Thursday, June 17, 2010

thoroughly Thursday

long week.......\
I will start with this.....frankly I am disgusted with gossip.....and disgusted with those who spread rumors.

I will say this once and go on about my business.

Anyone who has been involved with Pony Up.....vets, farriers, volunteers, hay vendors.......will tell you that our horses are well fed and well cared for. You can see the pictures I post on this blog, you can see pictures on the website.......you can come and see horses at the farm...many of you have.....you are always welcome.

Yesterday, I got a phone call from someone who said that "another rescue" had called them and told them that a horse that I had was emaciated.
HUH?
I replied that they must be talking about Grace?
No.......they said they were talking about a horse I had placed.....saying it left our farm in an emaciated condition.
Blood pressure went skyward.
I was angry beyond what I can say.

There is no horse on our farm that has ever left in an emaciated condition.
EVER.
We take in emaciated horses and rehab them......Hamilton, Jake, Mercy and now Grace.
but this person was not talking about those horses.
This particular horse had had a vet check two days prior to leaving.......had it's feet trimmed a week before leaving.....my volunteers saw the horse......pictures had been posted. The horse was in excellent flesh.....dappled and shiny coat.
Emaciated?
Completely untrue.
Why would someone say this about us?
I have no idea. Jealous? Perhaps they need medication or perhaps they are confused with someone else's horse..perhaps they are delusional..who knows?
....but now I find that I have to defend our reputation? unbelievable...and how strange.
Come and see our horses......speak to our vets.....speak to our adoptive homes. I have phone numbers available...just ask.

The only horses who have been in an emaciated state are those who have come to the farm that way.....starvation seizures......Hamilton, Jake, Mercy, Grace.....who all gained weight and looked better within weeks. They were not starved by us.

My volunteers and I work our butts off to take care of the horses, feed them properly and responsibly rehome them. Stalls are cleaned every day, sometimes twice a day, horses are fed twice a day,water is changed daily and horses are checked after dark.......they lack nothing. I work a full time job to pay the bills and spend my spare time taking care of horses, repairs, maintenance, errands and Pony UP business.... I do it because I love horses. There is no money in this....

It is irresponsible for someone to speak of something they have not seen, especially another rescue. They have never been to our farm....they certainly don't know me or the volunteers or the horses
.
I encourage you to go and see the rescues you support....see the horses, speak to the volunteers, get references from the vets.......and if you like what you hear and see.......volunteer/donate,,,,,,make a difference.

Warning signs for rescues:
Dirty stalls
not enough food
thin horses
too many horses in crowded conditions
horses feet are uncared for
no vet references
caretaker/rescuer cannot let go of any horses
caretaker or rescuer living in filth on the property
books that are not publicly audited
is the rescue person/caretaker living on your donations or are your donations going to the horses?

The horse in question is fine...always has been.

You know who you are...and so do we.


Pony Up fortune for tomorrow.

Integrity does not hide in the daylight.

2 comments:

Jessica said...

So frustrating. I can't imagine putting forth all the work that you do & having something like this to deal with. There are just some really unstable people out there. Don't let it get you down! :)

Drillrider said...

Hang in there. I once was rehabbing a horse that cracked a bone in it's lower leg. It was thin because it wouldn't eat much due to the pain. I had had it on bute, but took it off the bute because it was putting too much weight on the injured leg.

The owners of the land where I was pasture boarding (who knew absolutely NOTHING about horses mind you) took it upon themselves to call Animal Control and talk to another person about it. The other person decided that they (also new to horses) would take the horse if it was confiscated. My response was......OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!!

I had spent quite a bit of money on rehabbing the horse and was out there twice a day doing all I could for him and she was just going to swoop in and take him? I don't think so!

Animal Control Officer (aka Captain Obvious) came out and said "he appears to be in pain". I said "yes--he has a cracked bone". So any horse that is in pain should be put down? Idiots!

Anyway, the end of the story is that I rehabbed the horse and gave him away to a family that was just getting into horses and he is now loved and BEING RIDDEN again by an 8 year old girl.

I would never have known who had called, but the land owners finally admitted it was them and that they were....WRONG....and assumed that the horse could not be rehabbed (even though they knew nothing about horses).

I know how frustrating it can be and I don't normally swear, but I swore a blue streak during that episode. Hang in there and let your reputation speak for itself....This too shall pass!