Expiration Dates
I want to clear up some confusion that’s causing some issues for our customers. We have a tack and feed store, Triangle Horse Sports, in Raleigh, N.C. Since an article in your magazine about dates printed on the feed bags being the feed’s expiration date came out, boy, have we had some explaining to do.
We carry feed from seven different companies. Not one of them has an expiration date on the tag. The date that is printed on the bags is thge time when the feed was produced. In many cases, it also gives the mill location, too. This is beneficial to the consumer and the company, especially if there is a problem with a bag of feed.
But, please, tell everyone that while everything else on our planet may have an expiration or use-by date on it, our horse feed has a ”born-on” date.
Cristine Casavant
North Carolina
Mirror Image
In your February issue, you had a great hint for mounting mirrors on arena walls. However, you didn’t say anything about being certain horses can’t get to the glass surface.
At the time, I was the president of Horses for Healing and was exercising Am-Tall, one of the therapy horses. He was a flea-bitten Arab gelding and a sweetheart for anyone to ride.
The equestrian facility had just installed a bank of large glass mirrors as a common wall between stalled horses and the indoor arena.At the time horses could get right up to the mirror.
It was a cool winter morning when I brought Am-Tall over to admire himself, which he certainly did. He blew a big steam cloud as he flared his nostrils, walked briskly up to the horse on the wall and proceeded to blast him with his knee. This caused a ruckus to the resident in the opposite stall, who blasted back from inside.
I had quite a discussion with the facility owner and wound up paying for the two broken mirrors, even though I didn’t feel it was my fault. One thing’s for sure, Am-Tall certainly answered my question about whether animals notice a mirror.
Richard Walker
California
