Health Care Reform

Okay, now I know this one is going to start some fires! It started mine and I really don't like politics! I try to stay away from them as much as possible ... just don't like conflicts!

So to start, the other day on the radio (not all that reliable I'm sure) I heard that the gov is planning (or at least trying) to implement taxes on pizza. Not just taxes but a tax of 18%. I find this a bit outrageous! First off why? Secondly if Mrs. lady president wants to cut back on child obesity then perhaps she should have some program to help them... umm let me think... exercise! I find the largest issue with child obesity is that these children aren't playing enough and eating too much. It's not what they eat but how much! That's my opinion anyway. Of course pizza isn't the only thing being used here but it's the main one that bothered me. Come on a pizza pie is like the hot dog in America... a mandatory thing! If this happens I guess I'll have to make more from scratch. *sigh*

The other thing I heard about all this BS is health care plans. This one I heard today and it's disturbing! Mandatory Health Care! Really? People can't afford Health Care (at least some of us) so now we are going to be fined for it? That's like punishing a child for something they can't help. What kind of since does that make?

And the people will be paying for this health care through our taxes. I mean, the governments money is actually the peoples money right? So that means we are paying for it anyways just not reaping the benefits all the time. This almost sounds like some will be paying twice. Let me think. First we are forced to acquire health insurance (good only if one can afford it); I hear they are lowering the cost and raising the coverage received (both good things); however, to pay for this "li'le" change they will be raising taxes. So we buy health insurance and our taxes go up. Where's the price cut? The benefit they say this will bring? *shrug* Maybe it's just me who doesn't see it.

Now correct me if I'm wrong for I am getting all this from a third party...maybe even a fourth or fifth and I haven't read any articles as of yet. I plan to do that next! I just needed to get all this out.

Archery...a spectators sport!

Obviously I need to work on my Archery skills. I realize that I need to lower my right elbow but trust me ... it's a little harder than it seems. At least for me. Okay Ya I'm a weakling. ;p I forgive you for thinking it! ;)

I actually came out to mom's to help her with her taxes and that being quite easy decided to brush down big brother and play with my bow. Trouper was a very dirty boy today. Having obviously rolled in the mud. He seems very happy to have his winter blanket removed finally and seemed to enjoy his brush-down. LOL! When I was brushing him he went and started to lick my legs. Eek! So much for my shower this afternoon! Don't ask. It was kinda funny because he kept insisting on licking any part of me that was close enough for him to reach. My legs not being the only target for his slobbery tongue. *sniffle* My poor shoes. TT And his poor feet! The farrier is needed greatly. He keeps getting little rocks stuck in his hoof wall. Does that make since? He really wanted his feet cleaned out too. I know this because he didn't fight me at all... in fact he gave me his feet. Maybe it had something to do with me being in a really good mood and taking care of him! *shrug*

I got all covered in horse hair. Don't you just love the smell of horses? I do, so I don't mind having his sent all over me. :3 *chu*

After cleaning up big brother I left the pasture and got my bow and arrows out. Stringing the bow is surprisingly easy, even making sure not to twist the limb. However getting me elbow down is a different story. My muscles aren't sore so I'm not sure why I can't do it. Perhaps I need someone here with me to "put" my elbow in the correct position every time I don't. Of course I am thinking about how my body is being held when I draw and I can tell it's not correct though when I try to fix it my aim seems off. Maybe it's still not right even when I try that. *sigh* Self taught things can become quite difficult at time like these. Maybe that's why I'm not all that good at belly dancing (according to a certain person, not counting myself of course).

I did, however lamely, get a "bulls eye". LOL! Ya, my umm, ya! It's a bit of a cheesy target but it's all I was allowed to use around here. And it's not like the ground hogs are just sitting around asking to be used for target practice. Though I'm not sure I could hit even those nasty little things! It's funny too! My arrows just go right on through that old bale of hay. Sometimes at least. Other times they bury themselves to the fletching. Oh, and the can is just a visual for me to aim! In case one was wondering. :3 I hit it pretty good didn't I! Ding dong it's dead! *dances* Sadly that is the first time I hit it ... maybe even the last judging the way I'm shooting. Granted I am hitting the bale of hay every 4 out of 6 times. A few time I buried the arrow into the ground behind the hay it went completely through the bale first so I guess that number could go up.

