World Wide Horse Owner Addicts Anonymous

You know you are a horse addict if.......

• Your most relaxing and therapeutic moments are when you are shoveling horse manure.
• You would rather be dumped by a horse than a man.
• When a horse bucks you off, you get back on it.
• """Bling"" to you has something to do with tack vs. jewelry.
• You kiss your horses before you kiss your husband in the morning.
• You always grab a horse magazine at the local feed store.
• You enjoy looking at a horse's hip as much as at a man/womans behind.
• You would rather sleep in the barn with your horse than with your spouse
• You spend more time feeding your horse than you spend feeding your family.
• You decorate your hair with hay.
• You examine every piece of rope or twine for its halter potential.
• You think a great vacation is spending a long weekend in front of a horse trailer by a dusty arena.
• You take your children's temperature and think 102* is normal.
• You prefer the smell of a stable to cologne.
• You're in a better mood when you can smell a horse barn.
• You sleep with your boots on and count horses to fall asleep.
• Your laugh is beginning to sound like a whinny.
• Instead of giving someone directions to turn left or right you tell them to "gee" or "haw".
• You still have your childhood horse statues in your bedroom.
• Your morning chores include gloves, boots, a coat, and either coveralls or chaps.
• You talk to your horse more than you talk to your spouse.
• You spend more time at the feed or tack store than at the grocery store.
• You want to spend every minute of your life with your horse.
• You cannot afford new shoes for yourself or your kids but the Horseshoer comes every 8 weeks to put new shoes on your horse.
• Your mail is mostly tack catalogs.
• Your favorite "pets" food is measured in tons.
• Your barn is cleaner and more organized than your house.
• Your saddle costs more than your living room furniture.
• Your vet bill is larger than your Dr. bill.
• Your horse trailer might as well be welded solid to your pickup as it is rarely unattached.
• You wish you had a second pickup so you wouldn't have to unhook your horse trailer.
• You use your horse's shampoo on yourself because it is better than your own.
• You have a farrier bill large enough to deduct from taxes.
• Your vocabulary consists of words like: Laminitis, colic, thrush, rain rot, cribbing, wormer, West Nile, founder.......
• Your feed bill is bigger than your grocery bill.
• Most of your shirts have pictures of horses on them.
• Your criteria for purchasing a new vehicle includes: Does it have a tow package, how large of a horse trailer will it tow, what kind of pulling power does it have.
• You are on a first name basis with the local veterinarians and their staff, and also with the vets and staff of the nearest (and sometimes farthest) Equine Hospital.
•  You try to draw something and no matter what it turns out to be a horse.
• Your favorite word is whoa!
• Your outfit includes horse hair.
• You can expertly braid your Andalusians mane but don't brush your hair.
• New You think nothing of eating a sandwich after mucking out stables.
• New You know why a thermometer has a yard of yarn attached to one end of it.
• New You are banned from Laundromats.
• New You can magically lower your voice five octaves to bellow at a pawing horse.
• New You will end relationships over your horses.
• New You insure your horses for more than your cars.
• New You know more about your horse's nutrition than your own.
• New You have Neatsfoot oil stains on the carpet right next to the TV.
• New You engage in a hobby that is more work than your day job.

I am sure this horse is Cold Backed!

