A dream come true

Back in October of 2008 I did a blog post that included Jewel’s dream of becoming the herd leader.  When Molly left a few weeks ago, Maverick took over as the herd leader.  Now that Maverick has left (*sniff*), Jewel’s ambition has seen the light of day.  She really doesn’t know what to do with her new power, other than panic when one of her “people” is out of sight.  Matilda, Dahlia, and Sierra are still staying to themselves and only mingle at feeding time, or around the hay rolls.  No one, and I mean NO ONE, tells Matilda what to do, but she gets along well with everyone else and doesn’t use her size to boss anyone around.  I wish I had my camera the other day when she and Sky were standing belly to belly (or belly to back) at the water trough.  It was so cute!

Mick is on the left and getting FAT.  I sure wish Renee could come out more often and get him going under saddle.  I’ve been working with him in the round pen, but he’s still turning into a big burly redneck.

 

That big white glare in them middle of the picture is Jewel. 

I wonder who will be the alpha leader once Jewel is adopted?  Miles is the only gelding left above the age of three, but he’s not really interested in leadership.  Dahlia will be popping out a foal any day now, Sierra is a follower, and Matilda’s philosophy is live and let live.  I suppose Jolie Rose will be the next leader.  I just hope the others don’t have to lower their IQ in order to follow the big dumb mare.

*sigh*

I just know I miss my Maverick.  Did the two of them have to be so cute together??

Maverick Goes Home *sniff*

I knew this day would come, but I still cried like a baby.   

Maverick’s original adoption fell through due to unexpected health issues with the adopter’s husband.  The kind of health issue that can make a person sell their home and move closer to the hospital and family.  She made the right decision in not taking on another horse at this time and I applaud her for it.  It’s better that people realize their new limitations before taking on the responsibility of a life that is completely dependant on them. 

Unfortunately, there was a damn waiting list for Maverick!  No kidding… people were on a list to adopt Maverick!  And I’m still getting calls and emails about him from people I’ve never talked to before.  Nobody wanted the little guy six months ago and now people are lining up for him.  I guess it just goes to show that no one can resist the charm of The Mav!

So you’re probably wondering who the lucky adopter is that was #2 on the list… it’s everyone’s favorite farrier, Brannon!  Brannon has the cutest four year old daughter, Sage, that will hop on anything with four legs and Maverick is her birthday present this month.  Since Brannon happens to be in a pretty serious relationship with Renee (sorry, ladies), she’ll be able to finish up Maverick’s training and teach Brannon’s daughter to be an awesome little rider. 

 

I took 53 pictures when I dropped him off.  Sage took the lead rope out of my hands as soon as Maverick was off the trailer, then she led him around and around… and around the yard.  He was such a good sport about it and followed her everywhere, even when he saw Brannon’s other horses up on the hill he readily followed her back down to the house.  At one point, Sage lost her balance and fell under Maverick while he was grazing.  Mr. Perfect Pony stood very still until she got her feet back under her and pulled him around the yard again.

Renee was also there and looking very pleased that Maverick had finally arrived. 

I include this picture only because it may come in handy 12 years from now when Sage brings her first date home.  You’re welcome, Brannon.

 

I give Sage a couple of weeks before she tries mounting from the swing set in true cowboy fashion.  

Yes, they are adorable together.  But that doesn’t make it any easier on me.  I need to go buy some more Kleenex now.

Don’t say I never gave you anything

This post is for you Brannon fans out there.  You know who you are. ;)

All of these were taken by Anne’s daughter, Emily, at our fundraiser this past Saturday.  She is awesome with a camera!  Want to see more of Emily’s photography?  Go check out her blog!

 

 

 

 

You’re welcome!

What a Day!

Sorry it took me so long to blog about the event yesterday, but I’ve been impatiently waiting for Anne and her daughter to send me the pictures that they took.  Because, as usual, I sucked when it came to getting pictures.  I took TEN.  That’s it.  Only 10.  I’ve only deemed three as blog-worthy, and only slightly at that.  I still haven’t received their pictures, so you’ll just have to be satisfied with mine for now.

All the horses were bathed, some for the first time, on Friday after they arrived at the Fairgrounds (thank you Anne and Michelle!!!).  Everyone did pretty well except for Genesis, who I thought would be the best.  They were all so shiny and soft and not one of them rolled in their stalls while they were still wet.  Good ponies!

Genesis did the most pony rides.  Cinnamon flipped out when the first kid kicked her high on the flanks and squeezed with all her might.  Poor Cinnamon didn’t know what was going on and started prancing around and tossing her head, so the girl rode Genesis instead and Cinnamon was put away for the day. 

 

Genesis got a little grumpy towards the end of the day, even though she only did about 15 pony rides all day and had a lot of break time in between.  She was snapping and biting at her handlers, but was always well-behaved for the kid on her back.

