Marianne

About a week and a half ago I started getting acne on my forehead. I usually get a couple zits on my chin when I'm stressed or eat something really unhealthy, but I've never had a problem with break outs on my forehead! I figured it was just stress, seeing as I just moved into college, but they aren't going away. I've been eating pretty healthy stuff, too, and staying away from the fats....Mostly fruits, actually. I don't cake on the makeup, and I scrub my face before I go to bed and shower in the morning. They aren't full out whiteheads, and they aren't painful, they're just a bunch of little red spots and bumps that may or may not surface.

Any tips? It's really, really starting to annoy me!

What do you do when you have a horse that sucks away from the contact?

I'm currently working with a green mare (Started in December) and she's coming along amazingly well considering that. However, she has always sucked back. It's gotten better, don't get me wrong- You used to get on, think of touching the reins, and she'd curl like the posterchild (Posterpony?) for rolkur. Now she just goes behind the vertical- Still far from desirable. Right now it's mostly down to trying to coax her to reach down and out, which only works until you take some semblance of a contact again. I literally go on the lightest contact I've ever ridden a horse with- If I went any looser the rein would be slack. I've lunged her in the chambon a bit, but it's only helped so much. Part of the problem is that, left to her own devices, she likes to stand with her back hollow and neck up, so the muscles she needs to reach are tight and underdeveloped. She has a ton of movement from behind, but doesn't quite have the balance yet to do a very good stretchy-type circle without falling on the forehand, which is another problem. We've also been working a lot on caveletti and hill work to try to strengthen both her hind end muscles (Which is an odd balance- She needs to come more underneath herself and she needs the muscling to do so, but left as-is she overstrides at the walk by 6 inches.) and to strengthen her abdominals, but she's coming off of a month off so it's a work in progress.

Pictures: http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/268...

What happens if you put on any amount of contact (We were supposed to be pushing the hind end over for help with her depart- The crossover behind is about as dramatic as her angry ears) http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/268...

And this is about as stretched down as we can get. http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/267...

SO. What do you do when you have a horse that sucks away from the bit?

And I have her, literally, in the mildest bit we own. It's a D-ring 2-jointed with a bean in the middle. The two pieces that aren't the bean are slightly curved. We've tried rubber coated bits but they're either too thick for her mouth or they're a style she doesn't like. And no, we haven't tried a bitless, just because 1) She's still a green horse liable to spook, rear, or buck, 2) We don't yet consider this a major problem, more like a stage/green horse thing, and 3) They aren't legal for competition.

Hey so I'm going off to college in late august and I offered to bring a mini fridge. I'm sharing the room with one other person so we're splitting the big stuff. We have a small fridge in the garage that I thought I could use but my mom says it's too big- Looking at it, I think it'd be great because it could go on the floor and double as something to put stuff on. I measured it and it's 33 inches tall and 18.5 inches wide. Is this too big? I don't know about my roommate, but I'm lofting my bed and would probably put it under there.

So earlier today I was running inside from the rain and slipped and fell on my tailbone. I figure I prolly atleast bruised it because of the extreme pain right after and the pain in that area when bending/sitting. I have a chiro appointment for tomorrow and i think im going to ask them to take an xray to see what's up (If its broken or something I'll go to a doctor.) Now I'm icing it but my butt basically hurts. I very rarely bruise anywhere but my legs, and no bruise has shown up yet, but it's really tender especially on the left side where it's also warmer. I was reading about tailbone bruises/breaks and one guy said he had a hematoma too.....How can I tell? Will it show up on an x-ray? Do they ever resolve themselves?

Thanks!

I've just started running on the track after school, and my friend says I run funny. I'm not a good runner- My arches are almost non-existent (Arch supports do very little), and I toe out, meaning that if I'm not careful I trip myself, and regardless if I am careful or not my arches hurt whenever I try to walk/run. I'm thinking of wrapping them and I run with supports.

