I don't seem to hear that question nearly as much as I did six or seven years ago, especially not from horse-people. But I do still get it from time to time. I guess it's become so much a part of my life that I assume that everyone knows all about it and the many things that we've added to the site through the years. I've come to the realization that a lot of our "regulars" don't know the extent of what HorseCity.com is - so how on earth can the "newbies" grasp it all?

So, here I am, starting a blog about HorseCity.com and all of it's nooks and crannies. Let's call it HorseCity 101. I will be writing a fairly regular blog focusing on some of our more popular and lesser-known sections. I'll be introducing you to HC all over again - to our staff, to our members, and the many, many different part of the site. I will try to keep it short and to the point, but I can get long-winded at times - my apologies in advance for that.

I should probably start by introducing myself. I am Amy Kiel and I am the manager of Technical and Development Services for HorseCity.com. I've been with HorseCity.com since 2001. I've ridden horses my whole life - trail riding mostly - and currently have a 7 year-old paint mare, Patches. Read my bio for more of that stuff..

Now, let me introduce you to HorseCity.com.

People find our site in a variety of ways, and I've learned that a lot of them never venture out into the site to see what we have to offer once they find what they originally came here to find. Our biggest draws seem to be our Bulletin Boards and our TV shows (I'll cover them later), but what really got us started is the deep, informative content that we offer. The writers that contribute our stories are some of the most accomplished equestrian writers in the world. They write for the biggest magazines that most of you probably have on your coffee table or in your "reading room."

In the past seven years, we have published online articles every week in the areas of Horse Health, Barn & Farm Management, Veterinary Tips, Training, and the list goes on and on. All articles that we've published in the past seven years are in our archives - thousands and thousands of fantastic, informative articles and stories all in our searchable equine database.

I'm going to leave you with that for now.

Go poke around in our online database - find out about the differences in training methods used for mares, geldings and stallions or how to make flying lead changes. Maybe you're wondering if some of the trees or plants in your pasture are toxic to your horse? There is so much there. Really just about any subject you can think of is covered. Give it a try!

My hint of the day - searching. You know how when you sometimes do a search and get back results that, while "technically" do fit your search criteria, really aren't what you're looking for? Did you know that you can eliminate those results from your search? Just put a minus sign (-) and the words you want to exclude into the search box along with your search term.

For instance, I want to do a search for all HorseCity.com articles that contain information on "toxic" plants, so I do a search, but the whole first page of results are from the Bulletin Boards (forums), and I'm looking for an actual article, so I want to eliminate the Bulletin Board threads from my search. So I type this into my search box: toxic -forums (that returns results that are on HorseCity.com somewhere, but not in the forums).

Next week - Video!