A Carnival For July; "They Won't Last Long".... How True!

So, some while back while cruising through different blogs, I came across a very, very unique blog called Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch (metta horsemanship). This blog I think is unlike any other blog out there but I'll let you head on over there and let her explain what the whole deal is. The link will go to the page describing the Carnival, btw.


She also created something called the Carnival of the Horses - a gathering of different blog entries from various blogs all horse related thats posted every month by a different host. I am going to be hosting July's Carnival - I should receive the info today sometime and I will put it up at midnight my time. So If you get a few extra minutes today, head over there and see what she's all about - you'll be there for quite a while reading, I assure you! 

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Lets get back on track with the ads, shall we? (Well, as long as this half pound stinker stops walking all over my keyboard while I'M trying to type! I guess the clicking of the keys is too much for one ratty little kitten to resist! Oh, its amazing what a few feedings of wet cat food have done to this starving little ragamuffin...)               

The ad features 3 paint horses up for sale. They are all in very poor shape, but the way the add is written they could be ALL be your next world champion. Uh huh. 

1 Paint Mare, 2 Paint Stallions - $1 (NW Colorado) 

I'm selling these horses for a friend on mine 

First Photo: Striker is 9-10 years old. Sired by reigning champions, this special guy produces nothing but painted babies even on solid mares. Owner thinks he is possibly homozygous for the tobiano gene, though he has not been tested for it. He is very calm for a stallion, and a very pretty color that looks like cherry glazed chocolate. Could make a nice competing stallion with the right training. He has been ridden a few times a few years ago, so he sells green and untrained. He is a good solid 14.3h, and could build some massive muscle with some nice green grass to chomp on instead of just hay. $800 

Seriously folks, there's hay, but if the horses are still looking that rough, there's something else going on here. He might have been sired by "

reigning champions", but he himself will not be that unless a freaking miracle happens. Why they are breeding him I will NEVER understand, because he's a crappy stallion. And its not just because of his weight. Geld him, and turn him into a great pleasure horse, do gymkhana's on him, mounted shooting, roping, heck whatever. Just stop breeding him, and for heaven's sake, a power pack from Panacur would do wonders here!

Second Photo: Silver Lady is a 4-5 year old grey mare. She is out of a APHA Paint stallion and an Arabian mare. She has the height and build of her sire, but is a bit on the skinny side after this winter and could use some nice green grass. She can be registered with PtHA, and I am looking into the possiblity of more from her pedigree. She has lived in the pasture most of her life and thus is a bit wild. She is starting to be halter broke, and learning to lead. She will soon start saddle training in the next month. Get her and finish her your way before training raises her price. Could make a nice trail or endurance horse. $600 

This I think is one of the saddest mare's I've ever seen. Literally. The expression on her face - this is I believe one of the worst pictures I've seen on craigslist yet. If she could talk, I really think she'd be saying "just kill me now". With some TLC, this mare could be absolutely jaw dropping gorgeous. Look at her mane! 

I think that the person writing up this ad probably got these horses dumped on them. Three half wild, mature horses that will barely lead, much less anything else is a pretty huge problem. I applaud the halter training (thats the long leads you see). Its a trick with mustangs to get them to teach themselves to give to pressure... they step on the lead and can't lift their head, the only way out of it is to back off and take a step backwards, thus releasing the pressure. Its actually a very humane way to halter break an older horse, once you can get the halter on them, that is. Its also an easier way to catch them if need be out in the pasture. 

What I DON'T agree with is the saddle training in just a month. This mare will need much much more time than just 3 weeks before a saddle goes on her back. Thats rushing the job, and it will cause more harm than good in the long run when you have a horse that was half wild, a saddle thrown on its back, and so many holes in the training you can stick a car in it.

What "MY WAY" Would be is to keep working with her daily, get her weight up, and when she doesn't have her hips sticking out like that - THEN consider putting a saddle on her back. But my way would take several MONTHS to do that, not weeks. 

This mare is still way too skinny for a saddle anyways. She needs at least another 100 pounds before I personally would feel comfortable putting a saddle on her without running a high risk of saddle sores.

The ad suggests you can register her with the Pinto Registry - well right now the Pinto registry is accepting just about any horse you want to throw at them! 

