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Teri’s EditorialsThe Dressage on the First Coast Spring 2011 show program “Thank You” ad from Jerry Rehkopf Click for larger image My Northeast Florida Dressage Association (NFDA) club’s Dressage on the First Coast Spring 2011 show is coming up this weekend (April 9-10th) and boy has there been a flurry of work to do to get everything ready for it. Everything else has had to be put on hold, even getting my newsletter out before the end of March. My attempt to get it out the week before that was thwarted by a frustrating technical issue of my ESP not ‘talking’ to my ISP which took me 4 days to finally get resolved. Hence my March newsletter has become my Spring newsletter or a March/April newsletter. My wonderful husband offered to do an advertisement for the show program as the EVP of HorsesintheSouth.com. We were trying to decide what he would say in the program ad as I already have an ad for HorsesintheSouth.com in it, so we decided that we would just thank all of our current clients, banner advertisers and affiliates. My graphic designer, Beth Webb, who also did the show program for us on a last minute notice just told me to write up some text and she would make an ad out of it. Well, 3-4 hours later, I came up with this huge text-heavy ad that feels like I am thanking everyone for an academy award or something, it is so long! I didn’t know where to stop, I am so lucky to have such wonderful clients and advertisers. And, these are just the current ones! So I figured this would also be a good editorial so that all of the HorsesintheSouth.com readers and AHorseBlog.com readers will see these accolades instead of it just being confined to a horse show program.
 Click on image for larger view. It reads like this, but the layout that Beth did is gorgeous, as is the show program that she did for the Dressage on the First Coast. Jerry Rehkopf, husband to Teri Rehkopf the website developer of DressageontheFirstCoast.com and CEO/Owner/Producer of HorsesintheSouth.com and AHorseBlog.com, plus her corporate website SynergyEtc.com, wants to wish the NFDA, Northeast Florida Dressage Association, nfladressage.org, host to the Dressage on the First Coast, USDF/USEF recognized show, and the competitors the best of luck for this show and to thank all of Teri’s clients, current advertisers and website she supports. The list of her clients in alphabetical order, many of which have been her clients since the early 2000′s, are: Website Clients: ASmallCleverness.com – Rubber stamp store for people who love to create with stamps. EquineSportsTrainer.net – Ashley Davis, Equine Sports Trainer and Performance Consultant. ALGGraphics.com – Flexo and Screen printer of specialty labels. DogwoodSportHorses.com – Breeders of excellent bloodline European cross warmblood sport horses for sale; featuring the branded Westfalen, and approved RPSI breeding stallion, Freedom Hall. DressageontheFirstCoast.com – The website for the twice yearly recognized show; started for the 2005 Region 3 Championships held at the Jacksonville Equestrian Center. Feedin’ Time – Animal feed & supply store. See the store link on HorsesintheSouth.com/feedintime FloridaMaritimeLawyers.com – Florida-based law firm which concentrates in trial litigation in the field of admiralty, cruise line and maritime law. James “Shea” Walsh – HorsesintheSouth.com/sheawalsh; 1988 Olympian represented Ireland. Instruction and clinics locally and abroad. KDEquine.com – Kathy Daly — Classical Dressage trainer, clinician. USEF “r” Dressage judge; my first website started in 1997. I wanted to give back to Kathy for all of the wonderful training she had and has done for me and my horses. We still get many “phone” training lessons and I used to get “Kitchen Table” lessons when she would stay with me when I lived in Jacksonville and she would get to my place too late for a lesson. One day I am going to write a book for her on these lessons, she is that good at explaining what to do! PostHillFarm.com – Breeders and sales of show ponies. Sundance Farm – HorsesintheSouth.com/sundancefarm; Featuring Swedish Warmblood, AWS approved stallion, Synchronicity; Lupe Guarderas, owner, competitor, trainer and Dressage judge. SuncoastBedding.com – Premium ultra-compressed pine shavings animal bedding. TripleKBarC.com – Preserving the “Last Chance” naturally-gaited, old-time Albert Dement foundation line of Tennessee Walking Horses. Dement mares for sale to selected breeding homes. Current Banner Advertisers and Others that we Support: CanterburyShowPlace.com – Central Florida’s nicest equestrian showplace with