This morning I received an urgent call. There are 5 orphaned foals waiting for us to pick them up. Of course I had a few hours to say yes or no, and a few hours after that to actually get them. We were not given any opportunity to save any of the others.
So, once again plans are changed at the last minute. Luckily Matt has delivered all the 44 that were not going home with us. Mel is sharing her place with us and babysitting our stallions and other kids waiting to go to NV.
We have the rolling foal hospital with us today, (with the orphan SKY and the injured filly Kahlua with us for 24/7 care.) Matt was doing his pre-trip check when he noticed one of the tires starting to fail. They have good tread, but we have been running on them non stop for the last three years since we got the trailer.
So once again, lots of unexpected expenses. New tires, saving and vetting the foals and milk powder and pellets etc. etc. for the new kids.
But when God puts it in front of you, all you can do is say yes and do your best. So we are back in emergency mode.
Thank you to all of our CHILLY PEPPER FAMILY! Without you, none of this would be possible. Again, I have to say this was a bit overwhelming, but with your prayers, love and support we will “git ‘er done”.
God bless and thank you so much for sticking by us and saving these lives. Pictures will follow.
Please send lots of prayers for safe travel, the support we need and for Kahlua to feel better!
Below, Sky enjoying a break at one of our “free” campsites close to Yakama. :) Sometimes being frugal is just plain beautiful. lol
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
WE DID IT – One more miracle for the Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang Family, and that is – YOU! Each and Every Single Person who donated, shared and prayed for these amazing horses is part of Chilly Pepper.THANK YOU & GOD BLESS YOU!
We were extremely lucky that one of my friends stepped up and she and her husband took 14 of the stallions to their place for foster care. They will be helping us get them gelded and gentled so they can be placed in their forever homes.
So now I will only have 14 stallions at Chilly Pepper LOL.
I cannot begin to thank everyone for stepping up. We did not raise enough funds for the gelding, but for now they are safe, and that was definitely the most important aspect to worry about. We will just have to deal with that when we get them home.
Below is Kahlua. She is a 2 year old? filly who came off the range with a horrible injury. It appears as though she fought with a branch? She has a huge and oh so deep gash. Due to the fact it has been there for some time, the infection has spread to her chest and legs. However, she was seen by the vet and is on antibiotics and being treated.
When she came through the chute, I told the guys I wanted her loaded straight into my trailer. They laughed and said “Oh – you gonna just stick a halter on her?” She had a halter on the next day while standing at liberty. She is extremely intelligent, sweet and knew she needed help. She loves to play in the hose while I am hosing her injury off and we would appreciate prayers for her. If this treatment plan does not work, or even if it works but still needs help, we will take her to our vet when we get home.
THANK YOU – THANK YOU – THANK YOU for saving these 44 horses.
Together (just in the past month or so) we have saved the mare and foal, 49 last time and 44 this time. ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR BEAUTIFUL HEARTS AND LOVE AND SUPPORT.
Together, you are making miracles happen!
However, I have been “grounded”. We need to stay home and get these stallions gelded and the more of the horses at Chilly Pepper placed before we can bring more in. We have to be responsible. Once we get the 6 acres fenced it will allow for more horses to be saved.
There are more round ups going to happen. So we will work as quickly and diligently as we can to get these kids placed.
Thank you for continuing to help us save these lives. It takes a village…
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
We are on scene in Yakama WA. ALL of this group can be saved, but we need a bit more help.
There are 18 stallions, (instead of the 6 we were told about). So we need to raise more funds so we will be able to pull them and have funds for feeding and gelding them so we can find them homes.
The vet will be here at 10:45 a.m. this morning, so we need to know who needs their Coggins (blood work) done. I have to let the vet know who we are saving. Even if we don’t get enough to cover all of the gelding, if we can raise $3,000 more thousand dollars, – we will have a total of 44 horses and WE CAN SAVE EVERY SINGLE ONE.
Unfortunately we were not planning for and do not have the budget for this many stallions. But with a bit more help we CAN DO THIS.
LET’S MAKE ANOTHER MIRACLE!
(This is it for Chilly Pepper until we have these big kids placed.) We will be able to get babies, but we need to get these homed before bringing in more large groups. So let’s make this trip count!)
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
Roll is standing quietly as he usually does while I was speaking to a tour group with the gate wide open, but this was not always the case with him. He used to hide behind Rock and snort at me when he first arrived with Rock in December of 2010.
Behavior Modification is a reward system of training that requires that the trainer has the ability to distinguish between good and bad behaviors, to reward them promptly and appropriately…and, to do it politely with respect for the animal. The oats are a reward that is both safe and enjoyable for equines, and is something that they will continue to work for.
When dealing with an equine that is easily ten times your own weight, it is hard to imagine that the way we talk, touch and interact with our equine would really need to be ultra considerate, light and reassuring. However, if you want their complete cooperation, that is exactly what needs to happen. For instance, when applying fly spray talk gently and calmly, and be careful not to get the spray in their eyes…or it will burn and they will be less likely to comply the next time!