Third Photo: Buster is roughly 5 years old, and 14.2h's. Sire is about right about 14.3h's, and dam was 14.2h's. Sire is a sorrel paint (paint listed above) and dam was a black paint. He is being sold as untrained, and he has never been saddled, though he is being halter broke. He is stout and could make an incredible show horse, but could use some nice green grass to really build up those muscles. He's grandsire is a World Champion Reining Show Stallion. Buster is still a stallion, but can be gelded before pick up. He could be homozygous for the tobiano gene but isn't guarenteed. His sire produces nothing but paints even on solid mares. I will provide more information on pedigree and registering him, once he's paperwork is located by owner. His sire is registered with APHA, so Buster can be registered with PtHA right now. $600 

And again we have to ask, why is this horse a stallion? Because whomever owned them threw them in to a pasture and pretty much let them live out there unattended, thats why - for a very, very long time. This is the son of the FIRST stallion above - and they figure Jr here is about 5 years old.

I could go track down how much it would cost to register a 5 year old stallion with Paint - though I'm sure its several thousand dollars. It might be easier just to let his registration go at this point, or get him registered Pinto.

This whole ad is just one big screwed up CF, really. 3 Underweight, untrained, mature horses that barely know what a halter is? Yet this is what is everywhere. 

The ad ends with the phrase "They Won't Last Long" - I have to ask what would have happened to them all had they stayed with the owner for another year - I seriously doubt they would have lasted that long. 

They would make awesome project horses, I can promise that. The prices are actually decent at least - enough above meat prices to discourage those buyers, but not so high that its ridiculous. 

I have the reply link if anyone in the area is interested, just mention it in the comments and I'll send it to you. 

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The next week will continue to be a bit unusual in terms of posts. Not a normal week by any means. The Carnival will be tomorrow, then Friday will mark the 100th post. I have the update you have all be asking about - so make sure you come back and read the next two days for sure, you won't want to miss it!

KohKoh who has been 'helping' type this entire time, has made creating this post about 3 times longer than normal with all the backspacing, is now totally passed out on the top of her crate. It is totally and completely adorable. Yes, I crate train my cats, makes life so much easier when it comes to moving them. She has taken to domesticated life with a zest and energy that quite frankly, is wearing ME out. Or maybe its those 1 am and 4 am checks to make sure she uses the litter box if needed, and is fed if hungry......I forgot to mention she's only about 5 weeks old, and not nearly quite big enough to go roaming about the house at night by herself yet. Yes, I am a very nervous kitty mommy, and I would much rather her be safe in her extra large comfy crate on the floor next to the bed than worry about what peice of furniture she's gotten stuck behind!

Anyways, life is a bit more entertaining now, thats for sure!

Breedin' Babies to Babies Again!

This was one of those ads that looked so, almost boring to write about. Once I started digging though... holy cow!




Holly is 2.5 years old, she has great ground manners, loves people, She does not spook, she is very curious about everything, she has a natural cattle drive instinct. Nothing seems to bother her. She is ready to start in any direction, Or just have her as a broodmare. She was breed to a Breeders Trust Incentive Fund Stallion last month. (Me in: That would have been in April she was bred.) I have ALL paperwork in order. Both pedigrees can be view at allbreedpedigree.com


Holly's registered name is "Kenos Strait Holly"
Cory's registered name is "Let It Rock"


Pictures are from January, she has since slicked out. 


I don't usually go into pedigrees, but I am feeling the bloodlines today, so lets check it out. 


The mare is a paternal granddaughter of Strait From Texas, and on her dam's side? Not a single horse I recognize...great-grandsire is Kenos Justin Time? Anyone know that horse? Google was no help with that name. At any rate, one of 4 grand-parents were decent. 


Oh, and ABP.com lists her year of birth as 2007 - that would make her 3, not 2.5 years old? Hmm. Either a mis-type, or .....???


Ok, on to the Stallion she's bred to. OOOOOMy. This boy was foaled in 2008! HE'S the 2 year old! He's also a son of Zipparock, not a name I know, but google is our friend, and Zipparock has a yearling lunge line paint world championship, a bunch of WP world show points, and was a top 10 finalist in the Western Pleasure Derby. So, the 2 year old colt is basically pleasure bred paint. 


On the Dam's side of Let It Rock, things are decent here too. Dad is AQHA sire "A Special Assignment", who seems to be doing pretty well for himself, both in the show and breeding rings. A Special Assignment is sired by Barpassers Image, who is a pretty decent name to have on one's pedigree.  


