For the record, Tiny (and I) gave these treats two thumbs up!  They were chewy, tasty, and healthy.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a photo of Tiny devouring them because they were gone in the blink of an eye.  But they were definitely well liked!  I hope that Emma succeeds in her venture and is able to get a laptop and expand her business.  I’m always appreciative (and amazed by) kids that are so talented and show so much initiative!  If you’d like to contact Emma about her treats or her business, please let me know and I can give you her email address.

This photo was taken on a trip to Alaska several years ago.

This photo of the South African flag was taken at the jail on Robbin Island, South Africa, where Nelson Mandela was housed for many years.

Check out Sunday Stills for other entries, as well as Laughing Orca Ranch, The Skoog Farm Journal, All Horse Stuff, and Baba Yaga’s Mirror,  all of whom frequently participate in the challenge.

I was wandering through the displays at the Equine Affaire in April, when a large poster caught my eye. Of course, being a spot lovin’ Appaloosa girl, the photo of a striking blue roan horse with a distinctly patterned coat attracted me to the booth. However, this was no Appaloosa group – it was the Nokota Horse Conservancy. I’d never heard of the Nokota horse before and was intrigued, becoming even more so as I read about this fascinating breed.  Nokotas originated in North Dakota and have survived for more than 100 years in the Little Missouri River Badlands, dodging government sanctioned roundups and culls.   Eventually several bands of Nokotas were accidentally trapped in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park during its creation, and thus the unusual breed has been preserved.

These mares exhibit typical Nokota coloring; Photo courtesy of François Marchal

Nokotas are a variable mix of blood.  Some of these beautiful horses descended from horses owned by Sitting Bull, the famous Sioux Indian chief.  Nokotas have been crossbred over the years to a variety of horse types; including draft, Thoroughbred, and stock horses.  As a result, they vary in size and type.  Colors vary and can include any shade, but blue roans are the most common.  This is also one of the only breeds (the only one I know of) that can include horses with spots (a la Appaloosa patterns) or Paint markings.  This likely results from the interbreeding of the feral horses with Indian ponies back in the 1800’s.

In the 1980’s, the National Park Service began removing the last remaining Nokota horses from the Park and, for the few that remained, introduced several new stallions to the herd in an effort to alter the horses’ type.  At this time, two brothers from the area stepped in.  Frank and Leo Kuntz purchased a large number of horses and created the Nokota Horse Conservancy in an effort to preserve this fascinating breed of horse.  Since that time they have created a breed registry and brought attention to the colorful Nokota history.  Another registry, the Nakota Horse Association, was also developed to recognize the breed.  According to Wikipedia, the last traditional type Nokota was removed from the wild in 2000, so the responsibility of ensuring these horses’ futures lies in the hands of organizations like these.  Perhaps I have a soft spot for these little-known equines because of their historical similarities to my much beloved Appaloosa.  Or maybe it’s because I tend to fight for the underdog.  But either way, horse lovers need to hear about these uncommon gems and spread the word.  The sustainability of their future lies with us.

A few weeks back I heard about a terrible vehicle accident involving a horse trailer in Ohio.  The truck’s front tire failed and caused the vehicle to strike a tree and overturn.  This sort of story is a nightmare for any traveling horse owner.  I used to be the primary driver of our rig for many years and the responsibility of those 11 lives (6 horses, 3 family members, and 2 dogs) is a huge weight to bear.  The fear of crashes like the one I mentioned is a great reminder to keep vehicles in good operating condition and stay on top of preventative maintenance.  We always kept our records in order, vehicle registration and insurance information in a handy spot.  However, one thing we DIDN’T ever do was create ICE (In Case of Emergency) information for any of our animals.  The article that I read about the accident mentioned this topic and it’s a great idea.  We often create ICE for ourselves and our family members – why NOT our horses?  If we are incapacitated or killed in a vehicular accident, what would happen to our animals?  The following are some great tips on creating ICE, taken from the article on TheHorse.com:

• Include each horse’s age, breed, and sex and a current photo of each
• Vaccination records, health information, health certificates, Coggins tests
• Descriptions of health conditions and list of medications used to treat them
• Contact information for horse owners, haulers, and an “at home” contact in case of emergencies
• Power of attorney – this is a big one I’d never thought of.  This legal document allows a third party to make decisions regarding the care of the horse, in the event that the owner is incapacitated in the accident. 