Anyways, when I run I do so with a lot of suspension- I bounce up higher when I push off and I'm in the air longer before I hit the ground again. My friends run with less suspension, more just getting their feet barely off the ground, but if I do that I tend to have a harder time maintaining balance and get tired much quicker.

Is this anything I should try to change?

Hey!

So, watching various shows and reading various articles, they always stress how HARD High School is, how UNFAIR everyone is, how BAD the bullying is and how concrete the cliques are.

I'm a senior, and I just don't notice this. Sure, there are groups of friends, and some people are jerks, but for the most part everyone works together well. The top girls aren't cheerleaders, and there's a sort of companionship between the smart kids- Meaning the "nerdiest" kids are friends with the smart jocks, and admit it. Middle School was way worse- Everyone was so insecure they were positively vicious.

We're a big school for our area, but we are in a rural area- So we're considered big at 1,800 students. We're also the "Arts Magnet", meaning kids from neighboring districts are shipped in to attend an art-based program. I personally think this has contributed to the school's atmosphere because people are forced to see a lot of different people- You have all of the "Artsy" types, from the sophisticated artsy to the Anime kids who wear cat ears and tails to school.

So is it just me thinking that the stereotypical "High School" the shows and media show is outdated, or do you think that today's generations are just more accepting of people different than ourselves, resulting in less bullying and cliques in High School?

On my way back from school I got a speeding ticket. I'm 17 and this is the first time I've gotten a ticket, although I was in a car accident roughly two weeks ago. As you can understand, I'm freaking out- I'd really like to try to keep this away from my parents, but I don't think that'll be possible considering that they pay for my insurance.

I was going 57 in a 30- Stupid, yeah, I know, but it was one of those things where it's technically residential but it was rural and 55 100 feet earlier, and I was thinking about a friend who's in the hospital. The fine is for $285.00, and I can pay almost all of that now, but I'm more worried about my record. With my age and having an accident so soon, this can/will really make my insurance skyrocket, and to be honest I just want this to go away. I don't want to go to court. I live in MN. What I was wondering is if I could get the speeding off of my record if I paid the fine and went to a Traffic School type thing? I've read stuff on the internet that MN does and doesn't recognize attending a class as a viable way to reduce or eliminate traffic violations on your record, and honestly I'm just really confused.

Hey, I've been thinking and I am just wondering what the Y!A people think. Best Answer will not be for the person who agrees with me or offers the most politically correct answer, but for the person who offers the most complete answer without targeting or attacking other users, or going off on political rants.

I'm 17, and live in the rural midwest. Like about 90% of people in my area (Shocker!) I'm white. So maybe I don't have the "right" to comment on this, maybe I just don't know what it FEELS like. Maybe I'll have to move to an African country where Caucasians are treated violently and survive there for a few years to have any semblance of a right to voice my opinion on this matter, I don't know.

Everyone talks about race, how we've come so far, how some people are blantantly racist, how we still need to get better. I'm for equality- But I honestly don't see the inequality. Maybe it's just where I live. Maybe I'm just some spoiled rotten self-centered kid. But I don't see it, and I've never known any friends of a racial minority (African American, Hispanic, Asian, whatever) to witness it either. So when I watch the news and see some 60-something ranting on about EQUALITY and RIGHTS FOR THE MINORITIES I just feel like they're creating their own problems. I feel like that, by whining about something like that which may or may not be nearly as bad as you think, you bring it to the forefront again. Various heads of organizations for various minorities demand equality, but by doing so when it isn't really needed aren't you just enforcing that your group is different? If the idea is for everyone to be the same, to be equal, constantly going on shows and complaining about how, 30 years ago, you weren't just seems like you're saying "Yes, we're different, and we're proud and demand you give us our rights!", which seems to me redundant if you're fighting the idea that various races AREN'T the same.

