Sabeth

I am getting a Mexican Red Knee (Brachypelma smithi) this week, it's a 3-inch female. Can you tell me roughly how old she is at this size? Thanks!

I was just checking out parakeets on the internet and they've sort of peaked my interest...at the moment I don't see myself committing to one but I'm wondering, is it very risky to have pet birds and cats in the same household? We have two cats, and I've read that parakeets need to be let out of their cages daily. With one or both cats in the house as well, this doesn't sound like a chance worth taking. Opinions?

Or does anybody own one? Don't know why but all of a sudden I am totally taken with Egyptian Arabians! I've never met one and doubt I ever will, so I was wondering if any of you have. If yes, what are they like? On the ground, in the saddle...anything you'd like to tell me about them I'd love to hear...thanks! :)

Not necessarily a formal job (although it can be that, too)...I mean even just riding the horse more often? Share your experiences?

My mare has a crack in the middle of each front hoof. I've had her 8 years and I think she's always had them. They don't hurt her in the least, they're pretty narrow and haven't ever caused a problem. They're just there...they have practically become just another part of her.

Anyway, I have a new farrier now because we moved a few months ago, and when I told him how my horse had had these cracks for so long, he said they may have something to do with the fact that she was once an Eohippus (did I spell that right?), which I guess was the prehistoric horse in its two-toed stage. I know that the chestnuts used to be a toe in prehistoric horses, but I have never heard of cracks relating to this. It struck me as really weird. What are your thoughts on this?

Btw, my mare doesn't have any underlying hoof problems, I have been told by my farrier that she has really good feet, and I have her trimmed regularly...I also am very dedicated when it comes to cleaning.

Say a horse goes through a horrible, traumatic experience and becomes dangerously aggressive...or a similar situation. In your opinion, do you think there ever comes a time when a certain horse can't be helped even by the best trainer in the world? And, if yes, what would be your course of action? Continue to care for the horse as best you can, or do you believe it's justifiable to end such a horse's life?

Myself, I'm not sure on this one. I would definitely exhaust all possible options if I were in such a position or had such a horse, but I don't think I have personally ever heard of a horse that just couldn't be helped and brought back around. So I'm hoping you guys can lend me your opinions. Thanks. :)

I decided to a little longeing today with my mare. There was a little bit of snow on the ground and I didn't know how slippery it was. Well, she started off kind of fast, bursting into a lope, and her hind feet slipped and she sort of "sat down". She got up immediately and kept going but I made her stop and of course didn't do any more longeing. She was limping for less than a minute and then she was fine...I felt both her hind legs but didn't detect any heat, and she's moving around fine. I'm just a little worried and feel kind of bad, too. I'm just asking for some input...anything I should look out for that may indicate a problem? I will check her again tonight. Thanks!

My favorite is a nicker...love it!

If I had to name my mare all over again, I think I'd give her a show name and then pick a shorter form to call her by. As it is I picked the name Ellie, which I really like, but I'm just wondering what a good show name would be to derive that name from? Any ideas? Thanks!

I have one basic lead rope that I use for all my needs, plus I just bought one to match my horse's new halter, so I have more than I need and they just take up space. Any ideas on how to put them to good use? I don't use them for leading anymore.

My mare is a grade and I would kind of like to know her breed (or breeds, if she's crossbred). I've heard DNA testing can determine breed, what exactly does this entail and is it very expensive? Thanks!

I've tied two red bows to either side of my mare's halter. She looks really pretty! I don't have a barn, but we keep all our farm-related stuff inside of our second garage which is attached to our house and the whole house is insanely decked out with lights! One time I tied a bow to our pasture gate but my horse ripped it off. :( What do you do with your barn and/or horses to prepare for Christmas?

Have a blessed and Merry Christmas!!!

I've heard it talked about on this site several times (always in a negative light) but don't know what it is or why it is so bad. Enlighten me?

I have an unbreakable rule with my mare: Under no circumstances is she allowed to push into me or crowd me, which I think is a pretty good rule to have. But should this still apply even when the horse is in a scary situation? I think it should but I was really wondering today. I take my mare on walks down the road and we always pass a farm that has pigs, she is afraid of them. The pig pens are on our right so when I'm leading her she doesn't want to be between me and them. She will get jumpy and walk right behind me, sometimes getting close enough to me to call it crowding. Anyway we were out today and she was very frisky on top of being nervous of the pigs, so she was crowding quite close to my back. I shook my rope at her to make her back up, and she did, but I felt kind of bad for reprimanding her at the same time that she was nervous. I don't want her to crowd me because if she had taken fright she could have run right over me, so I moved her back. Did I do the right thing? What would you do in this situation? Thanks!

