Thoughtful Tuesday

Rambling thoughts on a sunny (at least right now) Tuesday morning. It has been a whirlwind week, always so much to do, places to go and of course people to pay. Horses are expensive.......if you are reading this and you own horses, you know what I mean......if you don't own horses, imagine yourself unfortunate but financially sounder than the rest of us who have them. Vet bills, hay, shoeing, training...and what I can incidentals......supplements, treats, boots, fly sprays, ointments (I love this word!...it sounds good when you say it, doesn't it?)

Yesterday Max went to a barn for two weeks of conditioning and beauty treatments, so that he can attend a schooling show and be ready to show his beautiful self for our open house adoption (sponsored by Chalice Farms and Cutter Creek) ...he is so ready to be adopted! We will also have Cooper, Lizzie, Louie and Blue on hand. Snacks will be provided as well as refreshments......we will probably have a mobile tack shack available. I am very appreciative of the gals who have helped put this together...I am very fortunate......thank you Annie, Sarah, Lea, Meghan...you all have huge hearts for these horses. Look for the flyers at your local feed or tack store....or email us for more information.

I am looking for help in grooming the Pony UP horses for the adoption events......we need mane pulling, tail banging, brushing/trimming of whiskers.....also volunteer handlers for the events! If you can help and are experienced.....give us a shout!
As well, if you would like to host an adoption event, we would be happy to bring the whole herd...okay, well maybe not Beaver...but the rest!

This rescue program is a labor of love. Sometimes we get our hearts broken, sometimes our hearts burst with pride. We have disappointments, setbacks, mountains that seem impossible to climb....days when we need more than we have.....and days when we have to say no. I hate to say no......I see a needy horse and my immediate thought is to help it, without thinking it through....but when we are full to capacity, I have to say no......I have to offer resources, I may offer hay ..but sometimes it kills me inside to know that I could not really help in the way I wanted to. It is the problem with rescuing.....knowing when to say when, how much you can afford, how much room you have and how to sound out the word "NO". I have seen rescues take on too many horses....and they run into money troubles, the horses suffer for it....and then the rescue needs to be rescued. Sad...intentions start out well and then get overwhelmed and underfunded. I do encourage you to check out rescues that you support ...personally or by someone you trust.....or ask your vet. Rescues will never mind a visitor and especially a volunteer. There is never a shortage of work to be done, all horses need attention, manure needs picked up.....boards need nailing......coffee needs sharing. You will probably not walk into the Taj Mahal......but you should be walking into well fed horses, clean stalls, clean water supply, safe fencing, not over crowded facilities. We have mud....in the summer we look more like the part we want to be...but right now, we face mud, like many of the rest of you in Washington.....we manage and we do not leave horses standing in mud...all have dry stalls/short paddocks with solid footing. My volunteers and myself take good care of them, they are well loved.........while they are here, they are OUR horses. Many come to us with broken spirits, broken bones, starved bodies.....a far cry from the showhorse they may have once been.......the pride stripped naked from them until just their mortal humble soul shows.....and we take them in and do what we can....in some cases we love them until we can only give them a final kindness.....in the best cases we send them off to be loved by someone who has chosen to adopt them... adopted with known limitation or adopted to become a showhorse again.....it all works.

Enough of my rambling this morning.....

We are still trying to put together funds for Cooper's training, we need a sponsor for a horse who needs to go to permanent retirement (300 a month)and we still have a wish list for the farm.......we always appreciate help ..be it monetary or items.
We will be holding a tack sale in May, perhaps in conjunction with a local horse show....if you have items to donate......we would love to have them or come by and purchase something!

Enjoy your slightly sunny day!

Pony Up fortune for today:

Do not look at the grass below your feet, look instead to the horizon.