This is my page for frequently asked questions. If you have a questions just leave a comment or email me at myfarmerlife@gmail.com. Thanks!
1. Where do you live? I'm not comfortable giving out personal information online. I do live in the United States. I'll share that much. :)
2. How old are you? Late twenties. When people meet me they almost always guess 5-7 years younger than I actually am lol. Some people actually think I just graduated high school! Someday I'm sure I'll appreciate that, but right now it's sort of annoying lol.
3. How long have you been riding horses? I started riding horses at five years old and have been riding them since. In 2007 I had to move and went without a horse for two years until I got Chrome in 2009. Those were the most miserable two years of my life!
4. How tall are you? 5'10" Being tall has its advantages and its disadvantages.
5. Where does your username achieve1dream come from? Actually my mom was telling me how great Gmail is and convinced me to sign up. I wanted a new username because frankly all my old email addresses suck. So I thought and thought and thought, then I remembered something I always say. Shocker of all shockers, it has to do with my Friesian Fever, bet you couldn't have guessed that. I always said if I could achieve one dream, and only one, I would want it to be to have a Friesian of my own. Since achieveonedream was too long I did achieve1dream instead. :D
6. Your question here . . .
Blog Hop Questions
As you may know (if you read my blog) I have decided to join Living a Dream's Hobby Horse Blog Hop. You can see all of my Blog Hop posts by following my blog hop label here. The cool thing about her blog hop is that she encourages us to ask our readers our own question, which makes it more interactive as we share stories and answer questions. I decided to post those questions with my answers here. :)
Hobby Horse Blog Hop Week 1
Sadly, I didn't know about the Blog Hop in time to participate in week one, but Living a Dream's question was: What barn chore do you (or think you would) enjoy the most? My answer first would be grooming my horse, but I'm not sure if that is considered a barn chore . . . I do love to groom my horse though. It's such a bonding experience and so relaxing. The best kind of therapy in my opinion. As for actual barn chores . . . anything that gets me close to horses! Truthfully I totally prefer cleaning stalls, sweeping feed rooms, scrubbing water buckets, feeding horses, etc. to cleaning house. :D
GunDiva at Tales From The Trails asked: Where is your favorite place to ride? My answer is easy! The trails! I grew up "trail" riding on the roads around my house since we didn't actually have trails and it amazes me even to this day I'm more comfortable on the road than I am on trails. Still I love to ride any trail, whether it's on a road or not.
Once Upon asked: What is your favorite horse color? Another easy one! Black! One of the things I love about Friesians is I would never have to worry about finding the perfect horse for me and it being the "wrong" (for me, not everyone) color, since they are all black!
Hobby Horse Blog Hop Week 2
I did participate in this one! :D
Living A Dream asked: Shoes? Or Barefoot? My answer: To answer the question my answer is wholeheartedly barefoot! Shoes just cause concussion which can cause damage/arthritis and also damages the integrity of the hoof wall and compromises the total health of the hoof by removing the stimulation that makes them strong and healthy. Yep I'm all about barefoot. :D (Of course you can read more about all of that on my barefoot page!)
Allison from Adventures With Shyloh asked: To grain or not to grain? My answer: I'm also a no-grain type of person. Horses really don't need the extra sugar and carbs. I use a ration balancer which is basically a vitamin/mineral supplement with added protein. :) If they need extra energy/weight I will add oats. I like to feed flax seed and beet pulp as well. I just don't like grain (sweet feed-not balanced minerals/vitamins) or pellets (the ones with sugar and starch added because most of those would have to be fed in huge doses to make sure they were getting all of the minerals they need and that would make them obese and prone to insulin resistance and founder). I'm still learning more about the complexities of the equine diet. It's fun, but very confusing at times lol. :)
Grace Equestrian asked: Where do you see your horse career/hobby 5 years from now? My answer: In five years I plan to have Chrome trained well in the basics of dressage at least, possibly even attend a show or two. Our main goal will be competing in Competitive Trail Rides (NATRC). Of course we will also continue learning tricks. I also hope by then to be riding him bridleless, at least the beginning stages. It would be totally awesome if we've started to play around with driving a little too, if I can ever get the money to buy harness and a carriage (not to mention lessons!). :) I also hope to be taking him to SCA events and maybe even try Mounted Shooting. There are a LOT of things I want to do with him, but I don't know how much we will get around to in five years. Some of these may be longer term plans.
