Hey you guys!! I'm sooooo excited that I just HAVE to tell ya! I finally found another horse! I bought him today. I sold my other horses almost six years ago and would never have done it if they hadn't had that bad habit of chewing!! Ya know, that gets quite expensive after awhile...with the price of lumber, etc.!! I've known this horse since he was about 5 yrs. old. He's been in the show circuit for the last ten or twelve years and is now 17 yrs. old. He's used to EVERYTHING!! And he's trained Eng. and West. My granddaughter's birthday is August 19th and I plan on revealing this purchase to her then. The woman bought him from is a good friend and has no problem with keeping him til then. I'm really happy...can you tell!!?? Sorry to be "mouthing" off like this!!

-- Anonymous, July 25, 2002

Answers

....AND....Happy Anniversary Annie!!!!!!!!

-- Anonymous, July 25, 2002

Oh Marcia, congrats!! How cool. You keep mouthing off, especially such good news. Now, if I could only find a good mule (and a place to keep him, etc!)...

-- Anonymous, July 25, 2002

Yay! Congratulations!!!! What breed is he?

Now you need another one. They get lonely you know. You want to go riding together, don't you? (And the Voice of The Binky is heard in the Land...)

A couple of my horses have been gnawers over the years. One would be cured whenever she started to nibble by adding a half cup or so of apple cider vinegar to her feed every day until she had gotten about a gallon down her, and then she would quit -- short on some kind of mineral.

My Anglo-Arab mare, Gabby, that I have now, chewed a hole right through a stall wall 2" thick. It was the fault of the people who planned the dumb stalls with three solid walls in the back, and the front grilled so the horse couldn't look out except to stare at a blank wall in front. She hated that, and she and the neighboring Arab mare chewed a porthole through so they could visit -- and then they quit chewing. I even painted the whole inside of the stall with Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce and discovered that I had a cajun horse -- she was slurping it off the walls behind me as I went.

Another cure for wood chewing is either more hay, or a few fresh cut branches for them to chew on, so they're not so bored. NEVER make a stall out of plywood or particle board. They inhale that like it was potato chips (and about as sturdy). #2 Yellow Pine is best for construction.

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Sheepish...I've always loved mules!! Probably 'cause I can be just as stubborn as one :-)!! Donkeys are great, too.

Julie...my previous two horses were both ex-racehorses (standardbreds), and had rock solid temperaments. But they picked up their "beaver" habits from long hours of stall boredom while on the racing circuit. My first one (gelding) sort of dropped the habit after I'd owned him for a year or so. Then when I got my mare a few years later, she was fresh off the New Jersey racetracks and...well, she just got him going again!! Even with five acres of grazing and run-in stalls 24/7 they'd chew!!! We've since redone the stalls with hackmatack...wonder if horses will chew that?? My new horse is a registered Paint. And, like I said, was shown for many years. I'm sure he'll have a thing or two to teach me!!! But he's very road safe and has no bad habits. And...best of all...he's used to being touched and worked on. My favorite part of owning horses is the grooming, clipping, etc. Hopefully he wont be lonely with my goats to keep him company. BUT...who knows?? Maybe they'll be another horse (or mule/donkey) in the near future :-)!!

BTW...right after I returned home from paying for my horse, Harry and I went out to tend our lobster traps. Caught a 3 pounder in one...but lost the other trap in the current! Anyways, we ate well last night but now have to put out another $38 bucks for a new trap! But I'm still doing my "I have a horse again" Happy Dance :-)!!

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Hey Marcia, someone over on the Barter Board at the other forum has a paint pony for trade. I wonder how many lobsters would equal one pony? :)

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

And, I'll bet that no matter where that person lives, it will be cheaper for them to transport a pony here than it would for me to send live lobsters there!!!

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

Congratulations on getting the horse, Marcia!

-- Anonymous, July 26, 2002

That's wonderful, Marcia! I'm way happy for ya!! Oh how I miss my horses! I too loved grooming them......

Is it really true that its terribly expensive to ship lobstahs? I wuz actually thinkin of askin you if I could get you to send me some since they are so much cheaper there than in the midwest, but maybe that's a dumb idea?

-- Anonymous, July 27, 2002

Happy, happy, joy, joy....Congratulations!!!

-- Anonymous, July 27, 2002

EM...I could check out the lobster "thing" and shipping, etc. if you'd like. I know of a few companies locally that ship worldwide. To give ya idea of what it might cost, last year I shipped 3-1½ lb. lobsters to my mom in N. C. and it cost me around $70.00...I think! There's alot of packaging involved in keeping the live lobsters alive and cool...and happy!!

Went to the grain store today and bought horse grain (and Zimecterin) for the first time in almost five years! Spent about an hour or so visiting with "Quest" today...brushing, etc. I'll worm him just before I ride him home. I can still smell that wonderful horsey aroma :-)!!!! How am I gonna keep him a secret til Aug. 19th!!??

-- Anonymous, July 27, 2002

Congratulations on your new boat. I mean, horse. Oh well, it's about the same thing, isn't it? Isn't there something about boats, horses and airplanes that says that the two happiest days of my life were the day I bought my _________ and the day I sold my _______.

I sit here everyday and watch four horses playing in the fields and am thankful that I don't have the feed bills, vet bills, fencing bills, stall repair, etc. They are nice to look at though. Wish yours was here with the rest of them.

Wildman, (too broke to afford horses)

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2002

Yeah...I know, Wildman. Buying boats, horses AND airplanes is only for rich folks!!? Well, we definitely ain't rich...Harry is just really good at poker :-)! I keep telling him that we have to go to Atlantic City or Vegas someday. It's gonna take me FOREVER (not to mention many, many spaghetti dinners) to pay off what I "borrowed" from his poker fund!!!!

Have you ever heard the expression that "there's nothing so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse"?? Wonder who said that??!! Hopefully that applies to women as well!

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2002

Marcia I'm not sure but I think it may have been Will Rodgers who said that.

-- Anonymous, July 28, 2002