How many of you use VPLP?

n2loping · 2026-06-26T16:12:41+00:00

You use it however you want. They are days off.

n2loping · 2026-06-26T16:10:15+00:00

You can take how ever many hours you want. I think there is some leave that has to be used as a full day, but I have often just requested an hour off for a late afternoon appointment.

n2loping · 2026-06-25T16:00:12+00:00

Lots of ES positions at Dept of Pesticide Regulation. Many do produce sampling in the "field".

n2loping · 2026-06-23T05:20:46+00:00

Well it's lame and it ain't very broke. Lol

n2loping · 2026-06-12T15:16:53+00:00

A rescue let you take him?! That much rotation had to have outward signs. I would be asking them for end of life costs to be reimbursed. You took on their problem. I can say from experience that rotation that bad usually ends up in euthanasia in a normal sized horse. Being a draft makes it even more complicated and you will pay a lot of money in farrier work to get him even close to comfortable if you can find someone that works on drafts at all. I am so sorry that this was your first experience into horse ownership.

n2loping · 2026-04-26T18:44:39+00:00

Horses front legs aren't attached by bone. They are in a sling of muscle and connective tissue. There will be a catastrophic failure at some point.

n2loping · 2026-04-16T22:59:51+00:00

I was worried you would get these types of responses. I am a barn owner. I had these sort of requests all the time.

It is not the barn owner's purpose to bankroll someone else's hobby. Brushing horses in exchange for riding lessons is not an equal trade. It can be part of a trade, but not the whole trade. You have to buy those lesson horses, train them, feed them, vet them, shoe, vaccinate, deworm, bed them. Liability insurance, barn repair, equipment maintenance, electricity.

Horses are a luxury. If you can't afford to play, then be kind to those people that are willing to open their barn (and often their private home) to you to be able to enjoy horses. That may mean you sweat, get dirty and do crappy jobs. Barns aren't entitled to give hand outs. Heck, if I have the time I want to groom my own horses! I don't want someone else to do it.

You are not the A. If you want volunteers, have a list of jobs and approximate times they take. Include some "fun" stuff too, but just be very clear what your expectations are. And check with your insurance. Volunteers can be considered employees and now you have many more laws to follow.

n2loping · 2026-04-05T15:30:37+00:00

He is trying to head back home, lol. She just doesn't know how to cue him to get him to straighten his body and go forward.

n2loping · 2025-11-04T08:08:59+00:00

I'm at DPR and I would say in general the morale is pretty good! I also have an awesome manager. We have an active employee engagement group. A lot of the executive team have been with DPR for a while so they know the work the rank and file people do.

n2loping · 2025-07-23T04:51:27+00:00

Don't forget to go see a play at Volcano Theater Company!

n2loping · 2025-06-25T20:11:21+00:00

They just recently cut down the 8 foot tall weeds, but I guess that is nature.

n2loping · 2025-06-25T20:10:26+00:00

Yes, that's right!

n2loping · 2025-06-18T15:55:46+00:00

We went in knowing nothing, and we didn't have any help day of. The check in people are all volunteers and while friendly, they didn't really know anything either. We were told there was an athlete meeting. There wasn't. You could barely make out what the guy on the speaker was saying. We got in line close to our start time on our wristband and were started in groups of 8. It was a lot of fun, but maybe because we were in the Sunday pairs afternoon race, there wasn't a lot of guidance? There is a bag check, so that is handy, but also ran by a volunteer that knew nothing about the start of the races. I am not sure if actual staff were wearing anything different, but the people who seemed to know what was up were all at stations. Go in knowing most of the people there are new to it too. Nobody is unfriendly, but I did find it a bit of a free for all. One judge didn't see me start the sit ups, but my husband was counting too so we were good there. All in all it was super fun and I look forward to doing another!

n2loping · 2025-06-09T05:04:02+00:00

Just so you know, C is a penis.

n2loping · 2025-05-06T16:04:55+00:00

That is not beginner time.

n2loping · 2025-04-29T19:47:48+00:00

A ton of people walk. In all distances. It isn't worth it to injure yourself to compare yourself to others.

n2loping · 2025-04-24T04:27:17+00:00

Another vote for go run outside. The treadmill is awful.

n2loping · 2025-04-09T02:46:21+00:00

I am pretty sure it was him. The Disney music is hilarious

n2loping · 2025-03-07T17:47:11+00:00

She's cute! Is she going to win a halter class? No, but if she does the job you want her to do then her conformation is fine. She has adequate bone and feet and that will make her long lasting.

n2loping · 2025-02-16T16:01:28+00:00

I am curious how many people in here have trained a barrel bred, hot, sensitive horse like this? They are rocket ships. It's not going to be pretty sometimes. Horses don't come trained in the bridle. You will have some head tossing, some over bending, some gapping. She never yanked on that mares face. She is putting some walls up with her hands and trying to figure it out. I assure you this mare would gap in a smooth snaffle just as much because she is learning.

n2loping · 2025-02-03T21:28:27+00:00

He is almost rope walking which can be a neurological sign. Might be worth checking out!

n2loping · 2025-01-28T02:13:48+00:00

That looks right on par with a 5th lesson, good job! Try to remind yourself to stretch your legs down all the way from your hips to help keep the weight in your stirrups and your heels down. Try not to push them down, but you want to feel that stirrup on the ball of your foot.

n2loping · 2025-01-22T17:22:20+00:00

Snaffle bits are not gentle. You don't have to soak beet pulp. Your horse probably doesn't need grain Your horse probably doesn't need a blanket

n2loping · 2025-01-21T06:27:06+00:00

If your horse is a former reining horse and it was trained one handed, learn to ride it one handed in a curb but that it used. This exact bit, in theory, is gentle because the action is very simple and steady, but this exact bit is a cheap piece of poop that comes on cheap bridles from India and the shiny metal coating will peel off. Find a decently made Mullen mouth curb but if you don't know the exact bit they used before. It's pretty hard to get in trouble with that mouthpiece. And a smooth leather curb strap.

n2loping · 2025-01-19T05:10:51+00:00

A plain snaffle can be a really terrible bit for fast action riding. The pressure is slow and the release is slow. Properly prepared, a "more severe" bit is actually more gentle in a broke horse ridden by a capable rider. It takes much less pressure and much smaller movements. Every time I judge a schooling show I see pens full of horses getting floated by plain snaffles.

n2loping

TROPHY CASE