Friday freedom

Long week, I am behind on my blogging duties.....as usual, a lot to do, a short time to do it and always a new list.

Sarah and Kathy took Iris to the opthamologist on Thursday.......Dr. Sullivan. The bad news is that Iris is permanently blind. Iris had uveitis and no one took care of it, resulting in her vision loss. The good news is that Iris is not in pain. We must take extra care of her eyes so she does not scratch or injure them. The dr says Iris is in her teens and otherwise looks in pretty good condition now. We bought Iris a special fly mask yesterday and it will be here in a few days. It has eye cups in it, so that nothing can come in contact with her eyes...and hey, it will keep the bugs away too. Iris was remarkable to handle.....she is willing to try as long as you pat and talk to her. I must say that she loads better than my own horse....of course he has a million excuses. Anyway, there is no help for Iris and that makes us sad, but she is safe and I think she enjoys her life with us. I started her on probiotic with her grain and I will probably de-worm her again. We will list Iris for adoption, but it will have to be a very special home, with proper fencing, a good friend and a loving family. She deserves it.

A big thank you to Dr. Sullivan and staff....you were so very nice to us and Iris, we appreciate the kindness.

Auntie Jaime sent Iris a tail bag, made by

It's in the Bag

(Brooke Lyle Freeburg) and Brooke also sent us money that she raised by the sale of her tail bags........thank you to both! Iris will look spectacular!

Let's see....what else? Cooper is winding down his two week trial.....got his teeth floated, has learned to tie in his stall, bathe and use the hotwalker! The final decision on his adoption will be tomorrow...we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Max is living the high life in his new home! He got new boots, a new sheet....and he hasn't looked back yet...he loves it there. Thank you Carolyn for loving him!

Lizzie...well, Lizzie is a fatso and needs to get to work.......someone come and adopt her before Macy's hires her on as a parade balloon....you think I am kidding?

Blue is grumpy, as always...we should have named him Eyore. I let him sniff Iris tonight and he made a huge face, squealed like a pig and stomped his foot...I guess that means he doesn't want to be friends. Ollie, on the other hand LOVED Iris...but I think he might be a bit much for her...he wanted to be "more than friends"....okay, in his defense, he was gelded late.....he can't help it.

Last week we finished the shed and it looks great....we got hay delivered..got our grain replenished and this weekend we will install a new pump type freezeless faucet, work on fencing for Iris, move Jones to a new paddock, move the manure pile...and clean paddocks. It will be nice to have an extra day for chores.

We are grateful for our friends who help us out....there are many and I don't always publicly thank folks like I should....so thank you to Lietz Hay, M&M Dressage (Meghan Markham), Traumhoff, Dr. Julie, The Jones Farm, Christine Ericksen, Cam and Carrie Reeves, my wonderful volunteers (Ryan, Susy, Rebecca, Brenda, Jen, Mary, Sarah, Kathy, Nina, Aspen), the fans of Iris, Lower Puget Sound Dressage Club, Strohs, Cenex, West Sound Electric, Dr. Maci, Dr. Alberts, my husband, Susy's husband Rick, my mom......I am sure I missed someone........thank you just the same...I couldn't do it without you.

Enjoy your Memorial Day!

Pony UP fortune for tomorrow:

A strange scent on the wind brings your attention back to where it should be.

One whole week

It has been one whole week, plus one day since Iris came into our lives.

I said long ago that we were not a sanctuary, we did not take in horses who needed permanent placement.....I would have never considered a blind horse.......but that was before a hoof landed firmly on my heart.
Iris.
Iris who was left to fend for herself in a hell hole, Iris who willingly trusted complete strangers to lead her out to safety, Iris who is completely gentle to handle........Iris who is happy to be brushed, bathed, fed carrots. Not a mean bone in her body....an angel with four legs and two bad eyes.

Face it, I said to myself...you love horses and it is hard to pick and choose who lives, who dies and who is good enough to come to our rescue...they are all good enough......Thoroughbred or Paint, Appaloosa or Warmblood......it makes no difference...a needy soul is a soul in need.

