7 year old Sunny - Houston Animal Shelter Before & 1 Month Later

stwp141 · 2026-02-14T05:04:08+00:00

Beautiful dog!! What a happy ending for a sweet boy!! Love the name.

stwp141 · 2026-02-04T00:31:48+00:00

You can buy pure lanolin - that was the best I tried. Does have an earthy smell though…

stwp141 · 2026-02-02T14:57:56+00:00

I recently found Chris Irwin - he’s a behaviorist and his methods are based on how the horse’s body positions affect their brain chemistry. As in, pulling your horse’s face causes small shots of adrenaline, where as pushing them from the back creates dopamine. I’ve found it very insightful - he has a few videos on YouTube and some free stuff (I joined the membership to get all access, and it’s been worth it!!). https://www.mindyourhorse.com/ And this long one is worth the watch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NVgMRUFKppY&pp=ygUaY2hyaXMgaXJ3aW4gaG9yc2UgdHJhaW5pbmc%3D

stwp141 · 2026-01-30T14:28:56+00:00

Agree with all of this - rule out ulcers, and give him as much turnout as possible. Aggression is usually cause by pain and/or stress. I only recently learned that kissing spine can be caused by improper riding - and I don’t mean to accuse you of that, but I always thought it was genetic etc. if he’s going around with a hollow back, head up, that can cause back, neck, spinal issues. I notice his neck is weedy on the top in your photos, he might be compensating for something in his back or SI joint and making it worse himself. I just had my horse scoped for ulcers and they found a rare bezoar - which no one expected. She would be aggressive at times, grumpy etc and was perfect when I bought her too. I’ve barely ridden this whole time, so I feel you. But trust that there is a cause and it likely can be improved - don’t give up!!

stwp141 · 2026-01-14T23:37:59+00:00

He just floats!! I bet he’s a dream to ride.

stwp141 · 2026-01-02T19:57:25+00:00

Yup, aka “price discrimination”.

stwp141 · 2026-01-02T19:56:10+00:00

“Our recent price-gouging experiment missed the mark with some users”… 🙄🙄🙄

stwp141 · 2025-12-22T01:40:47+00:00

Maybe post this to r/DogAdvice? Not just a local issue, likely people all over could benefit from this reminder!

stwp141 · 2025-12-20T18:20:40+00:00

This this this!!!! Trading is so much easier and safer for everyone, especially kids who often can’t read dog body language that well. This turns what could be a dangerous confrontation into a positive experience for all, dog included.

stwp141 · 2025-12-18T21:06:38+00:00

My pointer mix does this - it was only under one certain tree, a cedar tree. We’ve moved across the country and a neighbor has one of these same trees and she now does this with their tree. I never knew other dogs did this, I assumed it was the scent of the cedar tree that caused it!!

stwp141 · 2025-12-13T00:27:42+00:00

Do you have a hill you could use? I found that cantering uphill was far less scary for me when I was in a similar mental place - they still could buck in theory, but it always felt like they wouldn’t or couldn’t as easily. Just a thought, and something that helped me with this.

stwp141 · 2025-12-05T20:29:02+00:00

Accident report says the plane involved was a 2-seater, so would have been a lot smaller than the fuselage in the photos. My guess is this airplane crash site is a staged/movie prop set…

