It's Pet Parade Time!

What are horses? Beasts of burden. Personal rides, plows (provided you have attachments), and living automobiles (in a way). But know what? Horses can be pets, too. What is a pet? An animal who is a companion to a human. Now an easy way to know if your horse is a pet: If you have an emotional attachment to the horse, it's your companion, and therefore a pet. Now that I have all the pidily facts down, lets move on to the pets, shall we?

All the horses I know are pets. Nugget is loved and cared for by the family that owns him, as are the two mares he lives with, Hildie and Holly. However, all three are kept because they work. Nugget gives pony rides during the fall festival (starting the first full weekend in October), and the "girls" pull the hay rides. I am Nugget's only year-round rider, yet I don't view trips to him as "horseback riding" - I see it as visiting Nugget, my friend (silly though he may be - he acts like an overgrown puppy). Then there are Phyllis's horses. She has five Tennessee Walking Horses, all in tip-top shape. Andrew is 23ish and is still very active - a former show horse, for sure, and lifelong friend to Phyllis. Rosie and Roy are the same. Gypsy and Tramp are her new ones (had them only a few months), but they too will achieve pet status one day.

What pets get along well with horses? Some dogs - ones smart enough not to get near the horse's feet - do just fine. Sheperd mixes are probably good. Cats are the perfect companions - small, low maintainance, rodent control, and intelligent - but be ready to make them your companions as well as the horse's, because otherwise you'll never touch the cat for anything. Goats are good options, too, but only if your horse doesn't need any grazing - the goat will do the job for him. Cows are not good because they have a tendency for worms, and their waste gets on what the horse eats, and the next time grass grows in where a wormed "pie" was, the grass may carry the worms.

I supposed that's it for now.

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