Northernhorse.com Blog

Funny story this morning. Dave renewed an ad in the classifieds which automatically moves the counter back to “0″ and then went for breaky. When he came back there was an email in his inbox requesting that he set that ad’s counter to “0″. He checked the counter and there were already 238 hits on this ad in the time he was gone. There are lots of people looking at the classifieds right now. There is certainly more optimism.

The beach in front of our “island office” is covered in herring eggs this morning. The sea was rough yesterday and piled them all up on our beach. Here’s hoping they get washed back out before they start to smell like rotting eggs.

Ready or Not Here I Come

The photo currently at the top of Northernhorse.com (March 1, 2010) was the winner (by quite a bit) of the photo contest. Lots of folks really like it as it won by popular vote. Now we have received 2 comments that it feels disturbing like there is something wrong with the horse as in this comment:

I want to comment on the “winner” of the snow photo contest. (”Ready or not…”) I find the image disturbing. The horse looks unnaturally contorted, which makes me assume it’s either is either digitally enhanced or dead.

Now I don’t really think the photo is digitally enhanced nor dead. I do agree it is a very uncommon position for a horse to be in but I don’t even think it is distressed or particularly uncomfortable. I think it is probably about to lay down and roll.

But I find it really interesting that the same photo can bring out a wide range of emotions in people from funny to disturbing.  Feel free to share your comments.

I remember when the doctor told Mom that she had Alzheimers Disease. She handled it bravely as Mom handled lots of things. But later she wept. And later we wept too.

There are few things that I dread more than getting that diagnosis. Luckily Mom died before she forgot our names. She so dreaded not knowing her own kids any more.

But, in the interim we got a glimpse of how Alzheimers robs you of your dignity and hope and life.  And there is still nothing that can stop the relentless loss of memories or the fear and confusion it brings to your life.  It is the most cruel of diseases and it is about to become an epidemic as the population ages. It’s effects will be felt by everyone if we don’t find a cure. Continue Reading »

There was no diving today for us. Weather. So I spent a little time checking out what the locals thought was happening with the weather.

Jamaica is famous for its good weather apparently. According to the resort manager this last month has been the worst for him in 20 years because of the rain. There are lots of kids here and many of the parents get pretty stressed when locked in their rooms with their little darlings. So according to him this has been a particularly bad weather spell. Continue Reading »

One of the blessings (and curses some would think) of working on the web is you can work almost everywhere. Even in Jamaica. So my office today overlooks the beautiful Caribbean Sea. The air is warm and moist. My dried out skin is already plumping up, my hair is a ball of frizz. I swam in the warm salt water this morning but had to quit sooner than I wanted as it seems like only minutes before our sun starved bodies turn pink. Continue Reading »

I was always taught that giving horses treats is usually a recipe for bad manners. Then we got a bunch of Grandkids. Then we got Buzz.

Buzz loves treats. His former owner Kathy somehow made me feel just a wee bit guilty when I would answer her query of “Do the Grandkids like feeding Buzz treats?” with “Well actually we just don’t feed Buzz or any of the horses treats.” And, of course, the Grandkids found out that horses liked treats – not from me but none-the-less I now had Buzz, the Grandkids and Kathy making me feel guilty. Continue Reading »

Dave doesn’t know this yet but I am thinking of attending and covering The Mane Event in Chilliwack this fall for Northernhorse.com. I enjoy the one in Red Deer in the spring so much and they have some really interesting  clinicians coming to Chilliwack too. Anyone been to both? I am interested in seeing it in a different venue and seeing what will most likely be a whole different group of people. I don’t think I have ever been to Chilliwack in the fall. We always go to the west coast for awhile in the spring to watch the migration. What is it usually like there in late October? October 23 – 25th is the Expo. Continue Reading »

Did you ever spend a day in a ditch along a very dusty road with a couple of horses? I have now. It wasn’t quite what I had envisioned when we headed out to the Ya Ha Tinda but it was what happened.

We have been shopping for a new truck. We did know the old one was pretty tired with 350,000 km and it wasn’t really tough enough to start with. But it was working and the hubby is Scottish and tougher trucks seem so expensive.

But, when the transmission decided to retire on a long uphill grade way back in the mountains, we were really wishing we had been a little more committed to shopping. And after several hours of waiting in the dust, we were quite anxious to go shopping.

So, if you know of a nice 1 Ton diesel dually that would like to be our new, dependable trailer hauling truck, please give us a call. 403-728-3661 or dreamweaver@northernhorse.com.

Have you noticed the “Follow us on Twitter” link on the right side of Northernhorse.com? Are you thinking that you just don’t have time for that “social networking” stuff?

I wouldn’t want to say that I think Twitter is an essential tool for marketing your business or horse but it is free, it is being used by a lot of people and when you consider that you are limited to sending or having to read 140 characters it can be a fairly time effective way to get information and to send it. Continue Reading »