Ellie it is!

Ellie won the pony name contest by a landslide, but I have a feeling a certain someone that suggested the name voted more than once.   But that’s ok, because I already started calling her Ellie this morning before I had even checked the poll stats and she seems to like it.  Or maybe it’s the bucket of grain that she likes. 

Ellie has no idea what treats are.  Carrots, peppermints, and apple wafers have all been tossed out of her grain bucket and ignored.   I think that’s always the saddest part about some of these rescues.  It’s so obvious that no one has ever shown them the simple kindness of a treat.

Because I’m a fruitcake addicted to this blogging thing and have an almost obsessive compulsion about documenting stuff, I’ve created a new blog.   Rescue Recoveries will document the ups and downs, failures and triumphs of bringing a horse like Ellie back to health.  I’ll try to keep it as clinical as I can, with feed amounts and times, weekly weight gain or loss, ailments or lameness, etc.  I’ll take new pictures of the horse at least bi-weekly so everyone  can follow along with his/her progress. 

Like the training blog, each post will be titled with the horse’s name and the date, and labeled with the horse’s name.  Eventually, there will be a new page on the rescue site that links to that blog as well.

The first post about Ellie is there now and provides an update on her since Doc was here this morning to look her over.  So head on over, and please don’t hate me because I like to type.  :)

One smart cookie

The new rescue has been fed four times since arriving last night. Apparently she paid attention when I got her food from the can on the porch. Also apparent is that I have some fence to fix.

Hello? Hey human, I seeeeeee you! Want to come out and give me some more food?

She’s a pullin’ horse

Pony pulling is a big time sport around these parts and before we moved up here I had never even heard of it. Now I seem to be surrounded by idiots that seem to think their pony/horse can sit in a pasture with no food and little water and just be pulled out and harnessed up at the next competition. Why feed them?? They’re ponies, they don’t need to eat! And as I was told today, they only need to be wormed once a year. And those shoes that got them through competition last year will be fine again this year. Just leave ‘em on and save you some money!

On the way to the feed store there is a pasture with a run-down barn and several horses. Two months ago a few of them started to look a little ribby. We had no idea who owned them, and due to the county that they were in, I was reluctant to call the police. There is one specific officer, who shall remain unnamed for now, that likes to seize horses for his own back yard breeding program. And at that point the horses weren’t thin enough for the county to even be able to seize them.

The pasture they are in is 75 acres of hills and trees. You can only see a small corner of the pasture from the road, so you couldn’t be sure you’d even see the horses when you drove by. Last month one of the horses started dropping weight more than the others, but still wasn’t in dire straights yet. Then we didn’t see that horse again until yesterday.

This is what we saw.

We tried to find out who owned the horses, but there was no one home in the surrounding houses. We went back today during my lunch break to see if we could catch someone and in the house across the street we found a wonderful old gentleman that owns the property and leases it to the owner of the horses. He told us where the owner lived and said the owner usually comes by to check on the horses around 6pm every day.

So… wait a minute here. The owner comes by every day, sees how thin his horses are, and what? Still doesn’t put anything but moldy hay in the pasture for them? Doesn’t feed them grain, according to the neighbor, and there was no water in sight? Granted, there could have been a stream or pond somewhere in the pasture that we didn’t see. All we did see were oily mud puddles and a roll of mold that may have been hay at some point.

We went back at 5:30 and drove past the pasture to find the owner’s trailer. I wish I had had my camera with me! He had a boxer dog tied up in the yard that was about the size of Heidi and MIGHT have weighed 25 pounds. Heidi is 60lbs. He was nothing but skin and bone! I wanted to put him in the truck and take him home with us since the owner wasn’t even home. We drove back to the pasture to wait and didn’t have to wait long. Ol’ D.S. came driving by shortly after and when Glenn told him we were interested in a horse and wanted the skinny one, he immediately said he’d give us the horse. As it turns out, D.S. has been in trouble with the law before when it comes to cruelty to animals. We were the opportunity that fell into his lap to rid himself of a critter he didn’t want to take care of.

We also offered to take one of the very skinny Belgians off his hands, but he wasn’t really skinny you see. That’s one of his pullin’ horses and “that’s just the way he looks”. Right. Because a horse’s back bone should stick up several inches, his hips should be visible a mile away, and he really should have a great big bloated belly full of worms. I’m beginning to learn that this is the way “pullin’ horses” look up here. Instead he tried to sell us one of the seven foals that he’s expecting this year from his stallion and broodmare herd on another farm. How did I just know he’d be another idiot backyard breeder??? Might as well call him an auction supplier instead of breeder, especially in this economy.

On our way home with the mare Glenn mentioned that it’s a very good thing that I have laryngitis right now.

We hooked up with Michelle who brought her trailer over to pick up the pony. The poor girl practically pushed me onto the trailer. GET ME OUT OF HERE! We were worried she might fall down on the ride home, but she is stronger than she looks and got home safe and sound. Michelle took these pictures once we got her off the trailer.

