Time out Thursday

Ok,...I have been sick.......I am really hoping today is a turn around day. I have not been to work all week, saw the dr yesterday......have about 15 prescriptions.....ugh, enough already, enough. I slept most of the day yesterday....such a waste of a day.

The weather has turned cold again, some folks have snow, but not us....I have to say I am glad. Snow = drama. I turned all the heat lamps on last night, the heat tape and undid hoses so that we don't have anything frozen this morning.

Ryan got the manure pile moved this week and spread the left over gravel pile on the driveway, then put a new light fixture up in the tack room. We moved the benches inside from the weather, put a new blanket hanger up, moved the small refrigerator and put a towel rack up in the barn. Thanks for the help Ryan....what would we do without you?

Grace is having some problems in her new home. We are unsure if it is pain related or just what. The vet will check her out this week and we may bring her home and send one of the geldings out in her place......at least for a while.

Jones should be going to the Jones Farm when I get a chance....maybe Friday if I no longer feel like a truck ran me over...maybe today if I get out of the shower and say I feel great. Jones will get a two week "legging" up so he can get on a work schedule and get adopted. He is such a nice horse for someone, we are surprised he is still with us.

Off to the barn to feed.
Enjoy your day.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

There is no such thing as a FREE horse.

Merry Christmas Morning

A Merry Christmas morning to all of our friends and family! I hope you have a perfect day with your family and friends.

Thank you for the Pony UP gifts.....sunflower seeds, carrots, some kittie krinkles for Ms Kitty, alf pellets, white erase board, photo album, wine basket, grain, beet pulp, horse cookies, peanut butter balls... all put to the best use~ Thank you Christine, Susy, Caryn, Rebecca, Brenda, Sarah...you guys are the best!

The weather is ...um ...surprise...rainy and cold.......no snow and no wind. Everyone is bundled up at the barn. When we put Bonnie in her underwear, we give her an extra layer of hay around her. Beaver has been doing his best to reach Bonnie....reaching over, trying to reach through.....STRETCHING his little pony neck as far as he can. He is curious but deadly.. he does not like chickens in his stall and apparently is not fond of them hanging from the rafters either. No worries.....he cannot reach Miss Bonnie....he just wishes he could.

Thursday night the horses were all worked up....couldn't settle down, especially Tarbaby.....looking at the woods. I shone the flashlight and what do I see? several pairs of eyes staring at me. Hmm. Down to the woods I go.....shine flashlight into woods.....yell......the eyes go away. ...back up to the barn, tell Tarbaby he can relax, turn lights out.......Tarbaby goes ape again. ..turn lights on....okay, shine the flashlight.....there are the eyes.....sigh.....back down to the woods.....throw rocks, clang a bucket....tromp around.....back to the barn. Fog is rolling in.....looks like a scene from Hounds of the Baskervilles.........and then coyotes run across the pasture. Big ones. .........all is quiet......I think they just wanted to cross the property....perhaps check to see if chickens were in bed......turn lights out. Tarbaby is eating and quiet.

When I returned to the barn yesterday morning, all was quiet.....horses quiet....all is good. I let chickens out, fed cat, hung Bonnie up, threw hay and then went in to my mom's house......came out five minutes later and something has killed the rooster....broken neck, laying in the yard. I must have surprised it when I opened the door to come out. This was our young rooster...he was huge....rip poor guy Clyde.
Must have been something that could not carry him off quickly......he weighed about 15 lbs. The rest of the chickens were in the barn hiding. Fortunately we had two roosters....the hens need a rooster. I imagine rooster one is glad that rooster two is gone........more women for him. The farm is a survivor game for the chickens. You don't expect one to get nabbed in broad daylight.

Today, I will clean and feed , then come home........save most of the work for tomorrow, today is a holiday!

Enjoy your Christmas day!

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

Spend more time than money.

Bonnie Wednesday to you

Pictures of Bonnie in her sling for those of you who wonder what a chicken looks like in her underwear.

Edited to say that Bonnie is gently cared for by everyone who volunteers at Pony Up.
Bonnie has been our pet, and although some folks will say she is just a chicken... she is a living, feeling being......and we will care for her as long as she is comfortable.
Sure, our forte is horses......but we have compassion for all animals.....feathered, hooved, or those that come with paws.

Enjoy your day!

Merry Christmas!

Truely Tuesday

December 21......my wedding anniversary.....a lovely dinner prepared by my husband and stalls cleaned/horses fed by my wonderful volunteers! thank you.

