look at my pretty pic

[horsefigureoftheday]

Hey, so, I know I have a lot of non-horsey followers who may not know about horse biomechanics. Which means I have an opportunity to teach.

If you ever see a horse wearing these padded 'shoes' (called stacks) on its feet, you are looking at an abused horse

Stacks are used in a riding discipline called padded performance, or more commonly known as big lick. In this discipline, the goal is to create as big and flashy of a walk as possible.

To get a big flashy walk, big lick trainers put weights on the horse's front feet (to make it lift the legs higher) and use action chains, which smack against the ankles every time the horse moves (making it lift the legs faster to try and escape from the painful chains). Though it's technically illegal, many trainers also use soring, where they rub mustard oil or kerosene onto the horse's ankles (to cause pain so it has a stronger reaction to the action chains). Soring is widely accepted in padded performance, and trainers will apply chemical irritants to their horses at shows, out in the open for everyone to see.

Horses naturally carry 60% of their body weight on the front legs. When the front legs are sore, they'll carry more weight on their hind legs, which causes rapid joint degeneration. It's not unheard of for retired big lick horses to have completely deformed hind legs

There is no ethical way to do padded performance. Big lick riders will talk about how stacks don't cause issues (often citing one study that looked at padded horses slowly walking on a treadmill without rider), how soring is illegal, how hard-working their farriers are, how closely they work with veterinarians, how their horses live like kings, how beloved their horses are, etc., but it's all talk.

If you see a horse with stacks, you are looking at an abused horse.

I'll add a few relevant videos under the cut (from least to most graphic)

[plantanarchy]

Adding on that stacks are used not just in big lick with Tennessee Walkers but also in a less extreme but still damaging form in other disciplines and breeds. There are stacked/padded Saddlebreds, Arabians, Morgans, Hackney, etc. You'll see people within those disciplines arguing that it's less extreme than big lick and therefore, not detrimental to the horse but still causes changes to the gait and natural structure of the legs.

[awakealiveconscious]

the two places brennan lee mulligan is known to live in and talk a lot about are los angeles and new york city, which you absolutely must keep in mind with the population size of purpee. 18,000 people to the mind of a los angeles resident is "well it's a seperate city technically but it's kinda just a neighborhood/region of los angeles". Actually, I checked, the ones I considered that get around 100k people. So like you have to understand the issue of comprehending scale.

[kidd-you-not]

18k is a pretty big city to me actually! Where I'm from a town that size would have a good amount of traffic and industry. I live in a town with less than 2k, but it doesnt feel that small because other towns are so close by and there js lots of intermingling. It's more like one whole suburb, except with shops and restaurants here and there. though we are technically classed as a village (every town below 5k in Germany is technically a village). And isolated village would be one with like 500 inhabitants, no businesses at all and several kilometers away from the next village/town, one where a bus might stop twice a day.

So it entirely depends. If there is live in your town, businesses, shops, grocery stores and job opportunities or something like sports clubs for young people, the size of the town does not matter at all. 18k can feel small and desolate if the town is missing all these opportunities, which I think is the case for many rural regions in the US

[superhoeva]

one thing i particularly appreciate about the pitt is that the cast is an ensemble of people who actually look real. they all have different teeth and freckles and lines on their face. and many of them are either working actors who have been hustling it for years and know their shit or working actors that are younger within the industry, have also been hustling, and are finally enjoying the fruits of their labor.

no one has had any face-warping plastic surgery. hairs are out of place. they just look real and i fucking love that

[docrobinavitch]

the more this season goes on the more i’m like. you know what. why isn’t cassie mckay the heir apparent. open and empathetic. doesn’t bring her baggage into cases. incredible teacher. takes criticism well and grows from it. has healthy boundaries. adapts well to chaos without crashing out. cassie mckay is actually the perfect doctor and leader.

[blueangelbby]

My controversial opinion is that some of you don’t have enough lived experience and maturity to be watching a show like The Pitt.

