ALL ABOUT EQUINE ANIMAL RESCUE, INC.
The ASPCA Help a Horse Day weekend is finally here! Its time to celebrate the greatest creature known to man, horses! So grab your boots and hat and come on down to All About Equine to our huge celebration this Sunday, April 24th, from 11 to 3. You will not only have oodles of fun but you will learn a lot too! You can find out the many ways you can help horses. Gosh, there might even be at least 150 ways! Some you know and others that might never have occurred to you; like, say, bring Sierra a carrot every time you come to the rescue! Just kidding...wait, nope, totally serious! That would definitely be a way to help a horse, this horse! Every day should be help a horse day don't you think? After all, horses are known for all the ways they help humans. Besides the unmentionables like carrying riders, pulling carts, plowing fields, and the other horrors you expect from us - oops, I meant to say awesome ways we create partnerships with you - there are many other ways we help our humans. We make sure your wallets are empty so they aren't so heavy for you to carry around. We make sure that you keep that close personal connection with your friend, the vet. We keep you on task with your exercise plan by letting you chase us when we feel you might need to burn a few calories. We keep you mentally sharp by keeping you guessing on whether your training techniques are really going to work. Best of all, if you are really lucky, we help you with your quest to fly. Um, sorry about that tree branch that got in the way of your perfect landing. I thought it would help you stay in the saddle not help you get off of me so graciously. Really, I did. Yes, any day is a good day to celebrate helping horses! Which is why I didn't complain (too loudly) at last year's Help A Horse Day celebration when they had that special birthday party for Rusty, Sapphire, Dylan, Finn, Faith, and McGraw to celebrate horses young and old (very old, tee hee!). There are times in life when the lead mare needs to let the spotlight be taken off of herself and let others in her herd shine. Not often, but occasionally. Still, I will admit that I am really glad that the 150th anniversary of the ASPCA falls on MY birthday this year so that I can be the recipient of those delightful things you all call cupcakes!! Hint! Hint! Now that I have reminded you of all the ways that we horses help you out, it's time to educate you on a few more ways you can help a horse. First and most important, we have bellies and we like to keep them full so remember to feed us at least twice a day. Three or four times if you are so inclined! We never turn down a good flake of hay unless our bellies are hurting! Next, we like our pedicures as much as every two legger, but unlike you, our feet serve a vital purpose in keeping us healthy. Keep our hooves polished, trimmed and healthy. Even with the nicest farrier man or woman pedicures can be stressful, so remember to feed us again after one. We really appreciate it! We want to be your partner for life, and we live a long time. Please be sure to think about that before you take us home. We get kind of attached to you and get sad if you go away. If for some reason you can't continue taking care of us, make sure you find us someone just as kind as you are to take care of us and don't forget to tell them we like to eat 3-10 times a day (but we'll settle for two)! Speaking of partnerships, true partners walk beside each other and not on one another's backs but hey, as long as you are patient (and feed me extra hay) I will learn to carry you. Just understand that if I get scared I might want you to carry me! I did mention we are partners right? There are many more things I can teach you about taking care of a horse - like remembering to brush my tangles out gently and use the nice smelling spray that helps keep my silky locks shiny - but I need to get back to educating my herd on why it is important for the lead mare to eat first. Please come visit my herd (and our humans) on Sunday, April 24 and you can learn more about caring for and helping horses! Look for me while you are there, I'll be the one telling the others in my herd to go say hi to you! From a distance, a great distance. Unless I smell my cupcakes! Silly minis! Their brains might just be as small as their bodies. Marshmallow thought HAHD stood for Help A Human Day and went around giving out free hugs and kisses to everyone who attended last year's Help a Horse Day. Look where that landed him - a stint in horse camp, which always leads to painted ponies! Hey, at least he was doing his part to lend a hand - from looks of the picture that is! Continue the celebration and education Monday, April 25th. Meet me and my boys down at the El Dorado Saloon & Sauced. There is sure to be hay for me (right?) and good eats and drinks for you! Not to mention raffle prizes and good company!
