This message is from: Lois Berenyi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Not bad here in coastal North Carolina. We've had temps in the 70's for
past two weeks with lots of sun. Have had some lovely beach walks. Anya,
the Fjord mare, however does not particularly appreciate the balmy weather.
She looks and smells like a wet dog. Squirrels are burying nuts for winter
but I'm not sure when that's going to arrive as stuff starts to blossom out
in late February.
So far the weather has been perfect since we arrived in August despite a few
scares from the hurricanes that just brushed our area south of Wilmington.
My original boarding solution was a disaster. Pastures were full of trees,
hay was skimpy so Anya decided to peel bark off the trees. She lost weight,
odd for a Fjord and then I discovered that during days and days of rain she
was left in the pasture without shelter despite having her own stall in the
barn. I think because she was so easy-going and non-demanding they took her
for granted. To protect the trees they kept her muzzled a good deal of the
time. She could graze if there was grass (there wasn't) but could not eat
the hay thrown on the ground. I arrived one day to find her ankle deep in
muck (the stable is on/in a swamp) and from the wetness of her "fur" she had
been out a long time in all the rain and mud. I could have cried. This is
not the way I took care of horses. Sufficient to say I moved her to a
western pleasure barn and the care is much better although the horse
philosophy is still not quite what I believe. Their emphasis is on western
pleasure performance horses and for me this is an eye-opener coming from the
dressage-oriented world. I've asked them to keep Anya exercised but I do
not want her to be put in a horizontal frame with poky steps that don't get
anywhere. When I bought Anya Carol R. said her trot could have been better.
If she could see her now in contrast to the WP horses Anya could qualify for
the Spanish Riding School.
This still is not horse country by any stretch. Horses and dogs are kept by
many as objects to be used with no thought as to their living conditions or
treatment. As far as dogs are concerned there is a big problem in this
county with strays and one of the reasons is that the hunters hunt from
pickup trucks with packs of hounds. They set the hounds loose in the dense
forests and whatever dogs haven't returned to the truck are left behind when
the hunter is done for the day. Some do use radio collars and try to locate
their dogs but many do not. We've adopted a really cute beagle that showed
up at our door and from her behavior knew she had never been a pet of any
sort. When I tried to find the owner I was told by the locals not to
bother; that she was probably just a "throwaway" hunting dog. The local
shelters are full to overflowing with hound-type dogs. The beagle was young
and with a basic good temperament but very frightened and semi-starved. She
appeared to be a well-bred animal. I advertised and posted ads all around
but got no replies so we took her in and she has become a delightful, and
well-fed, pet.
I'm just hoping someone will come along, most likely from out of the area,
and establish a decent equine facility with forward-thinking management.
I'd be so tempted but can't convince my husband to get involved in all of
this again after selling out everything up in NJ. So now I'm a "boarder"
again and am finding it quite disconcerting since I know the pitfalls of
this business on both sides of the wheelbarrow.
Lois Berenyi in Shallotte, NC, a mile from the beach. Many benefits and
amenities, just not for horses & dogs.
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 3:14 PM
Subject: Re:winter blah
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
In a message dated 1/12/05 1:26:38 AM,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Sorry can't help thi!s Temps today!
Omaha 19 degrees
Las Cruces 72 degrees
I am so happy I don't live north anymore!!!
ack!!!! central minnesota, snowing like crazy. temp tomorrow night -25,
yup
minus!
laurie
