart herself, on becoming a published writer. She has generously offered to provide us with more information, and I think it would be fantastic to take her up on the offer!

I was quite interested to read what she had to say, and hope that you enjoy it as well!

“A Horse Lovin’ Author”

Raise your hoof, I mean hand if you love horses. Now raise your hand if you enjoy reading and writing about horses. As an author, I have a horse-lover’s dream job: reading, researching and writing about horses every day!

I’ve been horse-crazy since I was five years old. I started out on a nondescript pony named Ted, moved on to Pony Club, graduated to showing, fox hunting and raising a foal. Today I ride my Quarter Horse, Relish the Thought, on the trails.

Writing about horses came naturally. My first story about a lost pony, published in Highlights magazine in 1984, was based on true events. Publishing, however, was never easy. Since that first story, I’ve written and published over thirty-five novels about horses. Yet I’m hardly famous, and along the way, I’ve received ten times that number of rejections. So when you dream about seeing your article in Horse Illustrated or your novel tucked on a shelf in Barnes and Noble, realize that you have to learn about and understand writing and the publishing business just as thoroughly as you know and understand horses and riding.

How serious are you about writing and publishing? Here’s a quick quiz to find out. (Answer yes or no.)

1. I write something almost every day—blogging, journaling, short stories, doodling ideas.
2. I’ve read books such as Writer’s Market and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel.
3. I understand the difference between a query and a proposal.
4. I know how to format a manuscript.
5. I’ve taken a writing class.
6. I know how to correctly punctuate using a semicolon and colon.
7. I can emotionally handle repeated rejections.
8. I understand the importance of following “guidelines for submissions.”

Did you answer ‘yes’ to six or more questions? If so, you may be serious about writing and publishing. If not, then you either have lots of homework or you should continue to write for fun. You do not have to publish to be a writer!

That means you have to make a decision. Wanting your book or article to be published by a major publishing house or magazine means hard work that is sometimes not fun. Cindy Hale explains well the ups and downs of writing for the magazine market:

http://lifewithhorsesonline.blogspot.com/2008/07/so-you-want-to-write-about-horses.html

There is also the option of self-publishing. Many companies today expertly bind and print your story or book (for a fee) so you can share it with family and friends or make a go of marketing it yourself. Print-on-demand is another option (there is less monetary investment) and can be researched online. Plus there are always numerous opportunities to write and publish in your community. Start a newsletter for your Pony Club or write articles about stable activities or horse care for the local newspaper. Your pay will be the satisfaction of seeing yourself in print.

If that isn’t enough because you are as writing-crazy as you are horse-crazy then you may just end up like me—finding that dream job of writing and publishing books about horses!

Find out more about Alison Hart’s books for horse-crazy readers at www.alisonhartbooks.com.

Now, for some thoughts on the second book in the packet, "Bell's Star". This book is the second in a series entitled "Horse Diaries". Written for a bit younger set of readers, the story is told from the horse's point of view. Not too many people have the ability to share the view from the horse and include active dialog from the humans involved, but again, Ms. Hart hit this one out of the park. Complete with fantastic illustrations by Ruth Sanderson, Cub enjoyed hearing this book the most. (Wrecker was still napping.) The tale (or is it "tail") of Bell's Star is set back in 1850, in Vermont. We are able to follow Bell's Star from his birth through several years, and his special and favorite person, Katie. Bell's Star is a hard working Morgan horse, and on a secret break Katie and Bell make a dash to the river... where they encounter....

Shoot, I can't tell you! What I CAN say is, this is also a wonderful book. Ms. Hart also gives a wonderful history of the Morgan horse in the Appendix, and a sneak pre-view of the next book in the series, "Koda".

I'll happily offer this book as well. Leave a comment, and tell me about the young rider in your life, (of COURSE Grandbabies are MORE than welcome!!) and I'll put the names in a hat. Entry to close... let's see now. Let's extend the deadline for both this and the "Shadow Horse" drawing a tad, so that we can get in a few more entries. Shall we say entries close on Friday the 13th, with drawing on Saturday the 14th? Yes? Right then- there we have it! Leave those comments and tell about your riding kids!

What We Did While Wrecker Was Sick

Not that long ago, I was contacted by a publisher to take a look at a book, and have a guest poster on Oh HorseFeathers! Always one for a good read, I looked forward to taking a look at the post from author Alison Hart, as well as information on some of her books. For my enjoyment, not one but two books arrived in the mail for me to take a look at, which I did.

