I'm jittery and nervous. I've already seen a couple ads for free or very cheaply priced horses. The free horses bother me the most. So easy for a KB to swoop in, act like they are innocent, and wisk these horses to an untimely and gruesome death. I emailed on one to see if I could get more information. We'll see if I get a response.
What we need now are donations. My time and money are limited but I'm willing to give up every last second of my time to save horses from going to slaughter.
Although I'm considered a Sanctuary where those that come in stay forever, I'm willing to work with other rescues to pull horses from bad situations and rehome. I don't know if I'm allowed to beg for donations yet as Borderlands is not a non-profit (anyone willing to help with the paperwork... I'm over my head when it comes to paperwork and I'm focused on the day-to-day care of the horses). I think I'm to the point of begging for help though, which is very hard for me.
I've had a few people graciously offer to come and help but I feel guilty. I don't want to stick them with icky jobs that I should be doing, you know cleaning up after me because I'm short on time and have to cut corners. But it may be that I'm to the point where I have to ask for help around the place too. Anyone want to help do some fencing and clean up junk buildings/wood?
Now is the time that we all need to step up and help the horses. I've discovered that October is probably the worst month for horses. Now is the time to help.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Finally...Pictures!
Finally! I had just a few minutes while waiting for the water troughs to fill and thought I would snap a few pictures. What do you know but my camera died after just a few pics. I did get a couple pics of Savanna, Prize, and Rabbit but I'll save those for another time. Until then, here's a few pictures of Sam, the ponies, and Flower. Thought you might like to see her weight gain.
Sam, not so patiently waiting for his evening meal. Notice the teeth marks on the gate? That's courtesy of Savanna.
Flower. Probably not the best angles to see her weight gain but even Mike mentioned that she's putting on some weight!
Crabby Queen
Flower making a pass while waiting for her grain. That girl can't seem to stand still. Mayhem on the other hand is lazy and would rather stand around and watch than pace like Flower.
It's hard to see but there is a butt on that girl! Not yet a nice round butt but we are working on it!
My sweet Flower!!
Let the ponies out to stretch their legs. It was a bit hard to convince them to lope around to get good pictures.
Tommy wasn't impressed with me pushing him around the pasture. He wanted to eat!
Naughty Skippy and Tommy. I'm thinking Skippy would be fun to drive. Pretty little headset and everything.
Little stinker Skippy rubbed off his gorgeous mane and forelock. Can't have anything nice with ponies.
Sam, not so patiently waiting for his evening meal. Notice the teeth marks on the gate? That's courtesy of Savanna.
Flower. Probably not the best angles to see her weight gain but even Mike mentioned that she's putting on some weight!
Crabby Queen
Flower making a pass while waiting for her grain. That girl can't seem to stand still. Mayhem on the other hand is lazy and would rather stand around and watch than pace like Flower.
It's hard to see but there is a butt on that girl! Not yet a nice round butt but we are working on it!
My sweet Flower!!
Let the ponies out to stretch their legs. It was a bit hard to convince them to lope around to get good pictures.
Tommy wasn't impressed with me pushing him around the pasture. He wanted to eat!
Naughty Skippy and Tommy. I'm thinking Skippy would be fun to drive. Pretty little headset and everything.
Little stinker Skippy rubbed off his gorgeous mane and forelock. Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Picture Night
I know, they aren't horse pictures but they are pictures. Figured it might be nice to see some color on this blog. The following pics were taken back in August when we went on vacation.
I couldn't resist sharing a picture of Trouble. I bust out laughing every time I see pictures like this of our little monster min pin.
Stupid blogger, not sure what happened and I'm too lazy to reupload the picture. :-)
I couldn't resist sharing a picture of Trouble. I bust out laughing every time I see pictures like this of our little monster min pin.
Stupid blogger, not sure what happened and I'm too lazy to reupload the picture. :-)
Auction Time :-(
October is auction season. There are two auctions coming up in October/November.
October 15th is the Sioux Falls Regional Livestock Horse Sale starting at 11am. This is not a cataloged sale. I expect lots of horses and few buyers. I also expect that 95% of the loose horses will go to slaughter.
October 29th or November 5th is the Mitchell Livestock Horse Sale. Again, I expect 95% of the loose horses to go to slaughter.
Now is the time to act. Now is the time to do something for these horses. We are full at Borderlands but if people would be willing to donate for the pull, vet, farrier, and feed, we could pull one or two, evaluate them, bring them to health and put them up for adoption.
Now is the time to do the right thing even with it's the hardest thing in the world. Even if you have no money, have no space, you DO have a voice. Speak out for those that do not have a voice. Here is your opportunity to Pay It Forward.