The same consideration hold true when bathing. Be careful not to get water in the ears, eyes and nostrils…and accustom the equine to cold water by spraying the feet and front legs first and work your way up to the face.
When you are kind and considerate, and give the equine time to adjust, even mechanical equipment like a massage thumper for muscle relaxation, or an equine vacuum cleaner used not only to clean but also to promote better circulation, can become a real source of pleasure and enjoyment for your equine.
When the equine is relaxed and accepting of the equine chiropractor, veterinarian and farrier, they are better able to do their jobs with maximum efficiency and successful outcomes.
And jobs you have to do like clipping, bridling and taking off the bridle all get much easier, preserving the trust between you. Now at 26 years old, Roll is a NEW draft mule!
AAE’s Quarterly All Volunteer Meeting is an opportunity for all volunteers to come together for an update on current happenings, upcoming events, and updated volunteer needs. It’s also a good time for anyone interested in getting involved to learn more about AAE. Bring family or bring anyone interested in volunteering or otherwise supporting our cause.
Our agenda will include the following:
Presentation by 5th grader, Maya B.
Horse Updates
Volunteer Updates and Needs
Board of Director Updates and Activities
Community Outreach Updates and Activities
Fundraising Upcoming Events and Needs
Grants – Updates
Programs – Updates and Activities
Please bring either an appetizer or dessert to share at 6:00pm, meeting will begin at 6:30pm and end by 8:00pm.
* Pictured above – 14 Alpacas saved by Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang, Equine Rescue & MORE
ANOTHER CALL FOR HELP –
18 MORE wild mustang lives on the line – do we save them, or walk away?? We want to save them, but WE NEED YOUR HELP ASAP! We only have a couple of days.
So many times folks ask us “Why didn’t you save the mares?”. “Why did they go to slaughter?”
The answer has always been “because we DID NOT have a choice”.But today, OUR CHOICE IS YOUR CHOICE !
THIS TIME we have the power….As long as we can raise enough funds, we can save ALL 18, and pick up mares and foals, instead of orphans.
If we do not pick them up, they will ship directly (except for the babies that are too small, and if they are lucky and survive, they will come home alone and heart broken). Let’s keep them safe!!
I am hoping that folks will want to help us save the mares, so we don’t have to pick up more orphans. No horse deserves to go to slaughter, but it is twice as bad when not only do the mares die a horrific death, but their babies are stripped off their mothers.
These horses do not go to auction. The ONLY chance they have for life is if we pick them up and find them homes. God put this in front of us again, so here we go.
(Honestly, I was hoping to not do the Yakama horses this year, but I simply cannot just walk away when we can make a difference.)
One of the really great things is that although our rescue incurs the costs up front, we have been very blessed with the folks we work with in placing these horses. We pay to “save them”, get their Coggins, Health Certificates and Brand Inspections. We incur the costs of picking them up and moving them where they need to be so they can get the training they need for a successful and happy future. This saves so much money as they are no longer on our books.
Many times they come to our rescue for a short time, but most of them are not here long term. This saves a huge amount of expenses by not “hoarding them” and placing them as soon as we can. We normally only offer sanctuary to special needs cases, and even then we place them as often as we can.
These 18 horses ALL have a place to go. NONE of these will be coming back to Chilly Pepper. Of course there may be others in the trailer lol, you just never know.
So PLEASE help us save these beautiful souls. As always, Matt and I are willing to do whatever we can, but we need your help!
Thank you for all you do. Our name is Chilly Pepper – Miracle Mustang, Equine Rescue & More, and this last week we did “MORE”. We received a call from a lady who lost her husband and had no place for her 14 Alpacas to go. We placed 11 of them in Idaho and we have the “special needs”, blind one and his two buddies here at Chilly Pepper. For now, we will be sharing them as part of our “petting zoo” when kids, (of all ages lol) come to visit.
Snowball is blind and needs his lil hoofers done quite badly. But now it is time to focus on the wild mustangs that need our help once again.
Shown below are Anika and Midnight Onyx, our Blind ISPMB horses who are now inseparable. They are very happy and enjoying their lives. Midnightno longer is stressed and wanting to fight. It brings joy every time I see them.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
Quick update. – As usual, the information we received when we get a call usually changes by the time we actually pick up. This time was no different. We were able to save Double-J n Trailer, thanks to the awesome folks at the actual DOUBLE-J TRAILERS in Woodland WA.
We also have 7 orphans in the trailer. We thought we would be picking up more adults but this time we were not offered that choice.
We purchased all the horse kids and spent just short of $900 to get them all vetted. So we are just shy of $2000 to save these kids just to get them in the trailer.
Thank you to all if you who donated to help with this rescue. Covering even part of the costs helps tremendously.
The horses (and I) so appreciate it!
We just wanted to make sure y’all knew what horses we actually picked up, and that your money goes to save real horses LOL.
