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Show B5 The Emery County Review, Tuesday, December 2, 2008 ANIMAL LIFE Pet & Livestock Health, Training Tips and Information Love for Horses and Country Life Sometimes Skips a Generation April Sleigh Schiffner In 1968 my father bought me a horse. Not just any horse but the one I truly felt I couldn’t get through the seventh grade without. Over the years it became clear to me that although he had paid the initial purchase price of $150, he was pretty much done with paying for any “extras” other than board and feed. In fact, although he wanted me to have this horse that I was crazy in love with, neither he nor my mother could understand why I was this way. It was really beyond their comprehension. They lived in the city, had office jobs and we never even had a dog, cat…or even a fish. I was begging for hamsters from the time I was 6 years old. I wanted to be barefoot and wild and I wanted my mother to stop cutting my hair off in that pixie cut. My brother was allergic to cats and was never, ever interested in owning anything with fur or that you had to house train. He stayed that way his entire life. There are things you learn growing up. If you want something bad enough you will devise a way to get it. When I got a little bit older I had friends who showed horses. This was a new twist. I finally actually owned a saddle and was intrigued. Since my parents weren’t interested in paying for a trainer or lessons, necessity forced the “do-it-yourself method.” It really wasn’t too awful. Well maybe it was, but I didn’t know it. There was another thing…..when you go to horse shows you have to have a way to haul the horse. I barely had a driver’s license in 1971 and was pretty sure that my 1968 Mustang Fastback was not going to haul a horse trailer, even if I had one, which I didn’t. Wish I had that car now, though, we had paid $1,400 for it. Improvisation. The local shows were held approximately 5.8 miles from the boarding stable. If you were to get dressed and tacked up for the show, you could leave the stable at about 5 a.m. and make it to the show on time by riding through the fields and groves, past the water plant to enter the canyon and ride through it to arrive at your destination, all without GPS. Then you could pay your entry fees, which I think amounted to less than $20 for the day, show all day and ride your tired horse home trying to get there before nightfall, because everyone knew that the canyon was haunted. If I was lucky I had a friend riding with me so that we could feed off of each other’s fear and make it worse. The horse thing never went away. And I added to it. I showed swine in college. I had a dog. Now I have eight dogs, 20 horses and two cats…oh, I forgot the finches. I was “different” than any one in my family and started to feel like I might have been adopted. Even my father looked at me like I was an alien. I wore Levi 501 jeans and T-shirts and ran barefoot as often as possible. I also wore a pony tail. He, on the other hand, had my mother dress me in pink until I was 10, when I finally rebelled. One day in my early 20s I started doing some family genealogy. Fascinated by it and how rewarding it was to get information on relatives long since gone, I dove into it with relish. My mother’s father had died when my mother was only 9 years old from an injury in an automobile crash in 1932. My mother really never knew a lot about him. Eventually her mother remarried and he became a memory. An aunt sent me a photograph of him. Here it was! And not in any small way. The photograph showed my mother’s father shoeing a draft horse in front of a building. Proudly displayed on top of the shop was a sign saying “Horseshoeing Shop.” Even more shocking was that in both of the two windows flanking the door there hung posters for a Wild West show. Upon close inspection with a magnifying glass I could read “101 Ranch” Monday, September 26. I finally knew! I really knew where I had come from! Just 25 years after that photo was taken, I was born on Monday, Sept. 26 with a built-in passion for horses. My grandfather stands looking directly at the camera in this photograph while holding up the leg of a draft horse. I felt as if he were looking me right in the face. Two years later I visited the Iowa farmstead where my father’s father had been raised and which was still owned by some cousins. They raised hogs, a lot of hogs. Iowa corn-fed hogs by the hundreds. Somehow my parents had forgotten where they had come from. A picture of the author’s grandfather shoeing a horse answered many of her questions about where her love of horses came from But just as strongly, I had remembered. That paternal grandfather had left the farm, sold off his share and entered law school in Des Moines, Iowa, supposedly leaving the farm that was in his blood behind him. Sixty years later I graduated from college with an animal science degree and then moved to rural Utah and