In other words, we have a possibly very nice colt that the owners are breeding to just about anything just to get his name out there. Thing is he'd make a much better sire if the owners of Let It Rock would just let the horse grow up a bit more! He's got the names to back him up, let him get out in the show ring for a year or two, let everyone see what he can do, and then start selectively breeding mares! Instead, we get a stallion owner who is breeding to anything that has owners' who will send in a check. 

You guessed it, she's nothing to look at. 


Comparing the two pictures, the top one looks like she's camped under quite a bit, but below, not so much, so maybe she's just standing funny. I hope. 














Neither picture shows me a mare that should be a lifetime broodmare at the tender age of 3. 












But how, oh how, did I guess we had a back yard breeder here? How did I know? 










I found a picture of Let It Rock. 

This is the picture she is currently using to advertise him.  


Standing at Stud is a beautiful sorrel overo stallion. His pedigree includes Zippo Pine Bar, Dirty Rocki, Barpassers Image and Sirtain Opinion. This Stallion, is kind, gentle and good to the ladies. Since this is his first year, he is being offered at this introductory price. He has pasture bred my 2 mares and he was a perfect gentleman.


She doesn't even mention the one stallion (besides Barpassers Image) that would make mare owners stand up and take notice.. and thats A Special Assignment, dear old daddy! 


No mention of course of future training plans. No 'He's going to be promoted on xyz circit'. Its just "He's got balls, so we're gonna let him use them!"


And I find this.
http://www.equinenow.com/horse-ad-272941

That would be dear little camped under Holly up there. Same owner, both mare and stallion. I should be surprised, but of course I'm not. 


This beautiful filly has it al. She is gentle, calm, no spook has brains and is ready to go any direction you want her to. She stands tied all day, great for the farrier, leads, loads, picks up all feet, no attitude. Loves people and attention, she is like a big puppy. She would be a great 4-H project. Asking $1,250 OBO. The only reason I am selling her is that I have too many horses right now and not enough time. 


I couldn't find a date where this ad was posted for the mare, but I'm guessing that it was posted BEFORE she pasture bred said mare to mr. studly? The equine now ad also has Holly's year of birth as 2008. I'm still rather confused about that...is it 08 or 07? Makes a big difference when you're talkin' young horses. (The bold is my addition, btw.)


EDIT: A commenter who has spent time with the stallion owner, was kind enough to post in the comments that Holly apparently was not bred intentionally, but rather some neighbors were messing around on her property, and left some gates open. This means, that Holly is mare #3 to have been bred to said 2 year old stallion this year.


She has that paint mare listed for $1500??? Yea Right!


She also bred this little filly...Though I kinda like her markings, I think $1800 is a bit steep, yes? 


Its not that I'm looking to stir up trouble here. The lady that is selling these two fillies and standing the 2 year old also runs what seems to be on the surface a reputable dog kennel, breeding AKC large Terrier Type dogs (Airedales, Bouviers Des Flandres, Welsh Terriers and Toy Schnauzers).  On that site though, nothing about the horses - the horses she has too many of - in very sharp contrast to the puppies she creates every 10 or so weeks! 


This drives me nuts whenever I see this. I can't help but be aggravated when I see the hypocrisy here! Its Ok to breed puppies like clockwork because you can get hundreds, if not a grand for them, but when you do the same with your horses, you have to get rid of them because you have too many and not enough time? WTF people? Even in todays world, its still a lot easier to place a dog than it is a horse. And yet she is still advertising that her 2 year old colt really needs to make more of himself because he can!? 


NO NO NO! Stop! AGAIN and AGAIN I keep pounding on this. WE DO NOT NEED MORE MEDIOCRE, BACK YARD HORSES BEING BRED AND RAISED WITHOUT PEOPLE TO BUY THEM! STOP BREEDING YOUR FUGLY 2 YEAR OLD COLT! STOP PASTURE BREEDING YOUR FUGLY CAMPED UNDER MARES THAT DON'T NEED TO BE BRED AS 2 / 3 / WHATEVER AGE THEY ARE!


I wish I could send this to every single person I feature here. You think they'll listen? NO. They'll come back spewing every reason why they have every right to breed whatever horse they happen to have their paws on. I have no issues with selling horses. Its crap like this that drives me bonkers. "We can't sell the mare by herself, so lets breed her and they can raise the baby so we don't have to!" Thats exactly what I hear in my head when I see stuff like this.


