Things that make you go hmmm...

If you have 3 quarters, 4 dimes, and 4 pennies, you have $1.19. You also have the largest amount of money in coins without being able to make change for a dollar.

The numbers '172' can be found on the back of the U.S. $5 dollar bill in the bushes at the base of the Lincoln Memorial.

President Kennedy was the fastest random speaker in the world with upwards of 350 words per minute.

In the average lifetime, a person will walk the equivalent of 5 times around the equator.

Odontophobia is the fear of teeth.

The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottles represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.

In the early days of the telephone, operators would pick up a call and use the phrase, "Well, are you there?". It wasn't until 1895 that someone suggested answering the phone with the phrase "number please?"

The surface area of an average-sized brick is 79 cm squared.

According to suicide statistics, Monday is the favored day for self-destruction.

Cats sleep 16 to 18 hours per day.

The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear.

Karoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese.

The Eisenhower interstate system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C.

Rhode Island is the smallest state with the longest name. The official name, used on all state documents, is "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."

When you die your hair still grows for a couple of months.

There are two credit cards for every person in the United States.

Isaac Asimov is the only author to have a book in every Dewey-decimal category.

The newspaper serving Frostbite Falls, Minnesota, the home of Rocky and Bullwinkle, is the Picayune Intellegence.

It would take 11 Empire State Buildings, stacked one on top of the other, to measure the Gulf of Mexico at its deepest point.

The first person selected as the Time Magazine Man of the Year - Charles Lindbergh in 1927.

The most money ever paid for a cow in an auction was $1.3 million.

It took Leo Tolstoy six years to write "War & Peace".

So, who invented the paperclip?

When Johann Vaaler patented his paper clip in 1901, therealready were similar designs on the books. William Middlebrook of Waterbury, Connecticut patented his design in 1899. Cornelius Brosnan of Springfield, Massachusetts patented his Konaclip in 1900.

So, who was first? Well, it is thought to be Johann Vaaler. Drawings of his design date to early 1899, but since Norway had no patent law at the time, he had to seek patent rights in Germany and the US in the following years.

Johann Vaaler was born on 15 March 1866 in Aurskog, Norway. Known as an innovator in his youth, he graduated in electronics, science and mathematics. He was employed by the owner of a invention office when he invented the paperclip in 1899.

Several designs followed the original. Only a few remain, such as the Ideal, Non-Skid, Owl and Gem.

The first double-oval clip, the Gem, was launched in early-1900 by Gem Manufacturing Ltd of England.

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tips

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #1

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #1 As winter approaches, gradually lower the mowing height of your mower. Winter should begin without any young, tender growth that makes your lawn more appealing to winter diseases.

Besides, new growth on the lawn is vulnerable to dry out after the first winter winds come through, which will give you a brown winter lawn. So for the sake of lawn maintenance, as winter approaches, begin to gradually reduce the cutting height on your mower, until you are almost, but not quite, shaving the lawn. However, be sure to do this in several steps to avoid suddenly removing all the green leaf tissue and damaging the turf.

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #2

In late fall, be sure to give your lawn a final fertilization. Inactive during winter, your lawn won't use the fertilizers immediately. Much like mammals bulking up for the cold, your lawn will store these nutrients in its root system and take full advantage of them at the first signs of spring.

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #3

Clear your lawn of any debris like logs, toys, or gardening equipment. Once snow comes, these objects can smother your grass, damage your turf, and leave your lawn more vulnerable to diseases.

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #4

Be sure to aerate your lawn before the first freeze. Thatch will only get worse with the affects of winter. A good aeration, along with a round of fertilization, will set the stage for bountiful spring growth.

Winter Lawn Maintenance Tip #5

Winter is a great time to learn more about your garden and your lawn in particular. Take this time to buy some lawn maintenance books and research the Internet for tips on how to keep a beautiful lawn and garden.

Cutting Horses

Have you ever dreamed what it would be like to be a top-notch cutting horse rider? Can you imagine the feeling of riding a good horse when its working a tough cow?

I'll tell you, it's an experience that is absolutely thrilling!

Once you ride a cutting horse and experience those big stops and hard turns, there is no going back. You are "hooked". And I mean totally... hook, line and sinker.

I remember well the first time I ever rode a trained cutting horse. It had such an impact on me that I'll never forget it.

At the time, I was working for a huge cattle ranch as their colt starter. I was just
beginning my career training horses and I really didn't know much. But, I had a burning desire to succeed at my chosen profession and worked hard to learn
all I could.