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So sorry it has been so long since I've been in touch with y'all. The life of a lead mare can be exhausting and at times the responsibilities can keep me hopping. Eat, break up squabble, eat, check on herd, eat, eat, take a nap, eat, monitor herd hierarchy, eat..... You get the picture. Seriously though, since my motto is "Take care of the herd first!", I haven't been able to sneak up to the barn and catch you up on what's been going on in my favorite pasture. Now that Miss Roxie has stepped up and assumed some responsibility out here (or at least I let her think she has!!), I have a little time to myself. I've been missing you and know that you must miss me too, so I thought I'd get back to it. So much has happened since we were last together that this could get a bit long. First off lets begin with all I have been up to (after all it is all about the bass, I mean lead mare, now isn't it?). I mentioned that I finally convinced one of my herd mates to step up and help keep the peace out here. That didn't go so well for either of us at first but we have come to a peaceful solution and she is finally doing her part while I do mine (eating!). This is Roxie practicing her bossiness with her son Dylan, who she did such a good job with that he has gone on to his forever home. Yes, the humans helped, but let's face it, Roxie created that beautiful boy so she gets most of the credit! One of my jobs around here is baby whisperer. I am especially good with the babies who misplace their mothers before they get to us. The first thing that I whisper to them is that they are to wait to eat until I have eaten and that they must earn the right to eat with me in my bucket. Seems like tough love, but discipline first and you have less problems later, right friends? Don't stress though, cuz one of the ways they "earn" the right to eat with me is if I notice that they are being bullied, I invite them to my tub. It makes them feel powerful and tells the other horses to mind their manners around "my babies". Here are the babies that have misplaced their mamas (babies can be so forgetful sometimes) and have ended up in my care this year. Two of these beauties are still available for adoption. If you have room in your life for a sweet yearling trained by yours truly (with a slight bit of help from the human sector), please contact our rescue. Say hello to Faith. She came to us in June of 2014. Grew to be a strong beautiful girl (see below) and was adopted out to a wonderful home. She has even come back to visit and show off all she has learned! Sometimes, all you need is a little faith - and a lot of love and hay - to grow up big and strong and make your misplaced mama (and the humans who helped you) proud. The only thing worse than sharing your tub of food with the baby you are nuturing is getting caught by the humans doing it! This beauty is Paisley. She managed to misplace her mama along with 4 other babies from Oregon. There must be a lot of places for a mama to hide where they used to live! I was convinced this girl was going to be the next lead mare of this pasture as she ruled those babies with an iron hoof. As soon as she met the herd she decided to play it safe and hang out with the humans a lot. She loves to get scratches from any human that enters our domain and she likes wearing a halter and going for walks. Silly girl even likes her hooves cleaned and getting shots! If you are looking for a forever friend this girl might be just what you need! This is Crystal. She took a lot less work from me than the others but took a little more time to warm up to the humans around here. She is currently under halter and available for adoption. We are all rooting for her to find an amazing home. More hay for us certainly, but she is also so sweet she deserves the best life has to offer! These two were bonded from the beginning and went to a great home together! Say hello to Cash and Emmy Lou! This sweet but shy boy understood right from the beginning that Grandma always eats first! He is happily showing off his newfound confidence in his new home. Hello Tucker, we miss you but are glad you are doing so well! So glad that this little one hasn't managed to misplace his mama. I am almost certain that is because our Jetta gave birth to him right here at our rescue and I have given her some good advice on how to keep that little one in sight! Yes, folks I do take credit for most of the goings on around here! I am just glad that Jetta has a good handle on her son Willie because yep, you guessed it: we got another trailer of motherless foals in April. They had a little help misplacing their mamas (as do most foals) but we try not to dwell on that fact around here. The humans work hard at saving their lives and getting/keeping them healthy. I take over when they are ready to learn their horsey manners. Say hello to Garth, Tricia, and Brooks! Arriving safely and figuring out this thing called food. Wait, is that alfalfa I see? I should've been there to oversee their arrival! Halters on and arena play day. It seems the humans are just about done with their work and it may be time for me to take over soon. I will sign off for today so that I can go fill my belly and rest up for this next round of Grandma duty. I promise to be back shortly to update you on all that the humans have been up to around here. Exciting things have happened and a few more are coming up. Stay posted and I promise not to rest my typing hooves for very long. So much to say but first, so much hay to consume!
