9-30-09

Today was a massive cleaning, and getting ready for winter, day at the rescue. Bright and early at 7:30 Byron showed up with his tractor to get to work.

His first job was to get the manure pile where the stall cleanings are dumped hauled to it's permanent resting place. It took 4 big dump truck loads to get it all moved!

Jason immediately got to work taking apart pens so they could be scraped and smoothed out.

Drainage ditches were cleaned...

...pens were graded out...

...land was smoothed...

...all in preparation for the winter rains that are coming. It is so nice having all the pens freshly graded, cleaned and smooth for the horses.

Meanwhile, Linda was busy making the old blind Appy feel very loved. She groomed and loved on her for a long time. With all the tractor work going on riding the horses really wasn't an option today, but the blind Appy sure did love her makeover.

Napoleon can't believe the improvement in his pen! He looked and looked and everywhere he looked, he just couldn't find a bit of manure or a bump to trip over anywhere.

Byron got to work scraping and smoothing the arena pen.

Once that was done, he cleaned out the drainage ditches by the driveway so the water won't be running over the road this winter.

All of the dirt and decomposed manure sure made a big pile when it was all finished.

The horses loved the freshly smoothed pens! They ran, galloped and bucked their way around for awhile.

They were just too happy, but now, they have all settled down and are eating contentedly once again. Orchid definitly gave her approval of Byron's work, and gave a leap of joy.

We would like to thank our donors today, Kelly B. and Carol G. without your generous support, these wonderful horses would not be given the opportunity to find forever, loving homes.

9-29-09

This morning our hearts burst with joy at the overwhelming support for the two seniors that were unexpectedly dropped off yesterday at the rescue. We just had to rush the soaked mash out to give them the great news, that people care and they are definitely loved. After they enjoyed their mash they were given hay to nibble on. It is very wonderful they are both at the rescue, and the chestnut (in the background) was not hauled off yesterday. It's so wonderful that they were not separated.


After some phone calls, emails and a staff meeting, Chief was loaded up to go to his new home.

Chief's mommy is so excited to finally have him home for good. He looked around, and soaked in his new surroundings, while his mom had the biggest grin on her face.

Soon he settled right in to his pen and began the never ending quest for something to nibble on.

From there, it was on the road for a couple hours to pick up a horse that needed to come into the rescue. It is getting harder and harder, it seems daily, to decide which worst case story we can help and which worse case story we cannot help. Each day the pace of horses that have to be moved out of their home due to foreclosures and job losses seems to be rising. We cannot imagine this winter, we are going to take it one day at a time.

On the way, the sun slipped behind a beautiful mass of clouds. Tawnee grabbed the camera and took a picture. Jason, who was driving, said "You should see it through sunglasses."

So Tawnee grabbed a pair of sunglasses, sure enough. It does look better with the sunglasses over the camera!

The GPS told them they were getting close, but the GPS navigation was wrong and soon they were lost. After pulling over, making some phone calls, doodling on the GPS, the correct directions were soon punched in and they were backtracking a few miles. Now the sun was in the rear view mirrors, still as beautiful, but now slipping behind the mountains.

Soon the sun was gone and they were still not at the stable.

Thankfully it was still light enough when they picked up Nike. She is a very beautiful girl, and she was very well cared for, but her owner unfortunately is no longer able to keep her.

It was a long drive back to the rescue, all done after dark.

Eventually they were safely back, unloading Nike into Chief's waiting stall. It's always a good day when a horse finds an adoptive home just in time to bring a horse in that needs a new home.

Nike settled right in and started eating. Nike is an 11 year old TB cross / Warmblood. She is trained to 1st level dressage in training level events. She has been sitting in pasture for several months not being ridden, but with a little exercise she should tone right up and be ready for some great riding.

Again, thank you thank you THANK YOU!!! to each and everyone that donated since last blog. Your generous outpouring of love not only makes it possible to help the seniors, and others, but gives us hope and courage that in the never ending fight against horse slaughter, abuse, abandonment and neglect, there is your loving support. Wendy S., Stephanie F., Gail G., Lari K., James G., Sally F., Andrew C., Deborah G., Carla G., Christine C., Lynn E., Cynthia B., Jacquelyn W., Andrea M., Marlene B., Judy C. all donated, thank you again.

9-28-09

We have a great update on Kramer. He is becoming a police horse! His adopter has been keeping us informed, and has sent us the newspaper link that talks about Kramer's latest achievement. Click here or click the picture below. Kramer's adopter is a police officer, and she's so happy that she will be able to ride her horse for work. What an awesome story, from rescue to Mounted Patrol.


We got a call from Tink's adopter. She told us that she loves Tink, renamed Cloud, very much, but just doesn't have the time to spend with her she feels she needs. Her other horse was feeling left out from all the attention she was giving Cloud, and she realized she really only has enough time for 1 horse. So, Tink came back today.

She is a beautiful girl. She is green broke to ride, and is now looking for a second chance at a forever home.

We got an unexpected call from our vet today informing us that someone was at their office wanting to drop off a horse for us. This transporter has done this before. Our vet is not the drop off place for horses coming to the rescue, so our vet told him to bring the horse to us. We had no idea a horse was coming in... When he arrived, he unloaded a very old, extremely emaciated, Appy mare that is completely blind.

We carefully walked her over to the round pen. It's always so sad putting a blind horse into a new situation, everything is so foreign to them. The round pen is a nice safe spot, until a stall could be made available as we were not expecting to get in a blind horse.

She laid down and rolled in the nice sand. Tawnee was hoping she could get back up, she is very weak. After her roll she managed to get back on her feet and began exploring.

The transporter said that he had paperwork in the truck, so Jason followed him to the truck to get the paper. He handed the paper to Jason, hopped in his truck, started the engine and said "The paper says there's two, but I'll take the other back to my ranch." Jason looked at Tawnee, handed the paper to her, she said "It says two, two are staying!" Jason ran after the truck, yelling at him to stop, and explained to the transporter what was going to happen.

He grudgingly unloaded the horse. It turned out to be a skinny, though not nearly as skinny as the Appy, very old chestnut mare.

We found it a bit odd that he wanted to keep the heavier horse. Non the less, she was now in our round pen being a buddy for the Appy.

She really gulped down the water, she was definitely thirsty from her trailer ride.

The Appy enjoyed drinking the water for a very long time too, she closed her eyes and just sipped away.

Once their thirst was quenched, they each had a nice soaked bucket of mash.

They really enjoyed sitting there with water in their tummy's, and now food in front of them.

It was a warm day, but certainly not as hot as yesterday. Blossom, the mare with the old broken tail, enjoyed her bath in her stall.

When evening was coming on, as usual the wild turkey gang came by for a drink of water. It's nice, even with our limited water, to be able to help the local wildlife out.

Tawnee needed to evaluate some horses. She wisely chose to wait until the cool of the evening. Shasta enjoyed watching the sun set.