I must confess- when I visited her website and saw that most of her writing is dedicated to young readers, I had my moments of doubt. Somehow, it seems as though most people who write equine based books for that age range seem to miss the mark with their information. I confess to being somewhat skeptical when I opened the first book, "Shadow Horse", and began reading it out loud to Wrecking Crew as he snuggled up to my side.

To my great surprise, I kept reading it out loud, even after Wrecker drifted off into a fitful sleep. Cub was sitting by me as well, listening intently (as well as watching Scooby Doo on the DVD player. Hey, he is four. His ability to shift attention between Scooby and a book amazes me.)

"Shadow Horse" caught my attention. Why? Because Ms. Hart actually knows horses. Not only that, but she has an ability to draw you into the story. And I confess- at one point, I was battling tears. Her main character, Jas, lived with her Grandfather. When Grandfather had a stroke and was hospitalized, it brought back the stress and fear we are still feeling in my family. My grandmother suffered a devastating stroke not that long ago, and is still in rehabilitative care. Ms. Hart's description of Grandfather reached out to a very raw wound, and brought it to the surface. This is not something that was bad- it made the book a bit more "real" to me. the setting of this book is also in horse country in Virginia, a place Dear Husband and I are quite familiar with. I was actually inspired to dig out pictures of Virginia, and Dear Husband and I enjoyed a walk down memory lane. For that alone, we thank Ms. Hart from the bottom of our hearts.

I'm going to split this up a tad, today posting Ms. Hart's biography and inviting you to visit her website, and tomorrow I'll post her tips and hints she was kind enough to write up on becoming a published author. I'll also share my thoughts on the second book included in the package, "Bell's Star".

Oh- and "Shadow Horse"-- let's have a bit of a giveaway, shall we? This book is much too good to keep to myself! If you have a young reader, who is passionate about horses, leave a comment! I'll take the names and we'll do a random drawing on Friday, results posted Saturday!

With out further ado, take a look at the biography of Ms. Alison Hart!

"Alison Hart has been writing since she was seven years old when she wrote, illustrated and self-published The Wild Dog. (A book she still shows young readers to prove that it's never too early to be an author.) Today she is an adjunct college instructor teaching reading and writing as well as the author of over twenty mysteries and historical suspense novels for young readers. "I honed my craft writing Nancy Drew mysteries and quickly developed a love of strong characters who are thrown into suspenseful situations; in other words, I love writing books that keep young readers glued to the pages."

Research is another passion, and old journals, letters and memoirs are her favorites, often sparking ideas for future books. "When I read a diary written long ago, I feel an incredible connection to the past, a connection that I hope to bring to my own books. Well-researched historical fiction should bring to life the people, events and struggles of the past and make them relevant and real for today's young readers."

Tomorrow, we'll hear directly from Ms. Hart herself!!

Sonny's Sunday... err MONDAY...

Hey Wait A Minute! THATS Not Sonny! That is SOUP!
The Elixir of Life around here this weekend though...

Slow cooked in the crock pot, with a chicken I slow roasted.
Lots of veggies, lots of rice...
Mmmmmmmm
I even made two loaves of bread to go along with the soup.
(OK, so the BREADMAKER made the bread.)

Sonny getting belly rubs.
He LOVES belly rubs these days.

Is that not a look of pure bliss?

The next two are of the sunset last night, from my porch.
My Dad calls this color
"Sky Blue Pink".
It's perfect.

That pretty much sums up the past week. Sonny is moving great, and seems happier and more content each day. His winter fuzz is coming in pretty thick now, and he has dapples!!

And now I am off to find the last of the soup and drink it down. The Little Mens are doing much better, still snorfully but not near as bad. I didn't wind up getting sick per say, but I sure am tired about now! It's all good though. It's all good!

Happy Day and stay warm and healthy everyone!
~MM

"MOOOOMMMM!!!" *cough cough cough sneeze snort...

Two nights of no sleep now, and counting. Why this time? Cub went on a mini vacation this week, and came home with a rip-roaring head cold. The first night, I stayed in that half- dozing state, listening to his every cough, snuffle, snorfle, and noise. (Cub has a history of throwing up in his sleep. Don't want him to aspirate.)

Next up? Wrecking Crew. Yep. Twenty-four hours after his much loved big brother came home, Wrecking Crew has the creeping crap. Coughing, slight fever, sneezing all over and just plain YUK. Stayed up last night with him, making sure he was OK.

What's my Halloween costume? A grungy t-shirt with sneeze remnants on it, frazzled hair, and a dazed expression firmly fixed on my face.