an indoor covered and lighted arena, and 3 outdoor rings, 5 show barns, clubhouse and more! ClassicCompany.com – Show management that we support; production of multiple shows throughout the South. EquineColicReliefAmerica.com – Amazing product that we have personally used to stop colic. HorsesintheSouth.Equine.com – Our Classified Ads – co-branded with Equine.com FlashpointMediaServices.com and FlashPointPhotography.com – Robbie and Greg Meisel who we love and support, specialize in performance and event portrait photography, and press releases for Classic Company, LLC show management. JaneHeart.com – Gorgeous equestrian and dog lines of jewelry including Secretariat™ and Barbaro™ licensed jewelry. KAMAnimalServices.com – KAM’s Equine Learning Circle offers FREE webinars every month and we list weekly tips each Monday and support them with a banner link. MahanFarm.com – 113 acre boarding, show and clinic facility in Tallahassee, FL. Summer camp held in conjunction with Feather Oaks Farm. Brett Barteld, Owner NagHorseRanch.com – Home of the Nose Shade, formerly called Nag Nose Shade to stop sunburned horses’ muzzles. NFHJA.com/ North Florida Hunter Jumper Association – We support them, especially during the Jacksonville Winter Series. Fleet Footing International – Supreme arena footing distributed and used by Canterbury Showplace RavenwoodFarm.net – Ravenwood Farm Foundation non-profit rescue corporation SouthernFarrier.com – Brett Barteld; 2nd Generation Farrier; 1990 Oklahoma Horseshoeing School -Certificate Graduate Professional Horseshoeing; Brotherhood of Working Farriers Association Certified; American Farrier’s Association Member SunHorseTack.com – Fancy and custom-made horse halters and stuff! USET.org/United States Equestrian Team Foundation – We support them with a non-profit banner advertisement. YouMightAsWellJump.com – Rob Bowman – amazing artistic photographer Affiliate websites for your viewing and shopping pleasure: NaturalPetVet.net/horsesinthesouth And, we have too many blog contributors to list here, so please see the Contributor category on AHorseBlog.com as these keep growing every day. Jerry and Teri also wish to thank Sheila Van Dusen, honorary EVP, for all of the assistance she has provided since our beginnings in 2000, plus Jason Ellerbee, for his assistance as our Associate Editor and analyst, Chris Dunn and Linda Bourdow for their accounting assistance, Rob Bowman for his amazing photography, Charles Bryant for his amazing programming work on our website and blog, and Beth Webb for her amazing graphic design skills and assistance. Without their help, we would not have been able to keep this monster of a website and blog, plus our client sites and advertisers functioning. A testimonial about controlling my mare’s colic episode using Equine Colic Relief Glenord's Rocket Dancer aka Rocki Last Wednesday, January 5th, 2011, my mare Rocki had a colic episode. I had just gotten this product a couple of months back called Equine Colic Relief. It is an alternative treatment that gives quick control over a bout of colic (impaction, gas, sand & mild spasmodic colic types). I was hoping I would never have to be in a position to have to use it, but I sure was glad I had this product in my horse emergency kit in case I ever needed it. I did not know it would be this soon and this was the day I was going to test this product out for myself. I know that you have to act fast if your horse has a bout of colic. I liked the fact that ECR was a product that I could administer orally myself to my horse. I did not have to anxiously wait for the vet to come while my horse was in discomfort nor have to pay for an expensive emergency visit nor end up having to haul her to the large animal hospital. Being prepared for this type of emergency is why I have my beautiful mare with me today. Rocki likes to eat her hay with slurps of water – she has always done that for the 15 1/2 years that I have had her. I bought her when she was 2 1/2 – she will be 18 on May, 2011 and I feel she is still in her prime. Rocki is a very sensible, easy to train, trusting mare and she is a very easy keeper. I certainly did not want to lose her to colic. Part of her feeding regimen is giving her orange-flavored Gatorade in 1 of her 3 water buckets to encourage her to drink more and a beer in her feed at night. She had drunk 1/2 of the water from 2 buckets from that morning’s feeding, so she wasn’t dehydrated yet. A big weather change was approaching that day with heavy rains coming in; we have had minimal rain for almost seven months. When I went out to give her lunch hay, she was lying down