smellshorsey

Manure Thieves Welcome

the smoke bothers me so we don't burn our manure pile. It grows and grows until a composting friend or relative comes to get it (and they are always so excited). But after a while, even your friends and relatives don't want your manure anymore.

So, when I read that there were manure thieves on the loose, I was excited. I thought I might put out a sign, "Manure Thieves Welcome. Steal All You Want." But it turns out they're in Germany.

Here's the story, excerpted from Fox News. There were no pictures, which I guess is a blessing:

BERLIN, Germany —  A woman trying to make "manure bombs" using stockings, slipped into a slurry tank and fled the scene naked, German police said on Friday.

   

Two women entered a farm in the northern village of Eberholzen on Wednesday evening and started to fill the stockings with manure.

 

"One of them slipped into the manure tank, right into the cow muck," said a spokesman for local police. "The other one helped her out. We found their clothes in a field. One seems to have run off completely naked, the other in her underwear."

 

Police said it was unclear what the women had intended to do with the "manure bombs," but added the incident could be linked to victory celebrations surrounding the Euro 2008 semi-finals on Wednesday evening, when Germany beat Turkey 3-2.

 

"The women can get their clothes back from the local police station — unwashed," the spokesman added.

    

Big Brown Turning NASCAR?

When I heard that Big Brown was named Big Brown, I didn't think UPS. I thought "big brown horse." Which, while not exactly poetic or inventive, will do. Then I found out that one of his minority owners has Big Brown (UPS) for a client. Whoop de do.

I like UPS. They bring me stuff in spite of the fact that the dog tries to run them off. They do a good job. Then I hear that there's a whole marketing campaign waiting on Big Brown's Triple Crown win (if he wins Belmont today). Hmmm. I'm in marketing. I wish they wouldn't, but I could see how they would. And truthfully, I would enjoy seeing pictures of Big Brown on their brown trucks. They can put his picture everywhere. He's a beautiful horse and so long as they don't run him into the dirt and break him down because he's no longer a horse but a commodity, I won't flinch with disgust when I see him in their corporate imaging.

Here's a horse with his hoof stapled together running (and winning?) a race. Could be a good motto for a delivery company. "Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor not having any hooves (tires?) to run on, or even good sense for that matter, will keep us from delivery on our appointed route."

They're even going to have some UPS logos here and there at the Belmont. Well, it can't be any worse than Rolexes all over everywhere at Rolex Kentucky. Which doesn't set the standard for taste. Just because the watch is expensive doesn't make it tasteful to stick it all over jumps and everywhere else.

But now Big Brown's owners have crossed a line -- and been chased back over it. One corporate sponsorship wasn't enough for Big Brown's ever greedy owners. A horse worth $500 million (and more than that if he wins today) needed to run not only for them and UPS, but HOOTERS. How low can you go?  That would gag a maggot, as my brother used to say.

I'm so far on the outside that I can't even guess what is going on, but the New York Racing Association has told Hooters that they can't be a sponsor because of a conflict of interest with an unnamed sponsor. Hooters' response? "That's just plain mean." (See story here.) Maybe it's just plain good taste, though that would be a surprise. Since when does propriety and taste count when there's money involved?

My response? Thank God they can't paint logos on horses. They're trying to turn Big Brown into NASCAR.

I hope Big Brown and the other horses stay safe today. I'm not sure I want him to win. Well, I'd love it if he won. But only if he had different owners.

The Toronto Star has an informative story about the history of the Belmont (Winston Churchill's mother, Jennie, attended the first race) and about the sorry doings of Big Brown's owners:

BB's connections have histories racing is properly ashamed of, starting with his loud and obnoxious trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr., who guaranteed a Triple Crown win for weeks and badmouthed the other horses in the race as unworthy of a challenge – which they might well be. Michael Iavarone, one of Big Brown's principal owners who presented himself as a Wall Street banker seeking to raise $100 million for investing in racehorses, was recently revealed as a penny-stocks hustler who ran afoul of securities regulators for making illegal trades.

Meanwhile, the horse, which obviously has talent and ability, has been turned into a corporate shill for a delivery company (UPS), with the Hooters girls signed on as official T&A.

From Winston Churchill's mother to the Hooters girls. Things have changed at the Belmont.