I overheard a couple of volunteers discussing how they had observed the herd all standing around me. The humans noticed that all of my charges were facing me with their heads and not their back ends. The volunteers were wondering if the herd always stands this way to show me respect. I would say yes, absolutely, they have all been taught to give me their heads and not their tails. I command just that much respect. Who am I kidding, this is my herd we are talking about. They might be trained to give me their heads at all times, but that doesn't mean they don't try my patience by turning their rears to me. It just so happens, that on that particular day, we were having a herd meeting. We were discussing the fact that everyone keeps bringing up this California Chrome horse and how he is returning to the race track. We wanted to know what was so special about him. Is he a rescue horse like us? Did his mom nurse two babies while fending for her own life? Then it dawned on us; no one ever mentions seeing a rescue horse win the Kentucky Derby or any other horse race for that matter. Why is that? After all, my team of spa professionals lovingly refer to me as a racehorse on account of how fast I meander everywhere. Maybe I should enter a race and donate the money to buy feed for my charges. I do so love to help out with fundraising around here! Suddenly, we heard Clayton laughing. He wouldn't laugh at the mother who took him in and fed him as her own, would he? So he couldn't have been laughing at the image of me racing. It must have been something else. Kona asked him what he was snickering about and he just about fell over laughing as he pointed out that most of us run from halters, let alone allow saddles to be put on us. Once he got control of himself, he added that in order to enter a horse race you not only have to actually allow a saddle on your back, you also have to allow a human to climb into the saddle. Clayton the voice of reason? Who knew??? It would have been a proud mother moment if he wouldn't have been laughing so hard at all of us who aren't quite ready to contemplate allowing a human climb onto our backs. Instead, I wanted to send him to time out for his snickering! Most of us would rather go hungry for an hour than to let Clayton get the better of us. So as you can imagine, a squabble broke out. There were cries of, "I AM saddle trained, so there!" from Dayton, Kaya, Reba, Rusty, Sapphire, and Fancy. Banjo piped in with, "I could tell you that I am saddle trained but then I would have to kick you!". Followed by, "How do your know I have never worn a saddle before? Maybe I'm not a show off like you!" from Magic and Smokey. Jazmin, April, Kewpie, Lily, and Kona chimed in with, "We are O.K. with never wearing a halter or a saddle if it means keeping the humans out of our space." It was getting so rowdy that even Finn, Dylan, and McGraw were trying to join in the conversation. I kept hearing "Mama what's a saddle?" over and over and over again (babies are like that, you know). I was just about to call the meeting to order when I hear Zara say "I used to be a racehorse. Trust me, saddles are fine on your back but racing is not all that it is cracked up to be. Many of us end up in rescues when our careers are over." That ended that discussion. Not only did that quiet the group down, but it got me to thinking. Just because all of us here in the AAE herd will never be racehorses, it definitely doesn't mean we can't become really good life partners. Once we learn to trust, we become fiercely loyal to the people we bond with. On occasion, I have been known to protect a volunteer or two from an unruly herd mate. Once we learn to trust that you won't hurt us - as others most surely have done in the past - we might not only learn to like tack on our bodies, but I have been told that we will undoubtedly let you climb on our backs. That first ride might be a little frantic, but with time and trust, we rescues are capable of almost anything! Being a horse who likes to give back to those who have given to me, I am on a mission to become that bomb-proof horse that everyone talks about being so good you can put a baby on its back. I have a long way to go but my end goal is to get there before Rusty retires so I can be the new party horse around here. Lofty goals, yes, but as we say in the pasture, dream big or get lost in the weeds. The next pasture meeting, I laid down the great saddle challenge. I told them that some of our AAE alumni have gone on to do great things and are winning in the show ring. If they can do it, we can too! To prove my point, I took out a photo of Miss Talela and Miss Zuni, the horses who started it all. I showed the herd what a rescue winning ribbons in shows looks like. Stories of Takela are the stuff of legends around here. Her amazing transformation gives hope to every rescue everywhere. I began to hear rumblings of, "I want to be just like her", and "If she can do it, so can I". Clayton was shocked into silence. If you see Clayton or Dayton sneaking down to the tack trailer, it is because they know the rest of us are going to be working hard to catch up to their training. We might not all get fully trained before we leave for our forever homes but then again, that is half the fun of owning a rescue: falling in love and seeing how far we come! If you have a former AAE graduate and would like to show off their progress, please feel free to comment here or send us an update on their success. I will be posting updates on the great saddle challenge from time to time so check back and see how far we have come, residents and alumni alike. Excuse me while I sneak into my halter and find that saddle blanket to practice with. I do so want to outdo my boys!!!!
