Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
What are U doing today?
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What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread)
I'll never understand how people can be so cruel to animals!PS-This reminds me of the movie "Temple Grandin" (TV 2010):
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278469/
"A biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry."
It's available as a DVD at Netflix:
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Templ...
PS-The movie was adapted from the following books by by Temple Grandin:
Emergence: Labeled Autistic
and
Thinking In Pictures and Other Reports from My Life with Autism
You're welcome, Werner. It's an ugly subject & no one really likes to look at it closely enough to understand it well. I think we do simply because of living around the industry for so long. Our 3 retired race horses are a few of the lucky ones.Cutter, Marg's young horse, earned quite a lot of money but was retired by the time he was 5 because his hocks (hind knees) went. (A horse becomes an adult at 5, so he was like a teenage human racing.) Marg paid $1000 to a guy a who had almost starved him to death. It took her 2 years to get the weight & muscle back on him. She spends $400 - $800 each year getting his hocks injected & feeds him supplements to help his joints. Most folks can't afford that.
I wish more could see what it's like when you treat them right, though. He follows me around the field or into the woods on walks. It's like having a big, annoying puppy around. He's begging for treats & attention. (I'm a soft touch for both.) Besides, I'm a break in the routine. He's also good to hop on bareback or take to a show. He's come a long way from the mean, starved horse we got.
Jim, I enjoyed reading about Marg's horse, Cutter. Could you post a link to his photo here?You have awakened my interest in horses. I recently streamed the film "Misty" (1961) from Netflix. It is based on the book, Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry.
"Misty" (1961):
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Misty...
I also recently listened to an audio version of King of the Wind: The Story of the Godolphin Arabian by Marguerite Henry.
I intend to watch the following film soon by streaming it from Netflix:
"The Black Stallion" (1979):
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The...
"Adapted from the children's book, The Black Stallion (1941) by Walter Farley.
Of course, Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (1877) is a classic which I read a while ago when I gave it as a gift to my grandkids. I had never read it as a kid myself! Somehow, I remember watching the film, but can't figure out when or where. So I intend to stream it from Netflix soon:
"Black Beauty" (1994)
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Black...
These films will help me get through the winter!
PS-I forgot to mention that I read the book Seabiscuit: An American Legend (2001) by Laura Hillenbrand. I'm sure I also watched the film after I read the book, but I don't know when or where. :)"Seabiscuit" (2003):
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Seabi...
I haven't read or seen Seabiscuit, although we own both the book & movie. I know Marg & Erin like it. I've both read & seen the others. I guess I've seen several versions of Black Beauty.It's been years, but I read most of Henry's books when i was young. We went to Chincoteague & watched the ponies swim the channel between the islands. I remember having read several of the Chincoteague books by then & we think it was in 1966 that we went. I was 7, then. (Mom happened to call when I was reading your message.) It was quite exciting for me to be able to match a book with reality.
Jim, I've always wondered about the differences between Chincoteague Island and Assateague Island. At Wiki I read the following:==========================================================
Chincoteague is a town on Chincoteague Island in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. ... The town is perhaps best known for the Chincoteague Ponies, although these are not actually on the island of Chincoteague but on nearby Assateague Island.
FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chincote...
==========================================================
That sort of clears thing up. :)
It must have been great for you to have actually been there! I can appreciate your enjoyment of the memory.
BTW, if you ever read or watch "Seabiscuit", I'd be interested in your reaction. The book made me appreciate what goes into creating a winning horse and it also made me feel a lot of empathy for the horse, his owner, his trainer, and his jockey (the 3 main characters in the book). I also developed an affection for Seabiscuit himself.
As for the movie, it was interesting, but the book had a greater effect on me.
Yes, Chincoteague is for people, Assateague for ponies. They swim them across the channel once a year & sell some off. It's a big event.Marg & I met at a racing stable while working there. Both of us, besides mucking stalls, also groomed, walked hots & exercised (rode according to the trainer's instructions) them at various places. So did Mom. She rode so much one year that her arms started to get muscle bound.
Anyway, all of them have seen the movie & liked it, so I guess it portrayed things fairly well. The movie probably took some liberties with the truth, but nothing horrible that I've heard about.
