Dusty Trails Horse Rescue

   Dusty Trails horse rescue center is located on a farm in Alabama. They take on severe cases as requested by law enforcements. Not only do they provide a safe environment for their horses, but they have the smarts to became an established organization. As I was scrolling through their website I noticed that under Available they had four options listed: Donkeys/Mules, Mares, Geldings, and Stallions. WHAT?! OK, respect lost right? Wrong. In all of my fury I clicked the link, and just what did I see?

"All stallions coming to DTHR will be gelded (castrated) before adoption."

   Do I hear singing angels? Hallelujah! Whoopee! Hurrah! Thank you so much DTHR for your wonderful knowledge into equine society. As I was exploring I also saw that they had an Arabian stallion in rehab. Another smart thing that they did was place him into an experienced foster home and are waiting until he is healthier and calmer to geld him. Three cheers for DTHR!

      However on the other end of the spectrum lies the little known rescues, good and bad. I have come across many nice, small facilities that were positively remarkable. I have ALSO found some people whose stabling/living conditions were unacceptable, no matter how good intentions were. I found some pictures from a user in HGS forum. Turns out they "rescue" these horses. It seems as thought he user has some knowledge about horses (food, water, some handling)  but they seem to miss the obvious things like fencing, halter fit, grooming (I have yet to find one picture where these horses aren't caked in mud and manure), and the fact that their feet should be rotten with thrush with all that muck they are standing in! There is hardly a dry place for them to stand, at the back of the paddock (which is too small) is a "grassy" area that is teeny-weeny.

 First Picture Posted (at this point I am giving the benefit of the doubt)

Note the horse's tail draaaaaging on the ground with burrs in it

Horse looks better but that fencing! Call me a snob but EWWWW! Plus all that debris is dangerous!

Wireeeee!

   Truly the horses really did get better overtime, but the conditions of the farm never did. But, I can't complain too much because I know that they are all in a better place and much healthy/happier at the moment.

    From good rescues to rescues that need rescuing, hard work pays off in the end. Later on this week: a post/rant about non-horsey morons people.

The HGS rescue is located just south of... Ignorantopia!

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         I have spent so long on this! With exams coming up I have only had five minutes here or there to work on it. So... enjoy!

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       Unfortunately, I am in the market for a new horse. I have been searching all over the Internet looking at ads an various websites (none of which are craigslist). I realize that not everybody is a professional horse person nor can they afford one. But why, might I ask, do people (even some "professionals) seem to use the most unflattering pictures of their horses? There are many problem areas that absolutely make no sense to me. None of them relate to how much money a person has, just laziness and/or incompetence. I have compiled a list of common problems that I have found from photo ads.
1. Wrong Information
     These types of ads are usually posted by the craigslist horse people. The kind that name their horses Midnight, Lightning, and Spot. It doesn't matter how long they have been around horses, they will never learn. Just not born a horsey person even though their intentions are sometimes the best (of course sometimes not, too). These ads typically send a grammar-Nazi in to seizures. Here is an example:

     I could talk forever about the presentation but that is not what this example is about. The ad says a few things that just don't quite match up with the picture.

-Black- Nope he is most defiantly dark bay. Even a horse that at times appears back but fades is not truly a black horse. So.... FALSE!

-15.5hh- Um... what? In what world would a horse be 15.5hh? 15.0hh, 15.1hh, 15.2hh, 15.3hh....ready for the next one? 16HH! What is this? You mean to tell me that there are only four inches in a hand? 

-1000.0lbs- I can't figure out if he is 15.2hh or 16.1hh, but either way he does NOT weigh 1000lbs! My 15.1 petite TB mare weighs at least 1100+. He doesn't look that skinny but what ever you say! I know that isn't right!

-GENTEL- What is this speak? Oh, it is all coming together now! 15.5hh and GENTEL! You are from outer space on the island I like to call Ignorantopia. Here is a map:

       But not to worry! Who ever buys that horse is probably from Ignorantopia, too.

2. Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire! 

    Of course another good way to make me foam at the mouth is to lie to me. I will not post an example of this kind of ad from the Internet because it is impossible to find (or just hard and I am lazy?). Either way this is bad! People do this all the time drugging the horse, wearing it out before the rider gets there, not telling about diseases and vices when asked, etc. This is why, when I invest in an animal I always get a pre-purchase exam. Not exactly the full-body x-rays, but I have a thorough medical exam done by my favorite vet. Trust me always worth the extra cash because if, for whatever reason, you decide to sell the horse and you discovered a disease such a navicular is present then, it is going to be extremely difficult to try and sell the horse (at least for me, I would never lie to a buyer). Even if you don't find the disease the next owner might! POOF! There goes your reputation! The Bad-Luck-Fairy strikes again!