Tarbaby was colicky yesterday.....sort of....it wasn't your classic colic.....but he didn't want to eat, he was agitated, pawed in the stall....and had small poop piles...Ryan and Sarah kept an eye on him through the afternoon and by evening he appeared to be fine. Poor old guy....we love him so.

Thank you to Sarah for the gift certificate and the white board.......we will have a written feed schedule posted shortly! (I promise!)

We miss Susy.....get well soon and come back!

IT will shortly be Christmas. I ended up finishing my shopping on Amazon.com. Lame I know...but I really was short on time. I do not get an A for effort but I do get an A for completion.

Carmen put Bonnie to bed tonight and the rest of her flock and the barn cat! Great job Carmen....Bonnie is easy to love, isn't she? Even though she is just a chicken..she talks and makes a fuss over her food, likes to get into her sling and likes to sleep with the cat. Pictures soon...I promise. What? you say you have never seen a chicken in men's underwear? Well now you will.

I went to the barn down the road tonight and was greeted by a friendly bat....he was touring the whole barn, flitting and swooping on insects, around my head and then gone. I like bats. Of course I do. If you ever saw one up close, they are so delicate, fragile and beautiful. I really would have one for a pet if I could......

Not much new with the horses.....Beaver had a child visitor and he was not impressed.....he showed BAD manners in grabbing carrots and he would have given a big PUSH to the small child if he could have managed it. Sigh......there goes his career. Not for the faint of heart is this pony....but if you have a sense of humor.....well, you might like him.

I hope your holidays are restful, happy and blessed.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

If you know what you know......then you know it.

So Sunday

This is the very beautiful "Jones".......for adoption!


Cold and frosty this morning...but beautifully blue. I make the trip to the barn and the valley is busy......the quad of horses to my left running their field and the "lonely" pony to my right waiting at the fence....crows in the road making a fuss over a squirrel carcass........a lone black dog walks slowly and deliberately along the side of the road and gives me a glance as I pass by.

I am a little late this morning. I get "that look" from the horses as I pull up the driveway and open the gate. I let the chickens out and they follow me into the barn, hoping for a treat or scraps like I sometimes bring....but not this morning. I give them their regular scratch mix, let the cat out, throw hay and then attend to Bonnie.

We made Bonnie a sling on Friday....Caryn and I. We shopped Walmart for a half hour...not sure what we were looking for..but looking just the same. The goal was to lift Bonnie up where she could stretch her legs and have support for her body. Not an easy task. There are no chicken slings commercially made that we could easily find...........so we ended up with size medium men's briefs.....and a lid to a circular garbage can.
In Walmart.....we were engaged in a conversation while we examined the men's briefs out of the package.....and we got some "strange" looks. You cannot explain in a few seconds that Bonnie is a chicken who needs a sling.....and that yes, her head would extend out the front of the crotch part of the underwear, so she could see......but some people only heard "her"........"head"......."support"......"crotch hole" (IDK...is there a term for that?) Anyway, we laughed, bought the underwear and trash can lid...then left.
We placed the underwear inside the trash can lid ring, rolled the band over the ring, secured it and then started the task of fashioning it for Bonnie. This starts with placing Bonnie in the underwear. Hmmm.....okay, her butt has to have an escape hole, so we cut a hole in the butt....her wings go in the leg holes...the crotch supports her breast and lets her legs dangle....and then, well, her head goes through the crotch hole...the crotch hole had to be enlarged a little to make it comfortable........okay......then we take baling twine and tie three long pieces to the ring/lid........then we suspend Bonnie in the contraption and tie the baling twine to the rafter........voila! Bonnie is suspended over the hay and we build the hay up around her, place her feeders and she is able to eat, flap her wings and seems comfortable. Mission accomplished. The shoer came yesterday, walked through the barn and remarked......"is that a chicken hanging from the rafters?" ummmmmm, yes it is. We still put Bonnie away at night to keep her safe from predators and to sleep with the barn cat.

We were visited by Christine E yesterday and she brought us grain, alf pellets, beet pulp and a wonderful basket! Thank you for your kindness and support Christine.....we appreciate your giving spirit and generosity. Christine saw Bonnie too and agreed that Bonnie seemed happy!

Louie, Church, Beaver, Tarbaby and Winston got their feet trimmed. Tarbaby's feet are not great....his disease is present and active. His feet are sore. It is emotional for us.... we bute him and keep his stall dry, but the disease is in full swing and is not curable. Immune system issue. We continue to do our best for him.

We are pretty certain that the little abandoned mare has a new home. Details to follow.....great home with good people. We are still trying to assist with a Shetland pony mare and a Hackney gelding. The pony mare is green broke, the Hackney gelding is said to "drive".......we have not seen them yet, they are a distance from us. I have asked for pictures and will post them later.