Although we will list Iris for adoption, because even I know, that there are some homes that are better than living in a rescue. We are not the Taj Mahal, but we love them and take good care of them...they have good food and good care....but there are better situations for them to go to.....a loving home with a kind person who has a nice barn, a big pasture.....a warm heart. Evidenced many times with our adopters.....Rio, Vinnie, Breeze, Promise, Silk, Tucker, Max........even though sometimes our hearts break just a little to let them go, we know it is better for them. However....we will love Iris until someone can love her more....a promise from each of us...it isn't just me.....she has a whole host of people who love her.

Iris will see the opthamologist this next week, driven by volunteers who will give up their whole day so that Iris can be seen by a quality doctor.

Max was adopted by Carolyn........Congratulations! He is very happy....has a great barn, turn out....and a great big trailer that matches him! Thank you for adopting Carolyn! We are happy for you and Max! We hope to see you at shows this summer after this virus thing is cleared up!

Cooper is still at the Jones farm and has one more week of a trial period...he is being a good boy by all accounts! He will have his teeth done as well. Good luck Cooper!

Lizzie is ready for adoption.....we decided she is fat today and she was put on a diet. She needs a job! Come and see her!

Louie is still on vacation at Sarah's parents.....grass, grass and more grass..he loves it!

Beaver got in with Jones.......and I bet you can guess what happened....yep, the little bugger beat Jones up.....bites and kicks.....he really is a bad little pony. Jones will live.

The eagle took another of our chickens, right in front of me....arrrghhh. I hate that eagle. I went after him with the rake...to no avail. He took the chicken and flew off.

Today we finished our hay shed! all the walls are up.....mats are down.....ready for storage! YAY! Thanks to Susy and Ryan for getting this done...it is a relief to have it all completed.

Sunday.....a day of rest, I hope.....I have been so busy...I need some quiet time.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

It is right where you needed it most.......look behind you.

Sequal Sunday

Did I mention it RAINED all night? Did I mention I am very weary of rain? I was worried about Iris last night and whether she would stay in the stall or be lost outside. I tossed and turned........got up and went to check on her. She was fine...dry.....in the stall. I went home and slept.
This morning she was cheery and called to us as we cleaned. We gave her a bigger water container in the stall as the smaller one was easy to tip over. She ate almost all of her hay and of course the grain pan was licked dry. I gave her some psyillium this morning, added some rice bran to her food, gave her a little more beet pulp and a little more grain. She needs some weight and her coat is dull. We love the rice bran for a horse that needs weight...horses seem to like the taste of it and the improvement is pretty rapid. Just ask Winston, my giant spotted hog......he is full of dapples and full in the flesh department too.....in fact, he probably doesn't need the bran..or the grain......and we know he needs some physical work. Beth???

Today we took Cooper to the Jones Farm where he will be vetted and assessed under saddle. He was a good boy to load and haul, a little hesitant to enter the beautiful Jones Farm barn....but came right along with encouragement. We really like Cooper...and we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will vet 100 percent and have a good assessment riding period. Jingle for him!

I came back home to find Beaver in with Jones.....Jones was hiding, had bite marks in several places....did I mention Jones is 16.3 and Beaver is 10.1H ? Beaver was standing in Jones' stall, eating Jones' hay and enjoying every minute of it?

Thank you all for your nice notes regarding Iris...Iris is a complete sweetheart. We hope we can make her very comfortable with us. I think she is relieved to be at our farm and out of the auction yard....well, anyone would be.. We will try to get an equine eye doctor apptment for her in the next week or so. She has one eye that is cloudy but the other looks clear.....but sight seems the same in both.

Off to eat dinner......relax.....

Sarah, Carolyn...had fun today! Thanks for going with me.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

The blind sometimes lead the sighted.

She had me from hello......

