Welcome Back, Slaughter?

Slaughter is back, thanks to the powers-that-be: politicians, horse brokers, the meat industry, et al. The Iowa plant, Responsible Transportation LLC , sits about 60 miles from my house. Of course, slaughter has been an option for horse owners all along. Your ‘livestock commodity’ was […]

Barn Buddies seek homes

Just like unwanted horses, feral cats have become a hot button, polarizing, animal issue. Cats spread disease and kill wildlife. But that litter of barn kitties seemed awful cute at the time, didn’t it? Generations later, we have tens of millions of cats living off […]

Mustang Mules?

I have a thing for mules. Their looks and behavior have long intrigued me. They set themselves apart from horses in many ways. Some say: Mules think. Horses don’t. At the Horsemen’s Re-Union, I got to talking with a California woman about mustangs and she […]

Clydesdales Saved

Hats off to the many individuals and organizations involved in the successful move of five Clydesdales from their Maine farm to Connecticut after their owner died unexpectedly. Michelle Melaragno (an instructor for Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue) and the Maine State Society for the Protection […]

Outrunning Rain

It started out as a lazy Sunday ride. We headed out with the two favorites, Comet and Pep. Sun high and hot. Nearby fields just cleared of first-cut bales. Down the road, new neighbors were having a keg party of sorts in their front yard. […]

Fringe Benefit

Like a window-shopper getting drawn into a favorite store, I couldn’t help myself when it came to Fringe, Kathleen Threlfall’s western wear and leather business. Read more about her here. Her handsome work and prized references from experts convinced me that lone pair of hand-me-down […]

Horse training mantra gets a dog test

Horse trainers like to say, “Make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy.” I embraced the strategy with my dog, Kip, during our most recent training session. In this case, though, weather lent me a helping hand. As previously noted, Kip has had […]

Swamped Trails

Last June, I was in a mild panic, buying hay and feeding it out. That’s how quickly our 10-acre pasture was eaten up by grazing and burned up by the high temperatures and lack of rain. We loved the sun and warmth, but animals and […]

A Horse’s No Win Situation

That was the tough, take-away message from Dr. Rebecca Gimenez when asked about how to protect your horses in the event of a tornado. Close them in barns and you run the risk of harming them when the barn collapses. You may also stress them […]

Absence makes the heart grow Appreciative

May has been full of travel. It’s involved truck and horse trailer alright. But this time, the rig was filled with bookcases, lamps, clothes, and keepsakes instead of horses. 3,000 miles. From Iowa to Maine (empty), then back to Iowa (full) as we completed the […]