Riley and Huey Return

 

Remember these two trouble makers?  This picture was taken last May, shortly after Huey was born, and about a month and a half after the horses were seized.  That’s Huey on the left.

 

Ginger, Shortcake, and Huey were adopted and Riley was fostered as a buddy for Huey to grow up with.  The adopter did a wonderful job with the two, but things have changed and she realized that she just didn’t have the time necessary to devote to the two munchkins and brought them back to HHH.

 

Little Huey hasn’t dropped his testicles yet, so they are both still stallions.  When I put them in with the stallion herd everyone took a sniff, Dagwood and Rusty chased them around for a minute, then everyone settled in to the hay like nothing exciting had just happened.

 

Both boys are friendly and love attention.  I can’t wait until they are old enough to send over to the foster that took River and Casper --  little Lexi will have a blast training these two cutie patooties!

Baby Update

I moved Blondie, River, Riley, and Casper over to my place yesterday after putting up electric fence and trying unsuccessfully to mow down all the weeds in their new “pasture”.  Now the only horses left on the quarantine farm are the studs:  Don Juan, Dagwood, Chip, Rusty, Fraggle, and Kincaid.  Everyone else has moved on to their new homes already, and Rusty will be leaving for his home once the weather cools and he’s castrated.  I’m going to try and get electric up on the quarantine paddock here on the farm today so the studs can be moved here tomorrow.  No more running back and forth between farms!  Woot!

The ponies seem to like it here -- the boys spent most of yesterday chasing each other through the weeds, running and bucking, and playing several entertaining games of bite face.  Riley thought it was fun to charge at me, stop right in front of me, and rear.  That’s a habit I had to break quick!  He hasn’t done it yet today,so hopefully I’ve made it clear that it was unacceptable behavior.

 

He loves River and Casper and spends more time with the two of them than he does his mother.

These four are still available for adoption if anyone is interested.  It’s also looking more and more like River is pregnant.  Doc can’t palpate because he says his hands are too large for the little ones, but her belly is getting bigger and it’s a “lumpy” kind of large.  It’s not the smooth roundness that you’d have with a pony that was just fat.  Her teats are still hidden by a large fat deposit, so I’m guessing she’s still a few months away from foaling.

In other news, Jubilee’s little long-eared baby is turning herself into an adorable nuisance.  She spends her days chasing goats and charging at the local goose population.  Tootsie has been learning new tricks at her new home and the whole neighborhood just adores her.   You can ask her for a kiss and she comes at you with lips flapping like a chimpanzee!  She will not accept a kiss on the cheek, but insists on a big wet kiss on the lips.  Huey is also doing well and has made a new friend that he can see eye to eye with…

 

And they all lived happily ever after.  The end. :)

Riley and Huey

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted videos of the munchkins playing and I wanted to get something up here before there were riots in the streets.  So you can calm down now. 

 

 

Want some good news?  I talked to the sheriff down in Fairmont this morning.  He said there was a slim to none chance that asshat would be awarded custody of the horses, due to a couple of things: 1) this was his third animal cruelty charge in a six month timeframe, 2) he doesn’t have two pennies to rub together and the authorities dropped the last $720 bail charge so he could use that money to take care of the nine cattle he still has.  Also of note, is this guy’s father was recently arrested for robbery!   What a family!

Sheriff said it would be ok to start adopting out the Fairmont horses.  I’m just going to include a clause in the adoption contract that states the horses have to be returned if asshat ever gets custody and pays restitution.  The one problem is that I still can’t castrate the studlies, so they will probably have to stay with me for awhile longer.   The mares and geldings will start going to their homes this week, but I won’t be posting “Go Home” posts or updating the rescue site until the court case is finally done and everything is official. 

Oh, and go check out Maverick’s update over on Training the Unwanted!

Stampede!!!

Well… a mini stampede anyway.

Every morning when I head over to the quarantine to feed everyone is usually already in the barn hiding from the bugs.  At dinner time everyone is usually out in the pasture enjoying the cooler weather and shade.  All I have to do is get their attention, then stand back out of the way!