Please help us continue to make a difference in these critters lives, and THANK YOU for all the love and support!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
It is with extreme sorrow I share the news that June 1, Colt slipped quietly away with his head in my lap. The vet had been to see him just that afternoon, and was extremely pleased with the way his wounds were healing and his progress in general. We knew he was weak, but was eating, drinking, pooping and peeing. Unfortunately, the trauma was too much and about an hour before he passed he let me know he was done. So we sat quietly together until he slipped away. As the tears streamed down I reminded him of how many folks loved him and had prayed for him.
So I am hoping that we can honor his memory by saving the mare and foal that are waiting for us to pick them up, as well as the ones who are being rounded up this weekend.
We received the call this morning while we were on the way to get the Rolling Foal Hospital repaired. The -40 degree weather really caused a lot of damage, in spite of our efforts to weatherproof it.
There is a mare and foal in the feedlot and we can save BOTH of them.Prior to saving the band of adults last year, we were not able to save the big horses, only the babies under 6 months of age.
BUT TODAY – we got a call and have the chance to save not only the Foal AND her Mama, but ALL the horses in the next batch that are rounded up, mares, babies and the stallions.
But we NEED YOUR HELP! Saving these horses is not easy nor is it inexpensive. For a batch of 10 adults, the cost for bail would be $1500 – $2,000 with younger ones being a bit less. (The mare and foal will be $275). Then we need to get the Coggins tests, and Health certs so we can transport them home. We need to raise at $5,000, as this is just the beginning. So we really really need your help to make this a success story. At this point we are waiting to find out the number of horses they are bringing in, but at the very least we are bringing the mare and foal home this trip and coming back for more.
The loss of Colt was devastating at the very least, and it has been a really tough year. Out of the 12 babies so far, 3 of them were in such bad shape we didn’t even get to try and help them, and the rest of them (with the exception of Colt), have been placed in their loving, forever homes. So although we have all been through a tremendous amount of loss already this year, we have also saved many lives.
We have also been called in for an emergency rescue of 14 Alpacas.The owner lost her husband and has to be off the property in 3 weeks. So as usual, it is going to be non stop crazy.
Please help us continue to make a difference in these critters lives, and THANK YOU for all the love and support!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
Meet “COLT”, the newest orphan at Chilly Pepper. Colt was born in the wild and was severely injured by coyotes. After getting permission from the proper authorities he was brought in. That’s when life became even more “interesting”.
As usual, there is never a dull moment at CPMM. Matt and I had just gotten home from an event in Carson City with Lacy J Dalton to fund raise for the wild ones. We had taken Sapphire, Diesel and Stormy, the resident orphans, for a “meet and greet” at Lacy’s request. The even was amazing and so many folks got to “touch” a wild horse in the proper way. The babies did awesome and it was a great evening for all.
Matt and I spent the night with the babies in Gardnerville as we had to pick up Buddy, a sweet 4 year old mustang that we helped place in a new home up in Idaho. The next day we went home to meet the vet and brand inspector to get the 6 ready for their trip to Idaho.
Early Monday we loaded up Diesel and the other 5 and Matt set off to Northern Idaho. Once again the rescue truck needed repairs so my son took me and we dropped off that truck. About that time we got an emergency phone call. The horse Matt was supposed to pick up upon his return from BLM in Utah needed to be picked up ASAP. So as usual, God was giggling and Matt turned around, came home, unloaded all 6 and headed to Utah to do the pick up.
All went well and he returned with a gorgeous mustang. Once again we loaded up the 6 and he headed on out. While Matt was delivering in Idaho, and the rescue truck was sitting in the shop, we received notice about Colt. He was in extremely critical, life threatening condition and we had to get him asap. I was shocked and so proud when my son offered to pick him up in his little race car lol. He has a Golf GTI and he doesn’t even let anyone eat in it. He loves that car, but was putting it out there to pick up a stinky, injured orphan who was oozing puss to try and save it’s life.
It took nearly 7 hours to get to Reno, pick him up and get back home. We immediately started treating him and have been round the clock ever since. His injuries are severe and his whole right side is extremely swollen with edema from the trauma. He can barely walk and is unable to get up and down by himself except for a rare occasion or two. The vet is happy with the wounds and how they are draining, and is hopeful we will be able to pull him through.
Unfortunately last night he stopped drinking for the most part. So I am using a syringe and per the vet’s instructions making sure he gets alternating milk and water. We are trying to avoid having to do IV fluids. He is on pain meds and we are doing everything we can to keep him comfortable and give him time to heal and survive.
Folks were asking what supplies we need. _This is what we use on a daily basis for Colt. _
Paper towels Gloves (type to keep sanitary lol) Probios Banamine Paste Uniprim Foal Lac Powder Powdered goats milk Foal Lac Pellets Shavings Soft grass hay Betadine Garbage bags
Please keep him in your prayers.
So we placed 6 horses, including Donkey, but already picked up another baby (“Colt”), and Matt is picking up 3 miniatures in need of help and bringing them home from California. It never stops and God keeps putting these beautiful souls in front of us.
We also got the dreaded “yakama call”. I was honestly hoping to not need to help so much with that this year, but there is only one place up there who can help so far and they can only do the babies. So it looks like there will once again be no rest, but I know God only gives us what we can handle. (That’s what I keep telling myself lol).
