The Golden Carrot Newsletter's Archive

The Golden Carrot

September 12, 2005

HAY DELIVERY!

Well, after a nice response to the two special pleas sent out, I was able to pay for the delivery and stacking of an enormous amount of hay, and make the first payment on the hay itself. I attach a photo and hope you can view it - the picture shows about 1/3 of the hay. All but the stack I’m standing on is covered from the elements, although more tarping will be required to keep it safe if this is a wet winter. Hopefully, I won’t need more alfalfa hay until the first of March, when the spring hay is beginning to be available. And the savings in time and labor - not having to go load 30-75 bales every few weeks and haul them home, unload and stack (usually in the rain!) - you can’t imagine the relief! Thank you all for your kindness - either already given or promised. I still need to buy grass hay, and all the pelleted feed these older horses need, but this is a huge savings in time, energy and money.

About a month ago, I was approached by a local girl, Bentley, who has a 26 year old Arab/Quarterhorse cross mare named Chara, a paint horse who had been neglected, and has a swayback and some arthritis. She’d purchased Chara for her 5 year old son, but like so many arabs, she was a little hyper for a child that small, although they’d attended several local gymkanas successfully. Bentley had just given birth to another son in May, and with attendant expenses, was hoping to find a good home for Chara where no one would try to breed her, or use her too hard. Bentley couldn’t offer support for Chara - the point was to save some money - but she has come twice a week, (leaving her baby with me to watch while I’m typing) while she has lunged two horses each day, and given them a good hosing afterwards. She has also volunteered to sit at a Golden Carrot table at the local swap meet to sell items of tack and other things for benefit of TGC, leaving me free to do my usual chores etc. So I feel, between the need of Chara, and the good intentions of Bentley in not sending this elderly lady off to the uncertain future of an auction, and her efforts to assist TGC residents with some much needed exercise, that this was something I should do. Hopefully, pictures of Chara will be posted soon on the website. Anyone willing to sponsor this little lady? She’s an easy keeper - probably $65 per month. Let me know...

I was contacted via email by Tina, a woman who had rescued several PMU mares. Tina indicated that one mare, Annie, had a damaged hind leg, which has partially healed but will forever bar her from being a useful riding horse. Annie is a Belgian Draft Horse/Quarterhorse cross, and dropped a huge foal in May. The vet tells Tina that this was probably Annie’s 7^th or 8^th foal, despite the fact that she is only about 10 years old! Comparison? Imagine a girl about 20 years old with 7 children, no multiple births? Arrggghhh...... Poor little Annie. Do you know what the PMU mares go through? They are forcibly bred, held confined in small pens throughout their pregnancy so that their urine can be collected; deprived of water so that the urine is concentrated; and when their foals are born, they are removed as quickly as possible, and the mare is bred again. She is lonely, suffers from the separation anxiety all mothers feel from the loss of their children, and suffers from extended udders until lactation finally stops. Because of this type of treatment and lack of exercise, Annie has a slightly swayed back and no muscle tone. Tina has made strides in bringing her back to some semblance of health, but this was going to be a difficult horse to place.

I wanted to take her - this is exactly the time of home she needs. But you know the difficulty we’ve been having ..... At any rate, I am THRILLED to report that Belinda, one of TGC’s supporters, has found good pasture home with her own horses, at her father’s place. Annie will be with three other horses in a field, with owners who know that pasture is not enough, and who will help her have a real ‘horse-type’ life.

Now, I’ve also been contacted by a woman who has three horses, two 20+ quarter horses and a 6 year old paint gelding with wobbler’s syndrome, looking for homes. I suspect that at least one of the quarter horses would do well with light steady work - the problem is arthritis which does much better with steady light exercise than with too much ‘rest’. Again, these are precisely the type of horses that TGC should take. But this woman also cannot sponsor any of the horses. If I could find sponsors for them, I would take them. What do you think? Do we know anyone who wants to foot part of the bill? I’ll take on the work; I have the space. These are not horses who can be put just anywhere. The quarterhorses will be worked too hard for their age - and no one will want the wobbler’s guy. I can probably use all of them for light work, or lead line work with children. But retirement is what they really need. If you know of anyone that wants to help ..... call me.

BUCK and HAVA and FALCON and temporarily, Chara

As the stable turns .... Buck and Hava seem to have finally made up. After a six month obsession, Hava finally seemed to feel the same way towards Falcon that she’d been feeling about Buck .... He’s OK, but hum, something’s missing these days. She’s shown a renewed interest in Buck, and guess why? For the last month, Buck was running interference for Chara - keeping her safe from the herd, walking her to her stall at night, eating with her in the field etc.

I’d moved Chara and Buck next to each other, across from Falcon and Hava. That was working well, but as Hava distanced herself from Falcon a little, Buck became less interested in Chara, and finally, a few days ago, Buck insisted in going back to his old stall next to Hava. Hum. Falcon was happy to be next to Chara - and the world has returned to its old status. Occasionally you still see Falcon and Hava eating together, and Chara and Buck standing near each other, but there are no obsessive attachments to disrupt the peace of the herd.

Sue Friley of NaturVet has also delivered a huge donation of arthritis medications; psyllium, red cell supplement, natural fly spray and joint support supplements, which have been making the horses happy for the past couple of weeks.

NaturVet makes the kind of product I like - formulated with the horses in mind. Good quality, high in effectiveness and palatability (I can even get Josh to eat this stuff!); and natural ...... When I have extra money, I usually buy their Arthritisoothe because I’ve seen it provide relief in horses like Jet, and Jack, and Josh. I recommend it - let me know if you need contact information.

I know some people are wondering - what happened with the equine massage? So far, only TGC horses have benefited; I’ve tried to do a couple of horses a week to keep my ‘hand in’. I have possibly 3 or 4 horses to do on the 24^th of September, thanks to Sue Friley; and also the possibility of some horses in Poway, thanks to a referral from a friend of mind living in Escondido.

I also hope that when the polo season starts in Indio, I may get some work there. I will keep you posted.

Thank you all for your continued support. I don’t feel safe enough to take on more horses without promised support, but am still doing what I can to help the older and manageably disabled horses to find a safe haven in their lives. Although TGC has suffered due to the natural disasters which have wrought such havoc in Indonesia and the Deep South, we still feel very lucky in comparison. TGC did contact Best Friends in Kanab, Utah, who have a huge rescue effort going in the South due to Kartrina, and have offered our spare stalls to refugees from that area. I don’t expect to be needed - I feel from what I’ve seen on the TV that those unfortunate horses will find safe havens closer to home. But I did offer .....and would be happy to harbor equine victims of Katrina if they have to come this far. TGC still is ‘in the game’ - I’m still trying. And I couldn’t do it without YOU.