Hoof nippers are cutting tools that are used to trim off any excess length or growth. They are specially designed to keep the device from damaging the bottom area of the hoof which contains spongy tissue to absorb shock. Nippers are rounded outward on each side with sharp, flat blades on each side. They are designed to be used with two hands so that even pressure is applied to both the top and the bottom cutting edges, for a clean cut that does not splinter or crack the hoof material. Nippers may also be used to cut off any excess on horseshoe nails so they do not produce and scratch the horse or its stable mates.

Horse hoof care is an essential part of caring for equine animals. Daily cleaning will help remove dirt and debris that may cause bacteria to build up. It is also necessary to find any stones or other materials that could become lodged and lead to bruising of the under side of the hoof, where the spongy frog is located. This spongy area must be kept clean because it can become susceptible to fungal infections due to excessive moisture held in by dirt and debris.

Hoof trimming is another important part of horse hoof care. Trimming is generally required every six to eight weeks. This will depend on the type of terrain and surfaces the horse walks on. Horses that mostly spend their time outdoors in grassy areas will need to have hooves trimmed periodically as the ground is not usually hard enough to keep them filed down. The exception may be in areas where pastures or grazing areas include plenty of hard ground and rocky ares where the animals tend to roam.

Horses hooves are not designed to withstand the rigors of concrete or asphalt. Often if animals are being ridden over such surfaces they will require a set of shoes for protection. Shoes can vary in weight and thickness, depending on the type of work or performing the horse is expected to do. Shoes can include cleats for extra traction or pads for additional shock absorption.

When horses wear shoes they typically need to be removed every six weeks and either replaced or reset, depending on how much wear is left. When shoes are reset the farrier tools will also be used at the same time to trim any new growth.

Farrier supply stores will carry everything required to trim and shoe a horse. Anvils are still used for shaping and for cold shoeing methods used today. Nippers, rasps for filing, a stand to place the lower leg and shoe on while working, horseshoe nails, a supply of various shoes, heavy leather work aprons, and hoof dressing are common items purchased from a farrier supply shop.

A good fence should be visible to both humans and horses.  While cows and donkeys may just trot along, the average horse in good health can sprint at speeds up to thirty miles an hour.  Athletic horses may even reach speeds of forty miles an hour.  Due to their speed, the horses must be able to see the fence and avoid it.  Broad white boards or neon-colored wrappings on wire are best.  Pipe fence can be spray-painted a bright color for high visibility.  Barbed-wire fence is never acceptable for horses.

Hot tape is also essential.  A hot tape is simply an electrified wire that is run along the top of the fence.  This discourages chewing and will teach the horses to respect the fence.  They will not lean on the fence once they learn it is electrified.  A hot tape is smooth and will break if the horse becomes entangled and struggles.  The hot tape should be suspended and never simply staples to the top of a wooden fence, as doing so can electrify the whole fence.

The posts that hold up the fence must be capped.  Cheap T-shaped caps are fine, as are the more expensive finial-shaped caps.  Caps prevent a panicked horse from being impaled if they were to rear up or try to jump the fence.  Having bare posts around horses is a recipe for disaster.

Finally, the fence should be sturdy and durable.  Even with a hot tape in place, horses will kick out at the fence and will also lean on it if they can.  If a board fence is constructed with the boards being nailed or screwed onto the posts from the outside, the horses can simply push the fence down.  The horses can then wander onto roadways, fall into swimming pools, or get into other dangerous situations.  In the case of a wire fence, they may push it over at an angle and become entangled.  The injuries that occur with both types of accidents can be deadly.

Judging a horse fence by these standards is essential for the health and well-being of the horses who will be staying within its confines.  If the fence is not acceptable, make sure it is brought up to these standards before the first horse is brought to the property.

If you are a nature lover, you know the importance of bringing along all of the necessities that you might need should you encounter an emergency. The basics of food, water, fire, bug repellant, sunscreen, and of course bear spray are essentials when you are out in the open and need to survive on everything you brought and your instincts. Having ready access to food is enough for a bear to come sniffing around your camp site, and while they generally do not pose a threat to humans unless they are provoked, you never can tell with a creature who does not speak the same language that you do. Being prepared is the only way to know you might have a fighting chance should the encounter turn aggressive.