You don’t know what it’s like to have systems working against you systematically, to be caught in situations where black and white don’t exist, where there is no saving someone, where you can be the victim but still be perpetrating your own misery, to know that no matter what you do, you’re still incapable of fixing something perfectly.

You want clear lines drawn in the sand of this is the bad guy and this is what mental health should look like and this is what should be done in XYZ situation when the reality of it is so much more difficult and shaky and impossible. You want characters that are Good and ones that are Bad and the Bad ones don’t get to redeem themselves or fix themselves or have rocky reconciliation.

You shouldn’t be able to form hard opinions because this show constantly tells us that the real world is so much messier than that. People are messier than that. You think you understand characters perfectly but you show that nuanced and complex characters with flaws AND strengths are beyond your level of comprehension.

If you want a happier TV show where people aren’t hurt, aren’t hurting themselves, hurting the people around them, where people are the villain from the beginning to the end with no chance at redemption, go watch a cartoon or something.

[justabo-y]

I hate Hollywood because they created the bad guys vs good guys and now people doesn't have enough critical skills for "complex characters" (let's say humans because we are more close of them.)

[kidd-you-not]

The internet is where nuance goes to die

[darthdisasterous]

I think it's worth noting that Frank has been downplaying how bad things were. Everyone talks about his addiction and why benzos and the Santos and Robby of it all, but I don't think I've seen anyone acknowledge the simple truth that Frank fucked up his spine enough to be put on benzos in the first place.

And this includes Frank.

Because where Robby has back pain that's a result of overuse and seemingly located more heavily in lower back. It's a strain issue. Frank was put on benzodiazepines which means it was a muscle/nerve issue. Specifically we know he was stealing Lorazepam, which hits fast and hard for all my people who have never been prescribed Ativan for anxiety. Fifteen minutes after taking and you will feel better. It's also known to treat convulsions, insomnia, and it's a muscle relaxer used to treat muscle spasms and pain.

And while it would be easy to look at the situation and think he continued using after he was better, Frank did "not getting better" type damage to his back. It's never explicitly noted, but we see it most clearly in Season 2, Episode 11 when he goes to pick up Micah.

We know from the testing that if Micah should weight approximately 25kg, that's 55 lbs. He's probably about five or six (a little older than Tanner) and Frank is hurting picking up him.

Catch the grimace the moment he scoops up Micah? Notice at the way his jaw clenches when he gets him from the car like he's bracing himself himself before doing what he must?

Or the way the pain steals away from Frank's breath and focus when he sets Micah down. Like this is a man in clear and active pain dealing with a small child.

For perspective, we're talking about the weight of a 65 inch tv or 5 gallons of paint. Hell, a large dog weighs about that much. And Frank can't handle that.

I mean, for all of you that have never done nerve damage to your spine: take up stretching and pray to whatever higher power you have. But also, muscle spasm pain is a sharp, blinding pain that will bring tears to your eyes and send you rushing to the Emergency Room if it's bad enough. And the treatments are limited (drugs, PT, and surgery are the only real options and Frank hardly has time for the last two, nor are they guaranteed long term fixes).

But we're not seeing Frank cop to that simple truth. He can't do Benzos, but his alternative is pain. It is suffering. And it makes sense that he keeps insisting that he has suffered so much in the aftermath because he is, physically. He is taking all that pain and not saying anything. He's not making a fuss. He's making his back issues worse to prove how much he has changed.

Except all he's doing is not just setting himself up for failure, but underscoring of how he got to where he is.

He's always felt that pain in his back. The addiction wasn't just for the love of the benzos, but because he is still feeling a clear pain six months after the incident. And sure, he told Robby about the accident in some capacity prior to season one, but he keeps the depths of it to himself until he can no longer contain it. Which feels like something to watch for heading into season 3 because that pain is only going to get worse.