I still believe Ron White should be made president for his one simple statement "You Can't Fix Stupid."


ps...this was going to be my fugly stallion post, but I changed my mind when I came across a better ad... one that is fugly in all sorts of ways, and I can't WAIT to post it on friday!

The Stupidity Just NEVER Ends...

Thank you to OkieGirl from the Fuglyblog.com for this ad. She posted it in today's comments, and I just couldn't help myself. 


Today we have a 9 month old colt being ridden. This is just.... STOP RIDING BABIES! STOP STOP STOP!


Its a 9 month old foal for christ's sakes! This type of plain ignorance just makes me sick! 



Ad Text:

 I have a beautiful nine month old stud colt for sale. He thinks he is a dog and loves people. very smart and well mannered does great with his feet and will let you touch him anywhere. I have put bags on him and he does fine. Very trusting little guy. Stetson should be around 14.3 hh when grown. He is registered but the guy I bought him from never sent them to me. I will give you the number if you want to rasttle with it. His mom was running barrels and doing good. Thats why I got him hoping one day he would be my barrel horse but loss of land forces sell. I saddle him up and my three year old nephew rides him around. as you can see in the pic.. Stetson is very gentle and just wants to please you. Asking $400 OBO Also have another solid colt I would sell cheaper. If interested please call 405xxxxxxxx.

And the Picture: 


Ok, its not even ok that the 'rider' is a child. No, not a child, a freaking toddler. SEE PRIOR BLOG POST.


Oh, wait... the colt has 'color' too. See that? Can you see past the saddle to look at the foals' coat? It's a buckskin tobiano! OF COURSE it is! *puke vomit retch*


I won't go through all the reasons that this low life needs to be reported to CPS and have all of the kids and animals taken away from him due to his asinine ideas that its so freakin' cute to him have his child (sans ANY head protection) ride his sub-year old foal. 


I really hope that someone sees this ... I'm gonna break one of my own rules here and post the link.... and reports him to the local CPS for child endangerment. Though, noting the area its from, I doubt that would do a damn thing. 


Link


I can't even get past the fact that he's putting his child on a foal to truly read what ELSE he wrote. 


*Takes deep breath, goes back and reads it.*


Yada Yada, talking about how 'great' he is, how 'well mannered', etc; oh well at least he didn't breed him himself... he bought him from a guy that 'won't' give him the reg papers? Wonder why not... Hmm. Sounds fishy to me there ... moving on ... maybe cause they saw what a fucktard he was and sold him the colt anyways ... hoping he'd be a barrel horse like mom .... was he planning on training him himself? God help us, like the world needs another f'ked up, unsound, insane at the gate unregistered barrel STALLION (oh cause there's NO way he would have ever gelded him...oh no not a RARE Tobiano BUCKSKIN, HERE THIS IS HOW RARE AND VALUABLE THESE HORSES ARE)... oh ok so the boy is three years old and HIS nephew. Yea cause that makes it better. Wonder if MOM is taking the picture. 


AAAAnnnddd...... he's got another solid colt he'd sell cheaper? Oh lord. Cause color is better. Ok, AGAIN, THERE ARE CREMELLOS, PERLINOS, AND ALL SORTS OF OTHER "RARE" COLORS BEING SOLD TO THE MEAT MARKET. Wonder if it was because that one wouldn't let hIM put a saddle on him at the same age as this poor little guy? 


I am so disgusted over this I can't / don't want to go look for something positive to post against it in comparison. There IS NO comparison to this. This is bottom feeding, ignorant, backwoods stupidity at its worst. 

Risking the lives of children...

...is something that most of us parents would never knowingly or willingly do. Right? 

I beg to differ. There is something about a horse that for most parents, safety and common sense goes right out the window. I don't understand it, and it makes me want to scream at these parents for their inability to reason that putting their small child on a 1000 pound plus animal without proper safety gear... (I'm talking helmets now)... is completely beyond me.

I have two examples for you that were posted on 2/28/10. They are from different parts of the US, yet show similar pictures. 

The first is from Austin, TX, near Cedar Creek. Never been there, I'm sure its a very nice area with very nice, friendly people. 

