July 2019
Like every month in the past year, it has been crazy busy. It seems like as soon as we have a quiet day, something changes.
Birdie (now known as Naji) has been at her new home for 1 ½ months now. Tina keeps us upated and sends pictures every week. She is happy, healthy and living her life the way it should be.
Like every month in the past year, it has been crazy busy. It seems like as soon as we have a quiet day, something changes.
Birdie (now known as Naji) has been at her new home for 1 ½ months now. Tina keeps us upated and sends pictures every week. She is happy, healthy and living her life the way it should be.
Chester and I are continuing to learn new things together. He loves to “play” – we work in the ring, at liberty, go for walks and just hang out… he Loves people and wants to please so badly. When we are working on something new and he finally understands what I am asking for – I say good boy and he has this low rumbling nicker – so pleased with himself “oh I did it right!” We are working on leading with and without a rope from the right side , left side, back , sidestepping over both ways, sending him away and drawing him back to me at the walk and trot. It really is so much fun and when people ask if he can be ridden? I don’t know. His pasterns (the space between his hoof and fetlock) are very weak and long, whether that’s from malnutrition as a baby or in his breeding, either way he may never be able to be ridden but he can definitely give so much. Its not always about being ridden or if he can do well in a show ring or if he can be a great trail horse…. Who knows but I do know what he gives me daily couldn’t be more if he was a grand champion show horse. He gives me everything he has and has fun doing it, can it get any better then that? To watch him learn a new step is a rewarding as having him do a flying lead change or stop on a dime. He will someday find his person, someone that wants to just have fun and connect to a horse on a deeper level. By the way…we are working a bit on driving, I think he would be a cute cart boy or even sojourning in the winter! The equine dentist, Kristen Kramer, saw a few wolf teeth in Mr. Chester so those will be removed very soon
Tommy is still lame and still wont let the farrier near him. UGH! I have resorted to trying to keep his feet trimmed myself (with the advice of Andrew, the farrier). Man that’s hard work! I rasp a little every night. They look pretty good and I will be ordering his soft ride boots this coming week. Still hope to get him comfortable enough to go for walks and if he would just let Andrew do it, well it would take minutes not weeks! Hahaha. When visitors come Tommy is usually the one I send them to. Its funny how he can be so out of control, terror in his eyes at one thing and a horse I trust pretty well with other situations. He loves kids and seems to be so careful when they are patting him. Oh how I wish he wasn’t lame. Tommy does have one young admirer that makes his heart flutter when he sees her. It always means a sweet scratch and a little lawn lunch when she visits. Every horse deserves his little girl and Tommy found his. His future home will have to be very aware of his sensitivity, he will hang his head with sadness if he is told he did something bad (which he does to Petey across the stall gates at supper time) – Its when he actually is hollered at with anger that triggers his terror. What must have happened to him? For now, he doesn’t have to worry about angry hollering or too firm of a hand…. He really doesn’t need it, he just needs a little unconditional lovin.
Not to be outdone, Blossom has had a very busy month too. Heather and Willow Dunham have been volunteering several times a week and Heather is a big fan of Blossom. When they come Blossom usually gets some snacking on the lawn and a few scratches from Heather. Speaking of this amazing duo…. Mary and I want to thank you both for helping out so much. Its hard to make sure all 3 horses and Blossom each get some attention each day and these 2 have made that possible. It’s a great feeling to be able to say “can you take Pete out to eat a bit and give him a brushing” and know that they know how to do that safely. They have even taken on some lunchtime chores when Mary and I are both working. Thank you Heather and Willow.
Back to Blossom She is quickly learning that visitors mean something good in the tummy. Blossom herself is a rescue and it has taken a long time for her to trust people but the outreached hand of a child seems to melt away all those fears. Marty and Jan Wilson, donkey lovers from Colorado, make sure to visit Blossom on each of their Maine trips and I swear, Marty can talk Donkey.
Back to Blossom She is quickly learning that visitors mean something good in the tummy. Blossom herself is a rescue and it has taken a long time for her to trust people but the outreached hand of a child seems to melt away all those fears. Marty and Jan Wilson, donkey lovers from Colorado, make sure to visit Blossom on each of their Maine trips and I swear, Marty can talk Donkey.