So we continue non-stop and want to say Thank You to everyone who is in this with us. It can be very overwhelming to everyone, but the best we can do is keep plugging along. I just try to get through one day at a time, celebrate the victories, mourn the losses and keep trying to “git ‘er done”. Y’all are amazing and we so appreciate you and all the love and support.
Picture below: Top left – injury to his back upper leg. Bottom left – severe swelling and injury to his leg.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
After being off last week, Roll was more than happy to come with me today. The air was brisk with a bit of a breeze and Roll was even a little snorty walking up to the work station. We spent a good amount of time with the Goody hairbrush getting the undercoat loose and I then went over him with the shedding blade to get the excess on top. He was still shedding hair all over, so I decided to go ahead with the vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner serves a dual purpose: it pulls the remaining loose hairs from his coat while stimulating the capillaries to come to the surface of the skin. This increased circulation makes for an extremely soft and healthy coat. He still has a lot left to shed, but his hair now feels silky to the touch. I then put Roll in his surcingle, Eggbutt Snaffle bridle and “Elbow Pull” for his core muscle, postural leading lessons.
Roll practically pulled me down the alleyway to the dressage arena, but was very well behaved when we stopped to give Augie and Spuds a treat of oats. Roll was okay with sharing as long as I gave him more oats, too!
Roll and I then walked to the gate and he went through beautifully as always.
We marched along the pens and gave treats to all the mules who would be his audience.
Roll launched into the hourglass pattern on the lead rope with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. He squared up easily, but was still reluctant to put all the appropriate weight on his right hind foot.
He kept an upright balance through the turns and was markedly better in balance over the ground rails.
He even trotted a bit along side of the pens once I got out in front of him, but when I asked him to trot back to the gate, he was too tired! The chiropractor had come out to see him last week and said that he was locked up in his right hip, so it may be he needs another chiropractic visit this week as well.
At any rate, I was pleased with his progress and even though he missed his lesson last week, he still did better than in prior weeks. The hind feet were no longer twisting after his trim on May 19th.
It may very well be that he can graduate to the round pen soon for bulk muscle building. His core is solid now and after his workout, he was much tighter in the abs and filled in nicely over his topline.
Roll is carrying just a little more weight than I would like to see, but he did look less obese after his lesson and when we begin the bulk muscle building, it should disappear rapidly as the fat evolves into muscle. At twenty-six, Roll is doing so much better than I ever would have expected given his questionable history.
The wild horses living in the Red Desert Complex in Wyoming need your help! The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing a massive roundup and removal of 2,096 horses, or 80% of the 2,620 horses residing in and around the Complex that includes the Antelope Hills, Crooks Mountain, Green Mountain, Lost Creek, and Stewart Creek Herd Management Areas. The BLM’s goal is to reach a low Appropriate Management Level of only 524 wild horses on 753,000 acres of public land. Please take a minute and submit your comments urging the BLM to consider more humane and effective alternatives to the proposed removal of Wyoming wild horses from their homes on the range… Click below to take action today!
Once again my heart feels like it has been shattered into a million tiny pieces.Early Wednesday morning, Matt backed in the trailer to our loading area and I went to get Frosty and Braveheart.
To my horror, I noticed something was wrong with Braveheart. Just the night before he had been be-bopping around and feeling great. But this morning, something was terribly wrong. His poor little face was swollen halfway up, and you could tell he was done.
It took a minute to realize that overnight he had become 100% blind. He was struggling horribly and extremely frantic at losing his sight. Of course I called Doc immediately, and she came out to see what had happened.
The most likely explanation is due to the fact that his eye had been so horribly infected for so many months, (if not years), that he had probably had an abscess that for some unknown reason decided to burst during the night, and it caused the immediate blindness. Doc’s other thought was that it could have been an aneurysm, but in either case, the way he was standing with his head down would account for the swelling of the soft tissue.
His eye was still perfect from the surgery. But my beloved Braveheart went from feeling great to absolutely miserable. Whatever happened last night had been traumatic and my sweet boy was done. I knew even before Doc arrived that his beautiful life would end on this day. The tears ran as I tried to comfort him until she arrived.
So instead of loading up Braveheart, Frosty, Shadow and Dabubbles, we spent the day taking care of Braveheart for the last time. It was devastating beyond measure to let him go, but it was our final gift to him. The only comfort I can find is the fact that he was so happy here and absolutely loved not having to fight for his food and to know so much love.
The happier news is that Shadow went to her new home yesterday and she is settling in well. We are already getting happy reports from her new place. Frosty is also settling in to his new place and already has a new friend. That warms my heart as he was kind of a loner, and he has a beautiful white gelding he is hanging out with. So that is definitely great news.
While we were in South Dakota we had purchased panels for the mission, and were planning to bring them home for the “blind pen”. Unfortunately when it came time to bring them home we simply could not afford to. So we sold them back instead. It was definitely not a happy decision, but we ended up using the funds we got back from the panels to finish what we had to do in South Dakota and to bring the horse kids here and get them the care and special feed etc. they needed.
