Kit

A while back I adopted a dog from a friend. It was going to be euthanized due to some fear aggression issues. I took the dog, and took time to train it. Unfortunately we just didn't seem to click, and this dog tried to bite me a few times, and even attacked another friend unprovoked. I was really close to having the dog put down. But I have a relative that is a vet, and is very good with fearful/aggressive animals, so I gave the dog to him to train. His friend actually fell in love with this dog, and they have an amazing bond. It's like they were made to be together. The dog is just so happy-go-lucky with this guy. It's night and day to what the dog was like before. In fact, I was so convinced that these two were made to be together, that I gave the dog to this guy. They're getting along very well together, and I get frequent updates.

The foster owner wanted to see the dog recently, and got very upset when I said I'd given it away to a good home. They insisted that they could have trained the dog, and would've taken it back. But one of the things he was training was for it to give kisses by nipping, and that didn't sit well with me when the dog was already known to bite, so I didn't think he was the right owner for this dog.I've tried explaining that the dog has a permanent home, and is happy. But the foster owner doesn't seem to care about that, and just wants the dog back. He's even criticizing and insulting me on Twitter, but I'm just ignoring it. Should I just ignore him?

My 5 year High School reunion is coming up very soon, and my best friend (a female) is unable to attend. There was a guy in our class who started stalking her soon after graduation, and continues to try and contact her even 5 years later. (I won't go into a lot of detail, but she, being incredibly shy and naive, rejected his offer of a romantic relationship, and only wanted to remain friends. He continued to pressure her, and she cut off communication when it became too uncomfortable. He just won't take "no" for an answer.) The inventive ways that he has utilized to contact her just amaze (and scare) me. Needless to say, I try to keep an eye on his whereabouts, but he doesn't have any money to travel, and she lives 20 hours away now, so we think she's safe.

My worst fear is that he'll actually COME to the reunion and start questioning me about her whereabouts. If he does so, what should I tell him? I've thought of telling him that she won't be in town this summer because she's doing an internship overseas. I need to say something that is final, but not offensive. The last thing I want to do is offend someone that could be mentally unstable (emphasis on "could"; I'm just going off of his stalker habits over the past 5 years).

Anyone have any ideas? Serious ideas only, please. I am not going to tell him to "get lost" as that is just rude, and will probably only make the situation worse.

My teacher gave us this fake magazine clipping and asked us if it was an appropriate interpretation of what's said in the brochure. Here's what the clipping said,

"More than 75% of seniors who ate fish on a weekly basis had cholesterol levels that were 40 mg/dL lower than those who didn't eat fish."

She said that this ad assumes that eating fish on a weekly basis will lower your cholesterol levels by 40 mg/dL. Is that an appropriate interpretation of the ad?

How do I calculate the F statistic for a table that only has degrees of freedom and the sums of squares? No individual sample values are described.

Not very good with stats, so sorry if my question doesn't make sense.

I've been doing Western-style riding my entire life, and have recently been introduced to dressage. I was taking lessons with a woman who went to Meredith Manor. She also rode with the Royal Lippizzaner Stallions after graduating. It seemed like a pretty impressive resume to me, and I verified it with info I found on the internet, but I've been checking Centerline Scores, and scouring the internet for any dressage scores of hers, and I can't find anything. She did mention that showing is expensive, so I'm not sure if that's the reason or not. The people in my current barn take lessons from other instructors, both of which haven't gotten past 1st level. I'm not too familiar with the dressage levels yet, but I believe that's not too far...?

Anyway, the point is this: What are some good tips in looking for an instructor? What should you look for, as far as experience and requirements? For any discipline.

Personally, whether or not this woman has competed isn't too terribly important for me. She's an excellent instructor, and she bends over backwards to explain things in a way I can understand. I'm just asking this question, because I'm sure there are others out there that have had the same problem. When you come from a different riding discipline, you don't know what to look for or expect!

Any and all answers are welcome! :)

I recently bought a filly, and am in the process of training her. Unfortunately, I am going to a school that is located 3 hours from my home, so I have to board her here as well. The first boarding facility I had her at had good facilities, but they didn't keep them up. She went through a paddock fence because the voltage wasn't high enough (I could hold the wire in my hand for minutes). Then they fenced off old hay ground, that was probably 50% alfalfa and 50% clover/grass mix. She ended up colicking- which they didn't notice, even though she was aggressively kicking at her stomach & sweating up a storm. They refused to put her in a paddock afterwards, stating that she'd run through it before, and wanted to leave her in her stall, even though they had heard the vet say she needed to be placed in a paddock. They got angry that I called a vet in the first place, and said they could have treated her with painkillers and she would have been just fine. It was a mess... I got her out the next day.

The place we're at now has wonderful facilities, which they do keep up, and excellent care. But they just lost all of their pasture leases, so horses are rotated on small grass paddocks (which have already become dry lots). Horses in the "big barn" pay $500/mo for full care; I'm located in the "small barn" and pay $325/mo for self-care (everything included except I clean my own stall & pay for bedding, and I don't have an automatic waterer). They recently decided that all "small barn" boarders (all 2 of us) shouldn't have access to the paddocks that do have a bit of pasture, but instead should be put on the dry lots and fed lots of hay. So my filly was put in with 4 other young horses, and they fight over about one small square bale a day. They wanted to move her because she was "beating up" all of the others- but I'm quite sure it's because she's hungry. She's usually incredibly passive amongst other horses. I also clearly stated at the beginning that I didn't want this mare to get beat up, because she has to attend a keuring later on down the road. Now she has several scars, and I'm afraid her hair will grow back in white. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but she was expensive, and her looks really do have to be preserved until the keuring is over with (preferably afterwards as well, but you get my drift). I asked for her to be put in a small paddock by herself, but they don't have the room. I was also told that I only pay $30 more than horses left out on the dry lots continuously. I think that was their way of telling me to "shut up" and be happy with what I have. Needless to say, I'm planning on moving her to another barn as soon as I find one with suitable pasture and facilities.

Am I being too picky of a boarder? I don't nag, I try not to demand anything other than that they take care of my horse. Her getting kicked up is regretable, but not the end of the world. Horses will be horses. But most of the time I feel like I'm being treated like an idiot. One lady told me that they were putting my horse in with a gelding so that "she could befriend him, and then he would protect her when [they] put them both in with the other young horses." I was shocked at her ignorance.

I feel like I have to be forceful about her care, and I hate being that way. I paid someone to take care of her stall while I was away for 3 days, and I came back and noticed that she's dropped a lot of weight. I think that because I see her everyday, I just don't notice it. It really struck me. I've asked before for them to increase the amount of hay she gets, but I don't think they are. I have to sneak her hay every chance I get, which makes me feel shifty, and angry at the same time. Typically they feed them a flake in the morning & at night, and she has to share a square bale with 4 others during the day. But as I said, she's a growing girl, and a light draft breed, so she needs a lot of food!

Please give me your opinion on my actions. If you board horses, tell me what you look for in a boarder. And if you are a boarder, give me your advice and opinion. This sounds like a stupid question, but I'm not just asking for clarification on this. I'd like to know what other boarders have gone through, and how you all dealt with it. This is the first time in about 5 years that I've boarded a horse. Thanks!