Sunday morning guest blog

I promised to make Briann famous and here is her own Sunday morning blog. I am getting ready to travel to get Sully and attend obedience.

Thanks Briann!

Here you go:

Horses, Rescue, and Volunteering

by Briann S.

Horses... I could go on and on about them but I promise to keep it to a limit.

Horses to me are very important, for both life skills and companionship. The horses in my life are like my best friends, they are always there when I need them and I can talk to them, as long as I continue to feed them they will continue to listen! I'm sure most of what I say goes in one ear and out the other but sometimes its nice just to talk, let it out,you know? when I first arrived at Pony Up, Rosemary showed me Rio, I almost IMMEDIATELY fell in love, and when I turned around I suddenly felt something heavy on my shoulder, what do ya know, it was Rio! He rested his head gently on my shoulder, since then we have been BEST FRIENDS!!!

Rescuing...well I don't have much to say on this topic. But I can say that since we got the Arabs my dad, Rosemary and Page have really opened my eyes and taught me about tough love. It's a big part of life, and nine months ago I did not understand how important that is in life. You have to be able to understand when you rescue a horse you have to know what ever decisions you make, whether it's giving a horse away or sending a horse to those green meadows of eternal life, that they will always remember you as their life saver and care giver! Rosemary and Page have taught me so much,they are my inspiration!

Volunteering... Hmm... Well, I think volunteering is something you should want to do not be forced into it or do it because you will benefit from it in some greedy way.I always feel really good when I volunteer to do something, whether it's something as small as helping some one across the road or as big as donating money to a good cause. I love helping at Pony Up, I love the people, the horses, and the environment around me! Volunteering is a wonderful feeling at least I think, and at the end of the day I love to sit back and think how I have helped some one or something that day.

Sunday

Updated photos of Reba in her new home with her new boy.....she looks very happy and so does he!

a.m....I am leaving to load the little Arab mare so she can go to her home today. The kind neighbor man will use my trailer and transport her up to Camano Island to Helen, her adoptive owner as of today. Happy ending. Page is going to help out. Again, I must thank Page for all of her help.....she has been a Godsend to me, especially this week. Always willing and ready to give something a try... and she learns fast...she doesn't hold the hammer like a girl anymore!

Hamilton is feeling much better. Still thin but more active and now protective of his food (hard to blame him but we do expect manners) He laid his ears back at Page yesterday and gave her a glare when she got near his hay. He is much more active and also walking better. He has my mother convinced that she needs to give him something every time he calls to her. My mom has been enjoying the good weather by gardening and Hamilton knows right where she is at mostly every moment. She gives him lunch and she says if she is not right on time....he throws a small fit. hmmmm.

more updates later. off to feed and load..

The mare was a little super star.......she is brave and willing. She got right in and ate some hay, looked around, then came out for a minute, then got right back in, we shut the door and Jason hit the road with her. I left the divider open and tied back so that she could have a box stall and not feel so confined. We wish her and her new owner the best of luck. We got very good references on this home and I hear it is a place we would all like to live at. She is a nice little mare. She has never been off the farm before and I know she was scared. But honestly, I wish my own horses loaded as well as she did. Most of the time I would pay someone to load that big Holsteiner of mine.......and pay someone well. Anyway, when they are scared you wish you could explain to them and tell them why ultimately the change will be good. I gave her a last pat on the neck and sent them on their way.

We medicated the gelding again, his skin looks much better today. He saw me coming and made for the back forty....he did not like the SMZ's and so afterwards we gave him plenty of treats. Tomorrow he will leave for Chelsea's. He is a nice boy.....great disposition and also willing to do what you ask if you have patience.

We visited the stallion for a few minutes......he was very upset to see his mother leave, ran the fence. We really need to get something together for him by tomorrow. Once the gelding leaves, the fence is not going to hold the stallion. We think we can work on a smaller paddock at this old place......it has railroad ties and the fence is higher. We will bring a charger and put a couple of strands of hot wire for extra measure. This will allow us some time to work on a better situation for him. No one wants to euthanize him....except the distant neighbor with the shooting fantasy. Weird......just so weird to me.

I will go later today and fly spray both of those boys.

I got one wall of the pony shelter up at the north farm and I have to work on the roof again.....it looks slightly haywire. Hey, I never said I was a roofer...did I? I keep telling Page we are not looking for beauty....only function and I will say that the roof does not leak. I had a contractor at the farm yesterday and he looked at the pony shelter and said "nice"...........hmm...then I told him that I was going to say he built it.....he immediately said he would help us get it straightened up.......LOL! He is going to help us extend the roof on the upper loafing shed too.