Cat in the Hayloft, Snake in the Stall

I've about had it with Dipstick, my mother's cat who lives in my barn. He's a sweet cat and was a wonderful companion to her, but his habit of getting up in the hayloft and whining to get down (he cannot get down on his own, even if left there for days) is way past annoying.

I know the old joke about if cats couldn't get themselves out of trees, we'd see cat skeletons everywhere. But the truth is, this cat can't get himself out of the hayloft. Lily figured out a system where we can put him in the cat carrier and lower him by a rope. If he starts giving us trouble about getting in the cat carrier, well, he can live in the hayloft.

So yesterday morning he's up there whining. He's got the world's most obnoxious whine. Very grating. And I'm down in Buddy's stall picking what needs picking when I see something odd. A long skinny black snake scrunched up in a corner and stretched up part of the way up the wall. I did what all stall-cleaners holding pitchforks (or apple pickers) would do. I poked it. It moved. I left. It left later.

And of course I got Dipstick down. After refueling, he went back up into the hayloft.

Anybody want a slightly used but very sweet cat?

Be Careful What You Name Your Horse

I'm so sorry and apologize in advance. I haven't seen this before and I'm afraid that I find low-brow humor funny. The horse's name is Hoof Hearted. You can probably guess the rest.

Speaking of Riding Your Horse instead of Driving....

In my last post I mused about riding our horses for transportation. I came upon this NYT's story about a police horse who spooked at a backfiring motorcycle and threw his rider, then made his way through NYC to get to his home stable.

Surprised this doesn't happen more often. Here's the story:

After Throwing Rider, Police Horse Returns Home Alone

Aldo, a police horse on routine patrol in one of Manhattan’s busiest sections, may have lost his cool on Friday afternoon — but he didn’t lose his sense of direction.

      

About 2 p.m. at Prince Street and the Avenue of the Americas, Aldo bucked at the sound of a backfiring motorcycle and threw his rider, a veteran police officer.

The officer landed  on his shoulder and neck, as Aldo took off.

The reports of “officer down” sent officers of the Emergency Service Unit racing to the scene. Once the rider was determined not to be seriously injured, attention turned to the missing Aldo.

But the officers need not have worried. Within about five minutes, the horse made it back to the stable, where he was being looked at by department veterinarians, said Officer Martin Brown, a Police Department spokesman, who said Aldo suffered only a few minor cuts.

The riderless Aldo had gone south, then a bit west, a journey of about eight blocks, to arrive at his base, the stable alongside the First Precinct station house at 19 Varick Street.

The mounted officer, who was not immediately identified, was taken to St. Vincent’s Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries to his shoulder and neck, Officer Brown said. He has been on the job for 21 years, the last six of which were served in the Mounted Unit.

Aldo is 8 years old and has been on the job about a year. He came to the Varick stable in December after training at the Police Academy’s stable in the Bronx.

The police said that one 911 caller reported a riderless horse heading south against traffic on the Avenue of the Americas near Spring Street. Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said, “You know, Aldo knows his turf.”

 

Have You Got a Stranger Piece of Horse Equipment than This?

Now here's something I don't know what to do with. It's a riding crop except it's not flexible. (Click on photo to enlarge.) It's leather with wire wrapped tightly around it. This riding crop means business. I got to thinking about it after reading about Sue's Amazing and Magical Stick of Wonder at her Flying Changes blog.

Well now. I'm not sure whether this is an Amazing and Magical Stick of Wonder, or something else. I haven't come up with a name for it yet, but it would be something along the lines of Amazing and Terrifying Stick of Death, because if you give a pull on the handle, look what comes out.

Yes indeed, ladies and gentlemen, it's a dagger, a pike, a sword, a stabber-thingy with a very sharp pointy tip. This is a stabber-thingy of substance. Horse won't trot? Now he will! Won't jump the jump? How high, he'll say. Of course when you fall and impale yourself, you'll be quite dramatically dead and may make the national news.

Here's a not-so-good photo of the tip. The riding crop dagger is square but comes to this ferocious point:

(You'll be glad to know that's rust, not blood.) And where did I get such a thing? My father said that since I was the one who rode horses, I'm the one who should have it. When he moved to assisted living and had to downsize, he parceled this out to me. Because of my love for horses and the fact that I still keep them. Heaven knows I need all the weapons I can get when I'm riding....

