Central Grass

Hello! My twin sister and I are 25-year old homesteaders with a passion for animals! Feel free to ask us just about anything! F/Outdoors/Chickens/Horses/Dogs/ Cats/Guineas/Games/Movies I'm not as active as I would like to be. I plan on posting more from here on out, but we'll see!

[electronicexcavations]

Source: http://theoatmeal.com/

[zombielovejuice-deactivated2020]

THIS IS AMAZING

[thelastsworlds]

is true

[creepy-skull-arts-deactivated20]

This is, next to lions/cats, my most favorite animal.

[lizziedoesvetpath]

I fucking lost it at “ONETWOTHREE DEATH”

[memesandlaughs]

[roguesareth]

Do you want rabies? This is how you get rabies

[emeraldspiral]

Is it really that big of a deal if your dog has autism?

[roguesareth]

I need to reblog this again because no seriously R A B I E S:

-is basically not treatable once you start showing symptoms. Straight up you will die and not in any kind of fun way. We’re talking flu symptoms that develop into hallucinations, severe hydrophobia, partial paralysis and a slew of other shit.

-99% of rabies cases in the world come from stray dog bites. EXCEPT IN THE US. Rabies vaccines have nearly illuminated the threat from dogs. Our biggest concerns are wild animals like raccoons, skunks, foxes and coyotes and feral cats.

-Rabies is extremely preventable by vaccines and nearly nonexistent in countries where the vaccine is widely available and taken advantage of.

-B U T if people stop VACCINATING THEIR DOGS (and other animals that are susceptible like cats and farm animals like cows, horses and goats) we will likely see a rise in rabies cases among free roaming animals and BECAUSE we dont experience many cases (because of vaccines) and often people arent informed. We know “rabies is bad” but that seems to be it in a lot of cases, I’d wager a lot of people dont knownits transferable from animals to humans at all.

-Most rabies cases in humans are children under 15.

V A C C I N A T E Y O U R A N I M A L S

-brought to you by me, who just did a research project on rabies for one of my MA classes

[woylvesbane]

Also, in the US at least, it is ILLEGAL to not have your pet vaccinated for rabies unless your pet is allergic to the vaccine- in which case they are required by law to get rabies titers every year. So if you’re stupid enough to not vaccinate for rabies and I find out, you bet your sorry ass I’m calling animal control.

[avoiding-claws]

I was literally about to say, isnt that illegal in the US??

I hope vet practices will have the authority to get animal control /law enforcement involved if and when these idiots start trying this

[superkimvettech]

Every single frickin day I have to remind owners its required BY LAW and they are GOING to get the damn vaccine if they want us to touch their pet. Wanna know the only animal I’ve ever seen with rabies? A 9 week old fucking puppy. Meaning it was 5-6 weeks old when it was bit by the skunk on the head. Oh, by the way, when we euthanized it, it was only about 5 pounds, so I’m talking a tiny puppy being out where it can get rabies and it was in contact with LOTS of people, including CHILDREN. Lots of children, all of which had to receive a series of painful vaccines to prevent THEM getting rabies.

Yes, I’m angry. Yes, I’m judging each and every person who doesn’t vaccinate their pet.

[amfarrar]

It isn’t even the health risk to humans that makes me angry (though I acknowledge that is a very severe issue), but rather the fact that people would endanger their pets like that. They are basically saying they don’t care if their pet gets something that will 100% result in that pet’s death. 100% of the time. 100%. 

There isn’t even a small chance of that pet being allowed to live (or even being physically able) after they contract rabies. You are dooming your animal to die because you refused a vaccine that could literally prevent it from being an issue. Rabies is not uncommon. It is not something that vets rarely see. It is exists. It is seen on an annual basis from every vet (and in some rural areas it is seen muuuuch more). It is a real threat that could be prevented from a simple, and fairly inexpensive vaccine. 

[scarlettjane22]

🧬 M I N T 🧬 It’s not just a color… … it’s an attitude!

