OK, fess up, were you just trying to make the blog today?

If so, you succeeded!

"Registerd 6 YO Appendix QH mare. 16 hands.. Very sweet horse. This is a real pocket pony. She will follow you any where. I saved this horse from going to the action. (And now the poor thing is bored to death!) The person I purchased her form just could not afford to keep her. She is so sweet and a very pretty horse. I just could not let her go to action. (You sound like a nice person but just FYI, it's aUction.) So I need to find her a really good home. She was ridden by a 13 you girl (a you girl? Is that like a yes man?). Very calm horse. She has done trail riding and was ridden in the sand dunes in Mosses Lake. Not too much seams to bother her. (Don't you HATE when horses have those seams that rub you when you ride? Despite the FrankenHorse conformation, this one is guaranteed to have no seams anywhere! I think they used SuperGlue.) Help me find her a good home. I had my vet check her out and she is sound and healthy. But she is a little under weight. I can not keep her. She would make any one a great horse. I think an Intermitted rider would be best for her. (I'm sure many horses would like an intermittent rider. I know I would like an intermittent job - just as long as the pay kept on coming!) She has no bad hobbits. (She only has sweet, cheerful, friendly singing hobbits! That clean the bathroom at 3 AM! And bake cookies! She used to have evil hobbits but I had them exorcised by the animal communicator.) I am selling her for the price I paid for her. $1,200 firm Sire Raz Hug Bug Tonto Dam Plano Miss "

(I am also posting this as an example of a mare who, though "registerd," is Not Breeding Quality. In case anybody needed a reminder of what that looks like!)

I am sure she is sweet and I see nothing about her that would preclude normal pleasure riding use, so don't think I'm bashing on the horse...this was merely a case of far too funny typos to ignore!

And a seasonal reminder

Just because I saw someone do this the other day and just about died...

It's spring. In many parts of the world, the grass is greening up and the horses are staring longingly from their sacrifice areas waiting for the moment when you'll open that gate.

If you don't want a foundered horse, you have to introduce grass gradually. You can't just throw them out there on long, green, new spring grass all day the first day! Especially if it's a horse with a history of founder (like the one I saw).

Good advice on how to gradually start your spring turnout here.

C'mon everybody - I know it is a PITA to bring them in after 15 minutes, but you want them sound, don't you? Nobody wants to spend their evening packing hooves in ice and praying no permanent damage has been done, right? So take it easy on the grass!

(And no, if they've been tearing up the one pasture you own all winter and a few sprigs of green are starting to come through the mud, this isn't about you. This is for people who keep their horses off the pastures until the pastures are lush.)

The sea of free horses

Just in case anybody is looking for a free horse! (C'mon, you know how it goes...some of you have space and are looking for a new money pit, I just know it!)

In Hawaii, a 4 year old "male" QH (stallion? gelding? Who knows?) "Tends to be unruly for the younger riders."

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/mau/zip/607846437.html

In Oregon, somebody blew out this mare's knee barrel racing her, so you guessed it, she's free!

http://eugene.craigslist.org/pet/604833172.html

Is this the same mare or yet another mare with a "blow knee"

http://eastoregon.craigslist.org/grd/561819419.html

In Virginia, Arab cross grade gelding admittedly behind on everything:

http://roanoke.craigslist.org/grd/605942379.html

"Behind on coggins, vaccinations, feet, underweight. Due to job loss I have been unable to properly care for him. Barn manager is kicking me out at the end of the month and I have no where to take him."

Come to our Natural Horsemanship Clinic and Win A Free Horse! (giggling...and I bet a very special horse it is indeed! Probably flunked out of the last clinic!)

http://eugene.craigslist.org/grd/608221619.html

Near Seattle: Free TB mare. I've seen pics on this one and she's skinny. "Has had a lot of foals," and god knows that didn't finance HER retirement, did it?

http://bellingham.craigslist.org/grd/601082612.html

In Massachusetts - free Standardbred. No details, apparently owner is not capable of operating Craigslist herself:

http://southcoast.craigslist.org/pet/589364021.html

In Portland, Oregon - Free horse "for retirement only." Julie, let me tell you something about retirement for a horse. It's something I write a check for every month. You should too. Sounds like Joe has been through enough.

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/grd/606030124.html

In Colorado - 17 hand TB gelding. "Serviceably sound" - LOVE that term. AKA kinda trots sound, on a straight line, on really good footing, wearing $125 bar shoes and pads, so long as there's no weight on his back and the weather is dry and it's an even numbered day during the waxing moon.

http://boulder.craigslist.org/grd/601804834.html

In Fresno, California - free horse to "anyone who will come get her." So that'd be the kill buyer.

http://fresno.craigslist.org/grd/608355496.html

In Kamloops, B.C., Canada - free 2 year old "mix filly" that "was a rescue."

http://kamloops.craigslist.ca/grd/564208035.html

In Sacramento, California - yet another old lesson horse who needs to retire - but we are sure as hell not paying for it ourselves!

