WonderVet: "I never see you wearing shoes.... Don't your feet get cold?"
Foffdaughter: "You wear shoes every time I see you... Don't your feet get claustrophobic?"
WonderVet: "No. Why would they?"

Olaf Update: 16-18 weeks old

Olaf got his third round of vaccinations today, and he weighed in at 4 pounds 11 ounces.
Speaking of testicles-
WonderVet mildly commented, "There is even a little set of seeds back there!"
My reply was grim: "Not for long."

Drafty Door

Dyl around 6 mo. (spring 2004?)
Foffmom will never live it down, but when Dyl looked like the picture above, she didn't think that he was special! I seem to recall he earned some pitying laughter for looking like a baby. So what if his ears were adult-sized and the rest of him was tiny? (He still doesn't know that his loving Foffmummy used to think he was a mule.)

Dyl 4 yo (May 2007)
Percheron dam (cold... kind and slow. Say no more) and Arabian sire (hot... intelligent, well-tempered, beautiful conformation...) somehow managed to make.. Dyl! 16hh, anvil-headed, warm-hearted, cold-thinking, hot-tippy ears along with the tail flip.
Plus he flaps his lower lip.
Which is disturbingly adorable.

Dyl at 6 yo (Sept. 2009)

Foffarm's old front door.... One of the many casualties of remodeling.

Oh those Silly Suits.

Articles of interest geared towards the general public (read as: a bit watered down by horse people standards)
"The Breeding Debate: Born to run, or sell?"
"Is Horse Racing Breeding Itself to Death?"
"Race Illustrates Brutal Side of Sport"

I feel bad for Big Brown; he can't get away from being mentioned when discussing stallions who should hand over their 'credentials' (as it were). If I rambled about each crop of foals being bred crappier then the last one.... I can't lie- Big Brown + progeny is guaranteed a mention. Do you think he would pass an assessment checking for positive qualities worth passing on genetically? If nothing outstanding/decent/desirable/average can be found, why the hell would you make more editions based off of cruddy starting material?

It isn't his fault! It is the two-legger's fault, of course. Big Brown may not be a positive contributing influence on newer generations, but he does have a calling. He is recognized as the rockstar of sires managed irresponsibly because it is lucrative. So what if he doesn't represent a good example? A calling he has found and mastered while having a face that is so freakin' cute. (Multiple edits to delete cheap snarky jokes about crappy hooves.... and legs..... *snort*)

Oh damn.
I am ashamed.

YES I heard about it.

Claudette's Call m, 06
(Johannesburg - Kissie, by Deputy Minister)
Not sold ($27,000) Keeneland sale Nov. 2011

Information without commentary or preference.

"Thoroughbred Growth and Future Racing Performance"

Forbes article regarding how many racehorses end up going to slaughter.

The original post focused on statistics regarding annual Thoroughbred foal production... for a little bit, and then everything just went a little haywire. I wanted to indicate that horse slaughter in the US is a secondary problem to the production of animals in general. Thoroughbreds were the example of excessive production... JC registered TB foals born in the US each year- in the range of 30,000. What the hell are we going to do with 30,000 foals EACH YEAR? Oh! Right! Well howdy there bud! That sure is a nifty little market for horse meat. I have extra horses, they need horses....! By golly- neighbor helping neighbor the lord sure spent time on this great nation 'cause AMERICA IS AWESOME 'cause of the blessings and whatnot. Oh the pride of being the two-leggy sort, a species notable only for its self-extinction program and the relationship equalizing pounds and volume, ensuring the religious slogan of the future: fatter is louder. Amen.


Rescues, neglect, slaughter, euthanasia..... Perfectly good, inoffensive animals of every species are screwed over long before a stockyard auction, unanswered adoption ad, or drive to country drop seals their fate. Why do we breed so many of these animals? Intentionally breeding can, of course, be a power of good.... but most of the time it is a greedy impulse made by petulant, spoiled brats. Unintentional breeding involving domesticated creatures, consists of a nice blend of arrogance and ignorance, doused heavily with oblivious ass-hattery, and a self-righteous sense of entitlement. Random conception goes uncorrected, and instead gets defended with car-wash-explanations (vaguely relevant concepts harmlessly wander around the oppositional enemy).

It seems like it is always some verbally handicapped, swaying, discolored sort of two-legger justifying their decision made by inaction. "Hell no my dog/cat/horse/gila monster will not get his balls chopped off (or 'she will not get cut open for no damn reason!'). I don't think it's right to change an animal's personality like that, and I love my pets for who they are." They cross their arms and make their shoulders broad, proving their love by defending their dog/cat/horse/gila monster from my gaze. 'So there,' they seem to say, comfortable knowing exactly where a set of testicles, other than their own, can be reliably found. I have a theory that these people are projecting pro-life crap on animals just for another excuse to get uppity about feeling wronged.

BACK to rescues, neglect, slaughter, euthanasia! Nearly unavoidable patching techniques that must exist in the absence of responsibility. Breeding less domesticated animals means that we, as a shitty species, get to kill less horses, dogs, cats, tame-but-likes-biting-off-ears raccoons, ferrets, outgrown ponies...... Humans are multiplying at a rate understood only by happy cancer cells despite the fact that there is no need for more humans. Putting down and/or slaughtering the excessive, unwanted, unhealthy two-leggers is a solution that hasn't quite caught on yet. Most of this blasted species is unhealthy and the whole of it is excessive and unwanted! A solution is readily available yet there isn't likely to be any logical consideration... Usually 'logical' is actually hysterical... and 'consideration' becomes dramatic holier-than-thou statements with less substance than Bazooka Joe. The supporters of this general solution idea are sporadically likened to historical figures best known for overseeing genocide. What the hell man?!