Horse Keeping 101: Nes Style

Actual horse for sale in my area

Crap like this makes me so angry I can't see straight. There is NO excuse for the condition this horse is in.  And I sincerely wish it was the only one I'd seen of late.

And yeah there is always a sob story. Health excuses, money ran out, whatever.
I ran into my own bad experience with a lessee with whom things went well for 2 years until she decided to stop feeding my horse (thankfully the barn manager was a responsible, kind and caring woman who stepped in before too much harm was done). Know who I blame? MYSELF; and only myself for my putting my horse in that situation.

No she's not as bad as the horse in the top photo,
but it's different when it your own horse.
This is after 2 weeks back in real care.

That was the reason I had to bring my mare home. I never had a problem boarding her myself anywhere, but it is very expensive. To keep her at home costs me less then 2 months boarding and she gets the exact same feed & care.
I'm the first to admit our place is far from perfect. We havea lot more work to do. But my number one priority has always been the safety & health of everyone who lives on our property. I have been up in a hot, dusty, nasty, dangerous loft for the last 2 weeks because I want to my horses to breath clean air when they comes into the stalls. If you don't have that kind of love for your animals you have no place keeping them in your company.
I think everyone who has an interest should get into horses, it is a liberating, wonderful, accessible sport; but you must surround your self with real experts to guide and teach you. This can be very difficult when you're new to horses.
And so for the next few days I'd like to introduce: Horse Keeping 101: Nes Style
I swear, one day I will be in a position to help each horse like the one in the top  picture when I come across it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day. For now I'll just settle for taking proper care of my own horses.