I am working on individual Thank You’s, but as usual I am far behind. I want everyone to know that every single penny is so much appreciated and remind folks of how many lives y’all have saved. Unfortunately in our world it just doesn’t seem to stop. But God is not only blessing us with folks like you who show your love and support for His creatures, but He is also blessing us with good homes for the ones we save. So please know that not a penny is taken for granted and I am working literally round the clock at this point. 3 babies doesn’t seem like much but they still want their milk every few hours and really don’t care if mom gets any sleep. lol
We need to raise funds for another delivery to the northern most border of Idaho. We need roughly $2000 for transportation, and 6 more horses will have their forever homes. These horses will be part of an amazing program where troubled kids have their hearts and souls healed by/through equine therapy working with the wild horses. Diesel, Lacy, Donkey, Chester, Loves Legacy and another wild mustang named Buddy will be heading out, (hopefully on the 22nd if we raise the transport funds).
Once we get the next batch of horses to their new homes, we will have the two little ones Sapphire and Stormy (who have potential adopters), Anicka and her seeing eye horse Diamond Dancer, Midnight Onyx (our blind ones from the ISPMB rescue), Honey Bandit, the twins Lucky and Spartan, Denny, and DaBubbles, (our little therapy man) and we are scheduled to pick up two additional miniature horses who needed rescued in the next week or so.
And baby season is just beginning. As I write this I am on standby for an approximately 3 week old colt whose mama was killed by a car today.
So the kids just continue to keep coming, and since most of ours end up being special needs, we cannot thank you enough for keeping this amazing journey a success. Your donations make it all happen.
So please, stay with us and lets “keep strong and rescue on”. YOU are the reason these lives are being saved. We so appreciate your love and support and we will continue to share the stories of the lives you are saving and the difference you make for each and every horse we bring in. Some times the end result is simply giving the horse the gift of knowing what it feels like to be safe, have enough to eat and leave this earth peacefully, and those are the hardest ones. Those are the ones that make me want to quit, but I know that whatever God puts in front of us we need to take care of. So we cry for days, and then put on our big girl panties and “git ‘er done”.
Thank you for being part of this!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
Roll missed his exercises last week, so we thought we had better get out there today. Both of us were a bit tired of the arena, so we opted for a walk down the hayfield road. It was a rainy day and Roll had rolled in the mud, so we just did the hairbrush and shedding blade routine without the vacuum cleaner this time. Then we were ready to go.
Although he missed his exercises last week, he was still a bit better on the right hind foot. He did not want to put full weight on it, but I was sure he would do better after his walk in his core muscle building gear: the snaffle bridle with the dropped noseband, his surcingle and the “Elbow Pull” to make sure that the topline and abs would be engaged during the workout.
In the spring, we only turn out in dirt areas while the grass is growing. The equines will get turned out on grass on June 1st. This helps to maintain a nice stand of grass in all the turnout areas that will last all summer and into the fall. We never graze the equines on the hayfield pastures.
Contrary to popular belief, horse manure (or any manure that is not processed) will contain weed seeds and will contaminate the weed-free hayfields that we have managed to grow on 112 of our 127 ½ acres. There is an obvious size difference between us, but Roll is a gentleman and though he REALLY wanted to eat the grass, he still stuck to the routine as best that he could.
He did try to drag me off the road and over to the grass, but I just planted my feet, pulled on the lead rope as his right foot was coming forward and redirected him back down the road.
He was so good that I decided to let him have a bite and we then continued on down the road. We walked about a half mile out and back.
On the way back, Roll was breathing a bit hard, so I know he put his heart and soul into his exercise yet again. What a great guy! When he got back, he was fully weighting the right hind.
It’s go time again at Chilly Pepper. (Although it seems like that is the norm nowadays.) But we are moving forward and y’all have helped save alot of horses.
YOU are the reason this is all possible and we so appreciate the love and support.
A quick summary of some of the purchases y’all made :)
$ 2,800 for hay $ 2,500 Foal Lac Powder & Pellets $ 400 bedding $ 3,200+ vet bills $ 250 farrier expenses $ 750 Colostrum & misc
Those are just some of the major expenses. There are lots of other miscellaneous costs for these kids, but you have made it all possible with your love and support, so Thank You! (At least you know we are not wasting a penny of your much needed donations.)
BRAVEHEART had a very successful, (although expensive) surgery. His bill (not including his gelding) was $950, with the total bill that day for Chilly Pepper coming out to $1250.00 We had his teeth done, his eye removed, he was gelded, had his vaccines and was wormed again, and he is a new man. Both vets concurred with his age only being around 11 when they looked at his teeth. Glad I listened to that little voice in my head that said NO – do not euthanize him. Braveheart made it very clear he was not ready to go anywhere. There was simply no legitimate reason to kill him. He is a very happy and friendly guy and heading to his new home on Wednesdaymorning.
Although it breaks my heart, we have found the perfect home for not only Braveheart, but my beloved Frosty. The vets were amazed when I guided Frosty down the runway. He is extremely smart and would follow voice commands so he avoided hitting his head. (He is completely blind and a wild stallion.) I am so in love with him but can’t keep a horse “just because” when it has a wonderful home available. So I cry like a baby as usual. He was also gelded and had his lil hoofers done, as well as had his vaccines.
