4-29-09 (4-28-09)

Sorry we didn't get the blog up last night, but eyelids can only stay open so long. This is the blog for Tuesday, April 28th.

We have some updates on adopted horses. The first update is from Grandole's adoptive family: "He is now well settled in. He seems to be well trained and shows signs of being used for cutting or reining. He is in love with my filly but enjoys spending time with us as well. "



The second update is from Darby's mom: "Darby is doing very well - she is eating lots of groceries and gaining weight. She's a sweet girl but does have some trust issues which we are working on. She loves the pasture. She was even gaiting in the pasture today, she feels a lot stronger. She has a beautiful mane and tail and where she is shedding is a very dark bay."

After the morning chores were done Jason headed out to pick up some horses.

The road just seemed to stretch on endlessly. Back at the rescue Tawnee got a call from a lady: "My husband works in road construction and saw one of your trucks go by. Can you help us with our horses? We've had them 14 years and can no longer afford to keep them." Tawnee explained our program and asked her to fill out equine surrender forms.

Cash was waiting at the first stop. He's a big Thoroughbred his family could no longer keep.

Driving along, Jason managed to snap a picture of a deer hiding in the bushes. What a cutie!

And, it was time for one of many fill ups throughout the day.

The next stop was to pick up Gingles. His adopter was no longer able to keep him, so he was returned to us in great shape. He is such a sweet boy and is very loving. She really loved him and it was hard to say goodbye.

Meanwhile, back at the rescue, fencing had begun again. The neighboring property owner finally came up for a visit and "OK'd" the fence line. He had a surveyor double check our survey line, and it's in the right spot, but his driveway goes between the two properties so we ran some T-posts where we thought the fence should go and he said it was fine. Now we can start running the fencing finally!

The sun was beginning to set and Jason was still on the road between Gingles and the next stop hundreds of miles from the rescue.

Angel, an older mare with lameness and cancer, was the last stop. Her owner wanted to bring her up to one of our clinics, so her suffering would be over, but had no way to get her to the clinic and had no money for transportation. Jason arrived well after dark, but she is a sweet girl and loaded right up after a tearful goodbye.

Jason hates seeing toll signs, especially with the trailer, all the axles add up to a lot of $$. Jason pulled up to the booth, pulled out his wallet, but instead of a fee he heard "The person in front of you already paid for you." We would like to take a minute to thank the kind stranger in a silver car that paid the toll on the bridge today. Your thoughtfulness is overwhelming.

On the way back to the rescue the police were cleaning up what looked like a major wreck. Thankfully they had it all under control and so it did not delay Jason's travels.

Jason drove almost 500 miles yesterday, and was quite road weary by the time he got back to the rescue...

It was early in the morning when the rescue rig pulled up, the horses were unloaded and tucked into stalls for the remainder of the night.

While the blog was being written, we received this web contact that warmed our hearts: "I saw Jason pulling out of the ranch I board at yesterday. If I could have caught him I would have liked to say how wonderful I think your organization is. I am just in awe at the dedication and selflessness shown by Tawnee, Jason and all the NorCal volunteers. Thank you so much for all that you do. I follow your blog everyday and I must say seeing your truck and trailer felt like I was seeing a celebrity yesterday. I admire your work so much. Keep it up!"