MyKingdom Photography

[amfarrar]

Okay, so they aren’t great pictures... But our little guy is officially into his second year! He is 16 hands at his latest butt high stage. He is super sweet! He isn’t scared of anything, which I can gather being a blessing and a curse. 

I can’t wait to see how he looks once we get the chance to lightly work him. The ground just needs to be a bit drier. 

[amfarrar]

Does this make up for me not being around all Winter? Oops!

[silvaris]

woods bear by Andrés Calvo Jr.

[gentlearth]

nature +

[amfarrar]

It’s c-c-cold - - - but animals (cats) are the best at bringing a warmth into your life!

[gravehop187]

[bewareofchickens-deactivated202]

[sweet-bitsy]

I had no idea that chickens could?? float?? or swim??? I don’t know why I’ve never thought of chickens as buoyant. I never picture chickens anywhere near water. what else have I been missing

[taopopop]

C'est les swimming poules

[amfarrar]

They can float for sure! That being said you need to watch them, because unlike water fowl they can become bogged down with the water after awhile and sink. Some chickens love the water!

[urbanxdivinity]

What pleases u in bed?

sleep

[amfarrar]

This is a couple of weeks old now, but I never did get to introduce our new boy here on Tumblr! This is Remington. His registered name is “Special Edge” but...we may look into changing that. He is 16 months old right now, so he has quite a bit of growing to do. Right now he is over 15 hands, so it will be interesting to see just how big he gets!

He is an uber sweet guy. I’ve never met a yearling as calm as he is! 

Forgive the mud...We had a ton of rain there for a bit. More in the forecast. . . He is all cleaned off now - and evening out a bit height wise. I’m sure he’s going to spike up in the butt again before we know it.

[despazito]

CHICKEN DIVERSITY MASTERPOST

[officialnormfanblog]

something i put together that might also be useful for character designs

[pangur-and-grim]

@noodle-dragon this seems wildly relevant to you

[amfarrar]

Solas has started coming up and asking for this now... What have we started??

[hearts-of-fire]

Before and after (so far). It’s amazing what 9 hours, an awesome father, a stubborn will and a collective 1800sqft worth of elbow grease can do! Next step is to clean and paint the posts and trim. Do you guys think I should do them black or white?

[amfarrar]

Beautiful!

[sabonhomeblog]

[amfarrar]

[necessaryveganism]

Why isn’t horse riding vegan?!

Animals are not ours to use or exploit, including using their bodies for our personal pleasure. Horses cannot consent to being ridden, and they require extensive training (often referred to as ‘breaking’) to make them submissive to human will. It is, metaphorically, a breaking of the natural spirit of the animal into submission, all for the desire of human pleasure. This makes the very act of horseback riding unethical and exploitative. 

Outside of this, riding horses results in injuries for a majority of horses that are regularly ridden. Running too fast (such as in racehorses) can cause horses to bleed in their lungs, and much of the gear regularly used in horseback riding can cause permanent damage (such as bits permanently damaging the sensitive nerves in a horse’s mouth). Most common chronic injuries occur in the spine, some studies showing that over 90% of assumed healthy horses have suffered damage to the vertebrae in their spine when examined with medical imaging. 

While I don’t doubt that people with horses have a strong bond with their horse (I definitely felt I had a bond with the horses I used to ride), it’s a relationship built off of exploitation. The argument that horses ‘must’ be ridden for exercise is also a silly one; a horse needs to be ridden just as much as any dog needs to be ridden for exercise. Horses do just fine without human intervention, and there are many ways to exercise horses (such as with toys or ground exercises) to help give a horse the exercise they need. 

-Admin Samantha

[idreaminbayandgrey]

Stop putting your shit in the riding tag

[thesorrowfulknight-blog]

Stay in your lane.

