6-30-09

This is an incredibly emotionally charged blog. It was one of those days Jason and Tawnee just had to grit their teethe and push through it, thinking the whole time "Why am I doing this? This has to be a nightmare." The truth is, it's a reality. Rescuing and putting yourself on the front lines can lead to stomach churning days like today. Consider yourself warned dear reader.

This morning the trailer was unloaded, all of the Cal Skate fundraising items were still in there. Soon it was empty, clean and ready for the road.

We had received an email about some pregnant mares who's owner was wanting to give them away. We contacted them and they were happy to give them to us, so we headed off to pick them up.

Jason and Tawnee arrived at their neat, clean beautiful place. They were a very nice older couple who want to fully retire, so they are cutting back on their herd.

Tawnee was talking to the lady, and she said "So, 5 mares and 3 babies?" Tawnee smiled and nodded her head, she thought she was meaning maybe only 3 of the mares were in foal? It turned out the lady had other ideas. They led the mares down the barn breezeway to the waiting trailer.

They all loaded up beautiful and were such good girls to work with. After the 5 mares were loaded, the lady asked Tawnee for 3 more lead ropes. Tawnee was a little puzzled but got the lead ropes out and began to follow her.

It turns out there really were 3 yearlings that were going along too. All in all they surrendered 5 mares (4 believed to be in foal) and 3 yearlings.

Then it was off to what Tawnee and Jason knew would be a tough rescue. Little did they know how tough.

First a little history. At the last auction Tawnee attended, a man by the name of Dave knew that Tawnee had purchased one of the horses he ran through, so he came up and befriended her. He asked if we would be interested in purchasing some more horses from him, he announced he had about 50 he needed to get rid of. He had brought 3 that were not ran through the auction, they were in a holding pen behind the auction. He started working out a deal with an out of state person who had bought a lot of big, chunky horses during the auction.

Tawnee realized what was going on and soon was working out a deal with him as well. Eventually a price was agreed upon and a thin mare was pulled from the kill pen. The thin mare was seen on our blog on Sunday, she is Malibu. She is a very sweet horse that was just in the wrong pen. Thankfully, her life was saved by your donations!

There was a fence dividing the soon to be out of state horses with an unknown fate and the rescued horses. Just by looking at them, it was plain to see why they were chosen to be in that pen: they were all fat. Dave had given Tawnee his phone number and asked her to give him a call to work out a deal on some more horses.

Since then there have been some phone calls going back and forth. Dave called up and said he had some horses that were going to be heading to Fallon, he would like us to get them. He said their price was $250 each. Tawnee said "That's too high, we can get them cheaper at auction, $150 is what I'll pay." It was really hard to say those words, but we had to let him know up front that he could not take advantage of the rescues resources as so many in the killer buyer business love doing. They buy a horse for $150 at auction, turn around and sell it to a rescue for $500, preying upon rescue and donors emotions. Why not take that $500 and buy several horses just as worthy at auction that would go to slaughter anyway?

It wasn't long before he called back up with an offer of several horses for $150 each. Tawnee agreed. He said he had been in southern Ca, took some along, bought others, and now only had 40 horses.

Since we were heading to the same area to get the pregnant mares today, we called him up and arranged to see his horses that he had for sale. We said we could buy about 4 of them. As we pulled up, Animal Control was there. There were definitely some thin horses. Animal Control was preparing to leave, so Tawnee jumped out and talked to the officer. Tawnee explained everything she knew about Dave, but the Animal Control officer simply said there was nothing that could be done, and hoped we would take them all. Tawnee told him we couldn't take them all, but we would do our best.

Tawnee and Dave headed across the field to the trailer where the horses were waiting. He started explaining to Tawnee that the reason Animal Control was there was there was a foal, no water, someone complained, something died. He just wasn't making much sense.

Tawnee walked up to the waiting trailer, the horses were unloaded and then Tawnee's stomach began to roll. She walked away from the trailer in horror and disgust.

Dave said "I put the dead foal in the trailer, see here it is." All the poor horses were standing there in the heat with the dead stinky foal laying there. It was utterly terrible. "The foal was found dead this morning, someone drove by and complained to Animal Control. So I drug it over here. Not sure what happened to it. It was born at my place the other day, but I didn't have any shade at my place so I brought it over here so its mom could take it up in the hills were shade is, but it died here. Since you're taking the momma you need to take it too. You can skin it and graft an orphaned foal onto the momma. She's got a good bag of milk." Tawnee agreed merely for the fact she wanted our vet to look at the poor little foal and try to figure out what happened to it. It's one of those times when you feel like screaming and yelling, throwing up your hands and walking away in utter disgust. But one very wise person once told us "You must bite your lip until it bleeds, you're there to help the horses." Sometimes it's so hard to do.