Subject: Get Fit for the New Year - A Fitness Routine Recently there was a Dr. Phil episode in which the prominent self-help guru was evaluating the situation of one overweight guest. The woman commented that she'd like to buy a horse so she could get exercise via riding. "That's great for the horse," responded Dr. Phil drolly, "but what good is it for you?" Clearly, the good doctor doesn't own a horse. The right horse (and most of us have owned 1 or 2, haven't we?) will provide a body-building, cardiovascular-enhancing workout that would make Richard Simmons envious. With the right horse, you begin your fitness program by walking out to the pasture. As you stride briskly, you carry the halter and lead rope behind you, pushed up high on your back so the lead doesn't drag. The purpose of this is to tone your chest and upper-arm muscles (because you're not fooling your horse- -he knows what you're carrying). As you approach to within a few feet of him, he'll walk slowly away from you, then stop. This will be repeated several times in succession, until you're ready to jog. At that point, the horse will trot, then gallop around the pasture. If you're at the advanced level of fitness, you may continue chasing after him for maximum aerobic benefits. Beginners may prefer to toss the halter and lead on the ground, bend forward from the waist, and engage in heavy breathing and chanting (that's what we'll call it, anyway--chanting) as the horse continues to circle the field. When the horse determines you've had enough of this warm-up session, he'll allow you to catch him. Now comes the total upper-body workout of grooming. Optimally, your horse will be caked in dried mud. Its cement-like consistency will require work-to-exhaustion effort of your biceps and triceps. Next comes the bending, stretching, and toning of hoof-picking. Bend over, pick up the horse's left front foot, then be prepared to jump back as he stomps it back down to the ground. (Keep your knees bent as you jump, to protect your lower back.) Reach down and pick up the foot again, hopping about with the horse to maintain your grip as you attempt to pick what seems to be dirt mixed with Super Glue from the hoof. Eventually the horse may stand still; you may be chanting by this time. Repeat the entire circuit three more times with the remaining feet. Once you can stand erect again, it's time for the insect repellent exercise. True, with this one, your horse may actually get more of a workout than you do, but you certainly get more of the repellent. It goes like this: Squirt!-circle-circle. Squirt!-circle-circle. Squirt!-circle-circle---and so on, until you're completely misted with repellent. Saddling up provides both aerobic and strength building benefits. The trick is to keep your feet moving as you heft the saddle blanket over and over, trying to keep it in place on a moving target. The blanket exercise warms you up for the saddle exercise, for which the routine is the same, only the weight is much greater--perfect for buffing those hard-to-tone shoulder muscles. Now comes the mounting exercise. Start with your left leg up, hop-hop-hop, left leg down. Left leg up, hop-hop-hop, left leg down. For balance, go around to the other side and continue the exercise (right leg up, hop-hop-hop, right leg down, etc.). When your heart rate begins to exceed your target range, look for a bucket. Bend over, pick it up, place it upside-down next to the horse, wait for the horse to move away, then bend over, pick it up again, place it next to the horse, and so on. When the horse deems you've had enough of these repetitions, he'll stand still and allow you to actually mount. At this point, of course, you'll be too exhausted to ride. It's best not to overdo it, so dismount, grab a protein bar, and head to the shower.   The January issue of the Readers Digest had a wonderful article called "A Pony Tale."   The story is about Petie, a Therapy Pony. Go to http://www.rd.com/petie to read about him.

If a man has enough sense to treat his wife like a thoroughbred,

 she will never turn into a nag.

What are these horse's bloodlines? Driftwood, of course!

National Geographic's April Photo of the Month

Click on the photo below to go to Rockin Dobbins Home Page. 

Click on the book cover above to read about the soon to be published book about Dobbin!

 I am using this photo with express permission from the photographer.  Please respect the copyright and do not reproduce it without permission from the photographer.  Thanks you Josephine Canovas Rodriguez for allowing me to use the photo on my site!

Poster is available for purchase.  Please contact:

iberiahorse@gmail.com

Click on the link below to see a video of one of these amazing horses.

BRUJO-Sheer Joy

My latest horse interest is in Cutting Horses.  I am currently looking to purchase a finished cutting horse that I can show.

Check out the video!

The purpose of having a foal

Meet Molly. She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana, USA . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes.

But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.

Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there.

"This was the right horse and the right owner," Moore insists.
Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.

The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports.
And she asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too." And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. "It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse", she laughs.

Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it.

"It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life", Moore said,   "She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others."
"She's not back to normal," Barca concluded, "but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself."

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