::Side note::

Archery: a spectators sport! See Trouper watching me? I wonder what he's thinking about as my arrows fly from the bow! He's probably laughing at me since my elbow is way to high, I don't have the string pulled back far enough and it's a bit crooked now that I'm looking from a different perspective. Could also be my self photography. I'm thinking my little camera took the picture faster than I could draw back! I say this because the other photos I've got it drawn back far enough just my elbow is the problem. :3 Maybe I can get someone else to help me next time.

Confessions

Last night I met Daniel and his father in town for the St. Patrick's Day parade. I met them at the Library on my pretty little Ninja and made sure I parked in an appropriate place seeing as during operating hours the parking is only for customers. :3 Working there doesn't exempt me. We ended up going to this little Chinese restaurant for diner. I had Oolong and Jasmine tea and Cantonese pan fried noodles. Yummy!

The fun, however, started when I had to ride my bike back to the apartment!

Being only 2000 It wasn't that late however it was dark and my temps only allow me to ride during the day. No dawn or dusk! *SIGH* Shame on me because I had to ride her home. So my confession...I illegally rode my little ninja to the apartment, in the dark, with just temps. Guess my luck. I was tailed by a cop. He so rode my tail till he turned into the station house. Lucky me that my tags don't say I have temps. ... or if they do he didn't care!

Of course it would be my first time riding at night that I would get my temps yanked. Thanks the gods I didn't know it was a cop until I was parked at the apartment or I would have been so nervous. & for as much as my boyfriend say I ride like a noob apparently the cop didn't think anything of it. I figure a noob would have temps...like me and thus would be pulled over to get their credentials checked.

Cold Ride

Perhaps yesterday wasn't the best day to take my bike for a run.

It started with me wanting to go to the mall. I called a friend and had her meet me in the food court and then I geared up. From my window it was sunny enough and sure the temperature gauge said it was only 47 degrees F.

So like half way there I was shivering like a maraca. :3 I was afraid my hips shivering would cause my bike to swerve. She was wobbly enough in the front end without my assistance...or maybe it was actually my hips and not my bike. :(

LOL! So many people were mad at me. I was doing the speed limit no more and they were going around me, honking (to which I flicked them off...the losers!) and getting awfully close to me! Very scary!

So I made it to Daniels' work just fine with only crazy people trying to not drive behind me. I said hi since he can't talk on his phone anymore while at work. Then off I went (after a brief bit of time to warm up) to the mall.

I met my friends just outside the mall instead of inside because their little ones weren't feeling all that happy. The oldest was a bit grumpy and not liking me not letting him hold my helmet. Or the firemen who had to walk past us. Must have gotten his dislike of the uniformed man from his father: who got it from his fast driving friends! :3

We managed to wander around the mall a bit. Trying to cheer the little ones up with Build a Bear and the play place. We got ourselves some fun necessities from Victoria's Secret. It was fun helping a blushing man pick out goodies for his woman! :3

They didn't stay happy long. I guess running around Victoria's Secret with a bra gets old fast. :3 So they went home with some movies I brought them (Ponyo and Shaun the Sheep) and back to Daniels' work I went. I told him I was going home and off I went ... shivering all the way. Man it was freezing! I needed chaps and a leather jacket!

Though I brought my camera I never got pictures. *sigh* Maybe next time! Hopefully it will be warm then too.

OSU Cozy

The other day I finished another cozy. This one has an OSU theme and my stepfather, Billy, seems to like it bunches. :3 He's a big buckeye fan so I gave it to him. I do plan to make another similar. I have to keep making them so that when the next art/craft fair comes around I have enough to open a booth.

I still need to work on the O. When I finished this one my boyfriend was like "do I need to draw you an O". I was like pfft! He has a
point though... about the O. It's a little malformed. Not as tall as the symbol. So I'm still working on it but, hay it still looks like a buckeye "thing" so I'm not to disappointed. Should I be? Nah!