Jim wrote: "Yes, Chincoteague is for people, Assateague for ponies. ..."Jim, that clears it up even more! Thanks!
How does horse-back riding develop one's arm muscles?
I would think one's thigh muscles would be developed because doesn't the rider transmit some instructions to the horse by squeezing the sides of the horse? I'm not sure where I heard about that squeezing move, but I've often wondered about it.
BTW, I had to look up "hot walking". Here's what I found:
http://www.answers.com/topic/hot-walking
I love the way you and Marg met! Common interests. Eddie and I met through our water-skiing interests. At least you and Marg still have horses. We still have a boat*, but the water-skiing days are over. Now the grandkids do the water-skiing and other similar things while being pulled behind a boat. We just watch. :) But now it makes me nervous! LOL
*The boat is old and so are we. :)
When you ride a race horse, especially exercising them, you often have to keep them pulled up - not going full out. Yeah, everything gets into the act, not just thighs or arms. Balance wrong & you'll find your back giving out, too. When a horse is pulling a lot, your arms are almost doing a sideways pull up for extended periods. Anyway, Mom was pulling so long & hard, her forearms got huge & started to bind. I called her Popeye - once.;-)
The hot walking definition you found is correct, but most I know don't hand walk before, just after, & you walk them until they've cooled down. If they've worked hard & it's a hot day, a half mile is probably not far enough - I don't know - you tend to go around the barn in circles. It can be mind numbing. Also, you have to give them some water during the walk, but not too much or they can founder or get a belly ache.
That's cool how you & Eddy met. I haven't been water skiing in years. I was only ever OK at it. I could get on one ski, but nothing fancy.
I could never manage the slalom on one ski. It was like sliding down off a banana peel. Whoops! But Eddie was good at it. It takes muscles. Just like horseback-riding. :)
I hope everyone enjoyed watching Downton Abbey on PBS. Those 4 episodes certainly gave me a much needed break during the month of January.New episodes are being filmed and will be shown next year. I'm sure they will pick up right where this season left off; on the eve of World War One.
Katherine, yes, I watched and enjoyed at least one of the episodes. Thanks for telling us about the program. I've had it on my Netflix queue, intending to watch the DVDs. However, I see that it will be available by streaming on Feb. 9. I'm glad to see that because I enjoy streaming, even though captions aren't available. Sometimes the British accents need clarification. :)Here's the Netflix link:
Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey (2010):
http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Maste...
"It can be argued that no writer has a clearer insight than Shakespeare and he managed to achieve this in a world without refrigeration, Darwin, Freud, Bill Gates, emails, television or the moblie phone." Sir John Mortimer/ nina
"He was not of an age, but for all time."-Ben Jonson on William Shakespeare
Our TV died today. We only have the one in the living room & the old one was almost 10 years old & has been repaired once, so I got a new one. Ouch. It cost about $1000, a Vizio 47", so it is about 5" taller than the other, a 32" CRT, but lots wider. It better last 10 years like the last one did for that much money. Seems to do everything but spank the baby. Not sure how I like that. Damn thing went & updated its firmware & rebooted without asking permission.I got it working with all the devices (satellite, DVD/VCR & PC), but had to spend an hour on the phone with Dish. Apparently my satellite receiver & antenna are old - they'll only do regular TV at 4:3 aspect ratio & to get widescreen I need an upgrade that required a 24 month contract renewal plus $10/month. I said I'd been a good customer & I guess I'd have to see what kind of a deal Direct TV would give me. Seems to me I've been a good customer & since I rent their equipment, they should make sure it is up to speed for my equipment. I got escalated & still had to sign up for 2 years, but they dropped all installation fees & the monthly charge. A tech is supposed to be out tomorrow morning. It pays to be nice & remind them they have competition.
;-)
Now you will need some really good movies to make this all worthwhile. nina
Jim, you gave them a good argument and made a lot of sense. The equipment they rent SHOULD be up to speed without having to pay extra for it. Mentioning the competition was smart too. Enjoy your new TV.Do you folks have cable availability?