You do not need to be out in the wild to come face to face with an attacker who might not want your food this time, but your watch, wallet, car, or even your home. Having Mace spray handy should you contend with someone meaning you harm will certainly save the possessions they are trying to take from you and in most cases save your life as well.

Any law enforcement office will tell you that putting up a fight for material things is not the best way to handle this situation should you run in to it, but spraying someone in the face with what feels like red hot molten lava might make them think twice about doing it to someone else. Having the opportunity to get a good look at them as they are writhing on the ground in pain is going to help when you have the opportunity to get help and your assailant will not be trying to run after you when they cannot open their eyes.

When you go to buy pepper spray it is important to know what you are going to be using it for as that term has come to mean anything that comes out of a can or small bottle aimed at the face of someone or something trying to harm you. While they all have mostly the same desired effect, there are some that are either more potent than others, or made with differing chemicals to work on different species more effectively. Being prepared to the best of your abilities can save your life, but keeping the animal or attacker alive is also important to either the balance of nature, or the justice system that will be served upon them.

Wild duck hunters have been using duck decoys to help them catch more of these small creatures for many years with noticeable success. In our days, these duck decoys are even more popular among collectors. The main purpose of these decoys is to attract other animals into the rifle scope’s range so that the hunter can take efficient shots. An interesting history fact is that in North America, these wild duck decoys have been used for more than two thousand years.

If somebody wants to find the oldest decoys in the world, the best place to look is at the Smithsonian Museum in the United States where they have the oldest decoys found in not only the United States, but also Canada and other North American areas. The Native Americans manufactured these decoys by hand using wood that they carved into or they used straw in order to make the wild duck shape. Several decoys that have been found are more complex than others, with more details and various colors. The more complex the decoys are, the higher the value will be for hunters and collectors.

Wild duck decoys from 1880s to 1940s had a larger amount of complexity and detail. As an example, the eyes were made of glass while the bodies were weighted for the ideal amount of buoyancy. Although the materials used for producing wild duck decoys have changed over the years, the concept of the body style hasn’t changed one bit. The modern decoys are just as efficient as the ancient versions.

Finding wild duck decoys for hunting purposes shouldn’t be a very difficult thing to do as there are many online auction shops over the Internet. Be sure that you check the seller’s credentials before making such a purchase because if you want to purchase an antique decoy, it could actually turn out to be a cheap reproduction. Flea markets and thrift shops are a good place to find wild duck decoys.

Once you have purchased the right wild duck decoy for your hunting style you must know that if you plan on hunting in wetland areas and you want to ensure that the birds coming your way will fly past your decoy you must set up your duck upwind your hunting position. If you don’t do this, there is a high probability that the ducks will rest on the outer edges thus limit your opportunities for an efficient shot. In order to make sure that the wild ducks won’t catch on to your trick, it is advisable to group your decoys according to their species. This is because the birds typically tend to stay within their own groups when they rest.
All things considered, wild duck decoys are essential for duck hunters and are also well sought after by collectors. Whether you are using them for hunting purposes or you just want them for your personal collection, you need to purchase a wide variety of colors and styles because you know what they say: you don’t want to have all of your ducks in one row.

Find More American Wild Animals Articles

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ondon, England (CNN) — More than 1200 new species of plants and animals have been discovered in the Amazon rainforest over the past decade according to a new report. “Amazon Alive! A Decade of Discoveries 1999-2009,” published Tuesday by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), showcases the extraordinary diversity housed in the world’s biggest rainforest which spans eight South American countries. Six-hundred-and-thirty-seven new species of plant were found during the period, as well as nearly 500 new fish and amphibians, including 24 new poison dart frogs. A four-meter long anaconda snake — native to Bolivia and the first of its genus to be identified since 1936 — was among 55 new reptile species discovered, and a Bolivian river dolphin was one of 39 new species of mammals. A brightly colored bald parrot (Pyrilia aurantiocephala) was one of the highlights of 16 new bird species. Jim Leape, WWF international director general told CNN: “This is report is really intended to bring home the richness of the Amazon forest and how much is there. The Amazon is the single most important place on Earth for biodiversity — it holds ten percent of the world’s known species.” The list of new discoveries amounts to more than the combined total of new species found in Borneo, the Congo Basin and the Eastern Himalayas during the same time period, the report says. Nearly one fifth of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down in the past 50 years, Leape says. This is largely due to increased …
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Saguaro National Park, located in the state of Arizona, is part of the United States national park system.