Ad Text:

APHA Mare. Candy has done it all. Trail Riding, Team Penning, Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Play Days, and working with cows. She is 12 yrs, but has a lot of get up and go. UTD on shots, never been sick or injured. If you want a horse for barrel Racing, she is fast!
She is best suited for an experienced rider. I will consider a lease or sale for $5,000.00 OBO. Price has been reduced for quick sale. 

Sounds like a wonderful horse, and a fun one at that. So, the issues come into play when you scroll down to the pictures. "Best suited for an experienced rider." Keep that in the back of your mind...

In the lower left hand picture we have a small boy riding bareback with mom leading with a halter. He's got a western hat on, but that is NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A HELMET. This mare also has a small foal at her side. 

I decided to start this blog highlighting these ads to give the ad writers a heads up on how their target audience sees them. However, I'm starting to see a way to help educate as well. 

Here's the problem. Foals like to run and play. A Lot. They don't always follow instructions from the human to walk alongside us nicely, no matter how much we'd like them to... and thats when they are on a halter and lead. Little foals like this, even when ON a halter/lead tend to do silly things like pull back, buck, jump, run us over, crow hop, attempt to bolt, and even flip over on their furry little heads. This becomes even worse when they are running loose next to Mom. 

Most horse owners have a limited horse education. Some get smart and realize that they just don't know as much as they'd like to know, and start doing things like reading books, watching DVD's, asking questions, take lessons, and generally begin stuffing themselves with as much horse info as they can hold. Horse Behavior, while fascinating to nearly all self proclaimed "horse lovers", is a highly complex and complicated subject of study. What I've found happens most often is the person might read one or two very popular books that are currently available at most major book retailers that delve into the general aspects of horse behavior, yet don't get into it very deeply, or cover things like how a mare acts around her foal. 

The behavior of a mare with foal is an interesting dynamic. The common misconception is that when you have Mom on a halter and lead rope, and baby is running free, (like what we have in this little scenario), baby will always follow Mom. This is unfortunately, not the case. See, foals are curious, impulsive little creatures, and if they suddenly get the urge to run willy-nilly around the pasture, well, there's not much you can do to stop them if they're free. They will be gone, tail straight up, faster than you can say "Where did she go?" But MOM is still on a halter and lead. She can't go running willy-nilly around the pasture with her foal. MOM then starts to get agitated and nervous, and well, no matter how well behaved she might be otherwise, will still most likely do everything she can to run after her offspring. 

It doesn't matter to her if there is a small child on her back. This is especially true of Quarter Horse and Paint mares. They are tough, stubborn, single minded, and contrary to popular belief, are not the most easy going sorts when it comes to their foals. Some of the nicest stock mares you'll ever find turn into raging horses of evil and hate when you DARE get within 50 feet. They were bred to be independent and take care of their foals out on the open range where a foal is dinner for a hungry coyote pack. There's no getting around it. We created them that way.

The moment I laid eyes on this seemingly innocent picture, I saw that cute little fuzzy foal suddenly bolting off in a frenzy of joy, Mom seeing baby run off, Mom running over the handler to get free, and bolting off after offspring, thereby DUMPING THE CHILD OFF OF HER BACK. I'm not making this up folks. I've seen otherwise calm, sane, respectful mares suddenly go berserk when their foals take off and they decide to follow more times than I'd care to count. Matter of fact, the middle finger of my right hand nearly got shattered when a mare decided to run after her foal and *Your's Truly* was walking her to turn out. 

If thats not enough my best friend in high school got double barrel kicked square on the chest when the Arabian mare she was leading to turn out decided to run after her foal who was nearly 100 feet ahead of her. The mare didn't even think twice, she lunged forward, pulled the rope out of my friends highly experienced hands, and within a second let those hind feet fly. My friend woke up 20 minutes later on a gurney, staring at the ceiling of an ambulance without a clue how she got there.

The cute little miniature cowpoke on her back doesn't stand a chance if that were to happen. He's got NOTHING to hold on to, and NOTHING to protect his head if she dumps him into that tree in the background.

The simple solution to this is two fold: 1) Put a damn helmet on the kid. No if's, and's, or but's. In my book, this is non-negotiable. The child's safety is way too important not to. 2) Put a foal sized halter and lead on the foal, and lead the foal. Thats right, because if you lead the foal, there's no way in HELL that Mom is going anywhere her foal isn't. She'll follow baby to the ends of the earth should baby wish to go (or actually, where ever the handler wishes to go). Heck, all you have to do is have a third person lead baby just out side of the camera and you can still have a halter on Mom - really, or the child's sake, its a darn good idea to still be able to control Mom. 