Joy, apparently Dish is signing up new members with "HD for Life". As an existing member who didn't have an HD receiver or dish, they wanted to make me pay extra for the privilege. I think that's a pretty poor way to treat a good customer. I didn't know that at the time, though. If I had, I might not have been so polite.No, we don't have cable, DSL or fiber out our way. They say it is coming soon - both AT&T & the local cable provider. No one knows what that means, but the satellite service for TV has been good. If I want to cancel early, it's $10/month for the remaining time, so that gives me options. They used to try to make people pay the full amount for every month remaining on the contract. That really locks a person in.
Good point, Nina. That's why it is so important to get the other devices hooked up to the TV. I can read the computer screen on the new TV much better. Very nice for cruising the Internet now.
So, Jim, how do you send email from your home? Certainly you don't have to use "dial-up". I'm guessing that your Dish service enables you to send and receive email on your computer, as well as connecting you to the Internet and bringing you TV. As you can see, I'm not familiar with satellite service at all. We have cable.
No, we have a high speed wireless service. It's not satellite, though. http://www.shelbybb.com/wireless.aspx
Satellite has a built in 750ms lag time since the signal has to go up to the satellite & back down to earth. It's fine for downloads, but uploads are terrible & they trim the traffic in some cases. (It's technical.) Anyway, it won't work for me.
Shelby Wireless isn't great. There are consistency issues with the service, but that's the nature of wireless. It's a LOT better than dialup, though.
Jim, I didn't realize there was such a thing as Shelby Wireless. We have a wireless router in our house, but it only transmits up to 100 or 150 feet. I had no idea that there were wireless companies which transmit radio waves over a distance of many miles in order to provide computer connections to the Internet. For me, it gives a whole new meaning to the word "wireless". :)Are companies like Shelby Wireless considered to be ISP's (Internet Service Providers)?
Yes, they are. Shelby Wireless happens to buy their bandwidth from the company that my son is a network engineer for. AT&T, Verizon & such a primary providers since it is their loops that encircle the country & other parts of the world. My son's company buys directly from several of these primary or top tier providers & parcels it out to smaller companies & individuals.
Harley has improved tremendously. She's running in & out of the house & all around now. Jumping up & down off the couch is no problem & she's even playing some. This is fantastic.
Jim, that's the kind of news I needed just before going to bed with an earache. Doesn't even hurt as much when I read about Harley. nina
Jim, thanks for explaining about the ISP's. I've learned something new. I don't exactly understand how the service is "parcelled" out. It's beyond me, but I'm glad that somebody does understands it. :)Glad to hear that Harley is doing so well. Seems like a miracle... the miracle of healing.
Nina, hope your ear heals up too!
Joy, it's like a few companies control all the water. They have a few really big pipes (the main fiber loops) that circle the country & connect to other countries that have their own big pipes. Smaller companies tap into the big pipes & parcel it out into smaller areas until it finally gets to your house where you split it up some more. Water goes to the various sinks. The data just comes in through your router & then goes to your & Ed's computers.Thanks about Harley. Yeah, we're really thrilled. Hope your ear gets better fast, Nina. I used to have problems with mine when I was little. Luckily, I haven't had any in a lot of years.
Jim, I understand your "water" metaphor. That's the easy part.:) It's that I'll never understand how it's done technically. Radio waves are still a mystery to me! :) It's a good thing that we don't have to understand these things in order to make use of them.
Oh, I don't pretend to understand the technology either, Joy. I mean, how can the same twisted pair of phone wires carry bad voice or a T1 (1.5mb) or DSL? It's black magic!;-)
Jim, obviously you understand MUCH more than I do! LOL
Jim wrote: "Harley has improved tremendously. She's running in & out of the house & all around now. Jumping up & down off the couch is no problem & she's even playing some. This is fantastic."Jim, congratulations. I'm pleased to be proven wrong. Because when you were telling us of your troubles I concluded that you were just wasting your money and prolonging the dog's misery because you HATED putting her down. I certainly know that feeling. I'm glad she's enjoying life again.
Earl, I felt the same way. I would have put her down. Marg thought otherwise & she's the Boss. I'm glad she was right, too.
