Baby Steps...Foul Play Update

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.)

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!

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

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

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

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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