Giraffes, zebras, fairies ... oh my!

All it takes is a little paint, glitter, a few ribbons and scarves, perhaps a discarded hat, and voilà, your horse morphs into the Spirit of Halloween, a giraffe, a zebra, a fairy, or Mr. Bows. The Poudre River Stables gang outdid itself this year by achieving all of the above, and the horses, shy at first, seemed to enjoy the combing and brushing that came with their makeovers. Check out the video above to see all of the costumes. Many thanks to these kids' instructor, Cayla Stone, for organizing this. Happy Halloween to all of you from all of us! (Billy, the horse in the photo, is a real-life horse character in the novel, Winning Bet, a clean read for 'tweens and teens.)

Veterans find help through horse therapy

"We know it works. There is plenty of research that shows it does. We don't know what elements or at what dosage it works. A fair amount of research is focusing on that now."
-- Del Camp, vice president of operations at Ozark Center 

via www.sfgate.com

Mary Wanless, author of Ride with Your Mind: An Illustrated Masterclass in Right Brain Riding, has documented much of horseback riding's positive effects on the brain. The rest of us just know what these guys say, that for some reason, when you get on a horse, you feel and function better. Click on the sfgate.com link above for the full story about how two military veterans turned their misfortune into opportunity with the help of horses.

Read also: Service horse to the rescue: A happy mini-picture

Virginia cider, flavored by early America

“Artisan cider is an alcove inside a niche.”

- Diane Flynt, heritage cidermaker

via www.washingtonpost.com

If you watched us blend the different breeds of apples, fiddle with the hydrometer, take temperatures, add the nutrient, the yeast, and bit by bit, the sugar, you would understand the difference between conglomerate cider and farm-made artisan cider. Click on the washingtonpost.com link above for the full story about good cider, and hard cider's rebirth in America.

You might also enjoy: Wine Lovers on Horseback Canter, Slurp in Bordeaux

Read about our last cider adventure, Pressing on: Ye olde cider

CiderCon 2013: Government regulations that could raise cider tax

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