Sometimes in life the best thing is to be proven wrong. And it seems to have been the case here. So glad for all of you; including Harley. nina Ps here's a quote:"
Consciousness is the annoying time between naps."
Anonymous
I posted some photos. The horses are playing with a Jolly ball & others.http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid...
Jim, thanks for the photos. It's fun watching the horses play with the ball. Harley looks very happy... as if nothing happened to her leg. I can see that Pixie is a loving pet.I see you have just a bit of snow left. Soon it'll be gone. We still have about a foot of it in our backyard but it's been melting slowly with the rain. The icicles are gone. I hope they stay gone! :)
Thanks for sharing the photos, Jim. Those are cute!
Oh, the snow is weeks gone. The ones of the horses were older, I just forgot to put them up until today. It is fun watching them play. Cutter is such a ham. He saw me taking pictures & brought the ball over like a trophy. The next picture in the series was a blurred shot of his nose as he dropped the ball & begged for a treat. Yes, Harley is doing great. Digging is a bit awkward, but she still manages it.
Glad you all liked them. Thanks. Later I took some photos of the first flowers. The crocus bloomed this afternoon & I even saw a periwinkle flower. How cool!
Jim! I am so jealous! :)
This morning, Barb and I fortified ourselves with a breakfast at Ryan's, did some errands, and then came home to start working on a major undertaking: pruning a big maple tree that overhangs Princess' dog pen. Right now, we're taking a break for lunch, but this will keep us both busy most of the day. (It has to be done before the warmimg temperatures start the sap running in a big way.)
Good luck with the pruning, Werner. Why does the maple tree have to be pruned "before the warming temperatures start the sap running in a big way"? Would it harm the tree if the pruning were done later?
Yes, Joy, it would --if the sap were running freely, all of the places where branches were severed would be sort of like huge open wounds in a person or animal. A lot of sap would run out, and that would be as bad for the tree as heavy blood loss would be for us.In this case, after going back outside, we reassessed the situation and decided to just eventually have this particular tree cut down. So that saved a lot of work!
Werner, thanks for explaining about the tree pruning. We're thinking of pruning an old tree. So that's why I asked.
Werner wrote: "This morning, Barb and I fortified ourselves with a breakfast at Ryan's, did some errands, and then came home to start working on a major undertaking: pruning a big maple tree that overhangs Prince..."Ah.... Ryan's. We have friends who live outside Lynchburg, VA, and one of their favorite eating spots is Ryan's. They go there for breakfast every Sunday. One is a "secret shopper" for Ryan's so they are there a lot. They even took us when we visited.
Wish we had one around here.
Katherine, what's a "secret shopper"?
Werner, I thought this was the time they drilled maples for sap to make syrup out of because they had their biggest sap rush? No?I spent the day fixing fences, pretty much. I put up a new one around the north garden to keep the dogs out, too. Did some fixing on the barn & generally enjoyed the pretty weather. It barely hit 60 today (yesterday was 75) so it felt a lot cooler, but really nice. A good day to do some hard work outside.
Joy H. wrote: "Katherine, what's a "secret shopper"?"Our friend is a representative for Ryan's and goes to the restaurant as a regular patron, has dinner, etc. When he goes home, he fills out a survey form commenting on the service, quality of food cleanliness of the restaurant, etc. When the company gets the form in the mail, he receives a check back for his time and for the cost of the meal. No one at Ryan's knows he is doing this; they just think of him as a loyal customer.
Lots of companies do this, and some "secret shopers" make a good living, being employed by many of them at the same time.
Sounds like a job I would be really good doing.
Katherine - that's sounds like an unusual job. It's the first I've ever heard of it.Jim - I can't imagine a temp of 75 in March! :) You "southerners" have it good. :) What are your fences made of?
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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It's illegal to sell a horse for slaughter even out of the country here, so they are sold to one of several holding companies that then ships them out of state (the nearest one uses Ohio) where the ownership is transferred & then they get shipped to Canada where they are legally slaughtered. Yuck.
It's one of those areas where people are going to do it one way or another so laws against it just make the situation worse.