This cattle ranch was always short on cowboys and one day the cow boss asked
me if I would work with the cow crew that day because they needed extra hands to help with gathering and sorting some cows and calves.

I said sure, I'd be happy to go along but I wouldn't be much help riding one of my
2 year olds. He pointed to a palomino mare out in the pasture and told me to use her for the days work. He also warned me she hadn't been ridden for over a year.

I caught the mare, saddled her up and turned her loose in a pen to see what she'd do. She crow-hopped a bit but that was it. So, I climbed aboard and away we went.

The pasture that we were to gather, contained around 200 head of mother cows
plus their calves. The plan was to drive the whole herd into a corner, then separate
the "dry" cows (these are cows that didn't produce a calf) from the "mother" cows.

Separating or "cutting out" the dry cows from the herd this way was a tricky business. One wrong move, one mistake, could spook the herd and send them scattering in all directions. Thus wasting all the time and effort it took to get them rounded up.

Because of the skill involved, it was usually the "cow boss" (foreman) who did the cutting.

On this ranch, the cow boss was a man named Walter Matlock. What a hell of a hand! To this day, Walter is still one of the best all-around hands I've ever seen. His horses would rope, head or heel, cut cattle, stop on a dime and spin like a top.

The man knew horses and he knew cattle.

Walter was also the best "marksman" with a bullwhip that I've ever seen.
At will, Walter could either "sting" or "cut" any part of a cows body with
that whip. He could easily hit the cow's left ear, right ear, the nose or tail.

One day, I jokingly said, "Hey Walter, there's a horse fly pestering my horse. Get him with your whip".

In the blink of an eye, Walter's whip literally "exploded" the insect off my horse's back. It sounded like a high-powered rifle shot. He got the fly and didn't even touch the horse. (I'm not exaggerating here. You had to see it to believe it).

Anyway, I'm getting off track. Back to the herd of cattle.

I watched Walter quietly enter the herd and ease out a dry cow. When the cow would turn to get back to the herd, Walter's horse would counter each move with a "bigger", "faster" move and contain the cow in one small area. It was mesmerizing to watch.

After watching Walter cut cattle for 20 minutes or so, he asked me if I'd like to give it a try. You betcha, I was dying to! Trouble was, I'd never done it before and didn't have a clue. My focus had always been on learning how to train a reining horse. I didn't have much experience working cattle.

He told me, "just ease in and drive out that "brindle" colored cow. Once you have her clear of the herd, drop your rein hand, sit relaxed and keep both your eyes focused on the cow. Trust the mare and let her work on her own".

Well, I did as he instructed and when I dropped my hand to signal the mare that she was on her own, man o' man, what a ride.

This little palomino mare dropped straight down on her belly, crouched and ready to spring. Each time the cow moved, the mare would leap through he air and then drag her butt in the dirt, blocking the cow's every attempt to rejoin the herd.

By far, it was the most fun I'd ever had on the back of a horse. Actually, the word "fun" doesn't accurately describe it. "Exhilarating" would be more like it. I was so excited by the experience, I could hardly sleep that night.

I learned later, that palomino mare had competed at the NCHA futurity a year earlier. She had done well, made the finals and placed 5th. No wonder she was so good..

Over the years, I've met a lot of folks who have experienced riding a cutting horse and gotten "hooked" the same way I did. Unfortunately, some of them haven't had the benefit of receiving good instruction. They encounter problems when riding their cutter.

In reality, learning to ride a cutting horse isn't that difficult. If you can master a few
basic principals and practice those principals until they become "muscle memory",
you will have success pretty darn quick.

Below I've listed some of the most common mistakes new cutters make.

Biggest Mistakes Made by Cutting Horse Riders

Trying to Learn to Cut on a Green Cutting Horse.
If you are a person who loves frustration, then trying to learn to cut on a green horse is definitely the way to go =o)

Seriously though, cutting is one of the most challenging show events you can do on horseback. During a cutting run, you have three separate "beings" to deal with... yourself, the horse and the cow.

When you're new and just learning, its hard enough just to concentrate on YOURSELF. Let alone a cow and a horse that doesn't know his job.

Its far better to learn on a fully trained horse that really knows his job. You will learn much faster if you do.

Now, let me make this clear. I'm talking about "competition cutting" here.

If you just want to have some fun by working your horse on cattle, by all means, have at it. You'll have a blast and gain some valuable experience. However, if you are serious about competing, then go get help from a top cutting horse trainer.

Rider's Body is Tense & Stiff Instead of Loose & Relaxed.
Its imperative that you ride with your body totally relaxed.

