Skeeter Anyone who has stayed in a motel during a horse show has had that curious if not dread feeling that bedbugs might inhabit the room. There now is a solution for hotel owners in the form of a canine. This came to my attention in a newspaper article about an unwanted dog taken in by an old acquaintance of mine, Catherine Tebbs. Catherine is a dog trainer and lover of all four [...]
Those of us at Horse Fly Net® think this is worth reading by trail riders. Yellow Fly, less than an inch in size It’s that time of year again, and those nasty yellow flies are biting… here are some tips for armoring yourself and your horses against a painful pest. In Florida, the name “yellow fly” is used to describe about a dozen different species of yellow-bodied biting [...]
bathing suit and bridle In the middle of summer, riding can be hard on rider and horse. The weather in parts of the US climbs into the 90s and the bugs are breeding and biting. If you want to do something different that is fun for both of you and your equine friend, try a swim. It is best to remove a good saddle and keep some kind of rubber shoes on. Aside from those items you and your [...]
Barn and indoor arena at the Ranch Nine of us left Free Union, Va June 15 for an adventure. We hauled large trailers with horses up the mountain to a lovely ranch called Bull Pasture Mountain Ranch. There we settled into the 3 day weekend by first locating our tent, cabin, trailer or the lovely ranch house lodge where we would bed down. Our horses had the [...]
Mighty Mouse, a TerryTune cartoon character Anyone, throughout history, who has owned a barn has had the same small critter invade their premises, the mouse. Shelter from the elements and, by the barn's nature a continuous supply of food, makes the barn a perfect target for mice home building. And, so the barn cat, mouse trap and mice poison become the staple equipment for [...]
6 Labradors, three yellow and three black This is the beginning of life in the big world. It is not just the canine beginning of life but it is the beginning of life for a person with difficulties mentally or physically who will benefit from canine assistance. The careful breeding, nurturing and training by many volunteers is the first ingredient in a successful service dog development. [...]
Chiffon and her surprise A few blogs ago we had the pleasure of sharing a story about a woman, who tries to solve problems. The horse involved is Ethan, who was terrified of llamas and making the owner and horse at odds with each other. The solution was to desensitize the horse by putting him in direct contact with llamas. It was a three month run that had an end result of FAIR as we [...]
the stable fly Anthropods can cost the horse industry millions just by the nature that they can damage the horse directly or indirectly. Very simply they suck blood, feed on mucous discharges from the horses and spread disease. They can also cause digestive interference which results in poor growth of the horse. By taking the time to understand the biology, life history and habits of the[...]
For all of the geeks or wannabes who are in Face book I have finished a wonderful book to explain all of those bells and whistles you see on your Face book page. The book is Facebook the Missing Manual. The second addition, that I read, has good diagrams of all the ins and outs of the page plus it has good tips. We managed to put Horse Fly Net in a free marketing section that is going to be [...]
Yes, I was just well paid for 85 pounds of old wire fencing that we took off the farm to a new company. This company is making a profit and community service out of scrap. The company is called Cycle Systems. I just googled them and and learned that they have 7 locations in the western part of Virginia. They are collecting iron, aluminum, cardboard and more. Rather than going to the [...]