Pony Up needs YOU!

Iris before and after......


Pony Up provides a safe haven for needy horses. Currently Pony Up has several horses for sponsorship. What is sponsorship? 30 dollars pays for a hoof trim, 17 dollars buys a sack of senior grain, 5 dollars will pay for a dewormer, 13 dollars pays for a bale of hay, 15 dollars pays for a sack of rice bran, 2.00 will buy vet wrap, 150 dollars will pay for a dental, 35 dollars will pay for vaccinations, .........sometimes we need a new water tub or a feed tub or a gate gets broken or we need gravel or we have to put diesel in the tractor........the expenses add up.

The past year has been tough financially for all of us.

I think it is safe to say that we have all cut corners and made sacrifices. ...I know we have. Personally and business wise too.

Through it all the Pony Up residents have not suffered, all are fed, extra supplements fed when necessary and we have had some help along the way via the kindness of supporters and volunteers. We do not have the luxury of buying a lot of extras.....all work at the farm this year has been done by my wonderful staff of volunteers. I cannot thank these folks enough for their gift of time

What does it take to run a horse rescue?

Time...day in/day out....it is hard to take a day off and I never "forget" about the residents we take care of.

Volunteers.......for cleaning, feeding, maintenance and fundraising activities.

Money.....I work a full time job to pay for the mortgage, power bill, taxes, maintenance and most of the expenses of the residents (vet bills, hay, grain) when there are not enough donations to support them. I have days when I think I must be crazy.....I could quit work, shop at Nordy's, and be home at 4:30pm each day...but I know we make a difference, even though it doesn't seem huge.

We have seen many rescues fail. I am very careful in what we undertake and I refuse to let us fail....

part of not failing is not taking on more than we can budget for, have room for or have volunteers for.

We could raise our hands and have fifty horses tomorrow.........I sincerely wish we had the resources to do so...but we don't....we are limited by space, finances and people.

It is important to take care of the horses we have custody of.

We wrote our mission statement to say that we took in horses with "sport horse potential"........that we were not a "sanctuary"......well......we are a sanctuary to a few horses who had nowhere to go.....they have no "sporthorse" potential........but they deserved a safe place to go and when you really think about it....would we turn our backs on a horse who could not jump or run fast? Does a horse who jumps and runs fast deserve to live more than a horse who was worked beyond their capacity, a horse who served their master well and then was thrown away?The answer is no.....we love them all....they all have a spirit and they deserve a chance to live.

I would have probably said we would NEVER have taken a blind horse, but we took Iris and now we all take care of her....she is well loved......she has a special gentle spirit and has taught us a lot in the short time we have had her. It makes me shudder to think about her at the slaughter lot.

We welcome visitors and volunteers......we welcome donations to help us support our residents.....we ask you to help us help those who can't help themselves. Consider adoption, consider fostering.....consider rescuing. If you see a horse who needs help, please do the right thing...........you may be all the horse has to count on. ..don't turn your back.

Everyday brings new hurdles, but we remain steadfast in helping horses.

Tuesday goes on and on

The saga of the injured mare.
I am angry.
Tired of dealing with flakes and crazies.....this mare has had numerous ads on Craigslist, offering her for sale at different prices and then suddenly the price dropped way low because of an injury... which can heal (per the ad).....regional champion, 4H horse, priceless mare, perfect pedigree......yeah...but too bad she is carved up like a Christmas ham. The person pulling all of this crap identifies herself as Rachel Tanner.........up near Forks, Washington. I normally don't pull a FUGLY horse of the day type of deal....but this woman has caused the suffering of this horse, wasted my time, wasted everyone else's time and is a FLAKE. I have made veterinary arrangements, shipping arrangements, taken time off of work, ....... I am told she does this type of crap quite often....either wants to sell a horse or buy a horse you have...but doesn't have any money but has plenty of references. After all of this...believe me.......she has NO references. She stated to me that she was surgery tech, and to someone else she said she was a vet tech......she told me she treated the wound but couldn't get it to stop bleeding.....she told someone else that she stitched it because she was a "vet tech"......she says she has no horse trailer and that there are only two in town......well....that is a lie...amongst others you told Rachel. We understand you operate a horse ride business in the local area and that you have a horse trailer. Very interesting Rachel........very interesting.......not sure how you came to own this horse or even if you do, because it seems like you lease a lot of horses or try to.....anyone reading this that has leased a horse out in this area.......yep..you better go check it out.