Finally Tawnee put everything behind her and started loading the horses we purchased into the trailer. Two young horses, a pack mule and the mother of the dead foal.

After everyone was loaded Jason and Dave put the dead foal into the back of the pickup. As the foal was being put into the truck you could see a large gash on its neck and blood flowing out of its nose.

It was wonderful to have all the horses loaded up and be headed away from that terrible place.

We hadn't driven 150 feet when we noticed a herd of horses standing around in a circle. Since we stopped, Dave stopped.

Tawnee got out to ask Dave about some pricing on the thinner horses in the herd. "You can have that one for $150 since its thin, but the heavy ones have to be more ya know." The water trough was empty and they were all thirsty. As we drove away he was fiddling with the water hoping to get it to work.

Finally the open road lay ahead and we were on the way to the vet. It was hard leaving those other horses there, but our trailer was about full. It's definitely one of the hardest things about rescue, not being able to save them all.

It was good to be at the vet's office with the bright green grass, and a trailer full of happy horses.

One of the little guys from the first stop is about a year old and needs to be gelded. Since we were at the vet, we decided to unload him so he can get his brain surgery. It was cute opening the door and seeing all the little faces looking out in amazement. Anyone want to donate to help cover his gelding cost? Click here. Gelding typically costs about $150, due to his age and size it should be the lower rate, any additional donated funds will be used to care for the horses.

He is such a cute little guy. The vet examined him and said he is mature enough for his operation.

The vet also looked at the dead foal. She says her best guess is that the foal had been attacked by a stallion or gelding. It had been grabbed on the neck and shook, breaking its neck and causing paralysis, and finally death. It is so very sad.

Finally they were back at the rescue and trailer was being backed up to the loading chute to be unloaded.

The trailer door opened and a little face looked out with wonder. A few hours before, the poor little guy was standing in a hot trailer with a dead foal at his feet. Now he was at the rescue, fresh food and water were awaiting him.

All the babies came piling out one after another into their waiting pen.

Then it was the adults turn.

Soon all the horses were settled, but it was heartbraking to see the mare that had lost her foal looking longingly at the trailer gate. You could see it in her eyes "Where's my baby? What has happened?" It's so hard to see a horse grieving, wondering what had happened. You wish you could tell them that it's ok, not to worry, but the only way you can do that is through time and love, proving to them that their troubles are over.

Please help us help them, click here. You can be a part in saving lives.

6-29-09

Many of you may not be aware, but the Internet has been pretty much not working at the rescue since last Wednesday. Accessing email, updating the website, etc has been virtually impossible. The blog has been made possible by driving out to where the cell phone Internet can reach out to another tower. We found out today that the cell tower we use has been out of commission since Wednesday. This morning the Internet was still not working properly at the rescue so Jason was unable to get any email done. There were still plenty of chores to get done though, and everyone stayed more than busy today.



James, a barefoot trimmer that has come out several times with Sally to trim, came out today to get some hooves into shape. It was very hot again today, but the portable swamp cooler sure made the job more comfortable.



James even worked with Belle, she sure is a gorgeous little pony. She is still shy of people, but as you can see she can be handled.

Trimming was slow and on her terms, but finally her fronts were done and it was decided to leave her backs for another day. James didn't want to put too much stress on her in one day.

The all too familiar sight from last year began rising over the ridge this afternoon. We are not sure where the fire was, or what kind it was, but it was an eerie sight. We sure hope that we do not have a repeat of last years events (multiple fires threatening and burning thousands of homes, hundreds of horses being evacuated, etc.) The fire was put out by the afternoon and there was no more sign of it.

Jason and Tawnee passed by the vet today so they stopped to get a picture of Phoenix. He is looking good these days, obviously a long long ways to go, but he is still on the mend.

One of the projects today was to get the supplies needed for automatic waters in the pens. With the hot summer months upon us, it will be nice to have a constant supply of water in the pens. Hopefully the horses will choose not to play with the shiny new "toys." The first stop was at Tractor Supply where the automatic water's are sold.

Next stop was at Home Depot where the plumbing parts are sold to hook all of the automatic water's up to the big tank that Ted and Katy donated last year. It is full of water and ready to fill troughs.

Thanks for all the suggestions about Snazzy! One suggestion that caught our eye was possibly part Polo pony? She doesn't appear to be gaited. More suggestions would be great! She is adoption pending, but it would be neat to find out her breed.

Many thanks to ITF Supply for sponsoring two holes at the Skating party. It's a bit late for the actual event, but they wanted to show their support for the horses. Click here to visit their website.

We would like to thank Jenette S. - Bandit Blue - Taryn M. - Anonymous for donating today. We really appreciate your financial support!

