Owney is the star of USPS' newest 44� forever stamp  

     "She acted like a horse with colic, sitting with her head held low, her nose hovering just above her toes, refusing to eat. I took her to my regular vet seeking help.

     He diagnosed an upset stomach from eating garbage. I knew he was wrong because Pischka didn't have access to garbage. He insisted. I followed his advice, giving her mineral oil for an upset stomach, the same treatment horse vets use for colic, but I know she got better on her own.

     When the problem recurred, I took Pischka to a different clinic. The vet again diagnosed "garbage can gut". When I described her symptoms, he told me dogs don't get those kind of symptoms. He implied that I was crazy, because dogs don't get colic. And he recommended mineral oil.

     When the problem occurred the next time, I tried a third vet, who said Pischka wasn't sick. I was frustrated that none of the vets tried to figure it out. The problem recurred several times a year, but she remained undiagnosed until I became a vet student. The next time she was sick I took her to the teaching hospital. A senior vet student, in less than five minutes, using only her hands, diagnosed a rare liver condition based on the size of her liver. She just did a thorough physical exam, including palpating her abdomen, and lab tests later confirmed her diagnosis."

     "I was so grateful for the care the gentle senior student took with Pischka that day. ... I will not forget the thoroughness of that student, and would emulate her when I entered practice. I would never dismiss an owner's complaint, because I remember how I felt when vets dismissed Pischka's illness, never trying to find out what made Pischka so sick."

Somewhere along the way we outgrew (in more ways than one)...   

Here are some RIDING RULES for Old Horse Women:

1. We DO NOT need to show up with our hair combed, make up on and wearing a clean shirt.

2. Moaning, groaning and complaining about aching muscles is perfectly acceptable, as is taking Motrin (or something stronger) prior to a ride.

3. Helping someone on or off the horse does not mean the rider is an invalid. It only means the horse got taller overnight.

4. No one will comment about how big someone's butt looks in a saddle.

5. Everyone will wait, patiently, while someone dismounts and adjusts equipment. Everyone will also wait, patiently, until that person remounts and is ready to move on...no matter how long that takes.

6. When a horse is acting up we will accept that the horse is just having a bad hair day and it is not the rider's fault.

7. Mentioning it is too hot, too dry, too humid, too wet, too buggy, etc., is considered self expression, not whining.

8. Wanting to be first, last, walk, or just stop does not mean the rider is a wimp. Sometimes it is necessary to teach a horse who is in charge.

9. We will take the time to discuss the important issues of the day like who is dating who, who is cheating on who and any other relevant information which needs to be passed on.

10. We will acknowledge that horses are very strange animals and sometimes for no reason at all we fall off of them. If this happens to any rider the other riders will ascertain that the person is okay and then not mention the incident to another living soul, especially husbands and significant others.

11. We will acknowledge, without apology, that riding more than 6 hours increases our grumpy level far more than any ego benefits we may get from riding longer.

12. Our horses are not fat they are "big boned".

13. I need to keep riding mysterious and strange sounding. If everyone else finds out how much fun it is the price of the horses will go up and I won't be able to afford a dozen of them.

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What the heck is THAT?!?  

Enjoy!