Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the world's most patient horse

A horse is a horse, of course, of course. And goats shouldn't climb on a horse, of course. Unless of course, that is, of course, it's a very patient horse.

Like, really patient.

And there can be no doubt that Mr. G has to be the most even-tempered, chillest, "hey, like, whatever man" horse that ever lived.

In a video that is quickly going viral, a horse rests on its belly while several baby goats climb all over him. Two goats climb aboard while the littlest goat watches patiently. Florida resident Debbie Spivey Snyder posted the footage to Facebook.

Mr. G doesn't seem to mind the goats one bit. In fact, who knows, maybe the horse is enjoying the impromptu massage. If only cats and dogs got along this well.

Although, actually, sometimes they do.

Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz).

Sports & RecreationEnvironment

View the original article here

Slimmed-down Oregon police horse collars suspect

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Murphy the horse, once a woebegone Oregon ranch animal, had to shed 200 pounds to make the Portland police force, and now he has collared his first suspect.

Murphy, carrying Officer Cassandra Wells, galloped six blocks to catch a break-in suspect last week. He kept the suspect trapped next to a building in the Old Town district until officers could cuff him.

"He did everything I needed him to do," Wells told The Oregonian (http://is.gd/eRgfbF).

The arrest caps a ripe-for-the-movies story about a horse that weighed in at 1,900 pounds after his owner, in financial distress, sold him off to a Portland officer searching the Internet for a new member of the city's popular Mounted Patrol Unit.

Murphy was undersize at birth, even though he was born three weeks overdue. He was easily distracted and not considered particularly handsome, unlike a younger half-brother who turned out to be a trophy winner.

So he was given the full name "Murphy's Law," the axiom that if something can go wrong, it will.

In a Nov. 15, 2013 photo, Officer Cassandra Wells takes Murphy the police horse out for a ride, in P …

"Being honest," owner Randy Snow told the newspaper last year, "we ended up with five horses on the ranch, and old Murphy was always low man on the totem pole."

Murphy got overweight because he wasn't being ridden and because the owners couldn't afford hay. So Murphy roamed the property feeding on grass, a diet The Oregonian likened to an all-pizza diet for humans.

The police bureau's horse trainer, Jennifer Mack, saw possibilities, though, and the city bought the gelding for $3,000.

Murphy went on a strict diet and an aerobic exercise regimen that included an electric walker, a kind of treadmill that prods a horse to keep walking in a circle.

After months of work, Murphy made the grade, and started patrolling in the city's upscale Pearl District.

In a Nov. 15, 2013 photo, Officer Cassandra Wells takes Murphy the police horse out for a ride, in P …

He's among the eight animals that patrol downtown to the delight of Portlanders. Budget hawks sometimes call for cutting the unit but get nowhere.

And Murphy has turned out right, judged perhaps the second best in the unit when he began patrol duty in January.

"He's awesome," Wells said then. "He wants to keep learning. I couldn't have a better partner."

___

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

View the original article here

IRS rides 1884 'dead horse' law to defense of tax preparer rules

By Patrick Temple-West

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Tuesday defended its effort to regulate the tax return preparation business for the first time in U.S. history, basing its case largely on a 19th century law dealing with horses lost or killed in the Civil War.

At an appellate court hearing on a challenge brought by libertarian lawyers challenging the administration, Justice Department Tax Division lawyer Gilbert Rothenberg said: "I hate to beat a dead horse, especially one from the Civil War era."

But he explained that the administration sees the "Horse Act of 1884" as providing ample authority for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to regulate the tens of thousands of preparers who fill out millions of Americans' federal tax returns.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard the administration's argument. Rothenberg said the IRS should be allowed to force tax return preparers - who are now unregulated - to pass a competency test and take annual continuing education classes.

But the Institute for Justice, a libertarian advocacy law firm, disagreed.

"Congress never gave the IRS authority to regulate tax preparers," said Dan Alban, an attorney for the institute.

The case has broad implications for the industry, which includes H&R Block Inc, a few mid-tier companies and thousands of tiny, mom-and-pop firms.

A decision from the judges is still months away. In oral arguments, the judges - all appointed by Republican presidents - gave no clear sign of how they will rule, yea or neigh.

But they did question why the IRS was citing an 1884 law to justify trying to police tax return preparers in 2013.

LEGAL REPRESENTATION AT ISSUE

After the Civil War, many Americans brought war loss claims against the U.S. government, often for dead or missing horses.

A post-war industry emerged of agents who would press war loss claims for a fee, usually a percentage of the claim collected. Soon, claim values were being fraudulently inflated.

In response, the government started regulating these intermediaries, barring unscrupulous ones and certifying honest ones as "enrolled agents," a title that is still used today by people who represent clients in matters before the IRS.

The IRS is arguing that tax return preparers represent their customers in much the same way that enrolled agents do, so the agency should be able to expand regulation to include preparers.

But the Institute for Justice is arguing that tax return preparers do not carry out the same level of representation, but rather merely provide a paid service for clients.

"Preparing a tax return is not a representative act," Alban said. "It is performing a service, certainly, but there's no representation."

More than 78 million Americans in 2011 paid someone to prepare their tax returns. The industry posted estimated revenue this year of $9.4 billion.

The Institute sued in March 2012 to block the IRS's regulations and won a district court ruling in January halting parts of the agency's program. The IRS appealed.

KOCHS HELPED FUND CHALLENGER

Based in Arlington, Va., the institute litigates over issues such as private school vouchers and eminent domain. It was begun in 1991 with funding from wealthy industrialists and conservative activists David and Charles Koch.

Sabina Loving, a Chicago tax preparer, is the lead plaintiff in the case. She was not present at the oral arguments.

Some of the tax experts who attended said the judges seemed skeptical of the IRS's argument. "Clearly, they were leaning toward Loving," said Don Williamson, a tax accountant and executive director of American University's Kogod Tax Center.

"It looks like a good day for Mr. Alban," said Robert Kerr, senior director of government relations for the National Association of Enrolled Agents, a tax-preparers trade group.

Kathryn Keneally, head of the Justice Department tax division, declined to comment on the oral arguments while leaving the court room.

The case is Sabina Loving et al v. Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 13-5061.

(Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Leslie Gevirtz)

View the original article here

Trapped horse rescued from well on ranch

A horse was trapped in a brick well and in danger of drowning until rescuers saved the frightened animal with the help of a crane, reports KPIX-5.

The incident occurred Monday at a ranch in San Rafael, Calif., near San Francisco. Nine-year-old Buddy fell into the 20-foot-deep well after a wooden board collapsed under his weight.

A worker on the ranch heard Buddy's panicked cries, and went to get help.

[Related: Photo of dog in warm embrace with woman who saved him goes viral]

Lt. Douglas Pittman of the Marin County Sheriff’s Department told KPIX-5, "We thought we might lose this horse. Specifically when we first arrived and the horse was having difficulty keeping his head above water."

According to KPIX-5, rescuers put Buddy's head in a harness to help keep it above water. They tried adding more water to the well in the hopes that Buddy would climb out.

Eventually, a crane was brought in and hoisted Buddy back onto dry land. KPIX-5 reports that the horse had a few cuts and was being treated with an IV. For the most part, though, Buddy was just fine.

View the original article here