in the pasture instead of eating grass. Instead of her normally running in to get her hay, she just ambled in and turned up her nose at the hay and displayed the “Fleming” response, curling her lip up. I knew it was the beginning of a colic episode when Rocki did this and then lied down in her paddock. I listened to her flanks for gut noise and didn’t hear much on the left side, but a little on the right. I reached for my first aid emergency kit for the ECR and called my ECR representative, Pam Schroeder. The formula in Equine Colic Relief is: · All natural active ingredients: Irish Sea Moss, Magnesium, Kelp, Peppermint Oil, Phosphorous, Vegetable Glycerine, Calcium, Vitamin D3, Potassium, and Purified Water, Molasses for flavor and Sorbitol to soften and sweeten the formula. · Safe to use in any age equine, foals, pregnant mares, stallions. · It has no expiration date and has been saving horses for 13 years worldwide – ECR will work when you need it to! · Tests clean if you’re at a show or race – taken overseas. The representative, Pam, had told me that there are 4 consistent causes, which work in unison to continue a normal bout of colic. They are: dehydration, gas/distention, loss of ionic solutions for motility, and in 75% + of cases an impaction. The formula within ECR as it is ingested divides into 4 parts to produce an effect process, which gently eliminates each cause, and then in unison, it integrates with the horse’s body to end the bout gently. Part 1 – Softens and quickly reduce an impaction to a pudding like consistency. Part 2 – Hydrates dehydrated bowel tissue. Part 3 – Replaces ionic solutions necessary to restore motility within the muscles lining the bowels. Part 4 – Dissipates methane gas and relieves the pressure on gorged bowels and trapped organs.  Glenord's Rocket Dancer aka Rocki After I administered the product to Rocki, I could see the product start working. Within the first ten minutes she had a bowel movement (pooped) and I could hear stronger returning bowels sounds on one side of her abdomen. I was on my cell with Pam and Tara, my ECR representatives, to let them know of her progress. It can take within 90-200 minutes for the product to work completely through the horse, they said. It sure seemed like a very long time when waiting for your horse to be completely normal and act like a healthy horse again. They assured me that the product had worked 100% of the time on a normal bout of colic and I could see it was working for Rocki because I could hear the gut sounds starting her the other side, too. It was a tense 3 hours waiting for the bout to completely end and Rocki to return to her old self. I knew it was over when Rocki jumped up and was ravenous – looking for any morsel of hay that was on the ground. She acted like nothing had been wrong with her for the last few hours! I ecstatically called my vet who told me she wanted to know more about the product. Pam and Tara had the utmost confidence the whole time while assuring me through the wait. I have now become a true believer as I have seen this product work first hand for my own horse. If my loyal readers can learn anything from my experience, it is to have ECR (ideally 2 bottles) on their emergency shelf and be prepared if colic should happen to their horse. Do NOT wait to get this as you only have 8 hours to treat colic before it can become fatal. Get it NOW to have on hand. As fast as colic came upon my mare, I want to be sure it leaves just as quickly if it ever happens again. Equine Colic Relief is a revolutionary treatment for colic. For most of us, making a change is not easy and we are skeptical until we see it for ourselves. If you have horses long enough, you will have colic. I can tell you I will never be without this product on my emergency shelf for my own peace of mind. Remember this: THE NUMBER ONE KILLER OF HORSES IS COLIC! ECR takes the fear out of colic – and is your 1st line of defense. Use ECR with confidence to STOP your horse’s pain in an emergency. ECR will always stop a NORMAL bout of colic! This is a must-have for every equine first aid kit. To give the gift of life to your own horse, buy a bottle or two today. Read more and purchase from ecramerica.com or call (888)327-0327 Caligula’s Horse, Incitatus – from an interesting email I just gotThe Roman Senate governed Ancient Rome for five centuries. It looked much like the Congress today. The purpose of the Roman Senate was to rule in accordance with the wishes of the Roman People. The building in which the Roman Senate met, the “Curia Julia,” still stands in Rome today. In 27 B.C., Augustus Caesar formally took