She was a very good girl for riding, and they rode until the evening shadows were too long and the sun was too far gone to ride anymore.

Many thanks to Sara H for her generous donation today. We could definitly use some donations to help the Appy and Chestnut out, if you can help even a little, click here.

9-27-09

Today started as a normal day. Feeding, watering, making sure all the horses are ok, but is was definitely hot. This guy recently came into the rescue and definitely enjoyed having his bath. He was such a good boy, you could tell he was really enjoying the loving attention and he just wanted to stay there all day.

Finally he was all done and enjoying a nice bucket of grain. He has a tattoo so Tawnee looked up the number. He's a match with The Day We Met. Kind of a strange name, so we will be calling him Little Richard. If anyone knows something about this horse, please send the information our way.

While Richard was drying off, a trailer pulled in with another horse coming into the rescue. This is Shasta, she's an 11 year old Appendix QH. She is a beautiful girl. We are told she is trained to ride but we have not yet evaluated her riding abilities.

Linda worked with the horses through the heat. It was one of those days where sitting in the shade seemed like such a good idea.

In fact, everyone, visitors and staff alike, just gravitated towards shade. Travis' potential family came out once again to spend some time with him. They are excitedly waiting for their application to be finished so they can take him home!

Dancer left the rescue today with her new mom. They were really excited to take her home, and we were really sad to see her leave. She's been with us quite awhile. Thanks so much for giving her such a wonderful home.

Many of you may remember when we talked about the volunteer sunflower and the volunteer watermelon. The sunflower got stomped on by a horse, but the watermelon has been doing just fine. When everything quieted down and all the visitors had left, it was time to have a volunteer appreciation meal with one of the watermelons.

The watermelon was just about at the peak of ripeness. It's what everyone needed after the hot long day. Sweet, cold and juicy.

Napoleon enjoyed having his piece of watermelon too. Nothing like home grown organic sun ripened refrigerated watermelon to make a happy horse.

We would like to thank the wonderful person for sending all the fly masks in the box. Thank you so much for your generosity and thoughtfulness.

Many thanks to Esther J., Constance W., Scott C. for their generous donations over the weekend.

9-25-09

Brazy's Rescue Story.

Brazy was only a few days old when she was orphaned at a feedlot in Nevada. She had been transported with about 40 other horses to the feedlot, and when they opened the doors to let them all out she was trampled almost to death by the adult horses rushing out. She had a strong will to live and managed to survive the thundering hooves.

On August 28th, 2007 thanks to generous support we had the funds to rescue her along with some others from the feedlot. She came to us hurt, abused and in great need of tender loving care. This is her at the feedlot.

Her face had been trampled, and she was just not feeling so great.

You can see the fresh scrape marks where the unconcerned feedlot workers allowed her to be almost killed by the mad rush to escape the truck of death, unbeknown that they were being unloaded from one truck of death to be loaded on a non-stop truck to the slaughter house if no one rescued them.

Brazy was fostered by Ron and Claire of Critter Pass Ranch. They gave her around the clock care, mare match, special suppliments and all the love and encouragement to live that they could.

Her infant eyes were so sad, she had almost been killed, but, maybe things where starting to look up?

When she was strong enough Ron started teaching her how to halter and lead. They were quickly falling in love. In the picutre below she has just had her first bath ever.

Each day brought new life to her eyes, new spring to her step.

As the summer wore on she started feeling much better and began to behave as a baby horse should behave. She would trot with glee, she would lay in the warm sun. Curiously she would sniff new objects, excited at the new things she discovered on a daily basis.

She was soon introduced to a new kind of four legged friend: a Llama! Brazy says "It has funny ears and a really skinny neck, but it didn't try to eat me and it didn't even spit on me."

Ron and Claire simply could not bare the thought of Brazy ever having to find another home, so they adopted her. She will live with them forever.

Brazy is so happy to have a forever family. Claire loves her, Ron loves her, and she is so happy to have survived her terrible start to life and she has a lot of love to give back in return.

Among the many new things she discovered was that people ride big horses, and roosters ride little horses! Brazy says "I don't mind as long as he doesn't crow too loud up there or drop some bad smelling gooey stuff on my back!"

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.

9-23-09

Today we got a great update on Silver.

"I am the one that adopted Silver who is now call Pie after The Pie in 'national velvet'. I would like to let you know he is doing great and is such an amazing character of a horse to have. I am also sending you some pictures of him. There not the greatest pictures I still have to send you some picture of him done up for a show. "

It is always so great getting updates on horses that have found their loving homes. If you have adopted a horse from us, please send us pictures and a short writeup, and we may select yours to be featured on the blog!

You may have noticed a new button on the equines detail page on Petfinder. It says "Sponsor Me" and that is what it does. You can donate money to NorCal Equine Rescue to care for the rescued horses. What a great way to show your love of the horses! Most people will probably find Paypal easier, but it is an option that Petfinder implemented.

Tawnee spent the entire day at the vet. It's always so hard saying "Goodbye" to the poor old horses. There are some special ones that she will always remember in her heart.

There was the old grey gelding with melanoma's throughout his body. He had so much melanoma in his mouth that he was unable to close his lips. The old beautiful black therapy horse who must have been amazing in his day. After his show days, he gave his life making children happy and bringing smiles to their faces. The old stallion who could barely walk. He is a very lucky boy that someone took pity on him, they purchased him from his previous owners and brought him to the clinic to end his suffering. The old 30+ year old paint mare who had no teethe left. It was a hard "Goodbye" for her and her owner. Her owner had done an absolutely amazing job with her despite her not having any teethe. She was just a little ribby, and was starting to lose weight on her top line, so her owner knew it was time to say goodbye. She did such a good job keeping her weight up however. The thin Palamino gelding, when his owners purchased him, they were told he was 10. Someone else looked at his teethe and said "No, he's about 17." In reality, he is actually about 30. The tall Thoroughbred with a broken shoulder. It had healed incorrectly and he was still in a lot of pain. All these horses, and many more, were given a peaceful, humane and compassionate ending to their long and magnificent lives. Yes it is very hard, it is one of the hardest things we do in the rescue, but giving a horse the last gift of love and dignity is so important.

While Tawnee was at the vet, Linda was out riding and evaluating horses. She is doing a great job of getting all the horses evaluated.

Many thank to Marty L. and Carol D. for donating today! Your generous support is greatly appreciated.

9-22-09

Today was the euthanasia clinic, and as Tawnee would be at the vet all day waiting for people to show up, she took out horses that needed examinations. First was Chief. He was a really good boy and loaded right up.


Next it was Dancer's turn to load into the trailer.

Arrangements had been made to meet Kassandra's new mommy at the vet so she could be taken home. Kassandra is so happy to finally be heading off to her forever home.