I've learned from reading that spurs should be used for advanced training, like when the horse masters a certain movement involving a leg cue, and then spurs are used to refine his response, obviously never to gouge him with them. But that has me wondering, in the days of cowboys (I mean like back in the 1800s), what did they use their spurs for? I'm pretty sure refining technique wasn't their reason. Were spurs used just make them go faster? If that was the case, isn't it possible that the spurs caused the horses pain at times? I've heard of horses being cut from the misuse of spurs. Also, back then horses were broken with considerably harsher methods than are commonly used today. Cowboys forced a horse to accept the saddle by jumping on and hanging on through bucks and leaps until the horse just gave up. Natural horsemanship certainly wasn't "in", I don't think.

So back to my original question, what are your thoughts on the use of spurs, both back in the old days and today? Thanks!

I have already seen Dreamer, Secretariat, The Horse Whisperer, Flash, Black Beauty and War Horse. Can you recommend any other horse-themed movies? Also tell me if they are good, wholesome family movies? Thanks!

Thought this would be an interesting poll to take. In my opinion, it's never the horse's fault. Horses only know how to act like horses. They have no sense of right or wrong, to them everything they do is correct. Discipline can discourage a negative behavior, and that's what we humans use it for, but the horse doesn't think, "Oh, what I did was wrong"; he thinks, "Oh, I should think twice before doing that again!" No matter how bad a behavior is, the horse has a reason for it. They aren't malicious animals that are just looking around for an opportunity to be "bad".

So that's the way I see it. What about you?

Just out of curiosity. She cost $900 over seven years ago (bought from an older lady who wouldn't take anything less), and I'm wondering if that value may have dropped since then. Here are some pointers about my horse:

- She is about 19 years old, with a very mild, barely noticeable swayback. Even at her age, she still runs around her field like a loony sometimes, cutting tight corners and braking to really fast stops, and she's really fast. I don't know her breed, but she's 14.2 hh, and bay with no markings.

- She's in good health (current on vaccines for West Nile, tetanus and sleeping sickness), her hooves are kept up.

- Personality: She is very tolerant and easy-going. I put little kids on her for rides with no issues. I never even tie her up for things like tacking or grooming. I can even lie under her belly and not worry. She backs up just from a wiggle of the lead rope and you can throw a rope all over her and she won't move. She is a pro at trailer loading, she loves going for rides. All that said, she does have mare-ish tendencies. She leans very strongly toward the role of boss mare and is one of those horses that will test you almost daily to see where the relationship stands. She's always been that way...somewhat snooty, but also very good once you've established who's who. As a beginner years back, she gave me a hard time until I learned how to handle her, which is why I wouldn't feel comfortable letting her go to a beginner unless they had direct supervision from someone experienced. She's not a bad horse...just the opposite. She is just very testy and needs a good leader.

- Under saddle, she likes slow paces. She is an awesome trail horse. It would take a lot to make her spook at something. She will cross bridges, puddles, she's fine when branches and brush rub against her, she steps calmly over logs. She's very sturdy and unflappable. I ride her with just a rope halter a lot of the time and she does fine.

Did I leave any important info out that would have been helpful? If yes just let me know. Thanks for taking the time to read all this, and please be honest in your estimates. :)

I've known for a while that tom thumbs are like the "baddies of all bits", but have never really seen a good explanation why. Any enlightenment for me? Thanks. :)

With all the talk about Hurricane Sandy, I got to thinking about what I might do with my horse in case of a natural disaster. I live in the Midwest, so hurricanes aren't really a threat, but tornadoes are. In a tornado, you don't have much time to act. What would be your course of action if you did not have a barn, just a paddock surrounded by a wire fence, and no trailer to haul out? Someone once suggested that I bring my horse into the house (we do have a basement). I've also heard that it's best to turn horses loose in the hopes that they will run away from the storm (instinct must kick in here). Your thoughts?