!*With Smoke Comes Fire*!

I read a book quite awhile ago, and want to find it again but I have very few details about it, and no title or author... These are the details I remember: The main character is a boy, who is in a prison of some sort. The only way to make food is by usuing a magic ball, but if you use it wrong it burns whatever part of you it is touching. The boy can make apples, but only apples because there was always something magical about an apple orchard he was close to as a child. There was also something about a cliff in this prison, and maybe a kite.... I know it's a long shot, but any ideas? Thanks!

My farrier diagnosed my QH mare with the very beginning stages of laminitis yesterday... She has a tiny red dot in the laminae of each hoof, but she is still sound. She's currently overweight, and I was hoping to wait until the snow flies, and then feed grass hay only, but that isn't going to work... I need to limit her pasture, but I'm not sure what is best. I've been told to turn her out at night when the grass isn't photosynthesizing, and keep her in a dry lot during the day. What do you guys think?

Kinda down in the dumps today, so I figured what better way to cheer up than hearing other people's funny horse stories! I'll share my most recent one with you to get started! So yesterday I spent the day with a good friend. Since her horse pasture is on the way back to my house, I told her I would toss hay to her horses for her. We got wrapped up watching a movie, and I didn't leave her house until 10 o'clock PM. I finally got out to her horse pasture at 10:15, and of course, it's way out in the middle of nowhere, and it was an overcast night, so it's pitch black. I recently unloaded my truck, so I didn't have a flashlight, other than the small one on my phone. I follow the hose through the pasture to the dry lot and hay storage. They had redone the fence recently, and I hadn't seen it since. I looked around, finally found the gate into the dry lot, and let myself in. They had finished off the open bale, so I had to pull one off the stack. Now, they just bought hay a few weeks ago, so there were 6 tons of small square bales stacked 7 bales high in a small area... I get through the million bungee cords on one corner, and go to pull the free bale from the top, while I stand off to the side. It all seems to be going well until the bale below the one I'm pulling decides it wasn't to join the party too... Both bales land on top of me, knocking me over the upside-down water tub behind me and... straight into the electric fence... I'm laying against the hot wire with 130+ pounds of hay on top of me, so I do the only thing I can think of. I launch forward, shoving the bales off me, and face plant straight into the wire cattle panels... Once I figure out which way is up, I toss hay to the horses and call it a night. My friend and I had a good laugh over that, as did everyone else I've told! What are your funny horse stories? Thanks for reading! :)

I recently bought a 1960's or 70's western bulldogging saddle from a friend of a friend. It's it pretty good condition, but it's been in storage for 15-20 years without any maintenance. The leather was pretty dusty and dirty, but really not super dry... I saddle soaped it a couple days ago, but I wasn't sure if I should oil it afterwards. What do you recommend?

I'm looking for a new western saddle pad for my horse. I'm not sure what would be best for her. She doesn't need a riser, cutout, or anything else 'special' like that. I'm not sure if I should go with wool or fleece. Could someone please explain how they function differently, (If there is a difference that is), and which would be better? I mostly trail ride. Thanks everyone! :)

I got my mare in March, and found a seemingly amazing pasture deal. I pay $25 a month for 15 acres of pasture shared with two other horses. When I was first looking into the pasture, it took me almost three weeks to hear from her to know if I could lease the property. She told me she was waiting to hear back from the other person who has a horse and pony on the pasture. When I finally heard back from her, she said it was fine, so I went and bought my horse that evening, and brought her home. For the first month or two, everything was perfect. The pasture has plenty of grass, and my mare gets along with the other two horses on the pasture. Here is where problems started happening... The owner has a total of 20 acres of land that is divided into two pieces. One is 15 acres, the other is 5. My horse and the other two are on the 15 acre chunk, and for awhile the other 5 acres was empty, and we were going to rotate horses back and forth between the two pastures, so they don't overgraze it. About a month ago, I showed up to work my horse, and there were two other horses on the 5 acre pasture. I knew NOTHING of this until I saw them. I called the owner and asked her about them, and she said they will be there until at least the end of summer. There goes that chunk of pasture... Last week, I went to see my horse like I do every day, and there are four COWS on the 15 acre chunk.... COWS!!!! It bugs me to no end that she keeps adding animals to this tiny chunk of pasture... Do you think I'm over reacting, or do I have the right to be annoyed? The cows are eating down the pasture already, and I'm afraid of how soon I'm going to have to start feeding hay. I'm so frustrated with it, but I can't take my mare anywhere else. Do you guys have any suggestions? Thanks for putting up with the rant guys...