Here it is the week before Christmas already. It will be 2011 in a short while. Wierd, isn't it?

Enjoy your day, I hope you see some sun.

Pony UP fortune for tomorrow:

Fortune smiles at you.

Oh the weather outside is frightful..........

Wind....again, ad nauseum.......last night, and now we have cold rain with a small forecast of snow! Dogs did not want to go outside this morning.....me either...I wanted to stay in bed. Unbelievably still sick......coughing...coughing....Nyquil.
My new mantra.
We will have a small work party this morning, share some coffee, clean some stalls, groom some horses ......the horse shoer will come to the farm at 11......then off for some errands, feed store, run grain to Yukon who is in foster care. Thank you to Liz, Doreen and Kimberly for taking such great care of him and giving him a wonderful place to live!

I still don't have all my Christmas shopping done but I actually did get a large part of it done yesterday....now just a few more things. I did not put a tree up yet either..I have one decoration up.....such a slacker.

Well, off to the races........coffee in hand.....coat on back......

Pony UP fortune for today:

It is not where you left it.....not how you found it.

Operation GELDING....

LOW-COST CASTRATION CLINIC

Friday, December 31, 2010
at Tacoma Equine Hospital
3112 156th St E, Tacoma 98446

*Two No-Cost Castrations will be
given to qualified applicants*

Volunteers NeededDonations gladly accepted
Help Spread the Word!
Please forward this e-mail to a friend
and print & post at your barn

Enroll Now - Space is Limited & Time is Running Out!

sponsored by Tacoma Equine Hospital & The Unwanted Horse Coalition
illustration courtesy of Chris Ware





For more information and to enroll, contact:
Tacoma Equine Hospital
253-535-6999
info@tacomaequine.com

Please be sure your colt/stallion is halter broke, in good health, and that both testicles are present.



Forward email

BRRRRRRRRRRR it's Thursday

The good news is that it is NOT raining....but it is cold and the fog rolled into our lives and the valley this evening. The temperature has dropped considerably and we will have frost by morning. I turned the chickens warming light on and when I left Bonnie she was curled up with the barn cat...or should I say the barn cat was curled around her. I briefly thought about why the barn cat has never decided to eat Bonnie......? Too big, too warm.....the only friend she has? I don't know.

A day off tomorrow.....a day off to get better from whatever I have....which is still hanging on. Nothing that sleep and Nyquil can't cure. Isn't that Nyquil awful?

I have Christmas shopping to do tomorrow. I am behind schedule.......no list either. That is what I call "dangerous Christmas shopping."

The shoer comes Saturday..Winston, Louie, Beaver and Church......foot trims, shoes removed.
Saturday we will also work on perfecting the lighting at the barn.....I need one more light fixture and then another switch......a photocell.......almost perfect...almost.
Thank you Carmen and Brenda for making my day, oh so much shorter today....

We will have a little Pony Up get together this Saturday night.....volunteers and friends of Pony UP. Bring a casserole, an hor d'oeuvre or some fattening dessert......and a recycle gift......something under 25 dollars. We play the "gift" game..you know the one......numbered gifts....snd so on. RSVP.

Pony UP fortune for tomorrow:

Face your fear, speak out loud.

Typical Tuesday

Long day, worked for nine hours.......weather is cold. We had a major lightning storm last night complete with howling wind, sideways rain and cracking thunder. The interior of my house was lit up like a fluorescent Christmas tree on and off for about 30 minutes. I loved every minute of it........woke from a sound sleep and really never got back to sleep.......the dogs were agitated and scared......the power went off, the generator came on......and then it was time to get up.

We are trying to plan our spring tack sale.....already.....seems early I know.....but the thought of spring cannot come soon enough....really.......come on spring, come early.

I have enjoyed showing you the Pony Up horses this week and today we show you Lizzie...saved from the Enumclaw auction a couple of months ago.....a very pretty mare, big bodied and ready for a home! Like mares.?// call us.

Pony UP fortune for tomorrow:

More than one surprise will come to you.

Mute it Monday

Edited to tell you that this picture is "Silk" with a cookie between his lips!