OH, and irritatingly enough, this family obviously OWNS a helmet, look at the picture to the bottom right! Its OK for the adult to wear it, but not the child? 

For the record, judging by the other pictures, this mare really does give off a vibe to be rather decent minded. This situation is still a disaster waiting to happen.

Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated occurrence. 

Example Ad #2. Slightly different situation, yet nauseatingly similar. 

(Though, the title to the ad is catchy...)

We have from my own 'back yard' Wickenburg, Az, another ad that shows how absolutely any parent can simply forget that their child is riding 1000 pounds plus of explosion waiting to happen.

The part of this ad that put it at the top of my options today is the description of the second of the two "long, tall, and ugly horses for sale". 

Ad Text: 

16.2H, 7 yr old, TB mare, chestnut. I put kids on her mostly because she's great in the arena and seems to really like children. Fastest learner EVER. Goes english, western, bareback, and barefoot. Nice girl but kind of dingy. A lot of people throw this around, but this horse has MAJOR potential. Vet checks out sound. She's very broke, but just needs more time put into her. I suggest an experienced rider if you'll be doing a lot of trail riding. If you and your kids are experienced riders, by all means, call me - however, if you want a bombproof horse for the grandkids, this is NOT your mare! CONS: She can be a headtosser and I often use a loose tiedown on her. She needs to be taught how to just be a horse, she's come a long way but it still not a horse you can pasture for a month and then ride. Really, she's a great mare but needs time. $500 

Ok. Is the horse ok for kids or is she not ok for kids? I'm confused. Honestly if the OWNER doesn't know, how is a potential buyer going to figure that out in a 30 minute try out? Also, listing your horses Bad points on a sale ad isn't real smart either... The idea is to talk up the horse? Not scare everyone away. Not to mention: Nice but dingy. Broke but needs time. Puts kids on her because she likes kids but not suitable for a bomb proof horse for the grandkids???

Sheesh make your mind up already, would ya?

Thats not why its on todays blog post though, (Though its not helping matters, mind you)...

Here we go again! Another absolutely adorable little girl, looks to be around four. LOVE LOVE LOVE the pig tails! 

NO FREAKIN HELMET. 

And she's on a horse that (Ok, I'm going to assume its the little girls' mom thats posting the ads, though can't really be sure) well, we'll say an otherwise knowing adult said "however, if you want a bombproof horse for the grandkids, this is NOT your mare!"  

And and and ... the mare is a head tosser? That means she randomly flips her head around in all directions. Most of the time its backwards. Towards YOUR head. Or in this case, the little girls head. To my one day tens of readers, have any of you ever been hit really hard in the face with a base ball, or even by a horse's head? It hurts! Really bad! She's got a tie down on the mare for the pictures, but a tie down is not a quick fix. If this mare was determined enough, all she'd have to do is toss her head high enough and hard enough, and she'd end up rearing part way. Some head tossers fight tie downs so hard they flip completely over. I wouldn't call this safe behavior for a four year old girl.

She's also bareback. If this ADMITTEDLY!!! non bombproof, kid not safe horse decides to spook at... say a small bird in the tree in the background... she's done for. There is NO way this little girl has the ability, skills, or physical strength to stay on this giant 16 hand horse. That adorable little pig-tailed blond could get seriously hurt, if not outright killed. 

I mean just LOOK at how TINY she is on that big red horse! Thankfully,from the looks of the mare, she really doesn't seem to be that bothered about much of anything. However why take that chance? Why run the chance of your child getting KILLED because you were too lazy to stick a helmet on her head? 

Here. That one's less than $50.00 with tax/shipping. Comes in lots of pretty colors too. 

And oh look, another Troxel for only $27.95 PLUS Free Shipping!

Not putting your child in a helmet while on a horse for any reason should be at least a small fine if you get caught. I personally think it should be under the 'child endangerment' laws, but thats just me.

I don't care how much people love tossing around the term 'bomb proof', there is no such thing as a 'bomb  proof' horse. There are only horses that haven't found or come across anything scary enough to blow up at yet. 

/rant.