3. Background

    Not to say that  the fanciest farm needs to be behind your horse when you take an ad picture but, at least make it simple, safe, and not distracting. I mean, I could barely see the horse around all that stuff laying around! Of course I once more got distracted by the horse (more on that later).

4. Proper Set-Up

      I don't mean that the horse needs to be braided, square and in a silver plated halter conformation shot; but I shouldn't have to squint to make the horse look good. I also shouldn't need glasses to find which end is his head. Candid shots are cute but really not the best if you ACTUALLY want to sell your horse. I always do a double-take when I come across an ad like the one above, and not just because of the background.

     Why would you choose to post a picture of your horse like this. It is impossible to tell anything about this horse (except for the malnourished part). I costs no more money to take a picture like this:

5. Bad Riders

     Not to nit-pick and be one of those people that gives advice when not asked, but this is another interesting topic that I feel I should bring up. I will not show it but I recently just watched a video of a rider and a horse competing in showjumping for the sale video. Now, in this video I found it impossible to tell whether it was the horse pulling the rider or vise verse.

     Another instance I found was a rider that sat down FAR too early over the jump. This was causing the horse to jump hollow and incorrectly. I could NOT see what this horse had to offer. What a shame, he was out of my price range by about $50,000. (Yeesh)

6. And of course, the ever common bad color coordination, dangerous situation, taking jump pictures at the wrong time, etc. These are things that can easily be fixed!

      

     Sometimes it is possible to look past these things and use a well trained eye to spot a diamond in the rough. This is not always easy or possible. Spending just five extra minutes on preparation, safety, and not to mention color coordination, can make the difference between a trip out to look at the horse or hitting the back button on the search bar.

YouTube is... interesting!

     YouTube is an interesting place for horse lovers. I took a sick day yesterday and basically spent the day watching videos. The pure insanity and stupidity of some of these "riders" made the vomiting worse (probably).  I found a few interesting horsey categories.
1. Animal Abuse
     I find that some of these can be particularly accurate and tear inducing. My attention is draw, however, toward people that have created these propaganda videos without the proper education and research. (sounds like PETA to me). This one really makes me mad. I believe that this is what is wrong with the fight against animal cruelty today, people with weak arguments (and grammar) that make these uneducated videos. Here is how the "story line" of this video goes: 1. horse is great; preforms well dressage or otherwise 2. falls down 3. owner/rider beats the horse and starves it. See it here. First off, only a mentally insane person, or an asshat would do something so stupid. Second, WHY WOULD YOU BEAT A HORSE FOR FALLING DOWN?! The person that created this video is obviously uneducated. What is that you say? But maybe that is just her well thought out opinion. I bet ALL of her horses are spoiled! Yeah the probably are. Any person that thinks an impatient pawing horse tied in concrete cross ties with no breakaway capacity is cute should not have any say in the debate, not because they are stupid, just uneducated. And with that I end my animal abuse video rant... maybe not.

    This next video, like the last, has some valid points. It is a good video that flows well and is mostly agreeable. Except for a few BLATANT things. Starting from the beginning: 1. around 0:13 a picture of a cave drawing comes up when Makala is talking about people riding horses. Um... yeah... the people in that video... they uh... ATE THE HORSES! Not really good for her argument. 2.at approximately 1:32 the text says quote "Why did you make me jump so high?" So now jumping is cruel? Trust me if the horse didn't want to jump he wouldn't, and I have the hospital bills to prove it. Plus, she jumps her horse Ringo in this video... hypocrite much? 3. at about 2:18 there is a picture with a horse that has some drainage in his eye. Makala is trying to pass this off as a tear of sadness from the horse. Reality check: horses don't physically cry. And lastly: number 4. How come jumping and dressage were attacked but not racking horses that have had the soring process done? Which one do you think is more cruel? Excuse me? Yeah, that's right.

   Please don't misunderstand what I am trying to say here. I love horses. I am against cruelty and will do anything to help out the cause, but I ALWAYS do my research! I have worked at a racking horse barn just to see first hand how the horses were treated (not very well I'll tell you that much). People just REALLY need to take the time to further educate themselves. Opinions are OK, that is what this rant is, but FACTS must be straight or the whole argument in invalid.