[pigtailchatheter]

[puppiegracie]

okay before the trinity hate train starts there were literal fucking tears in her eyes. she's triggered to shit and she's pushing through it. she had every right not to forgive him, and of course she's pissed.

she's also not wrong. no, I don't think langdon should've gone to prison, I'm not exactly a fan of throwing people in jail, but he very well could have. addiction is one thing, stealing patient medication is EXTREMELY serious. it's not "not that deep" like he was actively endangering patients.

the "golden boy" comment wasnt because of Robby or anything, it was because baran already seems to favor langdon, and she's been harder on santos, just like all those months ago when not only was langdon downright abusive to her, heather and samira were also being hard on her. she is so sick and tired of being ridden and Langdon does in fact, waltz back in here, and instantly baran is sympathetic because baran is empathetic.

and yeah, some of Langdon does feel disingenuous. I can especially see how trinity would feel that way because of how awful I think he handled the trauma earlier, undermining her and asserting himself pre-apology. even patrick ball said his character is trying to get an "A" in rehab, which feels accurate. he's pretty check-listy with it. he wants to get his steps done. that's why he wouldn't back down from Robby until he at least got the sorry out, because then he could check that apology off the list.

he's coming off a little self centered, as well, which has been a theme in his character for a while. "you have no idea what I've been through" well yes, she doesn't, but that doesn't really matter in this situation. this is an apology that is not about you. he very clearly has a view that he's being "punished" that he's perpetuated all day, which... yeah, what he's dealing with is shitty. but it's not a "punishment." it's the consequences of his actions and he doesn't seem to fully grasp that. like at all.

either way, obviously trinity was harsh. no, I don't think she's perfect. but I'm preparing for the floods of people thinking she's the devil from the bible when her reaction is understandable.

[kidd-you-not]

That's what makes the pitt such a good show, every character and their actions are so understandable. When the first season was out there were some reactions from former drug addicts on yt on Langdons behaviour and they offered such good and balanced insight, saying this is the best depiction of addiction they have ever seen on tv. Being self-centred and lashing out are some of the core behaviours. Logical thought goes out the window, so everyone calling for him being fired or going to prison really needs to think about what addiction does to the brain. Its said that it mimics feeling like you're in mortal danger if you don't get your fix. And it hasnt been said in the show yet, but behind the scenes it was hinted that he became addicted after a debilitating back injury and being overprescriped benzos, something that happened to hundreds of thousands, if not millions of americans. Him being a doctor reflects the well known phenomenon of them being the worst patients, thinking they can treat themselves.

Trinity doesn't know that yet, so she attributes his actions to some kind of moral failing on his part, some depravity that she might be projecting onto him due to something in her past. And that's normal! That's perfectly understandable! Things need to come to a head so the cards can be put on the table, so they can form some kind of understanding and step out of their black and white narrow view. So let it come to a head! Let the kids fight but let them also make up!

I joined the marvel fandom after civil war and let me tell you, the team cap and team iton man bullshit seriously fucked up the fanfom for good, at least for me. But these movies were also never good at depicting complex characters and issues. So please guys, lets not start bashing each others heads in over who of them is perfectly in the right here, because odds are neither are.

What I hope to happen is that by the end of the season, they will have had a proper fight about this without anyone storming off where they tell each other all the fucked up stuff that's in their heads and hopefully by the end of it, they're able to come to some sort of conclusion or compromise and tolerate each other. I feel like if they can do that, we might see a very special dynamic between the two.

Because there is still the issue of Robby. He and Santos have grown close, but it doesn't always seem healthy to me. She comes to him when she wants to talk about Langdon and while he tries to reassure her, he also kind of brushes her off. If he had let her talk her mind and properly listened, things may not have gotten so tense. He enables her being rude to and undermining a new superior on her first day, someone who's only been trying to do what she thinks is best! When she's completely overworked and stressed out which results in her making mistakes that could affect patient care, he sees that, uses it to dunk on Baran and then doesn't do shit to help her at all. In fact he tries to give her more work when Mel is out because of his resentment of Langdon. All that to say that while it appears that she has someone in her corner, she needs someone who can provide a frame for her to develop out of some of her bad habits (rudeness to patients/co-workers, jumping to conclusions (imagine her with Mel's weed kid case from s1....)) and further towards honing her skills and knowledge. And who might provide a buffer against Garcias sharp edges.

