Fly Inverted

I picked up a rescue horse late in the fall.. 20 year old reg. Q/H gelding, with a very pleasant personality. This was a high performance horse in his younger years. From his behavior and training, I am guessing he was a barrel racer. I am also guessing that he was used a lot, ridden hard, and the signs are that he was stressed in is early years. The fellow that gave him to me was using him for trail riding on maintained municipal trails. He had him for about ten years, and in that time the horse was ridden light, and more recently, he wasn't using him anymore, just keeping him as a pet. . However, the papers did not come with the horse. At some point in the past the horse was sold, and there was some kind of disagreement, and the papers disappeared. I am pretty sure this horse has really good blood lines, but I, and the previous owner, do not even know the horse's registered name.

The horse must have sustained a knee injury at some point. He has two good sized lumps of calcium deposit on the nearside fore knee, one inside and one outside of the front of the joint.. It does not seem to be painful, and I don't feel a lameness when I ride. I would describe it more as a bit of stiffness, depending on which lead he is on. The horse is in good shape otherwise. However, the knee is qiute stiff when lifted high, and the farrier will trim, but won't shoe him, because it will hurt to keep the foot up that high, and for any length of time. He trims with the foot out straight on his farrier's rest, rather than lifting it like he does with the other hooves. I am using him accasionally for short easy walking rides, 30 minutes or less, on groomed trails, If I think there is any pain, I won't take him out.

I am using linament like Tuttle's and Bigeloil. I have done a bit of research. My experience says I don't think I can do much with this problem. I have not consulted with a vet yet, but I will. The spring visit to the stable for anual shots (even for the barn cat) is not far away.

Sorry for the long story. I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions that might help a horse with a calcium deposit on the knee. I have seen some good suggestions for other problems in this forum. It doesn't hurt to ask for suggestions. Thank you for any response..

I found my 17 year old Q/H gelding at pasture this morning with what looks like a case of colic. The vet was over twice. The horse has been hydrated, tranquilized, banamine, both times. He pulled a lot of poop this morning, can't feel any blockage. Noises are right. Temp was normal this morning, but low (98.1 F) tonight. The horse has peed twice, pooped once tonight. Now the meds have worn off, and I am walking him again. I can't leave him in his stall because he keeps getting locked into a corner, so he is in the round ring for the night, up and down, clearly the problem is still there.

So here is my question. I suspect he has eaten something. The area is eastern Ontario. The pasture is rough, with some burdock and some wild parsnip. Someone (who was not familiar with horses) called this "poison parsnip" last year, in a conversation. It is supposed to be a skin irritant, but it never bothered me or the horses that way. We also have stinging nettles, some outside the fence, but none inside. (BTW, I am working at it)

What kinds of weeds in this area would cause colic symptoms ?

Any other ideas ?

Thanks for your help.

I got this text message a couple of days ago. I know the girl that sent the message, but have not seen her for a long time. I suspect the message is not for me but I am not sure. I can't find it in several dictionaries. My French is pretty good, but this is a problem.

"Tu veut tu calliser"

There is more to the message, but that is the problem. There may be a spelling issue there. It could be local, to Québec. I sometimes have trouble with local expressions. Can anyone help me with this one ?.

I am located in Ontario. I am trying to find out whether compression fittings are permitted on the oil tank supply line to the oil burner, or if flared fittings are required.

There is a lot of info out there. Most do not specify or even discuss the type of fitting. Some articles show galvanized pipe in the installation, which is wrong. Some show flared fittings in one installation, then use compression fittings in the next picture.

Is there an OBT or qualified technician in Y/A that can tell me what the Canadian National or Ontario code says?

I watch this program occasionally. The program does explain "incidents" effectively, from the point of view of the "layman". However, I find that the actor "pilots", when they are doing their bit to explain the situation, have clearly never been in the cockpit or flight deck of anything. I know they are just reading what the program writers have written, and I know they are actors, not pilots. . But for a program like this, that should have the facts straight, couldn't they be just a bit more professional, and consult with a pilot, so they know at least a little bit, what they are talking about ?

I have several cell[hones that I carry with me. I just got a new phone from one of my providers, and I am not fond of it. I have a bunch of nearly new out of service cellphones in my drawer. I realy like one of them, and I want to switch it.

Of course, the problem is, it is locked to a different network. I need to unlock it, so it will accept a SIM card from another service provider..

The service provider refuses to unlock it. I pointed out that it is my phone, I paid for it, but of course, they refuse. They just stand there and look at me like I am the problem.

So, there are all kinds of unlocking sites, almost all listed as free. Trouble is, when you ask them, they want your credit card so they can get money. (usually $39.95)(U.S.) So, they are NOT free.

Some of them don't ask for the IMEI #, which they need to find the code. I don't trust them. I have given my credit card # a few times for sites that look legit, and got nothing but a charge on my card.

I have an unlock #, but I am afraid to use it, because it really was free.