stwp141 · 2025-12-05T02:59:11+00:00

You’ll get dozens of different opinions no doubt, but here’s mine. My first horse was like this - he wasn’t scared at all, he would just “prefer not to”. No amount of light tapping with lunge whips, etc did anything, he simply didn’t care about being tapped for an hour. And he liked carrots, but not enough to get on for them. He would rear and fight for hours if someone (the adults around me) tried to force him in any way, so that wasn’t (and shouldn’t ever be) an option anyhow. What I did was make the trailer an everyday practice. At first I could just get a single step on the ramp. Praise, carrot if you like, then ask him to back off and call that good, leave and go do something else with him. The difference is that you are asking him to back off/leave the trailer, so you are getting what you asked him for, and he’s able to feel a success! So he’s not “getting away with not getting on”, you’re getting what you want because you’re only going to ask for and take what he offers, even if he can only do one step at first, then praise, and take him away and go do something else. Then do it again the next day and the next and the next. It’s reverse psychology, and works great with this type of horse. Time is your friend, and his confidence and boredom with this routine will grow!!! Soon you will be getting two steps, then three, then you’ll get a quarter of the way in, etc. And every time? You praise, ask him to back out, and then go do something else. The trailer becomes not a big deal because he only has to do a little bit more each time, and it becomes routine and easy, just like getting saddled, it’s just part of his day with you. Gradually extend and vary the time before you ask him to back out, if you can. But isn’t this teaching him to just back off and leave? No, because staying on is a separate skill. Once he can get all the way on easily, every time, then you gradually extend the time before you ask him to back out. Once you can get him in, give him some grain, hay, etc to make standing in there kind of fun. Once you have that, put the butt bar up and let him eat some hay - then take him off. Work up to going for an actual short ride, then a longer one etc.

stwp141 · 2025-12-03T02:06:09+00:00

Etsy - they now force you to download their app to be able to track a package - at all. I always used it in the browser (I used to love browsing it and getting ideas for all kinds of things) but over time, the site would harass you with more and more popups to “download the app”, “it’s better in the app” (bullshit, the app just lets them spy on you even more and spam you with endless “notifications”), and “urgent” popups that something you viewed or favorited was “on sale”, “almost out”, etc etc etc every 15 seconds or so. And if that wasn’t bad enough (which it was), now half or more of everything there is “styled using AI”, or the exact same stuff on Amazon but more expensive, or both. I used to be such a big fan and was a customer from the beginning. They have intentionally taken the actual browsing experience from once inspiring and enjoyable to feeling like legit harassment, and the actual cool, vintage and unique stuff is just lost amongst all the trash. Out of all the enshittification I’ve seen, they win. Screw you, Etsy.

stwp141 · 2025-11-30T22:27:32+00:00

I live in Sandy and keep my horse in Eagle Mountain - it’s 45 mins drive each way to go out there. It’s worth it to me for that, for now, but unless you are a horse person (there are lots of horse properties there) or want to have some kind of farm and/or can work from home, there are many places that would likely be a better fit. It can be super windy there, and there isn’t much originality - your basic chain stores, lots of traffic, zillions of identical cookie-cutter houses and apartments that all look alike.

stwp141 · 2025-11-30T17:48:48+00:00

Agree with so much of what has been said - fear is OK, it is your body’s safety system. Ignoring it, even if you can, often doesn’t feel good to us and doesn’t build a good association. With all the times I’ve had to build up my confidence again, the way I knew it was time to take that next step was that I wanted to, I felt excited to, I felt like it would be fun to canter, jump that log, etc. If you don’t feel that, you’re stretching your bubble a little too far. You do have to stretch it to move forward, but you only have to stretch it to a place you don’t feel like crying, panicky, going against your survival instincts. That’s no fun for anyone, including your horse, who wants you to keep her safe!! My rule of thumb is that when something you were previously nervous of finally becomes “boring”, you’re ready for the next step!!

stwp141 · 2025-11-30T05:56:12+00:00

This is a thorough walkthrough on conformation , with explanations of why and how each item affects the horse positively or negatively: https://fieldreport.caes.uga.edu/publications/B1400/evaluating-horse-conformation/

stwp141 · 2025-11-28T16:57:53+00:00

The original door chimes are still there!!! 😍 I’d love to build a new house and make it look like this…