And don’t start about “breaking their spirit” or some shit; that is literally the opposite of what any correct training does. If you’ve “broken” them then you’ve done a horrifying job and will be witch hunted by the entire equestrian community don’t fuckin’ lie you greenie. Don’t fuckin’ lie. It’s like Melisandre got all up in here burning people alive.

The whole point of proper horsemanship is to educate them in how to use their bodies biomechanically correct to AVOID injury and joint deterioration, while keeping ther spirit intact and allowing it thrive. Horses do not do the greatest when left on their own. Feral horses are an excellent example. You’ve got asymmetry, shortened lifespans, malnourishment/stunted growth, predation, skin diseases (and many other illnesses), untreated injuries, inbreeding, yadda yadda x y z.

If I leave mine alone to do whatever for even a few days he gets miserable and filthy and sulks around everywhere. He is a canter boi. A gallop boi. He go fast. He get baths. He is a big dog. Riding puts a spring in his step where groundwork is the most boring fucking thing on the face of the planet get those goddamn toys out of my face and stop the incessent clicking it’s annoying af. I’m of the same mind as him, honestly. Clickers annoy the hell out of me as well.

As for dogs, there’s this thing called weighted harnesses and collars to build up their strength training. They’re also proportionately way too fucking small, so, y'know. Non-comparable.

[veganerudition]

No sensible vegan has ever said leave domesticated horses completely alone, even above Samantha stated that there are many other ways to give a horse the exercise they need.  We advocate for appropriate care including enrichment, exercise, feed, water, shelter, veterinary care, and of course, TLC. It’s possible to exercise a horse without using them in the process, and most horses could take to it wonderfully if their owners actually put the effort in to catering ground-work to be enriching and engaging for their individual horse.

Why is it not possible for you to educate them without getting on them and making it several times harder for them to use their bodies appropriately? Putting additional weight on them changes how they use their body significantly in order to compensate for the bulk of the tack and the weight itself. I’ve seen it myself with horses just starting to be trained to be ridden, they look like a mess trying to compensate for the new way of moving. Would it not be better for them to learn how to hold themselves and use their muscles with their weight alone? 

I can’t speak for horses who are already habitually used to being ridden as a sole form of exercise, but cancelling out a large risk factor for the development of musculoskeletal and other disorders seems like the best way to ensure a healthy and thriving younger horse. Because even though you say that it prevents joint deterioration, and I understand the reasoning behind that statement as OCD can be worsened in young horses through over-feeding and under-exercising, but riding has also been shown to precipitate joint deterioration in several instances. I feel it would be best for them to find a middle ground where both risks are avoided.

And this isn’t just your lane. The well-being of horses is a topic that is open to anyone who cares enough. Horses aren’t some special club reserved only to be talked about by the people who exploit them. 

[dangitsbatman]

“Let me put 200+ pounds on a horse’s back that hugely increases the potential for the most common injury in domesticated horses but also tell people how it’s necessary to do so because apparently horses are the only animals on the planet that, if left alone, will literally not know how to move.”

Fuck you.

[idreaminbayandgrey]

Running in a controlled manner is good for them. Running wildly is usually not great (again biomechanics). So humans are there to help them run in good ways and use their muscles better much like people who work at gyms.

Now, you say this can be done without riding them but that would require working them in a smaller space so that the human can keep them moving but moving in small circles is harder on the joints than moving in straight lines. Humans are not fast enough to get a horse doing cardio in a straight line for a long enough period of time.

Also, because my animals are ridden, if I were to die tomorrow, they both are easily rehomed and are less likely to end up on a slaughter truck. Guess where horses that aren’t ridden end up????

And anyway, my horses do enjoy the work I do with them 🤷‍♀️. They like scratches and attention and food and exercise.

But also I don’t care to change your mind, just keep your discourse out of the horse riding tag. Make a tag for vegan horse riding, idc but it’s annoying that your bullshit shows up on my dash or in my tags.