It is such a beautiful day and I have so many things to do.....I better get going.

enjoy this gorgeous day and "jingle" for the stallion.......and us.

The Stallion remains

We have a place for the old Arabian gelding and as of tonight, a place for the mare to go. We still need a place for the stallion. Ideally we would like for him to be gelded prior to placement. I visited the horses tonight and the stallion whinnied a big hello and came right up to see me. He is studly and he needs some manners.......but he is handsome and has his own charm about him.

We have had a few offers....but he cannot/will not stay in hot tape fencing, he cannot stay with mares and he cannot have an inexperienced handler. We hardly think this means he should be handed a death sentence. There must be someone out there for him.

If we were to adopt one of our own out, we could accomodate the stallion.......but we cannot take on more than we can handle financially or physically. We have two really nice horses ready for new homes.......take a look at our adoptables? Maybe you will fall in love?

Until then, we are looking for options for the stallion. We are open to ideas and suggestions.

Thanks for all of the nice notes today......it was nice to see the horse community working together. The mare has a great home lined up and the old gelding could not be luckier......he gets a chance to feel better and get healthier.

A special thanks to the neighbor who has helped these horses for the past several months...he is a hero.

Three Arabians in need of immediate help

We have been asked to help with three Arabians who have no where to go. The elderly lady that owns them cannot afford their care and has no funds to euthanize them either (which is her final resort) Neighbors have been feeding them on and off, but the stallion escapes and is in danger of road traffic. He needs a secure facility/fenced area. There is an elderly and ill gelding, a mare and a stallion. Attempts to place them so far have not been successful. We believe it to be in the best interest of the gelding to be kindly and gently euthanized. We would like to help the mare and the stallion. If there is anyone who has the room in their hearts and their barns......please contact us immediately. There is not much time....a distant neighbor has offered to "shoot" them for only 350 dollars each.......I will not comment except to say that no one wants them shot. The horses need to be placed responsibly and so we will ask for references and a site visit. The mare is easy to handle, the stallion will require an experienced handler.....he is not unkind......just has not been worked with. Unfortunately our own rescue slots are all full and we cannot afford to take on another horse or horses at this time unless we find a sponsor for them or raise enough funds to feed and house them until such a time as we can place them into an adoptive home. If you want to commit to a sponsorship for one or the other, please contact us. If you would like to contribute to the euthanasia fund for the gelding, please email us. All funds donated to our rescue are tax deductable. We appreciate any and all ideas to get these horses to safety.

Here comes the sun!

What a glorious weekend......and I am probably over glorifying the weather we had....but hey, it was so much better than the weather we have had? Right? A few more days of rain and I was thinking of moving to Arizona.

I showed up at the farm early afternoon Saturday to find all of the boys laying on their sides, flat out, naked in the sun and they did not stir as I drove up. I should have got a picture.,,every horse flat out and snoring.

The barn cat got scared of something on Saturday and she was at least 50 feet up in a cedar tree.....howling and crying while a crow taunted her. I figure that cats can get down from where they climb up......so I called her and while she cried a lot more, she would not venture down...not an inch. I left her overnight figuring she would get down....and then this morning we I saw she was still way UP THERE>>>>we called a nice man that we know to came out and he climbed the tree in his climbing gear and got her down for us. She was very hungry and thirsty. She went right into my mom's house and made herself comfortable...and I am sure my mom will let her sleep in there tonight.

I went out to see three horses that need homes today.......all Arabians. A mare, a stallion and a gelding. Living on property where no one lives any longer and being fed only grain once a day. The kind neighbors are caring for them now but the horses really need to get into homes. The stallion needs to be gelded as he has an "occupied" mind, the mare is the stallion's mother and then the gelding is really old. Anyone? I have sent resources to secure a low cost/no cost gelding to the neighbor who is caring for them. Donations of hay would be of great benefit. This neighbor is a saint.......he bought hay out of his own pocket and has repaired fences to keep the stallion in, as the stallion escapes frequently. The stallion is a little guy, not bad looking, gray and as I said.......very preoccupied with the ladies. The mare is rideable in her teens and the gelding is just plain old, needs a retirement home.I would appreciate any offers of help. Just email me.

I also visited two mares further down the road who need an upgrade. Both are rail thin and have rain rot. Teenage mares who deserve better. I can sleep knowing that they have water tubs in their pasture tonight and several flakes of grass hay in front of them. If you are looking for a mare with a good disposition....contact me.

Back to my regular job tomorrow and before that my morning will mean cleaning stalls and feeding the farm horses, making more beet pulp, taking blankets off, feeding chickens and cats.......then off to work an hour away.

Enjoy your week.......practice a random act of kindness and keep quiet about it. It will come back to you I swear!