And Langdon from now on is always gonna be hyper aware of her, there is a slight possibility we might see that from him. He wanted to go into education after all and not everyone can be as much og a teacher's pet as Mel. But first Trinity needs to let down her guard and both need to find some empathy for each other.

So please guys lets stop the hate. It will only ruin our watching experience. Let's put some trust into the showrunners, who have done an amazing job for almost 2 complete seasons now that they wouldn't give us an unredeemable character, or even a character that needs to be redeemed. By which I mean that they all make mistakes and are extremely complicated and thus there is always some collateral damage. Except Robby, who is clearly steering towards having a lot to make up for by the end of the season...

[livnothewson]

stocks are soooo down

[regressin-and-dressin]

I do not care for this sentiment that Garcia is "evil" for telling Santos to handle her grievances directly with Langdon and/or with a professional.

Garcia shouldn't have to side with anyone because there shouldn't be sides to pick at work. I'd argue that the worst thing she did was reprimand Santos in front of the patient. It was unprofessional of her, even if she was doing it to get Santos to stop sniping in front of the patient. Like. That man was conscious and scared. He did not need to hear snide comments about the doctor in charge of his care or the junior resident.

I have a lot of sympathy for Santos, but that doesn't mean that everyone is doing her dirty. Langdon hasn't been unfair to her in any of the cases they've had together except maybe over-teaching because he's ten months behind on what she knows. Garcia isn't being unfair by refusing to mediate a conflict that has nothing to do with her. Al Hashimi (while aggressive about it) wasn't wrong to tell her that missing charting is a serious issue that could cause problems with her education.

If I blame anyone, I'll blame Robby because he should've been supporting her on all these things that are now falling apart over the course of the day. He should've noticed the issue with the charts before it got to this point. He should've made it clear what the process would be after she turned Langdon in, and what her options were.

And even still! Sometimes a bad day is still just reaping what you sowed. Is she a pariah because she turned Langdon in or because she ignores Mel and uses Victoria as a connection to Dr. Shamsi? Is she being inadequately supported, or is she allergic to asking for help because she wants to look like a superhero? Many things can be true, and she's a deeply sympathetic character regardless, but like. None of her coworkers are straight up villains. She's speed-running gifted-kid burnout and some of it is her fault.

I hope before this season is done she gets to make Garcia jealous and yell at Langdon in a way that's spiritually satisfying, but that doesn't mean any of them are "evil."

[scrubtop]

also i think its interesting that trinity sees herself as a pariah....we honestly dont have anything to back that up. she has someone she regular hooks up w in the hospital. her roommate works there and HE perceives them as friends, she gets along w robby enough that she is comfortable trying to gossip w him, she is in cahoots w perlah and princess about victoria's birthday, and i think at least perceives victoria to be her friend (even if victoria doesnt feel the same way). like.....pariah where? i think its stemming from an internal sense of loneliness and isolation, but is not actually reflective of her day-to-day reality.

[divorcedfranklangdon]

[dorian-they-ao3]

I don't think Dana will approach Robby directly like Caleb or Abbot have but if she hears about his recent comments I do think that Dana "fuck with the O2 monitor so the patient has to stay" Evans WILL be stealing part of Robby's bike

[kidd-you-not]

You know I think the whole pitt crew should steal parts of his bike. Like Dana taking the side mirrors sees that Abbot has already screwed off the tailpipe. There's a cylinder being guarded by Santos and not a single gasket left in and around that engine because all of those ended up at Mel's place. The intake socket is kept in Whitacker's backpack at all times. Samira just took off his front lights. A nurse tells Robby he saw Cassy just hauling a whole bike wheel to her car. The remaining wheel somehow lost its disk brake and gets hidden under Javadi's bed at her parent's house, the (second to) last place Robby wants to pay a visit to. Princess just screws off the seat and Donny takes the handlebars. The remaining wheel has lost all its pressure because Jesse took off the valve.