As you can probably imagine, when you are in charge of managing a herd you hear a lot of whining. "Clayton pinned his ears at me and I didn't do anything but look at his food." "Smokey doesn't want to play with me now that Jazmin joined our herd." "I used to get brought in at night to eat and now I have to stay out here and learn to eat with the herd." "Why does Sparky get to go in at night?" "I see babies over the fence but no one will let me in there to play with them." "Magic got plastic surgery on his ears and mine still stick straight up!" "Banjo only had eyes for me and now that he can see those two young mommies and there babies he won't follow me everywhere I go. I think I will fake being lame so I can get someone's attention around here." "I am trying to maintain my girlish figure but the humans keep filling all the bathtubs and I feel obligated to empty them." Ok, you are right, I have never heard that last complaint. I could go on and on about all the whining I hear on a daily basis. It is so exhausting I wish I had my own water bucket to head off to at the end of each day so I could get away from it all and relax.
On one particularly whiny day my head was about to pop off from listening to it all. I just couldn't take it anymore. No matter how many times I reminded them of the conditions we have all lived under in our previous lives, and how grateful we should be that we are now here and safe, they just kept whining. I decided to walk down to where the humans were mucking just to get away from it all. I figured a good scratch or two would revitalize me. Not to mention humans never whine when they are out here mucking. They just talk about how beautiful we are and how relaxing it is to take care of us. They call this their happy place. With my plan in place, I left the top of the pasture to go find a human. As luck would have it, the humans were talking about whining too. At first I was going to give up and go back to my herd, until I heard them mention that whining relaxes them. Huh? How could this be true? Whining makes my head want to leave my neck. I just had to stay and figure out what they were talking about. Maybe I could learn from them how to relax while listening to the herd whine. Doubtful, but I gave it a try anyway. Turns out that the humans were talking about a different kind of whine than the stuff my herd serves to me. This human whine doesn't have an "h" in it and is made from grapes they stomp on. They turn them into liquid put that liquid into bottles. I would be happy to help with the stomping part of that; I am very good at stomping. Especially if I don't want my dainty feet picked up! The humans said they love to drink their special grape juice at parties and fundraisers; especially when a lot of people come to those events. That part about a lot of people being around didn't sound like a good time to me but, maybe if they gave me their special grape juice I might relax and like it better. They were all very excited because there is going to be a fundraiser where this wine stuff is served up with hors devours. (I got a little scared at the first part of that word until I saw there was no "e" at the end of it. Whew!) I am so excited! A fundraiser means more hay in the barn, and more hay in the barn means more hay in my tummy! Now if only I could find a way to make sure a lot of people come to this fundraiser. That would guaranteed that a lot of money can be raised to help feed me (ok, I will share with the herd) and save more horses like me. I know, if each one of you reads this, buys a ticket, and tells your friends to read this and buy a ticket, my barn will be filled with hay in no time. If I promise to keep settling the disputes in my herd and put up with their whining (without opening the gates and letting them out to fend for their whiny selves), will you buy a ticket and encourage your friends to come too? I hope so! I have worked hard to overcome my past experiences with humans and have learned that most of you have really big hearts and like to support me and my friends, so I believe you will help me get the word out about this fundraiser. Did I mention I might build up my courage and make an appearance? The last fundraiser I went to with you humans was so much fun it won't take much to convince me to go to another one with you! Hope to see you at the 3rd annual Enchanted Tuscan Evening on October 10th at the Eldorado Hills Community Center! I will be the one with a big horsey smile and grape juice on her hooves!! So there I was out in the pasture eating my breakfast and minding my own business (well, I am not ever really minding my own business seeing as how I have to manage the unruliness around here, but you know what I mean) when Sparky sounded the alarm that "the Big Borthers are coming, the Big Sisters are coming!" I thought for sure the heat had gotten to him since I know for a fact he was an only child when he got here. Sparky can be a little temperamental at times, but he is not known for sounding an alarm without reason; so I stopped eating to go check things out. Sure enough, we were being invaded. It wasn't as scary as it sounds since there are plenty of fences up between the barn and the pasture to give us horses our privacy, but still. There were 15 little humans, each one with their own big human, from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Organization of El Dorado County, all ready to spy on us and learn about how we spend our days at the rescue. I did a little reconnaissance to check things out and since it seemed like they were all obeying the safety precautions I have installed - you stay on your side of the fence and I will stay on mine (unless of course you have a nice red bucket full of yummies, in which case we can renegotiate!), I went back to breakfast and let Rusty and Sapphire handle it. Never one to leave a horse behind, I kept one on eye things from the pasture while I went about my day.