control of Rome, and established the Roman Empire. But the Roman Emperors didn’t abolish the Senate. Instead, the Roman Senate continued to meet, for five more centuries, doing pretty much nothing. During the Roman Empire, the Emperor held all the power. The Senate was simply a debating society, chosen by the Emperor, and serving at his pleasure. To prove this point, in 39 A.D., Emperor Caligula appointed his horse, Incitatus, to the Roman Senate. What we are heading for, here in America, is something very much like that. The way things are going, Big Money will choose our “leaders” in Congress, and they will serve at Big Money’s pleasure. Big Money doesn’t put horses in Congress. Just the hind-quarters of horses. Hmmm… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incitatus Caligula Introduces Senator Incitatus http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J6-t2mtNtU&feature=player_embedded WHIA Newsletter September 15, 2010We are just a week away from our conference and looks like there is going to be a really wonderful group of people attending. We have people coming from all over the U.S. and Canada. Our exhibitors this year are fantastic and are going to showcase some incredible products and services. Our speakers are going to give everyone in attendance a lot to think about and learn. And, again, we have a ton of super door prizes to give away including a half share in a thoroughbred race horse (compliments of Kate Richards Wilt and Pocket Aces Racing). Thanks to everyone who is donating door prizes. A list of them is on our website. I had a couple of cancellations this morning and so I have two FREE tickets to give away. If you are attending the event and want to bring a friend, please email me right away or better yet, call me at 615-730-7833. These reservations have already been paid for and I don’t want the lunches to go to waste! We will also again have our OPEN NETWORKING sessions where you will get to promote your business and meet a lot of people in the room. Like last year, the dress is casual and jeans are fine. If you haven’t signed up to attend but still want to come, please call us at 615-730-7833 so we can get you registered. Everyone who attends receives a directory with contact listings all of the attendees. This is a really great resource tool. Finally, the Kentucky governor’s wife, Jane Brashear, can’t make it because of scheduling conflicts, but she is sending someone very special in her place. We will send out a press release about this exciting speaker later today or tomorrow. All I know is that you will really enjoy her luncheon speech a great deal. A Month Long Editorial, Based on Weather & Photos of a Hawk in Our Birdbath One of our resident hawks taking a bath in our birdbath during the heatwave. As I was going to post a new editorial back on June 15th about not having any rain and it being 100 degrees in the shade and bam, we start getting almost daily thunderstorms! We had been averaging 110 heat index at the first of June, which was very oppressive to go outside to do work, much less ride. I was having to water my garden twice a day which was taking up to 2 hrs or more a day, hence I got behind in web work. My beans (or so I thought) and tomatoes are mostly done until I plant again in August, so I should have a reprieve in the harvesting soon. We have a small pool which has been invaluable to being out in this heat. I’m in the AC a large part of the day, so my body isn’t accustomed to the heat like it is. I go out in the evening to work usually, but that is when my husband, Jerry, goes to our J-30 sailboat so I don’t have his help then… bummer. My son is here and he is in charge of cleaning paddocks, feeding horses when Jerry isn’t around, watering other plants around house and doing horse’s feet when I haven’t, plus he is my associate editor so he is kept busy much of the day adding articles. This leaves me to the other yard work that I may want done that my husband doesn’t think is necessary (he hates it, other than mowing with the riding mower). Both of them get bothered by flies more than I do – I have darker skin and I guess it helps in repelling them. I did have to spray myself and horses a lot at the beginning of June when the yellow flies were so bad, but they have died off or it’s because we got the fly predators and stepped up using the Natural Pet Vet Bug Check (HorsesintheSouth is an affiliate). The flies aren’t as bad now and I can deal with a couple of yellow flies landing on me as I harvest the garden. Since the week-long rains at the end of June, I’ve had a second blooming of beans – these are the ones