Chester, our – hours away from being loaded onto the slaughter truck guy was also gelded, vaccinated and had hoofers done.
But the highlight of that day was having our huge, blind, black stallion safely gelded. Midnight Onyx is ginormous, and nearly jumped out of the 6 foot panels. His back hoofers were about a foot from clearing it. That would have been devastating. He needed a great deal of sedation due to his size, and often times they wake up thrashing and crashing around. Our vet gave him fluids and when he woke up he simply popped to his feet. We definitely had our angels around that day.
We transported 18 horses (mares & foals) for Return to Freedom and Neda was kind enough to make sure we received some compensation for that trip. Woohoo. We so appreciate that.
We want to say THANK YOU to Neda DeMayo and Return to Freedom for sharing their grant from the Coalition for Unwanted Horses. They covered ALL the gelding which came to $1000, leaving the $1250 that Chilly Pepper covered. She is also providing us with some vaccinations for some of the rescued horses. I love working together. It makes us so much more successful.
We seriously need to buy panels for the blind horses to have more room. Our beloved Shadow is also leaving on Wednesday, so we will “only” have 2 blind horses left.
Love’s Legacy is gaining weight and feeling much better. She still cannot eat hay and we need to find her a place where someone has time to give her the special care she needs. She will make a wonderful riding horse, although I wouldn’t put her in a bit. But she is sweet and happy and looking for a new place to land.
STORMY, SAPPHIRE & DIESEL are hanging in there and getting stronger every day. They are still having issues with their tums, but compared to where they were they are doing much better. Please send prayers for their continued improvement. Their is definitely a reason they were not kept by their mama’s.
As always, we appreciate any help with the costs of saving these kids. Unfortunately the type of work we do is the most expensive type as far as the special needs and orphans. But this is where God wants us, so we will rock it the best we can with your help.
Photo below, babies from the Gila Herd from the ISPMB rescue. Matt took the babies and I took the mama’s.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
Roll was a muddy mess when I went to get him today. He had been lying down and decided to roll in the wet dirt and pea gravel. Thank heavens it wasn’t all mud! I did my best to get most of it off of him, but clearly, the vacuum cleaner was not going to work for anything but getting the hair off the floor. I first went over his body with the hairbrush, then the shedding blade and afterwards, the dandy brush. Then I baby-oiled his mane and tail, put on his gear and we were good to go.
Roll seemed happier today than he had been last week. Roll was walking better and appeared to have gained some core strength back.
Instead of being really off behind, he was only slightly off and did not want to bear weight on the right hind in his squaring up…until the last one when he finally weighted the foot entirely.
Roll’s rein back was much better than last week. I had him checked by our resident farrier, LTR Ranch Manager Chad in case he was developing fungus in that foot (after his bout with White Line in his left hind). better to be safe than sorry, but he showed nothing but a packed-up foot, and that very well could have been the culprit since we just had a really good rain and everything was muddy in the arena where we were working.
It is truly amazing how slight, but visible his improvement has been from week to week. His whole body looked much more symmetrical this time. It is awesome to be able to celebrate each of Roll’s “little victories” along the way at 26 years old! However, Roll wasn’t too sure if he wanted to share his rewards with Sir Guy!!!
Roll decided that celebrating with a friend is probably okay and back to the work station we went to untack and then it was time for turnout!
Roll is very happy to be back to his core strength, postural leading exercises and today, he got his tail washed after a long and dirty winter. he seemed to enjoy getting his tail cleaned before his exercises.
Roll’s attitude is always good and he lets me know when he doesn’t want to go back to his pen afterward his lessons. He would prefer to stay with me all day long if he could.
He is beginning to really shed out a lot after this warm, dry spring. He really enjoys the brushing with a regular hairbrush to remove the under-hair, then the shedding blade for loose hair and finally the vacuum cleaner to promote good circulation. This regimen really promotes maximum shedding and a healthy summer hair coat.
He led well to the arena and went through the gate just fine although he wasn’t as flexible through his rib cage as I would have liked to see.
He did square up nicely when I asked on the other side of the gate.
His leading exercises went well and although he is still weak behind and wants to unweight one foot or the other when squaring up like he did after coming through the gate. The weight shifting is more general that specific and I think as he is strengthened, his stance will improve.
I also noticed that he really “sunk” behind before going over the ground rails…
…and then was able to maintain his posture over the rails, but “sunk” again on the approach every time.
The rein back was difficult for him, but he did comply with the slightest of cues as well as he was able.
When I ask him to put weight down evenly on the hind feet, he does comply, so this could just be more from habit than from actual pain, although there is clearly atrophy of the bulk muscle and weakness in the core muscles. He should improve with time and exercise.
Roll knows that I have his best interest at heart, so he is always affectionate, loving and willing to do anything and everything that I ask, but then I always keep my expectations for him realistic and doable.
