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I have drawn up the rough idea of the tattoo and I know what I want it to say, but I'm no expert in the use of Ogham and would like someone I could email the picture of the work so far and what it's supposed to say and help me make letter/grammatical corrections as needed to be as close to proper as possible without actually crossing the language barrier. I'm simply using Ogham lettering in place of English letters, not too difficult, I just want it to be right before I put it in my skin.

My grandpa wanted my younger cousin and I to sort through our late grandma's jewelry to find anything we wanted to have from it. She didn't have a lot, but I did find a ring which seems to be made from bone or ivory and on the face of it, it has this inverted triangle symbol.

The symbol is like this: http://i.imgur.com/0kL2a.jpg

And the ring itself: http://i.imgur.com/STqEL.jpg

Sorry it's blurry, it was super close to the webcam. And sorry I'm hiding back there behind my hand. lol

But anyway, does anyone have any idea if/what it means or, if it's just a design, where it might have originated?

Ok, so here's the deal. I'm 21. I've moved out before and I lived with my then-bf for a year and a half when I was 18. I'm back with my parents now because I can't afford to live on my own. This isn't, however, because I'm lazy or have poor money management skills.

I work two part time jobs, and between the two get 35-45 hours a week. I work my butt off. I don't pay rent, but I do all of the cleaning around the house, help buy food, and take the responsibility of taking care of all of the animals.

But this is what I get in return: No privacy. No trust. I don't really understand it. I'm not allowed to bring friends home, I'm not allowed to go out or be out late, if I go somewhere and I'm gone for more than an hour or two, mom's calling asking "Where are you at?! Are you going to be home soon? What's going on?" I'm not allowed to go on a date with someone unless I share every last detail of how I met the person and what the person is like. Basically, I'm allowed to leave the house to work without their permission but that's pretty much it.

Since I can't afford to live on my own, what the heck am I supposed to do in this situation? I've been looking to get a room mate maybe and move out again and split all the bills, but I'll be leaving for college again next fall and might not be able to live out a year long lease on an apartment.

I just really don't know what to do about it. What would you suggest?

Lately I've been riding with a friend on her Paso Fino's. They are big for paso's, if that makes any difference, wider in the back and around 15 hands or so.

After going trail riding (in saddles custom made for each horse that fit well (or seem to fit well, from my own experience with saddles that don't fit my own horse)) the western pads we've been using with the gaited saddles slip back, but the saddles stay in place. On the mare she uses a shaped canvas pad with a non slip neoprene bottom, but it still slips. On the gelding she uses a felted square pad.

Both saddles are fitted with a breast collar.

Whats the best way to prevent western pads from sliding back? Is it because of their shoulders, especially going up/down hill and stuff? Its pretty annoying to have to stop every so often to ungirth and fix the pads before taking off again. What about putting a non slip cover (like those non skid dish things that you get from the kitchen ware isle) on the top (and maybe the bottom) of the pads? For instance, sewing or gluing that on?

I recently took a job at a boarding stable (which is based in Natural Horsemanship, though only a few of the boarders participate in NH) and over the past few weeks, I've really gotten to know most of the horses. One of them, an Appy, had shown to be a nice, quiet horse, I felt comfortable going into his stall with him or in the paddock with him, even when carrying out the grain buckets.

Teddy, the Appy, can safely be turned out with the geldings and a small group of mares, there are three mares and four geldings (including Teddy) in this pasture and they all get along. In the other pasture, it's all mares except for one little gelding which is a 13hhish mustang. There's a paddock system in place, where all the horses are brought into the paddocks at night for their dinner and let back into the pastures in the morning. Two of the mares in the first pasture going into a paddock by the second pasture, and a gate between the two pastures has to be opened for them to go through.

Everything was rolling smoothly until Teddy charged the gate, crashed through, and started attacking the mustang gelding, and one of the other geldings made it through the gate, too, and ran after, trying to get between Teddy and Kota. The barn owner, who does not own either of the three geldings, was there and we were working very hard to get them all separated and get Kota in any paddock we could. We finally got them all separated, and got them all sorted out and in their proper pastures.

