Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

michaels

Hmm - I know this was close to where an NP lives...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-16345903

zagubov wrote: »

Here's a weird thought- I may well pass another NP in my travels today and I'm going to meet someone who probably knows that same NP!

vivatifosi

michaels wrote: »

Hmm - I know this was close to where an NP lives...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-16345903

I heard about that too michaels. Very sad.

lostinrates

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

I am surrounded by horses but don't know much about them, as my then bankrupt neighbour once said:
"....what do you want one of those for? - it will cost you more than a wife!"

However in my time, the surrounding "pasture" has changed from naked starving, pregnant brood mares, to female owned horse flesh, all wearing macs.

Why do horses wear macs? Why do they need to have them taken off when a load of visitors, with dogs, jump over the hedge? [I do get the occasional hunters with two barrels but not hunters riding on hunters].
.

Poorly manages pasture suffers, whatever is grazing it. My pasture is getting better since we moved here. Some one recently pointed to my grass and said, when did the sheep leave, (having dissed horses for the same grass reasons as you have) and I was able to tell him it was my horses who had grazed there. Grass needs care. You don't see the damage with cows (who can be worse in someways for land than horses) if their farmers over stock or top regularly, and because they might not get turn out in bad weather.


Most horses don't need ''macs'' but they might if they are A: older than they would live to in the wild, b: clipped for work, c: trying to be kept clean for work, d: coat changed because of ill health or d: breeding far removed from the wild/native type and not growing a coat for the weather.

I take them off so they don't sweat up and get either ill, uncomfortable and so they aren't going into the night shivering and wet having sweated after hairing around wanting to go with the hunt.

Some just get pampered...like people..its nice to be a certain way....(not always nice for the horse though, just the people). One of the horses here NEVER wears a rug. EVER. He doesn't need one, its not a problem. Old girl OTOH has a funny coat due to hormone/health issue...and primarily age. She's about three/four times the age she'd live to in the wild and older than any horse I've met. Seems sensible not to leave her rugless, too avoid vet bills.

Incidentally, the rugs were designed for cows in New Zealand and later applied to horses, but we don't give cows turnout here in bad weather often enough.

I'm pretty sure, with the right horse and good luck and circumstanced I personally could keep a horse/pony for under £300 a year. Thats because of acquired skills though (and not counting problems like my health....e.g. I could trim feet myself, but choose not too, but doing that would save me some serious money, the pay off is a probably get a much better job than I could do). I couldnm't, for example, do dentistry, but one could learn, but that would not be free. Old horse probably could be that type, certainly when she was younger. Special horse never was, sadly! the next horse/s we get may well be cheaper to feed and do but have other issues...e.g. a cheaper horse to keep in many ways requires more work to keep it healthy.

lostinrates

vivatifosi wrote: »

can I please say I have always found you quite remarkable and wonderful. For sure you are quirky in your own way.......please, don't think nothing's possible because you really are amazing.

and surprising, and funny and interesting and responsive and caring.

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

There was an article in a newspaper magazine some time in the past 1-2 years that looked at the total cost of ownership of pets from a budgie up to a horse, then put it down as a yearly figure. Horses worked out at about £12,000/year each.

How much are children a year?

Horses aren't generally cheap, but I can assure you they don't NEED to be £12k a year, though some choices have to me made to reduce costs some times. Lots of people, for example, ride horses far ''better'' than they need. Something that always makes me cringe is people who have very tight pursestrings at home and scrimping on things that would make family's life betterand in fact also on things important to horse but spending money on animal communicators or psychics. Surprisingly common occurance.

silvercar

PN wrote:

there was no space to do homework as we only had a coal fire and table in one room and that was "the room", so everything else was going on there (like eating tea on the table)

We had to do our homework in our bedrooms. So we weren't distracted by the TV or talking downstairs.

silvercar

How much are children a year?

Expensive. Very expensive.

silvercar

zagubov wrote: »

Here's a weird thought- I may well pass another NP in my travels today and I'm going to meet someone who probably knows that same NP!

Who? Where?

michaels wrote: »

Hmm - I know this was close to where an NP lives...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-16345903

Very close to the previous house.

Very sad. Don't know the person or family, nor does anyone on my FB, though I know 4 families that live on that road.

Seems that she was babysitting and found by her mother the next morning. Awful full stop, but awful to think the children could have witnessed what happened or found her.

LydiaJ

lostinrates wrote: »

and surprising, and funny and interesting and responsive and caring.

and resourceful, self-motivated, independent and intelligent.

vivatifosi

OMG!!!! I have just watched Extreme Couponing for the first time. michaels, why is it making me think of you;)?