October 15th is the Sioux Falls Regional Livestock Horse Sale starting at 11am. This is not a cataloged sale. I expect lots of horses and few buyers. I also expect that 95% of the loose horses will go to slaughter.
October 29th or November 5th is the Mitchell Livestock Horse Sale. Again, I expect 95% of the loose horses to go to slaughter.
Now is the time to act. Now is the time to do something for these horses. We are full at Borderlands but if people would be willing to donate for the pull, vet, farrier, and feed, we could pull one or two, evaluate them, bring them to health and put them up for adoption.
Now is the time to do the right thing even with it's the hardest thing in the world. Even if you have no money, have no space, you DO have a voice. Speak out for those that do not have a voice. Here is your opportunity to Pay It Forward.
Relaxed
This weekend I had an opportunity to attend a beautiful and quaint wedding in Minneapolis. Surprisingly, it felt like a mini vacation. I felt more relaxed after that short 36 hour adventure than I have in weeks. I still can't seem to get anything accomplished at home but I'm relaxed even with the pressure of winter soon upon us.
The horses are starting to get their winter coats in. I finally get to see the horses too. The flies aren't as terrible now so the fly masks aren't on all the time. In the summer, I don't get to see the horses' eyes but in the winter I don't get to feel their coats. It's a catch 22 some days.
The only horse not putting on a winter coat is Flower. I may be screwing her winter coat up. We had a cold, drizzly period where I left a sheet/blanket on Flower until the weather improved. So she unfortunately hasn't had an opportunity to start working on her winter coat. I'm keeping a close eye on the weather and temperatures. She may have to be blanketed all winter. Although, she has gained a bit of weight so I might let her go without a sheet if the weather improves. The next few days are supposed to be chilly and then back into the 70s! I love fall weather and I really hope that it lasts. My goal is to get as much weight on Flower before the first snowflake falls. So far after two months of pumping her full of grain (and now beet pulp), Flower seems to be gaining weight. I was also worried about Queen. She didn't come back from last winter as well. But with the twice a day grain and daily beet pulp, Queen is looking good too (for being 33 years old).
Sam is on my watch list. He's dropped a bit of weight and I can't seem to get it back. He's on daily grain and beet pulp but I have to keep an even closer eye on Sam because of his ulcers. I need to order a few months worth of ulcer medicine in case anything flares up. The ulcers take away his weight. I may have to look at the possibilities that he'll either be a super hard keeper this winter or the other alternative. But I don't like that idea so we'll wait. It may be this will be his last winter and he'll enjoy one more summer and we'll go from there. He's following in Bob's footsteps it seems (even if Bob's feet were 9 inch pie plate!) Sure do miss that big guy.
I have exciting news about Savanna and Prize but we'll wait to share that one for now. I have to keep you all in suspense on some things don't I?
Mayhem is just a dream. Every time I feed the mares (both morning and night), I have to tie Mayhem to a tree. She just stands there without any complaints. She's such an amazing girl.
I decided that since Mayhem is going so well that I better start working with Sahara. She has a 180 personality to Mayhem. Sahara will be a struggle for me. I think she has that "go getter" attitude but wants to do things her way, which doesn't fly. It's my way or no way. We pushed a bale in to the blind pen last night. The other three (Thor, Babe, and Prince) chow down on alfalfa while I halter and lead Sahara. She's getting better about being haltered and standing next to the running tractor. I also looped the lead rope around a post. I wanted to see how she would react to being "tied" without worrying about a wreck (it was getting too dark to worry about a major catastrophe). She tested the lead rope and worked her way free but she didn't freak out like I had expected. I'll have to start working with her every day to get her to stand tied. She leads alright but there's a lot of work to do on her. I'm always shocked at how small she is compared to Mayhem. Sahara looks like a weanling not a yearling. I should get the two girls together for another picture to show the difference in what good care versus neglect/starvation can and does do to the growth of these young ones. I also wormed Sahara with a small dose of Panacur. I need to keep up with it to get her better. I left her alone to be a horse for the past few months, now it's time to be a part of the "family" and play nice.
Speaking of blind horses, Thor is now on my watch list. He's lost a little bit of weight even with a round bale in front of him 24x7. I'm sure it's just old age. He's 23 years old (although I don't consider that old). But the weight around his spine is sagging and his hip bones sometimes show when he cocks a leg. He's not as plump as I had hoped so he's no on my watch list. I might put Babe on my watch list too just because she's getting up there. I'll have to come up with a different arrangement for feeding time. Prince is "in your pocket" and I don't want him disturbing Babe and Thor from their meal. Maybe once I have Sahara standing tied patiently I'll be able to add a little bit to Thor and Babe's diet.