During the course of the day people started bringing in horses. This poor old guy was so tired, old and bedraggled. You can easily tell he is suffering a lot due to arthritis. His owners had done the best they could for him, but he was just too old, and with winter coming on, it was time to say "Goodbye." The euthanasia clinic is a huge blessing for financially strapped horse owners and horses like these. When faced with a $500 vet bill to have a horse euthanized, it is very tempting to leave a horse suffering in the back pasture or take it to auction. We would like to thank you, our donors, once against for allowing these sweet horses to pass on gently, with compassion and dignity.

This poor stallion is 26 years old and has been used for breeding mares all summer long. What are people thinking when they think "Let's just get one more baby out of him!"? What will happen to that one more baby?

It was very busy at the euthanasia clinic, it was definitely the busiest clinic we have had in a long time. It kept Tawnee, April and Larry hopping all day long. Finally as late afernoon came, thing started calming down. Dr Weaver started doing horse evaluations and pre-adoption exams.

Chief was given his pre-adoption exam. He was a really good boy during his exam and the vet was really impressed with him. He is definitly a big beautiful boy.

Alex, who came in on Sunday, was at the vet to get his examination. We thought he may have some lameness so we had the vet check him out. Dr Weaver recognized his brand and told us he is a Westfalen Warmblood. He seemed to think the examination was just a lot of fun.

After his short workout he was given a nice cool bath.

He did have his front legs xrayed. Everything seems to be fine. He is ready for a loving, forever home! He's a huge beautiful boy.

Dancer checked out A-Ok on her preadoption exam too. She is a very beautiful girl.

We got a side shot of her and you would be hard put to recognize her from when she came into the rescue last October.

She was horribly emaciated, along with many of her other horse companions who were rescued as well. She is one of the Lucky 7 group. It is always wonderful seeing the horses fatten up and become beautiful once again.

Speaking of fattening up, any guesses who this plump guy is?

That's right, Phoenix! It's hard to think that just a few months ago he was this horrifyingly emaciated and at the point of death. We are so thankful that the vet has been able to pull him through. His sponsor wants him to stay one more month at the vet office before coming back to the rescue. Just look again, Phoenix just a few months ago, seen below, and today, seen above.

Many thanks to all of our wonderful donors! Tina S., Gail G., Lari K., Iris L., Elizabeth N., Nancy B., Handi-Riders., Laura F. and Cathleen D. all donated just today! Your generous support of horse rescue is truly amazing. The euthanasia fund is basically finished, thank you so much again!

9-21-09

Wow, thank you all so much! The fundraising isn't quite finished, but thanks to the generosity of a lot of people today, there is only $395 left to raise for the euthanasia clinic. Please donate what you can, we know the goal is attainable, at this point every dollar helps a lot! This blog is read by enough people that if everyone donated just a dollar, we would be way above the goal and have funds left over for next month.


We realized we made a mistake in yesterdays blog. In our excitement (and exhaustion maybe?) of all the panels, we forgot that the mini's have a large pen (1/4 acre or so) fenced with field fencing. At night they are stalled in a lion proof stall, so when the blog was written there were no equine behind flexible fencing, but during the day Macho Man and Dottie still peer out through the field fencing. Dottie rubs her mane off on regular panels. She believes the grass is always green and yummy on the other side of the panel. For her wellbeing she cannot be in regular panels. Macho Man sometimes stands looking out of the fencing dreaming of the ice cream cones and the wonderful fair life he experienced for awhile. We'll have to get another event going for him soon.

A horse came in for the clinic. The owners were unavailable for the day of the clinic so they brought their sweet girl in early.

The mare is suffering from a lot of pain in her legs, joints and possibly hooves. We will have the vet check her out, hopefully there is something that can be done, but her owner has a gut feeling that it is not possible to make her comfortable.

Tawnee showed horses to potential adopters today as well. We know fall is right around the corner, but the thermometer was right about 100 today. Alex, the beautiful boy who came in yesterday, was able to get out into the larger pen and explore. He sure enjoyed roaming around. He is 17 years old and was used for jumping most of his life. He's jumped 4' jumps before, and is definitly a gorgeous Warmblood who is now looking for an easier life. Maybe with you?

Jason did a lot of office work today. The new buttons are here and are ready to be shipped out very soon! Jason also worked on the Little Horse, Big Smiles web page. We changed the thermometer as the thermometer that was there was very hard to keep updated.

Once everything that had to be done was done, Jason and Tawnee headed to check on some horses that are quickly slipping into an abusive situation.

We have been following these horses for some time now. They get food irregularly and tonight their pens were in worse condition than ever, and the hay was completely gone. We are really hoping that their owner will get food out there by morning. We had a volunteer check on them this morning and they had absolutely no food then either. After a few days of documented no food, Animal Control should seize them. Thankfully the horses are in large pens where they can search for food, but it is pretty much dry lot pasture. We wish we could bring them to the rescue right now, but unfortunately we do not have the legal power to seize horses. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

We cannot thank the following people and business' that donated enough! Barbara B. - Elizabeth C. - Pamela N. - Rosie's Remedies - Omar S. - Sandra L. - Margaret S. - Susan W. - Ann U. - Patricia M. - Elizabeth K. - Richard L. - Peggy L. - Your generosity is overwhelming. Click here to donate, the euthanasia clinic only needs $395!

9-20-09

The euthanasia clinic is in 2 days and it really needs your support! It is currently at $360 out of a goal of $2,500. Please donate what you can! Click here. This program is very important, it keeps a lot of older horses out of the auctions. At the last auction, there were not very many older horses compared to the usual. With a no doubt hard winter coming up, we have a lot of people signed up for the clinic, but we do not have the funds to cover it. The horses that are brought to the clinic deserve a loving and gentle end, with your help we can do that.


Linda came out to evaluate and ride horses. She also helped show horses to potential adopters. In the short time she has been here she has become an amazing asset to the team.

As usual, folks started showing up to view the horses that are available for adoption. These folks have been to the rescue numerous times while the fair was going on looking for the perfect match.

After a discussion about what they were looking for exactly, Tawnee and Linda both said "Tuck is the one!"

The potential adopter rode him all around and soon was madly in love. We were all so happy because he was a horse that came to the euthanasia clinic. He was too young and full of life, so we took on another vet bill to fix his problems, hoping we would be able to find him a home. His home was found today and he was adopted! Transportation arrangements are in the works. As he likes to do, when Linda took off the bit and bridle, he holds the bit in his teethe like "No! Let's keep riding!" After about a minute he'll finally let it go. Goofy boy.

Thank you so much Christina for adopting this special boy.

In the round pen Dancer was hanging out with her hopefully soon new mom. They spent a lot of time together, and you could actually see Dancer's eyes soften as she learned that this girl is a nice human and won't hurt her. As soon as her adoption application is done Dancer should be going home!

Trigger has been doing so well. He has gotten so big since he first came off the trailer wild and untouchable. Now he's leading all over, he even got to go for a long walk today with his new daddy.

They are long time friends and supporters of NorCal and as they are approved to adopt, today was the day to bring three special horses to their home: Belle, Sundance and Trigger.

