Wishlist Wednesday

Wishlist Wednesday

This Wishlist Wednesday, we wish for beet pulp. Even though it takes bit of convincing for the horses to eat, we wish for beet pulp to help pack on the pounds of the hard keepers. Even though the horses are on grain and 24x7 hay, some of the hard keepers start to drop weight this time of year. We add a little beet pulp (and have to convince them they like it) to add a little bit extra weight. 

The picture is of Jim from this summer before we was on beet pulp. Once he steals someone else's grain that has beet pulp, he'll devour it. It's all about convincing them they like it (it's like convincing kids the like vegetables). 

Jim eating his grain mash

Mourning

We lost Bo yesterday.


It's very difficult to write those words.


His death was 11 years and one day after the loss of my very first horse, my dream horse. It's a hard pill to swallow.


I started to think about all those that have gone before Bo. 17 horses in 11 years. For me, that's a lot of loss but I remember each one so fondly. In between those 17 horses, we also lost dogs and humans, all who supported our endeavors. We have not had a year without loss of someone.


But that is the life of a Sanctuary focused on senior horses. It is the part of the job I hate. But it is also the part that must be done that others will not.


I will share more but  not today. Today, as I did yesterday, I mourn. I also rejoice in knowing that Bo is pain free and can share his happy personality with others in heaven. But for me, left behind, I mourn.

Bad News for Horse Owners

I was at the vets today (Farley wasn't feeling well) and they told me a very upsetting bit of information.


Starting March 1st, no rendering service will pick up horses that have been humanely euthanatized with the standard serum. I've heard one excuse for this change but I'm not sure if it is legit or just talk.


But this is a huge blow to horses. How can you promote humane euthanasia if you have no way of disposing of the body? Now the only means is to shoot the horse and I can't do it. I can't be there for such a method. We have had to use that method twice and neither was preferred but it was the option that kept everyone safe and everyone calm. I didn't want to put any undue stress on them anyway and loading them into a trailer and hauling them to an unknown location would only cause more problems as they were both becoming aggressive (Longhorn the donkey who had foundered and we pulled from auction for $10 and Sahara who was a crippled yearling filly we pulled from auction for $5).


If an owner chooses to humanely euthanasia, they will have to find other means for the body and in most instances, it means burying the horse. But that adds up depending on who you go with for a backhoe and then there's the issue of having to bury a horse in the middle of winter! You can't. And what of those that board their horses?


I foresee more senior horses headed to auction and entering the pipeline. That worries me and makes me physically ill.


I hope that there is talk of other means and methods for human euthanasia. These old horses deserve a retirement. They deserve to spend their golden years enjoying time off from all their hard work. They shouldn't be shipped off from one auction to another simply because there is no other option for euthanasia.


And as the days slip by and Bo's condition worsens, what do we do? The ground is frozen and I cannot bear to shoot him. That is not what you do to an old friend and family member. And yes, he is like family. We are either going to have to make a decision quickly about Bo or simply see if he can hold out until spring when the ground thaws enough. But how many can we bury at the Sanctuary before there is no more places?


This is all news I was not looking for nor needing right now. I've been under the weather for the past month and it's taking its toll on me. I haven't been able to get anything done and I've now lost out on a couple of opportunities. Even if it's one step forward, it's four steps back.


I guess for now, put your thinking caps on and lets come up with a way around or find a loop hole in the system. I do not want to see senior horses who have worked their entire lives sent off to auction simply because there is no "alternative" for human euthanasia.

Happy Friday

Happy Friday

Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday to last summer with Mayhem

Wishlist Wednesday

Wishlist Wednesday

This Wishlist Wednesday, we wish for salt blocks. Even in winter, we need to make sure that the horses receive enough salt in their diets.

A white salt block costs about $5 and will last the big herd a month (and the other two pens longer). You can find white salt blocks at TSC and Campbell Supply. I'm sure there are other locations as well.

Zeke at the salt block

Thinking About Bo

I cried myself to sleep last night. I don't think Bo has much time left on this Earth and I think he's going to leave it to me to make that decision rather than go on his own (but most have forced me to make the decision for them as well). It's always a tough decision. It's devastating for me but for some reason, I'm really struggling with Bo.


The other night, I went out to let him out of his stall and he let out the biggest whinny. It's the same whinny I get when it's time to eat, but this time it was simply to say hello. Or it could have been, LET ME OUT because I'd left him in with no friends. Jim rushed at him trying to get into the barn and I'd had enough of Jim's bad behavior rushing the door and either pushing Bo out of the way or trying to cram two bodies in through a door the size of me.


But that whinny. That loud, vocal hello (or get me outta here, whichever it was), is too much for me. His mind and spirit are still so very, very active and yet his body is breaking down right before my eyes. He always comes up lame, every 6-8 months and it's never the same foot or leg. But this time, it's painfully obvious that his entire back end hurts, more so his right rear.  He's also starting to drop weight even though he's on a heavy ration of grain that helps with his ulcers.


Maybe I'm being selfish. Maybe I'm keeping him around only to be selfish because I don't want to make that decision. I'm going to have to make that phone call pretty soon though. But it hurts and he hasnt' told me he's ready. His body has but his mind has not. How can I be so unfair? How is it fair to keep him going when his body is falling apart right before my eyes? But how is it fair to say goodbye to someone who greets me at the gate and demands his grain every day?


Bo has always been a complicated horse and I can see now that even in his upcoming, death, he's going to be complicated. Normally I can easily make the decision. Don't get me wrong. Easy is not spoken lightly. I simply know. I know when they are failing and need help. It's not an easy decision nor is it taken lightly. But it's written as plan as letters on a page but with Bo. It's there but I can't seem to read the writing. Maybe I'm being selfish. I don't know. I don't want him to go alone but I also don't want to stress him out because he hates being in a trailer and despises the vet. So that adds undue burden to him. But I don't want to take Zeke because then Zeke will "know" and I don't want to sacrifice one horse's wellbeing for another.


So I wait and I watch and I worry. I would say I'll have to make a decision sometime in March but I just dont' know. That would have given him an additional 5 months from his prognosis in October. It's 5 extra months to have enjoyed Bo's company but it's still only 5 months.


I'm feeling selfish but I'm also not seeing all the signs I normally see. So I don't know. So instead I wait a little longer. For what, I have no idea. It's not like the outcome is going to change. But I wait and I cry myself to sleep thinking about Bo.