Rachel.....I have no words to describe you. You leave an injured mare for days..but keep trying to sell her because the "injury is not that bad"......hmmm? You told me that you couldn't stop the bleeding, you didn't have antibiotics.......you didn't have the means to care for this horse.....you had to leave town in five days......and YET.......after telling me to come and get the mare.......you didn't bother to call back with directions or an address. There is no excuse .....no words...you are a real piece of work.

You have been reported Rachel......I have your pictures, your emails and phone messages.......everyone will be wise to your stories from now on.......but I guess your reputation precedes you in your local area......except that now you have moved on to further distant locations ..you have placed ads on Snohomish Craigslist, Tacoma, Seattle.......hoping to find someone that you can scam?

I ask everyone to share this..and beware if Rachel comes calling for help or to lease/buy your horse..........back away, back far away....

Our growing list of things to do...

We are probably going to have to have a volunteer day in the next month.....so many things to do to prepare for winter. Yes...I said it.WINTER...rain, snow, cold....water that just won't go away. I dread it but feel we must always be prepared.

We have to provide better drainage and so we have consulted with the county, read online articles, talked to land developers......and we have come up with a plan. We will create a "swale"......(I love that word..because it reminds me of slew and then I think of Seattle Slew..one of my favorite horses)..but I digress.......more about the water. ...our large paddocks get extremely muddy during the winter because of water run off and so we will create a swale, fence it off and create land bridges for the horses to cross them. This means we create a low and wide ditch, plant it with natural grasses and bullrushes, fence it off.....and make a rain garden/low level swamp/pond deal where it empties. This is an entire weekend project.....means we need a post hole auger for our tractor........anyone have one we can borrow?

The rest of the list goes like this........

gutters on the few loafing sheds that don't have one.
Grade at one end of paddock to facilitate drainage.
Another rain barrel to collect water at edge of barn.
Clean gutters,
scrape paddocks and re-rock them
add sand to top of paddocks
lengthen short paddocks in order maximize winter areas.
add top rails to some of fenceline where ..umm...a certain, fat mare is bending it over...to get grass.
build manure containment bins......this involves cement bottoms and cement wall dividers.....
drag paddocks and plant more pasture seed.
put a drain line along east wall of arena
drain pipe to take excess water from arena to rain garden/pond/swamp.
rebuild berm at borrowed barn to stop water from entering barn.
Hogsfuel at borrowed barn paddocks to help with mud.
slider door on new hay storage building
more sand in arena to help it drain
create rock filled drain holes by water tubs ..so that water can be poured into and soaked up, rather than run off.
order more gravel to create road base by upper loafing shed ...help drain standing water.
build covers for short paddocks......
fix light at outer paddock
replace GFI outside shower rack
push manure pile back at borrowed barn,
get brush cutter for overgrown blackberries at borrowed barn
gravel in driveway at borrowed barn
buy more hay
did I say buy more hay???

see ..the list never stops....you think you have come a long way, and then you realize you have a long way to go.

Shine on Sunday

Beautiful weekend.......got a lot done and still have a lot to do. You know those lists I talk about? I add to them all the time..you cross one thing off and then add another.
Yesterday Ryan and I worked on seperating Iris' paddock, put dividers up in her previously huge stall and then a board fence........cut brush and weed eated the front area of the barn. Then we worked on reading Jones' tattoo....(more on that later!) We worked all day and in the end, Iris got a pasture that is safe, she can touch Blue over a board fence and also nuzzle him over her stall divider.....she loves it! He...well..he is okay with it....he is sort of a grumpy guy.

