“The greatest deterrent
to freedom are men and women of zeal, well-meaning, but
without knowledge or understanding.”
~Justice Louis Brandeis~

"People are so quick to defend their own agendas, but they so often fail to realize we must protect the rights of all if we are to continue to have any rights of our own."
~Jenqu~


Ranch meaning, in general, any real world dwelling probably not involving full care board. Kind of a rural voice of real horse owners, trainers, traders, auction owners, rodeo contractors, etc.. all of us who have taken a verbal beating and called greedy ass hats. Back at the Ranch contributors, moderators, subjects, and so on, are pro-horse, pro-owner, and pro-slaughter.
Back at the Ranch was formed by a group of like minded horse / livestock owners. It is a place for us to try to educate, a place to vent our frustrations with the current equine industry, a place to share humor and snark, and in general try to open the eyes of the public who seem to be anti-agriculture.We do have a section for comments of course, and if you would like to email us you can do so directly or through the contact us form. We like to hear from our readers. I hope you enjoy reading our blog as much as I enjoy managing it.
Sincerely,
Ranch Manager
manager_back_at_the_ranch@yahoo.com

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Cup-O- Soup Challenge

We all hear things we can't quite believe, and wonder if there's any way to prove or disprove them. Well, in some cases, we can, and pretty simply, too. Take Jim Gath of Tierra Madre, and his claim that he lives on a diet of 1 Cup-O-Soup a day. Before we begin, for you youngsters, let's clarify. There IS a product called Cup-O-Soup. It's kind of like Ramen Noodles. And it is NOT the tastiest thing in the world. I recall eating them in my teen years, and that's been awhile. Back to the challenge. Jim, as we all know has 29 horses (hoping for 30) on 3 acres. Due to his financial situation, he allows himself the barest of sustenance to get by. It is claimed that if you send Jim extra money for food, he won't buy it, he'll just continue to eat that one Cup-O Soup a day. The women in Jim's Thong mailing Fan club love this story. Some have even taken to sending baked goods to assure that Jim gets some extra nutrition. But I'm getting off track here. The question at hand is- Can one live on 1 Cup-O-Soup per day, do all of the physical work required to take care of 29 (hoping for 30) horses, and remain healthy, or even semi-healthy? Would one even feel like getting out of bed? I'm not suggesting living like Jim. That's just crazy. I Don't think even JIM really lives like Jim. But for the sake of Science, let's all try what I call the Cup-O-Soup Challenge. It's easy, and you can post your findings here in the comment section. I'd suggest you plan for no more than a day. But if you want a true Jim-like experience, go ahead and shoot for two. You'll need 1 Cup-O-Soup. If you're planning on a 2 day Jimathon, go ahead and buy 2. If your store doesn't carry Cup-O-Soup, you can buy Soup in Hand, or Ramen Noodles. Now You're ready to go. The experiment is easy. Pick a day. Get up. Have some soup. I'm not sure when Jim would be having his soup. I generally get up, have a cup of tea, go out and do my morning chores. Then I come in and eat Breakfast. So, I guess, I would probably have my soup then. But, you figure out when you want to have it. Or, space it out into three meals. I am guessing Jim drinks water, as well as walks on it, so you can have as much water as you can drink. Make sure you keep busy all day. With 29(hoping for30) horses, Jim has got to be going all day. No cheating-don't even LOOK at a cracker! At the end of the day, just hit the sack, and get a good, restful night's sleep. If you're going for the two day plan, either look in the mirror and say "What am I, an idiot?" and make yourself a good Breakfast, or continue on with day 2. Now, how are you feeling? Ready for a full day of physically demanding chores? And don't forget-Jim does a lot of doctoring, so he's also mentally stressed. I'll be interested in reading the results of the Cup-O-Soup challenge. For those who liked this one, I'll be posting the "Live Like A Horse With A Chance Challenge" soon.
By RH2

12 comments:

  1. I don't care who you are that's funny.....I won't be taking the challenge.I don't think my horses will be taking the horse with a chance challenge either.

