Hogany Tops Farm

10/14/2024

What is taurine and why is it important for cats?

Taurine is an amino acid that is essential for many physiological functions in mammals, particularly in cats. Unlike many other animals, cats cannot synthesize sufficient amounts of taurine on their own and must obtain it through their diet. Make sure you look into your pet's food to ensure they're getting all the nutrients they need for a healthy life.

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10/14/2024

Did you know cats are consider seniors at about 10 years old? Keep them young by feeding them whole, fresh foods to help keep their energy and appetite up.

10/14/2024

Selecting the optimum bit for a horse requires knowledge and experience. There are 7 pressure points that a bit can work on, the bars of the mouth, the lips, the tongue, the roof of the mouth, the nose, chin groove and the poll. Most bits work on two 2 ,3 or more of these pressure points.

With 7 pressure points there are 127 possible combinations of pressures that a bit might act upon. Additionally, each of the 127 possible combinations will have varied pressure on each of the points depending on the design of the bit. This information should convince most riders and horse owners that they should not select a bit for their horse without expert assistance. People purchase countless bits from catalogs or online with little or no knowledge of what a bit or bridle will do to or for their horse.

However, there is one thing that uneducated horse owners or riders can experiment with, the taste of bits. This usually will not ruin a horse, and with some careful trial and error, it might end with some improvement. Exploring the material or metal of a bit's mouthpiece along with trying variations on mouth pieces like rollers, links or lozenges is safe for most aware riders to do.

I have had great success with various metals of a bit's mouthpiece. The principle of mouthpiece taste is an often overlooked part of selecting a bit. I started to learn about this by tasting bits. That's right, clean and rinse bits well, and put them in your mouth. You'll be amazed at the differences.

The top row of bits have copper mouths with a soft feel with a little spice zing in the finish. The middle row are sweet iron bits with an earthy feel and hints of iron and rust.

The bottom row bits are of an alloy called "never rust", which were early attempts at stainless steel. Typically, these are a combination of iron and nickel, but copper, zinc and other metals are also possible in the mix. The variation in the alloy composition is why the color of these bits vary, especially when they are oxidized like the left and center snaffles. When highly polished they start to look more like modern stainless steel. Never rust bits are my favorite because most horses go well in them. Their feel and taste are not overpowering yet distinctive with a broad potential to pair with any horse.

The common modern stainless steel bits are like box wines. The chromium in this steel neutralizes any potential bold flavors. They are cheap and get the job done while void of the pleasure of taste. There are other materials available like German silver that is 80% silver. These have a subtle and soft feel and taste, but the flavor notes are not distinctive. Brass bits can be found, for me they tase like a two dimensional version of the never rust flavor.

This is my sommelier's take on bit materials. The never rust bits are very affordable on Ebay. Most are durable, handmade and of high quality. The ones with a kangaroo on them are among the best. Barkeeper's Friend shines these bits up nicely. Beware, there are many cheap phony sweet iron bits for sale. The cheap ones have only a thin coating of real sweet carbon iron. If you buy one look for quality. You must clean sweet iron extremely well after each use. As for the rollers and lozenges, I have found the majority of nervous horses like them.

If you use the Facebook Search function on the page using "bit" and "biting", I have written several posts on bits.

10/14/2024

10/14/2024

Pure Collagen For Hair, Skin & Nails

10/12/2024

Absolutely ❣️

I once asked a very successful woman to share her secret with me.
She smiled and said to me..

“I started succeeding when I started leaving small fights for small fighters.

I stopped fighting those who gossiped about me..

I stopped fighting with my in laws..

I stopped fighting for attention..

I stopped fighting to meet public expectation of me..

I stopped fighting for my rights with stupid people..

I left such fights for those who have nothing else to fight..

And I started fighting for
my vision,
my dreams,
my ideas and
my destiny.

The day I gave up on small fights is the day I started becoming successful.”

Some fights are not worth your time.
Choose what you fight for wisely.

– Amazing startups

Kuma Conrade VID's

10/10/2024

10/10/2024

Luke Jensen and Buzz L’Eclair Teamjoy finished 4th in the $30,000 Traverse City National Grand Prix
PC: Andrew Ryback Photography

08/21/2023

07/02/2023

I was at the river, hidden in the reeds, hoping to take photos of wildlife when I espied a man tenderly carrying his dog into the water and gently setting her down. The old dog seemed soothed and contented to be in the water and moved around using her front legs.
When she got into deeper water, the man lovingly scooped her into his arms again and brought her back to shallow waters and there they stood together in companionable quietude.
I approached the man as I was leaving and shared that I couldn't resist taking photos of him and his dog. I learned that the man's name is Tony and his 13-year-old dog is Maya, who slowly lost movement in her hind legs after an accident five years ago. Tony had inherited her from his son who went into the Marines 11 years ago, and he and Maya have been inseparable since that time. He likes to take her to the river where the water makes her light enough to move around easily on her own.
As Tony and I visited, Maya made her way over to me for greetings and quiet caresses. I gave Tony my number in case he would like to have photos of a candid moment between him and his Maya. I sent him these, and he sent me a very kind note.
Out of the river and back into the fray of everyday life I went, strengthened by the Grace I had witnessed.
The forever innocent smile of a puppy that won his human heart!
Credit Story4Soul

07/02/2023

I'll never forget the day my mom called me in a panic: 'Janna, you've got to convince your daddy to get rid of that horse, it's gonna kill him!'"