Trying to ride a cutting horse while your body is stiff is the most common fault you will see in the cutting arena. It's also one of the worst faults a cutting horse rider can have.

Why? Because body stiffness causes a MULTITUDE of problems.

Here are just a few...
A. Causes the horse to miss the stop.
B. Causes the horse to round the turns and leak up the arena.
C. Causes the rider to fall forward and lose his balance.
D. Causes the horse to lose his form and style on a cow.

Bottom line, if the rider can't sit in the saddle relaxed, nothing goes right.

Failure to Make a Clean Cut in the Middle of the Pen.
In other words, cutting on the run. If the run doesn't start right, it usually doesn't
finish very well either. Ideally, you want to cut a cow in the center of the arena
with your horse "faced up" and "even" with the cow.

This means before you drop your hand, the horse needs to be looking directly at the cow you want to cut and be positioned on the cow correctly. Not placed out-of-wack, too far to the right or left of the cow.

Many beginning cutters will experience "tunnel vision" and get focused on running cows. What they need to do is slow down and focus on the cows that want to stop and stay for their horse.

Rider Takes His Eyes Off the Cow & Looks at the Horse's Head.
This is the quickest way I know of to get thrown off the back of a cutting horse. Many beginning cutters are unable to "feel" the position of the horse's body so they take their eyes off the cow and look at the horse to check what he is doing.

This is a huge mistake. See, the rider's "timing" and "balance" comes from watching the cow. Whenever a rider takes his eyes off the cow and looks at the horse's head, he is no longer aware of when the cow is going to stop and turn.

I've seen plenty of riders hit the ground because they took their eyes off the cow just as it stopped and went the other way. The horse went the other way too but the rider didn't. Usually, the rider isn't even aware of this problem.

The Rider Not Correctly Sitting the Stop.
This one mistake is responsible for cutting horses "missing" their cattle than any other thing I can think of.

When the cow is running across the pen and then stops and goes the other way, it's imperative that the rider sits down in the saddle to help his horse. This "sitting down" does two very important things.

1. It tells the horse that its time to stick his butt in the dirt and apply the brakes.

2. It also allows the rider to maintain balance during the hard stop and turn.

The "sit down" consists of the rider rounding his lower back, tucking his pelvis under him and trying to sit on his jean pockets. It's also important for the rider's shoulders to be positioned directly over his hips... Not leaning too far forward or too far back.

Unfortunately, many riders "hollow out" and arch their back. Making their spine rigid. The result is usually the horse not stopping in time with the cow and the rider losing his balance by falling forward.

The Rider Leaning His Upper Body Towards the Cow.
Okay, this is the rider mistake I see the most at the shows. And it's a mistake that MUST be corrected if the horse is ever going to work correctly.

See, a horse will "follow" the rider's body weight. If the rider is leaning towards the cow, the horse will travel towards the cow. This causes the horse to round his turns instead of sitting down and coming over his hocks.

This leaning will also cause the horse to "leak" up the pen and lose his proper position. Leaning can also cause a horse to get out of sync with the cow. All in all, this "leaning rider syndrome" causes some pretty ugly stuff to happen.

What causes the rider to lean in the first place? It can be a variety of things. Maybe the rider doesn't trust that his horse is going to turn with the cow and he is leaning in an attempt to get the horse to turn.

The leaning can also be caused by just plain old nervousness or fear. Many riders have "stage fright" when they first learn to cut.

The cure is to condition your "muscle memory" to keep your body relaxed, loose and centered while you ride.

The Rider's Lack of Essential Horsemanship Skills.
A lot of people think that because cutting horses work on their own, all the rider has to do is just cut a cow and hang on. Well, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Yes it's true, cutting horses do work on their own but the rider has a HUGE influence on how well that horse works. A cutting horse rider needs to be more of a "jockey" than a mere "passenger".

That means you will have a lot more success cutting if you are a knowledgeable horseman. The rider who knows how to stop and turn a horse over his hocks and position a horse's body with leg cues, will have a tremendous advantage over the rider who doesn't.

Bermuda Grass Upkeep

MAINTENANCE practices for Bermudagrass depend upon the variety and purpose for which this grass is chosen.

Golf course and athletic fields are the highest maintained areas. These are usually the hybrid Bermudas that were specifically developed for this kind of activity and in the past were only sodded. Seeded varieties are now opening up the field for home owners to achieve a better Bermudagrass lawns than previously possible.

