Fundraiser Items for Sale

I finally had a chance to take pictures of some of our fundraiser items that will be for sale at the Easter Fundraiser set for Saturday, April 12th from 1-4pm.

I'm still figuring out actual prices but if you have any questions, just let me know and I'll be happy to answer them. Hopefully some of these items will peek your interest in coming out to the fundraiser!

 Bridle/saddle/purse charm

  Bridle/saddle/purse charm

  Bridle/saddle/purse charm

  Bridle/saddle/purse charm

  Bridle/saddle/purse charm

  Bridle/saddle/purse charm

  Bridle/saddle/purse charm

 Horseshoe cross

 Hores shoe cross

Grain Bags

Behind

I keep feeling like I'm behind. There's too many cliches to use about being go far behind. I haven't been paying any attention to the weather. Frankly I'm just trying to get through each day. And then I hear that we are supposed to get more snow. And not just snow, double digit subzero temps. Let me tell you, I was NOT prepared to hear that news.

I've had the horses in for the past two nights because its' been teens below zero. Dude is starting to get naughty. He's figured out how to pop the handle open on the barn door and walk in. So while I was getting stalls ready, Dude walked in. I was irritated with him but decided to stick him in a different stall just to keep him quiet. The problem with the stall he went into is he's the first one in the barn but also the last one out of the barn. That'll teach him to try and get in the barn. Hopefully it wont' be as frigid cold tonight but I have no idea. The weatherman keeps changing his outlook on the forcast.

I do know we are supposed to get snow tomorrow night and then Sat and Sun we are going to be dealing with terribly cold weather. I need to get everything done in the next two days so that I don't have to be out for very long over the weekend. The highs for Sat and Sunday are 1 and 2 degrees. Oh yippee.

On the bright side, with the colder weather, I have been able to work on a few items that will be for sale at the Easter Fundraiser. I've posted pictures on our Facebook page. They are bridle/purse charms or keychain rings...however you want to look at it. I also posted pictures of two crosses Mike made with horse shoes. I'll keep posting pictures as long as we continue to make items for sale at the fundraiser. There's just so much that needs to be done I feel like I'm not able to keep my head above water on this fundraiser for some reason.  Maybe after the Tri State Horse Expo I'll feel like I have more tme to get things done. We'll see.

Until then, go check out the pictures. And if you see something, come to our fundraiser, April 12th!!

Dog Rescue In Action

Please read the following. I know it's not horse related but just because we arent' talking horses, doesn't mean we shouldn't help. The Pine Ridge Reservation is across the state from Borderlands but it's still in our state. If you can help....

Subject: UPDATE: Rez dog SWEEP, S. DAKOTA - Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge Rez - # 1

K C Willis, his friends from the Lakotas and Oglala Sioux and the non-tribal folks are moving along with solid plans and great intentions.
What they need is the support of us distant from the scene:

* deliver food, vet supplies, crates [debit cards are great because they can be exchanged for what is needed in nearby towns];
* be willing to pull dogz for care until rescue groups come in to take them [unless some of you are allowed to rescue]
* help with transport;
CONTACT KC's GROUP AS THEY MAY SPECIFY CERTAIN ITEMS OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE IN THE WAY OF FOOD, VET SUPPLIES AND OTHER ITEMS.

CONTACT:

From: KC Willis >
Date: Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 5:37 PM

Hello my friends..... In the next month or so the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine Ridge Reservation will begin their bi-annual "sweep" of the Rez Villages. We are grateful for the reprieve, as they were supposed to start a few weeks ago. Stray dogs will be gathered up and killed....shot. The recent maulings by packs and the suffering of the starving and injured strays (of which there are hundreds and hundreds) are prompting this action to take place earlier than usual. The tribe has reached out to us and given us the OK to begin rounding up stray dogs or litters of puppies. We will be doing this with the help of some Lakota friends involved in our program. This is an effort on the tribe's part to save some of the dogs...although many will be killed. In the future we will put together a long-term plan to change the way the tribe (who has no animal control/vet/ shelter etc) does this and to put spay and neuter programs in place.

If you know anyone who could transport dogs, or if you know any shelters or rescues who could take a few or many...please contact me right away at lightshinelakota@ yahoo.com. (<@yahoo. com) We have rescued over 40 dogs in the past 10 days. If you would like to help with food and meds for the dogs that are rescued, please Paypal us at the same e-mail address.

Message me if you are in the Boulder County area in Colorado and can donate a carrier or food or anything. I will give you my street address. Let's all network like crazy and see if we can get this done. We have been given the OK by the tribe to get the dogs....what we need is

* help with the care of the dogs and puppies until we can transport to other rescues AND
* we need help with transport and
* we need rescues and shelters to take some of them as soon after we rescue them as possible.
Please let me know if you have any thoughts or can help in any way with connections you might have etc.