Billy also wants me to make him a beanie with the Buckeye O and the leaves. Should be fun really. Hopefully I have the O down by then so all that hard work doesn't go to waist.

Trouper Soured

This year I’m starting over with Troupers’ training … and if I’m honest, mine as well. I started last summer by working on ground work after the Ferrier said he looked in excellent shape for his age (he said I shouldn’t have any problems working him) and the vet gave him a clean bill of health. We did well with minor struggles/fights at the season’s end. In the beginning … well we won’t go there.

Thanks to my aversion to the cold and our nice snow storms we “rested” all winter. (Yes, I know it’s still winter here, wishful thinking!) Lack of training has however, given me plenty of time to read up on my mistakes. I say this because it’s 99.9% of the time rider error! Sorry just facts!

I’ve actually found a really good article that may just be our ticket. Cute title too. “Turn your Sour Horse Sweet” by Julie Wells. It was featured in September 1999 addition of Horse Illustrated.

Now I’ll be truthful here, Trouper is a stubborn horse and always has been. Unlike my baby Hershey who was green and listened to my ques Trouper fights at every turn. Well okay that’s a lie; he takes his bit no trouble. He’s gotten worse in his old age. He seems to be under the impression that just because he’s 24 he can be lazy and hang out eating all day. And like all men he doesn’t like being wrong. Mind you, men are not lazy. They go to great lengths to get their way. Trouper has proven this to me.

Where it all starts?

I get him saddled up and climb on … and he just stands there. Ears back (not pinned mind you. He’s listening to me and I’m sure laughing.) Very square western stance. Now my pa always said I was too soft on him and to kick him if he ignores me. Well that don’t work neither. All kicking does besides pissing him off it “deaden” him to my commands. So I stopped. I don’t own a crop because I never liked “wiping” my big brother (or anything for that matter, violence is bad! :3) so I’ve picked up using my reins as a whip. Not all that effective either. So I’m thinking of making an investment!

Obviously we need to start in the pasture. Right? That’s what ma said. I, however, was always convinced it was something else though. I got that idea because when riding bareback with only a lead line attached to the halter he listens (mostly). Go figure! That made me think it was the tack but nothing’s changed except him gaining a bit of weight which made his bit a little snug. I think now, that I sit better and more confidently bareback than I do in a saddle. The western hurts and the English is slippery.

Alright, so back to the article. 50 yards is not the distance when Trouper begins to act up, that depends on how he feels that day. Sometimes it’s in the paddock, sometimes the field, other times at the park. Sometimes I can even get him past the places he bulks … only to have him bulk somewhere else. For example last year he started fighting me in the paddock but when he realized he wasn’t winning he began to listen so we moved on heading towards the park only to have him spin and try to head home. Here I circled him around and kept him going in the direction of the park. After that he listened until we got to the other side of the park at which point he made a bronco proud. We had a nice little (I use this jokingly) rodeo. (Visual: running bucks, running, bucking, and heading home through it all) after that I took him home the long way (didn’t want him to think he won :p). Sadly the rodeo caused his front right pastern to swell. Though he wasn’t favoring it on our way home (thus I didn’t notice until I was untacking him) I hosed it down and watched for it to swell back up the next few days.

Now with that example the ‘what’s wrong’ I would guess to be “The Testy Horse”. In which case it says to do as ma said and that would be start with ground work and don’t let his hide get away with anything. So at least I’m on the right track. However, in a similar ride (we pretty much go through the park to get to the horse trail) he was trembling when we were going through the field. He tried to spin and head home but I got him turned back around. The tricky part was riding beside the road heading into the park. Here he just flat out ran. I tried soothing words, talking to him, petting his neck in long slow strokes, not squeezing his sides, everything. The Harley was our undoing! Once he blared passed us Trouper spun and bolted for home. No amount of pulling back or sawing his reins was stopping or slowing him. Here we both freaked because he was heading straight for a busy road. Without any que that I could discern (all I was doing at this point was short tugs back on the reins HARD and hanging onto his mane, I was regretting the English saddle for its lack of horn. I was also hoping that I could turn him towards home by cutting through the old homestead just before the road and miss the really big hole if I managed to turn him.)