 

 

 

 

 

The hearing is still set for Thursday, last I heard.  Please keep your fingers crossed and break out the rabbit’s foot!

 

 

Because if I have to give these guys back to the asshat that starved them…

 

… well, let’s just say I won’t be happy.

Riley and Tootsie Update

Riley is Trouble.  He’s turning into that rebel without a cause teenager type who just wants to get the other kids into trouble.  He’s rough and tumble when he plays, chews on people whenever he gets the chance, and is already starting to show stallion behavior.  Now he’s trying to corrupt Huey… and I think it’s working!

 

He’s also turning into quite the ladies man!  I caught him and Jubilee trying to groom each other this morning after breakfast.  So cute!

 

Come on Huey, let’s go find something chew on.  I’m bored!!

 

Tootsie is quite the little lady.  She’s gentle with everyone, doesn’t try to bite, and knows when to say NO to Riley.  Usually.

 

 

Now that Huey has come along, Tootsie spends more time with mom than with Riley.  Unless there are humans around, then she’s all about the people.  Pet me!  Love me!  I have enough teeth to eat cookies now!

 

She also LOVES having her belly rubbed. 

 

For my next trick, I’ll teach her how to bark.

That didn’t take long!

Riley’s persistence has paid off and Baby Huey is already playing.  They’re not running around much since it’s been really hot here this week, but they do enjoy a good game of bite face.

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes Huey just gets a little confused as to which end has the face.

More Comparisons

With the Fairmont hearing coming up soon, I wanted to show you some more comparisons of what the horses looked like when they were seized and what they look like now.  You’ve seen the big horses, so I thought we’d concentrate on the ponies and minis today.  The first picture in each pair was taken on 4/13, the second picture of the pair was taken 5/25.

 

Note the backbone and skinny butt on Peppermint. 

 

She’s fatter now than she was right before having Tootsie.  No wonder I didn’t see it coming!

 

Blondie was one of the healthier minis.  She wasn’t that thin and her coat wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the others.

 

But she still looks a heck of a lot better now.  What a pretty girl!

 

We all know what poor Shortcake looked like six weeks ago.  Shaggy, so thin her back and hip bones jutted out, and an overall poor appearance.

 

 

Her coat is now a gorgeous strawberry color and she’s got a nice layer of fat and muscle on her top line.  She’s also fatter after popping out baby Huey than she was when she was seized. 

 

Poor Frankie.  She was so misunderstood.  We thought she might be a Cremello because she appeared to be white with slightly darker points and blue eyes.

 

So much for Cremello.  Where’d those spots come from?  At least we got the blue eyes right!

 

 

Michelle is coming out later today to help me bathe some of the little misfits that won’t shed out.  I’ll get pictures of the others after we’re done.  Should be fun!

Baby Huey

I took these pictures yesterday evening at dinner time.  I let Shortcake and little Huey out to pasture while everyone else was locked in the barn inhaling their dinner.  Shortcake didn’t want to be caught to be brought back in, so I think tonight I’ll let her back out with the rest of the mares.

 

 

 

 

How cute will it be when Baby Huey is allowed to play with Tootsie and Riley????   I can’t wait!

Baby #3 – FINALLY!

Shortcake’s udder was practically empty last night at dinner, so when I realized that I was driving off without my camera this morning I didn’t bother turning around to go get it. 

That will NEVER happen again.

 

It’s a boy, and oh my, isn’t he just too cute for words?? 

 

Shortcake is producing plenty of milk now and the little one knows exactly where the milk bar is located. 

 

 

I’ll let Shortcake’s adopter name the little tyke and hopefully she’ll put it in the comments…  ;)

 

Jubilee has started to produce milk, so baby #4 will probably make it’s appearance soon.

 

And more good news!  The asshat that starved the Fairmont horses has his hearing on June 2nd!  Let’s hope this doesn’t need to go to trial and the judge makes the right decision!