Belle and Sundance were already in the trailer when it was Trigger's turn. In his second attempt he hopped right into the trailer.

It was cute watching them peer out the windows. We said "Goodbye" to them, we are so glad that they have such a good home. Sundance definitely found a place in Tawnee's heart, she tries not to get to attached to the horses, but it's impossible.

It was a hot day, but Jason was constantly on the move.

There is quite likely a huge rescue coming up and the arena pen needs to be ready for an influx of horses. This is quite an exciting day. It has taken about 6 years to get here, but today officially the last electric fence was taken down and all the horses are all fenced in with panels. No field fencing. No electric rope. Definitely no barbed wire. No flexible fencing of any kind, every horse is safely behind panels as of today! This may very well be the only celebration we have to celebrate 1,000 horses rescued, although we really did enjoy the idea of a carrot cake party with the horses.

It was definitely a wonderful sight watching the sun set behind the hills over the paneled fencing. It's a nice feeling knowing that horses will not be getting out short of figuring out how to open the gate. Electric rope is definitely a great fencing material, in the 1,000+ horses we have rescued, typically averaging 20-50 at the rescue at a time, we have never had an injury from the electric rope, and if it's maintained horses almost never get out. We no doubt will use it again in the future, but for now it's great having everyone in panels.

Many thanks to the following supporters for purchasing buttons since the last update: Dianne K., Janice W., Suzanne M., Laurie D.

We would like to thank Tamara Y., and Barbara B for donating. It makes it possible for the rescue to operate!

9-18-09

Today's rescue story took place in 2005 near Taylorsville, CA. We had been alerted to some horses living in terrible conditions. NER staff headed out with the camera to go check out what had been reported. Sure enough, the pictures speak for themselves. NER was told that the horses would get out on the main road all the time, and when they arrived it was evident why.
The horses were living in an old cattle holding area, which was falling down around them. It was unbelievable that the horses would actually stay in the pen most of the time, they could literally just walk out.

There were nails everywhere, pointing out ready to grab flesh as the horses squeezed past. There were boards laying in the pens with nails pointing up ready to puncture a hoof, the horses living condition was just terrible.

There was a pregnant mare that was living there. She was a beautiful white arab.

It was sad to think that if nothing was done, her baby would be born and grow up in these terrible conditions.

NER staff took the photo's and evidence directly to the District Attorney, and soon they were on the way to seize the horses. By this time it was pouring rain, making the rescue all that much more miserable. After slogging through the 6" of mud for hours, NER staff managed to get the horses into a smaller area and then into the trailer.

It was a warm storm, and the rain was melting snow in the high country. The rescue used to be down a little dirt road, across a river. You would have to drive through the river to get to the rescue. That day with the heavy rains it was flooding.

After checking the water depth they drove the horses safely across the river.

Soon the horses were settled in enjoying a nice meal.

It was nice to see the horses in safe fencing.

Both the horses were adopted into very loving homes. The pregnant mare surprised her adopter with a cute little baby mule.

The adopter came to us a year later or so and asked if we could find the mule a home. The adopter did not have the time needed to properly train the mule and felt she was not the perfect home for this precious girl.

We found her a great home and two years has passed. We got an update on her the other day, and she is doing great. She is living in a nice, safe clean pen.

9-17-09

Something special, something long awaited for happened this Sunday when this little filly stepped out of the trailer. Something Tawnee never believed would happen when she rescued that first horse from the auction in 2003. This filly named Lilly is our 1,000th equine saved!!! We knew we were getting closed, but today we realized that it came and went just like so many other auction rescues, but it did hold #1,000. 1,000 horses saved deserves a celebration! We need your ideas for a NorCal Equine Rescue staff, friend and supporters celebration, please contact us with any ideas you may have for celebrating 1,000 saved. We could have never rescued 1,000 on our own, so everyone that has ever donated even $1 has helped us reach the monumental landmark. You are the horses heroes. A huge thank you to each of you, let's start planning the celebration while working towards the next 1,000 horses rescued.

In addition to everything else today that is not seen on the blog, but was done (over 40 phone calls, almost 40 emails, website work, cleaning stalls, etc) Jason dressed up Macho Man and did a photo shoot with him.

A horse trailer pulled into the rescue from one of our advertisers: Haul Your Horse. Some adopters were coming out today and they needed to rent a trailer. We told them to visit Haul Your Horse, they did, and they pulled in with a beautiful well furnished horse trailer. It only cost $40 for the rental. If you need to rent a horse trailer, click here to visit their website and they will take care of you.

The trailer was for Checkers. She was going home with her new family. They are so excited, they just couldn't wait until Sunday to get her. When they found out they were approved yesterday, they quickly made arrangements to take her home today.

Checkers loaded right up into the trailer.

Off they went on a new adventure.

Remember the photo shoot with Macho Man? Jason edited up a new design for the buttons and sent it off to the producer. They dropped everything to rush our new design to the top of the list. They emailed down a picture of the new buttons. We think they are a great improvement! After selling a lot of the buttons, we think we know what people want on the button: Macho Man with his shoes! His face is cute, but they want the whole package. These adorable buttons are only $2, please click here to purchase some!

Many thanks to Jennifer G., Rebecca O., Lori R., Janet W., Anna P., for your generous donations today! We greatly appreciate your support.

9-16-09

Our first update this blog is on the euthanasia clinic. It is currently at $260, out of a goal of $2,500. Please help out how you can!


This morning Linda was out to help evaluate the horses. She did a good job and we are very thankful that she is able to help us out.

A new horse also came in today with the name of Indie. He is a Saddlebred / Arabian we are told. He is said to be trained to ride. We will be evaluating him soon, he sure is a beautiful boy.

We had an emergency that required a vet visit. One of the little yearlings somehow managed to cut her face right above her nose.

Poor girl, she just went through the auction, got to the rescue and now she is off to the vet. She was a good girl and loaded right up into the trailer without too much fuss.

Soon she was in la-la land under heavy sedation at the vet office. She couldn't care less about anything.

It took a little while getting her ready for stitches. The wound had to be cleaned and prepped for stitching.

Back at the rescue April and Linda were still evaluating horses. This old guy, Mr Bones, certainly enjoyed getting some love. He was rescued at the last auction.

In addition to evaluating a lot of other horses, Linda rode Travis for exercise. He sure is a beautiful boy and is available for adoption. Linda is a wonderful help. She plans on being out here twice a week to help work with and exercise the horses. We are so excited to have her as part of the rescue team.

Still at the vet, the poor girl was all stitched up and was getting ready to head back to the rescue.

All in all she had around 10 larger stitches and 25 small stitches. But she's all patched up and she should heal up just fine. In about 3 weeks the stitches should be coming out and she'll be as good as new. We examined her pen carefully and we cannot figure out how she managed to do this to herself. We're glad she was able to be given the vet care she needed.