6-28-09

This morning was quite a warm morning. The little mini's and Mr T were ready for their food and were waiting patiently by the fence for their breakfast.

As the morning progressed, it definitely was getting warmer and warmer. Deb was out and Tawnee and her started evaluating horses. Malibu the mare Tawnee bought out of the kill pen at the last auction was the first to be evaluated. She is very easy to saddle up and everything, she just doesn't have a clue on what to do. She isn't scared and doesn't seem to have any buck, but she doesn't know what to do. She has no go, brakes or steering. She should be a very easy horse to train. If you've always wanted to train your own horse, you should visit Malibu!

Ok everyone, we need your help identifying a breed. Tawnee and Deb went round and round today trying to identify what breed this little mare is. If you have any ideas, please post them in the comments section with links to similar looking horses. She is really cute just has a different look about her.

Here is a side view of Snazzy so you can get an idea of what her whole body looks like.

Snazzy is trained to ride, is very sensitive and smart. She is just adorable. She is about 14 hands.

A horse came in today who's owner said she is crippled, he tried breeding her but she wouldn't take, so now she is here. We will be evaluating her to determine her quality of life and giving her lots of love.

Kramer was surrendered the other day, and today he got his evaluation. First he decided he wanted to play for awhile to show Tawnee and Deb his stuff and how talented he is.

He went leaping, bucking and flying through the air. It was really neat to see him enjoying life so much.

Once he had calmed down he stood there so majestic looking, truly a beautiful boy.

By this time Deb and Tawnee were wilting in the sun. It was about 100 in the shade by noon.

Kramer, who is in adoption pending, agreed with us about the heat. It was decided to call it quits with the evaluations for the day, it was just getting too hot.

The thermometer kept rising and soon it was bordering on 110 f. Officially the hottest day at the rescue this year.

There really wasn't any way to beat the heat but Jason brought out his portable swamp cooler and put it next to the swing. It was a relief to have at least one spot to get out of the sun and get some cool air blown over you. The visitors who braved the heat also enjoyed sitting in the cool breeze. Once everybody was done Tawnee collapsed for a minutes respite.

By evening, after the sun was gone, it finally started getting cooler.

Many thanks to Judy H. for donating! Your donation is greatly appreciated.

6-26-09

Please enjoy these udpates of horses that have been adopted from NorCal Equine Rescue and are leading wonderful lives.

Jasper's, aka Bubba, adoptive family writes: "Jasper really likes my two old mares and they like him too. He's beautiful and handsome now. Although I haven't ridden him, I "dressed" him up for this photo."

"My Luna started "school" she is settling in and learning a lot! We found a great trainer less than 5 miles away from our house so we can still see her daily. She is making great strides she stood for the farrier to have a trim finally. Poor girl has had such trust issues, but finally she's coming around and realizes that people really aren't that bad. She had her first bath today (she wasn't real excited until she realized how refreshing a cool bath can feel after working out.) She is only being ridden by the trainer right now, but Sandy, our trainer, is great...she explains what and why she is doing every step of the way."

"Adrian is now named Zoey. Zoey is learning fast & loves both Kaycee & Makayla. Watching Zoey's progress has been truly amazing. Zoey is healthy, happy, social, & trusting. Both Kacyee & Zoey are bonded very tightly."

"Cinnamon had her filly!!!! Brahma was born right in my lap at 10;30pm April 13. She is a BIG strong girl who is more of a puppy than a horse. She DEMANDS attention. She will whinny at you repeatedly until you acknowledge her. Cinnamon is also doing great! She is still big and fat and still looks pregnant. She is an amazing girl. I can touch and brush her all over. She now halters , leads, and ties with no problem. Wears her flymask and hates her blanket. Hard to believe that she was ever 'wild', although she may very well prove me wrong when it comes time to ride her."

"Here is Luna (the dun Paso Fino filly that I got from you) enjoying life at our ranch in Squaw Valley. She has been through training. I would love to get her registered but the former owner would not cooperate. He is sort of on the black list at the national paso fino association for a lot of reasons!"

"Layla is my favorite gal. She has turned a brilliant dark blood bay. I can jump on her whenever and go on a trail ride with no problems. She has recently stopped trying to kill my farrier and is getting less finicky about her ears every day."

"Here are a few pictures of our extended family. The horses have come a long way and have been great. Bud is full of life and doing great. Dakota and Lady are also thriving. Thank you so much for these great equines!!! I also included a picture of Shem, aka Sonny who was also at the 4H Horse Show."

Lady

Dakato

Bud aka Dakota Boy

Shem aka Sonny

We would like to thank the above adopters for giving their adopted horses such wonderful homes, and for taking the time to send us updates. We love updates, and we hope you do too!