Guest Blogger: Melanie Nilles

Our second guest blogger here at Tez Says is Melanie Nilles, author of Dragon Prophecy, Dragon Legends, Dragon Legacy, Dragon Child and Dark Angel. They'll be published by Mundania Press starting from February 2008, and go through 'til April 2008. She's also an avid equestrian, so today we'll be learning about horses.

Tez Miller: Are horses just for the wealthy, or have the prices gone down so middle-class people can own one?

Melanie Nilles: That depends on what you want. The passage of bills to stop slaughter for human consumption in the U.S. and the glut of horses in the market, from backyard breeders and PMU foals to breeders who breed a lot of duds to get the next champion and horses that are no longer sound, has brought prices down for many average horses. If you want a good quality horse or a proven performer, you will pay more. That hasn't changed.

However, to keep a horse and care for a horse hasn't changed, except perhaps to go up. Fuel prices affect hay prices, because it takes diesel and oil to run a tractor to pull that swather and bailer, not to mention if you have hay hauled in. That cost is passed on to those of us who board our horses, so we pay more in that respect also. Then there're brushes, combs, tack, equipment, and vet bills - de-worming, vaccinations, supplements, emergencies, etc. Everything goes up.

I consider myself middle-class. My husband and I make a fair income, and I'm able to keep a horse. If you're starting out without anything you have to invest slowly, but with horses, most of your investment is the initial costs. Acquiring the horse and everything you need to care for and use that horse is what most people see up front, but there are the maintenance costs, like boarding, that need to be added into the equation.

If you can't afford a horse, there are people willing to lease. Ownership is a huge responsibility and not one for everyone. Leasing will cost money, but it's spread out over time, and if you don't want to continue, the owner takes the animal back. You're not responsible for trying to find a new home for the horse. If you own the horse and want to sell it, that can take months, during which you're still responsible for care and training.

Equine influenza was a big problem in late 2007 in Australia, majorly affecting the racing circuit – was American racing interrupted? Can the disease actually kill?

I heard that it hit the west coast, but I'm not sure about the affect on American racing. I don't keep up with the sport. Yes, influenza can kill.

How do you know when it's the right decision to put a horse down?

Luckily, I've never had to. But if I saw one of my animals suffering terribly and nothing worked to improve their condition, I might do it. I'd do everything in my power to help that animal first. Horses are a big investment, in time, money, and emotions. That's not something you can just throw away.

And how has your life with horses affected or influenced your writing?

Horses are my escape. Like writing, they take me out of my world and into something exciting and new. They can be very inspirational in many ways, including creativity. However, after I've been out working with my horse, it can be hard to sit down and write, since my mind is still on whatever issue I need to improve in their training or my riding.

I've used the understanding I've gained from over twenty years with horses in my stories. I'd love to write something like The Black Stallion or Black Beauty but haven't yet found the right story. Perhaps I'll stick with human-centric stories for now :-)

Relevant Links
Melanie Nilles (Website)
Melanie Nilles (Blog)
Melanie Nilles (LiveJournal)
Melanie Nilles (MySpace)

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Jennifer Rardin name-checked me here. I hadn't visited the bookshop in question for years, but I went in there to drop off Anton Strout publicity postcards. If you live in Australia and would like a Dead to Me publicity postcard, please email me at TezMillerOz at gmail dot com with your snail-mail address.

What someone typed into a search engine to get to my WordPress: bloodroot novel I hope my novel was the one you wanted. Yes, I have indeed written a novel entitled Bloodroot, which was not its original title, and not even its second.

Any other contracted authors interested in guest-blogging (I choose your topic) should email me.