The volunteers here put on a program called Pony Pals for all the Littles that included a tour of the rescue to meet all of our horses, a demonstration on how to tack Rusty (after today I bet he won't be bragging in the pasture about how much extra attention he gets just because he likes to let people ride him, now will he?) and the different tack used in horseback riding, a demonstration on how to groom a horse (with care and a gentle hand please), a meet and greet with those other farmland creatures (you know, the ones with the cartoon faces and lots of wool as well as the ones who climb and eat everything in sight), a hands on demonstration on how to be safe around horses (avoid our backend please, we really don't like to have to kick you to get you to move) and how to lead a horse - straight to the hay please! The children all got to put sparkly things and pretend horses on frames to put their memory photos in (um, what happened to those photographic memories you humans claim to have???) and when the day was done our volunteers fed them lunch. I didn't know my volunteer friends fed humans as well as me; at least they fed me first! From my view at the top of the pasture it looked like the little humans and the big humans were all having a grand time. Rusty and Sapphire were very patient in their demonstrations and Patches was enjoying her moment in the sun as the visitors all exclaimed she was the cutest little thing they had ever seen. Did I mention I was hiding out amongst the trees? Hence why Patches won that title! Ivy the lamb was on her best behavior and fell in love with a boy who had wheels for legs. I have never seen that lamb act so sweet and calm. All she wanted to do was love on that boy and climb in his lap. True to form though, she did try to unzip his backpack; but I think she was just trying to see if she could fit in there so she could go home with him. What started out as a frightful call for potential danger ended up being a delightful morning for us horses to watch humans interact with and learn about us. Some of them for the first time ever! I overheard the humans talking and it seems that my rescue donated the program to the Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Everyone had such a good time that we would like to do it once a year. That gives me a whole year to work up my courage so I can start participating in these events rather than watch from afar. On second thought, someone needs to stay out here and keep the peace so maybe I will just let Rusty and Sapphire continue to do their thing. I wouldn't want them to feel like they don't still have a lot of usefulness left in them at their advanced ages!!!! Either way, I feel proud to be the Grand Dame of a rescue that gives back to our community to thank them for their support. Now I am off to find out if Sparky has found a way to make it up to me for scaring me like that. Hmm, wonder if he has found a way to open the gate to the hay barn yet? Life in the herd has been one change after another lately. As soon as I think I have things under control and can get back to updating all of you on my life at AAE, something changes and I have new faces to integrate into my motley crew. I am pleased to announce that Mama G and Love are finally healthy enough to join the herd. It is nice to have a few more seasoned women out here with me to keep control of the boys round here. I was a little skeptical about whether Mama G was going to challenge my role in the herd after watching her spirited demonstrations in the paddock, but it seems she is all talk and no action. I would like to say thank goodness I didn't have to worry about fending off her challenge, but frankly there are days when I would gladly give up the reigns to take a well deserved vacation! Mama G healthy and happy and minding her p's and q's in the pasture. Miss Love, who really does live up to her name - just ask any of us, taking care of lawn maintenance for Mr. Dave. We make sure the grass out here never gets a chance to grow so high it needs to be mowed. You are welcome! We said a bittersweet farewell to our friends Chichi and Sugar Jo who went off to their forever home together. ChiChi and Sugar had been with us for over a year, but they had been together for quite a few years before that at their previous rescue. We horses were very happy to see them adopted together for a multitude of different reasons. You see, not only were they best buddies but they were also teachers pets with many of our volunteer force. ChiChi with her flashy colors and Sugar with that petite little face were always attracting attention. With them out of the way, uh, I mean happy in their new home, it means more chance for snuggles for the rest of us and more cookies for me! Good luck ChiChi and Sugar we will miss you, but we are very happy you have found a great home! These girls are now so spoiled their new family spent the entire first night in the barn with them making sure they were happy and adjusting to their new environment. Very sweet, but how are they going to sneak into the hay barn if their humans are sleeping with them? Congratulations ChiChi and Sugar! With all that excitement going on, Kai was bound to go into labor sooner or later. I am sure it felt like much later for her, but frankly I was just catching my breath when I looked up at the road and saw Mr. Dave's truck pulling up at 5:15 in the morning on April 18th. That either means something bad is happening or something good has happened. In this case it was good, Kai surprised us with a very big colt. We were very surprised to see not only how big he was but what he looked like. While a beauty, this boy looks nothing like his mother. If I didn't know better I would think Banjo has some explaining to do! Say hello to Kai's son. Kai and her baby boy. Banjo or Magic are you sure you don't have something you would like to tell us? These two played together as babies and were reunited as adolescents. They were both adopted out to great homes; but due to circumstances beyond their control, they were brought back to AAE within a month of each other. They picked up right where they left off. It was a bittersweet moment