4RRanch asked: If you have shown, how old were you at your first show? My answer: I have never shown a horse before. Heck I was a teenager before I ever got to attend a show just to watch. Someday I hope to conquer my stage fright and enter a simple dressage schooling show.
GunDiva asked: If you could own any horse, who/what would it be? If I could have any horse it would totally be a purebred Friesian or ten of them. They are my absolute favorite breed.
I asked: If you could ride one famous horse (doesn't matter how it's famous, could be an Olympic eventer or a war hero), which horse would it be? My answer: You can probably all guess my answer to the question huh? A famous Friesian!! Like the Friesian in LadyHawke or Alexander The Great or Keegan or Romeo! Well I'm not sure those last two are famous except for people who love Friesians, but you get the idea. I want to ride a purebred Friesian!!
Hobby Horse Blog Hop Week 3
I participated in this one. :)
Allison asked: Mares? Geldings? Why? My answer: Geldings!! 100% without a doubt, geldings! I've never met a mare like what Dreaming described. All of the mares I've met/owned are bratty and love to pick a fight. Unfortunately as a teen I was hotheaded so I wanted to fight back. I just don't enjoy their mood changes. I guess we're too much alike to get along! So yeah, a nice, loving, confident gelding who is the same horse day in and day out is perfect for me. :D
Fantastyk Voyager asked: Is the Horse Fever acquired or inherited? When did you get it? My answer: I would have to say in my case it was probably inherited from my dad. It's because of him that we moved to the country and got horses in the first place. I never even had to ask for one!
I asked: If you could try out any equestrian discipline what would you try? My answer: I would try competitive driving! I've always wanted to learn how to drive a horse and CDE has always looked like so much fun. :D
Hobby Horse Blog Hop Week 4
GunDiva asked: How old were you when you rode by yourself for the first time? (Riding behind an adult or in a snuggli doesn't count) My answer: I was five or six. I still remember my first time to ever fall off. My mom had our pony on a longe rope and had me walking in circles. The pony swung his hindquarters into the circle and the rope pulled me off. Mom was freaking out (not a horse person) and asked if I was okay. I said, "Yeah! It was just like falling off the couch!" LOL I wasn't bothered at all by it.
Allison asked: What bit do you like to use and why? My answer: Bitless!! I'm just not a fan of bits in general (although I like a simple snaffle if I do use one) and would love to give bitless a try. I rode in hackamores when I was a kid, but they were the evil mechanical kind and I can't believe we were even allowed to use them. Fortunately nothing bad ever happened, but I'm sure our horses hated them. Yuck.
Chrome will be my first horse to ever start completely bitless, so we will just have to see how that goes on my blog. :D
Once Upon asked: Who is your favorite equine actor of movie or television fame? My answer: When I was a kid it was Doc's Keeping Time (the horse who played Black Beauty and the Black Stallion in the T.V. series) and I still think he's the reason I love black horses. :)
My other favorite is the Friesian who played Goliath in LadyHawke (totally drawing a blank on his real name). When I learned that there was a movie with a Friesian in it I went crazy trying to find it (the Friesian Fever had already set in) and ordered it that day. I still own that movie and watch it all the time. Love it and LOVE that horse!
I asked: What is your favorite quality in a horse? (It can be anything relating to conformation, temperament, personality, training, breed, etc.) My answer: Confidence!!! I love a confident horse. A horse who wants to try anything and everything at least once and forges bravely ahead into new adventures. :D I love a horse that I can run up to and jump around or do silly things and not scare him. I'm lucky to have found that in Chrome!!
