Book Contest Reminder

I would just like to remind you about the Book Contest that is going on right now.

If you would like a chance to win a Free Signed Copy of Jadon and Gabe:The Not so Saintly Horses, just scroll down to the Book Contest Post and leave a comment.

Only two weeks left before the drawing so hurry and leave your comment.

The Day of 1,000 Hoof Prints

The Day of 1,000 Hoof Prints

by Brittany Jean Schonert

I grab the reins and hold on tight
I hope my horse will not get a fright
She gallops and trots, whinnies a lot

I gaze to my left and see a canyon set against a pink sunset
I sit upon my western saddle and gaze at a southern sunset

My boots hurt my feet, after a long day in the saddle, I fear dark is drawing near, I head back to the house and put my horse in her stall

I enter the house and creep down the hall and hear the door knob creek
The door opens. I walk in and take off my hat
I kick off my boots
Then I lay down my head
I hit the sack

Colostrum Bank

This is exciting news!

Reo from the Miniature Horse Forum is starting a Colostrum Bank.

If you save colostrum or are in need of colostrum check it out---go to-

http://www.lilbeginnings.com

click on "Miniature Horse Forum" and look for post by Reo.

Ownership of a Beloved Pet

By LINDA LOMBARDI

Associated Press

Published Sunday, January 24, 2010 12:05 AM

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the levees broke, many who were forced to leave without their pets endured long searches to find animals that had been ferried to safety without them. You'd think that finding that their pets were alive and well after the storm would be pure joy, but for some, it was more complicated.

The recently released documentary Mine tells the stories of people who found their pets in new homes, with rescuers or adopters who didn't want to give them back.

"A lot of the people that I met just didn't know what they could do," says filmmaker Geralyn Pezanoski. "Their animals were out of state, they didn't have the resources."

But a few, with the help of good Samaritans as well as lawyers, fought to get their dogs back -- sometimes for years. One subject of the film, Jesse Pullins, was reunited with his dog J.J. only this past June, nearly four years after the hurricane.

Katrina may have been a one-time event, but it doesn't take a natural disaster to set up a conflict over ownership of a beloved animal. It can happen to anyone who is part of a couple, as Doreen Houseman of Williamstown, New Jersey found.

After their relationship of over a dozen years ended, she and her ex managed to share their pug, Dexter, at first. Then one day, her ex said he wasn't bringing Dexter back to her again. "It felt like someone told me my best friend died," she says, and the next day, "I woke up hoping it was a nightmare, but it wasn't."

At first, a judge refused to hear a case for enforcing the sharing arrangement. Instead, he awarded monetary compensation for Dexter and for other property that had not been divided.

Splitting the value of a house or car makes sense to most of us, but a dog? While we feel very differently about our pets, they are property in the eyes of the law, says Joyce Tischler, founder and general counsel of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, which has filed briefs in many similar cases.

"Judges can decide these cases very simply by awarding the animal to the person who appears to be the owner," she says. Factors considered include who pays the vet bills and walks the dog most of the time.

However, legal arguments can also be based on the existence of other laws that treat animals quite differently.

"Every state has an anti-cruelty law," says Tischler. "There isn't any anti-cruelty law for my rug or my toaster. The law recognizes that animals need special protection."

Under current law, then, what a lawyer can argue is that animals are a special kind of unique and irreplaceable property, and in Houseman's case, the New Jersey appellate court agreed. Such property, like an antique or a valuable painting, is treated differently under the law, so the case was sent back to the original judge for a new decision. He ordered shared possession of Dexter, five weeks at a time each.

Like the cases in Pezanoski's film, Houseman's fight was a long one, lasting two and a half years.

"What's really interesting is how important pets are to people and how far people will go," the filmmaker says, even though not everyone sympathizes. A lot of the resistance that her subjects encountered, says Pezanoski, was "people who asked, why don't you just get another dog?"

In fact, Houseman did just that when a co-worker knew of a pug that was looking for a home around the time of the first trial. But, says Houseman, "Getting her was in no way to replace Dexter, it was to comfort me." The two are completely different personalities, she says: "She's a little firecracker. He's very laid back."

The law is slowly catching up to our feelings about the uniqueness of our pets, says Gina Calogero, Houseman's lawyer. The New Jersey case continues a trend set by decisions in a handful of other states, and helps set precedent that can be used where courts have not yet considered the issue.

"I do think this was a good case," says Adam Karp, who practices animal law in Bellingham, Wash. "You had a court saying, dogs are unique, face time with a dog can't be cashed out."

Such precedent is valuable because lawyers see these cases increasing.

"Ten years ago I would have been laughed out of the courtroom," Calogero says. "Now in the last five years it's accelerating, and it's being taken seriously."

Book Contest

I am having a Book Contest.

Everyone likes to receive something for Free, right?

If you would like to win a free copy of my latest book, Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses, enter your entry below by leaving a comment.

All entries will be put into a drawing and a winner will be chosen on Feb. 14th, Valentine's Day. I will post the winner's name on Feb. 15th at which time, the winner will email me their mailing address to receive their free signed copy of "Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses."

Good Luck!

Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses on Amazon!

I am excited to announce that Amazon is offering 28% off on my book, Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses. That is a savings of $3.01.

If you wish to order Jadon and Gabe: The Not so Saintly Horses from Amazon, just go over to the right and click on the cover image....that will take you to the Amazon order page.

Thank You!

Home Made Horse Treats Without Molasses

If you own a horse that has an allergy to molasses, you know how difficult it is finding a molasses free treat and or feed.

Jadon's sensitivity to molasses led us to an online search for a home-made treat that did not contained molasses.

I would like to share one of the recipes that I found on my search.

Horse Oat Cookies

1/2 cup flour
1/4 tea baking powder
1/4 tea baking soda
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 T milk
1/4 tea vanilla
1/4 cup uncooked regular oatmeal
1-1/2 cups grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool for one hour.

Brown Sugar Contains Molasses

May your horses enjoy!
God Bless!