Then there’s Pete. On July 18th, Mary and I decided to fill Birdies stall with this old man. I was contacted by Hadley Hope farm in Kentucky in hopes we may have room for one more. This old gelding was being held at a lot, waiting for his trip to Kauffman. You see, this is how horses make their way to a killpen, by way of meat trucks. These men go from auction to auction, sometimes scanning Craigs list for free or cheap horses that people need to get rid of for whatever reason, they promise a safe home and away the horse goes, the owner never has to think about them again. Or the auction… who wants this old skinny horse when there are 10 healthy ridable horses to choose from.. no one but the meat guy. And so it was with Pete, he found himself at a meat buyers lot, waiting for the truck to be full enough to make the trip to Kaufman killpen where he would wait again for his turn to load onto a truck, overpacked with terrified horses for a long ride over the boarder to Mexico where they are eventually slaughtered.
We contacted our transport guy, Bobby Cross, “you aren’t by any chance heading to the Northeast anytime soon are you?” We could have gone with any transport out there but I trust Bobby. He brought the Texas trio home a year ago and he knows how to do it. Pete (who didn’t have a name at this point, just the number 682 glued to him by the auctioneer. On July 20th, after 43 very hot hours on a trailer headed north… Pete stepped off at 11pm and breathed in the cool Maine night air. He was exhausted, hungry, confused, but very glad to be able to move his feet. The next morning Mary and I met him in the pasture where he had spent the night.
Overall, Pete was healthy. He was old, thin, his feet needed to be trimmed, but he was tough and wanted to live. We quickly found he couldn’t eat hay but dengy and soaked alfalfa/timothy cubes were gobbled up. For most of July he spent his days out back, munching in the quiet enclosure behind the barn. At night he went into Birdies stall beside Tommy.
Pete gradually came back to life. His diarrhea cleared up, he started drinking water, he started, slowly, being introduced to grain. When horses arrive off the trailer, the ones that have been in meat lots, they have generic halters that usually don’t fit them, hanging off sad faces , drooping off their nose. Heather
and Willow got Pete a new halter and with that , a new life. Hours were spent washing the Kentucky dust off of him, feeding him his nightly banana, taking him for short walks and lunch on the lawn, holding his head and telling him he would never have to worry about where his next meal was coming from, never again. A sparkle has appeared in his eyes and Pete loves people, he whinneys a high squeaky sound each time he sees someone coming his way.
and Willow got Pete a new halter and with that , a new life. Hours were spent washing the Kentucky dust off of him, feeding him his nightly banana, taking him for short walks and lunch on the lawn, holding his head and telling him he would never have to worry about where his next meal was coming from, never again. A sparkle has appeared in his eyes and Pete loves people, he whinneys a high squeaky sound each time he sees someone coming his way.
Pete has had his teeth done by Kristen Kramer of Equis Pro Dentes who donated her time and expertise to help Pete chew his food more effectively and be more comfortable. We are waiting on the farrier and vet – hopefully coming soon. Our new thoughts are Pete was a camp horse in his day - the way he loves kids is amazing.
To help support Chester, Tommy, Blossom or Pete, go to How You Can Help at the top of the page and donate :) Thank You
Our local media has helped out. In July the weekly packet did a story about Birdie’s placement.
https://penobscotbaypress.com/multimedia/gallery/2019/jul/3/from-cruelty-to-a-forever-home/?fbclid=IwAR3PQX6nkEILwcsGomYNOt8uuvFmZ6pMC184gC_f7-UE6thDq4mLx0ATYH8#.XUbWzuhKjC9
This link should take you to it.
We want to thank all of our supporters that helped out in July, greeted Pete and watched the progress of Birdie at her new home.
“It may only be one horse that we save but to that one horse, it’s the world.”
https://penobscotbaypress.com/multimedia/gallery/2019/jul/3/from-cruelty-to-a-forever-home/?fbclid=IwAR3PQX6nkEILwcsGomYNOt8uuvFmZ6pMC184gC_f7-UE6thDq4mLx0ATYH8#.XUbWzuhKjC9
This link should take you to it.
We want to thank all of our supporters that helped out in July, greeted Pete and watched the progress of Birdie at her new home.
“It may only be one horse that we save but to that one horse, it’s the world.”