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/pet/602121688.html

Appaloosa with an inoperable bone chip in Washington - of course, free free free! "Pooh was dealt a bad hand 10 months ago in an accident with a gate. He has an inoperable bone chip in his left front fetlock. While it is possible the chip may be absorbed over time, it has not significantly improved." So, you owned him, he got hurt in your ownership, but somehow you do not think it is your problem to care for him for the rest of his life. Typical. You know who dealt him the bad hand? YOU.

http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1189716

In Texas, another old lesson horse getting dumped. Because god forbid YOU keep him and care for him after he spent years tolerating beginners and putting money in YOUR pockets.

http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1185743

Blind araloosa in Ohio that they can't afford to care for, and are hoping they can foist off on someone else:

http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1175212

In California, broken down 24 year old barrel horse "ONLY TO A GOOD HOME WHO WILL HAVE HER FOR THE REST OF HER DAYS"...since heaven forbid I keep her myself and don't get to run barrels for a couple of years.

http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1156800

And on a more positive note, I found this in my searching and all I can say is HOORAY for responsible parenting.

http://mckeeaz.net/serendipity/index.php?/archives/7-But-its-FREE!!!.html

My point, as usual is - if you broke it, as far as I'm concerned, you bought it - for life. If you break a horse down showing it or gaming it or the horse has an accident while in your ownership, then in my opinion you owe it a home for life. And certainly if it just plain gets old and develops chronic issues like arthritis or blindness while in your ownership. I have no problem with re-selling sound horses. I have no problem with doing care leases on horses with issues to a more appropriate light use home. What I take issue with is breaking it and then letting it out of your ownership so that virtually anything can happen to it down the road. Uh-uh. You broke it, now take responsibility for it. If you showed it for five years, it deserves better than to wind up on a double-decker while you proudly tell people you "found such a good home!" (that for some reason, is just too busy to send pictures or updates...but you're sure everything is OK!) As we've discussed before, some kill buyers are better actors than you'd find in Hollywood, and absolutely can convince you your horse is going to a good home. If you must rehome an old/crippled horse due to finances, do it like a rescue - site check, check references, and get a proper, legal signed contract. Yeah it is a pain in the butt, so are many things in life - do it anyway. You owe it to your horse.

Breeding responsibly - Your Bad Luck Is Not Someone Else's Problem!

Free on DreamHorse:

"Cashmere was born "handicapped". He has been examined and treated by a veterinarian without a diagnosis or prognosis. They don't know what's wrong with him. He probably just needs a good chiropractor. He drags his left hind leg a bit in a canter. He lies down and has trouble getting up. But he is a happy guy and he loves people and loves having his butt scratched. He's growing normally. Is tall for his age and he is extremely muscular. He is very handsome. His sire is a 16'2 halter champ."

*sigh*

I swear, nobody ever thinks about the possibility that they will get the foal that has a problem. Everybody gets all gung-ho about breeding, particularly when you have good bloodlines as you do here (but with way too much HYPP to suit me - and no, I'm not sure if the sire is positive or not, the grandsire definitely was). You know, when you're having a HUMAN baby, most people at least THINK about the possibility that they may have a child that has a mental or physical problem. They think about how they would handle that if it happened. With animals? Oh heck no. It never occurs to anybody for a moment. If you asked the average newbie breeder what they'd do if the foal turned out to be permanently lame, you'd get a dumb look 99 times out of 100.

I could make the obvious comments here - like, if you think a chiro will fix him, CALL THE DAMN CHIRO, cheapskate! But this is a good opportunity to bring up the problem in general: When you breed, you may get a dummy foal that survives but is never quite right. You may get a foal that is crippled from something that happened in the womb. You may get the foal with the wry nose or some other defect (what vaccine was that, WNV, that was causing all of those equine versions of the Thalidomide babies? Yeeesh...) You may have a foal that sustains an injury when very young, no matter how careful you are, that prevents him from ever being ridden or driven. If you are a breeder, what do you do? (I won't bite your head off if you tell me euthanasia. I understand that choice and don't have a problem with it).

It's a good topic to discuss. What happens when you've made good breeding decisions, given the mare excellent care, and something still goes wrong? What is the responsible action to take? I think most of us agree that giving your boo-boo away for free and hoping someone ELSE will give it "a good home" is NOT the responsible action here. What is? What would you do?

