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!

The Reasons Why I Did Not Post From Thursday Till Now...

....and those reasons would be in the form of two very small white things. Before I get into that, I will be back in the am with a 'normal' Worst of post, I promise. 

However, this is just too darn entertaining NOT to share. :D

Thursday & Friday I worked close/open back to back shifts. Didn't get home till nearly 11pm Thursday, had to be back at 8:45am Friday. This normally wouldn't be an issue except I have this wonderful thing called Insomnia. Many, many of you are on intimate relations with that bedfellow, and he's not very fun. So, by the time I was off the clock Friday afternoon, with having to go to the grocery store and a few other after work things - I was about ready to fall asleep standing up Friday night. In all honesty, trying to get a blog post out Friday was just too much to think about. 

Now, I am also starting to get involved in the model horse hobby (Breyers), and I purchased from a industry classified ad website a lot of Breyer horse bodies that were in various stages of being cut apart and put back together again. It was cheap, and just what I wanted to practice on. The box arrived Tuesday and I was just itching to get my hands dirty with them. 

Between working on that (see more below), a very unexpected surprise at 2 am Saturday/Sunday morning, and my two kids spending nearly the entire weekend playing on my computer (yea, I never get weekend computer time anymore.) - I leave you to the blog post I wrote up for my other blog, faraetaildreamsart.blogspot.com. 

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I've been invaded by small white things - some fluffy and some smooth. 

That obviously would be the fluffy white thing. This is KohKoh. I think thats her name anyways. The kids change their mind every other second, but thats what they keep going back too. (Better than Muffins or Cupcake!)

Yes, the time on the picture is correct. See, a couple of days ago the boyfriend tells me to come outside to go see something. I'm up watching tv due to insomnia, and figured why the heck not. Cooler outside than inside anyways.

He grabs a small can of wet cat food, and sets it outside in our open carport. After a short wait, this is what comes scampering out from under his Dodge Truck.

We live in an area chock full with half feral and otherwise 'tame' cats that roam the neighborhood - kittens are fairly commonplace.

What is NOT commonplace is for one of those feral kittens to walk right up to a human as careless as you please and start asking for attention! Which, coincidently, is just about what this one did. 

We watch it demolish half of the small pop-top can and the Boyfriend wonders out loud if we can pick it up. I look at him, smirk, walk over to it, and scoop it right up, thank you very much. (I come from a LONG line of female cat-whisperers!). It doesn't fight, just settles right in, starts rubbing its tiny nose on my chin and neck, and starts purring as loudly as it can. 

Eya. 

I need another cat like I need another hole in the head. However, one little affectionate nose rub and that was it. Thats all it took. I was done in - hook, line, and sinker. 

The Princess on the Purple Pillow is here to stay, Methinks. KohKoh, meet the world. World, meet KohKoh.

Well, maybe after she wakes up.

For those interested in total gut wrenching cuteness, here is a link to a nearly 10 minute video of her playing on our living room floor. The kids in the background are both mine and the boyfriends. (The girl's legs you see with the blue flowered shorts is my daughter, and you'll hear both my son, myself, and my boyfriend's son talking in the video.)

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The OTHER small white thing is my very first Customized Traditional Breyer!

The box of bodies I bought off of the MH$B arrived a few days ago, and I dove right in. 

This is the Amber stock horse foal mold. Traditional sized.

I got her in the lot nearly original, just missing her head. She had some notes written on her from Grace (the lady I purchased her from in the lot), but was pretty much the way you see her here. 

This was my very first venture into Customizing Breyers. I had NO idea what I was doing, but with some helpful guides, and lots of reading online, I think I managed to do Ok.

I removed her tail, and cut some more slits in her neck. After I cut the slits, I took a (KIDS DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME) long handled lighter, and pretty much set her neck on fire. I *know* you are supposed to heat them with a heat gun or other forms of non-flame heat, but it was all I had at the time, since I have to do this outside. Thats her head there by my fingers.

While the neck was hot, I moved it a little bit more off to the side, so she'd be looking almost all the way behind her. While I was at it, I needed to reposition that right ear, so off it went.

{Edit that is not on the other blog: the idea was to have a small butterfly or bird 'land' on the hip on that side, and the foal is turning around to look at it. I discarded the idea though because I'm not entirely sure yet if its allowed in live model horse shows.}

I'll interrupt here and mention that when its recommended to wear eye protection when Dremeling - do it. Those tiny little chips of plastic that fly off are not only hot, but they sure HURT when they hit your eyeball! (And yes, I now have my very own pair of safety goggles.)