Of course, overall I feel like this is an old issue- It's mostly the over 30 set I see arguing about it, and, at least for the majority of our school, minorities aren't really targeted- And our school is somewhere you'd expect to see it. Small town, rural, 1800 students and about 15 are African American- And that's the largest "minority" group. But there isn't prejudice against any of the "minority" groups - This includes the few Gay/Lesbians, not just racial minorities- and it really isn't a factor. So I kinda feel like, at least for me, the race "issue" isn't really there.

What do you guys think?

Hey,

Beet Pulp is a byproduct of the production of sugar extracted by the sugar beet. It has very little sucrose left in it, and is dehydrated. It's about 18% fiber and commonly used in Equine and Canine feeds.

Can humans digest it?

Besides the oral side of it. I really want to get one done- It's easily concealed, and I just like them- but I don't want to be negatively judged because of it. I don't want it for anything to do with oral, just for myself, but I was wondering what else people think of them?

I'd wait until I was in college to do it (My mom would FREAK, and I wouldn't be able to hide the swelling/speech issues from her if I was at home) and I know that it heals extremely quickly so if I decided I regretted it that could be fixed easily.

Hey,

As some of the regulars know, my horse is kinda high-maintenance. 20 year old TB with a high work load, so that's a given.

In the summer I really had him in condition- His leg muscles were developed enough he looked like a leggy QH from behind, and we could gallop a half mile, do a steeplechase course, XC course, whatever and he'd recover in under 5 minutes. This was achieved by 6 days a week riding, and a pretty committed conditioning schedule.

However, when school started, I stopped riding for the most part- 2 times a week generally- and he lost a ton of condition. However, he's also lost weight, and I'm having a tough time getting it back on. He was never fat- His body condition score was a 5 to start with, but I'd like to see more flab going into winter, especially considering we dropped off his work load so dramatically. He still has a lot of the muscle, but has lost some of the cardiovascular condition- We think some of the issues with weight come from all that muscle, plus the colder weather. He has a blanket on, and although he wasn't due yet I dewormed him with Pyrantel Pamoate on the 21st. If that doesn't help in a month I'll try Ivermectin, but I don't think it's worms.

He is fed high-quality (We grow our own) Alfalfa-Grass hay, approximately half a bale a day. (Each bale weighs approximately 50-60 lbs) He gets 13 lbs of grain per day, split into two feedings. (ADM Patriot 12%) I add soybean oil to each feeding of grain liberally. He's on pasture during the day, although that's going to be useless once it snows. He doesn't eat all of his feed in one sitting- He tends to pick through hay and grain alike, but he eats it eventually. He's never been a food horse, so this is normal. We add some molasses to the grain to entice him to eat more of it, which works well. He doesn't like sugar.

So, any suggestions on how to get more calories into him? We've been feeding him low-starch feeds because he gets rather hot on sweet feeds and the like, but he's been more lethargic under saddle lately- Likely due to a loss in condition as much as anything- so for the sake of more calories I might introduce some in, slowly so as not to shock his system. If he doesn't start gaining weight, or continues to lose it after deworming with ivermectin, we're calling the vet in. He's old and we did a lot of travel this summer- I wouldn't rule out ulcers. He's probably at a body condition score of a 4 now- He's never been one to put on weight easily, unlike the obese warmbloods on the place, but I'd like to see him more at a 5-6-7 going into winter. It's not too cold yet, high 40s to high 30s, but still....

Hey,

I'm a senior in High School this year, and, as I work on submitting applications, my mind invariably turns to happier things- Researching laptops. My dad has promised me a new one for college, but I want to get the best for his money, and I'd ideally like to set my sights on something I could pay for myself, if it came to that for some reason. I currently have a Dell Inspiron 1527- I don't remember how old it is, but I've had it for several years and it's in dire need of replacement- It could be fixed, but I'm not letting my dad sink any more money into the thing, so I've just stopped telling him when something on it stops working.