Had to pick up hay today. The truck however, said, "Fagedaboudit". After much charging, we got her going and got the hay. What did I do when we came home? I shut the truck off as I unloaded. (Or tried to unload. I couldn't get the bale to even BUDGE.) Went to start the truck up and back up closer to a tree (so I could use the old rope trick to get the bale off,) and guess what? Yeah. Truck said more than Fagedaboudit this time. Charged it again.

She fired, I moved the truck, and said OUT LOUD- "DON'T SHUT THE TRUCK OFF!"

What did I do?

Yeah. Shut it off.

*shaking head*
Some days... I really really wonder about my mental state...

Jumped the truck off- again- got the hay off loaded, fed Sonny some, put the trailer and truck away, and came inside.

I am officially waving the white flag here. Wrecking Crew continues to cough and snorfle and has taken up residence on the couch. Cub is none too lively himself. There are still about 4,000 things that need doing, but there is NO WAY they are going to get done today.

Happy Halloween y'all. Eat come chocolate for us- with the way things are going, it does not look like trick or treating is liable to happen tonight for the Little Mens....

Fall Means Fire Prevention

Barn fires- a horse owner's nightmare. Fall is upon us, (shoot, WINTER in some spots already,) and there are more horses spending more time in away from inclement weather. I'm going to take a break from hooves for today, and draw on my background as a rural fire fighter and EMT, to share some tips and hints on fire prevention. This is from an article I wrote a couple years ago.

Fall is a time when many changes take place. The days become shorter, horses begin growing wonderful woolly coats for the coming winter months, hay is safely stacked in barns, and preparations for the long winter months become a priority. Among other changes, we set our clocks back one hour, and we are reminded to change the batteries in our smoke detectors. While we worry about our homes, often times our barns are overlooked.

Many of us are tidy by nature and tend to keep our barns clutter free. That’s a great start, but here are a few additional areas to keep in mind for that yearly fall clean up. Cobwebs are not only an eyesore, they ignite very rapidly and burn very hot. They have a tendency to drift down and land on the backs of stabled horses, causing burns that range from relatively minor to extremely severe. The burning webs that drift down and miss landing on your horse will land in his stall- in shavings or straw, or their hay. This will ignite, and create another avenue for spreading flames. Cobwebs also tend to hold onto the chaff from hay, also a highly combustible material. Hay itself can create problems. If it has been cured and baled improperly, spontaneous combustion can and often does occur. Check your hay before you stack it in your loft. Better yet, have your hay stored in a separate building. With the continuing drought situation, many horse owners have been forced to buy hay from other states, and people that they do not know. Until you can test the bales, please check your loft frequently for unusual hot spots, and “wrong” feeling bales. Please note: hay that is grown in northern states with lower relative humidity can become a problem once it hits the south with higher humidity. It will “breathe”, and more moisture may come to the surface. This moisture will create not only mold, but it creates heat. The heat causes combustion, which in turn causes disaster.

Many of us have fire extinguishers in our homes. Many also have them in our barns. A few quick facts about fire extinguishers to keep in mind:
Once a month, please turn the extinguisher upside down, and tap the bottom. With a dry chemical extinguisher, this will bring, or stir, the contents through the entire container. The longer an extinguisher sits in one position, the more material will settle to the bottom. When you go to use the extinguisher in a time of crisis, the initial discharge will be a blast of straight air- something you do NOT want to feed to that fire! Also, check the dates on your extinguishers, and have them filled. If you have doubts or questions, often times firemen are more than happy to provide you with demonstrations on how to properly use them, what to look for, and how to make sure your extinguisher is full and safe to use.
Something of VITAL importance to PLEASE bear in mind- that extinguisher is meant to GET YOU OUT. Your large extinguishers are only good for approximately 30 to 45 seconds- just long enough to get you OUT of a hazardous situation. They are not meant to put the entire fire out. They are meant to save your life.

While you are visiting with your local fire department to learn the proper way to use your extinguisher, it may prove prudent to invite them out to your facility for a tour. (Many departments call this a "Pre-Plan" and keep them in a book in the engines. Sometimes the facility is large enough to warrant an "Automatic Mutual Aid Call" for assistance) Be sure to show them where halters and leads will be located, (on stall doors please,) where paddocks are for turning the horses out, any unseen hazards that might be a problem in the middle of an emergency. Many old converted dairy barns have manure pits. While these pits may have been covered over and safe for equine weight, parking a large piece of fire fighting apparatus on top of one could lead to an additional disaster. Show them all the exits, and make sure those exits are kept clean and clear at ALL times. Show them the hay storage area, and feed and tack storage as well. I am sorry to say that getting your show tack out of the barn is not going to be a priority, but we do not want to chance a fire fighter getting lost in there either in the event of an emergency. Provide them with a map of the barn and paddocks. Take them to possible water sources- many barns are no where near hydrants, and fire fighters must rely on an outside water source, such as ponds and deep flowing water.