2. Barn Tours
     Type barn tours into the search bar on the main page of YouTube and about 60% of the results will be breyer/model horse tours, 20% will be actual barn tours, 10% will be random stuff, and the last 10% of the results will be horrifyingly dangerous situations that are basically death traps for horses. I could write an entire blog on what is wrong with this farm. But I will leave the watching to you, the reader. Enjoy!

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     I know, right! These poor girls are unfortunately uneducated and misled by the irresponsible adults who paid for this institution. Behold, my reactions to this video:

Wow maybe this category came out a little harsh. Anyway... on to the next category!

3. Horse Breeding Videos.

   Just. No.

4. Videos that make me sick to my stomach

    Like this one

There are many other but you are probably getting tired of listening to me so, until further notice I bid you goodbye!

Oh noes!

I am sure that most of you have seen this picture before. This picture is a XC disaster! The turn-out of the pair is dangerous and unacceptable for use on the XC course, schooling or other wise. THIS IS NOT OK!

1. The horse is wearing ZERO boots. Not good. XC is very stressful on a horse's legs. This horse needs at the very least a pair of well-fitting bell boots. The best thing would be bell-boots on front and taped boots on all four legs to protect cannon bone, splint bone, fetlock, and tendons and ligaments.
2. I believe that at this level NO MATTER THE SADDLE FIT a breastplate is very important. It keeps the saddle more secure, especially when going down drops. It is true that the horse is wearing a "breastplate" but the only purpose it serves is to hold the standing martingale.
3. Standing martingales are OK for lower level eventing (just amoeba) however above that they become dangerous because they do not give if the horse falls. I have seen on two occasions (at tadpole level and training level) where a horse has fallen and the accident was made worse by the restriction of the horse's head. Only a running martingale should be used because the loops make it able to slide effortlessly around when no contact is exerted on the reins however it remains useful while the rider had contact.
4. I can't tell but the bit looks too large.
5. The rider is not holding a crop. There is no excuse not to ride with a crop on XC. (if your horse was abused, then desensitize it!) It should always be carried by the rider in case of problems (which are inevitable on XC at some point) If the rider is not experienced enough to use a whip properly then they should not be riding XC.
6. The lower leg position is good and look like she may have had a fight right before the horse leaped into the water. This is a schooling picture, and from experience, learning to do XC for either horse or rider is not always pretty. Trying to figure out the "drop" position can be tricky and scary.
7. Cute face on the horse though he looks pretty smart.

How is this amusing?

Some people just don't get it. I did a google search for "funny horses" and I will admit somethings were pretty dang funny.

   But mixed in among these humerus horse follies are some pictures that aren't quite so funny (usually posted by non-horsey people which isn't surprising)

I don't even think that this is real but, um... WTF?!

Lions, tiger bears, oh my! How is an animal scared out of its mind funny?

Not laughing yet?

Howrse has something in common with real life?!

      Everbody knows that sometimes horse sellers aren't allways legit, honest, or even fair. this even flows over into the digital horse world. Howrse is a popular horse breeding game that I am VERY involved in. check me out at here. So I have a "rescue" where I buy mixed breed, uni-rejects, and you name it for 600e. I train them up to their full potential and then sell them to new players for 800e to let them have a good horse for less price since most are on a tight budget. So I sold someone a mustang to help them out but... just look! They turn the price right around and made a 9,200e profit!

    Here is another one that I found:

          I actually feel sorry for this person. Neither one of us knew how much the donkey was worth (even though she couldn't be used for breeding. This sort of thing happens in the real world all the time so LOOK OUT!

P.S. Love ya'll so I made a funny blog for horse peop

Go Snarky!

So, I am an avid reader of  the snarkyrider blog. The new (I think new) site badge is AMAZING! I agree so much with it and love it that I must create a similar badge of my own. Now what shall it be?

I just LOVE it! (sorry guys about the lame post, I am in fact lazy)

Snickers!

So, I don't feel the need to post any pictures of my horses, obviously for security reasons. I want everybody to see what my babies look like! So I have discovered snafflez.com. The most mind-blowing and time wasting site ever! I just love it. So, here is Snickers. He does in-hand hunter, in-hand eventing, and TRICKS! We are learning to drive at the moment, too. So they don't have miniature horse or giant person on this software but I got his markings about right!

What a cutie! 

Once again, looks nothing like him!

So I thought that I would share this modern-day paper dolls website.

TA-DA!!!