by Fran Jurga | 5 January 2010 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

If you’re a Friesian named Martyn and your owner is named Martha, you live with an open stall door while the barn doors are closed during the day. You have the run of the big, beautiful barn. She knows you won’t go far.

I always like to joke about how Martha Stewart and I have so much in common: The sisterhood of the blogging world, the love of horses, and she’s one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter. But last week, she opened her barn doors and her heart, and invited her blog readers in, so I thought I’d send you over there, in case you need to feel like you’re not the only one in the world with a lame or sick horse. I’d never joke about that.

I won’t speculate on what exactly is wrong with Martha’s Friesian Martyn, but he’s been in this blog before, as she has documented his care for lameness problems and I’ve followed her selection of expert consultants. Unfortunately, his condition has continued to deteriorate and Martha is not turning him out with the other horses this winter.

Martha Stewart’s Blog has a beautiful slide show of Martyn and Martha at home over Christmas. The joys and concerns of horse ownership truly are universal. I hope you will go to her blog and read about her concerns for her horse.

Martha’s driving harness features the beautiful logo of her farm in upstate New York.

More on Martha Stewart and her horses from The Jurga Report:

Click to read about earlier stages of Martyn’s lameness and Martha’s crew of specialists.

Click to read Martha’s article about her farrier, Linda Friedman, (who has since been on Martha’s television show)

Click to read about Martha as a ghoulish equestrienne with her Friesian Rutger for Halloween.

Click to watch a video clip of Martha’s feature on horse rescue, slaughter awareness, the New York charity Horse Advocates and director Susan Wagner on Martha’s television show

Follow @FranJurga on Twitter.com for more news and media for equestrians!