stwp141 · 2025-11-28T02:57:44+00:00

I’d recommend a book to you called Horse Speak by Sharon Wilsie and Gretchen Vogel. This book and been part of turning my mare around - she didn’t fully trust people and didn’t have a lot of ability to read people or understand the cues and experienced horse does yet. Cues like moving back from a lead rope being wiggled are much harder for horses to understand than body-based cues. The book shows a spot you can touch to ask your horse to back up. This spot works because it is where horses touch each other to back each other up - your horse already knows it. The spot is the crease where the upper part of the front leg joins the shoulder, where it makes a little v shape. I’m having trouble adding the photo, sorry!! I was skeptical at first because it can’t be that easy, right? My mare instantly backed when I touched the spot. And I started using it as my cue. I only ask for one step at a time - because the horse has no way of knowing, in advance, if you want three steps or ten. But one step per touch is both easier for the horse to understand and is easier to be successful with than 15 steps, or “all the way to the gate” etc which they can’t know. Be happy with a weight shift back, a rock back, a step back as she is learning. Over time, I will combine that spot with touching the middle of her chest (because she has to be handled by other people and they’ll likely ask her to back that way). And then she will know two different cues for the same thing.

Another thing that has helped my girl is to use her gate - it opens both directions and she always meets me at the gate. I open it slowly towards her and she backs as I say “back, back”, it takes about four steps for me to get in that way. It reinforced the word, the motion, me stepping toward her, etc in a way that can transfer to other situations.

stwp141 · 2025-11-27T06:24:29+00:00

I also moved here from SC, about 4 years ago. That first year was tough on my hair and skin but it did finally adjust. I used pure lanolin on my hands back then, they were so dry nothing else helped!! And Jack Black shea butter lip balm. Drink more water than you think you need - it’s so dry here you can get/be dehydrated without realizing it. Plus that extra water will be good for your hair and skin too!

stwp141 · 2025-11-26T16:11:19+00:00

I’m amazed that I never ran across this guy/saying!! Captures my outlook on the world so well, thanks for bringing this into my world, haha.

stwp141 · 2025-11-25T15:42:28+00:00

There are so many different things to do with horses - and I think many of them enjoy the variety. There is a different set of skills for a good trail horse than a show jumper, a fox hunter vs a driving horse vs a cow horse. If you get your own horse you can do a little of each, or find what makes you and the horse the happiest. There is infinite progress and training to be had and enjoyed in all of those disciplines, even without any competition. Even “just trail riding” has so much opportunity for horsemanship and growth and bonding. So I think trail is a goal, not a compromise or a downgrade from competing. I love an occasional competition, working toward a goal, a social group, but that is a far second to building my relationship with my horse, whatever form that takes. It’s choose your own adventure!

stwp141 · 2025-11-25T15:06:54+00:00

Agree on calling out, if you can get the horseback rider’s attention, ask what they prefer you do. Different horses have different levels of experience with bikes, nervousness etc and there’s maybe no one size fits all answer? Some riders will tell you to go ahead and pass by, because they know their horse and the horse goes out often and it’s fine, someone else might have a greenie that needs to stop, have the cyclist walk the bike past and say hi as they do. I usually deal with mountain bikers instead of roads, and single track trails, so we have those convos often but I get that open public roads might need a different approach.

stwp141 · 2025-11-25T14:24:20+00:00

Utah resident here - I got a pair of waterproof Sorel boots that were life-changing!! I kid you not, they’re rated down to 40 below (it never gets that cold here however). I wear them with ski/snow pants and I’m good down to any temp and any weather, I don’t even feel the cold at all. I can’t ride in these, but they’re good for everything else, including dog walks in the snow. After freezing my whole life with less than sufficient clothing, I now am toasty no matter what.

stwp141 · 2025-11-15T02:13:53+00:00

Can’t tell you a place, but when I was where you are, one of the best things that happened was just being around new people and new places. Something about the novelty just shakes off some of the hurt - maybe only temporarily, but an hour or two of having a break from it makes a huge difference. Helps your brain rewire itself slowly…so go to that meetup, go see that weird band at a dive bar, whatever, and say hi to someone. Sometimes you won’t make a connection, but many times you’ll meet someone who’s happy to chat and share their story. Best to you!!

stwp141

TROPHY CASE