Our sweet little one is still moving in the right direction. She has made substantial improvement in her whole 10 days of life. Her first lab results for a muscle enzyme showed her values were off the charts. Normal is 800, and upon intake she was at 120,000, the highest level the equipment could read. As of yesterday, her muscle enzyme levels and other blood levels were within normal range. She is still weak and unable to get up on her own, which is not uncommon, but once she’s helped to stand, her mobility is MUCH improved !! Thanks to her docs at Loomis Basin Equine Medical Center, her hospitalization is winding down, and she will be home soon, but she has a long rehab/recovery to come and she’s not out of the woods by far. To say her journey has been a rollercoaster ride is an understatement, but we thank you all so much for your support and assistance with this little gal.
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She still needs your help. Due to her baby steps in recovery, the cost of her care continues to climb, and we exceeded the initial guesstimate for costs of hospitalization by quite a bit. It’s hard for us to ask, but we committed to getting her this far, and we need some help to continue her hospitalization and treatment. Please share and spread the word of this sweet babies fight, and let’s get this gentle girl home!
You can also mail a check to:
All About Equine Animal Rescue, Inc.
2201 Francisco Drive #140-174
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
Make a payment directly to:
Loomis Basin Equine Medical Center
(Please reference our AAE’s Account, ID# 23216 and Little Filly Fund)
The pain and heart break that is a part of rescue can sometimes be too much to bear, and you feel like your heart will never survive. Once again my heart was shattered into a million tiny pieces.
Matt and I had been called to pick up an orphan foal, but about 120 miles into the trip were turned around as the baby seemed to be improving. She was nursing and her mom was protective and all seemed well.
Two days later we were called on the same foal. Matt was in NV and I was in CA so he picked her up and we met and I started home. We both provided critical care, but when I stopped to treat her I opened the door to my worst heart ache. “Little Girl” had slipped from this world and was gone. I sank to the trailer floor and held her beautiful little body in my arms. Tears slid down my face as I couldn’t help but sob out the pain of losing this little one before I could even start to help her.
I drove the longest and loneliest drive home to our intern Mona and our orphans Diesel and Sapphire. (Matt was on the road delivering horses.)Wrapping my arms around them I thanked God that they at least have a chance.
CHILLY PEPPER – MIRACLE MUSTANG really needs your help once again. Diesel decided to find a 100 year old nail and step on it, putting it into his frog. Luckily, it missed the bursa sack and coffin bone by a hair, but still required veterinary care. That turned out to almost be the easiest part.
Sapphire’s mom was trying to kill her and Diesel’s mom was no where to be found when these babies were pulled in. We knew these babies had issues, even though Diesel was fever free, played and ate very well. That doesn’t always mean what folks think it does. He has an internal infection, as does Sapphire. The first vet bill was about $1000 between the two of them, with the 2nd visit $350. Diesel has to go back one more time, but of course that is not the end of it.
Last night we got another call and Matt brought me another baby who is barely hanging in there. He is the one in the top photo. Black Jack can barely move, cannot lay down by himself, and was attacked by something prior to being brought in. He was found yesterday alone, no one in sight. This is usually a pretty good indicator that the band realized he would attract predators. I am not sure but the way he moves it is almost like they beat the stuffing out of him before convincing him to not follow the herd. Again, you never really know for sure, but there are indicators to what might possibly have happened. At any rate he is hanging in there as of this post. He is eating, on medication and we are spending 24/7 with him. He is one you have to stay in the stall with. His eyes are as empty as I have ever seen, although there was a tiny spark today.
Black Jack is having severe gut issues in addition to all his other problems, but did manage to poo just enough to spray me and the blankets as I lay in my chair in the stall with him last night.
We have been hit with a lot of expenses with the horses, feed etc. and the vet bills. Matt is on his way Right Now to pick up ANOTHER baby, and possible an additional one who is injured. So we are looking at more expenses and all these kids will most likely need more vet care, hopefully with the exception of Sapphire.
With 5 babies on Foal Lac the milk powder alone will be $1500 + for a month. That is just a drop in the bucket as far as what we use to care for them. Add in Foal Lac Pellets, Kerosene for their heaters, Baby wipes, Vaseline, rubber gloves, shavings, syringes, needles, enemas, BioSponge, ProBiotics, hay, etc. etc. it just keeps adding up. So as always, the orphans are spendy, but I believe when God puts a baby in front of me we are supposed to give it every reasonable chance available.
We also just picked up another stallion (in addition to all of the other kids from the ISPMB rescue) who was ready to be loaded on the slaughter truck. We received a “hail mary call” and God whispered in my ear “say yes”.
So although we have had an amazing year placing horses, more keep coming. THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO SAVE THESE KIDS! Together we have accomplished amazing things, but it seems like the work has just begun.
I was kind of hoping for a break after South Dakota, but God giggled at me again. I hope folks remember, we only ask for the horses so we can take care of them and give them a chance for the lives they deserve.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
In the hustle and bustle of our busiest time of year, we have a critical case, an orphan filly that was not only rejected by mom, but reeling from the effects of mom’s rejection, malnourishment and selenium deficiency, topped of by stress of transport and dehydration. She needs your help!