Saguaro National Park is divided into two sections, lying approximately 20 miles (32 km) east and 15 miles (24 km) west of the center of the city of Tucson, Arizona. Total area in 2002 was 143 square miles (91,327 acres) (370 km²) of which 111 square miles (289 km²) is designated wilderness. There is a visitor center in each section. Both are easily reached by car from Tucson, but there is no public transport into either section. Both sections conserve fine tracts of the Sonoran Desert, including ranges of significant hills, the Tucson Mountains in the west and the Rincon Mountains in the east. The park gets its name from the saguaro cactus which is native to the region. Many other kinds of cactus, including barrel cactus, cholla cactus, and prickly pear, are also abundant in the park. One endangered animal, the Lesser Long-nosed Bat, lives in the park part of the year during its migration, together with one threatened species, the Mexican Spotted Owl.

The park was established as Saguaro National Monument on March 1, 1933, and changed to a national park on October 14, 1994.

Facilities in the park include 150 miles (240 km) of well marked and maintained hiking trails, and shorter walking trails with interpretative information available. Hiking is not advisable during the hot summer months.

The Rincon Mountain District is located at the eastern edge of Tucson, Arizona; the east side of the park was the original National Monument. What is unique about this park is that it starts off in the Sonoran Desert and gradually gives way to a montane coniferous forest of the Rincon Mountains. The highest peak in this range is Mica Mountain, at an elevation of 8,666 feet (2641 m). While this side of the park has fewer Saguaros than its counterpart they remain larger in size, due to higher amounts of rainfall and run off from the Rincon Mountains.

The key feature of this district is its 8.3-mile (13.4 km) loop, which connects its two picnic areas and central trails. Recently after a lengthy road improvement project, and refurbishment of the Visitor Center, the Rincon District is fully open once more.

Hiking on this side of the park is readily accessible to visitors. There are trail heads present at the east end of Speedway and Broadway, but these trail heads are commonly used by horses and get heavy usage on the weekends. Off the park’s loop road there are several additional trail heads. Each Visitor Center will supply a map of hiking trails on request.

And at the southern boundary of the park is the Hope Camp Trails which are also commonly used for horses. Access to the Hope Camp Trails is found at the end of Camino Loma Alta, however the road is no longer paved for the last couple hundred yards. This section of the park was added in 1991 when Congress authroized the purchase of 4,011 acres (16.23 km2).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro_National_Park

www.nps.gov/sagu/index.htm

Scientists aim to map and save endangered habitats
From mangrove swamps in Venezuela to lowland forests in Indonesia, entire communities of plants and animals are under threat. Now scientists are figuring out how to catalog and map the world’s most threatened ecosystems…
Read more on CBS4 Quad Cities

Monodon


Image by Ryan Somma

Visit my blog at ideonexus.com

Cottontail


Image by Ryan Somma

Visit my blog at ideonexus.com for science news and articles.

Gray Whale in Marina Del Rey


Image by Jason Rojas
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_whale

Gray Whale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gray (or Grey) Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a whale that travels between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about 16 meters (52 ft), a weight of 36 tons and an age of 50–60 years. Gray Whales were once called Devil Fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The Gray Whale is the sole species in the genus Eschrichtius, which in turn is the sole genus in the family Eschrichtiidae. This animal is descended from the filter-feeding whales that developed at the beginning of the Oligocene, over 30 million years before the present.

The Gray Whale is distributed in a eastern North Pacific (American) population and a critically endangered western North Pacific (Asian) population. A third population in the North Atlantic became extinct in the 18th century.

Gray Whale in Marina Del Rey


Image by Jason Rojas
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_whale

Gray Whale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gray (or Grey) Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a whale that travels between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about 16 meters (52 ft), a weight of 36 tons and an age of 50–60 years. Gray Whales were once called Devil Fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The Gray Whale is the sole species in the genus Eschrichtius, which in turn is the sole genus in the family Eschrichtiidae. This animal is descended from the filter-feeding whales that developed at the beginning of the Oligocene, over 30 million years before the present.