My day starts early during the week.......no matter if I am sick, tired or simply distracted.....I am up at 5am........I usually do a load of laundry, put the washer load from the night before in the dryer and then fold the previous nights dryer load.....make coffee, feed dogs, empty cat box, empty trash, take shower, get dressed, wipe sinks down, put dogs out........and then down to the barn. I always get Tarbaby's stall cleaned, chickens fed, cat fed, Bonnie fed/watered/situated, then throw hay, give grain, try to sweep barn out if I have a few spare minutes. I agonize leaving the barn in any sort of disarray...but sometimes I do. ... Then off to my "real" job for eight hours, at lunch I might make Pony UP phone calls, appointments, reference check...or buy supplies at the hardware store.......on my way home I might go to the feed store for stall pellets or grain or who knows what........then back to the barn. If it is Monday or Wednesday, one of my wonderful volunteers has cleaned and probably fed at the number one barn......any day during the week, our angel Caryn has fed breakfast at barn number two and the other angel Brenda has cleaned and fed grain at barn number two....I simply drop in there at night, pick up a few piles and throw hay...I am not the important one at this barn...Caryn and Brenda are...because they are the givers of the grain! Throw in bad weather and anything can happen.......barns flood...pipes break, horses get loose.......a volunteer has an emergency or is sick.......life goes on and horses are watered/fed and cleaned anyway in that kind of priority. Saturday morning is a group volunteer day, I take the morning feeding at barn number one and Ryan feeds at barn number two.

We are busy, I am busy.......we all work hard and we all love these horses with committment and dedication. To borrow a phrase...It takes a village to run a horse rescue...that is for sure. I couldn't do it by myself.....can't do it by myself. I have days when my body says enough already.......and then I see three hours of shoveling gravel and pushbrooming water beside a volunteer who could be doing almost anything else but this kind of work......I survive, I kick my ego to the curb and try to regroup on how to do it better.....simpler........quicker........sometimes I am successful and sometimes I need to have my wings clipped. Volunteers are good for that. I am lucky to have so many with so much talent.........Our new volunteer Rebecca who not only baked for our bake sale..but made wreaths too.......Caryn who baked, Ryan who handled the sales......Nina who baked, Caryn's grandma.......what great hands!
Sarah thank you for cleaning on Mondays and Carmen....thank you for feeding when you can........

To the folks who supported our bake sale and wreath sale......thank you........to the folks who just stopped by and gave us a few dollars.......thank you.....we appreciate your support and generosity and overall your compassion for what we do.

I am fluish and cranky today, but trying to remember my blessings and believe me......I have many.....a hot bath is coming my way, a glass of wine and an early bed time.

I am glad to report that all horses were dry during this weather.....the stalls did not flood, nor did we lose hay/grain or any of our supplies......but we did have a lot of water in barn number two.

Enjoy your week........

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

Other fish will fry.........

Sunday Sunday...

Oh, did we have some rain......and then some! Pony Up barn #2 was flooded..we had to take gravel and build a small dike, push water out of the barn........and all while I am sick with the flu.....cough, sore throat...not a good day.
The good news is that barn #1 was dry....no leaks, no flooding.....no troubles.
We will be glad, as everyone else, when winter is OVER! Thank you Ryan for all the help, as usual!

Jones will be going to the Jones Farm for some legging up.....and then he is ready for adoption. Somebody will be lucky to get this nice boy! Beautiful and well mannered to boot!

We went to "rescue" a pony today ..but when we just about got to our destination, ...the person called and said he was gone. Just like that. Such a bad day for a drive....but we are glad the pony is safe. There are so many in trouble.

Saturday we had our bake sale at Del's and it was fun! We made a little money and met some new friends. Thanks to all of our bakers.....Nina, Rebecca, Caryn and Caryn's grandma.......such nice cookies and baked goods! THANK YOU for your time and efforts for our residents.

Not too much longer before Christmas......do you have all your shopping done? I do not. I must get busy...or get online.

Susie.,we hope you are feeling better and we miss you! Come back soon!

Bonnie's companion died on Saturday. She seemed like she was doing better but we found her dead in the nest in the morning. RIP little blonde chicken!
Bonnie is still doing well and we are building her a sling to help hold her up. Wierd, I know. ...but what is the alternative?

Tarbaby is still on bute once a day and he is feeling better, but of course not cured...he cannot be cured...but we are focused on keeping him comfortable. Rain is not helping anything..

If you are considering adoption, see us! We have several nice horses.......green horses, old horses......teen horses! Questions? ask.

We have included a photo of Blue today who wants a new home for Christmas!

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

Fortune smiles on those who help themselves.