Obviously, this was not safe. I, as a stable hand, don't have much say over how the horses are trained and which owners need to find another place to keep a horse (or three, as the person that owns Teddy also owns the two mares that we were trying to get into their paddock) and after we got the situation sorted out, I was talking with the barn owner, and she was saying that she's told the owner time again that her horse is very aggressive and the owner keeps saying that she doesn't see it. She lets her 12 year old daughter work with the horse and she likes to 'ride' when in the stall, which is against barn policy. I can understand if they don't always see it, they are rarely out there and I've been working there for two weeks and it took until now for me to see it. And "aggression" is an understatement. The other horses were still in a reactive state of mind, watching Christine and I and flicking their ears at us. Teddy was not, he was on one track, and that was to get Kota.

I'm not saying all Appy's are like this, when I was younger, I rode my friends Appy, who was blind, with no saddle and just a halter, and she was wonderful.

So anyways, I guess I'm asking, what are our options? Is there a way I can prevent this, or anything? I know we have to get permission from the owners to do any work with any of the horses, other than what is necessary for feeding and turn out and first aid as necessary. I'm really fond of the other two horses that she owns, and would hate to see them go, but something has to be done with Teddy, the barn owner said that that was not the first time that had happened, and that he has beaten up other horses before, and it took them a long time to find a group he could safely be turned out with. What would you guys do in my position?

I'm not particularly scared of this horse now, and will treat him no differently as I had been, but I am definitely aware of what he's capable of, and I keep thinking, what if gets that aggressive with me when I'm in the paddock or his stall? He has respect for human space when hes calm, but he nearly ran over me yesterday when he came at the gate and I had to hurry and get out of the way because even if I could have stopped him, he wouldn't have been able to stop in time.

I'm really stressed about this horse, and feel bad for little Kota, who is the kindest, sweetest little horse I have ever met.

I was riding down the road today on my horse, and we passed two dogs. The first stood up and barked at us, and I said "No!" and kept my horse moving. It stopped barking for a moment, and then started again, but didn't follow us. This one, I'm not worried about, and neither is my horse.

A little way after that, I passed a house where new people had moved in. I've been by there a few times and didn't know they had a dog. I heard it growling at us this time, and when I looked, I saw it slinking (like kinda crouched down the ground) and inching its way around the car towards us and growling. My horse stiffened up and started to get nervous. There was no way to avoid it, my only option was to continue past it or turn around and go back, because right across the road from the house, the road drops about 12 feet into a creek bed, which I don't think I have to say how going over that would have been dangerous, and then the dog on the other side.

Most advice for stopping a dog attack is to stand still and be in a neutral position facing away from the dog, but that isn't possible with a horse, or at least, not with my horse. He's still in the training phase, and though I trust him to not care about a lot of spooky things, a dog giving attack signs is not something I trust him to keep a level head around. I'm afraid if the dog attacks, my horse will attack with a kick or a strike (meaning a hit with a front hoof) which could kill or really injure the dog, or he will take off. I don't know if I could stay on if he took off, and if he takes off, it's probably going to cause a chase response in the dog.

So how can I discourage a dog from approaching me on my horse without startling the horse? Do I make a loud sound? Attempt to get the horse to remain neutral? Keep riding past? I don't know! My dog never had a problem with situations like this, and I never had a chance to learn how to deal with a situation like this. If I were to go the other way down the road, the neighbors on the other side of the house have a small white terrier that runs up and barks, and that spooks the horse too. So no matter what way I go down the road, I'm likely to have this situation.

Help!

As a lot of you know, it's been really hideously dry here in the Midwest. That means my pasture is as dry as a bone and quite dusty.

So I'm thinking that is why over the past few days I've noticed my horse coughing, it's somewhat frequent, one or two solid coughs every half hour or so, roughly. He also wheezes a bit after getting worked up and running around the pasture.

He doesn't have any discharge from eyes or nose, stool is normal, temperature is normal.