Anyways, these are my tenative criteria:

- I want a real laptop, not some puny netbook-like thing that is crippled if I try to download something and watch Hulu at the same time. This being said, size isn't a huge issue, as long as it isn't some terribly bulky, heavy monster. My backpack currently weighs in at about 25 lbs and I can handle that fine, so lugging around an 8 lb laptop really doesn't bother me much.

- I want something that comes with Windows 7- My Dell has Vista. Enough said.

- It should have decent gaming capabilities, but it doesn't have to be fantastic. Enough for the Sims 3, probably- I'm not big on computer games, but I'd like for it to be able to run and support some relatively well.

4. Ample memory and hard drive, decent graphics, decent battery life, ect. ect.

5. Under $600. Preferably a good amount under that, but that's my personal roof.

Color doesn't matter to me much, nor does having a webcam built in. My Dell has one, and I've yet to use it seriously.

Any reccomendations or experiences are appreciated!

Also, what are the general opinions of the different brands? I was happy enough with my Dell (Before it started dying, that is), but I've heard HPs are really nice. Opinons? (I'm a Windows person, so no Macs)

I've been dating this guy for a little over a week, and today I went over to his place to hang out. Long story short, we ended up on his bed, him trying to tickle me. My shirt worked down, and you could see my bra, and although I pulled it up I realized- and said as much- I really didn't care. I mean, it doesn't mean anything to me- It's not like it's some big secret I have boobs. Same with touching them- So? Nothing special to me, honestly. This attitude transfers to other physically-based things as well.

So I'm just wondering- Could my attitude of "Whatever, it's just flesh" cause me to be too easy? Should I work to try to worry about it more?

I recently sold something to a woman for $500. She gave me a check in advance, and I deposited it the next day- This was on the 21st. I got a letter today saying that the check was bad because of NSF, plus a $15 fee and a legal copy of the check in question.

I have had contact with the woman and I guess she didn't have the money in the bank when she wrote it due to something, but does now. I still have the item that she paid me for- I don't think she was trying to cheat me.

So what do I do? Do a need a new check from her, can I use this "legal version" of the check to try again so to speak? Thanks!

This is going to be long. I'm really, really sorry in advance. :P

I've never really been much into the dating thing- Some flirting here or there, but I have always been too busy for it to be anything serious. I'm 17, and kinda-dating a friend of mine- I'm just really unsure if I should give him a chance, a real one, or just drop it.

I've known him since middle school, and he's dated basically everyone in our group and then some. He's in my grade and actually pretty nice- Which, I hate to admit it, is really good for him. He's smart but doesn't really apply himself, can be a little melodramatic and woe-is-me-ish, and has a terrible reputation. Not for like crime or anything like that (I go to a "small town" school of 1800- A bad rap for crime would be like destruction of school property or something lol. Just for personality and dating- He can be a tad clingy, and is in general known for being weird, except to his friends. He's not popular, not really- I mean, within the circles he travels he is, but those circles are lower on the food chain. I guess he's just not....stable. He's not terrible looking, but he's not drop-dead gorgeous. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs002.... Dating or otherwise associating with him on a relationship level has a terrible social kickback- The teasing is bordering on merciless. Hell, I've participated in it.

But I went as his date to Homecoming, as a friend thing, and we kinda hit it off. We had fun and I probably let him get away with/ encouraged more than I should have. I do like him and would like to give it a chance, but I'm fighting with myself.

He's asked me out, although not in so many words. He was going to do it on Wed, I guess, but I "guessed" it earlier.

I said we'll see where it goes, and I'm trying. It's just that I guess I'm second guessing myself- I say that I like him, and at the same time I think of all the things wrong. I say I had fun, and at the same time I'm wondering what others thought. I hang out with him in the morning and am really jittery because I'm worried about what others will think and say. I know I shouldn't- And I'm honestly considering pushing on with it just to get over myself- but I do. I'm just not quite self-confident enough, I suppose.