today when we said goodbye once again to the beautiful Fallon as she went out to her new home. We look forward to updates on her progress as she takes part in the great saddle challenge. Fair thee well my sweet girl. Remember all you have been taught in our herd and make us proud! Life at a rescue is nothing if not a country song, so say hello to Reba and Honey. These two new kids are currently in quarantine making sure they don't have anything that might make the rest of us ill. They are a mother and daughter pair that have never been separated. While I can understand that sentiment myself, at least I had a whole herd to help take care of my boys. These two have only ever had each other and I imagine they are going to take awhile to adjust to life out here with the rest of us. Either that or Reba may be more than happy to let us take over and teach her daughter some manners. Time will tell, but for now they are happy to stick close together. In the meantime, I will just rest up for the next bunch of lessons on living nicely with others that I am sure I will be teaching shortly. Only twelve more day until Boots and Bling. I had my pedicure today, did you have yours? I've purchased my tickets, have you purchased yours? I was thinking of getting a fancy hat like you see at the Derby in Kentucky( seeing as I move at the speed of a racehorse and all) but then I remembered how I don't really like anything touching my ears, so I think I will just stick to a little bling in my mane. Clayton and Dayton have picked out matching Stetsons, Rusty has his best satin robe all pressed and ready to go and of course Princess Sapphire has her tiara shined up and ready to be place upon her royal forelock. We shall make a dashing herd that night, so be sure and get your tickets and join us on May 17th at Golden Hills School for the first annual AAE Boots and Bling BBQ and Auction. I have my dance moves all ready to go-I'll be doing the four step!
Life at a rescue is nothing if not exciting. Here I was relaxing and getting myself prepared for my painting debut when a call came in about a baby goat who lost her Mama. I panicked because I tend to want to take on other mommies' babies and I just didn't know if I had it in me to go through that again. Having sons like Clayton and Dayton will do that to a girl. Just as I was about to head to the other side of the creek and hide out, I realized I had no reason to fear - Holli the wonder dog lives here! Our Holli has a special talent for teaching orphaned ovine and caprine to drink from bottles. If you ask me, she is really just looking for a snack and the sheep and lambs learn to drink fast so she doesn't get all the milk. I won't call her out on it as long as she doesn't get a hankering for my hay! So happy that I can relax knowing she is on baby duty. Say hello to Fern and her new mama Holli! I know I said I wouldn't call her out, but see what I mean about sneaking in a snack while no one is looking? If I am not mistaken that is Holli's tongue I see! Drink, Fern, drink! I sure could've used a Holli and a human holding a bottle in my life when Clayton and Dayton were foals! While Holli was on baby duty, I snuck off to the Painted Studio fundraiser and tried my teeth at painting. Turns out Clayton was right, you do need opposable thumbs to paint with your hooves. Thank goodness I still have my own teeth! Here I am painting away as I held my paintbrush in my mouth. Notice all the extra grass I painted right next to my self portrait????? Fast forward to Monday where I am recovering from the trials of painting; can you say sore neck anyone? All of a sudden the alert sounds that a trailer is pulling in. Yes, we have a special alarm in the pasture when a trailer arrives. We are rescues after all, and not many of us like those confining contraptions! This trailer was a one-for-one deal. It brought in the most adorable filly - thank god she is weaned already - and took out one of my more spirited charges, Sadie. Sadie found her forever home this week and we can't wait to hear how well she is doing with her new family. Meet the fabulous, but as yet unnamed, new filly. She is a little over a year old and still a bit shy. Not to mention all of the changes she has recently gone through. She has been rescued three different times from the hazards of auction in her short life. Her old rescue held a fundraiser to choose her name and we are anxiously awaiting the results so we can call her something other than cutie pie. After all, I happen to believe I should hold that nickname! She is in isolation for a bit while we make sure she is healthy, but I can't wait to take her under my wing and introduce her to life in the pasture when she is ready. The excitement of it all was just what our Roxie needed to go into labor. She delivered a handsome baby boy at 1:30 Tuesday morning. Mother and son are both doing well. Roxie is proving herself to be an attentive and competent mother. We pasture mares have been giving her tips on raising children; keep them full, wear them out before bed and sleep when they sleep, but keep them close to you while you do. She took it all to heart and not only is she doing all of that, but thank goodness she is able to nurse him herself. My work there is done for a while. I can rest up for the day they join the herd. Well, unless they find their forever home/homes before then. A girl can dream, can't she! Enjoy this photo of Roxie and her hours-old little man. He looks almost as much like her as my son, Dayton, looks like me. Stay tuned for news on a playmate for this little guy- don't go there, I am not carrying a child, nor do I ever want to again- as Kai is due to deliver any day now. Will this little man have a colt or a filly to romp with? Feel free to comment and leave your guesses. I have changed my mind about not attending the next fundraiser because of the whole having to ride in a trailer to get there issue. I had so much fun hanging with the humans at the Painted event I definitely want to be there to watch them dance and raise money to fill my belly at the Boots and Bling BBQ. I have decided this is a must attend event so I shall walk there. Who's joining me?