bought a farm. Thankfully my husband had been raised on a farm because I had a lot to learn. Each one of us comes from a rich and diverse background. The very nature of being American lends itself to diversity in backgrounds, beliefs and ways of life. It’s what enriches us as human be- ings and makes us a strong, interesting people. There are things written on your DNA that bring out traits, interests, strengths, weaknesses and personalities. There is something to be said for remembering where we come from and what journeys our families took and the legacy they left us. The double helix of DNA is made up of chemical components we have inherited from our ancient relatives. Every cell in your body is carrying the ability to replicate your ancestors within the boundaries of the range of possibilities. Some things can skip generations. Sometimes that’s not a bad thing. Genetic diseases can display themselves given the right set of heritable circumstances, which is a bad thing. Things that are good are knowing you can achieve a goal by devising a way to do it. You learned that from what was done before you arrived. Tenacity and drive are things we learn from those who have gone before us, along with determination in the face of fear. Everything we are made of comes from what and who came before us; it’s a wealth of riches waiting to be tapped. And sometimes…..just sometimes it could include things that your parents don’t understand when they see them in you. (Sleigh-Schiffner is owner of Rising Sun in Castle Dale.) Dog Talk with Uncle Matty A Christmas Puppy may not be the Ideal Present After all Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis Warm and cute. Wideeyed and innocent. Peering out of a box once tied with a big red bow. Who wouldn’t want a puppy for Christmas? But that’s not the ques- tion. The question is: Who’s a good candidate to receive such a gift? The problem with holiday puppies has everything Animal Hospital Large & Small Animals (435) 637-5797 or 1-800-718-5797 We Carry Science Diet Pet Food A MeMBer of The AMericAn AniMAl hospiTAl AssociATion J. Boyd Thayn, D.V.M. 1989 Airport Road Price, UT to do with the holidays. It’s a chaotic time, and puppies need stability and routine. They require significant one-on-one attention, which is hard to give while prepping hors d’oeuvres, filling glasses and basting a turkey. And it’s even harder to give en route from JFK to LAX with a connecting at O’Hare. Holiday travel simply leaves no time for puppy. But even for those staying put for the holiday season, the home itself is often turned on its head, filled with strange people coming and going, doors opening and closing, lights blinking, candles burning, cords tangled up behind that irresistible glowing tree playing host to a cor- nucopia of bite-sized glass ornaments. All dangerous for puppy. People who give the gift of a puppy often have their hearts in the right place. In many ways, a puppy embodies the spirit of Christmas: hopeful, playful, joyful, and full of life and love. But a puppy isn’t merchandise that can be returned like a lamp. A dog of any age is a living, breathing, sensitive creature that demands and deserves the time and attention it takes to make him a welcome and permanent member of the family. The frenetic nature of most households during the time leading up to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s in no way lends itself to the essential introductory and bonding period that forms the foundation of the human-canine relationship. Strike one. Then there’s housebreaking. If the dog owner is consumed with cleaning, cooking, shopping and wrapping, the dog probably isn’t steeped in the Feed-Water-Walk system that leads to successful housebreaking. Strike two. And from a motivational standpoint, if it’s 28 degrees outside, it’s that much more unappealing to get up and take puppy out two or three times between sundown and sunrise. Strike three. Why don’t people give puppies for the Fourth of July? Continued on Page B6. Kritter Klips animal grooming Working with animals for over 24 years •Grooming •Dog Training •Pet Boarding •Pet Photos “I will Match or Beat Anyone’s Prices!” Keep your best friend safe and comfortable while you are away! We offer boarding services for cats and dogs. We will medicate your pet daily if needed, and we offer pampering. Individual attention for your dog or cat doing what ever she likes to do. All pets must have proof of current vaccinations. Make a reservation early, we often fill up on weekends. If your pet stays over three nights, she will get a free bath on the day she goes home. Jackie Barney Groomer/Trainer 385 W. Main Ferron, UT • 435-609-1007 Specializing in training, handling and exhibiting of AQHA horses in Halter and Western Performance. Hal & April Schiffner www.risingsunqh.com Glen Jensen, DVM Sharmon Gilbert, DVM 490 West Hwy 29 Castle Dale t 435-381-2539 Quarter Horses and Arena, LLC (435)749-7120 (cell) • Castle Dale, UT |