Janna Grapperhaus shared the touching story of the bond that was built between her father and an abused horse.

Major was a young and vicious stallion when her father bought him. He "couldn't be broke".

"The men who owned him previously had used a technique to break horses that involved beatings and tying his head tightly between two posts where they left him standing without food or water for 4 weeks," Janna said.

But Major stood strong.

When her father brought him home, Major barreled through five strands of fence within minutes of arriving. He'd bite and strike anyone that got too close.

"My dad never broke him... he earned his heart," she explained. "Every single day, for hours and hours dad worked to earn that abused horse's trust. Love won and after two full years, Major allowed my dad to ride him. When dad would go out, Major would kiss him on the head over and over. They had a bond that only horse people could ever understand."

So when her father passed, it seemed fitting to let Major say goodbye.

"This is Major's last kiss."

06/30/2023

There is an old pony in a big pen by the barn. He has no real purpose. No kids ride him, he is not a companion to another old horse.
We have no history together. He came into my life by happenstance. There are no fond, warm fuzzy memories. I owe him nothing. But he’s polite and kind, and nickers to me as I come out the door in the morning.
He eats a princely sum of special food, and has a premium round bale of irrigated grass that the other horses can only dream of. His water is fresh, and warmed in the winter. I’ve gone out there late at night to make sure he has food, and he’s the first thing I attend to after morning coffee.
Why? Why not send him to the sale where ‘someone’ will want him? At 40 cents a pound, he’d be worth a nice steak dinner and drinks in town. They’ll load him on a truck with 30 other old ponies and horses, and somewhere down that line, if he doesn’t fall from his bad knee and get trampled in the transport, he will become dog food.
There’s a bum calf in our scale house on this cold frosty night. He’s little and scrawny, with p**p stuck to his butt, and a bit of a runny nose. There’s a heater in there keeping the temp above freezing. In the morning I’ll make him a bottle of warm milk replacer and try to convince him to eat some of the pony’s special food. Bob will clean his little house and put down fresh bedding. It would be easier to have left him in the field with the 500 bigger, stronger calves, to steal milk from the occasional tolerant cow, to eventually freeze to death and feed the coyotes that lurk about the herd for just such an opportunity.
There is a wild kitten in the barn who most likely jumped off a utility truck a while back. We’ve been leaving food just for him, and making sure the heated water bowl is full, so he doesn’t have to go outside and perch precariously on the horse waterer to drink.
I guess we sound like saps, the old cowboy and I. Sort of wimpy and un-ranch like.
I guess we are. But at our age, with certain infirmities starting to creep into our daily routines, and the realization that we are not perfect, we are thinking that kindness is a virtue and care is our purpose.
Care of not just the healthy robust animals that make money and pay the bills, but care of everything we are capable of caring for - those creatures that, like us, are in need of a bit more attention to get through the day.
We didn’t go about seeking these creatures- they came to us and landed here not of their own choosing, or ours. But here they are, and off I go to town to a business that provides enough to buy the expensive milk replacer, premium hay, and special pony food.
There may be some karma in all this, or maybe not, but in the end we’ll know we did the best we could for those that needed us.
Peace. Really, I mean it.

06/30/2023

❤️

There is an old pony in a big pen by the barn. He has no real purpose. No kids ride him, he is not a companion to another old horse.
We have no history together. He came into my life by happenstance. There are no fond, warm fuzzy memories. I owe him nothing. But he’s polite and kind, and nickers to me as I come out the door in the morning.
He eats a princely sum of special food, and has a premium round bale of irrigated grass that the other horses can only dream of. His water is fresh, and warmed in the winter. I’ve gone out there late at night to make sure he has food, and he’s the first thing I attend to after morning coffee.
Why? Why not send him to the sale where ‘someone’ will want him? At 40 cents a pound, he’d be worth a nice steak dinner and drinks in town. They’ll load him on a truck with 30 other old ponies and horses, and somewhere down that line, if he doesn’t fall from his bad knee and get trampled in the transport, he will become dog food.
There’s a bum calf in our scale house on this cold frosty night. He’s little and scrawny, with p**p stuck to his butt, and a bit of a runny nose. There’s a heater in there keeping the temp above freezing. In the morning I’ll make him a bottle of warm milk replacer and try to convince him to eat some of the pony’s special food. Bob will clean his little house and put down fresh bedding. It would be easier to have left him in the field with the 500 bigger, stronger calves, to steal milk from the occasional tolerant cow, to eventually freeze to death and feed the coyotes that lurk about the herd for just such an opportunity.
There is a wild kitten in the barn who most likely jumped off a utility truck a while back. We’ve been leaving food just for him, and making sure the heated water bowl is full, so he doesn’t have to go outside and perch precariously on the horse waterer to drink.
I guess we sound like saps, the old cowboy and I. Sort of wimpy and un-ranch like.
I guess we are. But at our age, with certain infirmities starting to creep into our daily routines, and the realization that we are not perfect, we are thinking that kindness is a virtue and care is our purpose.
Care of not just the healthy robust animals that make money and pay the bills, but care of everything we are capable of caring for - those creatures that, like us, are in need of a bit more attention to get through the day.
We didn’t go about seeking these creatures- they came to us and landed here not of their own choosing, or ours. But here they are, and off I go to town to a business that provides enough to buy the expensive milk replacer, premium hay, and special pony food.
There may be some karma in all this, or maybe not, but in the end we’ll know we did the best we could for those that needed us.
Peace. Really, I mean it.