So this is what the neck looked like after some Amazing Sculpt from Unbridled, Inc. (Its in the background for the unintentional product placement lol.)

Next we have a tail, and the hint of a crease down her back.
I should also mention that I cut off the original mane too.

That head was a devil to put back on. Nothing I did would keep it in place - finally I took a piece of foil and folded it so it would fit snugly into both the hollow head and neck areas, and super glued it that way. The problem was it kept slipping no matter how long I held the head in place with whatever bonding agent. Lesson learned there! Once the quick set glue cured, I was able to go back in and fill with the Amazing Sculpt. Added a tail and a mane, and reattached the ear/filled in the hole where the ear was. I turned the ear just slightly more backward.

And she becomes a he! I also added some detail to the bottom of the hooves, but don't laugh - it was my first time sculpting frogs, and while they are passable, I wouldn't consider them perfect by any means. :) I also fixed ear tips, re-sculpted the muzzle, and touched up a few tiny other spots.

And the finished colt! Lots and lots and lots of sanding later - literally 4 hours worth Sunday afternoon with 2 redbox movies. Every cranny, bump, possible pockmark, everything I could see and some I couldn't. Several (lost count at 10) thin coats of primer to cover all those leftover brown spots also. I followed Danielle Feldman's Art of Prepping DVD as closely as I could, scrubbing with Comet and sanding carefully in-between coats of primer. 

I sanded about another hour after these were taken, so the few areas where it looks to be a bit rough, aren't so much anymore. I also see now that the front leg is slightly bent more forward at the knee than would be ideal, but that would take more work to strip, fix, and re-prime and I'm not so sure I want to go that route.

I am debating on whether to try my hand at painting or try to sell as is. If I paint him, I see him as a splash black and white paint pattern - but for the first time out, I'm not so sure about the complexities of that. I haven't yet tackled painting yet - though I really want to learn how. There are other bodies in the box that need work too, that might be better 'guinea pigs' to try painting on. 

Anyone out there involved in the hobby? I'd be curious to know what you think!

5 Away..

Just a quick note to apologize for no ad today. 


I am literally writing this as I'm getting ready to run out the door to go get some badly needed errands done before going in to work this afternoon. I was hoping to get one up today, but it just didn't happen. 


I also just happened to notice that I am at post count #95. Well, now, including this one, #96. That means in 4 posts I will be at post #100 - and that will be something to celebrate. 


However I am CLUELESS as to what to do!


Totally open to suggestions, ideas, whatever you can think of. 


Ok, out the door!


Oh, real quick - to the one reader that wanted the updated on Comet - I forgot to mention right then when I was reading that but I have attempted several times to get new pictures, and an update from Megan. I have checked into the ABN board at least once a week and nothing has been posted up there either. I've sent emails to her, and no reply. *shruggs*. 


Have a good Thursday - and oh man, only one day left till Friday - then I get a 4 day vacation from work! Can't Wait!

Ride A Baby Wed

So, I've decided to rename WTF Wed into Ride A Baby Wed for a while. 


Todays Ride A Baby Ad I honestly thought I already had. I recognized the pictures, but I have just searched through 3 months worth of emails and didn't find it, with the exception of the email that Celeste sent yesterday. So, if you sent me this one, and I just overlooked it, please forgive me :).


I also realized exactly how many ads I have in my email that I need to grab before they go down too. So, if you have sent me one, and haven't seen it here yet, that might be why. I"m about a week behind, and I don't always get a chance to email back and say thanks - so please DO NOT take it personally if you don't get a response. I get an average of 20-30 emails a day, and I'd be sitting here for hours if I answered every one lol. 


Throw in the business I'm trying to get off the ground, working part time, 2 kids - yeap. It adds up, doesn't it! (Plus, I have "Remember Me" Waiting in my computer's DVD player and I really want to see it before I go into work this afternoon! hehe.)


Off we go! 

Pony quarter mix - yearling 
1 yr and 4 months old. She is around 12.2 hh or (48inches)and has not grown much more. She is a good little girl that follows you around. She is good with the kids and other horses. I put a 6 yr. old girl on her and she was led around with no problem. She loves everything. I had her feet done and shots were done 3 months ago. Happy and healthy. This filly is going to be a med. to large pony and I was looking for a small pony or paint horse. I offer her as low as possible to get what I was looking for. She is a good pony but not what fits me now. 
Looking for a paint foal filly or colt with color. A 36 to 42 in pony. Also looking for a 17 in leather western saddle. So trades are welcome or sell is offered. 