that weren’t doing as well as they were in a shadier area, but that is what probably helped them to reproduce being out of the blaring sun. And, I have a whole bunch of cherry tomatoes blooming and some volunteer tomato plants from last year’s cherry tomatoes that had been plowed under but came back up in different places, are producing. They are so good. I leave them in a bowl next to where I make my yerba-mate tea in the morning and I end up eating a handful while I wait for the tea to steep. Now my website design work for the redesign for the SuncoastBedding.com site is getting in full swing, so another thing to keep me from riding or working on my own website. It never ends, does it? Plus the grass keeps growing more from all of the rain. I use our weed-whipper and push mower which ends up ‘killing’ my arm the next day. Even using the riding mower gets my left arm that had the shoulder replacement. If I would just do this stuff every day, my muscles wouldn’t atrophy so soon, lol. I got some cool pictures of our resident hawk taking a bath in our birdbath, plus my husband, Jerry, did a video and put it on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHVy0ov1kao (there are evidently a lot of YouTube videos of hawks taking baths…;P). These pictures were taken with my Sony digital camera with a 70-250 macro lens through my husband’s office window through the screen, but I think they still turned out really cool. We aren’t sure if these are 2 different hawks taking a bath as in the blog gallery, you can see 1 of the hawks ‘screaming’ for the other one maybe? In the gallery you will see a hawk standing on our grapevine pole and we aren’t sure if that is a different hawk or the 1st hawk (if there is 2 of them – can anyone tell by their feathers?)
Anyway, I will be offering a summer/July 4th birthday (mine Watch for the July newsletter – it’s coming too. We are using a new Email Service Provider (ESP), so I still have to finish designing it; I may just send out something now and let my programmer finish the design. We are using MailChimp and is isn’t as easy to use as Constant Contact (requires that you know some html and design), but it isn’t blocked by spam filters as easily as CC is. Info is on our Sales/Special page. As usual you will get a killer deal. It’s weird, but we are actually cooler here than in the northern states with them being in the triple digits (bummer for the Queen of England’s visit to the UN since she was last here in 1957). But, it’s starting to heat up again and will be in the usual mid-nineties this week, sigh… If you are a Farmville addict like I have become, join me at http://www.facebook.com/TeriRehkopf.HorsesintheSouth, then request to be my neighbor on FV. Also be sure to join my Fan page at http://www.facebook.com/HorsesintheSouth. The TeriRehkopf.HorsesintheSouth FB account is a 2nd FB account. My 1st account is already almost at the 5,000 FB friends limit, so I had to start a new account to accept new friends and add new FV neighbors as this one is at the 300 neighbors limit. Geesh, Farmville is such a ‘time-suction’, but it is also very ‘feng shui’ like. I love their graphics. If only web design was this easy! I swear I going to write a blog about my journey to the addiction on Farmville and seeing so many horse people Facebook friends being in the same boat as me or worse! When I get to this, I’ll post some hints on how to get leveled-up. I love the horses that FV adds for us horse fanatics. They really have recognized our market in that respect Horse Protection, Interview with Horse Biomechanics Author & Social NetworkingOn editorials about horse protection, my interview with the horse biomechanics author and the impact of the social networking revolution vs old style advertising:  Panimetro, my rescued ex-racehorse, on the VICCTRE 2009 Calendar cover I’m working on three editorials/articles/posts that I believe of great interest to my readers and all of these posts relate in some way or another! I had an interview with horse biomechanics author of “The Tug of War” and DVD “If Horses Could Speak” – Dr. Gerd Heuschmann – at his book signing on October 29th; then I went to his lecture the next evening. I took a lot of notes and used my recorder. This is an issue close to my heart as he is a proponent in bringing back the true Classical Dressage instead of rewarding the ‘modern’ competitive dressage which can be inhumane (have you seen the ‘blue tongue’ video circulating the internet?) and actually harm the horse as it gets older. My trainer, Kathy Daly, is a Classical Dressage trainer and a judge. I’m so thankful that I followed her training practices over the 16 years that I have been with her. More on this interview soon as I compile my notes.  