Rainy day Tuesday evening

Steady cold rain. I returned to the barn from work to find one of my chickens lying in the driveway, unable to move, very cold and wet....so I scooped her up, rubbed her feathers with a towel, wrapped her up and put her under a small heat lamp while I cleaned. I am not sure she will make it. I am no chicken expert that is for sure. Right now she is on my kitchen counter in a box, covered by a towel, resting a little more comfortably. Tomorrow, if she is better, she can share a room with Bonnie. I am not sure what is happening to these chickens. Bonnie's legs are paralyzed and I know that is no life for a chicken, but none of us can kill her. She eats and drinks and talks to us. We carry her around, put her in dry dirt for dustbaths and keep her in the cat room at night....we talked about it the other day and NO ONE wants to euthanize Bonnie...so there you go.

I am sick of this rain already.......wet paddocks, hard to clean.....wet horses, leaks here and there. Maybe just a day or two of sun? Maybe I need a vacation to Palm Springs or Maui? Sure....

We will have a bake sale this weekend....lots of goodies and some Christmas wreaths too, as well as some beaded horseshoes made by my volunteers.

I am saddened to see all the horses left at the auction house. Nices ones, old ones.....inbetween ones......none of them deserve to die. Hard to chose who lives and who dies. Your heart aches for the old ones, the ones who are broke to death kids horses.......and your heart will break over a blind horse being left in an unfamiliar place......how will it find food? how will it protect itself from dominant horses? how will it avoid the dangers of the crummy pens at the auction house? I hope the owner who left it can sleep well at night....it takes a special heartless individual to leave a blind horse to fend for itself. May you be so vulnerable some day....

Every week we get more and more chores done, things that make it easier to care for our horses and easier for the volunteers who come to spend their time with us. Thank you to Ryan for closing in the top of the old loafing shed.....it will make it less drafty for the upcoming winter weather we are sure to experience.

Last night I went to feed in our "borrowed" barn ...went upstairs and got the crap scared out of me. We have fake owls up there to scare the pigeons off.......and so I was expecting a fake owl...but what I ran into was a real owl........and it was loud and it took off........I almost wet my pants...I am not kidding. Those things are loud! He must be interested in the two dummy owls? Perhaps they are real lookers as far as owls go? I don't know.

We need a wheelbarrow. I must remember that. We need two of about everything lately because of the new barn. I am always running things back and forth........we could use another laundry sink too, while I am at it.....mental list.

Off to bed, I am tired and must get up a little early tomorrow.

Pony UP fortune for tomorrow:

Beauty is only skin deep...

Tuesday too

Time for only a short blog this morning.

I would like to point out that there are MANY nice horses currently sitting at the Enumclaw auction, waiting for the slaughter truck. There are also several OLD horses, several EMACIATED horses and one blind horse. It takes a special, heartless creep to dump a blind horse at a strange place and then drive off for a Holiday Dinner party. I would like to meet them.
Sigh...anyway, my point is that if you have any room in your heart, your barn or your neighbor's barn......please save a life. Some of these horses are in very rough shape. I hate to think of a trip on the slaughter bus for them. I will share two pictures with you, courtesy of Auctionhorses.......one of a little gelding, sick with diarrhea, starved and older. He has nothing going for him like many of the others. The other is the blind mare....

If anyone is interested, please email me and I will pass the information to you.
We will also haul this horse for you this weekend, if necessary.

Help us to help them.

Whoops it's Wednesday

We had some sun today, which felt good on my skin......and good on my brain. On the other hand my camera died and I am home sick with a stomach virus. I slept a good portion of the afternoon and feel a little better now. Too much stress, too much bad weather I think.

We sent a blanket to an old horse. The owner is trying to make him more comfortable and trying to do the right things for him. We cannot take him right now, so all we can do is help. We will gather some senior food coupons and get them to the owner as well. It is a bad time to try to rehome an old horse...frankly it is just not safe almost any way you look at it. I shudder to think about the cases we don't know about...but I can tell you this...there are horses suffering tonight.

The pony went to his new home today.... a really nice home, with another pony...a lovely pasture and nice people! They came and got him while I was lounging around the house sick. Thank you!

If you have any old blankets, I am collecting some for potential horses that we might help this winter. My want list for helping community horses will read:

waterproof blankets in various sizes
corn oil
senior grain coupons
beet pulp
hay
alfalfa pellets
veterinary certificates for dental floats...(I know...this is asking alot...but dental care for the old guys is so necessary for keeping weight on)

We are currently feeding a pony in our neighborhood who is older. His owners do not feed him and he must subsist on pasture alone which you and I know won't support a horse in Western Washington in the winter. We are allowed to feed him once a day....once a day.....gosh, well it is better than nothing...but since when is there a limit on how much you are feeding when someone else is ponying up the hay??? We wish they would simply give the old pony up....still working on it.

The week is half over......and into December we are.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:


Blessed are the merciful.