I figure at the speed I walk I can cover the 7.14 miles between here and Suncast Lane in two weeks tops. I, of course, added in grazing time but maybe I should add in more. All that walking will surely make me hungry - don't judge...I do have 1200 pounds of fine flesh to haul around! I might want to leave a little early, so that leaves me about three weeks to get my bling on before I head on my way! I am thinking of braiding jewels in my hair and painting my hooves with sparkles. What do you think? I am taking suggestions, so please comment and give me your ideas on how to bling myself out. I am so excited that I have been practicing my head bob when I hear music drift down from the barn. Only when no one is looking though. I am getting quite good at the head bob, but I will wait for the 17th for the big reveal! If it goes well for me I might even consider a career in dressage! Wait, does that require a rider on your back? Yeah, I think I might prefer solo dancing but who knows, I have been feeling adventurous as of lately! I could've titled this post "so many men so little time", but that would indicate I do something other than shake my head at the antics of the boys 'round here and truth be told, I don't! It was another week of comings and going here at the ranch as we said good-bye to our little man Turner. He was such a sweet little insecure man. What I loved the most about him was the fact that with all of his insecurities, I never had to worry about disciplining him much. I just let him hang beside me and protected him while he gained some herd sense and then I paired him up with a brazen mare - yes Fallon, I am talking about you - and let him come into his own. Turner learned to trust humans and even let them halter him and start his groundwork. Three weeks ago a man came to meet Turner and much like the rest of the humans that volunteer here, he fell in love with our little man. Turner went to his forever home last Saturday. While I will miss him, it is one less mischievous boy I have to worry about around here. Good luck little man! Turner and his mom Hopi when they came to AAE in 2012. What a little cutie he was. Turner is being a brave little man and practicing his trailering skills before going off to his new home. Watch out Turner, those trailer thingies can be scary - hence why I hide in the pasture every time I see one! Good luck little man, send pictures! Just as I was relaxing and thinking my job had just gotten one male lighter, in pulls a mini van and out pops this little marshmallow! Yes, I did say he arrived in a mini van; must be too smart to ever jump in a trailer! He is so cute he just melts my heart. He couldn't be any sweeter if he came with graham crackers and chocolate! Here he is getting his teeth checked out and having all his vitals taken. Say hello to Marshmellow - on account of how sweet and mellow he is. He looks a little puffy around the middle, but he is actually very underweight so he will get some yummies from the tiniest feed bucket on the planet. I will keep a watchful eye on him through the fence and let my friend Patches do the heavy work keeping him in line. She's up to the task, being as how even she is bigger than he is! Welcome to the ranch little Stay Puffed Man. A word of caution little one, I heard you are going to be used in the children's programs. Beware of all those little humans who are going to be learning about horses while you dazzle them. They are cute but they like to touch you A LOT! Since the title of this post implies there are a lot of men in my life, I figure I should introduce you to them so you can see why I tend to look wary when you see me. You'd look wary too if you had to constantly be on the lookout for these pranksters! Say hello to Sparky, on the left, who is my pint sized enforcer. I may not have raised him, but he knows how to treat a mare right - protect her at all costs. That handsome boy on the right is my adopted son, Clayton. I nursed him from an infant (yes, you heard right; I nursed a horse who wasn't even mine. I am a true rescue horse, I even rescue other horses) and raised him to be the man he is. Still can't figure out how he hasn't met a human he doesn't like. That sure didn't come from this mom, that had to be his human mom's influence! The handsome boy on the left getting a lesson on how to treat his elders is my biological son, Dayton. He sure is a looker, got all of his looks from me, if I do say so myself! Pretty sure all he got from his dad is that blond streak in his mane and his disposition. The darling of the pasture on the right is Rusty. He helps me by teaching the youngsters their manners and is in charge of playing with them and wearing them out when I need some alone time. Thank you, Rusty you are a dream! Let me introduce you to Boss and Banjo. That handsome man on the left, Boss, sure doesn't look like he is feeling his age as he keeps up with the strikingly powerful