Celeste (who is also "Dangerous" in the comments) wrote: It makes me sad because she looks super cute and smart and I'm sure she would make a great kid's pony if they would just not put anything on her back for another year!  And how much do you want to bet that 6 year old had no helmet on?

Because people that do this just don't think. They obviously realize what age the horse is, they mentioned YEARLING in the Ad's title, for everyone to see. 16 months old, she's 16 months old, and has already been asked to carry a rider. 


Will the morons ever stop being morons? Nope. But that doesn't mean we can't stop exposing them to the world!


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One quick comment regarding Melissa and her post. Its still getting a ton of traffic for me, and I appreciate it. 


Please remember though, that she will NOT stop posting ads until those horses are either sold, or gone. By all means please keep posting them here, but it is what it is. She wants them sold that badly - then she'll do it when she wants to do it. I still encourage anyone in the area that wants to really help and go take one or both horses on. I'm sure that mare would make an incredible trail or children's mount with some work but someone needs to DO IT. 


Mom will continue to defend her daughter's actions, no matter what we say or do. Thats the nature of being a parent to some people. I personally can't stand the parents that pretend they have perfect angelic children that once backs are turned - turn into little devils. (hmm, actually, that part amuses me. Cause the kids are obviously smarter than the parents at that point to not get caught - and if they ever do - they KNOW nothing will happen.) 


I ask that you please keep the comments non-personal, no throwing neighborhood mud, and I won't have to turn the comments off, capiche? 

Got the Right Idea

I think I need to find one of those little widget things that tell your daily mood hehe. Yesterday I was annoyed and hot, today I'm feeling rather mild and cool. Central Air Conditioning does wonders for that, I do believe! Another great thing is that I received part of a whole bunch of stuff I ordered online over the weekend - head on over to my other blog for that if interested. Its about my journey as a freelance artist, and I'm sure there's one person out there that might find it slightly less annoying than what I write here. ;)

So, since I'm in such a meek and mild mood today, I chose an ad that fits the mood. 

Blue eyed heartthrob - $500

His owners lost their home and could not take him with them so have asked me to find a new partner for him. He is about 14 years old, 15 hands, Quarter Horse built Paint but no papers. He has two lovely blue eyes and has a metallic shine to his coat in the sunlight. He has a very gentle, affectionate nature about him and gets along with everyone, mares, geldings, older, younger, not herd bound or barn sour, easy to work with, decent ground manners but will take advantage of a timid handler. Good for the vet and farrier and trailers like a dream. At present, he is a stallion, although you wouldn't know it. He rides in the arena with mares and maintains his manners perfectly BUT you are required to geld him. He is offered at $500 if you want to use your vet to geld him or $850 and I will geld him and keep him here for the month while the testosterone wears out. Presently he is housed in a paddock with 4 foot no climb with a gelding on either side of him and two mares across the way, he is by no means your typical stallion and he will make a fabulous gelding for someone. He has three lovely gaits with natural collection and seems to have a lot of training in pleasure/ equitation, could easily do competitive trail classes, and does well on the trails around here. He will not take a bit, was probably trained in a bosal but I ride him a halter with reins attached. A confident beginner in lessons would do really well with him. 

So, we have a very small amount of information on him here, but the most important part to this ad is she is requiring that anyone that take him GELD HIM!

I just went through nearly 16 pages of images on google to find that hehe.

So, anyways, Yes lets all sing Hallelujah because someone on craigslist who was stuck with somebody else's unwanted 14 year old stallion is making sure he gets gelded. 

Amazingly enough, and contrary to popular belief, yes you CAN geld an older stallion. I've known many, many older stallions (some in their 20's) that were gelded. Is there a higher risk? Absolutely. They don't handle stress as well as some young chipper 8 month old colt. That's where a darn good vet comes in and if they are worth the thousands of pennies you are paying them, they will make sure that your horse gets treated right. 

My one and only complaint on this ad, and it would be the same one that Caitlin mentioned on her email, is why this seller isn't just doing it anyways before the horse goes up for sale - but in this case, I'm not going to be picky. She's obviously going to not let the horse go off of the property before the surgery takes place, so more brownie points for that too. 

So, while we are on the topic, this is the WORST of Craigslist ads, so lets throw some "worst of stories" out there, shall we? [Edit, I just finished the story, and it turned out a lot longer than I thought! Enjoy it though!]