 

 

Maverick did a few of the rides, but a lot of the kids arrived while Maverick was having his pedicure so he missed out on quite a few.  Mav has a good-sized crack in his right front so Brannon thought it best to put shoes on the front.  Mav had never been shod before, but you’ve probably already guessed that he was awesome about it.  He yelled for Genesis a couple of times, but was a perfect gentleman for Brannon. 

 

Hopefully, I’ll have more pics to share with you tomorrow.  Considering this was our first year for this event, and the on and off rain showers we had all day, we had a pretty good turnout!  All the horses were stars and Mav and Molly were the only ones that got a little impatient and pawed at their stall doors a couple of times.  I was so proud of all of them!

Super Pony

Please go check out Maverick’s second ride over on Training the Unwanted.   He is the awesomest pony in the world.  Period.  End of story.  No doubt about it. 

I know that “awesomest” is not a word.  But it should be.  I have broke out a lot of horses over the years, and have had some really easy ones.  But none of them could compare to the Mav!

Helping Out

People from afar keep asking me how they can help.  They read the blog and see the horses that I’m helping and understand that it costs a lot of money to keep these guys healthy and happy.  They just want to help, but until recently I was being pretty stubborn about it. 

 

When Glenn and I started this rescue we didn’t want to become completely reliant on donations and adoption fees to keep things going.  My theory was that if we couldn’t afford the expenses out of pocket, then we shouldn’t be doing it. 

 

Since starting this rescue in June of 2008 we’ve received $1,800 in donations.   I think that’s pretty good, considering we’re not 501c.3 yet and never even asked for donations.  The generosity and trust of people we don’t even know has really been astounding.  Because let’s face it, even 501c.3 rescues aren’t always on the up and up and take donations to line their own pockets, or sell horses to slaughter for money. 

 

So how do you know that I’m honest and will use the donations for the horses?  Well, you don’t.  I could show you all the feed, farrier, wormer, vaccines, and vet receipts.  I’m sure my hay guy would be happy to write a receipt for the 250 round bales I bought from him just in 2009.   You could come out and visit the farm for yourself, but beware the attack mule.  She’s cranky.

 

As I’m sure you’ve probably noticed, I do not charge a lot for adoption fees.  I base the fee on the usefulness of the horse (age, soundness, training, etc.) and try to keep it within a range that the current local market can bear.  I am smart enough to realize that you do NOT make money doing rescue, so I don’t even try.  What I do try to accomplish is placing horses in homes where both the adopter and the horse will be happy.  So while the purpose of this blog post is not to beg for money, I am going to provide ways to help for those that feel so inclined. 

 

For you Paypal people, I’ve setup a Paypal account for horsehavenholler@frontiernet.net. 

You could also call our vet and help out on our account:

Mountain Valley Vet

Dr. Shaun Meckley

RR 2 Box 305B
New Martinsville, WV 26155-9621
(304) 337-8080

 

 

As for volunteers -- anyone willing to sleep in the barn with Shortcake until she finally pops out that foal would have my undying gratitude.  Because I’m as tired as she looks!

Mystery Solved

For months I’ve been wondering why I keep finding the salt blocks dumped in the mud and their holders yards away, upside down, and stomped into the mud.  Today I caught the culprit in the act!

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t me!  Sky did it!

 

And you just know if I spend money on a real horse toy, he probably wouldn’t touch it. 

All about the Mav

Maverick was having way too much fun today.  I don’t know if he was riled up because the sun was shining and he was just feeling good or if he’s happy that his budding manhood has been confirmed and he managed to land the prettiest girlfriend on the farm.

Whatever the reason, it’s a real shame that me and my camera were having a little tiff today.   I had it set on the athletic setting (or whatever that’s called), so I could just hold down the button and try to keep up with fat boy as he ran around the pasture like his tail was on fire.

I got a lot of shots with him in the frame…

 

 

 

but I’m not sure where he was in this one.  There’s hoofprints, see?  He was there at one point.  I swear.

 

And I couldn’t begin to tell you what happened with this shot, but it would kind of look like he were swooping down out of the sky if it weren’t for that Spruce tree right beside him.  If I had any skill at all, I’d Photoshop some wings on him.

 

Then I finally managed to get a few fuzzy, but fairly decent shots.

 

I wonder if he ever thinks about those days when he was locked in a stall with no food and water.

 

 

What do you think?  Do horses, or animals in general, think about the past as humans do?  Do you think Maverick and Traveler stand around the hay roll at night and compare horror stories?  Or is that just us silly humans anthropomorphizing them?

There’s one in every crowd

The sun was out earlier today and all the boys were taking turns snoozing in the hay.  Except for Sky, who has been sleeping most the day away and just gets up now and then to change position and flip sides.  Today was also the first day that I have seen Timmy lay down for some sleep.

 

It’s a good thing the hay was there to hold up his face.