We always kept a zippered 3-ring binder in our horse trailer with a packet for each horse:  original registration papers, Coggins test, health certificate, transfer of ownership all enclosed in a clear plastic protector.   It would have been easy to add the ICE information to each packet.   Make sure the binder is clearly marked so that anyone looking for information could easily find it and it’s best to keep in an easily accessible location. 

No one wants to imagine a worst case scenario with their horses.  However, those of us that have hauled enough miles will usually experience or know of someone who has experienced a tragic accident.  Offhand, I can think of 4 separate incidents of horsemen I know being involved in horrible accidents on their way to or from shows.  It happens.  And it’s a great idea for horse owners to be prepared for that possibility.  Even if you don’t haul your horses, it’s likely that you drive with your dogs in your car and this great idea applies to them too!  You can put ICE in your cell phone – just tag the name ICE horse or dog.  There are forms and more information available to download at us rider.com.

Happy – and safe – travels!

Tiny's beautiful eye

My cousin John's dog, Kodi, waiting for visitors

This sheep resides in Western Pennsylvania at Round Hill Park.

 Check out Sunday Stills for other entries, as well as Laughing Orca Ranch, The Skoog Farm Journal, All Horse Stuff, and Baba Yaga’s Mirror,  all of whom frequently participate in the challenge.

Photo by Stacey Wright, Courtesy of www.PeacefulGirl.com

This week’s Thankful Thursday is dedicated to a good friend and coworker of mine and a fellow blogger, Stacey.  Stacey caught the blogging bug from me last summer and has taken off running with it.  She’s not a horse person at all, but she has been such a source of support and encouragement for me in this venture.  In fact, she just called me to make sure I was productively blogging this evening!  Her ears must have been burning.  =)  She has become such a successful and active blogger and is always there for me to toss ideas at or get feedback from.  She has even been a big supporter of Pets Blogroll, dedicating part of one of her sites to her cat so she could join up and be involved!  Stacey is a diverse and unique individual and I encourage you to check out her great sites:  the dark and dangerous Fear Fragments - dedicated to the genre of horror in movies, music, etc; and my personal favorite, Peaceful Girl – where she showcases some of her amazing photography and her kitty’s antics.  Right now, she’s participating in a 30 day posting challenge on Peaceful Girl and I’m sure she’d appreciate some new visitors and commentors on her posts.  You can also check out some of her horror convention/dead doll photography at Flickr.  Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to a great friend who has been a source of support both in blogging and in life over the past year.  Thanks, doll!

Happy Thursday to everyone and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

I bet you all thought I was going to let *another* week go by with no Thankful Thursday post, didn’t you?  Nope!  Wrong!  Here it is, a little late but better than never.  The weeks have slipped by a little too quickly and as I looked back to my last Thankful Thursday post (almost a month ago, gasp!) I realized that it was also about my intended topic for this week, the lovely Hazel (or Crazel, but more on that later).  When I wrote that post, about the little tan dog I found, I was purposely vague and didn’t include any photos.  The situation was a bit complicated at the time, but I feel confident now that she is truly Grady’s and my girl and want to share her with you all a bit more.  It’s still tricky here, as two out of two foster homes have bailed out on me at the last minute, and she’s right now residing illegally in my “over-the-legal-limit” apartment.  Which is what brings me to Thankful Thursday – the University of Doglando!  Grady has been going to Doglando for over a year now for daycare and he absolutely loves it.  This place is a doggie heaven -  located on the East side of Orlando, it encompasses 3.5 grassy, fenced acres where dogs of all shapes and sizes spend their days playing until they collapse.  I found this place by accident when Grady was driving me (and my partner at the time) nuts, with no playmate and wayy too much spare time on his paws.  Teena is the owner and she is brilliant with the dogs, able to manage huge groups of up to 40 dogs with no problem. 

Yes, I know she's skinny - she's actually gained weight since I got her!

Teena is very knowledgable and active in the rescue community and has really stepped up to the plate to help me out with Hazel.  She’s provided tons of free advice on problem solving, the legalities of the situation, training, and more.  She’s been an ear for me and a tremendous resource.  If all that weren’t enough, she’s been allowing me to bring Hazel in daily while I’m at work which has allowed me to keep her until I get her foster situation sorted out.  If it weren’t for Teena and the great staff at Doglando, Hazel would have had to go to rescue two weeks ago.   A special bonus:  she’s getting great socialization and training while she’s there!  Her “Crazel” days are becoming fewer and farther between.  So I want to say a huge thanks to everyone at Doglando.  You all are amazing people and I don’t know what I would do without you guys!