I mean, he's had some mess ups- His status after the dance made it sound like we were doing a LOT more than we were, and he tagged me in it. We're going to the movies tomorrow and he felt the need to tell everyone in his 3rd block class. I told him to keep his mouth shut (Except nicer than that, lol) and that helps, but I guess I worry most about when we break up. He's very into this, and we are not even officially dating- I think getting rejected a lot has made him a little overzealous. He's been getting up an hour and a half earlier than usual so he can meet me at school (I get there very early), insisted on buying my ticket for the movie, and is 99.9% going to give me some sort of jewelry. (I don't really care for gifts, they just make me uncomfortable) I'm just worried that he thinks of this as being more than it is, and that it'll really hurt when it crumbles. I'm willing to give it a chance, really- I am. I want to. But realistically I'm doing this for fun, not because I think I could marry him. I want to tell him to back off a tad, but I don't want to turn him off or hurt his feelings.

So what do you guys think?

In April I took the ACT plus Writing, and got a 28 composite. My writing score was a 9, my combined English and Writing was a 28.

This September I took the ACT again, this time without the writing portion. I managed a 31 composite, with a 34 in Reading and a 31 in English. (I wasn't able to finish the math in time so that brought me down score-wise)

Some of the colleges I am applying to require a Writing score, and I know some colleges will let you skip out of a Freshman Writing course if you received a certain score on the ACT Writing/English composite.

Does this mean I have to submit the test with the writing (The 28) to these schools rather than my more recent test, or can I submit the Plus Writing as a separate score from the ACT composite? I really do not have the time to take the ACT again, as I'm a senior and really need to start getting applications in. Basically I'm just kinda confused about the whole thing- The ACT site is no help, and neither are the colleges.

Thanks!

Hey,

So I just got my hair dyed (again) today, and tomorrow I'm going to run out to the store for some hair stuff. (I've decided my straightener has had it) I figure that while I'm there I might as well pick up some more shampoo and conditioner, considering what I have is almost out.

Currently I've been using Herbal Essences, and I really haven't been too impressed, except for the smell. So I'm thinking of switching. My hair is very fine, and although there is a lot of it it tends to lack volume. I've heard good things about Pantene and their line for fine hair, so I was thinking of trying that.

However, there are also the John Frieda products. I've used them before, but switched for awhile when they were unavailable and never switched back again when they were back. I know they have some dye in them that helps maintain added color, and seeing as I've dyed my hair a reddish shade I'm wondering if maybe I should get their Radiant Red Shampoo and Conditioner- If I had bleached it blonde I wouldn't worry, but the reds fade so quickly. But I'm not sure how it works with keeping hair soft, shiny, ect. without weighing it down.

So, I'm torn. Has anyone had experience with either of these products? Any suggestions for any other products?

Thanks!

Can you answer these questions? With pictures if you can? (If you present multiple breeds, do it per breed) If you do not present a certain breed but rather a certain type (I.E- Hunter) then that works as well.

1. What breed/type you present

2. What discipline this animal will likely be competing in (If the halter classes you show in are all the horses do, just say so)

3. How the horse should stand (Pictures would be wonderful)

4. How he should be turned out. (Mane long and natural, pulled, banded, trimmed, braided? Horse body clipped, muzzle trimmed, or left natural? Mineral oil and hoof shine? Roaching the mane at all? Ribbons, tack, ect?)

5. What, under no circumstances, should NEVER be done when showing that breed/type of horse in hand.

6. What is ideal for that breed/type, that you want to exaggerate. (Example: In many Hunter in hand classes they seem to like horses that are built slightly downhill, so one would probably try to avoid setting up their horse on a slight uphill slope if possible)

Thanks! I'm thinking I'm going to try to go for my USPC H-A test next year, and part of that is that we are given a horse off of pasture and have to present it as if for sale, as appropriate for the breed or type. We also have to ride it if applicable. (So, praying I get an unbroke 3 year old!) So if you get a Saddlebred, well, you better make it look like a Saddlebred, even if you have only ridden/shown Warmbloods.