Any suggestions on how to handle this will be appreciated. The phone I want to use is a Samsung Galaxy 551

In my work, I have several phones on 24/7. My older Uniden Bluetooth would only connect to one phone. I have not tried this new Plantronics, I would like to know if it can be done, with all the phones on and connected at the same time. There is no mention of more than one phone in the directions. I am informed by the device, when I connect it, that it is connected to phone #1. The model # is M20.

I am about fifty miles west of Montreal. Watching the sky this evening, I saw what clearly looked like a satellite pass over, travelling from the northeast towards the southwest. It was quite bright, not as bright as Jupiter. It passed very close to Jupiter, almost occulting it, at 18h35 zulu. It faded out of sight about half way between Jupiter and Venus, as the reflection from the solar panels shifted away from my location.

I have a telescope. I know what the sky looks like. I fly. I know what is up there. This was not an airplane with landing lights on. I have seen it before. It definitely looks like a satellite, except it was moving in a westerly direction. It has always been my understanding that satellites are launched to travel from west to east, to take advantage of the rotation of the earth to help get the device up there.

Is this always the case, or are there some that are launched to travel against the rotation of the earth? If so, what is the purpose? What advantage would this have for a satellite?

Three questions came up during the Christmas turkey dinner yesterday evening.

1) Why is plum pudding called that, when there are no plums in it?

2) Why is mincemeat pie called that, when there is no mincemeat in it?

3) What is Mrs. Clause's name, given and maiden?

Thanks in advance.

I was reading a report in MacLean's Magazine today. The scientists at CERN are saying that neutrinos appear to exceed the speed of light. That means that these particles can arrive at their target destination before they have left the source. That means Einstein's Special Relativity is out. Is this true ?

I am wondering how the stars outside would be perceived as a spaceship approaches the speed of light. Let us presume we have a ship that can travel that fast, and can dodge space debris.

I have a good idea what you would see out the window, but I am wondering if what I think is the same as what others think. I do know that the Star Trek images of stars speeding past the windows is a twist of the theory of relativity, and was done for photo effect.

What do you think?

I've been watching those fire reports down in Texas. There have been times the bush was that dry here, but we have been lucky. There are lots of reasons you might need to move horses in a hurry. Are you ready?

I know not everyone has a horse trailer. My neighbour has a horse trailer, and I have not seen it move for at least a couple of years.

If you transport your horses regularly, your probably ready for an emergency. If you don't use your trailer regularly, do you keep it ready for your horses, with a written list of supplies that you might need to load in a hurry? Do you load your horses once in a while to keep them "up to date",

Do you have to unload a bunch of stuff before you can load your horses? Do you use it once in a while, check the lights, check the floor, and keep it in working order? Do you just let your trailer sit and collect dust?

I have a bit more time now, need something to relax with. I know a bit about music, since I used to play trumpet, but I've forgotten a lot of it. I know nothing of guitars. What should I buy as a starter? What about lessons? Any comments?

Pets like horses and dogs are very sensitive to behavior and body language, and pick things up from the people close to them. Most horses after a while will take on some of the personality traits of the master.

Does it work in reverse ? What I am wondering, have you taken on any of the personality traits of your horse?

The person involved admits to the record. I just would like to check the truthfulness and have more detail. All of the sites I go to say they have the info, but then want money. Even when they say Canada, when I pay, they only check the U.S. I thought this is public record, but everyone wants money, and then won't give me any Canadian information.

Thanks for your help.

A dog has five pads on each foot. If you look at a dog (or fox or coyote) track in soft ground or in sand, the centre of the track comes up to a point.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that a wolf has six pads on each foot. The sixth pad is in the centre of the foot, so the centre of the track is pressed down. Is this correct?

My wife's horse has an abscess in his hoof. She mixed up some epsom salt to soak the hoof. While she was getting the hoof cleaned up, she left it outside the stall door.

One of the other horses was being mucked out, got out of his stall, and drank some of it. He probably got somewhat less than a litre. He has a reputation for eating and drinking everything.

Now, I never considered it dangerous. I checked the package, and all it says is "Not recommended for oral use".

I am just wondering if anyone has ever had any bad experiences with this, or has any comment. I do not see any adverse reaction, some hours after the incident. I do not expect to see anything.

Please, we know the stuff should not have been where the horse could reach it. We are not that dumb. It was inadvertent. I am just curious if anyone has had experience with a horse or any other animal drinking epsom salt.

By the way, the abscess popped.

1) during one of the Apollo missions, there was a comet in the sky. The astronauts took a number of photographs of it. Which mission was it, and what was it's name.

2) about 1994 or 1996, there were two very beautiful comets in the sky in different years. Can anyone remember the names, and exactly which years? One was in the spring, visible in the Northern Hemisphere in March or April. The other one, I don't remember the time of year.

Thanks.

ostrich?

Now, I know this is the horse section.

I am not crazy. I know there are people that can do this.

I am a keeper of horses. I am just wondering what it is like to ride an ostrich. There are a few youtubes of the experience, and I even found a photo-shopped 2 legged horse that was running like an ostrich.

But, what is the experience actually like, compared to a horse.