Tuck was able to come to the rescue today. He has been at the vet since last euthanasia clinic, and now his open wound above his hoof is completely closed up and he should be fine. He will be on antibiotics for awhile, but the worst of it is over.

Tawnee, Tuck and the poor filly arrived safely at the rescue and began unloading.

The little filly was more than glad to be back at the rescue. She was very happy to get back to be with her sister once again.

Last Friday we had a dozen feed bins donated to the rescue and delivered. What a wonderful addition!

Today they were all spread out through the pens, ready for hay to be thrown into them.

Many thanks to Jean S. and Jeanette C. for their generous donations since last blog. You can see your name here, just click!

9-15-09

This months euthanasia clinic fundraiser is being officially kicked off today. This month has been very crazy, one event after another coming up in rapid succession. The auction rescue was extremely successful for it's last minute fundraising efforts thanks to your extremely generous support, let's all pull together to get this fundraiser completed too! We currently have $21o raised towards the goal of $2,500. Click here to donate to the euthanasia clinic. The euthanasia clinic is on September 22nd.


Today Jason and Tawnee visited some property which would be an amazing permanent location for NorCal Equine Rescue. It has all the qualifications we are looking for: lots of level ground, on a paved road, lots of water, cell phone / high speed internet access. Anyone who has visited the rescue knows, being on a paved road would be a tremendous benefit. And there are no steep hills up or down to the property!

It has large pasture areas with the potential to irrigate the entire property. Can you imagine this shot with green grass and rescued horses grazing on it?

It has a year round creek along with irrigation water on the property.

A huge pole barn ready for 20 stalls + hay storage stands ready. We are in negotiations with the owner to try and settle on a price, keep your fingers crossed! It would definitly be amazing!

There were a lot of chores that needed to be done at the rescue this afternoon. April and Larry visited for a bit to help Jason and Tawnee out.

It always makes us happy to see Home at Last's truck and trailer pulling in the the driveway. Today they were here to pick up Naughty 9.

They of course wanted to visit all the horses. It's a tradition that they cannot leave with only one horse.

After visiting the horses, Tiger Lily, who came in on Friday, was also selected to go live at Home at Last forever. Tiger Lily's owner was no longer able to care for her and his only other option was to shoot her. Tiger Lily's old owner is a cattle rancher and has a lot of experience butchering cows by shooting them. An aquaintance asked him to shoot their 30+ year old horse. He agreed and went out there to put the horse down. He shot the horse twice in the head, but the horse refused to go down or die. It just stood there in agony. He had to drive back to his house, get a bigger gun, and shoot the horse again for it to finally be released from his misery and be at rest. Stories like this, which are all too common, are why we believe the only humane way to put a horse to rest is humane euthanasia. If you have an old horse that needs to be put to sleep, please call your vet, there are far too many horror stories about horses being shot. Tiger Lily's old owner was certainly grateful that we were willing to take her so he didn't have to try and shoot her. He said shooting the horse was the worst thing he ever tried to do and he never wants to try again.

Tiger Lily and Naughty 9 were put in the round pen for a few minutes so they could get used to each other before the trailer ride. They had seen each other over the fence, but they had never been in a pen together.

Jim and Donna's granddaughter volunteered to be in the adoption photo with Tiger Lily and Naughty 9. She is so excited that 2 more horses are being retired at her grandparents sanctuary.

They were led to the waiting trailer to start their new adventure.

Inside the trailer they were happy to visit each other, no doubt wondering where they were off to.

We are always so thankful when Home at Last can give sanctuary to rescued horses that would not be otherwise adoptable. Both Naughty 9 and Tiger Lily had medical problems.

Mini also went home today with April and Larry. April is so excited to be taking her home. Thanks for adopting Mini!

The artist did a new sketch of Macho Man to see how we liked it. It's getting really close to looking just like Macho Man wearing his tennis shoes! The artist is also a writer and we are discussing the possibility of writing a children's book of Macho Man's story and his amazing mission in life.

We would like to thank the following financial hero's who donated today for the various programs we have and to help rescue and care for the rescued horses: Annika O. - Margie K. - Michelle G. - Elizabeth C. - Elizabeth K. - Gail G.

9-14-09

Last night was the first real rain storm of the fall season. It is so nice to have the dust under control, at least for awhile.

This morning Tawnee headed out to the vet for a quick visit of the horses there. She is pleased to report that Phoenix is doing great, and as usual he has a very bright and cheerful spirit.


Tuck is doing well too. He is doing as well as can be expected, with injuries like his it's hard to pinpoint exactly what his final outcome will be. If you don't know who Tuck is, he came to us at the last euthanasia clinic with an injury right above his hoof.

After Tawnee got back to the rescue Jason and Tawnee headed out to pick up two horses in the Sacramento area.

The first stop was at Tractor Supply, our donation can was full and the contents needed to be picked up. Thank you so much Tractor Supply for having the can for us!

There was about $50 in the can, we haven't counted the small change yet.

The first horse that was scheduled to be picked up is Mariah. She is a Arab cross mare who is trained to ride. She seems to be a super sweet girl and has a lot of life.

She loaded right up into the trailer and soon they were off.

We got a call from the 2nd pickup that she found a home for the horse and she did not need to come to the rescue. This was very welcome as the rescue is getting quite full of horses.

They headed off to their final destination of the day. Gary, the vice-Mayor, soon to be Mayor, of Loomis, is extremely interested in helping horses in need. He invited Jason and Tawnee down today for the inaugural meeting to see what support and ideas the community had. We let Mariah out of the trailer at the vice-Mayor's house so she could stretch her legs during the meeting.

Jason and Tawnee then rode with Gary over to the meeting place. The meeting was soon in full swing with lots of thoughts and ideas bounced about. Gary really wants to put Loomis on the map as a town that cares about the horses and other animals in the city! It was really great to visit a town that is so interested in helping animals.

After the meeting Mariah loaded back up into the trailer and they began the long trip back to the rescue.

Thank you so much Donna A for donating to the rescue today! Your regular, generous support is greatly appreciated.

9-13-09

Sit back, grab some popcorn (some coffee perhaps to keep you awake?) because today's blog is quite long, and even includes some threats of physical violence. Sit back and enjoy the blog!

Today was an auction rescue day. Thanks to all of your generosity, the goal of $1,500 was met! Thank you all so very much for saving horses today.

This morning Jason and Larry used the water truck to water the driveway. Hopefully it cut down on the dust as it was a busy Sunday. After the driveway was watered they hooked up the stock trailer and headed out to the auction.

April was making her famous senior mash, and Mr T gave her the evil eye like "You had better give me some or else..." Instead April grabbed it and ran to give it to the horses that need it. Mr T certainly does not need fattening treats.

We had a great volunteer come out to help out where she could. Thank you so much for cleaning the tack room and for making the oldest senior on the place feel loved with his special equine salon treatment.

The weatherman keeps telling us it might rain, so Tawnee went around cleaning and moving stuff. She got the outside organized a lot today.