-Jess

I saw this picture on facebook, (it's pretty cute :) ), but then I saw this weird contraption on the mini/pony's face, and I was wondering what it is. I haven't seen anything like it before, but it looks like it might be some sort of bitless bridle thingy... Any ideas? Thanks :) Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1020050175...

Let me know if you can't see it!

I need someone to explain the different types of horse boots and wraps, and what they are used for. For example: bell boots, splint boots, polo wraps... Anything else you can think of. What situations should you use boots in? Thanks for the answers :)

So I have a question about round penning a horse. When you ask your horse to stop in the round pen, do you expect them to come in to you, or stay on the outside? My horse will stop, turn and face me, and then take a step or two towards me. I've only had her a month, and I've only had the the round pen set up for a week, so I've only been able to round pen her once. She's doing really well in the round pen as far as moving off body language and vocal cues, and changing directions the 'proper' way. I'm not sure whether or not I want to train her to come in to me or not. What do you think? What is your preference? For now, I'm okay with her stopping and facing me, because her attention is entirely on me... If I do decide I want her to come in to me, what is the best way to teach that? My idea was to attach a lead rope, and have her round pen like usual, but then when I ask her to stop, just gently pull her in. What do you guys think? Thanks!

My best friend/riding instructor (we'll call her K) has an amazing 16 year old gelding that I have absolutely fallen in love with over the past 3 years. He was the first horse I've ever ridden other than on dude strings, and he is the first horse I've ever bonded with. He has the greatest personality and is like a big puppy dog. I rode him for two years, and he and K taught me everything I know. He was a ranch horse for years, and he suffered an injury to his stifle, so he was sold to K. He was sound for years, but last spring his stifle injury popped up again. K was given the instruction by the vet to walk hills as a physical therapy for the injury. After a few months of doing that, we still hadn't seen any improvement so K took him back to the vet. After an exam the vet said the stifle injury looked great, there was no swelling or heat in the area there was before, but he was still lame. The vet looked him over again, and discovered he had ringbone. The ringbone is in the high motion joint and won't ever fuse, so he's in pain constantly, and he's finally gotten to the point where it isn't humane to keep him any longer, so he's being humanely euthanized sometime next week. K want's me to be there when he's put down, since we have such a great bond. I've never seen a horse euthanized before, and I was wondering if someone could tell me what happens in detail so I can prepare myself. I love this horse, and I'm super emotional as it is, so the more I can prepare myself before hand, the better. Please don't sugarcoat the experience... When they go down, do they flail or just go still like dogs do? Thanks for answering this really unusual question. Sorry for the small novel.

-Jess

Just a quick poll of sorts about your expectations when leading or riding your horse! Are you okay with your horse calling to other horses off the road, or it's pasture mate while it's walking? In my opinion, I don't care as long as the horse is still paying attention to me, not trying to run me over, or trying to pull away to get to the other horses, I really don't care. Some people I know flip out and jerk the poor horses face, or smack them with the lead rope for trying to communicate. What is your opinion? Thanks guys!!

Today, I needed to take my new horse to the vet (she had a lump I wanted checked). She loads and trailers very well, but when it comes time to back out, she refuses. When we got her to the vet, and tried to get her out it took me 30 minutes to get her out. She wouldn't back out, no matter how much I tried, so finally I decided to try and turn her around. She was in a fairly wide stock style trainer, and she has turned around in this trailer before with no problem. Granted, it is a tight fit, but she did it. This time however, she got stuck kinda sideways, panicked, and lost her footing with her back legs. Her hooves started sliding on the boards, and she ended almost sitting in the trailer. She finally got herself loose, and ended up facing forward again, panicked, breathing heavy, with a chip in her hoof... I let her calm down for a minute, then tried to back her out again. She backed closer to the edge than before, and finally (with a LOT of coaxing) stepped down with one back hoof, panicked again as the front of her cannon bone touched the trailer and hopped back up. After that I tried for awhile longer to get her to step down, but she refused. I finally looped her lead rope around her neck (safely, don't worry), and let her get out her own way. Once I was out of the trailer, she spun around without a hitch and walked to the edge so I could grab her and lead her out. She has some decent swelling on her ribs where she got wedged, and like I mentioned, the chip in her hoof. I CAN'T have a horse who is a danger to herself, and possibly others, to unload. I need help!! Getting a slant load or a ramp isn't an option because I don't have the money for it. She backs extremely well on the ground using body language and vocal cues without any pressure on the lead, but once she's in the trailer it's a completely different matter. I tried using a small dull stick to press into her chest while using lead pressure and vocal cues, but she still wouldn't back. PLEASE help!! Thanks guys!