We do not just rescue puppies....we rescue any dog in any condition that is in distress. If they need help our motto is "That&# 39;s our dog!" If you are a breed specific rescue, we are probably not the organization for you as we get very, very few pure bred anything on the Reservation. ...and if you are only interested in fluffy puppies....we are definitely not the place for you. We are looking for people who want to save dogs that are on death row....period. ..it' s just this death row is the size of the state of Rhode Island.

Thank you so much! Please share......KC Willis

--
wil j wellisch
2201 lamar street
edgewater, colorado, 80214
303-235-0550< tel:303-235- 0550>

2nd Annual Easter Fundraiser

Sorry the text is so small. I wanted to get all the information without having to retype it. Ok, call me lazy. I'll get all the info posted again so it's easier to read but I wanted to get the specifics out so you all can see what fun we have scheduled for April 12th!!

Don't forget to mark your calendars! Can't wait to see you all there!

Interesting Post

Another interesting read

http://www.stjoechannel.com/story/d/story/horse-slaughter-house-leaves-reminders-years-after/36939/flFemnPyS0GpHbRn3MnyZg

Seven Years Ago

Seven years ago today I lost my first horse, my dream horse. He was the first horse we said goodbye to. In losing Dictator I realized I wanted to change our perspective and focus on the old horses. Of course it took me a bit to actually get to that point but that's our focus as of today, seven years later. We want to offer a permanent home to old horses so that they may live out their golden years in retirement. It could be that these old warriors are with us for years to come or it could be that they are with us for only a few short months. But no matter the length of time, we want to offer a safe sanctuary for those that have worked their entire life and deserve a chance to relax.

My one regret with Dictator's passing is that I wasn't with him at the time. He went in the middle of the night, which was his way. He always wanted to do things his way. But after knowing that I wasn't there, I vowed that for the rest, I would be with them until their last breath and that they would know love and kindness.

I consider each horse who has passed through our barn to be a blessing. It is an honor to say that we were the caretakers of these magnificent animals who gave their all to please others. It is an honor and a privilege to care for these horses. Some might question why I prefer the old horses. It's their wisdom and their knowledge that I can turn to.

So although the passing of Dictator is as hard today as it was seven years ago, I will not cry today but rejoice in knowing that I was the privileged one to have known Dictator, and to have known all those that have stayed at the Sanctuary.

You may not be on this earth, but you are in my heart and soul. We miss you Tiny Dictator.

Onward and Upward

I love when the county right next to us is in a Winter Weather Advisory and the county that we live in is only in a Wind Chill Advisory. The only problem is, we live three miles from the county line and no one tells Mother Nature she’s supposed to turn off the bad weather right at the county line.  I’m not too thrilled with doing chores tonight but it’s only going to get worse the rest of this week.

This entire week we are supposed to have lows in the subzero range. So much for having spring. Sure hope those robins find some place warm and out of the wind to protect themselves during this latest cold snap. Although it is the end of February so there’s hope that spring will be around the corner shortly.

I’m debating on putting horses in tonight. We are supposed to be below zero but I’m getting conflicting reports on how cold it’s going to actually be (and when those subzero temps are going to arrive). I’m sure when I go out to do chores, I’ll decide to put them in anyway. I’d rather have them happy and warm in a stall than grumpy and standing out in the wind. Ok, so they won’t actually be in the wind but they somehow know that being in a stall is way better during this type of weather.

I don’t have stalls ready because I wasn’t expecting cold weather. I haven’t seen a weather report in about a week. Oops, that’ll teach me!

On Saturday we went and picked up three round bales that were donated. I’m excited to use them. We’ll probably push those bales in when the Tri State Horse Expo arrives. I’ll be scrambling to get everywhere I need to so won’t have a lot of time to get home and do chores. It’ll be nice to let the horses gorge themselves.

Speaking of hay, we finally went through all the big squares in the barn. I always forget how spoiled I am to have the big squares in the barn. The big squares in the hay shed are ok but I don’t have a light overhead to help shine light over everything. So now I’m trying to manhandle hay in the dark or by the light of the flashlight. I’ll have to wait until the weekends to pick up the loose hay. There’s no sense in letting that good hay to go waste! I’ve threatened to put up a couple of corral panels and run a couple horses on the concrete around the hayshed, hay barn, and pens so that the horses can eat up all the loose hay that floats around when I toss the hay over the fence.

I’m hoping for a fairly quiet week where we just deal with cold temps and that’s about it. I’m trying to work on Sanctuary fundraiser stuff every night. But last night I petered out and fell asleep by 9:30pm with all the lights on and tv blaring. Some days I wonder how I make it through the day. We have 49 days until the Easter Fundraiser and I’m starting to get frantic over making sure everything is done and we have plenty of time to advertise. Hopefully advertising will be my goal this week. There’s just one area of question I have to figure out before moving forward.

I guess we’ll continue, onward and upward (otherwise we’ll freeze to the ground).