Another 'Rescue' Up On Charges :(

Another email. Another newspaper/news article. Another horse rescue gone 'bad.'

How did it all go wrong? I'm sure it all started with a needy horse and someone who thought they could take care of it. I can see taking in one or two, maybe 4 or 5. But 33? 24? 11? 77? 112?

I, personally, don't know anyone that can afford more than 10 horses, max. The one couple who come to mind have grown children (out of the house), both have very good jobs (off the farm) and half the horses on their farm are boarders or are there for training. Usually it is only two or three horses or ponies, with at least one being a geriatric who is spending their last days in luxury.

How does it all go wrong? Do they just get up one day and loose their job? Their credit starts sliding with the farrier, the vet, the grain store? And, once it starts slipping, just keeps snowballing down a huge hill toward destruction? Don't they have anyone they can ask for help? Do we make it too hard for them to ask for help? Are we so busy counting the forests that we forget to take care of the trees?

I realize that all the rescues are swamped. Dogs, horses, cats, rabbits, birds, you name it. The economy - for some people - truly sucks. And they don't have the skills or resources to apply to another career to take up the slack for what they are missing.

Or, their donations dry up, again, because of the economy, or they don't have their 501c3 and they aren't a 'legitimate' rescue in the eyes of the IRS. Or they start skimping on things and the volunteers and people who support them bring their money elsewhere to someone else who does do the things that are necessary and required for their horses.

Maybe some of them do have illusions of grandeur and think that they are as rich as Bill Gates.

I would absolutely LOVE to have 10 horses. And a groom. And a barn manager. And a big new truck with a big new aluminum stock trailer with a dressing room in it. And a rich Daddy Warbucks who can pay for it all so I don't have to work, clean the house, take care of the kids, run the business and pay all the bills so I can just play with the horses all day long, every day.

I do what I can. With what I have. I work for my horses. Literally. My horse needs something? I do a few extra hours of work every week to pay for it. My husband, luckily, has a steady job. Not always working for the same person, but always seems to have enough work to keep the house and home afloat. Only one teenager left in the house. The oldest two are grown up, graduated and going about the business of their lives.

It would be very easy to take on three or four horses in desperate need and get in way over my head... not only financially, but emotionally and physically. I try very hard to keep my head and my heart in time with each other so as not to do that.

Ok, you don't remind me that we have Amos and Andy here. That is a very small scale compared to a horse. And Andy and Amos have had all their vetting done - with the exception of their dentals and neutering - before they came to me. And that will be done as soon as they have enough weight gained to make it safe for them. And that is only a matter of a few pounds, as opposed to a few hundred pounds with Tommy.

Taking on an emaciated pug is much cheaper and easier than taking on an emaciated Quarter Horse. I've done both in the last year. I have the vet records to prove it. The grain bill. The farrier bill. The hay bill. The worming bill. Amos and Andy are a cake walk. I can feed Amos and Andy for 4 days what it cost me (on average) to care for Tommy for one day.

But what makes these other rescues wait so long when they are in over their heads? And the animals start to suffer because of it? Do we make it so shameful to say "I need some help" that they wait until they have animals so neglected that they die??? Do they ask for help, and, because we are all in over our heads (or just treading water) that we tell them just to hang on because extending our hand to them or taking on another of their horses will pull us under, also?

I don't think we will ever have an answer to this question. I don't think (very sadly and unfortunately) that this will ever end. As long as we have animals, we will have rescues. As long as we have rescues, we will continue to find animals who are not being cared for properly and need to be saved. From a rescuer, from a regular joe, from a hoarder.

Not just horses. Not just dogs, cats or birds. It happens, continuously, with the human race. We can't even take care of our own children. Our neighborhood children. It's a very sad, sad world we live in these days.

Is it the fact that we don't necessarily have MORE problems happening or just more PEOPLE are willing to say that what they are seeing is wrong and needs to be fixed? I think the mentality of 'what happens at your house stays at your house' has changed (for the better) in the past 10 to 20 years.

Thank God for my snoring pugs under my feet, the ones that got another chance at life and love and happiness.

Now, off to bed so I can work, again, tomorrow!

Equine Shuffle...

The boys seem to be adjusting to the huge loss. They were able to put their noses on him while he was in the other pasture, after he passed. It was kinda nice to see them in a semi-circle around him before we covered him with the tarp. They stood there a few minutes and then seemed to nod their heads and go about the business of being horses.

Sultan needed a little encouragement to go to his new stall and Abner and Smokey just fell right back into the old routine of their stalls.

The Precious cat graced me with another rat today. She is so very proud of herself. She was just loving and purring to me while she was showing me her prize. Yep. It went out in the compost/manure pile. Yuck.

The barn seems much smaller without the big, large presence of Tommy.

It's therapeutic, though, to have to go back out there and do chores and hang out with the other horses. Yes, life is loss, sometimes. Then you have to hug the friends you still have and move on. Not forgetting, just making room in your heart for their forever presence.

Glad that tomorrow is the last day of the week. I don't have to set the alarm tomorrow morning.

I hope no one calls early. As Gus (my very large black lab) comes and lays his very warm, heavy head on my feet. They know I still need therapy. It is so nice to know I am loved.

