Nickernews.net - Where Barn Banter Goes Global
   

Baby Steps...Foul Play Update

Advocates for the horses at Fair Play Farm meet with District Attorney Evert Fowle.
Click here for latest news as the law considers alleged wrongdoings by Alexis and Brett Ingraham.
TumbleRead

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Creative Herd Management

A curious equine swap benefits all parties.
Check out the story and NEW video by clicking here!

Looking past the storm...

I'd like to say, "Never Again" when it comes to witnessing horse abuse and neglect like what I saw at Foul Play Farm in Clinton.
But it'll happen again, guaranteed, without change at the state's Animal Welfare Program.
Read more by clicking here.

Love and Money

Guest columnist Sonia Theobalds writes about money, horses, and Long-Suffering-Horse-Husbands in this piece.
Click here to read more!

Face first into Facebook

NickerNews takes the Facebook plunge.
Join us on Facebook - post comments and photos and generally join in the fun.  Fans are joining from all over the place, North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Maine, and beyond. Click on logo to sign up.
Have suggestions? Let us know on our new NickerNews Facebook fan page, a work in progress. Click here to go directly to NickerNews' facebook page

Reloading...

Read the latest field notes on the Foul Play Farm situation and the ongoing complacency at Maine's Animal Welfare, where (to borrow from Rockin' T's Janet Tuttle) it hurts to be a horse! Click here.

Footloose & Buck Free!

Terry McClare puts us through our paces at her Footloose Farm in Brownfield, Maine.
Click here to read more.

Farm of Merit Winners

The Maine Farm Bureau recently announced the 2009 winners of its new Horse Farm of Merit program. Six farms from all around the state won garners.
Click here to check out the winners.

Report from AWAC

Read the latest on the Foul Play at Fair Play Farm in Clinton, including a link to As Maine Goes blog.
Click here to read about the bureaucratic process and how the Maine horse community is stepping up!

New Menu Item Makes It Easy


We've organized this week's troublesome, worrisome stories under a new menu item, named "Equine Welfare Watchdog."

Simply look up and click on the homepage "Articles & Tips" tab and scroll down to "Equine Welfare Watchdog" to view the list of related stories.

Click here for latest page, including MPBN, Bangor Daily News, and WABI reports.

Worst Case So Far...

Evidence of state complacency mounts.
Click here to read about dozens of Searsport, Maine horses left to die while rescue agencies stood helplessly on the sideline.

The Latest in Fair Play, Foul Play saga

Read about recent developments concerning Animal Welfare and horse abuse and neglect, including link to MPBN's story coverage of Fair Play Farm in Clinton, Maine.
Click here

Foul Play at Fair Play

Local complicity, state complacency...
Read the latest developments in this story of equine abuse at Fair Play Farm in Clinton, Maine. Click here to go to update and links.

Two Prongs of Neglect

1. Open neglect at Fair Play Farm.
2. State complacency
and disconnect.
-Read extensive reporting.
-Download flyers, make phone calls, network, and take action!
Click here for stories and links.

Starving Clinton Horses

Let your voice be heard!
Please click here to read about a sad scenario in our own backyard - Clinton, Maine.
Phone numbers provided.

Could be Better, Could be Worse...

Julie Kenney sent this photo, taken during a missionary trip to the Dominican Republic.
"We didn't pay a lot of attention to the boys because it would have encouraged them to "perform" more for us, therefore putting that horse through more work than I could stomach watching."
Right on, sista.

Keepin' the Weight on!

Tips for maintaining your horse's weight during the winter, especially considering this summer's poor hay quality.
Dr. Rachel Flaherty of Maine Equine Associates lends her expertise. Click here to read article.

Clinic Video features Blooper!

Sure he can ride, but can he hula-hoop?
Check out this dynamite video of the Cabin Fever Class & Clinic, complete with our first blooper track!
Click here to view.

Poor Charlie

What's wrong with this picture?
Read more about why this lovely decoration is NOT on our wall. A Superstitious Soul spouts off, read more at the blog.

Update from Haiti

NickerNews reader and contributor Rebecca Gimenez interviewed colleague Lloyd Brown on what he's observing and doing to help the people and animals in Haiti.
Click here to read her interview.

Ken Salazar's Grand Plan

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar wants to send mustangs to greener pastures in the East and Midwest... He wants to give them Special Designation and create an eco-tourism destination around mustang roaming ranges. Oh, you just gotta read this plan. Click here.

From Scruffy to, um, still Scruffy!

Ever feel like the that beloved Barn Smell goes with you wherever you go?