The worst gelding story I can think of would be from about 5 years ago, while I was a professional groom/assistant for a pleasure quarter horse barn. The couple I worked for was in a public facility (now gone to a housing development) where several trainers resided, as well as individual boarders. The barn across from us housed a old roping trainer who had been around the roping circuit for longer than I have been alive. However, he was also rather egotistical, pig headed, rude, mean, refused to change his ways, a terrible name dropper, and just beyond set in his ways. He was an 'old cowboy' that just refused to update the way he did things, and refused to believe the horse world was passing him by. We all couldn't really stand him, but it was his training methods that all sent us into tizzys. 

I could write an entire week's worth of blogs on the stuff he did, but for now I'll focus on the horse he gelded.

The stud we had all heard Alex bragging over for weeks finally arrived. He was a past Palomino World Show Roping World Champion, but like a lot of roping horses, wasn't much to look at. He was a palomino, but the 'pretty' ended there - giant roman nose, thick coarse neck, unrefined legs, just thick and 'heavy' looking all over. The boy COULD head and heel like nobody's business though - during his weekly roping practice we got a chance to watch him do his thing, and he far outshone any other horse Alex had in training. 

I can't remember his name as I'm sitting here, but his name was never very important anyways. I do remember though Alex telling us he was a son of Shining Spark - and if he actually WAS - I'll sell you the Golden Gate Bridge. The whole reason Alex got him in the barn was because he had a new client that had paid some huge sum of money with somewhere around 6 or 7 zeros on the end of it, and Alex was going to show the newbie owner how to ride him. 

The stud was great in the arena, but his ground manners were in serious need of a brush up. He was somewhere in his late teens or early twenties, had spent most of his life on the road in a trailer, and the life of a show horse was unfamiliar to him. Things like wash racks and round pens were suddenly new and we always knew when Alex was hosing him off because the wash racks were on the side of our barn - the noise from that stud pulling back against the barn wall would reverberate through the entire barn. 

Anyways, about a week after he arrived, there was an argument between the owners and Alex over whether or not to geld him. Alex wanted to (one of the few things he ever got right) and the owners didn't. The owners being the owners won the argument, and they walked away with the very loud verbal threat that if Alex touched that horse's balls, it would be HIS balls next. THAT left us all giggling madly on our side of the road - it had been just SCREAMED out by the 20-something skinny blonde owner. 

3 or 4 months pass, and skinny blonde is having trouble handling her new stud. (Surprise, Surprise.) Now, for the horse's sake, he really never came across as study, or whinnied at the mares, he was very professional about his job, and once he settled in to the routine of his new home, it was as if he didn't even know the mares were there. Her issues were with him responding to her under saddle and he just plain wouldn't listen to her on the ground. The catalyst for everything came when she was trying to get him into his arch enemy, the wash rack, and he blew up on her, reared up, and she freaked out. I was standing off to the side holding another horse that was going to go into the rack next to him, watching the whole disaster unfold. She never got hurt, he never did anything other than pull back, run backwards out of the rack, and when she tried to stop him unsuccessfully, he reared about a foot off of the ground. 

I will never condone a horse rearing, but honestly, I could totally see that it was complete frustration on his part. He didn't understand why he was there, he didn't get this girl at the end of the line, everything about his entire LIFE had changed, and he wasn't handling it well. (We had had some talks late at night while I was out blanketing our horses who were stalled next to him, see.)

2 days later, Alex has his old, ancient vet out. Now this guy is about as stuck in HIS ways as Alex is. I'd seen this vet work before, and I wouldn't have trusted him with a mechanical bull, much less a live animal. But there he was, and they had that old stud out in our huge covered arena. 

Let me set the scene. The arena is huge. I can't remember the exact dimensions, but it was like 3 dressage arenas end to end in length, and at least 2 across. Fully covered. Very nice arena. We have children's lessons going on, another trainer has a horse he's working, and there's a few others in the arena as well as its a weekday afternoon. The place is busy. I'll also mention that its the middle of July, and under the shade of the arena its still well over 100.

Then, in the middle of all of this controlled chaos, is this palomino stud, tied to the fence with the vet sticking a needle in his neck. Alex comes limping up, and together they untie him till he's laying in the dirt with no tarp or sheet or anything under the horse. I realize immediately they are gelding him, and while I rather agree with Alex on this one, the method of attack seems a bit odd to me. The vet does the deed in the dirt, it just seemed very 'quick and dirty' and 30 or so minutes later, he's back in his stall dazed and confused. It was nothing like the controlled, clean, precise surgeries I had witnessed before. 

