Kat's Inquisition:

[postbeetle]

Matt.

Them Gerbils should live to around 3 years old, 2-3 anyhow. Don't know what to tell ya. Two things maybe:

1. That Gerbil was already as old as the OTHG when ya bought it or

2. It saw that snake and died out of fear.

Can't help ya with your snake. Not my religion. I like 'em but I don't handle 'em too well.

Ah horseshoeing:

A lost and losing art. Only becomes science when used for corrective shoeing for some anatomy or pathology problems. And then it is still an art. Some smarta$$ Vet can see a problem, but the Farrier corrects.

I assume the show you saw was making shoes from bar stock. Heat and hammer and anvil work. Hotshoeing. Gets a better fit in the hands of the right guy. Can be real ugly in the hands of a numbnuts who don't know coal or gas fired furnaces. And can't use a hammer and slaps too hot a shoe on a horse for fit.

Most of them now go coldshoeing. Premade shoes they tap out and align to the horses hoof after trimming. Lot of arm work here, using the heel, spike and a combination of both on that anvil.

Corrective shoeing can involve both. This is tricky stuff. Can ruin or make a horse.

Farriers are few and far between. I don't know of any combination blacksmiths and farriers. Used to be able to go to town, get a horse shoed and have a set of hinges made. Not any more.

Most travel a fairly large area. The good ones usually specialize in certain breeds of horses or horses used for certain kinds of work. If they are no good they don't last long especially with some of the more refined and expensive horses used now.

Shoes are changed about every six months if a horse needs them to begin with. Hoofs grow like our tonenails. After a length of time they drop the shoes if they are not worn out and trim the hoof back to the origional start.

Dirty, dangerous and very physical job. I give them credit but it would take a couple of cold days in He$$ to get me to do it.

Later, John.

[Phil Washburn]

Matt.

Ah horseshoeing........... Heat and hammer and anvil work. Hotshoeing. Gets a better fit in the hands of the right guy. Can be real ugly in the hands of a numbnuts who don't know coal or gas fired furnaces. And can't use a hammer and slaps too hot a shoe on a horse for fit....................
Later, John.

reminds me of a joke that is much older than me....a greenhorn goes to a blacksmith shop where the smithie had just finished a horseshoe. he had put it aside and, altho it was no longer glowing, it was still very hot. the greenhorn reaches over and picks it up and immediately drops it.

whats the matter, the smithie snickers, was it hot? the quick thinking greenie replys: no, it just doesn't take me long to look at a horseshoe:big_smile:

[postbeetle]

Simple as that Phil............LOL LMAO

[kat in the hat]

That all sounds expensive, and time consuming. Next time I see someone on a horse, I am gonna suggest they use a tractor, 4 wheeler, or a Gator. :wink:

[kat in the hat]

So today I went for a walk in the woods. Was looking for mushrooms to eat. Anyways, on the drive back, on the gravel road, I saw a good covey of quail. Maybe 10 or 12 birds. It was a nice sight. They are pretty scarce around here any more. Might see 2 or 3 together once in a great while. I got a snapshot of one of them on the fly, with my left hand...I was driving at the time. It's not a great pic, I just couldn't believe I got it. I'll post it when I get it downloaded.

[kat in the hat]

What do you think of the outfit? I can tell you, Kasha didn't think much of it. When we took it off, she attacked it, shook it out, killed it, and refused to give it back. Besides, she is a full figured girl...mostly through the chest area, and the outfit didn't fit quite right.

The other pic is of the quail. Not a good pic, but if I had a shotgun instead of a camera, I wouldn't have gone hungry. :wink:

[kat in the hat]

I know that getting bit by animals sucks, and has to be at the back of any vet's mind...or anybody's mind that is confronting an animal that they are unfamiliar with. I would think that a vet has come to terms with this possibility, but that is not always so.

When we decided to change where we take our dog for medical treatment, there was a young vet working there, and he was shy of touching our dog. He tippy-toed into the room. "Does she bite?" He asked. "She never has." Was my reply. Then he reached his hand out in a slow, tenuous manner before touching her as if she did decide to snap at him, he could yank his hand back, and avoid the bite.

That was almost enough to make us reconsider our decision to go to that vet, but we stuck it out. I haven't seen that guy since then. I don't know if he doesn't work there anymore, or if we are just being treated by the other vet.

I know some dogs will bite anybody. Others will bite when they are stressed from going to the vet. Others will bite just because they don't trust the person who is about to touch them. I once played frisbee with a sweet little heeler for hours. When we got done, I went to pet her on the back, and wham...she bit me.

