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Thought you all would find this of interest… An important reminder to carry your brand papers with you whenever you haul your horse(s), or have the papers with you in a friends trailer. Just last week I was stopped on the Red Feather Lakes Road by a brand inspector. I was just a half mile from my house. His name was Lyle Horn and very nice and informative. I had the permanent brand paper for my horse, but my neighbor who had just finished a ride with me and whose horse was in my trailer,  did not have them with her—her brand papers were at her house in a file. Lyle said he is flexible and followed us to her house so she could produce her papers. I asked questions about consequences: So if you do not have the papers, you get a ticket which means a mandatory court appearance, plus a fine between $200 and $1,000. I asked who decides the amount of the fine, he said the judge, and if a person brings the correct papers to court the judge will probably just charge you the court costs plus $130. Yikes. He said the regular brand costs $18 and is good for hauling 75 miles from your horse’s home. A permanent brand costs $39 and is good anywhere in Colorado. Lyle said the costs are going up in January— probably doubling. So if you are considering getting a permanent brand—do it before then. He also said they are going to be more active in […]

I found this information published by Horse & Rider interesting, I hope you do too! Keep in mind that the more vigorously you perform these exercises, the more you’ll maximize the calorie burning* benefits. Vigorously curry your horse, using a circular arm motion Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned: 68 Vigorously brush your horse (Tip: alternate arms) Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned:46 Walk a 10-foot circle, as you lunge your horse Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned:79 Briskly hand-walk your horse (Tip: add wrist or ankle weights for increased calorie-burning and aerobic benefits) Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned:91 Muck/rebed stall Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned: 159 Push 50-pound load in wheelbarrow Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned: 63 Ride at the walk Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned: 57 Ride at the trot (Tip: Posting at a medium trot will burn more calories than sitting at a jog) Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned: 74 Ride at the lope Time spent: 10 minutes Calories burned: 93 Sweep/rake (Tip: For a great waist trimmer, twist your upper body with each stroke, rather than using only your arms. When sweeping with a push broom, slightly bend your knees, to push off with your legs into each stroke.) Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned: 91 Unload/stack 100-pound hay bales (Tip: Protect your back by bending at the knees, and using your legs to lift the load. Consider a back support brace when lifting heavy loads) Time spent: 20 minutes Calories burned: 249 Unload/stack 50-pound straw bales