Linda came to the rescue to help out with the horses. She did a great job, thanks so much for coming out today, you did great for your first day.

It was a busy day with owner surrenders. These folks had owned this horse for 5 years and were no longer able to keep her.

While the papers were being signed over for Tracy, the horse above, Tehya was hanging out in her pen enjoying a nap until she saw Tawnee with a camera. She must not have wanted to be on the blog today. She jumped up as soon as the picture was taken.

As one trailer was leaving, another trailer was pulling in with yet another owner surrender. It's an older mare in her 20's with founder. Her owners were sadly unable to keep her any longer.

The good news is we had some adoptions today! Snazzy and Cedar finally went home. We've been so behind on adoption's, but they waited patiently and today they were able to take their new family members home.

They got in the trailer without a fuss ready for their new adventure. They both looked like they gained a few extra pounds here at the rescue. They're a little rounder and chubbier than when they first stepped off the trailer.

April has been enjoying riding Mini a little too much, in fact, she decided she wasn't going to share Mini with anyone and adopted her today.

We are very appreciative that all the funds for the auction was raised. So many horses need help! This news link shares a dirty little secret. Some people try to make folks believe this doesn't happen, the fact is, it happens every 5 minutes. Thanks to your donations, today you were able to be a part of saving horses from such a fate that could have awaited them. Watching this video, in one of the shots you see a poor old Appy who is very thin. His last days were filled with pain and sorrow. Some folks try to make you believe that the killers only want the fat horses, the truth is, they will take any horse that can make them a few bucks. This poor poor horse, his owners should have been responsible and done the right thing, but instead his last moments were filled with terror and agony. Click here to watch the video.

Finally Jason and Larry arrived at the auction and began looking into the horses faces, the faces with unknown futures ahead of them.

Before long the auction was in full swing.

After the sale, a total of 8 horses were rescued. Many thanks to an anonymous person who donated $50 at the auction, it really helped! Enjoy these photos and short descriptions of the rescued horses.

Yearling Filly.

Yearling filly, sister of above.

Bay 9 year old off the track TB. He is said to be aggressive. Apparently it's the truth, he kicked Larry unprovoked during the loading process.

4 year old.

8 year old Appy mare cross.

Paint stallion with over 50 foals on the ground. Won't be a stallion much longer.

This poor guy is camera shy, but he's an older TB in his 20's.

4 year old quarter pony.

While loading the horses into a trailer, like we have done many many times over the years, harassment commenced. We have a loading / transportation method that works great, one that ensures that the horses get to the rescue safely. It's the same method we used when we were flown to Nebraska to load over 100 wild Mustangs in 1 day under the watchful supervision of the Humane Society of the United States, the attending veterinarian and the local and state police department.

First a lady came up ranting and raving that we were being very inhumane to the horses, were treating them like cattle and that they were suffering terribly. Our trailer has 3 large compartments, in the 1st compartment was the stallion, tied up to the front so he wouldn't be bothering the horses behind. The middle compartment had 3 horses and the back compartment had 4 small horses, which had plenty of room to move about freely. Left free as it's the healthiest way for horses to travel, according to the latest research. Especially when you don't know how or if they tie! Apparently this wasn't good enough for the lady, who raised her voice in protest and took lots of pictures and video.

Next this group of self proclaimed "cowboys", with beer in hand, started harassing and causing a real ruckus. They were yelling and screaming at the horses while Jason and Larry were trying to load them, causing unnecessary stress to the horses. Click here to listen to some of the secret microphone recording of their harassment hosted on Youtube. We chose not to share their video to protect their identities, perhaps they were too drunk today? They did openly proclaim that they slaughter horses and chop their heads off. They also threatened Jason repeatadly and said they are definitly going to jail someday after beating him up. Auctions and threats of physical violence, it just seems to go together for poor Jason. Certainly not the first time.

It's amazing the crowd that livestock auctions attract. Tawnee has seen some horrific loading scenes at the auction. Multiple stallions crammed into open trailers with mares, even before they were in the trailers they were rearing and fighting. But the horses were crammed and shoved with no mercy. According to Mr Cowboy above, he can fit 18 horses into a trailer the size of ours, which only typically holds 9-10 depending on their size. It's amazing how upset horse traders can get with rescues.

Finally the horses were all loaded safely and they arrived back at the rescue without a scratch. The auction is behind us for another month.

The horses peered out of the trailer before the doors were open, wondering where they were.

They all began unloading out of the trailer, their first thoughts were of finding some food and water.

They were all tired and bedraggled from their long day at the auction.

Once the loose horses were turned out into pens, the tied horses were led out one by one.

They are definitely enjoying having a nice yummy supper!

All in all it was a very long day, but the new horses are all settled in for their first night at the rescue.

Thank you so much everyone for pulling together to make this auction rescue possible! A huge thank you to: Kathy M. - Carla G - Norma C. - Suzanne F. - Shari W. - Cheryl R. - Judith S. - Jeanette C. - Sue K. - Anonymous - Jennifer G. - Jennifer H. Your support is greatly appreciated and we know the horses are thankful.

9-11-09

We would like to take a minute to remember those that died so horrifically during one of the saddest days in recent history in America. 9-11-01 touched everyone's lives, in large and small ways. We would like to thank the heroes who were willing to sacrifice their lives to save others. We experience the joys, sorrows, elation and depression of rescuing horses, we can only imagine the increased emotions of rescuing people.

The International Blessed Broodmare Project has a wonderful fundraiser for NorCal Equine Rescue. They are auctioning an incredibly adorable 1/9th scale black "Feedlot Filly" statue hand painted sculpture. 100% of the auction goes directly to saving horses from auctions/feedlots. Please click here to visit the auction. The IBBP has been an ongoing supporter of our rescue efforts for years, we would like to thank them for their continued support!

Speaking of the auction, it is this Sunday! Our goal this month is to raise $1,500 for the rescue and care of the horses at the auction. We have so far raised $90, but we know that together we can pull this rescue off. We apologize for starting the fundraising so soon to the end, but with the State Fair and the Little Horse, Big Smiles fundraisers we did not have an opportunity to get it kicked off sooner. Click here to donate to saving horses at the auction.

For our new blog readers, we typically share an rescue story on Friday, or if there are other important things that happen we share that. Saturdays are our one day off so there is no blog on Saturdays, the next blog posting will be Sunday evening although we will update the fundraising thermometer on Saturday night.

Thank you so much for your support! We would like to thank Erin A for donating today.

9-10-09

We got a great update on Coco and Montana today. They look like they are sure doing great with their mommy! "I just wanted to give you guys an update on Montana and Coco. They both had their first away from home outing last Friday. It was a Pat Parelli meet up and play day. They were both awesome and did so well.

"Both are so smart and kind. Thanks for saving them and letting them be part of our family." Thank you Diane for giving them such a loving home.