[necessaryveganism]

The injuries that almost all riding horses sustain are a consequence of people like you riding them and straining their bodies beyond what’s best for their health. And how you dare claim that humans ‘run them in good ways’ when thousands upon thousands of racehorses die every decade? They die not just from musculoskeletal injuries, but from heart conditions, stress, or even bleeding into their lungs. The push for humans to exercise horses in ways that we find pleasurable and entertaining makes horse racing (and other competitive horse showmanship) one of the most horrific and barbaric ‘sports’ that still exists.

Many of the ground-based exercises that are used do take place in a small roundpen, but the strain on a horse’s joints from controlled workouts in an enclosure (does not have to be limited to a roundpen) isn’t comparable to putting the weight of a large, full grown human on the still developing vertabrae of a prey animal. If you truly do know your horse, you would know what exercises (including those that can be done in a larger enclosure than a roundpen) would best engage their minds and their bodies. 

As for the fate of non-riding horses, society and the riding industry are to blame for the fate of companion horses. The standards that you, yes, you and all other riders have put on a beautiful, graceful animal to perform for human pleasure, have sentenced them and their kin to death. Horses are loving, beautiful, compassionate creatures that are so capable of a strong emotional bond without anyone ever placing themselves on their back. 

I will use this tag for anything related to horseback riding, because this conversation is important for everyone to see. Ignoring the fact that the tagging system literally exists to sort posts by their topic, I think that anyone who rides horses, is curious about riding horses, or would like to know more about all sides of riding, should read these discussions. If even just one person can look at what I’ve written and begin to question what they’ve always accepted as truth, then that’s enough for me. 

[vegq8]

Riders: I love horses for what they do for me but I’ll magically twist my argument to make it sound like I’m doing it for them.

Vegans: I love horses for what they naturally are and would like them to thrive on their own.

Riders: get your shit out of my tag.

[idreaminbayandgrey]

Bruh, then you pay for them to thrive on their own. Do you know how much horses even cost? Mine live as naturally as possible and I’m still looking at $150 to $200 a month and it’s cheap where I am.

Also, again, my horses have only hurt themselves when out of work and they find their own problems.

And riding is beneficial. That’s not made up. There are absolutely benefits for horses when ridden. The stronger muscles lead to longer life spans. The higher values reduce the likelihoood of them going to slaughter. And fuck yeah I have fun riding. Symbiotic relationships are a thing. Just cause I’m having fun doesn’t mean it’s bad for the horse lol

[eventingkhaleesi-deactivated201]

Just saying that my horse has been a lot happier since we’ve been back under saddle (cellulitis, not something that was a result of riding), going for long hacks around the farm: she’s not as pushy, sweeter, greets people more when they walk by… Horses are literally bred to be working animals. Not ALL horses, but there are many that express a keen interest in the work, just like how some humans have a keen interest in their sports and activities they participate in. I have every reason to believe that my mare loves to jump and work. I love riding. She enjoys the attention, the exercise, and the work. It’s a great situation for us both.

[scoutsmoocrew]

oh my god I did not know about anti horseback riding people lmfaooooooooo what

[amfarrar]

I had a horse (Tennessee Walker) that LOVED to be ridden. LOVED it. He would run to the gate and nicker when he saw me get his saddle out of the tack room. It made him happy. He lived to be nearly 40 years old and was more depressed when he got too old to be ridden than he had ever been. We worked him on the ground, but it wasn't the same for him. It was something he enjoyed.

Horses can't talk. But they CAN tell you if they don't want you on their back. Do you honestly think a horse, taught CORRECTLY (as in...not broken down like some trainers do to the point of completely being depressed) , would willingly let someone sit on their back if they didnt want it? You would he on the ground so fast.

I have met horses I think should never be ridden. They obviously don't enjoy it and are happy when they are eating and running in pasture. But that is far and few between. Most of my horses come up when my saddles are out. They like it! Sometimes I think they like it more than I do. They are vetted. They are given chiropractic work regularly. They are given x-rays to make sure their body is in good condition. Just because some people run horses into the ground doesn't mean all equestrians are like that.