9-24-09

We have a great update about Freckles. She is doing great and her baby, after this photo was taken, is being weaned. Freckles was rescued from a livestock auction. When we rescued Freckles we weren't sure whether or not she was pregnant. Behind Freckles you can see a couple dogs, one of them is Hugs, the abandoned dog that Tawnee rescued on the road. Hugs was pregnant with 10 puppies! A wonderful family adopted Hugs and shortly after adoption she had her pups. Then they adopted Freckles. Shortly after, she had her baby. They fall in love with one, but then she gives birth and they have more to love. They kept one of the puppies and all the others have found wonderful homes. Thanks for giving all these animals such a wonderful life with your family!

We have been in contact for quite awhile with Horses Honor, a 501(c)(3) horse rescue here in northern Ca that has been operating since 2003. During those years they have rescued hundreds of horses, and adopted out about 300. In the past we have brought in horses that were adoptable to find them new homes. Then we brought in some horses to the euthanasia clinic. Recently Horses Honor has needed some serious help. Horses Honor had about 30 horses, and with donations practically nonexistent, they knew they could no longer care for all the horses properly, especially with winter coming and hay prices expected to go up. They reached out to us for help and we agreed to do what we could.

Horses Honor believed that if they got their numbers down to about 20, they would be OK. They brought 3 horses to the clinic, and today NER staff headed out to pick up 9 more.


On the way, Tawnee past a large field with many mares and foals. Tawnee's heart ached at the thought of what would happen to those horses. Why are people still breeding in mass when foals go for $75 - $100 at auction. That's after having your mare bred, keeping her for 11 months, then another 6 months before weaning. That is a 17 month investment to get $75-$100 for your foal. If you want a baby, there are plenty of them out there that really need help.

After a long drive our staff arrived at the first Horses Honor foster home. 7 horses were waiting at this home for us to pick up.

One by one the horses came over the hill to the waiting trailer.

Each horse loaded easily and without complaint. The staff had to be very careful as they were being loaded on the road, but there was simply no other option. Fortunately it was a very quiet road and there was no trouble.

The 2nd rig headed to the 2nd foster home / pasture to get 2 more horses. It was a long, narrow road. Tawnee stayed behind with the big truck and trailer because there was simply no room to take the big rig down the road.

After some turning, backing, pulling foward, turning again, etc, they got turned around. Soon the trailer was ready for the horses.

But, where were they? It was 400 acres, so it took a little while.

Soon the Horses Honor staff found the horses, caught them, and they were loaded up. This senior girl is pushing 30. Her companion, not shown in this photo, at one point in her life her tail was broken and she is unable to swat at flys. It just hangs there limply.

All 9 horses were safely loaded and began the long trip back to the rescue. Thankfully it was very uneventful: no flat tires!

The rigs pulled into the rescue and backed up to unload. You could see the horses looking out, wondering who all the other horses are.

One by one they were unloaded and into waiting stalls.

This is the companion to the white senior above. You can somewhat see in this photo, her rump is deformed from the injury. It appears that the end of her spine, approximately 5-6 inches from her tail, was completely broken off. In her day she was a polo pony. Who knows how she got this injury, but it's quite old.

All the horses were unloaded, led into their stalls where fresh food and water were given them. Horses Honor still could use help. Any donations to help with feed, and dental care, would be greatly appreciated. Click here to visit their website. We could definitely use some help on the increase of horses here at the rescue. Generally when we rescue from the auction we have raised funds for the rescue and care of the horses. Please help us help these horses, we could really use your help for feed and vet care. Click here to donate. If you mark your donation as "Horses Honor Horses" we will know what it is to be used for!

Some of you may remember when awhile ago we talked about the movie "Blinders" which led to a few more entries about the horse drawn carriage industry. On the 19th of this month, there was yet another carriage accident. From everything that we can gather, the horse bolted and is OK. People need to realize that horses and cars do not mix. It's amazing the horse survived, so many times in carriage accidents the horse is severely injured or killed during the wreck.

To see the aftermath video, click here or press "Play" below.

Thank you so much for your support both financial and emotional! It really means a lot to all the rescued horses here at the rescue and to the staff.