Today was gorgeous, warm......I thoroughly enjoyed it. I fed this morning, chased the eagle away from my hens twice (he is persistent!)turned a couple of horses out on grass, cleaned water troughs, moved some hay.....then went and did some home chores (gardening, washed some clothes) went for coffee with my husband, then came home and got onto the barn chores again. I cut the Scotch broom out of Iris' paddock...cut some blackberry brambles....let the divider down in the stall and built it a little higher....I was worried about legs getting caught or you know...the 100 things that horses can do if given a small space.

We have tracked Jones' tattoo down and he is Dr. Elmo. He raced.......(are you ready for this?) 91 times. Gosh...he was a racing fool......lots of wins. No wonder he has pin fire marks and leg wrap scars. Jones is 20. A little older than we thought and it explains his tendancy to want to buck going into canter (at least to me)...his back probably hurts......arthritis, nerve...sacral/lumbar pain. He deserves a rest, don't you think? and some dignity. Gotta love those old race horses...we sure do.

We have been involved in trying to help a severely injured Quarter horse mare....owners cannot afford vet care, the mare has a really nasty injury to her forearm and upper leg. I cannot divulge all the details but it is a weird situation and the horse is three hours from us. We have been told to come and get her, then told to wait, then not heard from them......and then suddenly "come and get her RIGHT now".....unfortunately we cannot just drop and run....committments and other appointments. We have tried to hire someone to go for her....no one seems anxious to do this job.....we have arranged veterinary care but the horse was not dropped off for the appointment...we are now waiting to see if some mutual friends of friends can go and get her.
I am very upset the mare did not get care when we arranged for it...and I hope the resulting infection is not out of control. We are asking for help with veterinary costs. Seems like we are always asking for help...this has been a slow donation year and we really have had to work and be resourceful....but this time we are asking for help and all donations are tax deductible, as we are a 501C3. The horse will not be returned to the owner. The mare is registered, and was a good trail, youth horse. If someone else is interested in taking her...please email us...we will require references and a site inspection. We would appreciate if you would share this story...so we can get the mare safe.

Another week ahead of us......hopeful that the weather will hold.....we really need some summer.

Pony UP fortune for tomorrow:

There are no words for the experience.

So wet again Saturday

Up at 4am this morning to pouring rain.....sigh. Where is summer? I went back to bed, up at 7, made coffee, showered, drove to barn.....I was cold.....put my jacket on and wondered if this was October or January.....my hair frizzed up and then curled....sigh again.....no keeping it straight in this weather.
I let the chickens out, fed the horses, ran some errands, back to the barn......not much to do in the rain, Susy was not feeling well so we sent her home to feel better...she is such a trooper! Ryan and I went to the local auction house to see if we could get a deal on an auger for the tractor......we didn't....we looked around and decided to come back next time.......went to the feed store, went to lunch, then drove up to check on Yukon. We took him for a short walk, let him roll and decided that tomorrow he could go out in a short paddock. He is feeling much better, has been off of bute for two days.......his leg is still swollen, but he is walking pretty good. He has been on a diet and has lost a few pounds. We are pleased with his progress. Keep him in your thoughts!

We moved Iris to a smaller paddock this week. This paddock is in between two others and so she has company on both sides......she is VERY happy. Ollie ...not so much! He had to move to the other side of the barn aisle and he doesn't like it..........so, we are making plans to split the large paddock in two, so that Iris can share it with Blue...they can touch over the fence and touch over the stall wall....it should work just fine. Ollie can be moved back to the other side with Jones and they can go out to the big pasture to graze during the day. Such prima donnas those geldings!

Our chore list grows........sand to spread, ditches to be dug.....fence lines to put up...a new rolling door......replace a GFI receptacle.....it really never stops..I always expect that one day I will show up and there will be nothing to do! Ha...that will never happen. We got four ton of hay put up in the loft....trying to get a storage going. When the sun comes out we will be busy!