He brought it back from his service in WWII, whether in Panama or the Philippines I need to ask. I suspect it's not from either place originally. And I'm pretty certain it's not for riding, or at least not for use on your horse. I haven't been able to find out much about it's likely origin or history. Here's one link that has better photos of other ones, as well as speculation on their origins.  And another photo of the same concept, though the shaft is round instead of square, from Iran.

What oddities do you have in your tack box?

Average 1,000-lb. Horse Produces 9 Tons Manure per Year

For spring break, we're doing all kinds of fun things. Today is stall stripping day. Fortunately, my sister-in-law (Saintly Brother's wife) likes to garden so she came over to haul off a truckload of it. (This photo has nothing to do with us but looks better than we did.)

Stall stripping isn't my favorite thing, but there's something about good, hard work like shoveling manure that's good for cleaning the soul. My back hurts but my heart is happy.

And, in case you ever wondered just why you have so much manure, did you know that the average 1,000-lb. horse produces 9 tons of manure each year?

Now, back to writing a brochure, which is a less happy kind of manure-shoveling. I wonder how many tons of manure the average freelance writer produces in a year?

Tiger Stows Away to Riding Lessons

Second outing with the new used Yukon. Everything is great. Buddy hopped in the trailer with extra energy. We got off on time. We pull out on the highway and I glance over my shoulder before I change lanes only to see something that almost makes me scream:
Yes, Tiger is in the backseat on the way to riding lessons. He's quite comfy and not at all bothered.

It's too far down the road to turn around. So while Lily has her lesson I cat-sit Tiger. It wouldn't do to have him "Christen" the new truck. Tiger even has a chance to look at the scenery.

He never once meowed. He's always up for a road trip. He spent the day with the horse vet once by accident, going on all his rounds.

Lily said, "Don't let him get out of the truck. He might hurt the dogs." Tiger has attitude. A big one.

Horse Manure Helps Spread Blue Tongue Disease

I thought it was a joke when I saw the headline, "Blue Tongue Risk Starts in April." I thought it had something to do with children and blue candy.

Apparently, Blue Tongue a very serious disease in sheep and other ruminants. They think that horse manure dropped at shows by international competitors may be part of how it's become a problem and that variants of the disease have spread. Here's part of the story from this source:

Horse manure link

Vaccination is the only way to prevent the disease

Experts say the outbreak that began in the Netherlands, Belgium and parts of Germany and France in August 2006 might have been caused by horses, or more specifically their manure.

The theory is that horses from many different parts of the world came to a European show jumping event in the summer of 2006 and the midges that spread the virus came with them, travelling in horse manure.

This, say the scientists, might explain why the northern European outbreak was of the same serotype as found in other parts of the world such as Asia and South America.

As far as I can find out, Blue Tongue does not affect horses. However, the same vector (I take this to be flying midges) that carry Blue Tongue also carry African Horse Sickness, so this is not good news for horse owners. Here's what a story in The Guardian had to say:

A leading vet said yesterday that the first recorded case of bluetongue disease in Britain is a warning that the threat of African Horse Sickness, a lethal virus which is carried by similar vector species, must now be taken seriously.

Richard Newton, the head of equine epidemiology at the Animal Health Trust, said that an outbreak of AHS, which can have a mortality rate of 80% or more, would have a "very rapid and very prolonged effect" on racing. "It is not something that we want here," he added, "if there is anything at all that we can do to help it."

African Horse Sickness has never made it to the Americas. I understand there is a vaccination against it, which is good news since the mortality rate is so high and there is no treatment.  Wikipedia says:

Three vaccines currently exist, which include a polyvalent vaccine, a monovalent vaccine and a monovalent inactivated vaccine.

A little information is a dangerous thing, so I offer this with my apologies. This is all I know but it appears that it's something we should stay informed about.

No Mention Sharks

You're good sports about the advertising posts here, so I thought I'd share a laugh with you. I was considering one sponsored post that was about adventure travel, cultural immersion and water sports. It actually looked like fun and something that I'd be interested in doing myself and that you might be, too.

Until I got to the phrase, "Please no mention sharks."