I checked the hay for mold and dust, but it seems normal, the same stuff he's always been getting. He doesn't get grain, so there's no possibility of dusty grain. His water bucket is cleared out every day and fresh water twice a day.

Basically, everything is the same and normal other than the fact that he's coughing and has a bit of a wheeze.

The only things I can therefore think might be causing it is the dry, dusty conditions we're having this year, or maybe a change in climate? Tell me what you think!

By the way, I do plan on calling the vet if I see it getting worse at all or if it stays the same.

I'm not a big girl, but I'm really curvy. I'll just get that out of the way now. I'm currently wearing a 36G. The bra was bought from one of the Lane Bryant stores (Lane Bryant, Romans, Woman Within, one of those ones.) When I lost a lot of weight, and was looking for fitting bras (as I didn't lose anything off of the measurement of my chest, but lost a lot off my rib cage, meaning the relative cup size has gotten bigger while the number got smaller) it seemed that the sizes went like this in the US: AA, A, B, C, D, DD, DDD (E), G, F and so forth, with the G being smaller than the F. Doesn't seem right. In the UK the sizes are properly linear, with G being bigger than an F.

I've lost more weight and my rib cage is now measuring for a 34, but I have no idea what cup size to look for. I'm so confused! Do I look for a 34G? A 34F? A 34GG? HELP!

Also, it doesn't help that there are no stores in my area (even the lane bryant stores) that carry sizes in stock for big chested women. Means I can't just go try on a bunch, I have to order online, usually.

I'm currently in an interesting situation. I'm moving back to my parents house, and my horse has to come back with me. If I cannot find a place to stable him nearby, then he will have to stay in our barn. I just have one question.

What can I use to store bedding in? Our barn is not 'wind proof' as it does not have a door on the front of it. (Old Amish style, I guess, since they made it for my grandparents when they lived there.) Anyways, there is a lean to on the side of the barn, but it only has one wall, the other three sides are open.

So would something like an old dumpster work? A clean one, obviously. What do you horse people use to store your shavings?

I want to start a home photography studio, and I'm pretty sure the first year or two will be slow. I heard somewhere that if you make less that $3000 annually, you don't need a vendors license. Is this true, or do I need one anyways? I intend to get one, I just need to know if I can start setting up appointments now or do I need to wait until I have the vendors license?

I've been looking for a specific image graphic out of an ad that I've seen several times in Western Horseman magazines over the past decade or two. I don't know if it's been in any recent ones, no place around here that I see frequently (like Wal-Mart, Meijer, or Kroger) carries that magazine anymore, so I never have a chance to look.

Anyways, the image in the ad that I am looking for is of a bulky horse, but the horse is made of smokey looking swirls, either blue and purple colored or black and purple. It's a side shot of the horse. I don't remember what the ad was for, but I've seen it in the advertisements in the very back of the magazine and also in ad form in other places in different issues of Western Horseman.

If any of you know which ad I'm talking about, I would love if you could tell me what the ad is of or if you could find an image of it to link me to. If you have Western Horseman magazines available, please look through them real fast to see if you can find it.

Thanks.

Not right now, but sometime in the future, I'm considering buying a new horse. Being as I'm getting into endurance riding, I want a horse that has a conformation for speed and durability.

I've narrowed my breed options down to another Morab, that is, a Morgan X Arabian, because the Arabs are notorious for their speed and stamina, while the Morgans are known for their smooth trot and wide chest, which, in the Morab, creates a very good respiratory system.

Now, what else should I look for that would give clues about the horses ability to move quickly and smoothly? I've read that horses with high withers, once fitted with a proper saddle that won't inhibit the movement, will have a wider range of motion through the shoulders, which creates a longer stride and faster movement. What else can I look for?

My horse is currently on a diet of two-three flakes of hay twice a day, with daily (or nightly) turn out, weather permitting. With the hay, he gets fed a scoop of 14% pellets twice a day.

