$2 million in fines? Future of Florida boy and miniature service horse hangs in balance

'Hernando County officials could charge the Samaroo family up to $15,000 a day in fines. Since the animal arrived last October, the fines could add up to nearly $2 million.'
-- AllVoices.com

I cannot believe Hernando County is even considering ignoring federal ADA regulations, and worse, separating this boy and his miniature service horse.

Read also:

Guide horse helps blind Chicago woman

Little horse, little boy - perfect therapy
Service horse to the rescue: A happy mini-picture

Rabies confirmed in two Colorado horses

“Animal owners need to primarily look for any dramatic nervous system changes such as muscle tremors, weakness, lameness, stumbling, or paralysis”
-- Colorado State Veterinarian Keith Roehr

Read the full story at TheHorse.com

Read also: Rabies, EIA: Colorado on watch ...

And you think your car is in tough shape ...

Who knew tractors came in so many pieces? It threw a rod in the last big snow storm, and punched a hole in the engine block. A friend found me a replacement block at RobertsTractor.com, and we had it shipped from Ohio. Stay tuned as we find out whether the old John Deere 950 lives on ...

See also: Snowmageddon - 1, Tractor - 0

Goats munch through Davenport weed problem

"They've done a lot more work than we were expecting. It's unbelievable the amount of work they are doing and how cost-effective it is. They've been wonderful."
-- Amy Loving, naturalist

SiouxCityJournal.com

True, goats are great munchers, and they especially love leafy spurge. Be careful, however, that you don't put them near something you want to keep. Mine nearly destroyed a small orchard! Click on the Sioux City Journal link above for the full story on the goats who munched through the Davenport weed problem.

You might also enjoy: Just an old goat

Horse trick training: We got the pedestal!

At the Jackie Johnson clinic, Last Resort Equestrian Center. Having a great time! See highlights of Day 2 of the Jackie Johnson horse trick training clinic.

Trick training with Jackie Johnson is really about communicating with your horse, enlightening regardless of your discipline.

 

See more Jackie Johnson Trick-Training Clinic photos

Get the equipment Jackie Johnson uses to start trick-training horses.

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Watch out Trigger, you've got competition!

Watch out, Trigger, you've got competition!

 

For those of you who thought this is a Belgian, try again. It's a very large Haflinger, and she turned out to be very good at the exercises we learned Saturday at the Jackie Johnson Trick Training clinic.

 

 

 

 

 

Billy got the pedestal, too!

See more Jackie Johnson Trick-Training Clinic photos.

Get the equipment Jackie Johnson uses to start trick-training horses.

To secede, or not to secede: On behalf of the stupid and dumb

To secede or not to secede is the question posed by some Northern Colorado county commissioners. Gun and oil-gas drilling limits don't exactly fall into my list of threats to "rural living", but these Weld County folks make a point: Colorado and some of its local governments pay attention to non-corporate agriculture and rural constituents only when pressed. Then growth, tax revenue, and regulations trump all. To say, "I think this is the stupidest thing I've seen in a long time ... It's hard to believe that this isn't the dumbest thing I've heard of, certainly for this year," is to say, "I no longer need those (stupid, dumb,) rural voters."

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New state? Weld County floats secession plan for northeastern Colorado

To ride in the shade and look upon verdure ...

Kalvin, left, and Magic take their riders on a little break from the rigors of horse show training. (Yes, this headline takes liberties with Jane Austen.)

Eye on the prize: Deer v. the apple tree

Our portable, solar-powered electric goat pen from Premier 1 Fencing appears to have befuddled this little clan. I've noticed before that deer will avoid whatever area the goat pen is set up in. This only a temporary solution. Wire cages for the little cider-apple trees will be next. The Gallagher solar charger is from Jax Ranch & Home.

See more photos of our wildlife
You might also enjoy: Just an old goat
Learn more about our hard cider-making, read Pressing on: Ye Olde Cider.

A horse grazes in the background as the solar charger keeps the anti-deer fence electrified.

  

Around here, apple trees without protective cages end up looking like this poor thing.

Trees that were caged from the start (background) do much better than their uncaged counterparts.

Gregg used a vise to bend 12-inch spikes from the Home Depot hardware department into sturdy stakes that keep apple tree cages in place.

The apple-tree eating marauders lurk along the fence. They have trimmed the foliage on this apple tree to their height, but the tree is now old enough, decades old, that they no longer try for its bark.

 

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Bull Run Cider takes root in Forest Grove as county's only hard cider producer

Apple Pies vs Apple Cider