How adorable is that face???

We put Stride and Maverick back in the pasture behind the house and put the pony in the quarantine paddock. She was tickled to have grass and water at her disposal and dove right in to the handful of sweet feed I gave her for dinner. When a horse is this bad you have start off slow with the grain or you could do more harm than good. For now she’ll be getting two cups of food 5 times a day and we’ll gradually increase the feed and decrease the feedings over the next few weeks. Doc is coming out today to examine her and hopefully he won’t find anything more than worms and starvation. She seems bright-eyed and healthy other than the malnourishment and long feet.

I think we’re going to call her Daisy until something better comes along. Suggestions?

We have impulse buying issues

Glenn and I went to the feed store yesterday and a shipment of rabbits came in just as we were about to leave .  Why, oh WHY, couldn’t we have left a few minutes earlier?  It was all my fault this time.  I will take full credit, but it couldn’t be helped.  Just trust me on that, ok?

This is the little bugger that first caught my eye.  How could I turn her down?  I picked her up and she immediately snuggled up under my chin and licked me.  Would you have been able to resist that??? 

 

Maud was picked for her long hair and smooshed face.  And because I didn’t want Lily to be lonely on the drive home.   Really.

 

We had to divide the hutch up when we brought them home because Travis decided he really was old enough to “get busy” with the ladies.   Travis is now in half the hutch with Elvira the Silky and the three girls are on the other side.  As you can see, Loretta and Lily became fast friends.

 

 

 

 

Somebody stop me.  

Yes, I’d like some cheese with my whine

I was on-call for work this past weekend, hurt my back on Saturday and am now pinching a nerve, woke up Sunday morning with the sinus infection from hell, and am not feeling any better today since I couldn’t sleep the past two nights.  I have once again misplaced the camera, the house is still a mess, I feel like my seedlings are WAY behind for this time of year, and Pinetree is taking their dear sweet time in shipping seeds I ordered almost a month ago.  The place we got compost from last year for 20 bucks a truck load is not selling to the public this year and I can’t find a supply to top off my raised beds or to fill new beds.

Make that sharp cheddar if you could.  Thanks.

The good news is that while there were small men in my ears hammering away with ice picks yesterday and I couldn’t breathe well enough to sleep it off, I found a new blog filled with all sorts of useful information for gardening, farming, sustainable living, etc.  Check out the How To page for great advice on everything from canning, seed saving, butchering, and hand milking a cow.   On the Fruit Room page you’ll find a list of everything they put up last year by canning, freezing, and drying… what a list!

http://matronofhusbandry.wordpress.com/

Random Lunch – 03/24/09

I think I mentioned that I picked up two more Silkie hens the other day, right?  Well the little black one was getting picked on by the other Silkies so I had to move her somewhere else.  But where?  Certainly the big hens would also beat up on her and I was told that Silkies shouldn’t be out in the sun too much because their black skin makes them overheat too easily.  Hmmm… another dilemma.  What to do, what to do?

Problem solved.

Since the Silkie will be living in the rabbit hutch with Loretta and Travis for awhile, and it seems they are getting along just great, I need a name for the little girl.  Suggestions?

 

Maverick’s one year anniversary here on the farm was last week.  As I scratched him I reminded him that a year ago he couldn’t be touched and it took four people to lasso him and get him out of his prison.

 

You’ve come a long way, baby.

Blackjack!

Hunter went home tonight, bringing us down to 21 horses here on the farm. I moved Indy over to the quarantine pasture with Maverick and Stride, leaving only Gentry, Junior, Quest, and Prince to watch over the mares in the big herd. Man, I’ve got too many mares around here.

But I think Indy is finally feeling better. What do you think?

Indy leaves for his new home next month, and I’ve got two people interested in Prince. I just have to evaluate him and see what he’s like and who he might match up with the best. Now if I could just find homes for some of these estrogen-laden mares, I’d be a happy camper.

On the Road Again

I really need to get more organized. I seem to spend all weekend on the road running errands, and never get much done at home. This past weekend was no exception. Saturday was spent delivering Pearl and Chessy to their new homes. Pearl went WAY south to a wonderful home with another mini and an old retired quarterhorse. The introductions were fairly low-key, as the priority was to just find the grass and get to munching.

As soon as I got home from delivering Pearl, it was time to trim Chessy’s feet and load him on the trailer. Everyone was really concerned that Chessy and Duchess would have a hard time being apart after living together alone for so long. Duchess followed Chessy to the gate, gave her son one last look, then walked away to eat hay with her buddies. Chessy walked right on to the trailer and never looked back. Yup! It was very traumatic for everyone.

Ok, so maybe it was a little traumatic. I don’t believe Chessy has ever seen cows before. After a quick roll in the dirt, he spent a lot of time doing this:

just staring at cows, waiting for them to either stop staring back at him, or bust through the fence and eat him.