Smoke alarms are also found in our homes. We dutifully change the batteries twice a year, at each time change. Mounting alarms in your barn and changing the batteries is also a great way to be alerted to a possible situation. If you are worried that you will not be able to hear an alarm going off, there are some fantastic baby monitors on the market today that have a good range. Place the transmitter in your barn, and have the receiver in your home. There are also many remote monitoring systems available today that are well worth investigating, and investing in. Having the alarms hard wired into your barn is also a fantastic idea if you are building a new barn.

The biggest killer in fire situations is not the fire itself- it is smoke. I have (unfortunately) seen horses and cattle that were removed from a burning structure after a “relatively” short time frame with no visible external wounds. However, often times they have been exposed to enough smoke that within 2 or 3 days of the event they have to be put down due to extreme damage to their lungs. Smoke inhalation is extremely dangerous. Having affected horses examined by your veterinarian immediately can make all the difference in the world.

Just like in hotels and public gathering places, have an exit plan in place and posted for all to see. Hang halters and leads where they can be easily accessed. Invite your local fire department out once a year for a walk through. Having someone on site to look everything over is a very valuable resource- those trained eyes may spot something seemingly small that could turn into a disaster. Clean cobwebs out as quickly as possible. Ban clutter, dust, garbage, and piles of discarded hay. Thump your extinguishers and have them checked on a routine basis, while keeping in mind they are meant to save your life, not save the structure.

Work together with area horse folks- have a list of people to call in case of emergency. Many hands in a situation such as a barn fire make for a safer place for the horses. Have a list of people with trailers, places to take the horses, your vets number, and a back up vet listed just in case. Have that list available and on hand, and with several other people in the area. Delegate someone to make phone calls and round up the troops. Tour each others barns and become familiar with the lay out, in case it is them that needs you. Keep in mind that fire scenes are controlled chaos, and there will be a tremendous amount of activity. The horses will need to be moved as far away from the chaos as possible, and chances are they will have to be hand walked to an “odd” area to be loaded for transport. The majority of the time, it will be dark, and where you will load them will be dark. The horses will be confused, and may be injured. Many times animals will run back into a burning building during the excitement and confusion. They become frightened and try to return to the "Safety" of their stalls. Have a staging area planned in advance, where they can get immediate medical attention.

And finally, the most difficult part. Bear in mind that when a structure goes up, it happens extremely fast. What might seem to be a small fire can turn into a fully involved fire in mere seconds. About the time that small fire hits your stash of bagged shavings (also highly flammable,) you will be amazed at how fast it will spread. Please, wait for the fire fighters to get there, and let them get the animals out. We will do everything humanly possible to get as many out alive as they can- but lets face it. Human life must come first. If you go dashing into the fire to save your animals, they will have to go into the fire to save you- not the horses. Fire is nothing to play around with- it’s a dark, hot, savage beast that can and will turn on you in an instant. Please, please do not grab your handy extinguisher and think you are going to run in and save the horses. If you have stall doors that open to the outside of the barn, by all means open them and try to encourage the horses out that way. I can not stress this enough- going into a burning structure after an animal is not a good idea if you are not trained and wearing the proper equipment. The chance of you dying or becoming gravely injured is very high. And if something happens to YOU, who is going to care for those horses?





Photos from a web search.

Not Horse Realted, But It Made Me LAUGH!

I have a confession to make- a pretty big one. I love food. Food blogs, food shows, cooking food- shoot, just plain FOOD.

I've been following Cake Wrecks for a bit, and today's post over there had me snort coffee through my nose. (Yes, along with my food obsession, comes a rather sic sense of humor as well.) Pay a visit, and learn about a wee bit of Pumpkin Levitation.

There will be a horse post in the near future. In the meantime though, Happy Halloween! May all your ghosts, ghouls, and gobblins be adorable and give you lots of treats!

(What do you mean THEY are supposed to get treats from US? Dude something is way wrong with that picture!)

Wordless Wednesday

Eyes- They say it all, don't they?

Sonny's Sunday

Sonny's week was a good one. We had two rides, and a good bit of ground work time.

