The Golden Carrot Newsletter's Archive

1. Work Day - Members of the Tierra del Norte Arabian Horse Association are coming on Sunday, September 30, to put their muscles and miscellaneous materials to work for the horses in a Work Day. I invite, even implore, any of you who can join us to do so, as the more hands are available, the more work is done, and more easily too! My neighbor is making his power tools available, and I have lots of hammers. The stall lines are most important, as winter approaches and these stalls are 8 years old, and showing those years of weather, and horse damage. I’m not expecting anything beautiful - but patching holes and resetting poles and replacement of some wall or roof panels is stuff I need help with, and will go a long way to keep the horses more comfortable in the rain and snow we expect this winter.

In addition to your labor, if you’ve got any building materials, new or used, I’d sure appreciate a donation - even odd bits of lumber can be useful and if not, I can burn them for heat during the winter! In particular, we need 4x4 posts; 2x4 or 2x6 planks, and 4x8 panels of any thickness or material.

Depending on how many come, and for how long, I may provide pizzas! Plus I’ll have drinks available. Bring your cameras as well, to document this important day.

2. I was able to place two horses, ages 11 and 13, with Sandy Lintelman in Phelan - their owner here in Mountain Center contacted me among other rescues looking for a new home for them. Sunday the 9^th my neighbor Mike and I drove Aries (a TB gelding) and Sugar (an Appaloosa mare) to their new home. I’ve got two other calls from people THIS WEEK wanting to "donate" their horses - and I’ll be trying to find homes for them too. I do have a stall available, but am struggling to stay afloat after a terrible summer - with donations down to nothing, and several sponsors either behind in sponsorship fees, or simply gone.

3. So far the strangles situation here is still under control. Hava’s face is finally healing well. I’m a little worried about Buck and Chacha who seem a little different - not enough to take their temperatures yet, as their appetites are still good, but I’m watching them. The horses are doing much better with the cooler nights recently, and have been greatly benefitted by a big donation of electrolytes from Sue Friley. Although I provide salt on a regular basis during the hot months, electrolytes have potassium and other compounds which help - as all Gatorade addicts know. And with the unbearable heat we’ve had this summer, I know some horses were feeling depleted - thank you Sue for this wonderful donation.

4. Anna continues to stand alone, but I don’t feel she is unhappy at all. For a while, one of her adjacent stalls was empty, and I felt that bothered her - so I moved Ronan back in as a neighbor and she’s much happier. She’s probably one of about 5 horses that Ronan can’t push around so they are a good match. And she has sweet Prophet on her other side whenever she needs a break from the boy. Ronan and I had our first training session today - a very simple one as even free lunging is something he wants to control - so the lesson today was - go the way Casey wants you to go. But, the good part is, he stood nicely in the cross ties both before an after his lesson to get groomed and his feet picked out, and got plenty of carrots as his reward. The second lesson will reveal much more about him and I’ll keep you posted. Jeepers and Queenie are inseparable. When Jeeps got his feet trimmed, Queenie hovered closely. She could have moved away but didn’t, even when Chacha came over to inspect the situation. This is a true bond these two have ... and they are one seriously cute couple! Sunny’s cut, caused during the dust devil that dismantled my hay roof, has healed well; Mitey Nice is eating well and I think starting to pick up some weight but continues to have problems with her feet; Navigator’s face wound is almost healed; Daphmar’s leg is still swollen but the open wounds are finally closed and I will be sweating his leg to bring down the puffiness.