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All about horses in northern B.C. Issue # 58: December 18, 2000 Published each Monday by Kristi McCrindle, editor Dunny is home! Yippee!! She survived her cold trailer ride home (well bundled up in hood, blanket and boots!) and has now been moved up into the barn at the Foote's. So far, I am really enjoying her, though to be honest I haven't seen much of her with other commitments this weekend. I like how quiet she is to handle and how sweet she seems so far. She has a beautiful head and neck, with a soft expressive eye and a long flowing mane. After wearing the hood, she was really itchy under her mane and loves nothing more than a good long scratching. One thing that I have realized is that the name 'Dunny', though she has been called that for three years, really doesn't suit her. With her gentle eye, she reminds me of Faline, Bambi's mate, but that name doesn't really do it either. I'd love to hear suggestions from our readers, and have included her pedigree below in case it inspires anyone. Email me at kristi@hiway16.com if you have ideas for giving Dunny a new barn name. ..............................Joe Cody ..................Kid Five Cody ...............................Kitty Kid .....Brennas Kid ...............................Be Aech Enterprise ...................Be Aechs Brenna ................................Misty Penny Bar BH Biscuit (Dunny) ................................Jewel's Leo Bars ....................Colonel Freckles .................................Christy Jay ......Bamba Oro .................................Dancing Gold .....................Mr Gold 95 .................................Dancing Charm In the meantime, it looks like the Bulkley Valley / Lakes District is in for some *warmer* weather - anything above -10 C is a bonus! photo courtesy Chris Hassell Perhaps we can all spare some time to spend with our equine buddies now that being outside isn't such a chore! ~ Kristi :) email to editor: kristi@hiway16.com Photo Show for horse photos From Kristi and all the staff at Northern BC Horse and www.hiway16.com, a Merry Christmas to you and your family - and best wishes for the best in 2001 We'll skip next week's issue and we'll meet right here again in the New Year Give your horses an extra handful of carrots for us!

	Past articles are all available in the
NEW! Tip Of The Week		Buying a Horse - Part 1
You can re-use old dewormer tubes (after a thorough washing) with applesauce. Treat your horse with this often until they accept the tube without fuss. Add bute or other medication to the applesauce when needed and they should take it well. Also when your horse needs to be dewormed it will be easier on you as he is used to getting treats instead of yuckies. I had one gelding that was getting arnica solution and colloidal silver twice a day for a few weeks. By the time his injury had healed up, you could deworm him loose in the field - not even a rope around his neck. He'd see the tube coming and actually open his mouth for it! Western, English, Penning or Trail riding, all equine sports have a voice on Northern B.C. Horse Northern B.C. Horse is brought to you courtesy of our advertisers including: Burns Lake Building Supplies Griffin Enterprises Hoskins Ford Northern Horse Supply Ridennoure Paint Horses The Tack Store Uniglobe Travel North Thanks to our advertisers for making this all possible... ...for information about advertising, email jim@hiway16.com If you are new to Northern B.C. Horse, check out all the previous issues on the Archive page. Kristi is building a great knowledge base about horses, with the emphasis on our area of the world	Clubs and meetings Last week I talked about attending club meetings and working on next year's events. I've attended a few meetings in the last couple of weeks and can hardly believe the plans already underway for the coming season. The Bulkley Valley Quarter Horse Association has been put onto the back shelf seeing as there were not enough people involved to keep it going. The BVQHA tries to run a Quarter Horse show every year in conjunction with the Bulkley Valley Exhibition, but it doesn't always happen due to lack of volunteers. There are a bunch of Paint enthusiasts who would like to step in and take the QH's place at the Fair, and there is a committee working to that end. If you know have Paints, you could contact this group (email Chris at kckfarms@bulkley.net or call her at 846-5332) and let them know of your interest in supporting the show with volunteer time, monetary sponsorship, or show attendance. The Lakes District Cattle Penning Association is gearing up for a huge project this year of a Canadian Team Cattle Penning Association sanctioned penning. Anyone interested in team penning is urged to contact Jeff at 694-3448. The annual 3-day clinic is planned for June 12th to 14th and is an excellent way to learn more about penning just in time for the sanctioned meet June 16 & 17. The LDCPA is also looking for a few volunteers and for sponsors. Tweedsmuir Cavaliers Saddle Club, out of Burns Lake, are shut down for winter with no meetings planned until March. They are always on the lookout for new faces in the Lakes District and hope to have an active year in 2001 with clinics and shows. If you are in the Lakes District and would like more info about TCSC, email Barb at lpine@lakesweb.com or call her at 692-4347. The TCSC also has a web page Northern Saddle Club is making some changes this year with a planned increase in annual dues to cover the addition of a permanent grounds keeper during the summer. Look for completely rebuilt bleachers and other exciting grounds projects this coming season! For more info, contact Reka at 847-4529 or email her at schipp@mail.bulkley.net The Bulkley Valley Reiners once again has one or two clinics in the works, plus they'd love to host another youth and beginner show again, or maybe two - the last one was so much fun! Their clinics are geared at all levels of horses and riders, from complete beginners on up to competitive show reiners. Check out their web page here at www.hiway16.com/bvr or contact myself at kristi@hiway16.com And that's all the current club news for now! Don't forget to send us your local club news and we'll put it out here on Northern BC Horse for area equestrians to read!	I figured I might as well start this series now so anyone horse shopping in the spring can go well armed with information! When you set out to buy a horse, there are lots of things to consider. You have so many choices to make, and as no horse is perfect (though we wish they were!), you may have to decide which choices can be altered slightly and still end up with the right horse. Number one thing to do when horse shopping is to sit down and honestly evaluate your abilities to ride, train and care for a horse. If you are a beginner who has never owned a horse, a yearling project is probably not for you. If you plan on competing in jumping classes this summer, buying a three year old (who is not mature enough to jump) is not a good idea. Be as honest as you can about your abilities and you have a better chance of finding a suitable horse. Next, sit down and write a list of what you WANT in a horse. List approximate age range you are willing to look at - and again, be honest. If you are looking for a first time horse to get you started safely, looking at a 24 year old horse who has been there, done that, might be the right choice. Don't discount them just because they are no longer in their prime. However, if you want a horse to bring along in competitive dressage, buying a lightly-started five year old might be ideal. Decide if you have a sex or colour preference, then realize that you may have to change your choice depending on the horses that come along. Colour and sex tend to be the two least important deciding factors in choosing a riding horse. Some people will disagree as soon as they read that, but consider this. A stallion is basically not a choice, unless you are specifically looking for a stallion to be used for breeding. If you are not set up for breeding, and don't have experience handing a stallion, buying one is not really even an option. So that leaves mares and geldings. Many people prefer mares, but many others prefer geldings. The arguments for (or against) may include - geldings are quieter than mares, mares have heat cycles and can get cranky, mares can be bred if something happens to them to render them unridable, and so on. Only you can make that decision, and you may still end up changing your choice when a horse comes along that is otherwise *perfect* for you. Next week, mares vs. geldings, and more...
	If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com

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