My horse is a Morab, a cross between Arabian and Morgan bloodlines. He's very energetic and gets lunged twice a week at least. So the question is, if I were to take him off of the 14% pellets and let him have free choice hay as he wishes, would this help bring his energy level down a bit, but still allow him to get all of the calories and nutrients he needs?

Because of his energy level, he is not an easy keeper, and very quickly goes from fit to way too thin if the feeding is messed with.

In the time that he has been in the stable, he has gotten more energy, and has put on weight from the lean side of fit, to fit. Before we moved him, he was on an 8% feed that was rich in nutrients but very low in sugars and molasses and stuff. He was much calmer and easier to deal with.

I've been advised to take him off of the pellets and put him on free choice hay 24/7 but I'm afraid he is going to go back to being too thin. Ideas and Suggestions?

My boyfriend accidentally chipped one of his back teeth, a wisdom tooth, yesterday, on the outside face (the face nearest the cheek, not facing in at the tongue) and when he looked in the mirror at where it had chipped, there was pink, healthy gum that had been under the tooth in that area, like the crown of the tooth wasn't connected to anything under it, and was just sitting directly on the gum.

What could this be?

I'm looking for a pair of gloves (either a small in mens or a medium or large in womens) that are like weightlifting gloves. They need to be fingerless, and the I need something with a good grip surface on the palms.

All the gloves I've found have suede on the palms, which doesn't give me the sticky grip I need. (As for why I need them, I've gotten into the sport of Parkour, and I don't want to develop calluses on my hands since they aren't very pretty and I'm a dancer and need to keep calluses and blemishes to an absolute minimum.)

So, if you could point me to a place with gloves like this, I would appreciate it.

Also, I've already tried Nike's website and didn't find any without the suede palms.

My lovely gelding is now five. While he does very well with a bit, the last time he had a bit used on him was quite some time ago, and I know that when male horses turn five, or about that time, their wolf teeth start to come in.

I'm wondering if I put the bit in his mouth, how will I be able to tell if it is causing him pain?Generally, I can tell that he acts different when he is hurting about something, but with a bit, he has always been one to mouth at the bit and chew at it, and occasionally toss his head at it, but nothing severe.

So what do horses usually do if the bit is bumping their teeth and causing pain?

P.S. I do plan on getting the wolf teeth removed if they seem to cause him pain, but I figure if it doesn't bother him I won't worry about it.

Also, do horses have to have their canine teeth come out too? I would imagine that those might get bumped a lot more than the wolf teeth, being right there in the front of the mouth.

I have a leather western bridle that was given to me, and it came without a throatlatch. I'm concerned that if the horse acts up or tries to flip his head about, the headstall will come off without there being a strap to go under his jaw and hold it down.

My horse is still pretty green with riding, and I don't want to risk anything with him. What do you think? There aren't any loops for adding one, so if I wanted to add one to it, how would I go about it? If I leave it as is, do you think it would come off?

Thanks for any advice you give.

I've been trying to figure out what's the deal when granny smiths start to turn red on one side? It's like its blushing, with a slight red tint covering one area of the skin, with brighter, darker red specks that remind me of pores.

The rest of the apple tastes fine, but the reddish area tastes... not bad, really, but not right. A bit more bitter, not as sweet or tart with a more chemical taste.

I figured I might as well ask here since I can't find answers anywhere else.

I also asked this in the food section, but someone suggested I try here in the Botany section, and I thought that made sense, plus they didn't have any certain answers, either.

I've been trying to figure out what's the deal when granny smiths start to turn red on one side? It's like its blushing, with a slight red tint covering one area of the skin, with brighter, darker red specks that remind me of pores.

The rest of the apple tastes fine, but the reddish area tastes... not bad, really, but not right. A bit more bitter, not as sweet or tart with a more chemical taste.

I figured I might as well ask here since I can't find answers anywhere else.

My parents are very Christian... Well, at least my mom is. I'm pondering whether or not to tell my parents, but I'm afraid of hurting them, especially my mom.

So I've been wondering how many Wiccans have come out of the "broom closet" to their parents, how they did it, and how their parents took it. So if this applies to you, I would appreciate any input.