Overdrive

My mind is in overdrive. I'm not exactly sure why. But I'm brainstorming and coming up with ideas. Now the hard part is the follow through. I'm trying to come up with ideas for the upcoming Easter Fundraiser. I'm also brainstorming for our now "Annual" Playday. Ideas are popping into my head. I'm not sure they will all work but it's fun to come up with ideas. If you have any ideas for either fundraiser, I'd love to hear them.

Keep an eye on this blog and Facebook. In the coming weeks I'll announce the date of our playday. I'm trying to get everything scheduled now before everyone else plans events.

Call it cabin fever, call it Type A, call it whatever you want. But I'm happy to get things planned. I also love seeing the weekends filling up with lots of fun horse activities (even if they aren't all Sanctuary related).

So much going on and so little time to get everything accomplished. I could sure use some help with the upcoming fundraiser. I have a few ideas on items that I want to make and sell. If anyone is bored or has some free time, I could sure use the help!

Just leave a comment on this blog post or post a comment on our Facebook page!

Surprise...More Cold Weather

These are pictures from last year but I haven't taken any in such a long time. Our little camera is broken and I keep forgetting to take the good camera out to snap a few shots.

The horses are tucked in the barn tonight. Odd that it's in the teens right now (after chores) and the weatherman is calling for teens below zero tonight. I sure hope they are wrong but I didn't want to jinx it by keeping the horses out. I think they were all confused that I was out earlier than normal (out before dark) and that I was putting them in the barn when the weather wasn't bad (no wind and not really all that cold).

But Dude and I had a HUGE disagreement tonight. He decided to come into the barn (he can open the door if I don't have it latched properly) and decided to cause problems. Unfortunately Mike and Garrett were in the barn too at the time. But they were able to lock themselves into Jim's stall and stay away from Dude's antics until I could get him out and everything back in proper order. Stupid gelding. Some days he really knows how to push my buttons.

Tomorrow is supposed to be super cold so I'm guessing the horses are going to be crabby too. I will be so happy when we are headed into spring. We did get snow last night but it's the light and fluffy stuff so if we get any wind, I expect we'll get a ground blizzard. This weather sure is making it tough to get anything extra done.

I'm counting my hay supply already. I think we are going to be short on hay before summer finally arrives. With the colder than normal temperatures and with less bales arriving this past fall, I'm afraid we are a few bales short. I guess once we get through February, I'll have a better idea of how much hay we'll need to get us through until I can start using the pasture again. I keep thinking about bringing Jackie from Gentle Spirits Horse Rescue and Sanctuary but with the hay issue, I'm not sure we can. And I'm still on the fence on justifying bringing another horse in when we've had to turn so many away. It's all so difficult.

I guess instead of complaining about our predicament, I'll leave you with pictures from last year.

 Jim

 King

 Dude

 Skippy

 Brego and Little One

King and Jim

Thinking About Fundraiser

I was just  thinking about our upcoming Easter Fundraiser. It seems so far away (more than two months), and yet those two months are going to fly by. So I'm going to start focusing more on our fundraiser event. I'm sure you'll be tired of listening to me ramble on about that.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 12th from 1-4 at the Methodist Church (Celebrate or Celebration not sure what the name is). We'll have easter baskets on a silent auction, an indoor easter egg hunt, and pictures with the easter bunny.

If you want to donate an easter basket for the silent auction, that would be greatly appreciated. It's really fun coming up with ideas to fill a basket. We are looking more towards kids related baskets but anything is good.  We'll also have other items for sale along with baked goods.

All proceeds will go toward feeding and caring for the Sanctuary horses!



Too Cold

Darn weather. I just looked at the weather report to see how cold it's supposed to be for tonight. Darn it! Eight below with a wind chill of 22 below. Too darn cold. I guess the horses are going in AGAIN tonight! I also looked at the upcoming forecast because I thought the weatherman said it was supposed to be warming up. They were wrong. At least for the weekend it's going to be FREEZING. Twelve below for the low both Saturday and Sunday night. I know where I'll be...outside making sure all the horses are comfortable during this next cold snap.

