The Golden Carrot Newsletter's Archive
The Golden Carrot Newsletter December 2007 A fast bit of news to finish out 2007- The need at TGC continues, and since donations have never really recovered from the summer lag, I would request that you remember us this holiday season. Things are bad enough that I went outside my patron base to post a plea for help on some discussion boards related to horses. I did get some donations, and very importantly, Dion found a sponsor, but I also got asked to take two free horses, and was told by several people to spend more money paying salaries to a fund raiser and for advertising, to "get the word out". I was also told to find homes for my horses. I thought those were remarkably silly suggestions, when I have just begged for help feeding the horses, and also because advertising, for instance, merely generates more horses, not donations or volunteers; and finally because I cannot afford to pay a guy to come in parttime and clean stalls for me, how in god’s name do they think I can afford to pay a fundraiser - how will I find a good one? How will I know if they’re doing the job? Although the suggestion was made to pay a fundraiser "based on what they earn for you", everyone agrees you have to pay fundraisers up front. If they don’t raise any money, you are out of luck, and out of money you needed to feed the horses. And I take the horses no one else wants - they are "too old", they are "damaged, disabled, useless", and like poor Ronan, they are "incorrigible". How am I going to place these special needs horses, when it is so hard to place a horse like ET, or Isabella, or even sweet Star? My experience on those discussion boards was hard - way way too many people telling me everything I’m doing wrong and exhorting me to work harder. But I did meet several nice people, and did get some donations - as always from people who already rescue themselves, and are dipping into slim purses to help out. And, DION has a SPONSOR! Please welcome Robin West to the Golden Carrot community. Robin, thank you! A lot of you are doing on-line shopping for Christmas, and I beg you - please remember to use iGive.com - it’s a rare store indeed you can’t find on their "mall" - and if you go through their site, after you register The Golden Carrot as your cause, we benefit! I buy my vitamins on the web through Vitacost - and I go through the iGive mall, and I’ve earned $70 for TGC this year! Just for vitamins, at huge discounts! C’mon guys - take that extra step and help these horses at NO COST TO YOU. Now, TGC gets paid for purchases you make now in March - but still ..... it would be great to know it’s coming. Although I’m not really happy with the service for some probably picky reasons, the people who host my website now have helped a lot. It’s been great to have the credit card donation capability. We have 100 new patrons for TGC (over what was left after I stopped spamming people last year). In addition, the Google ad has pumped up activity on my website, so we are now over 20,000 hits on the site in one year. Of course, I can’t help but wonder how much of this activity directly relates to the hundreds of calls and emails I’m getting from people looking for a home for their horses ..... Look at the website to see photos of Savannah, and Jill riding Ronan, Daph and Joyful. I hope to have some new photos of Savannah and Dion up soon .... And can you believe how wonderfully Ronan is responding to some love? This was an "incorrigible bucker" according to the last idiot who ‘trained’ him. No way .... no way..... A new horse, Isabella, is listed on Homeless Horses, and the two Arab mares are still looking. Please keep your eyes and ears open for a good home for these sweet horses. Of the three, I think only ET is rideable now; but nothing stops someone from working with Isabella, who although untrained is young enough and perfectly sound. I will also be posting a couple of other photos of horses looking for homes, including a beautiful Arab/Andalusian mare, age 15, who probably foundered (her owner claims she is on a ‘special diet of grass only’). In the picture, she stands perfectly square, but it may not be a current photo. Shirley Puga and I are both trying to find enough money and someone to transport the feedlot horses to their new homes. When the first guy drove to Sacramento for nothing, he was understandably unwilling to try again. But I need money (Probably $200 for transport of both of them) and I need someone to make the trip. I’d love to do it myself, but you know how hard it is for me to get away from here. I’d like to get them in their new homes in the Phelan area before Christmas - any thoughts? I was happy to hear from Darlene about Star - who is adjusting well in her new home. She is apparently too tough on the other two older mares to put them out together, but she’s happy talking with them through the fence, and taking walks with Darlene each day. When the feedlot horses come down, I’ll be going up to get the adoption agreements signed, and I will stop in to see Star then, and Darlene has promised to try to get photos to send us. Today we just survived a serious downpour of 24 hours duration - most of our topsoil has been washed away, and all the stalls are showing just how bad those roofs are! About four horses had ponds in their houses - Mike and I spent some time trying to fix that in the middle of the storm; but don’t feel sorry for Mike - I’ve been asking him for help using his tractor to bring in dirt for just those stalls for months! I’m soooo unused to mud - cleaning stalls that the horses have been in for 36 hours, slogging through slippery mud (making it difficult to push the wheelbarrow without falling to my knees!), trying to pick the poop up without taking 10 pounds of mud as well, I’d forgotten how bad it is! I’ve fallen three times now, twice yesterday trying to put the horses away in the rain, and once today, and it took me 2 full hours to clean 22 stalls, where normally I can clean all 30 in 1 hour, 45 minutes. But listen to me bitching! Only last week I was whining about how dry it’d been here for soooo long! There’s just no pleasing some people :-) Tonight, blankets all around, as the wind is arctic. Thanks again to TDNAHA for their generous donation of blankets, enabling me to blanket everyone with pretty good blankets. I have a LOT of smaller blankets, that don’t fit my monsters, that I will be trying to sell in an effort to raise money. Plus, if they fit, I may gift the feedlot horses with blankies of their own ..... I probably won’t be writing again, as between some work I have to do, dealing with the weather situation (blanketing takes 45 minutes every night and 30 minutes to undo each morning, adding an hour of work per day!), and my neighbor leaving for a week at Christmas to visit his family (I’ve gotta watch his dogs and home), I’m going to be pretty busy. I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas, and a Happy and Safe New Year. Remember, it’s a season of giving - a time we help others whenever possible - if we all do that, we’ll find that when we’re helping someone, someone is helping us! Be careful, but have some fun! With all my appreciation and gratitude for all you do for the Golden Carrot horses - Casey