There are some southern states that are still fighting the war (Civil that is).  Now Florida is much more tolerant than let’s say Virginia south to the Florida border.  The reason Florida is more laid back is because most of the people who live in Florida are really from somewhere else.  You do meet some natives, but even they seem less intense.  Florida was never caught up in the need for slaves as the other states were.  There was not really much agriculture, in the way of growing things here, other than mosquitoes and gators that is.  There were the cracker cowboys who raised the cracker horses and cracker cows.  The term cracker came from the cowboys cracking the bull whips, emitting a large cracking noise.  The cracker cows could survive in the swamps and live off the local forage.  The cracker horses were the same.  They are a smaller breed, but boy can they run.  A friend had one that could out run a Quarter Horse race horse.  Their feet can withstand the moist ground conditions usually found this state.

Now horses like Clydesdales do not do well here.  Their feathers hold the moisture and all kinds of fungus and bacteria find a comfy place to live.  They have allergies which drive them absolutely crazy, not to mention what is does to the owners.

When it comes to horse keeping the Mason Dixon Line does float.  Winter blankets up north are truly like the down jackets we used to go snow skiing in.  A winter blanket down here is usually a medium weight.  It will go to 28 degrees here in west-central Florida but only for a few hours at a time.  We will get a thin layer of ice on the water troughs, but come 9:00 a.m., when the sun comes up high enough, it’s gone.  Now the states north of Florida will get snow, but that also doesn’t hang around long.  The farther north you go, the longer it lasts.  They tell me they have had snow flurries here, but I haven’t seen any.  If I did I might go screaming into the night.  I’m so done with snow.  I love to watch it on TV and then thank God that I don’t have to deal with that anymore.  It’s amazing what you can get used to and learn to live with.

This post is really about horse trailers.  There is a difference.  Down here they are very open and airy, just like the stables.  The northern made trailers are able to be totally closed up.  One of my boarders is moving to Nashville, as I have mentioned in a previous post.  Her trailer was from Alabama and is an older steel trailer.  Ventilation is limited.  No front window that opens, small round vents by their heads, a high tailgate, but does have sliding side windows.  Since her horse has Cushings Disease she still has a good hair coat.  The first winter I was here my horses had way too much hair.  We moved down November 1st.  After that they got less hair in the winters.  My vet checked out the trailer being used for the move and told her she had to get out of the state before the sun came up.  This morning was cool (59 degrees) with a ground fog making it a little chilly for us.  Florida is like having three New Jerseys stacked on top of each other.  The northern part of the state is much cooler than where I live, and the southern part of the state, much warmer.  I told her that if it got to warm in that trailer to take a hammer and pop out the rivets in the front windows to allow more air flow.  She could always have them pop riveted back when she got there.

The owner was told to syringe water with table salt in it to the horses to make the horses drink.  I found that horses don’t like the taste of water from different areas and states.  My vet up north suggested peppermints in the water a week before I would leave so that every states water smelled like peppermints.  Didn’t work for me, my horses didn’t like peppermints.  Carrots in the water just don’t work the same.  Now her horses on the other hand, love peppermints so she’s going to try that.  Her trip is a ten-hour trip, but with the stops for gas, food, and restroom checks, it will take longer.  Our trip was twenty-two hours.  You were only allowed restroom stops and food when we got fuel according to Bob.  Although I will say that he would stop at rest areas and take the horses out for a walk in the dog walking area.  One security officer commented on what big dogs we had, and then smiled.

It was very interesting watching the owner and her girlfriend getting loaded this morning.  They were all happy and enthusiastic about their road trip.  A new beginning for the one girl and her friend was just the pillar of confidence.  As I hugged my boarder and waved goodbye to her best friend I could only remember how exciting it was when I was younger and ready to take on the world.  As for me, I don’t do three a.m. well, so it was off to bed to catch up on the sleep I had just missed.  I bid them a safe journey and told them to text me when they got there.

I don’t think I have the energy to be young again, but it does make me smile.