First, Robby thinks he got robbed and curses the universe but then Abbot pats him on the back and tells him that he gets his bike back once the crew thinks he won't do anything stupid with it. Then, he thinks about just buying new parts, but finding the right ones, shipping and repair could take so long and would cost so much money that he resigns himself to having to get them back one by one.

He only does once he convinces them that he's fine and won't do anything to himself. He has a lot of heart to hearts in those months. Getting his whole wheel back from Cassy takes forever because she demands he go to therapy and actually take it seriously this time, at least five sessions. Al-Hashimi is the trickiest because he'd never have guessed she'd be in on this (or that she knows how to take out a spark plug). He puts off Langdon the longest to get his windshield back but the resulting breakdown and cryfest is the most cathartic maybe. He does end up taking the whole three months of his sabbatical but he spent it with his crew finally having to be honest with them and connecting with them properly outside of work.

[datgurlnextdoor]

Reminder that if you have to expect persecution by the us government due to

1. Your race

2. Your political views

3. Your nationality

4. Your religion

5. Your belonging to a social group (like being queer)

and you have to safe place to go in the US, you can plead for asylum in Germany. Your chances aren't the best in the world but there is precedent for USAmericans being accepted.

[datgurlnextdoor]

Entitlement to asylum

Persons who have been persecuted on political grounds and who would be subject to a serious human rights violation should they return to the

Here a link to the english page of the BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees)

[datgurlnextdoor]

After the second murder of a US citizen by an armed militia set on the streets by the US federal government, I feel like I should bring this back. Nothing can be lost by just trying. I expect that many more people from the US will be elegible due to what has been happening. Simply being on ICE's radar might give you a good reason to claim fear for your life. Let's hope the German government won't be the usual shitbacks and allow asylum to americans or people living in america

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

[supervillainny]

Remember that a lot of language is kinda invisible though. Like - sure you can overuse ‘said’, and you might want to use an action tag instead sometimes, but if you use those ‘synonyms for said’ lists you’re, like, putting a hat on it and making it Significant. Readers mostly won’t notice (definitely not as much as the writer) some repetition, if that’s the logical way to phrase it, whereas getting all fancy with synonyms can pull the reader out of the story to focus on the language instead.

[abbyalwayswriting]

Crash Course in Horses (for writers)

As a rider, trainer, and writer, I figured I'd post some helpful info aimed specifically at writers. lmk if it's helpful!

for the love of all that is holy, you do NOT flick the reins unless you are DRIVING A CART and not actually sitting on the horse. Flicking the reins shakes the metal bit in the horse's mouth, which they do not appreciate. To go forward, squeeze your calves or bump with your heels/tap with spurs. I'm so serious about this one. I don't let a kid ride until they understand that they NEVER shake the reins. It takes 2 seconds for someone to tell your inexperienced character not to do that.

The only reason people flick the reins with cart horses is so the rein taps their butt. The driving equipment is made so flicking the reins does not disturb the bit.

NEVER tie a horse up using the reins on their bridle. That's a fast track to broken tack at the best and broken jaws at the worst. For long rides, always keep a halter on underneath the bridle and either carry a lead rope with you or keep it attached to the halter as you ride and wrap the end of the rope around your saddle horn. You've got something to tie them up with and something to hold onto if you dismount.

Saddles aren't* interchangeable. Any good horseman will make sure a saddle fits a horse properly. A saddle may fit multiple, similarly built horses, but you can't just chuck a saddle on another horse and go. *A good tactic for your long travels, especially in historical/medieval/horse using times: rider has two similarly built horses and 1 saddle that fits both of them properly. Rider rides one and leads the other and then switches off as needed.