Tawnee did something today she has not done in awhile: she took a horse out on a trail ride! She almost never has time for a trail ride, but today she managed to head out with April. Tawnee rode Lyla (she is available for adoption) and April rode Mini, who is in adoption pending.

When they got back from the trail ride, the horses got a bath and then it was time for a good roll in the round pen.

Mini was enjoying her rolling immensely, and she decided it was time to roll all the way over. She is pretty flat on her back, and when she went all the way up, she was stuck on her back for a second. It was pretty funny, Tawnee had never seen a horse get stuck on its back before.

Both the horses seemed to really enjoy themselves. Tawnee and April enjoyed the ride too.

We received an anonymous tip about some horses that are supposedly abandoned on some foreclosed property. Jason and Tawnee headed out to see what they could find. They are apparently getting food from somewhere, as they are all pretty much up to weight. We will certainly be keeping an eye on them.

After the horses were seen, it was off to the Post Office to mail the very first orders of buttons. When Tawnee walked in it was 4:00 pm, and the post master said "You're very lucky, I'm closing at 4:00, but I'll let you in."

So, Dottie and Macho Man's buttons are on their way! You can certainly order your own buttons, click here and look at the bottom of the page. Shipping and handling is only $5 whether you buy 10 buttons or 1000!

Thank you everyone for your support, especially those that donated: Betsy B, William E, and Anonymous all donated today! Thank you so much.

9-9-09 - Little Horse, Big Smiles

Exciting Announcement!

We have all been working very hard and are extremely pleased to announce that the Little Horse, Big Smiles website has now been launched. You may now sponsor buttons to be given to kids, purchase buttons that are shipped to you, and donate to help spread smiles.

Click here to visit the website.

What's this all about? Macho Man is so good at making people smile, that he wants to visit kids that don't have a lot of smiles in their lives, bringing smiles to their faces and educating them about horses. So many kids think that horses are big and scary, Macho Man is proof that they are not scary at all! In particular, Macho Man is hoping to visit Children's Hospitals, schools, day camps, and other groups of children. As a lasting memento of meeting Macho Man, the children will be given either a horse balloon or a pinback button with Macho Man on it. This is where we need your help! Visit the website to learn more. Click here.

Today was spent wrapping up this website, responding to both incoming phone calls and phone messages, replying to emails, and a host of other office activity that was not done while the fair was going on. We are very excited to have the Little Horse, Big Smiles fundraiser / campaign officially underway. All of you folks that have called and emailed saying you want to order buttons, they are now available. Click here.

9-8-09

By now you have no doubt heard about the government's roundup of Cloud's herd. The Cloud Foundation has a blog up where you can see what is going on every day. From everything we can gather this is a terrible tragedy that should be stopped. Click here to visit the Cloud Foundation blog.

The water tank was needing some more water put in it, so Jason got the old water truck fired up and got another 1,000 gallons of water put in the tank. It is such a wonderful blessing having a water truck. The horses love it too!

Belle now understands what Macho Man meant when he said "seeing double." They really do look the same, but it is April showing horses to a potential adopter. She really loved Belle and put her into adoption pending.

Mo's ride came today to pick him up.

He was a good boy and got into the trailer without any trouble.

Unfortunately they only had 2 wheel drive, so they got to be drug up the hill. That hill really needs some help... It's a fresh reminder of one of the many reasons NorCal would benefit from having a new facility on a paved road.

It was nice to have a "normal" day at the rescue. A lot of great things got done today.

Macho Man is having his picture penciled by a local artist. This is the first draft picture. Isn't he just adorable?

Thank you so much Gail G for your generous donation! It really means a lot. Now that the fair is over we will have time to post the names of the days donors, so you can see your name here tomorrow, just click here.

9-7-09

We got a great update on Sienna today. When we rescued Sienna from the auction they said she may have been exposed to a stallion. Being as young as Sienna was we all hoped she did not take. Her adopters called us awhile ago and told us she was definitely pregnant. Today we received this email: "Here is a picture of Sienna and her Filly that was born on the evening of 9/4/09. She is adorable and Sienna is a very good mom. I was shocked to find out she was pregnant but she is doing great as a mom even at her young age. I came to the rescue for one horse and ended up with 3 fillies. I'm very happy with all three of my girls. Thank you NorCal Staff!!"

Sunday's events were a normal Sunday. Our manure pile keeps growing and growing. We have a free "You call, you haul" ad in the newspaper, hopefully very soon it starts shrinking.

Horses were shown to potential adopters, they were hoping to find the perfect match.

Mo did find the perfect match and was adopted by some very loving folks. Transportation arrangements have been made and Mo should be going to his new home very soon.

Sunday was a long day at the rescue, but it was a good day. It was definitely busy at the rescue. The horses always enjoy when the round pen is empty and they can roll in the sand.

Today was the last day of the fair! Macho Man loaded up in the van, he didn't quite understand it was the last day but he was a good boy and loaded right up.

Upon arriving at the fair he hopped out ready to go to work.

The labor day holiday definitely brought out crowds. Tawnee and Jason took turns talking to people, they are both glad that it was the last day they won't have to sit on the hard little chair breathing the ever present dust.

Macho Man couldn't believe his eyes, he very well may have thought he was having double vision. But no, instead they were cute little twins dressed in identical dresses!

Macho Man got a good laugh out of his confusion once it all cleared up for him.

A goat from the neighbouring petting zoo came over to say "Hi." Macho Man was quick to make his introduction before getting back to dreaming about Dottie.

There was a lot of dust floating through the air today, it was quite gagging at times.

If any of you have ever wondered what "orbs" are in pictures, it's simply dust particles reflecting the flash from a camera.

After Ranch Land closed the booth was torn down. It was quite empty looking, but once again, we are all glad that the fair is over!

At the end of the day Tawnee took a minute to watch the most amazing horse show she has ever seen in her life. These three horses were willing laying on the ground until their trainer told them to get up, at which point they all jumped up and galloped back to where he was standing. Just amazing. They did a lot of other amazing things and seemed to really love their trainer.

185 buttons were sold today, making the total right about 2088 buttons sold at the fair! This almost doubled the number of buttons sold. What a long fair it has been, but the numbers add up that it was definitely financially successful.

9-6-09

This morning Larry and April came over to begin preparing the rescue for a big Sunday. There were visitors planned for the day, and since Jason and Tawnee were planning on being at the fair all day, they were going to be showing the horses to potential adopters once again.

Macho Man and Dottie got their baths, loaded up into the van and soon everyone was at the fair. Tawnee's arm is still in a brace, but she was able to lead Macho Man to the booth.

Soon the day was in full swing. It was definitely a jam packed day, there were literally thousands and thousands of people visiting the fair today. Almost everyone seemed to be in a big hurry to see everything they could at the fair. It made it tough for selling buttons, but they certainly did sell!

A balloon artist dropped by the booth and made a free balloon pet to help attract visitors. Quite the cute little pink poodle!

