How do you get rid of rats?

Over and over again board bills have notes at the bottom, "Make sure you remove all trash from the property. It will give the rats less to munch on;" "Take home your blankets, it will keep the rats from snacking;" etc.
I have a great idea of how to get rid of rats. When you spill oats in my tack room clean them up instead of leaving them all over the floor. I know that the rats are enjoying these as tasty treats because I found the husks on top of my saddle next to the rat droppings. THANKS.

When It Rains It Pours

Oh, what an appropriate pun!

MORE rain last night and more expected today. Seeing Horse's feet makes my stomach turn. The thrush is rampant and he still doesn't want to go in to his run, which is the only way access to his stall. I am thinking of buying some sand this weekend and filling his run myself. It is only $2.50 a bag or so. I can get 400lbs for $20.00.

And the punny (ah-ha!) part? I finally have someone interested in the half-lease, we set up an appointment for Sunday the other day, and since I have had several inquiries. I'm just trying to set appointments as I go, keep the people updated on hi availability. Who knows, maybe I'll wind up with two half-leases, and I'll wind up only riding once a week! I don't know if that is good or bad? On one hand, it will save me tons in gas money. My fitness might not keep up with him, but then again I am about to begin commuting by bicycle. It defeats the purpose of owning a horse, but I do not see this as a long term arrangement, just one to carry me through my impending financial transition.

Oh, I don't know!

Will it ever stop raining?

Do I live in Florida? I could have sworn this was Texas. As far as I can remember we usually live drought to drought. WHAT IS GOING ON???
This is causing some problems with Horse. He is EXTREMELY thrush prone, and all of the mud in his run is trashing his feet. He is also becoming a basket case with all of the time he is spending "up." The other day while I was lunging him he spend a spell bucking - which he NEVER does - and the other night when I went to put him back in his run he pulled away and took off the other direction bucking. After I got him into the run he tried to push his way back out, and I don't blame him! I want him turned out as much as he does!

Also, I may have a possible lessee. She called and e-mailed - super promising! I am going to try and call her in about half an hour. *fingers crossed*

This is my horse.

I Must Rant -

because I am not going to dignify this person with a response. So I'll tell you about it!
Here is the chain of e-mails:

Subject: Horse for ½ lease $165/mo
From: MarthaFaith at mailprovider

He Looks interesting, what is this cross??

How are his basics?

Subject: Re: Horse for ½ lease $165/mo
From: EquineInquiry at gmail.com

Horse is a Belgian Draft/Thoroughbred cross. When I began riding him he was a school-horse, so his basics are solid. He is very responsive to rein aids and voice commands, but is still a little slow to respond to leg aides. I am working on this with him in conjunction with suppling exercises.
He ties and stands quietly for grooming. He does not easily spook and stands still for mounting. He is a calm and trustworthy mount!
Is there anything else you would like to know? If you don't mind, I would like to know where you saw my ad posted? If you have any more questions, would like to see more photos, or would like to discuss a possible test-ride, feel free to contact me via phone or e-mail.

Thank you,

Rider

Subject: Re:Horse for ½ lease $165/mo
From: MarthaFaith at mailprovider

hello rider,

it is very interesting to me when a horse responds to the greatest sensitivity to his face...A rider's first question really should address the horse hindquarters and go forward..

I am very empathic towards the type of horses that are bred this way. it is always curious to hear how do they RSVP to the rider.... they are after all the subject in the focus of the event....

I do not want to lease him, only to know that he is there and cared for to ride forward...
MarthaFaith

I have a couple of problems with these e-mails:
1) What exactly about my horse's breeding requires empathy?
2) Perhaps she should have done some proof-reading before sending this.
3) I know that I may be the exception when it comes to my concern for punctuation and capitalization, (an English degree will do that to you) but - My God, her capitalization and punctuation!
4) The definition of RSVP is :

RSVP RSVPed or RSVP'd, RSVPing or RSVP'ing, noun, plural RSVP's.
–verb (used without object)
1.to reply to an invitation: Don't forget to RSVP before Thursday. –noun
2.a reply to an invitation: He sent a lovely bouquet of flowers with his RSVP.
3.(used on an invitation to indicate that the favor of a reply is requested).
Also, R.S.V.P.
[Origin: 1895–1900; < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">épondez) s('il) v(ous) p(laǐt) please reply]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Her use of the term does not make sense. Actually, much of the e-mail fails to make sense.
5) Finally, what about ANYTHING I wrote suggests that I am a bad rider, as she assumes, or that I am not doing all I can to encourage my horse to "ride forward?" True, I mentioned that he is most responsive to rein aides, that doesn't mean that they are they only aides I use! I followed that with information on how I was trying to improve his responsiveness overall so that less force would have to be used no matter what the command or aid. To get him to be "forward" I must get him to be responsive. Otherwise, I am only forcing him into postures that he finds uncomfortable, causing him to tense and possibly injure himself.

I am not trying to say that I am a flawless rider. I make mistakes and I will always have something else to learn. However, I am an empathetic rider. I know the definition and can use it correctly. I know what my horse is capable of, where he needs improvement, and what he deserves. Some person who has never seen my horse move and has never seen me ride has no right to try and preach.

No Luck!

I have posted 4 ads now. Two are on Craigslist, the others are on the top search results for "free equine classifieds."
To help myself just a little bit here are links:

The first, from a week ago.
The "re-post" from today.
The third.
The fourth (keyword: fauxpas).

I really hope this works.

Here's the Deal:

A couple of weeks ago I saw an ad on Craigslist placed by a woman who was looking for a horse she could exercise for free. It all seemed really too perfect: I needed someone to help me work my horse regularly and she wanted a horse to ride; neither of us had the extra cash to pay for a lease or an exerciser. It seemed perfect until she called and cancelled our first meeting. We re-scheduled for another day, but it turned out to be vaccination day for Horse, so I called and left her a message offering to 1) let her meet him anyway though it would not be possible to ride, or 2) try and find another day. I didn't hear back by the day we had agreed on so I went out to the farm anyway, in case she hadn't gotten my message. I sat in my truck in the rain for 45 minutes to make sure she wasn't coming and then nearly got stuck in the mud on my way out. I left her another message letting her know that if she was interested she could contact me.

I'm over it. I am looking for a real half-lease now.

You see, I have a 17 year old draft-cross gelding who has basically had the past 4 years off. Since I started college my time for riding has become scarce and he is very out of shape. If I don't begin to improve his fitness now it will only get more difficult to improve. I don't have as much time as I would like to work with him, so I need to find help.

Here is what I think will make this a challenge:
The barn I board with is primarily Western, my horse is trained English. Lessons may be difficult to come by if necessary for the possible lessee.
I will not let anyone use him for jumping. He has some leg damage from being over-jumped. Though it is now only cosmetic it was very painful as it formed.
No spurs! He can be a little challenging in the "forward" dept. Actually, he'd rather not move at all. Still, I manage to ride without spurs - anyone else can, too! It builds leg and character.
He is very out of shape. Right now our rides are 15 minutes of trot-work and then a brisk "trail ride" of about the same length to cool down. If really working hard we may canter once around the arena in each direction. We are doing this or some variation of it 3 times a week. Next week I am increasing that to 18 minutes.

Getting this worked out will be a challenge. Ideally some patient adult rider who wants to return to the sport will contact me. That person will have English riding experience, a good sense of what my horse is capable of, and will work with him appropriately.

Yeah Right! I'll never find the person I need.