The Basics Of Bermuda Grass Maintenance

WATERING: Golfing greens, athletic fields of all kinds need a particular watering schedule (usually irrigation) to maintain the highest degree of growth that can be obtained with grasses. Over watering can bring about fungus and invitations to insects. Trained groundskeepers time all maintenance to conditions and season. Lawns that are not highly maintained can use the drought tolerance of this grass to their advantage. In most average rainfall seasons little if any water may be needed. Although Bermuda grass is drought tolerant it does responds well to watering and fertilization if the desired density is not sufficient or if it is slower growing than usual during peak seasons.

WEEDING: This is an aggressive grass and can usually take care of weeds on its own once the sod is established and well managed. A regular mowing program helps control weeds. The same goes for pastures.

FERTILIZATION: Although Bermudagrass generally requires lower amounts of fertilizer, usage will determine how much "fuel" this grass will need. Under intense wear, mowing and watering schedules more of the fertilizer will be used or leached into the soil. Bermudagrass used in average lawns and erosion control situations generally needs less fertilizer.

MOWING: Lawns planted with this grass can be mown much closer than other warm season grasses. Once more this information is according to the variety and cutting heights range from 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches. The closest mown Bermudagrass are the most improved varieties which include the vegetative as well as the newer seeded varieties. The newer seeded varieties can be maintained as low as 3/8 in. while the hybrids can be mown down to 3/16 range. Low mowing of Bermuda will generally require daily mowing during peak growing seasons.

DISEASE / INSECTS: Pearl Scale is a big problem on Tifgreen and other sodded Bermuda grasses.
Unfortunately, there is no good method to control them on some of the improved vegetatively established Bermudas. The pearl scale feeds on the roots, so getting insecticide down in the soil where the insects are is difficult, and insecticides are not that effective against them. The best option in turf infested with pearl scale is to plant seeded Bermudagrasses which are naturally resistant to them. No one knows the mechanism of resistance in the seeded Bermuda grasses to pearl scale - they just never get infested with it.

OVERSEEDING: Why overseed, when to overseed, how to overseed and with what grass, does one overseed with? These are the questions that can be answered at the lawn forum. A short version at this time from us is that overseeding accomplishes many goals for improvement, continuous green look, and is the prime example of human ingenuity over Mother Nature. Grass coverage is now (more than ever before) an erosion control factor. Once in place we yearn to keep the cover as green as long as possible. Overseeding warm grasses with cool grasses in the transition zone has succeeded with this goal. Athletic fields and golf courses led the way with a demand for grasses to provide a year round playing field.

• Perennial rye grass is the number one favorite to overseed Bermudagrass. The perennial ryegrass will not compete as aggressively with the Bermuda and will die back as soon as the temperature rises. Also it germinates quickly and has good disease resistance and high traffic density.
• Annual rye is also used in a lot of lawns because of the price and ease of overseeding. Sometimes the annual may return in weed form and cause problems later.
• Overseeding also thins the Bermuda turf and over a period of time this results in having to overseed with with more Bermudagrass seeds. This is an excellent opportunity to add newer varieties to improve the old lawn's characteristics. The best advice for overseeding is water according to directions and keep off the grass until it is growing sufficiently. In the spring you should start a transition program to encourage the Bermuda to grow while forcing the ryegrass to die out.

Going Green - Insect Repellent

Bug sprays with the chemical DEET—the most active ingredient in insect repellents—are considered safe in small quantities by U.S. health and environment agencies. However, some studies have shown that DEET exposure can cause headaches, nausea, and psychological problems in people who use the chemical often.

But with a wide array of plant-based repellents now on the market, you may want to go the natural route—unless you're traveling to an area where serious insect-borne diseases are a real threat.

Active Ingredients: For most of your backyard barbecues and hiking trips, you can keep mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting insects at bay with products containing plant oils. Many products contain geranium, lemongrass, and peppermint oils. Citronella and oil of lemon eucalyptus are specifically recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Picaridin and DEET are also recommended by the CDC.

What they kill: Bug sprays aren't a one-size-fits-all product. Most protect against mosquitoes, but read labels to make sure the product you purchase fits the right bug problem, such as ticks for long hikes or sand flies for trips to the beach.

Usage Tips

• Wear long sleeves, long pants, closed shoes and socks in areas with high mosquito or tick populations.

• For added protection against ticks, tuck pants into socks and shirts into pants.

• Wear light colors. There is some evidence that mosquitoes are more attracted to dark colors than light colors, and light colors make any ticks that might crawl on you more visible.

• Avoid being outside when the bugs are worst, generally dusk to dawn.

• When walking in tick-infested areas, stick to the center of the path and avoid brushing against grasses, where ticks wait to hop a ride.

• Check for ticks at the end of each day, paying careful attention to your head and warm spots such as underarms, behind the knees and between the toes.

