The Horse: The Alpha Mare Speaks!

Today you have a guest writer for this blog--my name is Christy West, and I'm the new digital editor/producer of TheHorse.com. Nice to meet you, if I haven't already! :-)

Spring is a time of change, and boy am I glad to see that weather change this year--the long runs of subfreezing temps this winter and the permanently brown pastures were getting quite old! It's about time my thermometer crept up to 80 degrees again; I was starting to think its digital innards were frostbitten...

There are quite a few other changes going on during these warming spring days in addition to the weather. You might have heard that we've had a few staff changes at The Horse. Kimberly Brown, writer of this blog and long-time editor (and, more recently, publisher) of The Horse: Your Guide To Equine Health Care recently left to pursue other business interests (if you would like to reach Kim, you can find her at Kentucky Equine Research).

Two other staff members, News Editor Erin Ryder and Executive Editor Chad Mendell, are also pursuing new career directions. We wish them well in their new ventures.

As for this blog, its archives will remain available online, but as its author has left it will no longer be updated. I'd like to direct your attention to the brand-spanking-new blog by our new Editor-in-Chief, Stephanie Church, whose name you might recognize from her varied positions with The Horse over the last 11 years (editorial assistant, staff writer, news editor, copy/features editor, and managing editor-print--whew!).

Stephanie's blog is titled "Horse Sense (and Sensibility)," and she'll be continuing the tradition of chatting with you about current issues and perspectives in equine care and welfare. She's likely to also entertain us with some new directions and insights, so be sure to check it out! She will also be introducing our current staff and a few new staff members on her blog as they are hired.

I think I speak accurately for this something-old-something-new team when I say that we're really looking forward to working together and seeing what we can do to improve horse care education for all of us, and of course the welfare of the four-legged, currently shedding fuzzballs that bring us all together. We look forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions!

 Do equine infectious diseases concern you? Then join others in helping Colorado State University researchers figure out which diseases you are most concerned about, why you are concerned, and what you want done about it.

Take this brief survey on equine infectious disease issues, and pass the link on to your friends.

The purpose of the survey is to better understand which infectious diseases are of concern to the equine industry. The questions surround what diseases concern horse owners the most and how important it is that those concerns be addressed.

All responses will be anonymous and participation is free.

Click here to complete the survey.

I know, spring showers and all that, but it's been a long winter and I really want to get out and ride!

So, what do you do when it's a rainy day? Clean tack? Clean up the barn? Ride anyway?

Share some tips on how to "horse around" when the weather isn't cooperating.

I bit the bullet and got an iPhone because I need it to keep up with work more easily 24/7. I can read my work email from anywhere, get on the Internet, get calls, be alerted if I have a phone message at work and listen to it on my cell, and do a myriad of other tasks.

Then I discoverd APPS!

For those of you without iPhones or a device like that, it's hard to explain the whole new world of applications (apps) that are available. Some are free, some are kind of pricey.

I have ones that I think are useful, like a level, a compass, a language translator, a zoom for my iPhone camera, Facebook, Twitter, a converter (for foreign money exchanges and lots of other stuff). I also have fun ones such as Scrabble, chess, and Matchion.

One app that falls into both the useful and fun categories is my Amazon Kindle reader.

Now you might think reading on that small iPhone screen would be awful, but it isn't! The convenience of having a library of books at your fingertips wherever you go is absolutely wonderful! And it's easy to read the text.

For those of you who don't have (and don't want) an iPhone or one of those devices, Amazon now has an app for reading Kindle books on your personal computer. And the app is free!

Go to Amazon.com and do a quick, free download of the Kindle app for your PC. If you already have an iPhone Kindle app or have purchased Kindle books elsewhere, then your library is there and you can simply bring a copy onto your PC for reading.

Does this stop me from buying paperback or hardbound books at the bookstore? Absolutely not! I love having a book in my hands to sit and read.

Does this encourage me to purchase more books? Yes! I might download some classics I haven't read in years (many of them free), or be in the middle of a book and not want to carry it on the plane with me. Or I might want the next book in a series when I'm traveling if I finish the first one, but I don't want to burden my luggage with another book.

So, what does that have to do with this blog and horses?

Our company's book publishing arm (Eclipse Press) has many equine-related Kindle books. And now they are available to you on your PC, often at a discount!

The list is long, so we have included them with links on a TheHorse.com article.

So, download your free Kindle book reader app to your PC, order up a new book for fun or business, and enjoy!

About 32% of respondents to the American Horse Publications Industry Survey--sponsored by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health and Pfizer Animal Health--said yes, at least one of the horses they currently own, manage, or lease had been given to them. And of those who said yes, only 3% were involved in some way with a rescue.

Wow! That was nearly 3,400 people who currently own horses that they take care of that were given to them. For whatever reason, the previous owner gave up that horse. It might have been out of financial necessity during these tough economic times, or it might have been because someone else could put the horse to work rather than it just standing around getting fat.

I have a couple of "freebies" out in my pastures, and they are as well-treated as any of the other horses there. I don't think anyone who is honest and accepts a horse will consider it any less "valuable" than any other horse on the farm.

Molly the Miniature Donkey (you can see her on my Facebook page) was given to me. I have to say I wasn't the most willing recipient. When my daughter purchased her Miniature Horse, the people had this Miniature Donkey that was really cute. Very people-oriented. I enjoyed playing with her while we were there looking at horses.

When we brought the truck and trailer to pick up the Minis, they said, "Gee, you liked Molly, why not take her home with you. She's Free!"

Well, we all know there's no such thing as a free lunch or a free horse. I said thank you very much, but no thanks. And I thought that would end it.

It didn't. They knew my vet and knew how well the horses we owned were cared for, so they persisted.

"Come on, you know you like her!"

Yeah, she's cute. No thanks.

"If you get her home and she doesn't work out, you can bring her back."

NO, THANK YOU! I was getting a little hot under the collar at this point.

The last straw was that thefarm manager and my daughter practically picked up then-yearling Molly and put her in the trailer.

And of course there's not enough money in the world to buy her at this point!

So, do you have any good or bad endings with getting a free horse? Share!

And don't forget to check out the free horses on the Adoption Services on TheHorse.com.