Hobby Horse Blog Hop Week 5
I asked: When buying a new horse what conformation flaw would you absolutely avoid and what flaw would you let slide? (Examples of conformation flaws would be club feet, sickle or cow hocked, ewe necked, steep shoulder, etc.) My answer: I would let something like a ewe neck slide because they are usually from a lack of proper muscling which can be fixed with correct riding, but would not let something like tiny hooves/legs on a big bodied horse or steep fetlocks slide because they can lead to long term soundness issues.
Allison asked: If you could take your horse anywhere on vacation, where would you go? My answer: Florida! Or somewhere else I can ride Chrome on the beach. That would be a total dream come true!
Once Upon asked: What is your favorite grooming tool? My answer: My favorite grooming tool is totally the curry comb! Without it I would never be able to get him as clean as I do. A stiff body brush only gets the top layer of dirt off. :) The only tools I really use though are a curry comb, body brush, mane/tail comb and a hoof pick. Of course I use a detangler on the mane and a damp rag for cleaning nostrils and taking that final layer of dust off, but that's really only if I'm taking pictures. :D I'm OCD!
Hobby Horse Blog Hop Week 6
I asked: Does your horse stuff (halter, blankets, brushes, etc) match? Do you have a color for each horse? If so, what is your horse's "color"? My answer: I'm sure you guys can totally figure that one out without too much trouble. Chrome's blue halter is the color I want ALL of his stuff to be. :D I have his halter, rope halter, saddle blanket, old baby blanket, etc. all in that color. If I were rich all of our stuff would match.
Oh and my husband's and Faran's colors for SCA are going to be red/yellow (or gold). Chrome's will be blue/silver when we start doing SCA events. :)
Allison asked: If your horse could have one super power, what would it be? My answer: I would have to choose flying. It's just something I would love to be able to do. When the day comes that he can fly then I'll worry about trying to contain him. :D
Grace Equestrian asked: Who is your favorite horse trainer? My answer: I'm with Once Upon. My favorite trainer is a local dressage trainer (and friend) who has taught me so much. Other than her I don't really have a favorite. I like to learn a little about a lot of methods and use the ones I like (like clicker training) and ignore the rest. :D
Once Upon asked: Do you prefer to ride: a) English b) Western c) Bareback d) All of the above? My answer: My answer is all of the above! I will ride any saddle (or bareback) that is available! I think that comes from not being able to consistently ride since before 2007. I didn't have a horse from 2007-2009. I got Chrome in 2009 at five months old so he won't be old enough to ride until May this year, so basically the only time I get to ride is my friend's horses.
Hobby Horse Blog Hop Week 7
I asked: Where is your horse's favorite spot (or spots) to be scratched? My answer: Chrome is shedding so he is really itchy right now. We spent fifteen minutes after the horses finished eating supper the other day just rubbing and scratching them. He has three spots that he loves. He will stretch his neck, wiggle his lip and rock his body for scratches on his neck where it joins his chest, on his belly or on his withers. It's so cute watching him. After scratching for fifteen minutes he almost fell asleep he was so relaxed. :D Silly horse.
Allison asked: What have you found to be the most effective fly spray? Is it commercial or your own concoction? My answer: I use Absorbine UltraShield fly spray. I would love to go with something all natural (I do use a vinegar rinse after baths which helps deter flies), but my biggest reason for using fly spray is for the ticks!! We have so many of them and I'm super paranoid because I've had friends almost die of tick fever and both of my dogs have tick diseases (which are always dormant in the body and can flare up again at anytime). Ultrashield has permethrin and pyrethrins in it which are best for protecting against ticks. Also a little trivia permethrin is the man made version of pyrethrum. Pyrethrum is a natural insecticide made from a certain species of chrysanthemum. :)
GunDiva asked: How many hours, on average, do you ride - for fun - a week? Not because you're training for an event or working a horse, but just because you enjoy riding? My answer: Right now I'm not riding much because Chrome isn't old enough. I get to ride a couple of hours a day for a couple of days a week with my best friend right now, but once Chrome can be ridden and is in shape I have a feeling it will be a LOT more. When I was a kid I rode my horses at least five or six days a week and we usually went on long trail rides. We didn't compete at all so all of our riding was done for fun. :)
I'll keep adding these as we do them. :D