Sometimes appearances are everything!

Taken from Fugly Blog

I’ve frequently talked about how important it is to look at what you put on your farm’s web site with an eye to how the world will see it, if you are intending to sell horses or stud fees or training or pretty much anything. (If your site is just for fun and is Suzie and her three rescue geldings, oh heck, do whatever makes you happy…glittering flying horses galore.)

You don’t need an expensive, professionally done site, but you do need to ensure that the pictures you put up show your horses to their best advantage. This means posing them properly, bathing them, clipping them up, and displaying them properly. If they are loose in the field, the field should look appealing with no junk, scary fence, etc. in the background. If they are haltered, use a properly fitted halter that does not look like a terrier puppy has been using it as a chew toy. If they are ridden, use properly fitted tack and a rider who is decently outfitted for riding (i.e. no midriff shirts, bra tops, shirtlessness on guys, shorts, flip flops, crocs). You are riding a horse, not feature dancing at the Spearmint Rhino – no one wants to see your nipples. Seriously.

It’s true for rescues as well as breeding farms and trainers, which is why I went out to help SOS Equines with their spa day on Saturday…we got some horses cleaned up and took much better pictures of them.

Which picture makes you want to give this rescue horse a chance? Same horse but with a bath, a detangled and conditioned mane and tail, a bridle path and his ears up, he looks like he has so much more potential. (Yes, we should have found a more uncluttered background for the “after” shot, and the halter is still not properly fitted. But it’s an improvement.)

(This attractive gelding did find a home, but FYI they have a super cute La Saboteur daughter who needs a place to go right now…click here)

Especially in this economy, if you want to place or sell horses, they need to look good. So I’m always a little confused as to why I see breeding farm web sites with pictures like this one. Look, it’s Furball McShag. Putting a show halter on a horse you haven’t bothered to even clip a bridle path on is like putting on a cute strapless dress but forgetting to shave your pits. It looks ridiculous. Then there’s the fact that the halter is hanging down so low that it’s almost over his nostrils, and it’s paired with an old cotton lead instead of a show lead.

The immediate impression of lack of professionalism is further enhanced by the web site’s copy. Apparently he is “out of” World Champion sire Troubles A Brewing. Ooookay. That I’d like to see. Ouch. Come on guys, how confusing a term is “out of,” anyway? OUT OF. I am pretty damn sure he came OUT OF a mare. If not, call Ripley’s Believe it or Not!

They claim their other stud is OUT OF Zippo Pine Bar. Well, not only I am certain that’s not physically possible, but Zippo Pine Bar was foaled 2 years after I was and therefore I’m equally certain he does not have any five year old sons running around. I was so interested to find out what the actual breeding here was that I spent the $3 to look it up. Well, ZPB is his great-grandsire. He’s actually by a Jack of No Trades called Ima Commander Zippo. Uh, false advertising much?

Don’t get me started on their sale page where you can buy the Zippo’s False Advertising horse for $2500 with a truly hideous “conformation” shot or a “versitial” Arabian for $1000. And why is the fugly-necked paint foal parked out?

For those who think I am too harsh on breeders like this, let me give you an analogy. Let’s say you opened up your Sunday paper and there was a dealership with a Nissan for sale describing it as having a 12 cylinder engine, anti-latch brakes, a DC player and power storing. After you got done laughing, my guess is your first thought would be “what a bunch of idiots” and “how can they be in the car business if they don’t know anything about cars?” That’s my point. The horse business is a business and if you can’t conduct it with the same level of professionalism and demonstrated knowledge of your product that we’d expect in any other business, you shouldn’t be in it. This is just another example of someone breeding stunningly mediocre horses that have a high chance of ending up in a kill pen. You’d really think that by now, given this economy and how difficult it is to sell young stock that aren’t high quality show or race prospects, people would be starting to get the message, but linnks to these web sites keep showing up in my in-box…

By the way, I’m having a very amusing back-and-forth with AHA regarding my recent blog about them. Apparently Kenna Ashley was just an innocent admin who accidently forwarded around an internal memo (don’t you hate when that happens?) and is concerned about all the skeery internet people e-mailing her about the pro-slaughter crap. So please, stop e-mailing her. I think you should e-mail the dude I’m going back and forth with if you don’t agree with AHA’s pro-slaughter stance. His name is Dan Lawrence and he’s their Director of Marketing. Remember, threats are never acceptable (other than the threat to stop paying membership fees and showing at their events – that’s fine!) – opinions are, and strong opinions are understandable given the subject matter but a profanity-free, logical letter is always best!