So this weekend we had the final JDRP clinic with Becky Holder. It went really well- It was focused more on the long-format eventing, so we did Roads and Tracks, Steeplechase, and XC. Loads of fun.

But because of Steeplechase and the XC being in the woods (A little greasy) everyone who had holes drilled were using studs. However, there was a little dispute over what they used exactly that made me wonder what YOU guys have heard and the reasoning behind it.

I've always heard to put your business studs (Mud studs, Grass tips, ect.) on the outside, and road studs of the same size on the inside, just to even it out so not as much torque is created when the horse lands. I've also always heard to only stud the fronts when it's really bad, and when you do to not stud as heavily as the hinds because when you jump the horse needs to slip a little on landing, and having large studs prevent this, causing extra shock to the legs.

So, I had medium grass tips on the outside of his hinds, and medium road studs to the inside of his hinds. None on front.

But others did/said this:

- Put only one stud on the outside of all four feet; That way, if the horse takes a funny step, the hoof can still pivot.

- Put full grass tips behind.

-Put studs only on the outside; none on the inside.

So, what have you heard and what do you think? Becky recommended doing what I did, so I'm not worried about my methods, just curious.

Okay. So. We are boarding this winter (In the summer we're at home) at a little place that's a GREAT deal- Indoor, heated arena, and $300/mo for a 12 x 10 stall. $180/mo for pasture board. I'm wondering if YOU think I could do all these things.

1. We are going to board my show horse there this winter, and I am going to ride him 6 days a week for about an hour- 1.5 hours per day. He's 20, and NEEDS to be kept in condition- If I loose the condition, it won't come back easily if at all. This is what I did last year, and it's going to happen.

2. I have school. It's my Senior year, but I'm not slacking off at all- I have CIS (College in Schools, basically a college course taught by HS teachers) Microeconomics, AP Physics, Companion Animal Science, AP Biology, CIS Animal Science, ECIS Writing, and then 2 PSEO courses (Also college courses). This is similar to the course load I had last year, but I'll be kept busy.

3. This is the question. I think I want to bring in one of our Greenies, to work with. I'd pasture board her, and I'd be paying for it- Not a problem. I wouldn't be riding her as much, maybe only 4 times a week or so, and it wouldn't be for as long- She's green. But I still would work her.

4. A job. I'm applying anyways, but this would be especially important if I want to board this green mare. My parents will foot the bill for my show horse, but not for her- Right now I have enough for about 2.5 months in my checking account, so I'll need to work for it. I would offer to work at this place, but they already have great help that's been there forever, so I don't think they'd be open to me working off board, although I might ask (If I did, It would probably be me feeding stabled horses before school, and working some weekends. My weekends are busy.) If I do get a "real" job, I would try to get shifts after school and on the occasional weekend. :/

I'd love to board this mare, but I'm just skeptical if it's realistic that I can do all of this without turning into a zombie. I would consider getting up early (4), going and working the mare, showering and getting dressed for school, go to school, come home and ride Lele, then work, but the barn doesn't allow riding before 9 AM or after 10 PM. :/ This is actually why I've put off getting a "real" job- My schedule is just so hectic, even without a second horse to ride! I'd probably be working as little as I could without making too little money or losing my job.

I would also try to do this BEFORE we moved in to this barn. We'll probably go in in November if this warm weather keeps up, which means I'll have school in session for a couple months before I have to decide. Like I've said, I've submitted applications, and so hopefully I'll get a job before that as well. (I have previous working experience, and I was always on time and good with people, never fired/disciplined, ect. ) So I should be able to try this out beforehand to see if it's feasible- The travel time to this new barn is not an issue, as it's literally 5.5 miles away from our house.

So. What do you guys think? Do you think you could do it?