Dr. Gerd Heuschmann's book, Tug of War The week previous, I had posted many articles about the Cloud issue and the mustang roundup by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that provoked quite a protest. Accompanying this were many YouTube videos, showing potentially inhumane capture conditions, lameness of some horses and foals, tying up and colic induced from the process of the roundup via helicopter down the Pryor mountain range 12 mile trek in 90+ degree heat. More soon on this, too. The newest Cloud PBS documentary was on that Sunday evening (Oct. 25th) and shortly after that was a TV episode of “Mad Men” about an early 1960′s Cooper-Sterling advertising agency that had a controversial subject about a large dog food company that had horsemeat in their ingredients and was losing customers because of it. So I had this correlation or observation going on in my head about the horse slaughter issue, mustangs and mad men in general. Leading up to the Cloud documentary, a horrific YouTube video showing the disgusting and inhumane slaughter methods used on horses was circulated via the social networks Facebook and Twitter. I have seen slaughter videos, but not one as horrible as this one. So, I started writing an editorial I was (am) to call “Mad Men and Mustangs”. To do this I started an extended search via the internet on all that has been written recently about the mustang issues and what happens to them when they are rounded up, a correlation with the slaughter process, and the episode of “Mad Men” that showed the beginning in 1961 when a larger majority of people became aware of the horrors of horse slaughter from the movie “The Misfits” (more on this in my extended version). The ‘mad men’ of the ad agency showed how they tried to handle a re-branding of dog food (that contained slaughtered horse meat) so people would buy it again.  Cloud & his band Well, 27 pages later on this subject, I had to back up and start a project management process to pull all of this information together. I have decided to provide this information in a series that will be in the format of an ongoing information dump and discussion – it can’t be covered in just one editorial. The implications on this issue are too vast and I always like to understand all aspects before I make statements that can be misconstrued or be too direct in passing judgment. I have discovered a correlation of how the advertising industry worked ‘in the old days’ and how social media is changing the way we influence people, as it has become a trust in your peers and friends and ‘not so much’ for the bigger companies/industries. Being an active participant in social media allows us to widen our circle of influence and extend our influence to others. Other than just connecting with friends or peers in your industry or interest area, social networking is slowly replacing previous methods of product marketing.  Headline Article Showing Share Social Networking Button
 Enlarged Shot of Share button From a business perspective, you get fans via Face Book along with the constant suggestion of friends that meet your profile criteria (mine is horses for the most part, plus animals, gardening, the environment, etc.) and friends that follow you on Twitter, again meeting your profile criteria or according to your postings or ‘tweets’. I get more spammers on Twitter than Face Book, but I don’t have to follow them back (and you can block them if you wish). I’ve only done this for something that looks like a porn follower, although I really don’t care who follows me. I don’t post anything that is so controversial or private that it makes a difference. The spam I get is more along the lines of advertising for teeth whitening or click here to make millions using Twitter – just ignore those and don’t ever click on these links. I do have the state of the art virus protection, Eset’s NOD 32®, that will block anything malicious, plus a myriad of other ways I manage spam on my PCs. Okay. this editorial is getting too long. There is just too much to say in one editorial and I don’t want to lose your attention. I look forward to sharing full versions of my lecture overview, mustangs, mad men, slaughter and more on social networking media and what it means to you as a consumer and as a company/service provider. All of this really does link together Teri Action Alert for Fresh Vegetable Growers, and an Update on NAIS FundingA National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement could harm family-scale