On Sunday I did a lot of running around as well. Getting water for the big beasts, dog and cat food for the little beasts, and picking up two more Silkie hens because I’m addicted. At one point, I came home to find a crime scene in my own yard.

Those poor socks never had a chance.

Horse Stories

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful horse farm, unlike any other up here in hillbilly heaven. The owners of the farm were not happy people and one day decided to sell the farm. When the farm was sold the people packed up and left, leaving behind several of their “beloved” horses. The new farm owners had sixty seven of their own horses and did not want the throwaways from the previous people. The new owners made it clear to the locals that they were going to send the horses to auction.

In steps a wonderful woman with a huge heart that lived down the road from the farm. We’ll call her Jane. Jane and her husband took truck and trailer and picked up several of the auction-bound horses that would get on the trailer. Two horses were very old (Ginger and Snow), which is probably why they were left behind by their owners. The third was Misfire.

Misfire is a 12 year old Quarterhorse mare who has supposedly been there, done that, including parades. She’s chestnut with a big blaze, and she’s built like a tank – which makes getting her on a trailer all the more fun! They couldn’t get her on the trailer and had lots of big macho know-it-all redneck help. Poor Misfire ended up walking away from the trailer limping and bleeding from all the manhandling she’d received. Jane finally decided that Misfire was going home with her one way or the other, so she walked the horse four miles down a busy road to get her home.

Jane also took in other horses that were tossed aside by friends and neighbors and eventually ended up with seven horses, one Shetland stallion, and one miniature horse. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any horse experience or knowledge and couldn’t find any one to help. She realized she was in over her head and made some inquiries at the local feed store… which led her to me.

To make a long trailer loading story short, we got Misfire on the trailer in a little over two hours with very little bloodshed and no lameness. She rubbed some hair off on one back foot, but that’s about it. Thanks to Doc being there and ready with the happy juice cocktail, it went quite swimmingly and much better than we could have hoped. She rode well, just standing in the back of the stock trailer looking out, then didn’t want to get off the trailer when she got here. She was content to stand in the trailer and take in the scenery and other horses.

The pictures I took tonight didn’t turn out very well since it was almost dark, so these were pictures that I took at their previous home. This is Misfire (on the right) and her mother, Ginger. Ginger got her teeth floated by Doc on Monday and he also found a bad heart murmur. She’s in her mid-20’s and is staying at her current home because there’s a little 4 year red head who would be heart broken if she left. Hopefully, she’ll start putting on weight now that her teeth are done.

Once we got Misfire into the back pasture we left to go pick up another three (who all loaded very well). Originally, we weren’t going to pick up the mini yet, as she’s difficult to catch, but we had a stroke of luck and we got her on the trailer as well. Mini Pearl already has an adoptive home waiting for her as a companion to another mini. Isn’t she just ADORABLE???

Prince is a Morgan cross, they think. He’s about 8 years old, rideable, but still green and herd bound. He fancies himself a real ladies’ man and keeps his mares in line just like Junior does for the big herd.

Abbi Road is a 5 year old Paint. Her and her registered full sister, Genesis, both came from a paint breeder down the road from us. This breeder has two very comformationally fugly paint stallions that she breeds to anything with four legs. Neither stallion is broke to ride and neither of them have ever left her farm to do anything useful. She has 20 or 30 horses on her place now and just keeps pumping more foals out every year. Unfortunately, she felt the need to breed Abbi when the poor girl was only three years old. The colt was still nursing and hadn’t been gelded yet when we picked them up yesterday. He’ll be coming here once he’s gelded.

Abbi was sent to a trainer for 30 days, but rather than being broke to ride, she was simply broken. She left Jane a friendly, personable mare, but came back afraid, skittish, and sporting war wounds from her battles with cruel training devices.

Abbi’s sister, Genesis, was one month old when her mother died. She’s four now and her growth may have been stunted a bit, but she’s a friendly horse that loves attention and follows you around like a puppy.

That’s the gang so far. Everyone needs their feet trimmed BADLY and we’ll be conquering that tonight and tomorrow night. I’ll give them until this weekend to settle in, then I’ll get on Misfire and Prince this weekend to see what we’ve got. I’d like to see more weight on the two paint mares before I start their training, but now that they’ve been wormed and Abbi no longer has a yearling sucking on her, it shouldn’t take long for them to become fat and sassy.

Here’s to hoping all of these horses get a happy ever after ending to their stories!

Ponies in the Mist

These are the scenes that greeted me this morning when I went out to check on the horses.

 

 

 

I think the newbies are settling in just fine.   That’s Willow the Welcome Wagon in the foreground.  Maverick has done nothing but whinny at them all night long.  He’s very much in love with the two new paint mares, Abbi Road and Genesis.

 

 

Once the sun comes out I’ll get some better pictures and tell you their stories.