The owners come out the next day. 

My assistant co-worker and I had watched the entire procedure, (in-between and during giving our kids lessons - thankfully the kids didn't ask too many questions) and had kinda figured that the owner had changed her mind.

We were soooo wrong. 

The screams from her yelling at Alex! Holy cow. Weekday mornings there were a lot slower so there weren't as many people around, but we had a front row view of the fight.

The next day, Saturday, Alex had scheduled a roping practice for his clients that started around 10 am. Trailers usually would start to pull in around 9. We were there no later than seven. The facility fed breakfast at 6am, and stalls were cleaned between 6:30 and 8:30. The feeding guys just dump the pellets without really looking at the horses. However, Moses, who was the ranch foreman, personally dumps each stall with a load of shavings when needed. It was Moses that noticed that morning during his am rounds that the old Palomino was colicking, and colicking badly. So, he pulls the horse out and starts walking him, and calls the main office to alert Alex. 

We start our day's early because of the heat. Lessons start at 7 am, and keep going till the last one at 1pm. We didn't like to go that long but with the amount of clients we had, not too much of a choice. The events of that day happened in front of nearly 50 people from not only our barn, but the entire roping practice as well. 

Moses is walking Paly in circles doing his best to keep him from going down. One of his assistants takes over because Moses is supposed to be doing his thing, not walking a horse. He was an awesome barn manager, but just was a bit afraid of the horses up close, if you can imagine that. Anyways, the helper walks Paly for nearly an hour while they do their best to contact Alex and the owner. 

8 am, no Alex. They tie up the horse in his stall with no other choices. Helper has to go back to his crew and finish cleaning stalls. Moses keeps an eye on the horse in the stall - he's frantic trying to lay down and roll. 

9 am, trailers start to arrive and horses are readied for the practice. The area they pull into and get ready in is directly behind our barn. Only ONE of about 15 clients takes notice of the horse and tried to help. He pulls the horse out and starts walking him. The other clients take notice but don't offer to help. Still no Alex or Owner. Alex lives 10 minutes away.

10 am, they start the practice without Alex. The guy puts the horse back in the stall, and goes out to the arena. Alex is late to his own lesson. 

10:30 am, Alex finally shows up, stumbles out of his truck, and proceeds to walk straight to the arena and stand there watching and yelling out 'instruction' for 15 minutes. Still hasn't even gone into the barn yet. 

10:45-10:50 - Alex goes into the barn, and finally pulls the palomino out. He ties up the horse to his tack area, and proceeds to groom him. The horse pulls back, and tears OUT not only the bolts in the brick wall, but also a hanging halter hook out of the brick/wood ceiling that has nearly 200 halters on it by our estimates. Its a giant accident, and makes our clients getting their horses saddled nervous. We now have to do damage control in our own barn from them just watching what is going on. I am not giving lessons that day, but rather doing other things in-between helping the students get their horses tacked and un-tacked, so I was able to see the entire drama.

11am, Alex ties the horse to the back of his golf cart and walks him out to the arena, where he proceeds to tie the horse up to the rail and completes the 90 minute roping practice. Horse is going crazy from pain - pawing, screaming, dripping sweat, pacing, biting the air, etc. We have not yet seen Alex place any cell phone calls at all, and we are all watching - including the trainers. Our clients are starting to figure out something is amiss, and are asking questions. We are being truthful and they are appalled. 

1 pm - ish, Roping practice has ended, everyone is starting to leave, the horse nearly pulled down the rusted and rotting pipe railing he was tied to in the roping arena. He is now back in his stall, and we finally see Alex start to make some phone calls. 

2 pm, we are done for our day, the trainers have left, and my co-worker and I are left to feed lunch and clean up/prepare the barn for the next week. We finally see a vet show up. This vet is younger, and we do not recognize him. He is beyond angry at Alex for letting the horse go this long, as we can hear him yelling at Alex. He tubes the horse, gives him a painkiller, and about 2:30, Alex starts hitching up his trailer. They load up the horse, and the vet follows Alex out. We know they are taking him to Southwest Equine Center, a well known local horse hospital that is literally 3 miles down the road. 

I don't think I need to mention that the horse didn't come back. They opened him up that afternoon, but by then it was too late, the colic had already twisted half of his intestines and he had already lost nearly a fourth of intestinal tract due to blood loss. They put him to sleep on the operating table. 