So, doc...I know how much you love being bitten by dogs :roll_eyes:. What do you make of a vet that is overtly conscious of a dog's jaws? Do you believe that a fear of being dog bit is a self fulfilling prophecy? Do you believe that fear plays a part? Like a dog knows when someone doesn't trust them, and reacts to that fear?

I have been bitten twice, but I have very little fear of any dog. If the owner says it will bite, I listen. I think I'm pretty good at judging a dog's state of mind when I meet one.

Once, I did the unthinkable. A friend of mine had a Rottweiler. I buddy up to dogs pretty quick. This dog loved me except for when she was in heat, then she didn't like much of anyone. She was giving me fits one day. Acting like she wanted a chunk of me. She retreated to her kennel, and I crawled in there with her and laid down. She growled for a bit, but finally calmed down. That was one of those days that I knew I was stupid.

Chronic stupidity can account for alot of dog bites. I think that fear accounts for alot of them too...from a human behavioral point of view. What do you make of a vet that shows outward fear of the animals that he decided he wanted to treat for a living?

[postbeetle]

Matt, have ya ever deliberately walked up to a rat trap and stuck your finger on the cheese?

I have, I did for close to 30 years. That ratrap might be a rank horse or a ton and a half bull or a 150 lb Rottweiler.

There is this contemporary thing in our current culture where these dipshits wear T-shirts that say "No Fear" Man O Man, the man that has "no fear" is just asking to get killed. You better have fear of something that can rip you a new one. Whether it is a dog or and electrical outlet.

Yes I have been bitten, yes I have been mauled, kicked, stomped, butted, rammed, gored and generally attempted to be dismembered. But if that is your job ya just do it. You take precautions, you evaluate, you judge and you try and not do something stupid. Look at my signature. That is there for a number of reasons. What we are talking about is one of them.

When I left Veterinary Medicine in 1969 the man that replaced me was a new graduate. I worked with him for 3 weeks before I left the practice. Matt this man was deathly afraid of animals. I could never understand that. His Dad was a physician and he was extremely smart. Except he couldn't get himself in the position to adequately examine a patient. He was a putz, a fairy princess putz. I think he is in teaching now.

You can never, NEVER EVER let an animal or a man for that matter think you are afraid of them even if you are scared Sh$$less. That is when the advantage is to them and you will definitely get hurt.

Later, John.

[kat in the hat]

Thanks for your reply! That's how I think too. Fear=weakness, and weakness in the animal kingdom is an invitation to be challenged.

So, I get along with dogs pretty good, but livestock...I just don't trust them, and they know it. I used to help my uncle feed pigs back when they were raised with their feet on the ground. He would say...don't let 'em do this, or that. He gave me a 2X4, and said if they did this, or that, whack them in the head. At the time, I was maybe 100#, and not exactly a pig farmer. I was 100% petrified, and probably still would be. I don't trust a pig any farther than I can throw one. The only good pig is a dead pig...smoked...marinated and grilled...or just fried with some butter, garlic, and red wine.

Cattle. They don't like me. It's just that 100 mile stare they have. Gives me the willies. A few times, I have found my fishing or hunting destinations to be either in, or on the other side of a large pasture with cattle. I get out in the middle of the pasture, and those boogers get a little antsy. They are too big to be gettin' antsy with me. I don't carry cattle treats with me, so I have no way to bribe them. Once, I was doing some work on a guy's house removing asbestos siding. He had a junk holler in his pasture, and wanted me to dump the siding there. He had a little Hereford steer pent up in there. It's name was Lunch. I don't know how big he was. Maybe 700 or 800 pounds...just guessing. Not big. But, I opened the gate, and was pushing the wheel barrow towards where it was to be dumped, and this dang steer thought it would be fun to chase me down. He squared off with me, looked me in the eye, and I knew I had a matter of seconds to get back over the fence. He charged. I ran. The next day, the guy asked me why the wheel barrow was in the pasture, and I told him that Lunch chased me out, and he laughed at me. C'mon! What was I supposed to do? Wait and see how serious he was?

So, yeah, I don't have what it takes to be a farmer of livestock...and I know that. You would think that an individual that is afraid of dogs would come to the same conclusion, and find another profession. Maybe he should specialize in gerbils or something of that nature.

Also, have you ever seen them put pins in the broken femur of a small rodent? Why someone would spend hundreds of dollars for surgery on a $10 rodent is way beyond me (same way I feel about cats), but I saw it done on TV. I was shocked, and intrigued. Amazing how they put those little bitty screws in those little bitty bones.

[Kat-tamer]

Matt, your watching waaayyyy too much TV. I know there's work to be done around the house.:wink::ooooh::smile2::confused2::smile2: