The Golden Carrot Newsletter's Archive
November Thanksgiving Newsletter
The Golden Carrot
11/29/06
1. ON LINE SHOPPING!
With the holiday season in full swing, and shopping in everyone’s minds, I beg you - check out the www.iGive.com shopping mall. This is the easiest way to help TGC while you’re doing what you’re gonna be doing anyway - shopping!
If you go through the Golden Carrot website, you will see all the stores listed and what percentage of your purchase price will go to TGC. You can also go to www.iGive.com directly and sign up, designating TGC as your cause, and shop from there. Unfortunately, there is a link to Amazon for some reason on iGive - and this link is of no use - Amazon does not donate any portion of your purchase to charities. But hay, they are not the only game in town! The mall at www.iGive.com has so many stores, that chances are what you are looking for is there.
2. WEBSITE
I’ve got a blog and an on-line store which can be looked at from the website. And if you want to, you can make a comment on the blog. I’m using the blog to try to give you a little ‘slice of life’ - my feelings, observations of the horses, little snippets of news. That makes my newsletters a little shorter ..... And the online store will have 20 items posted; if they don’t sell; I’ll take them down and put up 20 more. If you’re looking for ANYTHING - horse related or otherwise, that you’d purchase "used", let me know - I may have it!
3. SUNNY and BUTCH
I’ve been approached by a local couple, who have had some severe hard times, looking for a home for their two horses, Sunny and Butch. They got Sunny when they bought their home - he was simply left behind like unwanted trash by the previous owner; and they didn’t want him alone and so rescued Butch, a horse blind from birth. The two horses are best friends, with Sunny acting as Butch’s guide-horse.
As you know, I don’t have a lot of financial stability these days as I lost my summer job, and donations continue to be low; so I’ve talked these folks into keeping Sunny and Butch, hopefully for a few more months. At that time, it is possible that Danielle Reel, who sponsors Navigator, may be ready and able to take them. In the event their situation worsens, I have agreed to take the two horses with some support from their owners, and from Sue Friley of NaturVet, at least temporarily. I have convinced them that moving these two horses twice would not be in their best interests, particularly in light of the stress that Butch might experience being exposed to a herd like mine, even part of the time. So, I haven’t taken these horses in, but am trying to help both the owners to find relief in their stressful situation, and the horses to find a home. I’ve got to admit, if Ms. Reel takes these two eventually, I may lose yet another sponsor. But if I can’t take these horses due to low donations, I’ve got to try to hep them find a home - otherwise, what am I doing here?
4. LUCIFER
Lucifer continues to grieve - both for Belle who passed in early September, and then Charra, who passed away last week. Every time I pass him, he looks at me, following me when possible. He’s almost clingy - first to me, and then to Peanut. Poor fellow - he’s lost these two ladies and his first friend, Jack, and is probably starting to wonder if he’ll always be alone. Peanut pretty much ignores him, but at least she doesn’t discourage him. Unfortunately for him, she is MUCH more active than his previous ladies - and it’s taking a lot of effort for him to move all around with her as she wanders from one grass pile to another, back and forth through the herd. Maybe it will work out for the best tho - as his previous ladies preferred to stand at a distance from the herd, and he stayed apart with them. Maybe Peanut will bring him a new set of friends.
With the recent freezes here in Anza, I’ve begun to blanket the horses, and since Lucifer’s sponsor kindly purchased him a brand new blanket, I thought of him first. He’s quite elderly, and with his depression over his losses, I wanted to avoid him getting a cold too. Am I feebleminded, do you think? Remember his difficulty with a blanket in the first days here? Lucifer was FURIOUS at having a blanket on - Mike put it on him and got the chest and belly straps fastened before he lost it, but at the ‘tap tap’ of the leg straps, he exploded. We left him in his stall, squealing in rage, stamping his feet and bucking. He knocked down two crossrails, which Mike put back up; and didn’t want to eat his dinner, he was so mad. Next morning, Mike and I were set to double team him to get the blanket off, but he’d taken care of that himself, tearing one chest strap completely off and somehow shimmying out of the belly straps. He was sweated up from head to tail (Very bad in this cold weather) and had several scrapes on his back legs - not a surprise when I found no less than 5 holes in his stall walls where he’d kicked them - two of them over 4 feet high! What an IDIOT! Well, I’m sorry, but Lucifer will have to learn this lesson - he is too old, and it gets WAY too cold up here for him to do without extra protection. But, since his blanket can still be used, I’m going to pull out an old crappy one for him to damage while he learns this important lesson. Have a good thought for Mike and I tonight while we wrangle him to both blanket him, and fix his booboos. His newer nicer (albeit damaged) blanket will go to Peanut, whose rest was disturbed by his shenanigans last night. Do you think this acting out might also relate to his depression? C’mon - how human do these guys have to act before we start to treat them more like equals?
5. FAREWELL TO OLD SUPPORTERS, AND ANOTHER SPONSOR
This is the last newsletter I will send to my old mailing list - from now on, the only way a newsletter will come to you is if you’re a member who has joined (easy to do, just go to www.thegoldencarrot.org and click on the JOIN US tab on the top right menu - costs NOTHING). With a mailing list which used to include 68 individuals, it turns out I have 33 supporters (and you ROCK!) Those other 35 people could have donated $10 per month, and made a HUGE difference for TGC - but they have chosen not to. They might have visited occasionally; they might have spread the word or organized fundraising at their offices or schools, but they haven’t. Asked if they are still interested, they simply ignore me. Its time I left them alone.
So, my personal thanks to you all, and fare well. I encourage you to check out the website occasionally, and read the newsletters posted, check the blog, and of course, Join at any time. There’s also a credit card donation link on the website too, if you’re so inclined! The horses and I appreciate your help, and your interest, in the past and are sorry to see you go. Those continuing patrons who have joined will be receiving a newsletter fairly soon as I figure out the new system. 6. HOLIDAY THOUGHTS The Golden Carrot is still struggling along, trying to help the horse community, and its equine residents. With very few exceptions, the sole financial support is coming from sponsors - and I only have sponsors for 10 of the horses here. Having lost the sponsor for Mary, who last donated in August and whose email address is apparently no longer any good; and having lost my summer job, the holidays and the cold weather are looming before me like a cliff I may not be able to avoid falling off. I am by nature a worrier - maybe things will get better. They say "In the end everything will be OK. If it’s not OK, it’s not the end" - and I cling to stuff like that - trying to hope. If you can help - even $10 a month can make a huge difference if enough people will do it. If there is something you would need from me to make such a donation worth your while, tell me what it is. If I can do it, I will. Just give me, and the horses, a chance. Thank you for anything you can do, whether it’s a donation, or a visit, or a little advertising of this worthy cause to your friends, family and co-workers - it’s all greatly appreciated. I hope YOUR holidays, despite shopping, travel and other aggravations of the season, are wonderful - Casey