He shot to his right, cutting through a gap in the tree line into the field. I however slid right over his left shoulder quickly kicking out of the stirrups and landing ungraciously in a thorn bush. Lucky me! (Here I’m glad I was riding English because that horn would have smarted.) I quickly get up to see Trouper standing waiting for me. The poor thing was trembling visibly now, cars still passing us (the trees were only 100 feet from the entrance road.) and within full site of home but he chose to wait on me. Of all his orneriness he still is a big sweetie. Using pressure points on his neck and nose to try and calm him some as well as talking and rubbing down his body I found his front right pastern swollen again so we walked home. (Literally, I walked beside him.) I had more damage! Lucky me! My right hand was bleeding and after giving him a rub down and cooling him off started to pick thorns out of myself.
So I figure he’s also got the case of “The Scaredy Cat” or “Rider-Induced Anxiety”. I can very much believe I’m going something wrong since I’ve never really had lessons officially. However, I’ve no way to test my skills on another horse since Trouper is an only child now that Hershey died. I may have to ask my neighbor (she has 7 horses that she does nothing with anymore thanks to her back surgery.) if I can ride one of her horses or ponies. Preferably Boomer because I’m no fan of her mares.

Trouper's Bio

Name: Bucks Copper Kettle
Birth: June 13, 1985
Height: 16.3 hh
Sex: Gelding
Breed: American Quarter Horse (with a smidge of Morgan on Dames side)

Description: Trouper is classified as a lovely buckskin. His coat glistens in the sun as spun gold: He’s sun kissed! :3 Brown eyes showing the depths of his soul, tiger stripes accent his withers and front legs as he sports two stockings on both hind legs. Blaze and cute dark spots on the tips of his ears are his face markings. It looks like his ears were dipped in the same color as his stripes. Trouper also has the typical dorsal strip that buckskins have.

For all his good looks he’s one ornery boy. Up until Hershey passed he had a friend and was nicer. The three of us had lots of fun frolicking in the pasture and when I would take Hershey out he’d flip out. He didn’t like being left alone. Now he’s a bit sad … and sour.

When Trouper and I try to ride alone he fights me (I’m such a push over he knows he can get away with it…until now) but in a group or at least with one other horse he listens as long as he’s in the lead. I’d take a gander he’s a herd leader. :) He knows his commands; both verbal and physical so I can neck rein him, use my legs or just speak the basics and presto! Of course that only applies when he’s willing. :(

He loves being groomed (but then what hos doesn’t?) and gives me his feet almost always with no fight. Sometimes though he just leans into me! I’ll pretend he’s being affectionate! :3
Trouper has smooth gaits until you try to trot him. Youch!

*note: Can be trusted to bring one home safely even when one has been drinking profusely. Like Shadow Fax! LOL! :3 He Brought my stepdad home (dog drunk) and just hung out in the yard until we woke up and put him away.

Hershey's Bio

Name: Hershey
Birth: Unknown Died: September 29, 2002 Cancer
Height: 15.2 hh
Sex: Gelding
Breed: Egyptian Arabian

Hershey was a docile, colicky pony. Many a time the vet had to be called because Trouper would break into the barn and the two of them would gorge themselves on grain. (Trouper with his iron gut would be fine.) Hershey was what you would call green, meaning he had no substantial training except what my folks taught him. (I’m not sure but my aunt may have worked with him some. She’s a trainer FYI.) However, that being said he listened to my commands (which I reinforced verbally when asking) and never fought me.

He was very tender in the mouth so I hardly ever used my reins. Him and Trouper were like night and day!

Hershey however was a product of careless owners. His dame and sire were brother and sister who were in the same paddock and he was born alone in the field. I was told the owner never knew she was with foal. I don’t get how that’s possible. Since the owner would never be able to sell him Hershey was given to my father (they was friends), thus I took him over. Pa was too tall a man to ride him comfortably.

Ah! To watch him run! It was like he flew. And when I rode him I believed we were flying; his gates were so smooth.