farmers. Attend a hearing or submit written comments today! The USDA is holding hearings across the country in September and October to allow the public — especially fresh vegetable growers and handlers — to comment on a proposed agreement that would authorize the development and implementation of production and handling regulations for a long list of fresh vegetables, primarily leafy greens. The proposed marketing agreement would allow corporate leafy green handlers to attach a USDA-backed “food safety seal” to lettuce, spinach, cabbage and other vegetables. But, since the standards would be written by big industry, it would be impractical for local farmers at farmers markets, CSAs and roadside stands to use that same seal. This marketing ploy could lead many consumers to assume that vegetables from industrial-scale monoculture farms (primarily in California) are safer than the leafy greens at local farmers markets. Although claiming to be a food safety measure, there’s no proof that these standards would actually prevent food borne illness. Standards in California, which would likely provide the basis for the national program, have not prevented contamination. To the contrary, on September 18, a signatory to the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement recalled 1,715 cartons of spinach due to salmonella contamination! Attracting Beneficial Insects to Your Garden basil, parsley, lettuce, arugula, dill, beans Portions reposted from http://phigblog.com/2009/06/21/buzz-on-attracting-beneficial-insects-to-your-garden/ This has been very helpful to my organic garden! LACEWINGS: One of the best predatory insects, these little guys flutter around the garden on delicate green wings at dusk. Their larvae are known as ‘aphid lions’, but lacewings also attack thrips, caterpillars, mites, and more! COMPANION PLANTS: Dill, goldenrod, dandelions. LADYBUGS: There’s a reason these spotted beetles are considered lucky, as their presence helps protect your garden from bothersome pests. Their larvae look like tiny alligators and voraciously consume aphids, mealy bugs, scales, and spider mites. COMPANION PLANTS: Yarrow, sunflowers, mint. BRACONID WASPS: These tiny wasps don’t sting, but gruesomely parasitize everything from gypsy moths to cabbageworms to cornborers. After laying eggs inside their prey, their young eat their victims alive from the inside out. How’s that for revenge against your enemies? COMPANION PLANTS: Fennel, coriander, Queen Anne’s lace. DADDY LONG LEGS: Eight legs good! Like the spiders they are closely related to, these useful fellows feed almost exclusively on all kinds of insects. COMPANION PLANTS: Comfrey, yarrow, nettle. How do I attract and keep them in my garden?
Learn more: The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control, Ellis & Bradley; Gaia’s Garden, Toby Hemenway. http://phigblog.com/2009/06/21/buzz-on-attracting-beneficial-insects-to-your-garden/ Click on the Continue reading link to read about my gardening experience (I’m a newbie at this, but having my own horse manure compost helps MyEquusBlog – Panimetro – How He Broke His Leg
Metro came to St Croix and then to a race on St Thomas 2 years ago. He broke from the gate strong, but on the first turn suffered a fracture of his left front sesamoid. His owner Felix retired him with our organization VICCTRE. He was a noble and willing patient and had an amazing will to heal. We brought him to our rehab facility DEC of 2005. The second link is from that race he did not finish. Click on thumbnail images for larger view. http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_archive?id=9421807 - St Croix exerpt: Panimetro, the horse brought here to beat the two big horses from across the pond, finally looked liked a world beater in the feature race. The race, 1 mile for a purse of $4,000, was a twilight special. Because of a couple of long delays, the race went off after 6 p.m. The race was all Panimetro. With Elmo Barnes in the irons, he took the lead at the club house turn and quickly opened up some seven lengths on the field as they ran down the back stretch. Hearts at Risk, with Miguel Sanchez aboard, put in his run as they entered the far turn, but he did not have enough to get Panimetro.
http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_archive?id=11332129 - St Thomas exerpt: Panimetro, with Elmo Barnes in the irons, looked strong coming out of the gate, jumping out to a two-length lead running on the inside, but seemed to get spooked as things tightened up coming out of the first turn and nearly careened into the rail before trotting off to the side of the track.