Of course I can’t leave out the Slobber Dog, and I am so thankful to have him in my life as well.  He has provided such stable energy for Hazel and she has been learning from him (mostly good behaviors, I’m happy to say!)  He’s also doing a great job of sharing all of his toys, his bed, and his mom with the little street urchin.  I am so thankful to have that adorable big lug and it makes me proud to see how far he’s come in his own rehabilitation over the past 5 years. 

I hope you all have a happy Thursday and please visit these other sites that frequently participate in Thankful Thursday:

Akal Ranch, Enlightened Horsemanship Through Touch, The Pony Expression, and Tired Dog Ranch.

Just for a little bit of background on Geneva, it’s a small rural village northeast of Orlando Florida.  It’s about 12 square miles in size and as of the last census, there were about 2500 residents.  Geneva is horse country.  Much of the land is used for pasture for horses and cows, and even the occasional el paca!  You can’t go far in this town without seeing a horse or a pickup truck.  It’s a nice little town, there are lots of trails for hiking and biking and as I found out, there is a lot of history here!

One of the first things I noted is that people in Geneva like churches.  A lot.  For a place that calls two main streets “downtown” there is quite a variety of churches to be found.  They all have some amazing history and several of them have been around for the better part of the 19th century. 

Clockwise from top left: Missionary Baptist church, Methodist Church, Church of Christ, Baptist Church

The Methodist church is the oldest church still standing in Geneva, having been constructed at its present location in 1912.  The church was originally established on the shore of Lake Geneva in 1880.   The Baptist Church has been at the present location since 1927, after relocating several times during the previous 52 years.  The Church of Christ shown hasn’t been around for all that long (since 1951), but has a colorful history nonetheless!  Apparently in 1998, it was shown in the television show “E.R” which was filmed partially in Geneva!  In addition to these 4 churches, there are five others in the town.

As we continued our ride throughout the more rural sections of Geneva, we came across the old cemetary established in 1880.  It stands at the end of a long dirt road and houses the remains of many of Geneva’s military heroes and the founding families of the town.  Acording to the Geneva History webpage, there are 17 Civil War soldiers buried here.

Tiny and I continued on towards town along 1st Street in Geneva and passed by the old Geneva schoolhouse.  Volunteers in Geneva have been working hard for several years to restore this old schoolhouse and begin using it as a community center.  Actually, today is the grand opening!

We continued on past the schoolhouse and headed into downtown Geneva.  There aren’t many places in Florida where you can ride a horse down the sidewalk and not get stares!

The old Flynt & Rehbinder Store, which is now the Geneva Grocery and Feed Store, was built in 1915.  I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that it was featured in a Coke commercial in the 90’s.

We took our self portrait in the window of the Ole General Store!

As we headed back toward home, I reflected on all that I’d learned in our afternoon ride.  Geneva was a town that I’d lived in for several years, and yet I knew nothing of its history or the people who lived there and where they came from.  It was fascinating for me to catch this little glimpse of history and helped me understand why this tiny community has so much hometown pride.  One of these days I’ll complete the other leg of the ride – the one that encompasses the old Indian artifacts and the more rural locations.  Thanks for riding with me!  Much of the historical information I’ve shared has come from the Geneva Historical Society.  They have a great website with lots of information.  Until next time….

The shore of Lake Geneva; A falcon on a fencepost

A water bucket waiting to be scrubbed

A brush and a bottle of fly spray

Bridles...well, technically headstalls, but I loved the photo

A braided tail

Bits for sale at the tack store

A pair of boots just waiting for a rider

 Check out Sunday Stills for other entries, as well as Laughing Orca Ranch, The Skoog Farm Journal, All Horse Stuff, and Baba Yaga’s Mirror,  all of whom frequently participate in the challenge.

Check out Sunday Stills for other entries, as well as Laughing Orca Ranch, The Skoog Farm Journal, All Horse Stuff, and Baba Yaga’s Mirror,  all of whom frequently participate in the challenge.