I'm trying to come up with a solution for the blind pen. With four horses in the pen, I need a better shelter. I have an idea but it'll cost some $$ because there's not enough time to build another open front. We started building an open front last fall (October-ish) and it's still not finished. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get it finished this weekend or next. I really don't want to say that it took us a full year to build an open front. Maybe smaller is better.
I'm also looking to buy a smaller hoop building for where Rabbit and Savanna are at. The older mares will go in the barn this winter but there's only so many stalls. So I have to come up with options for stalling horses in different pastures and locations. This winter will be more interesting than last because we have more to care for this winter. We'll see if my plan works. But I need to do some major cleanup before all that happens. I'm guessing we'll be making at least one trip to the dump if not multiple trips. But it'll feel good to have some of the clutter gone and be ready for winter. I'd be panicking if I hadn't come back from a relaxing mini vacation.
The days are getting so much shorter that I struggle with finding time to get everything done AND get pictures. We'll see how the next few days go to see if I can snap a few pics and get them posted. I'm sure you're all getting tired of me rambling with no pictures. Now that I'm back and relaxed, I'll hopefully be able to post more to keep you all in the loop.
The horses are starting to get their winter coats in. I finally get to see the horses too. The flies aren't as terrible now so the fly masks aren't on all the time. In the summer, I don't get to see the horses' eyes but in the winter I don't get to feel their coats. It's a catch 22 some days.
The only horse not putting on a winter coat is Flower. I may be screwing her winter coat up. We had a cold, drizzly period where I left a sheet/blanket on Flower until the weather improved. So she unfortunately hasn't had an opportunity to start working on her winter coat. I'm keeping a close eye on the weather and temperatures. She may have to be blanketed all winter. Although, she has gained a bit of weight so I might let her go without a sheet if the weather improves. The next few days are supposed to be chilly and then back into the 70s! I love fall weather and I really hope that it lasts. My goal is to get as much weight on Flower before the first snowflake falls. So far after two months of pumping her full of grain (and now beet pulp), Flower seems to be gaining weight. I was also worried about Queen. She didn't come back from last winter as well. But with the twice a day grain and daily beet pulp, Queen is looking good too (for being 33 years old).
Sam is on my watch list. He's dropped a bit of weight and I can't seem to get it back. He's on daily grain and beet pulp but I have to keep an even closer eye on Sam because of his ulcers. I need to order a few months worth of ulcer medicine in case anything flares up. The ulcers take away his weight. I may have to look at the possibilities that he'll either be a super hard keeper this winter or the other alternative. But I don't like that idea so we'll wait. It may be this will be his last winter and he'll enjoy one more summer and we'll go from there. He's following in Bob's footsteps it seems (even if Bob's feet were 9 inch pie plate!) Sure do miss that big guy.
I have exciting news about Savanna and Prize but we'll wait to share that one for now. I have to keep you all in suspense on some things don't I?
Mayhem is just a dream. Every time I feed the mares (both morning and night), I have to tie Mayhem to a tree. She just stands there without any complaints. She's such an amazing girl.
I decided that since Mayhem is going so well that I better start working with Sahara. She has a 180 personality to Mayhem. Sahara will be a struggle for me. I think she has that "go getter" attitude but wants to do things her way, which doesn't fly. It's my way or no way. We pushed a bale in to the blind pen last night. The other three (Thor, Babe, and Prince) chow down on alfalfa while I halter and lead Sahara. She's getting better about being haltered and standing next to the running tractor. I also looped the lead rope around a post. I wanted to see how she would react to being "tied" without worrying about a wreck (it was getting too dark to worry about a major catastrophe). She tested the lead rope and worked her way free but she didn't freak out like I had expected. I'll have to start working with her every day to get her to stand tied. She leads alright but there's a lot of work to do on her. I'm always shocked at how small she is compared to Mayhem. Sahara looks like a weanling not a yearling. I should get the two girls together for another picture to show the difference in what good care versus neglect/starvation can and does do to the growth of these young ones. I also wormed Sahara with a small dose of Panacur. I need to keep up with it to get her better. I left her alone to be a horse for the past few months, now it's time to be a part of the "family" and play nice.
Speaking of blind horses, Thor is now on my watch list. He's lost a little bit of weight even with a round bale in front of him 24x7. I'm sure it's just old age. He's 23 years old (although I don't consider that old). But the weight around his spine is sagging and his hip bones sometimes show when he cocks a leg. He's not as plump as I had hoped so he's no on my watch list. I might put Babe on my watch list too just because she's getting up there. I'll have to come up with a different arrangement for feeding time. Prince is "in your pocket" and I don't want him disturbing Babe and Thor from their meal. Maybe once I have Sahara standing tied patiently I'll be able to add a little bit to Thor and Babe's diet.