Banjo on the right. These two boys have lived together a long time and look like they are perfectly in sync even during play time. This is Clayton doing what he does best. This time, with his new friend Smokey! When I say jump, the boys round here say how high! Tee hee, the power of a mare is a good thing! Hope you have enjoyed a walk in the pasture with me. As you can see, we are all very happy and well taken care of here at AAE. Though we are very thankful to have a safe environment to rehabilitate in while we wait for our forever homes, we know that taking care of us is not an easy task. It requires both time and money. I overheard someone say that it takes about one hundred dollars a month to feed and care for me. They said I was worth it, but sometimes I wish I could do more to help out other than just keeping the peace in the pasture. I heard about this exciting event coming up on May 6th called the GiveLocalAmerica. You will be hearing more about it from me and maybe even those televisions and radios you are always looking at and listening to. It involves making donations to your local charities. I heard that All About Equine has been given the opportunity to participate this year and is participating in the Give Where You Live campaign in El Dorado County and the BIG Day of Giving in the Sacramento Region. I hope when you hear those commercials you will chose AAE as your charity to give to. I am busy thinking of ways I can help. How much do you think I could charge to let people look at me? I shudder to think, but do horses earn money to let people ride them? I will work up my courage, but in the meantime please check out the Day of Giving campaign and find the listing for All About Equine Animal Rescue, Inc. My belly is a great place to put your tax deductible gifts!!
http://eldoradocf.org/resources/news/ http://www.sacregcf.org/index.cfm/impact/day-of-giving/ Its another wishful Wednesday folks and this horse was just grazing and thinking how much I would like to learn to paint. Out of nowhere comes a conversation drifting down from the barn about how the Fun-Raising Committee has been hard at work planning two upcoming events. Imagine that the first event is taking place on April 6th at a place called Painted Studios. Being a horse I am very literal, you click and I go, you say whoa and I stop, so I happen to think that naming a place Painted can only mean one thing - you get to paint there! I can't wait to try my hooves at painting. Clayton is trying to telling me I will need opposable thumbs to hold a paintbrush but he is a tad on the silly side so who is going to believe him? I believe I can do anything if I put my heart into it so I will just have to prove that son of mine wrong. If not, I will be happy to autograph your paintings with my hoof print. Well,.... for enough carrots I'd try to anyway! The second event I heard them discussing is going to be a BBQ, Dance and Auction on May 17th called Boots and Bling. Boots I know about - they are great for mucking up after me in. Bling? Hmmm are they a special type of carrots? Apples? Cookies? If not, count me out. Sounds like more of an event for humans than horses anyway since I can't think of a time anyone has ever fed me BBQ'd hay, I buck more than I dance and I live at AAE with the promise that I will never have to be at an auction again.
Besides that, it is being held at a school called Golden Hills School which is a short trailer ride from here and I avoid trailers as much as possible. Those are for horses that someday wish to have a saddle on their backs. I am more of a spa girl than an athlete, so for now I think I will stick to massages. Unless Miss Tessa decides to get any crazy ideas on Sundays that is. What I am excited about though is that any event the Fun-Raising Committee plans ends up being in my favor, or should I say in my belly? Hay anyone? Since there is no such thing as too much hay in my belly (or my pasture mates bellies), please mark your calendars for April 6th and May 17th and come out and support my quest to fill the barn with delectables! Thank you all for your warm wishes for Magic. He is back in the barn and on the road to recovery. I can't wait for him to get his stitches out so I can tell him how much we've missed watching him strutting his stuff in the paddock! Happy Wednesday! Keep on wishing and helping me make dreams come true for my equine mates! |
AUTHORI am Sierra, a 17-year old Bay mare rescued by AAE in 2009. As soon I was healthy enough, I appointed myself Grand Dame of the pasture. I am in charge of herd management and I lead with a gentle hoof and a kind heart. I am known to inspire obedience with a quick flick of my ears! ARCHIVED
April 2016
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All About Equine Animal Rescue, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Federal Tax ID #: 27-0384523
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