People do say the darndest things.
And they write them down too, so those of us whose great joy in life is finding a hair in writing and then splitting it can thoroughly relish the statement. I am not just talking about the sadly all too ordinary mistakes in English grammar and spelling either. I am talking about entire thoughts written out for the enlightenment of other people.
Some people think that it is clever to pick at dialect. I don't take joy in making fun of vernacular because where a person was raised is part of what they have become and I do appreciate that. If you listen to regional speech you can learn some dandy phrases that are part and parcel of living in that place.
I love the southern phrase, "Bless his (or her or their) heart(s)." It is not only a nice phrase but it is often attached to another sentence that is so completely truthful about a person's foibles that it is absolutely condemnatory and that, of course, is where the humor of that blessing comes in. It is a phrase that is always delivered gently and in a spirit of deep compassion. If you haven't heard it, here is an example, "Well, of course, that whole family never had a brain to share between them." Pause. "Bless their hearts." The kicker is, you aren't supposed to laugh when you hear it. And you can hear jewels like this all over this great nation if you only sit and listen.
But it is often the scientific community that offers me the greatest delight and it seems that it works hard to make my days brighter and happier. It really does. This article — not quoted in its entirety — was sent to me from one of the online horse journal groups.
"Study Confirms Kicks From Shod Horses Can Damage Bone" the headline reads. Really? They needed to study this? Does that mean that the carpenter's corollary to that is that a thump over the head with the business end of a hammer could be worse than a similar blow from the handle alone?
I was truly relieved to find that this study was undertaken by the Swiss (which are normally a sensible people) and not at our own expense. The article went on to say that, "A recent study by Swiss researchers has confirmed that a kick from a horse with metal shoes comes with a much greater risk of fracture to another horse's long bones than a horse with plastic shoes. And that risk is significantly minimized if the horse has no shoes at all. 'Kicks by shod horses are clearly more dangerous than kicks by barefoot horses, so the concept of keeping horses barefoot on the hind limbs in group pasture settings seems justified,' said Michelle Jackson, PhD, of the University of Zurich Vetsuisse Faculty Equine Surgery Clinic. Proper herd management using behavioral clues and recommendations by behavior specialists can also help reduce injury risk in group pasture settings, regardless of shoeing status, she added.'"
If you have to spend time and money proving a concept that has already been accepted as simple good herd management for several centuries by intelligent people — even by some that are not all that intelligent — it can rightly be called a waste of both the time and the money.
I also take exception to that line about "recommendations by behavior specialists" too. Are we now supposed to hire so-called equine behavior specialists before we manage to turn our horses out in groups that get along well together? Is it the "new" scientist's idea that we ARE that foolish?
Even more frightening, given that I am of a much older group of horse folks, are the newer wave of horse owners really that silly?
If, for example, horse A pins his ears, bares his teeth and takes out after horse B spinning and kicking at him every chance he gets, does it really take a behavioral specialist to realize that horse A needs his own paddock with a tall fence and preferably not even in sight of horse B? I think not. In fact most folks would realize that horse A hated horse B on sight when they led him down the aisle from his demeanor as they passed the stall that horse B was in. Horses are pretty open about their feelings.
They can't tell you why they feel that way, but they can sure tell you how they feel and that should be enough ... unless you like vet bills.
Everywhere you look there is a story and on June 3 the story is Art in the Park in Westminster from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I will be there with paintings, so come say hi if you can!
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