He had a significant fracture and a lot of soft tissue damage, but he was determined and so were we. He allowed the farrier and vet to work on him as he lay down…and Mother Nature took over. Almost a year and 1/2 later he was ready to make the trip to the continental US. He arrived in North Florida after quarantine on Puerto Rico and a flight to Florida and now he has the best life ever! He lives with a wonderful woman Teri Rehkopf and we are so happy for him. I now live close by and see him now and again. He is doing so well!! Can you send up pictures of him racing? He is so noble and a wonderful, wonderful horse. His leg was HUGE… just huge and he could not put any weight on it for a long time after the injury. Now, it is almost ‘normal’, but he has NO flexion in that joint He is happy and sound at walk and trot. He is just a happy, HAPPY horse and has a girlfriend named Rocki. MyEquusBlog – Panimetro – Thoroughbred Racehorses Beat the Odds, Retire to FloridaThis is a reprint from North Florida Horse Rescue/old HorsesintheSouth.com so that my readers can understand where my Metro came from and why he is so special. February 23, 2007 – Keystone Heights, FL. Seven-year old Panimetro, a thoroughbred racehorse, suffered four major fractures in his left front ankle, an injury similar to Barbaro’s-the Kentucky Derby winner that was recently euthanized. “Metro” could have met the same sad fate, but was able to heal himself by lying down for long periods over the last year and a half and allowing caretakers to attend to him.  Metro in the Virgin Islands in 2005 This was the largest shipment of rescued racehorses from the Virgin Islands Community Cooperative Thoroughbred Retirement Effort (VICCTTRE), a nonprofit 501(C)3 organization that had rescued, rehabilitated and adopted 28 horses since its 2004 inception. All four horses raced both stateside and in the islands. All suffered serious injuries, from Metro’s broken leg to bruised soles, damaged hooves and arthritis. With the medical care, love and dedication of the VICCTRE volunteers they now have a new life to look forward to. Kate Grimsley, VICCTRE’s founding director and barn manager was in tears before sending Metro to his new Florida home. “It’s amazing to me, on the heels of Barbaro, who had to be euthanized, to see his will,” Grimsley said. “I’m a different person for knowing this horse.” (Note: Chris Dunn’s neighbor, Teri Rehkopf, CEO/owner of HorsesintheSouth.com adopted Metro on the spot – she told Chris that he had to stay with us to assure that he would get the best of care. He is Teri’s mare’s companion horse. He has a huge stall with open access to his own paddock. He is let into his own pasture during the day.) Contact: See below and the original press release at the Virgin Islands Daily News. VICCTRE celebrates hard-fought recovery of racehorses ST. THOMAS – As a thoroughbred racehorse who suffered a broken leg, Panimetro could have met the same sorrowful end as Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby winner who was euthanized this week.Instead, the 7-year-old Panimetro fought to heal – by lying down for as many as 12 hours a day, thus giving veterinarians and caretakers a chance to attend to him in his stall. Now he’s headed for a new life and a new home. On Thursday, he was among four retired race horses sent to greener pastures after being cared for by the Virgin Islands Community Cooperative Thoroughbred Retirement Effort. It marked the largest single shipment of rescued horses that the nonprofit organization has produced. Bach One, Brimstone Tough and Smooth Distinction each spent between six and eight months at VICCTRE’s stables behind St. Thomas Dairies. They raced locally and stateside before retiring, and VICCTRE volunteers found each to be special.  Kate and Bo visiting Metro at Teri's place “It’s amazing to me, on the heels of Barbaro, who had to be euthanized, to see his will,” Grimsley said. “I’m a different person for knowing this horse.” Soaping Panimetro up and hosing him down Thursday in preparation for 4 p.m. shipment, VICCTRE volunteer Bohdania Potter agreed. She took special care around a bulb of scar tissue that developed on the horse’s left front ankle, where he had sustained four major fractures. “When I first came here, he was in horrible condition. It was tearjerking to see how bad he really was,” Potter said. “He had his own urge to survive.” To date, 28 horses have been rescued, rehabilitated or adopted through VICCTRE since its inception in 2004, Grimsley said. The four horses shipped Thursday will spend two weeks quarantined at Hacienda Allegra in Puerto Rico. Eventually, they will be sent to Florida and paired with a Marion County Correctional Facility inmate for natural-horsemanship training. (Note: They were adopted by other people in the southeast USA instead via Habitat for Horses with Chris Dunn’s commendable efforts). Other VICCTRE horses have been adopted, either on-island or on the U.S. mainland, or placed in therapeutic riding programs for the physically or mentally disabled, Grimsley said. Contact Lynn Freehill at 774-8772 ext. 311 or e-mail lfreehill@dailynews.vi |
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