It's very quiet in the barn...

Even the chickens are quiet. It's like everyone is holding their collective breath to see what comes next.

It always happens after we loose a creature.

For those of you who don't know me, I despise 'playing' God. It's one of the reasons I am no longer Constable for our town. While I always defer to the professionals advice, it is still my signature on that piece of paper. It is not something that I have ever done with lightness of heart.

So, my dear boys, rest in peace. Gallop through the pasture in the sky. Think of me fondly. You all hold special places in my heart. Shiloh. Windstride Abacas. Chris. Buddy. Elias. and, latest, Tommy. You will never be forgotten.

Rest in Peace, HotRoddin' Tommy

Our last walk, our last hug. He was in such pain from his front foot and back hock. The only thing that made this morning any easier is the fact that I know he had a great year and he isn't suffering any more.




He was in fantastic shape (other than his arthritis and ringbone and bone chips, lol) and had gained twice his original weight. He had just turned 14.



If you want, look back to 'Hello, Tommy' on April 4, 2010 to see the progression of pictures...



Or, back to May 4, 2009, the day we rescued Tommy....

I'm off to bed. Tired. Sad. Wishing this day didn't happen.

Responsible Animal 'Ownership'

Warning ~ this post is not for the faint of heart or those of you who are sympathetic animal lovers. It discusses certain subjects that can bring about sadness, tears and make you want to eat lots of chocolate and take naps to avoid yourself and the world. That is what I am going to be doing during and after this post.

Responsible Animal 'Ownership'

First, I must say that I don't feel like I 'own' my animals. Most assuredly they think they rule my house and own the chair I like to sit on and, begrudgingly, vacate it so I can sit down and let them drape all over me. I use that term because, well, it's the one that is mostly used and clearly defines my responsibility. I own my car, I pay for the gas, I get the oil changed when it needs it and give it a tune up or new tires when necessary. Similar to my animals. When they need something - their shots, deworming, food, baths, trips to the vets - it is what I do. They are under my care and I do care for all of them.

Now for the hard part. Get your box of kleenex and a trash can and sit it beside you.

I am NOT a morning person. For those of you that know me, I rarely, without good reason, like to creak my way out of bed in the morning, stumble down the stairs and fumble my way through making the first pot of coffee for the day. If coffee is made (thanks Cameron!!) then my world is already looking up. I like to putter around the house, feed the dogs, let them out, feed the horses and chickens and let them out, check my favorite blogs, get something to eat for breakfast, read my email, all before I start responding to phone calls or emails or talking to anyone. Not that I am necessarily a bear, just a slow, quite starter.

This Monday morning, however, I am awake before the phone rings at 8 am. Its the backhoe guy. Telling me he can be here in 1/2 an hour to excavate a hole in the field.

Tommy took a turn for the worse late Friday afternoon. He must have stepped wrong or just over extended his bad leg. He's been on stall rest all weekend but he is in serious pain and unable to hardly put any weight on his front leg. His rear hock is also very swollen and he's spending most of his time lying down.

My second call was to the vet to make arrangements to have him euthanized.

I was worried I wouldn't know when it was time. That I wouldn't be able to tell when I was keeping him here more for me than for him. There is no question as to that decision now. Even with an overabundance of Bute (horse aspirin) he's in serious pain.

I've been rotating the boys in the stall next to him so he won't be lonely. I'm giving him all kinds of treats. I've stopped going in the stall with him as I am afraid if he falls he will pin me between him and the wall/floor. He's that unstable.

So, if you think that getting up Monday morning, early, to make plans to euthanize your horse doesn't ruin your week, then add to that you have to get up early Tuesday morning to have the vet come to do the required medical intervention.

And my boss is gone this week on vacation. Good for her! She works hard. She is such a sweetie. I know she's planning on going to the beach at least two days. It might be a blessing in disguise that I have to work on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. At least it will keep me busy and get me out of the house. It will keep my mind occupied.

My heart is breaking. Tommy was my rescue last year. He was doing so very good. Then the reoccurring lameness. The good news is that he gained back all his weight and had a wonderful year filled with love, clean stalls and plenty to eat. The bad news is that he gained a whole bunch of weight which aggravated the condition in his legs.

I will take one last picture of him tomorrow morning, eating grass, enjoying the sunshine. He is only 14 years old. Way too short a life to have it end this way. At least I am comforted by the fact that he was happy. He was fed. He was loved and groomed and fed treats. He got to enjoy a large stall with clean shavings and plenty of fresh, cool water. Lots of hay. He became greedy for affection and scratches and pushed everyone else out of the way to receive the most attention. He got to be a happy horse.

So, now, he will lay out in the pasture, under Shiloh's favorite napping tree, company with Shiloh, Aba, Chris, Buddy and Elias. I can see them all, together, running through green grass, no pain, no worries, the wind in their manes...

Can't stand it any more... headed for a nap to dream of happy times and to rest my arms from running wire for the new kitchen yesterday and cleaning up the manure pile this morning.

:'(

Andy and Amos...

Here's Andy, singing for his supper...
Here's Amos, thinking he's a kitten... lol

Sitting on the back of the couch, watching the construction on the new kitchen....

Supervising my husband, Mike...