Rain, of course.......

It was inevitable...I know.
RAIN.
Washington gray weather.........the reason I have been working on projects all summer....to rainproof paddocks and loafing sheds so that all of our residents have a nice winter home.
So far so good .........no leaks today....but lots of catch up work to do tomorrow.
Yes, some more drainage ditches and a little gravel here and there. I even put a rain sheet on one gelding today as he has a fine coat and it was chilly.
I did get some gates replaced and a couple of heavier gate posts put in. I will make the pony paddock larger tomorrow and clean the gravel paddocks really well. So far the gravel is MAH-VEL-OUS!

Tough times continue in this economy. I get tired of hearing it as I am sure everyone else does......can't we just get it over with? Wave a magic wand or something? Surely my heart will break in a million pieces this winter with unwanted horses, horses who cannot be afforded any longer, abandoned horses, horses given away for free to homes who are not experienced enough to care for them.......and horses who will be starved to death. Yes, it will happen, it does every year. Horses who cannot be seen or heard who will silently suffer and finally die. I want to point out that it is YOUR duty to call your local Humane Society or Animal Control if you see a starving animal (horse, dog, goat, cow) and lodge a complaint. Often YOU may be an animals only chance........you must be persistant and you must check back with authorities. Be polite and to the point. I often have folks call me and ask me to call animal control. Why? They don't want to be involved I guess....but if you see it YOU need to call...a second hand complaint by someone who hasn't seen the animal is not helpful. Wouldn't you call if it was a child? An animal is just as helpless, maybe more so.....it can't run away, can't call for help, can't cry.......they depend on us. Sometimes people need help......or sometimes they need direction........animal control can help.
We are a small rescue and we are asked on a weekly basis to take horses. We are full and we have to say no. We hate to say no. We wish we could win the lotto, buy a big barn with a lot of property, have hired hands and take in more horses.........but the reality is that we are limited. Limited by dollars, by land, buildings and time. We have a waiting list....we have horses who are ready for adoption but we are committed to finding the right home, not just passing them along. We never want them to be "rescued" again.
We ask our community to help this winter. Have an extra stall? Consider fostering or consider taking in one of the needy horses from Craigslist or from the Enumclaw auction. There are many horses on Craigslist looking for homes from free to 100 dollars and ALL of those horses are at risk unless their current owners do their homework. Enumclaw auction horses........well, where do I start?.....just go see the low prices, the no sale horses, ...the horses who are just left there for the slaughter bus or the horses who were intentionally bought by the slaughter man. Old horses who are unwanted and deserve a better ending, young horses who have not had a chance at life, victims of careless breeding farms who didn't have a plan.........damaged horses who need a better chance........ponies that children outgrew.......racehorses too slow for the track but not guilty of any other crime.
There are many nice horses going to slaughter......have a heart...take a chance, change a life.......maybe change yours?
Need help choosing? Contact us. Can't go to the auction yourself? We will find someone for you.

Enough of my soap box speech for tonight. I could go on and on.

My wish is that there will be horses this winter who end up in better hands.

Tomorrow, lots of errands, lots of farm work, some computer work too. I meet another new volunteer tomorrow who wants to come and meet our crew.

Turn the page, close the book on old wounds and discord..........move on, move past and do something meaningful. Life is short....make your mark!