Beautiful day today.....warm and sunny......what a treat for all of us...horses and humans!
Yesterday we decided to go and get our blind paint mare from the slaughter yard kill pen. We had made arrangements for Saturday, but I just felt like I could not leave her there another night...so Susy and I got in the truck after work, hooked the trailer up and went to get her.
She was way in the back of the yard, locked in a smaller area. I could hear her neighing before I could see her, as we were making our way through a myriad of locked gates, pathways...a crazy connnection of metal fencing somewhat like a maze...and then there she was. A slightly odd tilt to her head.......listening.....and then I started talking to her..approached her, touched her gently and haltered her. She was filthy, lots of raw patches, scratches and little wounds.....I teared up a little thinking of how scared she must be......handed over to strangers again, in a little more than a week....who was taking her now? Susy talked to her on one side and I led her on the other, making our way out of the maze. The mare walked right along, hesitant when the footing changed, but walked on when encouraged, occasionally bumping us with her nose gently..to "see" where we were. I felt some anxiety because.......well..what the hell do I know about blind horses? Nothing. Never had one. I had no idea if she would load easily or just what might happen. I had a lump in my throat...pulse pounding in my head......those moments where you say to yourself "what the hell am I doing?" "what if...what if????" I kept my thoughts to myself, afraid to speak outloud to Susy...Susy who is game for anything...who doesn't realize how things can go bad.......I walk along, pat the mare and listen to Susy, who keeps talking to the mare...
We finally got out to the trailer.......I had Susy open the loading door, then drop the drop down window...I asked the mare to come forward and I was amazed when she lifted her front hoof up in order to step up way before we got to the bumper of the trailer......I asked her to come forward a little more, she lifted up the hoof again and rested her weight, then lifted the other foot and then boosted herself in.....what a good mare.. my gosh..big sigh of relief...2000 lbs off my shoulders....I brought her forward, shut the divider on her and she stood like a statue. We clipped her halter to the trailer tie and shut the trailer up.....got on the road and headed home. The big slaughter truck passed us on the way out of town. I hated the thought of it.
Once home, we led her down the driveway, up into the barn, walked her around the perimeter of the pvc fencing, splashed the water, threw some hay and then got her some beet pulp/grain (which she was really thrilled with) We also applied liberal amounts of louse powder as she was crawling with lice and then I was too......so gross!
This morning, I arrived to find she had eaten all of her hay, and apparently stayed in the stall for quite a while last night. When she heard my voice this morning, she made her way back into the stall and right to the grain dish.....I guess she has me pegged for the grain person. She has a great big whinny to greet you with...

Later this afternoon, I went back and bathed her, conditioned her mane and tail, used show sheen to take all the knots out and then let her hand graze for about thirty minutes. She loves the green grass. I put her back in her stall and she made her way outside, where she promptly rolled (both sides)....so there are apparently no differences in blind horses and seeing horses after a bath.LOL>

We have named her Iris. Even though I am not a mare person, she had me from hello.....I am wrapped around her hoof and she is wrapped around my heart.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow.

Change for the good......it works.

Waiting on Wednesday

Okay, we have accepted the blind mare from the slaughter lot. We paid for her today and we will pick her up on Saturday morning...early. We have had so much support today...I want to thank you all for your kind thoughts and generous donations. We really don't know anything about her at this time, other than that she is blind, a Pinto, a mare, she is scared, starved, full of lice and probably very wormy. We will have her examined by a vet, to determine why she is blind and if she can be helped. Anyway the wind blows....the mare deserves better....imagine being left in a strange place when you are blind.
We will bring her home, put her in a large quarantine stall, get rid of her lice and then when she feels better, we will give her a friend to lean on.

We have named her Iris. Help us welcome her home and send her your best thoughts..healing thoughts.

Max is out on trial and we certainly like his potential adopter...keeping fingers crossed for everything to work out! It seems like a good match!
Cooper goes out on trial tomorrow......we are very excited for him...he has turned out to be such a beautiful boy! Gleaming coat, sleek muscles.....we are so proud of him!
Louie is on a pasture vacation and loving every minute of it. He has someone interested in him too, but they are not sure if they can commit just yet.....we are hoping so..Louie is a good boy.

Off to do some chores.......

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow.

Cloudy skies turn blue.

Finally Friday

Another week has gone by.....lots of things accomplished and more things planned!

Max has several people interested in adopting him and we should know by next week who the lucky person is! Max did well at the schooling show last Sunday, we were very proud of him. Tomorrow he gets his feet trimmed and de-wormed, so he is ready to go. We are very fond of Max and will feel sad for us, but happy for him! Every horse deserves a great home and a person to dote on him. We have to remember that that is our ultimate goal...our sadness has to take a back seat.

Cooper has a pending adoption and will go on a trial next week. Keep your fingers crossed! A vetting is planned and things look good!

I am blessed to have really great friends in my life and folks who help me. Thank you to Meghan M. (M & M Dressage) for riding/legging up Max for us, thank you Sarah W. for organizing our adoptathon and taking Louie on a vacation...thank you to Susy for helping with the tack sale, thank you to Cutter Creek for taking such great care of Jones..you guys rock.....I couldn't do this without any of you guys.