And related question...we've all heard whispers about Big Name Sires that pass along some serious defect but all fo the defective babies are quietly euthed or slaughtered and no one is the wiser. How many f'ed up foals do you have to get by a sire (or out of a broodmare) before you need to make a responsible choice and stop breeding them?

NHR: OK seriously: How do I get around this stupid software?

After taking it off for a month, they smacked WebSense back on our computers at work. Now I can't read my Yahoo mail again. This seriously impairs my ability to do the blog.

Techies, HOW do I get around this stupid POS software? Someone said I need to buy a router? No one in my office is technical at all and they won't notice if I make modifications ... this is all being imposed by a corporate office over 1000 miles away.

And no, using a proxy won't work, they have blocked all the proxy servers and anonymous surfing services as well.

This is NOT the stud I'M looking for!

Headline: THIS IS THE STUD YOUR LOOKIN

"this stallion comes from some big stock.the mare was 1200 lbs and the stud was 1500 lbs.he has a head full of sence and is as calm as any horse ive seen.he is double registered,AQHA, ARHA,and is a listed stud with the APHA.DNA has been done and all paperwork is in order.this boy throws big colts. "

P.S. Nice barbed wire fence.

I'm trying to figure out what is supposed to be "stallion quality" about this horse - the fact that he weighs a lot or the fact that he's a pretty color and has, um, a really long mane? What a hideous neck, fat, short, set on ugly. And for those of you who think bad front legs only exist in halter horses, check these out. What is up with his feet, do they just not trim him or has he foundered already? The stud fee is $300 (negotiable!) but hey, you can buy him for $5000.

All I can say is that he looks like he might make a nice trail gelding after the vet and a good farrier get ahold of him. That "head full of sence" might come in handy!

To update on a previous blog - Mister, the rescued stallion from the Mason Cty. neglect case a few months back, is no longer a stallion. He got gelded yesterday and is going to his new home this weekend. Thanks to those of you who contributed to his care - it was much appreciated. The funny part is, if I HAD to breed a mare to the thing above or Mister, I have to say I'd have chosen Mister! (And yeah, I'm kind of with you guys...I know I am being TOLD he is a QH, but I don't know if I believe it!)

Here's my most recent pic of him - sorry for the quality, camera phone as I was longeing him!

For those of you who don't believe Parelli training ruins horses

This was forwarded to me. Of course the mare is now free to a good home!

I would like a new home for my 7 yr., 14 hh., chestnut Morgan mare. I will simply give her to the right home, preferably a Parelli home. She is always at the gate when I go out to get a horse and is always so sad when I take another horse instead. Owning my business and working with two horses is all I can do and it is not fair to Star. She was started under saddle on a ranch and ridden there-- moving cattle, checking cattle, checking fence, and other ranch chores. However, she came here feeling insecure and worried so I took her back to ground work, starting her journey and mine into Parelli. She does the 7 Games at Level 1, moving into Level 2. For the small amount of time I have been able to give her, she has come a long way but is not yet ready to ride again. Star is a delight, very people orientated, and very smart. She would do best with a Level 2 person who has the time to give her. With time and patience, she will be a good horse for someone. Susan Johnston is the Parelli Professional who has been helping me and can help give insight to Star's new person.

OK let's review.

1. When this woman got Star, she was ranch broke and being used for moving cattle around, checking fence, etc. Sounds like a pretty well broke horse, wouldn't you say?

2. Parelli-ite Mommy decided the mare was "feeling insecure and worried." How, pray tell, did she come to this conclusion? I'm guessing ranch broke mare came off the trailer a little excited to be in her new home. May have whinnied or paced a bit. Oh, the drama! Oh, how unusual! Surely she was traumatized! Of course, being taken off the 100 acres she was probably running on and shipped to SoCal to live in a 10 x 15 pipe corral like every other horse in SoCal didn't have anything to do with that, either.

3. So instead of giving her a week to settle in and then working her through it, the mare has instead had the seven games shoved down her throat. I'm sure Ranch Broke Mare is very confused indeed.

4. And is "not ready to ride yet." Translation: Parelli-ite Mommy is skeered of her. The horse is already broke! It's seven years old! It's apparently not injured in any way. Why on earth is it not ready to ride?

*head explodes*

I wanna pitch a new TV show. You know the Extreme Mustang Makeover? OK, that was fun but this year let's have a show focused on returning Parellitized horses to normal use. You have to start with a horse that is wildly confused, walks twenty feet behind you and backs up all the time, and by the end of the season it has to be competitive in an actual riding event. I'll take one on - who's with me?