Wait- there might be some confusion over the definition of "Rides" around here:
A regular training ride would last much longer than our rides do. Because of Big Red's physical history, pushing him into say a thirty minute ride would wind up with a lame and cranky horse. Our rides are at the ten minute mark, and consist of walk, long walk, whoa, and turning left and right. (We are working on installing "Power Steering". Sonny seems to enjoy it!)

In time, we'll work our way up to longer rides. But for now? Shoot, we're both tickled PINK (OK- I am tickled pink. Sonny pretty much stays red, with an added smug look on his face,) to even be doing what we are doing.

Onto today's topic. His hooves. Yep- they are a mess. If you want to give me guff for it, well, you just go right ahead. Just be ready if guff gets handed right back to you.

First shot in the line up here:
Pre trim fore, from one week ago. Very, very sick frogs here.

Second shot:
Twenty four hours post trim, same hoof,

Third shot:
Several days into treatment of the sick frog, showing how deep the thrush had gone up into
the central sulcus.

Fourth Shot:
Tonight, after 6 days of treatment.

Treatment plan:
Initial treatment was to open up as much of the frog as I could. Since much of this was (and still is) "alive", I was admittedly conservative. (Having Sonny tap dance on my head? Not worth it. I have time- time is almost always on our side here.)

First five days- thorough cleanings, one to two times a day, and scrubbing in straight betadine, using q-tip to get up into the sulcus.

Skipped one day, and tonight was another scrubbing with the hoof brush, and I sprayed him down with 50/50 bleach and water. This won't go on long- with in a day or two, we'll have to get out my knife again, and clean up the frogs and sole. (And I still have to trim his hind feet. I thought about doing that tonight, however, Sonny had other ideas. Not worth arguing with him over it. We cleaned and treated any issues back there, and I lived to trim another day.)

Am I happy with his hooves right now? Hardly. I need to keep reminding myself though, of all he has dealt with, and be content that he can now balance himself on three legs to have his feet lifted and cleaned. We had made really good progress this spring and summer, cleaning up the funk in his frogs, when the rains hit- again- and disaster struck. All the progress we had made, went right out the window. He was due for a trim at the time of his August incident. To get him back on track, those front feet will be back "under the knife" so to speak this week/ to next Sunday sometime, and the hinds... well, I am not against trimming one foot one day, and the next foot the other day with this horse. The sooner he realizes A) it won't hurt, B) I won't crank his legs up until his hocks lock, and C) he feels BETTER after, life will be a lot smoother.

Go ahead- fire away. We can go more in-depth with thrush and the wide array of treatments available if anyone would like.

~MM

Clash of the Titans

AKPonyGirl had a great question the other day, after relating the below:

"I had a farrier (the best in the area and the one I would go to if I had a hoof problem) that cracked my 2 year old filly with her rasp on the belly, then grabbed the lead rope from my hands and proceeded to back my filly across the barn lot making lots of noise and waving her arms. It was the filly's second or third trim.

The next time this farrier came out my filly was scared to death of the farrier. I continued to use this farrier for trims for the next several years. The horse would need to be circled and worked for about 30 minutes before she was controlled enough to stand. The horse never relaxed and was never comfortable with this farrier.

I finally changed farriers after the second hot shoeing. It was a disaster and ended with the horse freaking out, knocking over the anvil, the stand and almost the forge.

My new farrier came out to finish the shoeing about three days later. He picked up her right front (which was the foot that caused the freak out) and she heaved a huge sigh of relief, licked and chewed and never moved a foot.

Do you think that horses can have a "personality conflict"? "

In a word, Oh Heck YES.

In this case, I'd have to guess it was the terrific memory of AK's mare, recalling the rough and unfair treatment doled out to her. And I bet that the iron hanger in question was anticipating disaster too, which is exactly what they got every time work was attempted. Those two factors feed off each other, and BAM! Fireworks erupt.

The vast majority of the time, it is the fault of the hoof care provider for making a touchy situation a bad one, and making a bad situation worse.

There can be, and often are, basic personality clashes between animals and handlers.

I don't think people give horses enough credit for their intelligence. Is a personality clash just that- a clash? Is the horse remembering something long forgotten, or never known, by his owners/ handlers? Can they sense something deeper? Or do they just flat out not LIKE some folks, just as we humans don't like some folks? I lean towards it being a combination of all of those options.

Am I giving the horse too much credit for intelligence? Go ask your horse. Some of the ones I have been around sure have a lot to say for themselves..........