Tomorrow we will go and put a small temporary paddock in for Yukon.....so he can walk outside without going totally hog crazy. Also another feed store trip and time to drag the large paddocks.

I am pleased to say that all horses found homes outside of the kill pen this month. Quite a relief.

The adopted horses are doing well.....Cooper is being loved and doted on, Max has found his own heaven and Louie is being spoiled........just like we like it! Thanks to all adopters for helping these horses out.

Enjoy your weekend.

Pony UP fortune for tomorrow:

Don't forget your compassion......spread it around today.

Wednesday ramblings

Yikes, I am way behind on my blog!

Where did I leave off?
Beautiful weather this last weekend and on Saturday we got a lot of things done....worked on filling in the ditch at the side of our driveway and got most of that done. Susy and Rick started on getting the rolling door on the new shed and it is almost complete. We had a new volunteer........Laura......and we groomed horses, cleaned the barn, cleaned water tubs and then got more sand dumped in the arena......we almost have enough sand to conduct business! The sand is such a big deal, as it will allow us to work horses and have safe footing....what a blessing to find it so cheap! Thank you Steve!

Iris has settled into our routine and we have settled into hers. She is beginning to be a bit of a prima donna.......I called her a young Helen Keller the other day as she threw a bit of a fit over not being handed grain once we opened her stall door. We tried her special fly mask on her and she was not going to have any part of it until she got her grain. We worked out a compromise...okay...well, we gave her her grain. The fly mask can be worked on later. She is getting around her paddock well enough to eat grass under the fence, which makes me chuckle...I would not have imagined a blind horse reaching under or over a fence.

Cooper, Louie and Max are doing well in their new homes. We are fortunate to meet some very nice people and even more fortunate when those people adopt from us. I never like to worry and so sometimes I am choosy, some may say "picky" about homes. Oh, well....that is just how it has to be...they have to have something better than what we can give them.....or they don't go. I have learned my lesson...casual, convenient adoptions can be worrisome...and I simply don't like to worry. Anyway, congratulations to Kathy, Carolyn and Carolyn.......(not a typo...actually TWO Carolyns!)

This weekend more chores....as usual......manure pile to be moved, sand to be spread, fencing to be put up and of course paddocks/stalls to be cleaned.

Four horses got hoof trims on Monday and four more will get trimmed next week. Lizzy will get front shoes because she is so flat footed and she has a crack in a front hoof that will spread if we don't intervene.

It was cold and rainy today....a shock from last weekend. I wore a jacket all day and here it is ...June....this sounds increasingly like last summer...and today when I came home........there were fallen maple leaves in the grass....lots of them. Now what could that mean? Early fall? Good grief!

We would like to thank Drop Dots for all of their support.....they collected donation money for us at the local farmers market and also gave us ten percent of their weekend earnings! Thank you for thinking of us! See Drop Dot's website at www.dropdotcookies.com.

Christine E...you are a gem! Thank you for all you do for us...I am so glad I met you and that you are my friend. PS ...Iris loves you!

We helped to get a young and injured TB mare out of the kill pen this week. Way too much drama......we just want to help horses, not start a character assassination contest. We were accused of trying to raise money for our own benefit instead of for the mare......untrue...if we need money for our farm, I am the first to say so. My intent was to help another rescue get this mare and get her quickly..there simply was no other way to get her out fast...we DID get that accomplished and the mare is safe as well as being treated for infected wounds. There should be no problem in helping......or accusations by parties who do not have facts......this is about helping horses. Thank you for those who support us and trust us.

Speaking of the kill pen, there are still some good horses looking for homes......please check out the auction horse forum for details.........you may go directly to the Enumclaw Sales Pavillion and buy a horse. Please have a look and share on your facebook or email...these guys need help quickly.

Thank you again for your support and kindness!

Pony Up fortune for today:

Pay kindness forward so that someday you will receive it when you most need it.