I'm trying to come up with a solution for the blind pen. With four horses in the pen, I need a better shelter. I have an idea but it'll cost some $$ because there's not enough time to build another open front. We started building an open front last fall (October-ish) and it's still not finished. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get it finished this weekend or next. I really don't want to say that it took us a full year to build an open front. Maybe smaller is better.
I'm also looking to buy a smaller hoop building for where Rabbit and Savanna are at. The older mares will go in the barn this winter but there's only so many stalls. So I have to come up with options for stalling horses in different pastures and locations. This winter will be more interesting than last because we have more to care for this winter. We'll see if my plan works. But I need to do some major cleanup before all that happens. I'm guessing we'll be making at least one trip to the dump if not multiple trips. But it'll feel good to have some of the clutter gone and be ready for winter. I'd be panicking if I hadn't come back from a relaxing mini vacation.
The days are getting so much shorter that I struggle with finding time to get everything done AND get pictures. We'll see how the next few days go to see if I can snap a few pics and get them posted. I'm sure you're all getting tired of me rambling with no pictures. Now that I'm back and relaxed, I'll hopefully be able to post more to keep you all in the loop.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Disturbing Thoughts
We have returned to chores in the dark, much to my dismay. I've been mulling over a thought that deeply disturbs me. I'm sure that I've talked about it in the past but the thought still disturbs me.
I am a flight animal. I'll flee before I fight but corner me and I'll fight. So in the dark that is before dawn I putter to do morning chores. The animals of the night are still wandering. On occassion I'll be out and have the hair on the back of my neck stand up or have tingles race through my entire body because I know there is something out there (but very near to me). It's usually just a racoon or some other type of varmit. It's always the unknown that spooks me.
The thought that disturbs me is that I can always run away from these feelings, knowing that I'm being silly (beause it's usually just a varmit). There's the safety of the house not too far away.
The fear is real but so is the safety and comfort. But I keep thinking of the horses standing in the slaughter pipeline with nowhere to run, no where to flee. I can't imagine what type of sensory overload they are going through. There is no safety, no comfort. How petrified they must be; how betrayed they must feel.
Silly things like shadows in the dark spook me and they aren't real fears. I cannot fathom the pure terror these horses are going through. There is no where for them to go, no one to comfort them, there is only death. I can't quite explain the disturbing feeling well enough. I doubt that I ever will. For those that believe in slaughter, I would like to put them into the most terrifying situation and see how they react. It's simply a disturbing thought that I can never shake nor can I fully explain the depth of my thoughts. Perhaps I'll spend some downtime to try and explain it better some day. I know this post doesn't make sense and I wish I could put into words the feelings I have. But the thought that even though I may be spooked, I still have the comfort of "home" where horses standing in the slaughter feedlots/pipleine do not have that comfort. Each morning that disturbing thought flitters through my mind and there is sorrow in my heart for those lives lost to a cruel fate. But the only way to stop slaughter is to stop over breeding. So the next time you are out with your horses in the predawn light, give them a hug for me.
I am a flight animal. I'll flee before I fight but corner me and I'll fight. So in the dark that is before dawn I putter to do morning chores. The animals of the night are still wandering. On occassion I'll be out and have the hair on the back of my neck stand up or have tingles race through my entire body because I know there is something out there (but very near to me). It's usually just a racoon or some other type of varmit. It's always the unknown that spooks me.
The thought that disturbs me is that I can always run away from these feelings, knowing that I'm being silly (beause it's usually just a varmit). There's the safety of the house not too far away.
The fear is real but so is the safety and comfort. But I keep thinking of the horses standing in the slaughter pipeline with nowhere to run, no where to flee. I can't imagine what type of sensory overload they are going through. There is no safety, no comfort. How petrified they must be; how betrayed they must feel.
Silly things like shadows in the dark spook me and they aren't real fears. I cannot fathom the pure terror these horses are going through. There is no where for them to go, no one to comfort them, there is only death. I can't quite explain the disturbing feeling well enough. I doubt that I ever will. For those that believe in slaughter, I would like to put them into the most terrifying situation and see how they react. It's simply a disturbing thought that I can never shake nor can I fully explain the depth of my thoughts. Perhaps I'll spend some downtime to try and explain it better some day. I know this post doesn't make sense and I wish I could put into words the feelings I have. But the thought that even though I may be spooked, I still have the comfort of "home" where horses standing in the slaughter feedlots/pipleine do not have that comfort. Each morning that disturbing thought flitters through my mind and there is sorrow in my heart for those lives lost to a cruel fate. But the only way to stop slaughter is to stop over breeding. So the next time you are out with your horses in the predawn light, give them a hug for me.
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