We heard through Moses that the reason for the colic was infection from the gelding surgery. Moses had seen the yellowing pus dripping down his legs on Friday, and he didn't touch his hay Friday night. This information had been reported to barn management, and Penny had called to leave a message with Alex, but never heard back. By the time Saturday came around, it was nearly too late anyways.

The owners filed suit against Alex, but we never heard what happened with that, we just saw Alex going about his daily life like nothing had ever happened. We never saw the owner after that day she had the fight with him over the surgery itself, I'm sure she was BEYOND furious at Alex. I'm sure she learned a very hard lesson on all of this, never, ever trust your trainer to do the right thing. 

So, while I share this horror story with you in the spirit of sharing your 'worst of' stories, please keep in mind that out of the 20 or so horses I've known of that have been gelded, this is the ONLY one that ever had any issues afterward. Another stallion, the facilities teaser stallion for 25 years, was gelded at the age of 26, and had absolutely no problems afterward what so ever. With the right vet it can be done safely and successfully.  He had also never been allowed out of his stall either - he had lived in the same stall for 23 of his 25 years on the property day in and day out. He is another story for another day. 

Looking forward to what YOUR stories are!

A 'LITTLE" Underweight?

Welcome to Monday everyone. Hope your weekend went well. We woke up to an air conditioner unit that decided that it only wants to blow warm air, and only about half of the time at that. Repair people are on their way, but as its a unit that has not only seen better days, but is close to 10 years old, I don't have much hope. Since this is my fathers house and he is our landlord of sorts, he is mostly responsible for getting the main unit fixed - however we are looking at smaller room sized ones that are at Home Depot for a couple of hundred. 


What a fun way to wake up to a new week - nearly 90 degrees inside a dark house at 7 am, huh?


This blog was highly active over the weekend, look into the past few posts and catch up if you will, but today I'd like to move on to our normal scheduled programing.


So, over the weekend, Nick sent me todays ad. 


Rehoming my beautiful gelding -$1 

I have a 3 year old Saddlebred Gelding, that I'm hoping to rehome for a fee due to moving. He's very flashy, tobiano, has great disposition and is gentle. He has not had any formal training thus far, but leads and trailers well and is very willing to learn. I think he has a potential to be a great show horse, but I would just like to see him happy in a good home. He's currently a little underweight, but healthy otherwise. He is sound and has great confirmation. To meet him, please call me and we can discuss this further. Wendy 720 --38.

She says he's 'currently a little underweight'. 

HMMMMMM. Ok. 

Lady, I think you need your eyes checked, like yesterday. 

This is not a horse that is 'a little underweight'. 

Now, there is the very good possibility that she got this horse in an even worse condition and she has gotten the horse to this point. 

I'd like to think thats the case, yes? 

However, she doesn't MENTION any of that in the ad itself. 

A very good friend of mine who lives in Illinois, just took in an older gelding from the HGS boards in somewhat worse condition than this guy above because the person that had been rehabbing him no longer could. She posted pictures of him on another message board that I admin, and honestly, this saddlebred is in better condition than Happy is in. 

BUT - the biggest difference here is Happy was advertised specifically as what he was. An older horse that had come from a horrible, horrible home, and the guy that had saved him out of that situation was forthcoming with all of that information up front. Anyone that took Happy in KNEW exactly where he had come from, and the history. (And, he is now eating nearly 4 pounds of soaked mixed feed a day!)

This ad.... is NOT that. Even if this is the same situation, she's not coming across that way. She's trying to act as if the bones sticking out of his hips, spine, and neck are not that big of a deal. 

This horse may very well be show quality - but the problem is in his condition now, your average person isn't going to be able to see past the skin and bones to visualize that diamond he could be. 

What I don't understand is you can see there's a pile of hay in the background. Its either been eaten down, or she's way underfeeding him. She's feeding on the ground, so throw into the mix the potential for sand colic, nor does she mention anything about vaccines or a worming program.


Here's the ad link. He's in or around Denver, Co, for anyone looking for a great summer rescue project. 


If you do not have serious plans to upgrade him, I will not condone you sending hate mail to her. I am posting the live link only to UPGRADE him. Traffic to this blog has increased substantially the last few weeks, and I will not support any reader that sends hate mail, calls only to scream at her about her horse keeping practices, harasses the owner, or anything of the like.  


I will repeat that there is the possibility that she inherited this gelding the way he is or worse and she is trying to find someone that can rehab him. So when contacting, please keep that in mind. 


Hate to have to go there, but sometimes it must be said.