    A some ponderings to add to your experiment:

    Do horses living in "horse with a chance" conditions produce less manure?

    Maybe they are so grateful for the "chance" their intuition tells them Jim is nutritionally weak so they help him.

    Do Jim's off the track thoroughbreds suddenly just "kick their shoes off" and stop with the stall vices in his stalls becasue they have indeed become kids?

    You know you have applied logic and common sense to an illogical realm again don't you?

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  2. Perhaps so, but don't look for everyone to see it.

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  3. I won the roman noodle/baloni challenge in my early 20's lol. I will not be taking the cup o soup challenge, sadly that will exempt me from having all those baked goods mailed to me but I think I would rather take care of myself anyway.
    Maybe those thongs they keep sending are etable....

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  4. Now THAT'S something I'd rather not think about, Ranch Manager!

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  5. Well, in fairness to Jim, I need to update. It seems Jim has written in his blog that the Cuo-O-Soup story is in fact, an Allegory. For those of us not as intelligent as jim-and he feels very few are, an Allegory is, by definition: "A story or narrative, as a fable, in which a moral principle or truth is presented by means of fictional characters, events, etc." One occupying a lower station in life than Jim would probably simply be called a liar, but I digress. What moral principle or truth Jim wishes to teach us by letting his loyal FOTM's think that he does indeed exist on a diet of Cup-O-Soup remains to be revealed, I suppose. Do the ladies now feel just a little silly? Maybe not. Perhaps they will just be lifted to a higher moral plane in followoing the way of Jim. Or maybe they'll just think he lies. We'll see....

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  6. "an Allegory is, by definition: "A story or narrative, as a fable, in which a moral principle or truth is presented by means of fictional characters, events, etc."

    The thing is it was not a fictional character (or is Jim really someone else?) but it was a fictional story of events. hmmmm I do think Liar is more fitting than Algory.

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  7. Well, that's Jim's story, and I suppose he'll stick to it. I'm glad I just taught my kids (human ones not to be confused with Jim's "four legged") to say "I lied". It's easier, and made them better men. I just wonder how much Jim B.S. the thong club will believe. Well, no, I'm really not. I bet they think Jim truly has a higher purpose, and has a moral truth to teach us. I've already fugured it out. If you tell a good story to people who for whatever reason feel lonely, unaccepted, or unwanted, they'll send in the cash just to feel part of something. Jim's willing to tell the story to get the cash. Good, Jim.

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  8. Your so right. Jim is a con man and good at it. No better than the con artist's who take the elderlies life savings.....

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  9. Ahhhh-but he is doing it out of love while teaching them a moral lesson by living out a fable-at least I think that's the story! Sounds better than lying to get money to care for horses you can't afford and probably shouldn't have taken in in the first place. And no, I don't hate Jim, nor do I need to call him on the phone and ask him why he has so many horses on so little land, or why he lies. Those are questions he should perhaps ask himself every morning before he heats up that tea kettle for the allegoric Cup-O-Soup.

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  10. WEll as Jim eats his beef steak or Cup-O-Soup or whatever on his less then 3arc. dust pit.. with his 30 head of horses.. he comes up with a new one... "Lets bring in three.. yes THREE more head" because you and I both know that he has so much room that there is pasture going unused...
    WHAT DOES THAT MAN USE AS A BRAIN??? or does he?

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  11. PLEASE tell me this is some kind of christmas joke!!!!!! This guy can't be topping 30 and thinking that's okay! I've been busy with personal issues, so haven't been keeping up, but for pete's sake! When you're on a constant beggathon, you've just got to open your eyes to reality some day!!!! And for heaven's sake, 30 horses on under 3 acres is completely crazy, but to place even more on there is just, well, I don't even have the words!!!! When will this hoarding end? And more important, when will the enablers see how they are adding to the problem? Jim can't do the damage on his own-he has to have help! I really think that the goal for 2010 should be to have each and every Rescue licensed. I believe it's the only way to shut the hoarders down, or at least contain them! God, my stomache hurts, and it's not from lack of my morning Cup-O-Soup! I feel like screaming!

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