Macho Man was a very good, patient boy all day long. This fair has been a huge learning curve for Dottie. Usually she hangs out in a pen doing her own thing, but she really does need to learn about behaving herself in public settings.

When evening came and Ranchland, where our booth is, closed, Jason and Tawnee headed out to explore for a bit. Tawnee had seen an old tyme fashion photography booth and she just had to drag Jason in there. The picture turned out so well that she insisted that it must be shared with you.

As tomorrow is the last day of the fair, Jason and Tawnee packed up everything that is not needed for tomorrow. They want to be able to tear down the booth in 1 trip tomorrow evening.

As they were tearing down the booth, some beautiful fireworks erupted over the night sky.

All in all 228 buttons were sold today. Tawnee did a masterful job selling balloons, the kids just really seemed to want them today.

The pictures from the rescue today unfortunately were not available when the blog was written. They'll be here for tomorrows blog. so make sure you read the blog tomorrow.

9-4-09

Macho Man had yet another bath in preparation for the day at the fair. This time Larry and April took him to the fair. He really despises baths, he says he works so hard to get a nice dust covering to protect himself against flies, and then people just up and wash it all off...


Mr T, the goat that donates blood to save other goats lives, is still perturbed that he hasn't made it to the fair yet. This morning he was all ruffled up about it.

It was a short, empty day at the fair, only 67 buttons were sold.

Macho Man got to meet a seeing eye dog in training at the fair today. Many people inquire if Macho is a service animal or not, he is not currently trained for that, but he certainly could be. Miniature horses are becoming more popular as guide animals. They certainly won't get excited if a cat runs by or bark and wake up your neighbours!

We have updated pictures from the Gridley pasture were the pregnant mommy's were waiting to have their baby's. Every mare that was pregnant now has a baby hiding behind...

...or beside her.

August is still the only Paint baby though. They are all very very cute and adorable!

We had a horse come back into the rescue today. Despite super excellent care, great ground handling, and being ridden regularly by very experienced horse people, he has become extremely aggressive towards people and after being kicked and kicked at repeatedly, they were not willing to risk their lives to keep him in their home. We definitely agree with their decision.

Have a great weekend! Thank you so much for your support, both financial and emotional.

9-3-09

We have all heard of the beautiful palomino stallion living wild and free in the mountains of Montana named Cloud. His life as he knows it is changing fast, and not for the better. The government is rounding up most of the herd, click here or click the video below to learn more.

Please do what you can to help! "Secretary Salazar and the BLM aren't listening to the public, nor are the Montana Senators. Cloud's herd represents all wild horses in the West and if we can't save this most famous herd, what chances do we have with the rest? Please continue to call and fax your congressionals, President Obama (202-456-9000), and all media outlets you can."

Jason and Macho Man once again went down to the fair. Macho Man got all dressed up and ready to sell buttons.

A loving fan of Macho gave him an ice cream cone, which he really enjoyed. He only gets a few human treats, but he sure loved that one!

It was a long day, but in the end Macho Man got 87 buttons sold. He is really enjoying going to the fair, on his days off he stands there wondering why we are not loading him into the van for the trip.

There is an update on Tawnee's arm. The Doctor reports that he did not see anything wrong with Tawnee's xray, but she doesn't believe him. Her wrist is discolored and still has a nasty pain. The good thing about her being laid up, is she has started writing the Euthanasia Clinic manual one handed. If her arm hadn't of gotten hurt, she no doubt would be out there running around doing all kinds of things, so this way she is forced to get the manual done.

9-2-09

Remember Larry and April heading off last night? They had planned to meet a transporter to pick up a horse that was being surrendered close to Oroville. Unfortunately the driver never took Hwy 70 towards Oroville but just stayed on I5. He finally called them from Corning, outside of Chico, and informed them he wasn't moving until they got there. By 11:30 pm they finally met the transporter.

It was a pretty fancy rig, there were about 15 horses on board.

Finally Mini, the mare that was surrendered, was unloaded and then safely loaded into the rescue rig. It was 1:30 am this morning when they all got back to the rescue.

This morning Jason and Macho Man loaded up into the van for another fundraising day at the fair.

Macho Man finally noticed that the rabbits were actually alive and hopping in their bunny hut. He's been beside the bunny hut for days now, it borders our booth, but they were finally active enough that he noticed signs of life in there. Typically they just sleep.

Some stylish shoes came to the fair today. Macho Man really loves meeting people that have similar tastes in footwear.

Macho got to see the police horses again. One of them was wearing Old Mac boots, very similar in function to Macho Man's shoes, just not nearly as stylish.

Mini, the horse that came in last night, has settled right in. She enjoyed her visit to the round pen. She had a long trip up from LA, and was settled into a stall last night, but she really enjoyed stretching her legs this afternoon. She is really glad to be out of the trailer and on solid ground once again!

It was a really beautiful sunset at the rescue this evening.

Thank you all so much for your emotional support! In all, despite being a really slow day, and thanks to an anonymous person donating 20 buttons worth of money, 87 buttons were sold today. Thanks to Donna for donating to the Gelding program today!

9-1-09

Today is the first day of September, only a couple months from when our gelding clinic is scheduled to start. We are hoping to raise $5,000 by November 1st for our low cost gelding program. As you know, this program is extremely important for the welfare of horses for years to come. During our last gelding program 20 stallions were gelded, many of which may very well still be stallions, which could be bred, causing unwanted horses for years. Please help us cut the problem of horse overpopulation at the source! Click here to donate.

With the low button sales yesterday, and Tawnee's hurt arm, we decided to give Macho Man a day off from Fair work. Jason had a lot of office work that had to be done and Tawnee needed to take it easy.

We got a call from Wal-Mart that they had another load of feed for us. We cannot thank them enough for giving us so much free feed over the years.

We got a call this morning. Animal Control had given some people our phone number, they called us because they were very concerned about a 30 year old gelding that was not being cared for and he was languishing away. The person knew the owner and was certain she could get the owner to sign the horse over to us to give it the help it needs. Arrangements were made, and despite her aching arm, Tawnee headed out to pick up the horse. So much for taking it easy.

When Tawnee arrived the horse was waiting for her.

He is definitely a poor horse, no doubt he has a lot of teethe issues along with a host of other medical problems.

The friend of the horse knew that humane euthanasia is the best option that can be provided for this horse. She didn't want him to lay down and not be able to get up one day and slowly die a painful death. He loaded right into the trail and they were off back to the rescue.

Soon they were back at the rescue where he unloaded without incident and is enjoying his nice companion in a large paddock. He is happy to have a buddy.

Remember our volunteer sunflower plant? Now it's actually a flower! It looks like Mr T munched a couple petals, but it sure is beautiful.

Larry and April came over to get the rescue rig for a late night rescue pickup. You can read the details in tomorrows blog.

Thank you all for your support, it is greatly appreciated. We can't tell you how much it means to all the horses at the rescue.