A friend of mine is loaning me her round pen panels so I can have a round pen on my horse pasture to actually get some work done. We are moving it on Saturday, and I was wondering what the best way is to get it into a decently round circle. It's a 60 foot diameter round pen, so my idea was to measure out two 60 foot lines in the dirt or with lengths of rope, have them intersect in the middle, with all four angles at 90 degrees. From there we could just add the panels following the rope cross or "X' we had just made. Would that work the way I want it to? Does anyone else have any other ideas? Thanks!!

Sorry for so many questions recently! There's just so much to learn! So my mare and I are having an issue on walks where she will snatch a bite of grass at any moment she can, sometimes stopping, but other times grabbing a bite and continuing to walk. Whenever she does it, I give a tug on the lead and she'll pick her head back up and keep going, but some days (like today) she'll try to stop again three steps later. If I sense her head going down, I'll shorten the lead so she gets halfway, then feels pressure, and she'll stop. She is pretty responsive to pressure on her face, so that will stop her. My issue is it's only temporary! A few steps later she's at it again. I know she does it because she's gotten away with it in the past, but no matter how frequently I stop her in the act, she does it again. Any suggestions? Thanks!

-Jess

I'm looking for a good riding helmet that is fairly lightweight and well ventilated. Any suggestions? What have you used and liked? Thanks!

I have a 7 year old QH mare who somehow injured herself in the pasture when she was younger. I have no idea how, as I didn't own her at the time. I'm slightly considering showing her in western events as she gets a little older and I get her trained under saddle. I'm thinking something along the lines of barrels, poles, and trail all at low levels. Anyway, the scar I'm talking about doesn't seem to effect her movement or her abilities in any way, but it's a very big scar. It runs along her left hip and it about 1/8th to 1/4 inch wide and about 1 to 1 1/2 feet long. It isn't super noticeable, but it's definitely there. She's a very, very light palomino horse and it's a black scar, so it's there. Would this effect show scores at all? Thanks :)

Jess

Just a quick poll. What do you keep in your horse's first aid kit? Thanks!

-Jess

You know you're a horse owner when?

~You have bailing twine stored in your truck "Just in case"

~You can pull horse treats out of any jacket pocket you own

~You have more brushes and grooming supplies for your horse than you do yourself

~You've tasted horse treats or grain at some point in your life

~You think manure is a perfectly acceptable accessory

~You've uttered the words "That would be a great name for a horse"

~You have poked strangers in the ribs and told them to "Move over"

~If you aren't home or at work, people know to find you at the horse pasture

~You cluck at your car/truck to encourage it up a hill

I'm bored, so add your own!!! :)

Hi! Quick question!! Have you ever started a horse in a hackamore? Did you put them straight in the hackamore, or did you start them in a bit and switch them to a hackamore later on? My mare is 7 years old, and seems very responsive to pressure on her face from the ground in a halter, and she does pretty well with vocal cues. What do you recommend, and what have you had experience with? Thanks for answering!!

-Jess

I just bought a new horse a week ago, and so far she's been an absolute dream to work with. She's a 7 year old QH mare. She was started a couple years ago, had 6 rides, but then sat until I bought her. She has been progressing amazingly with groundwork and she doesn't seem to spook at much. We've done a lot of desensitizing and general "I'm gonna be stupid and you can still be calm" kinda stuff. the one issue we've been having so far is that she doesn't like her feet picked up. She will let me rub her legs and hooves all over without a problem, but as soon as I ask her to pick them up she freaks. With her front legs, I'll stand with my back to her head, run my hand down her shoulder and leg, then lightly pinch the tendon along her cannon bone and pull up very gently and slowly. She'll generally jerk her feet up quickly, and then try to either pull away, or slam her hoof back down. I can usually hold her front feet up even if she's pulling away, but I'm afraid she'll fall if I keep holding her, so eventually I just have to let her go. I'm not keen on letting her fall... With her back legs, I use the same procedure, but as soon as I give even slight pressure, she jerks her leg up, and will occasionally strike out at me before putting it back down. I had a farrier give me his 'expert advice' on how to get a difficult horse to pick up their feet, and then gave me a demonstration. He the proceeded to shove the end of his rasp into the horses cornet band so it would jerk it's foot up to get away from the pain. UGH!!! It seems to me like that's what this horse's previous owner did, as she seemed to panic a bit when I touched her cornet band or her hoof, but she's getting used that that. I still can't get her to hold her feet still though. Any suggestions?? Thanks!!

-Jess