We go the call yesterday (4/5), a plea for assistance with an orphaned foal who was just a few hours old. She had been rejected by mom and needed help.
So transport was arranged and off we went. She was about 4.5 hours away, but we met in the middle. Gosh, what a precious lil’ filly we met, but it’s been a really rough start! Unfortunately, she was very weak, and definitely in a fragile state. She plopped down on the ground to rest, so we layed her down in the back seat and hightailed it back to Loomis Basin Equine Medical Center (LBEMC) to check her out.
Turns out she looked better than she was. Her blood values were not good, and she was hospitalized.
Lots of attention and supportive measures were taken. A catheter was placed, blood drawn, and meds administered.
We left her looking fairly good and feeling hopeful.
But with foals, things can change quickly. A call at midnight informed us her blood values moving in wrong direction, and we were being prepared for not so good news by morning. HOWEVER, she was up and drinking milk replacer on her own, so that was good!
This morning, she was holding her own, but still quite sick. She was still getting up on her own and drinking her milk replacer with a good appetite. That offered some optimism to keep pushing forward. This afternoon, she was up, she was eating, and her blood levels were finally trending in the right direction, and the 9p update is things are still moving in the right direction.
She wants to live! She’s a FIGHTER and AAE wants to support her as she continues her battle.
Although she’s not out of the woods, the docs think she’s moving in the right direction. It likely she’s dealing with the results of being rejected by mom, and secondary effects resulting from mom’s malnourishment and selenium deficiency, as well as stressors from long transport and dehydration. It’s a lot for any young, new life to endure. Docs are hopeful that with 5 +/- days of hospitalization and supportive care, she has a good shot at a relatively normal life. However, there is a chance there will be some long lasting effects, but it’s too early to know. We need a few more days to have a better picture, but so far, the trend is good.
A BIG THANK YOU to the docs at LBEMC for their quick actions and the outstanding care provided for this little filly. We are all hoping for continued progress.
Without hospitalization, she has little chance of survival at this point. The unfortunate reality is that we are looking at a big expense for this one little life, well over $5,000 to get there. She needs your help.
If our big community can help in little bits, the hit isn’t so hard to any one, and for those that need, AAE is a 501(c)(3), so donations are tax deductible.
No donation is too small. If everyone that can will help just a little, we can give this precious girl a chance to live a full life.
Some folks may think because of the costs that euthanasia is the better choice. Fair enough, and if you feel that way, you are under no obligation to donate. But if you are like many others and believe every life counts as long as there’s a good chance for a good quality of life, please help if you can. Because this little girl has a good chance for a good quality of life, we think she deserves the opportunity. This girl wants to live!
This little girl thanks YOU for caring enough to help her live.
“By saving the life of one horse, we may not be changing the world, but we are changing the world for that one horse.” – Author Unknown
Please note, should there be excess funds, they will apply to future AAE veterinary needs.
Roll is very happy to be back to his core strength exercises. And after having to leave animals without their exercises for long periods of time, I cannot believe how quickly they can come back to good posture and overall strength. Roll had been off his exercises for over a year during his bout with White Line Disease.
When I led Roll up to the Tack Barn a week ago, he was dragging his toes in front, but I did not get it on video. So, this time, I wanted to get a “BEFORE” and an “AFTER” shot. We filmed him coming up to the Tack Barn work station, but after his core strength exercises last week, he still was not dragging his toes. His rhythm and cadence was regular.
My self-correcting device called the “Elbow Pull” puts the equine in their own individual good equine posture and keeps them there throughout the short (15-20 minute) leading lessons. The lessons take place in the hourglass pattern that we use to help them find optimum balance.
The fluid changes of direction in strategic places in the pattern challenge the equine to first arc one direction, then stop and square-up, then proceed on a new arc in the opposite direction.
Each time he stops and squares up, he is rewarded with crimped oats to keep his attention on the task at hand (and I change sides so I am always leading him from the inside of the arc to help maintain correct bend).
The serpentine actions through the pattern act like a “pendulum of balance,” bringing his balance back to center with every movement, so that when he does stop and settle, the internal balance comes to rest at his true “center,” or “core.”
The pattern is always done at the walk on the lead line and can be varied with trot down the long sides, and walk and trot over ground rails on the straight line after the equine’s balance is solid. The “Elbow Pull” cannot do this all by itself.
The combination of the handler’s posture, the equipment used (snaffle bridle and surcingle with the “Elbow Pull”), the action of the hourglass pattern, attention to smooth arcs, straight lines and square halts all contribute to the overall development of good equine posture and core muscle strength. Most conventional training techniques do not address core strength, only bulk muscle development over a weak core.
When true core strength is developed, it takes much less time for the equine to get back into shape after time off. The results of the top line and abdominal development over core muscle strength and balance with the use of the “Elbow Pull” never ceases to amaze me! After doing these exercises with all of my equines for so many years, it still doesn’t seem like it can be this easy…but it is!
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Lots of attention and supportive measures were taken. A catheter was placed, blood drawn, and meds administered.