Have you gone all day/month/year in the same dingy boots/jeans/coat?

Read one woman's resolution to step out of the mist and into a spiffier style. Click here for latest blogpost.

Got a minute? Read our Wovel!

A wovel is a web-based, audience-plotted novel. Follow the exploits of Jean and Lily as they ride along. Then vote on how you'd like the story to proceed. Cool, huh?
Click here to read Chapter 3.

Comic Relief

My friend Peppermint Patty wasn't quite ready to come with me. She's what one might call a go-y girl. Check out this fun video by clicking here.

Snowmobilers and Pallets...

Cold temperatures bring liberation for us folks in the swamps, er, wetlands. But there are drawbacks, too.
Click here to read more about it!

Madeleine Pickens Does Good

She makes it easy to lobby your senators on behalf of the mustangs being callously rounded up by the thousands.
Check out our links page by clicking here.

Barn Gal Pals

Guest columnist Sonia Theobalds shares the fun.
Click here to read about her times with a troop of horse friends.

Sunny Side Up!

The tragedy in Waldoboro has a bright side as one NickerNews reader shows off one who survived the wretched scene - her wonderful, newly adopted, 10-year old paint mare.
Check her out at Your Horse pages by clicking here. (Remember to click the option to view newest horses FIRST.)

Warm and fuzzy Christmas story

Dontcha just love Christmas? positively overflowing with warm spirit, good will, and all that fun stuff!

Click here for a peak from Scrooge's window!

Barn Bliss

Think this photo has NOTHING to do with Barn Time? Think again! Check out a holiday-stress blog entry by clicking here.

Channeling Nancy

Combatting not the War on Drugs but the War on Winter Blues, click here to read more about NickerNews strategies and add your own!

Honey's Looking Sweet!

Catch an update of this rescued pony, now happily settled in at Thanksgiving Farm. Click on image to go to article.

First Snow Skitties

Check out this fun, frolicky video celebrating the first snow of the year. Another happy-go-lucky NickerNews production.
Click here to check it out!

Cabin Fever Clinics Return!

Cabin Fever Clinics are a great way to get through tough riding times.
Come join us at Riding to the Top Therapeutic Riding Center in Windham.
Read more and register by clicking here.

Final Versatile Horse & Rider Report!

Read the third and final installment by guest columnist Sherrye Johnson-Trafton writes about her training and experience at the Equine Affaire's Versatile Horse Competition.
Hint, hint: Lookin' good, sista!
  Read more at our blog and/or click here go to her article.

Morris has eye surgery

Read more about this lovely bay gelding and his pending eye surgery on our blog.
Click here for report.

Your Voice is Heard!

Read the results of this week's NickerNews survey.
We asked readers how they felt about the situation at Fair Play Farm, the state's response, and their willingness to help. There's Good News and there's Bad News.
Click here for to read the results.

Celebrities get involved, how 'bout you?

Sheryl Crow and Viggo Mortensen join the campaign to stop mustang round-ups. Pen a letter to the BLM, to your congressional leaders. C'mon, what's stopping you?
Read more about anti-roundup efforts here.

Are you a Charlie or a Charlotte...

Who cares about supplements, blanketing, and grooming?
Read this fun essay about the gamut of acceptable horse care and horsemanship.
Join in the fun and add your own examples.

Deer Season in Maine

By Maddy B. Gray

It’s been a long time since a deer hunter has shot a horse, according to game warden John MacDonald. In his 10 years as a warden, he hasn't heard of a single incident.
But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.
  His peers just finished successfully prosecuting a hunter who shot a house. 
A house!
Click here for full article
Whoa there, Good Looking!
Get Away with Horses!
Visit Memory Lane Vacations
in Andover, Maine.
Click image for more info!
Whoa there, Good Looking!
Paloma
Whoa there, Good Looking!
From our your horse page, this is Paloma. Paloma, a lovely red dun, is the bell mare at her farm in Bowdoinham.  Add YOUR horse.

Tour de Horse Warning: the next time a big cycling race goes by your barn, you might consider closing in the horses!. Click to view movie! | View more funny videos

Nicker News Views
Chapter Four of the Wovel should include...
Tip of the morning
Do You Have Enough?
Hay, that is.
The proverb is 'Half your wood and half your hay you should still have on Candlemas Day.'
 Candlemas Day is Feb 2 (Groundhog Day also of course) and is 1/2 way between the official beginning of winter and the official beginning of spring.

Tip of the morning
     
"Those who look down eventually get there" - Kip Rosenthal