 

Quill just wants to know when it’s his turn.

 

Sky did manage to wake up for just a minute or two while I was snapping pictures.  I’m sorry, but he really is adorable and that’s all there is to it.  I may stop gushing over him in a few years.  Just hang with me until then, okay?

 

 

Then there’s this clown.   He starts out nice and peaceful, respecting the personal space of everyone around him, and not mussing up the hay too much.

 

Then he noticed that I was taking pictures -- what better time to roll on Sky’s head?

 

Sky managed to move just in time.  If he hadn’t, his head would be under Maverick’s butt right about now.

 

Oh well, at least Maverick is happy.  And isn’t that really all that matters??

Farm Days

Today was Farm Days at Tractor Supply and what a blast!!  We had a great time and met a lot of nice folks and we did a little educating along the way.  I was surprised to find out how many people just didn’t have a clue that there was even a need for horse rescues.  One gentleman asked me if the “rescue” meant that I took the horses and went on rescue missions to save lost or injured hikers.  Good idea, but no.

Donkey was supposed to go today, but Molly made damned sure that wasn’t going to happen.  I went out to catch Donkey last night, but Molly and Sassy kept herding him away from me.  I finally got up to him and as I was bent over putting on his halter, Molly snuck up to my left and the last thing I saw was a big white butt right up against me.  Then she fired both barrels at me before I could move out of the way.  She caught me on the left side of my knee with one foot and my ribs with the other.  Fortunately, I have plenty of padding over my ribs and I just have a nice bruise.  My knee swelled up like a baseball last night, but all was well this morning as I rolled myself out of bed.   Miss Molly and I are going to have a chat about respect tomorrow in the round pen.

All last night I was thinking about who to take instead of Donkey.  Who did I have that was kid-safe, gentle, and not likely to bite off any fingers?  Kita, Willow, Junior, Semi, Stride, Sadie, Cheyenne,  Kenzie, Patches, and Patrick  all fit that bill, but I wanted to take someone that was up for adoption – not our own personal horses or horses that already had a home waiting, and Patrick was already going.  Then I thought long and hard on Maverick.  He hadn’t been off the farm since he got here, he was getting better about being around strangers but was still a little leery, and what would happen when he got there and saw all those people?  Would he be a nervous wreck and scream the whole time?

 

 

I really couldn’t have chosen a better “spokesperson”.  Everyone LOVED Maverick.  Of course.  And he thought all that attention was the best thing to ever happen to him, especially once he figured out that pretty much every short human that came up to him had a horse cookie in their hands.   Both boys got about a thousand treats today, but they were such troopers that I never heard them complain.   Patrick was getting a little nippy and demanding by the end of the day, but Maverick remained mannerly and gentle, never being pushy about getting a cookie or accidentally taking any fingers. 

Now, let me back peddle just a bit.  Last night, the new farrier came out and trimmed Maverick and three others before dark.  He did a terrible job and it didn’t look like he’d ever used a rasp before.  He also let slip that horse’s feet didn’t grow after they reached a certain age.  WHAT?  I’m sorry, but if you’re really that ignorant then you don’t need to come back. 

Then this guy set up a booth right next to ours today. 

 

 

It was fate, I tell ya.  We got to chit chatting and I told him about the farrier I had tried yesterday and how disappointed I was in the job he did on Maverick.  He took a look at Mav and said “yup, there’s room for improvement.  I’ll tell you what.  I’ll trim him for you today for free.”

Um, ok… twist my arm?

 

I can’t put into words how proud I was of this little guy.  He was an absolute CHAMP!  There were people standing all around him, kids running here and there, and a balloon that kept blowing and bopping him on the butt until Anne shortened it’s tie.

Real men get pedicures too!

This was great for both of us, as Mav got a trim and I got a new farrier that actually knows what he’s doing and went to school for it, and he got a few new clients out of the demonstration. 

Oh, and Maverick got a few more cookies for being so well-behaved.  Good thing Anne bought the really large bag of treats.

 

 

No one could believe Maverick wasn’t even three yet and was still a stud.  People just assumed that he was a well-broke gelding because of his wonderful disposition.  The farrier’s father was there and couldn’t stop talking about how awesome Maverick did and how he bet his son wished that all horses he worked under were like Mav.  What a compliment for my baby boy!

Patrick has two little girls wanting him, so I’m hoping at least one of the families will be a suitable match for him.  Maverick generated a good bit of interest as well, so I guess I need to finally get going on getting his danglies removed.  Now that he’s a pro at getting on and off the trailer, I’m not so nervous about loading him by myself to get him to the vet for the surgery. 

 

And just so you know, these two adorable Pygmy goat kids did not come home with me.

 

But it was touch and go there for awhile. 

Is it dinner time yet?

 

 

How about now?

 

NOW?????

 

I am really glad that they can’t talk.