This morning dawned the same as most other summer mornings at the rescue: hot, dusty with a few flies buzzing around. The horses all enjoyed their breakfast as Jason gave it to them, and soon the morning chores were done. They had to be done a bit earlier than normal as NorCal staff had to be in Grass Valley at 10:00 am.
We traveled to the estate of Clint Ritchie, a long time soap opera star and endurance rider. Mr. Ritchie passed on earlier this year, unfortunately without a will. His estate includes a 60 acre horse ranch with 30 horses that are now in need of homes. Some of the horses on the ranch were rescued and some were bred on the ranch. Nevada County contacted us to assist with the adoption process of the ranch’s Mustangs, Standardbreds, Arabians, etc. These animals are currently untrained to ride, but quite a few have good potential given the right owner. There are some very sweet horses in this herd. This situation reminds us that it is very important to set up a will or trust directing the care of your animals, and it's also important to remember charities like NorCal Equine Rescue in your will. Click here to visit our planned giving page.
Lisa is the hands on caretaker for the horses, and she showed our staff each horse, what its name is, and what she knows about them. Jaime did a great job writing down the information for each horse while Tawnee and Jason took pictures.
The horses are mostly all really sweet and have good dispositions. Most of them are friendly and willing to please.
They hiked from pasture to pasture, visiting each horse, taking its picture and getting acquainted.
One of the horses decided it wanted a ride out of there, but as we didn't have a trailer with us, it almost hopped right in the truck. Or maybe it was just going for the bag of grain in the back it was looking at.
All the horses had their pictures taken and we are preparing to put them on our website for adoption. Adopters must be approved by NorCal Equine Rescue, and the nominal adoption fee goes to the estate to care for the other horses while they are being adopted out.
After the horses were cataloged, Jaime, Tawnee and Jason had a very productive informal meeting to discuss just about everything horse rescue related. Then Jason and Tawnee were off to Sacramento.
A huge part of the summers fund raising activities will be taking Dottie and Macho Man fundraising all over California selling the awesome buttons. Since a truck and trailer have a hard time maneuvering through tourist areas, Jason and Tawnee have found enough personal credit to purchase a used Chevrolet Express van so Dottie and Macho Man can ride inside with them, enjoying the comforts of air conditioning. It would be wonderful if NorCal had the financial resources to purchase a van, but unfortunately it does not at this time. The Board of Directors strongly feel that NorCal should stay out of debt however possible. Many rescues have gone under by taking on too much debt, donations drop for a few months, and it becomes an nonviable organization. Instead of the rescue taking on the loan, Jason and Tawnee are. Off to the car lots they went in the 106f weather!
Jason had his head under the hood looking at the engines of several different vans. He says it's hard to see anything under there...
This one was nice, but the check engine light is on and the dealership has it in a garage getting fixed. So far no van has met their criteria, so the search will go on.
A huge thank you to Elizabeth KW. - Caroline C. - Taryn M - Alexandra J. - Donna A. who all donated today! We cannot possibly thank you enough, and the horses wish they could too!
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