Oh I am SO ready for spring. And I'm sure you're all tired of me complaining about the cold too. At least I did see 30s for the high next week so hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Catching Up

Well, I’m finally over whatever weird bug that was and am back into the old routine of standard chores in the middle of winter. The last two nights I’ve put the horses in because the temps were in the subzero temps…again.  I knew  I needed to put everyone in last night because the temps were supposed to be teens below zero but there was very little breeze. Although even with very little breeze, the wind chill is in the twenty below zero mark.  This morning when I went out, there was still very little breeze so even though it was in the teens below zero, it didn’t feel as cold as the morning before when the temps were warmer (haha), single digits below zero and windy. I guess it’s all in your perspective of “cold”.

I was at the vet earlier this week to pick up yet more medicine for our little inside dog, Trouble, and made an appointment for Brego to go in and get his teeth floated.  Hopefully that’s the only reason he’s losing weight but we’ll do a thorough exam to make sure there’s no underlying problems.  He always seems to drop weight about this time every year and I want that problem resolved immediately.

Someone asked me just yesterday about the Sanctuary and mentioned that we have mostly old horses. Unfortunately, at this point in time, the oldest horse we have is Jim at the ripe old age of 26 (which I don’t consider old). We’ve lost all of our really old horses over the past few years and with the hospital bills piling up, we haven’t been able to take in any old warriors like I would desperately love to do. I’m hoping in another year we’ll get out from under these bills and can start back into providing homes for horses.  The average age of the Sanctuary horse is in the teens.  Of course, when I first got into horses, my first horse was “old” at the age of 16. I still chuckle over that. I consider 16 a prime age.

I realized the other day I need to pick a horse for this month’s “Horse of the Month”. Hopefully I’ll be able to post this weekend. I also need to do a 2014 cheat sheet of the horses.  I haven’t taken the camera out to take pictures for a very long time. Everyone is wrapped up in a blanket anyway so there’s not much point in taking pictures to see markings and such unless you want to see a herd of green. I will be SO happy when spring arrives, even when we have to deal with mud.

We are just two months away from our Easter fundraiser and to be honest, I haven’t really started anything. I know I need to be planning but by the end of the day after working all day and coming home to do chores in the dark, I tend to fall asleep about ten minutes after sitting down. Last night was a prime example. While trying to get our son to fall asleep I fell asleep on the couch and ended up sleeping on the couch all night. You know the best part, I didn’t mind one bit. I’ll take a nap wherever I can these days!

I’m hearing mixed reports on the upcoming weather for next week. One time I hear that it’ll be warmer and then the next I hear that it’ll be like this week and in the subzero mark for temps. I’ve given up looking at the weather quite frankly. The only time I really pay any attention is when I see that it’s below zero and even then I sometimes miss that part. Hopefully there are no storms on the horizon because I haven’t paid any attention.

My mind seems to be going in about ten different directions so I apologize for the scattered thoughts. I’ll try to post more later now that I’m feeling better.

Harwood Case Continues

From our local news.....

Rapid City Man Arrested At Canistota In Horse Case

February 6, 2014, 5:37 AM 

CANISTOTA, SD - 

Authorities in eastern South Dakota have arrested a Rapid City man convicted of neglecting horses.

Donald Harwood and his wife, Terry Harwood, were sentenced Oct. 9 at a hearing they didn't attend.

Warrants were issued for their arrest and on Wednesday Donald Harwood was found at a farm near Canistota.

He's being held at the jail in Sioux Falls.

The Pennington County Sheriff's Office seized 69 horses in January 2013 on the leased Rapid Valley property of the Harwoods. Many of the animals had not been fed or given water.

A jury in August convicted the Harwoods on nine counts each of inhumane treatment of an animal. He got five years in prison and she received a one-year jail sentence.

I Am a Warrior

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	I AM A WARRIOR By Jeanne M. Mirabito I am a warrior I tramp through mud and snow  To find the beating hearts that wait for me. I fight for those who need me And pray for those beyond my reach. My body bears scars most cringe to see. My bones ache for warmth in bitter cold. The sun blisters my skin. But the visible in no way equal the wounds to my heart, The pain in my soul. I am a warrior. I have seen the battles with death. I have cried for the lost and rejoiced in life renewed. I have witnessed the proud equine humbled for a friend, play with wild abandon and drop her head for a child’s kiss. I have watched the strong grow weak, the young grow old And the last of life drain from muscled flesh. My life is laid out before me. My mission is clear. The cost is high but the rewards are grand. I am at peace when touched with soft muzzle, warm breath, and held dear in liquid eyes. For this I shall fight until the lost herd thunders to my rescue And we fly away together into the night. I am a warrior.