Northernhorse.com Blog

At first glance, the horse that now lives only in my memory wasn’t all that remarkable. While many dream of big, black Friesians or graceful, dancing Warmbloods, I dream of a squat little white horse – an Arabian with a straight, almost Roman nose and a propensity for bucking and taking off. Continue Reading »

Dakota Schiestel, 11, of Bentley polishes her uncle Steve Schiestel’s saddle trim on his quarter horse Mister Dimension at Westerner Park on Thursday. The Westerner Spring Quarter Horse Show, which ran May 21 to 25, featured about 120 horses and owners competing in about 160 classes.

New for 2008 are three NSBA ALL BREED futurities:

*  3 year old Open All Breed Western Pleasure – $500 added
*  Yearling Open All Breed Longe Line – $500 added
* All Ages non-pro All Breed Hunter Under Saddle – $500 added

For further information
www.qhaa.com
www.nsba.com

Thanks to the Red Deer Advocate and Steve Schiestel

Just wanted to say “thank you” for posting our “nurse mare” situation. We did find a replacement foal from Biggar, Saskatchewan. Thank You Erin for bringing us “Diago”! It appears after their first day together to 2 have learned how much they need each other and the mare is allowing him to nurse independantly without supervision. “Diago” is an opportunist and has developed many “unique” SAFE nursing positions. (I will try to follow-up with photos).

Anyway, thanks for posting our ad. The responses we recieved proves how much exposure Northern Horse really has. I had never expected such a response. Thanks to everyone who helped with our search efforts!

Sincerely,
Laura Martin
Painted River Ranch
www.paintedriverranch.net
Box 217, Edam, Saskatchewan

We are looking for a replacement foal for a mare who just lost her foal 11:00 a.m. May 29. We are close to the Alberta/Sask border ( 1hour east of lloydminister) 20 mins. North of Hwy. 16. This mare has a huge udder and very maternal. We can consider pick up of foal. Please contact us as soon as possible if you have a foal needing a good mom!
Bruce & Laura Martin
Painted River Ranch
www.paintedriverrranch.net
Box 217,
Edam, Sask.,
306 397 2775

Anybody out there thinking about building a barn? Becky Taylor of Affordable Barns has offered to do a series of guest blogs for Northernhorse.com on this very subject. So if you have any questions about building a barn now is the time to ask. Becky is making her years of experience in this industry available to all our readers. She has offered to answer your questions from selecting a good site to the finishing touches.

Just post your question in the “comments” section below and check back to hear what Becky has to say.

Funny how things go. I started a blog about horses we all loved and now I have inherited my mom’s favorite old mare.

Old Brandy has been running on Mom’s farm for many years. Some of you probably knew my mom, Betty McKenzie. Now her herd has been sold off and moved away and I always told Mom I would look after Brandy if Mom wasn’t here to do it and supervise having her put down as gently as possible when the time comes. But we aren’t quite ready for that big, bad day yet. Continue Reading »

Grains and roughages have varying “shelf lives” depending on how they were harvested, processed and stored. Becoming familiar with how certain processes affect livestock feeds will enable you to retain quality and palatability from these feeds. Being aware of proper storage conditions and recommended shelf life will also help you to reduce waste and maintain consistent performance when feeding livestock. read more…

Debbie Bailey, one of our regular classified users, tells us she is as happy as the grass is after this nice rain about how well the Northernhorse.com Classifieds have been working for her. She says:

Dear Dave…. as you probably noticed…. 7 out of the 10 horses have sold before I could even get a picture up on the web-site.  I had tons of inquiries on them, most people wanting to wait for a picture… some people just asked me to describe them… they came and saw… they bought instantly…. wow. I am impressed with the coverage I got from your web-site…. but then I have always got really good feed-back when I have advertised with you…. anyway, needless to say… I am not going to need 7 of those featured ads, because those horses have been sold.

Are ground squirrels, commonly called gophers, turning your pasture or cropland into a moonscape?  A recently revised fact sheet from Alberta Agriculture describes the biology and control of pocket gophers and ground squirrels. There is lots of information about Pocket Gophers, we call them moles and also on Richardson’s Ground Squirrels – we call them gophers. We really try to live in harmony with the native critters but these two make it really hard. If you don’t control them, they make the pastures unusable. read more…

A funny little article sent by a friend. I like the descriptions of the different models.

SAVE GAS – RIDE A HORSE!
HONESTJOHN’S NEW & USED HORSES

I can save you money on gas!

Alright folks, step right up! You don’t want to pay $4.69 for gas,no problem, I have the perfect vehicle for you. Needs no gas, no oil, or even a battery, just a little grass and water will do these animals fine.

Now everyone has different needs, so choose from the following models:

1. Trail Horse – Your average run around town animal. Has the energy to get where you are going, the brain to find the best way to go, big enough to carry the normal sized American.
2. The Arabian – perfect for those who travel long distances in a day and try to multi task while driving. Although the Arabian may not go to your home or office with out specific instruction, it WILL go somewhere.
3. The Draft – Calling all soccer moms. This big guy can carry the whole team, their gear and snacks. Just like the big machines, this guy will require more fuel, and his shoes will be more expensive than the compact model.
4. The Western Pleasure – The right car for the high end white collar workers. This animal works harder and requires more special knowledge so only the best can figure this out. Be sure to take your cell phone. You won’t be stuck in traffic, you just won’t be getting anywhere fast.
5. The Parelli – Salesmen, stay at home moms, and high school kids will all enjoy this dream. You can  load him down with flapping  Wal-mart bags, ask him to walk in  places a horse won’t fit, and you can dance with him as you listen to the latest tunes.
6. The Ranch – The most dependable animal available. He will go where ever you ask him to, at whatever speed is appropriate. You can tie him to the stop sign and he will be there when you get back. Best of all, this model has been specially engineered to be able to go without water for days and stay fat and slick by eating sagebrush and dead prairie grass.

Of course all models are available in base colors (sorrel, bay, black) Special order colors are available (dun, gray, palomino) and for an additional fee, custom paint jobs are also available (overo,tobiano, blanket, leopard).

No horse is sold with a warranty, however maintenance plans are available in the event brakes, steering, or accelerator fail.

The Purina Mills website has information about the feed recall. We are hearing of some concern from people here but according to the website it is only involving feed that was distributed in the Eastern U.S. Purina Mills posted the following:

• In mid-February our own incoming ingredient testing and routine state regulatory testing simultaneously indicated aflatoxin above FDA action levels in certain feeds manufactured at our Statesville, North Carolina feed plant.
• We immediately implemented an internal investigation and testing regimen to determine which products might be affected and, as a precautionary measure, initiated a voluntary retrieval of affected products (February 14, 2008) even prior to receiving all testing results.