This weekend is for mowing and catching up.

It's been fun to have lots of rain this year instead of the drought we faced the past two years, but MAN has the grass been growing! Seems I can't keep up.

I purchased a new John Deere zero-turn radius mower at the end of last season because my older riding mower finally spit the bit and the other (slightly less older) riding mower was dropping parts about as fast as it was cutting blades of grass.

Have you driven one of these things? Man, oh, man are they fun! Yes, mowing is fun!
I've never minded mowing as it gave me a fairly mindless task to do while I worked out problems in my head or even sang at the top of my lungs without the neighbors complaining. The only problem with the new John Deere was learning to drive the thing.

My husband nearly busted a gut laughing as I started out. He said I looked like I was drunk, and peering back at my mown path, I had to agree with him.

But I managed to miss (most) of the trees and soon learned to enjoy the power and freedom of zipping around anything in my path, and opening her up on the straightaways. I found I finished the mowing so quickly that I sneaked over to my older neighbor’s yard and did their grass.

Only drawback was because their yard was flatter, I could run full-out more. And I found I was bracing myself with my legs against the “dashboard” and my rear against the seat. Kind of like the time I rode a cutting horse!

Didn’t fall off either time!

So here’s to a weekend of mowing, with hopefully a few “horsey” moments thrown in.

How are you spending the weekend?  Any special plans?

TheHorse.com's weekly Health electronic newsletter last night passed the 150,000 subscriber mark. That's really cool!

This is also the electronic newsletter that won this year's top honor for e-newsletters at the American Horse Publications annual awards contest!

And you know what's also great? It's free to anyone because our sponsor Pfizer Animal Health is like us and believes in owner educaiton. 

This was our first weekly electronic newsletter, and many horse owners and managers (and other industry professionals) tell us they rely on it to keep them up-to-date on what's going on in the world of horse health.

We have multiple electronic newsletters, weekly and monthly, so make sure you are signed up for your favorites!

And if you have comments on our current newsletters, or suggestions for others we should create, please let me know!

This is the last week to sign up before our next Webinar, “West Nile Virus: Reality Check!”, on Thursday, June 30, at 8 p.m. ET. This Webinar is sponsored Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health and features presenter Steve Reed, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky.

It’s been 10 years since West Nile virus was introduced into the United States, and thousands of horses across North America have been ill or died due to this disease. Find out how to protect your horses! You can sign up for this FREE Webinar at www.TheHorse.com/Webinars.

Your registration allows you to watch the video presentation and ask questions live during the presentation, or you can submit your questions via e-mail prior to the Webinar to be answered during the live event.

“West Nile Virus: Reality Check!” is presented by Dr. Reed, formerly of The Ohio State University. Reed has had a long career of experience with neurologic diseases. Because of that, he was honored at the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention as the keynote presenter of the prestigious Frank J. Milne State-of-the-Art Lecture. His topic was Equine Neurology, including rabies and West Nile virus.

He will be assisted in answering questions by Wendy Vaala, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, an Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health equine technical services specialist and a former private practitioner.

Sign Up Now 

Did you know in June 2009 a WNV lineage 2 was discovered to cause fatal neurologic disease in South African horses (read more from the CDC)? This strain was previously thought to only affect humans and mice.

Did you know as of July 21, 2009, WNV was found in humans, animals, or insects in at least 24 states? Did you know the Centers for Disease Control said: “Almost 29,000 people in the U.S. have been reported with West Nile virus disease since 1999, and of those, 11,760 have been seriously ill and over 1,100 have died. The older you are, the more likely that you could get severely ill if you get infected.”

Did you know in 2008 there were 1,356 cases of human WNV? In 2007 there were 3,630 human cases! 

More About West Nile Virus 

West Nile virus (WNV) causes a potentially fatal encephalomyelitis (inflammation of the brain and spinal cord) in a variety of mammals such as birds, horses, and humans.

While long recognized in Africa, Eastern Europe, West Asia, and elsewhere, WNV was first diagnosed in North America in 1999. Since then the disease has spread rapidly throughout the continent. WNV is maintained in the wild bird population and is spread between birds by biting mosquitoes.

Humans and horses become infected after being bitten by mosquitoes infected with the WNV that have fed on infected birds.

The virus enters the horse's bloodstream and spreads to the spinal cord and brain causing a wide-spread inflammation. Clinical signs of disease typically present within three to 15 days of the animal being bitten by an infected mosquito. Only mosquitoes that have fed on infected birds can spread the virus. 

Horses and humans are considered to be dead-end hosts of the West Nile virus and, therefore, do not contribute to the transmission cycle. The virus is not directly contagious from horse to horse or horse to human. Similarly, indirect transmission via mosquitoes from infected horses is highly unlikely because horses do not experience a significant viremia (i.e., they have negligible amounts of virus circulating in their blood). 

Mechanical transmission of the virus, such as through a blood transfusion, is possible. 

For more information on “West Nile Virus: Reality Check!”, sign up now. Any questions about Webinars can be directed to THwebinars@thehorse.com. 

Don't miss this one!

Have you seen that Purina is having a Senior Horse Tales Contest?

Here's the promo:

"You and your horse have shared many precious moments through the years. Tell us what’s special about him in the Purina Senior Horse Tales Contest. Enter by telling a funny, emotional, remarkable, or comeback story about your older horse, and if Purina Equine Senior horse feed played a role in that story. Keep your tale to 300 words or fewer.  Provide a photo with your entry and indicate your horse’s age."

Grand prize winners will be chosen in the following categories:

Essay
Photo
Oldest Horse
Oldest Pony
Click Here for Official Rules

Some moving stories already up, and some really cute pictures!

You can win a ton of Equine Senior, and even if you can't use it all, you could donate some of it to a local rescue group! Besides, we love to talk about our horses and share our pictures, especially of our older four-legged friends who have a special place in our hearts!

Okay, we all know there is no such thing as a "free" horse. Oh you can get one that doesn't cost you any money to start with, but it's all uphill from there. And for most of us, that's okay. We spend the money because we want the horse(s).

I have been contacting horse folks across the country, and they are telling me that while there are plenty of the "free" horses around that aren't finding homes, there is still a demand for a good, well-broke horse of just about any discipline or breed. In fact, a dressage trainer friend of mine in Missouri said the horse business there is pretty strong, and that's for a decent lower-end dressage horse, not some fancy, high-class ride.

A wise rescue group owner once told me, "We are raising horses faster than we are raising trainers." I believe that is the problem today. The people who can afford to keep horses don't want a "project" animal or a young or unbroke horse. Been there. Done that. Got the bruises.

We run a lot of Adoptable Horses in our electronic newsletters as a free service, and we have the free Thoroughbred Adoption Service and Standardbred Adoption Service. Quite a few of those horses are noted as suitable for "intermediate or advanced riders."

So, a couple of questions:

1) Do we need to spend more money on saving and training fewer horses?

2) How's the general horse industry in your area?

Let me know!