The Gray Whale is distributed in a eastern North Pacific (American) population and a critically endangered western North Pacific (Asian) population. A third population in the North Atlantic became extinct in the 18th century.

Gray Whale in Marina Del Rey


Image by Jason Rojas
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_whale

Gray Whale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gray (or Grey) Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a whale that travels between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about 16 meters (52 ft), a weight of 36 tons and an age of 50–60 years. Gray Whales were once called Devil Fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The Gray Whale is the sole species in the genus Eschrichtius, which in turn is the sole genus in the family Eschrichtiidae. This animal is descended from the filter-feeding whales that developed at the beginning of the Oligocene, over 30 million years before the present.

The Gray Whale is distributed in a eastern North Pacific (American) population and a critically endangered western North Pacific (Asian) population. A third population in the North Atlantic became extinct in the 18th century.

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, from voaspecialenglish.com | http When is a plant considered a weed? Experts at Penn State University have a simple answer: When the undesirable qualities outweigh the good qualities.Consider that crops generally produce several hundred seeds from each plant. By comparison, each weed plant can produce tens or even hundreds of thousands of seeds. And some buried seeds can survive up to forty years — or even longer.Eradicating weeds means that you have to remove all the seeds and roots so the plants will not grow back. But birds or the wind can reintroduce them to the land. A more common way to deal with weeds is to control them enough so that the land can be used for planting. Experts advise using two or more control methods to deal with weeds. Chemical weed killers or natural treatments like corn gluten can suppress weed growth. Dense planting of a crop can also act as a natural control. Bill Curran at Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania, is a professor of weed science. He says one of the most common methods for suppressing weeds is dense planting.He says a dense, competitive crop that quickly shades the soil will help suppress many weeds. The seeds need light to grow, so blocking the sun will reduce weed growth. Other controls include turning over the soil, pulling the weeds or covering them with mulch made of wood, garden waste or other material. But even mulch has its limits. Natural resource specialists …
Video Rating: 4 / 5

a treadmill for algernon


Image by woodleywonderworks
Our tailless cat Logan’s offering of the week followed the the predictable chase through the house – parent, kid, cat, mouse. After the photo op, we released our new little friend into the wilds of our front yard. Perhaps we’ll meet again.

Lobo marino de un pelo (Otaria flavescens)


Image by Ostrosky Photos
"El lobo marino sudamericano (Otaria flavescens), también llamado lobo marino chusco, lobo marino de un pelo, león marino del sur o león marino sudamericano, lobo marino, es una especie de mamífero pinnípedo de la familia de los otáridos." Fuente y más info: es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otaria_flavescens

"The South American Sea Lion (Otaria flavescens, formerly Otaria byronia), also called the Southern Sea Lion and the Patagonian Sea Lion, is a sea lion found on the Chilean, Peruvian, Uruguayan and Argentine coasts. Its scientific name was subject to controversy, with some taxonomists referring to it as Otaria flavescens and other referring to it as Otaria byronia. The former eventually won out. Locally, it is known by several names though the most common ones are "lobo marino" (sea wolf) and "león marino" (sea lion)."
Source & more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_American_Sea_Lion

Spectacled Bear


Image by Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Billie Jean, a three-year-old female spectacled bear, made her debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. Weighing about 113 pounds and still growing, she is quite agile—climbing high in the new structures in her yard. The installation of the new climbing structures are part of the Zoo’s enrichment efforts to provide our animals with physically and mentally stimulating and challenging environments, offering them opportunities to utilize their natural behaviors and abilities. Specifically, spectacled bears spend a vast amount of time climbing in the wild.

The only bear native to South America, spectacled bears (sometimes called Andean bears) live in the Andes range and outlying mountain ranges, from western Venezuela south to Bolivia. Each individual spectacled bear has it own distinctive set or “fingerprint” of cream or whitish markings on its head, throat and chest.

The Zoo is now home to three South American spectacled bears, including a senior female (Bandit) and an adult male (Nikki). Eventually, Nikki may breed with Billie Jean, a pairing recommended by the Species Survival Plan for spectacled bears.

Visitors may see Billie Jean on exhibit daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (located near Amazonia).

More about spectacled bears

Photo credit: Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian’s National Zoo