I am trying to find time to get my own horse out and worked....Winston spent six months last year with Beth Anderson Ness and actually became a riding horse, rather than a stall ornament. He was always pretty to look at, but a tendency to be silly and very green around the edges. He is a rather sensitive guy and I wanted to get some training on him without turning him into a nervous wreck. He is a horse that cannot be manhandled or forced. He can be rambunctious, fractious and lacks an attention span most days......so that is a big order for most trainers...and did I mention he is HUGE? Enter Beth Anderson Ness....Starr Valley Farms.... Beth is a longtime friend of mine and a great rider. She and Winston hit it off like a match made in heaven. I was very pleased with his training, he was brought along safely, with patience and tolerance. Anyone who knows me knows that I am very particular about who handles/trains my horses (including our rescues) I don't stand for rough handling, excessive use of the whip or working a horse to exhaustion. My big boy became a floaty dressage horse. Beth rode him through his ADD spells without batting an eye. There were times I visibly sucked my breath in when he "spooked"...but Beth just stayed with him and did not let it become a big deal. I also rode him some, but he really became Beth's horse....I tried to leave him there (as in permanently) because he really should be Beth's horse!They are such a beautiful picture together! Anyway, I had to eventually bring him home and he has mostly just sat around ...eating and torturing volunteers in the barn with his camel face antics. Time to go back to work Winston...Auntie Beth is asking after you....Ride and Review.....May 14th. Here we go! See you soon Beth.

I will take time to thank Cam Reeves also.......Cam gets Pony Up horses who lack any history on their riding skills or lack thereof....we send him everything. Poor Cam...he doesn't know if he gets a bucking bronco, a demon or an angel. I am always glad to see the Reeves family and I always know that when a horse comes home from Cam, it comes with a solid foundation (they lead, tie, bathe, walk, trot, canter)Thans you Cam for never saying no...and giving our horses the same chance as big dollar horses. You ROCK!

Thank you to Chalice Farms for allowing our motley crew of horses on your beautiful premises for our adoptathon.....it was very kind of you and we appreciate it. See you at the Ride and Review on the 14th...it will be a fun day!

Tomorrow we have our tack sale from 9am to 3pm......lots of stuff, from halters, to bridles, to saddles, pads, shoes, girths......come and see what we have.....a LARGE assortment of english bits! A pony saddle too!

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow:

Don't rain on someone else's parade.

Towards Tuesday

Is it Tuesday already?

Max went to the LPSDC schooling show on Sunday....he was a great boy! Went in the ring like a trooper and schooled at training level. He is still a little out of shape, but got scores of 64 and 65 (okay the judge was very generous!) We are very pleased with the work Meghan did with him! See Meghan at www.mmdressage.com...we want to give her a big shout out! Thank you Meghan!

I volunteered for the afternoon gatekeeping shift at the dressage show. It was fun and I got to see a lot of folks and lots of great horse flesh! Annie, your boy Chaos was lovely! I vote him "Most Beautiful Coat" of show award!

Trying to plan out farm chores for summer, how to campaign horses for adoption, fundraising ideas and etc. We are booked full at Pony Up.....but we have some great horses for adoption. I think positively and know that we can get two or three adopted by mid summer...or else we just become a sanctuary....right? We need more land, more money......more volunteers.......blah, blah, blah. I need another job to support my committment...or I need to win the lotto. Buy me a ticket because right now all my spare money goes to hungry horses.

It is almost time to buy hay again. Funny how that happens, huh? They go through hay like water through a sieve. I think my mom taught me that saying...what is a sieve?

This weekend we have our garage sale...Ryan graduates, Susy has an anniversary.....and Jones comes home. Long story....but we honor our committments...and take back our horses when it doesn't work. No ones fault...sometimes it just is what it is. We love Jones.

We are supposed to have good weather this week! Surprise and relief! I can do with some more warm weather to dry paddocks out and lift my spirits.

Lots of nice horses at the Enumclaw auction slaughter yard lot...I wish we could help someone this month, but we are full and I don't do our own horses any favors if I over commit. Lotto...where are you? If you can help one of them.....please do, or adopt one of ours and we can help one.

Pony Up fortune for tomorrow;

A random act of kindness is a life saver for someone you don't know.