Ordinary Time

There are lots of little odds and ends I want to share, so I guess it's time for a (not so) weekly update.  Why can't horses need vets during the day on a weekday? Is it really too much to ask? Clearly it is. While I like my vets, I've seen just a little too much of them recently. Tonight at dinner time, it was Buddy I was calling the off-hours emergency number about. He was acting odd and looked uncomfortable. After our bout of impaction colic in January, I decided it wasn't worth waiting for the morning. I was glad I did because this is impaction colic number two for the year. Because we caught it early, I'm hoping that he won't require anymore mineral oil treatments. I may never get ahead on my vet bill.  I am finishing the last Sheep and Fiber class on Tuesday. These have been really well received. We visit the sheep and learn a bit about them, and then we have a whirlwind fiber tour and I teach everyone how to spin on a spindle. If I get a group of three, I...

I haven't written much about the conference I attended last week, but I found something in my notes that I wanted to share with you. The keynote speaker for the conference was Dr. Steve Peters , a neuroscientist who specializes in both humans and horses. He is a very good speaker and being able to discuss both human and horse brains covers some of my favorite topics.  The quote I wrote down was this: [Felt safety and connection] create gluco-corticoid receptors [in the brain] which neutralize gluco-corticoids [also known as cortisol].  So maybe it's not a word for word quote based on the number of brackets I needed to use, but the meaning is the same. While Dr. Peters didn't use the words 'felt safety and connection,' he did use terminology to mean the same thing. A person... or horse... needs to experience safety as well as feeling close to others. That would be other people for people and other horses for horses.  What happens is there are receptors in out brains ...