Horses eat a LOT. They need to eat every 4 hours minimum to keep their digestive system working properly and the average thousand pound horse (500kg for metric) eats 20 pounds of forage (hay/pasture grass) a DAY. If horses don't get the amount of food they need, they can get ulcers and/or colic and die.

Your characters should take grooming supplies with them on their travels. A brush, a metal or rubber curry, and a hoof pick are sufficient to get the job done. Horses should be brushed before and after every ride and you need to pick their feet out regularly to avoid infections like thrush, especially if it's wet and muddy.

Hoof maintenance is non-negotiable. No hoof, no horse. They need a trim every 6 weeks minimum. Horses who wear shoes need new shoes every time they get a trim. An experienced horseman might also be a farrier, but if you don't have one of those in your group your characters better drop in at the nearest village and find one.

A horse needs about an hour of REM sleep a day. They have to lay down to get REM sleep. The rest of the 3-8 hours of sleep they get is usually standing up.

If you're stopping for the night somewhere, find a couple sticks and string a rope or two between them to make a temporary fence instead of just tying your horse to a tree or whatever people do in the movies. Alternatively, string a line between two trees and tie the horses on the line.

Unexperienced riders are going to struggle to stay on at any gait faster than a walk. Athletic ability definitely helps, but it'll take them at least an hour or two to really adjust and have any hope of staying on at a trot or canter.

Different cultures have their own saddle designs and even to an experienced rider it's going to feel weird and their balance may be off until they get used to it. Unless you change saddle styles a lot (english to western IRL), it'll take a second.

Additionally, character height and proportions really matter. I'm 5' 2'' and I need my stirrups REALLY short. If I try mount a horse in a saddle that a 6' person just rode in, I'm going to 1) struggle to get up there and 2) I won't be able to ride nearly as well or nearly as fast unless I'm super experienced/balanced. Same is true in reverse.

In general, a bigger person needs a bigger horse. Their backs can only carry about 20-25 percent of their body weight safely so riders need to be assigned accordingly. There are smaller horse/pony breeds that can carry more than the average horse, and in the real world you might see a 6 foot cowboy riding a small horse, but that's not recommended for long-term health. Plus, a small horse usually needs a smaller saddle and it's not fun to ride in a saddle that's too small for your butt, no matter who you are.

Every horse rides differently. One may be super sensitive to pressure (spurs/heels, rein tension, rider balance or lack thereof) and one might need a LOT of encouragement to get going. Some horses are more forward (want to move and do it fast) than other horses. It takes a second to figure out what a horse likes and doesn't like. If your character is super inexperienced, they're going to STRUGGLE switching to an unfamiliar horse. If that horse is extremely well trained, that unexperienced rider is going to hit a lot of wrong buttons on accident.

Most male horses aren't stallions--even in ye olden times. Keeping stallions and mares together is a great way to have accident babies all the time and pregnant mares shouldn't be ridden past a certain point. Spaying a mare isn't a very common thing with today's technology unless it's medically necessary, so most male horses are castrated. Testosterone generally makes most male horses difficult to handle. Unless they're very well mannered and respectful of of other horses, they're going to be a gelding. No balls=no babies=no stress.

Riding a draft horse feels a lot like riding a couch that moves a LOT. They're bigger, so all the movements are bigger, which means it takes more muscle and balance to ride well. It's just physics.

[zot3-flopped]

How Stupid Was This Year?

Taylor Swift’s asinine lyrics, a best seller that makes no sense, and more signs of a culture in decline.

****

Savage!

[kidd-you-not]

Interestingly, the quote being used to show she used to be able to write good lyrics 110% sounds like a Fall Out Boy line. Which is not surprising, since she used to quote Pete Wentz as onr of her (many) biggest influences.

By which I mean that her greatest lyrical accomplishments might be derivative and now that she has bought fully into her own hype, she's regourging her own old lyrics like AI, worsening the result every time.