Rush, rush, rush! We need you to vote!

Sadie's Place just became aware of a fantastic contest. Aviva is an insurance company and they have decided to hold a contest to help support community groups in their efforts to improve their communities. It is a vote based contest, so we really need your help on this. Please pass along this information to anyone you know who might be willing to take the time to cast a vote for us. Imagine what we could do with $250,000! I'm seeing barns, fences, even a small indoor arena for training. And with that would come the ability to provide programs for local school and youth groups, helping troubled and disadvantaged youth.

Please follow this link to the Aviva contest page. You can vote once each day. The voting closes on Sunday, so it's going to take an enormous effort to get us into the semi-finals (when I start begging for votes all over again, lol! I have no shame...)

Please, please, PLEASE take the few minutes necessary and vote for us! Here is the video we posted with the proposal:



We finally have pictures of that little palomino mare. She is now posted on our Ready to Adopt page, although we have yet to set an adoption fee for her. We are meeting Sunday afternoon (anyone can attend!) and will probably set it there.

More Old Friends

Remeber Chance, the skinny old pony with the bad teeth?  Well, Chance has been with Sadie's Place for 5 weeks now, and a whole lot has changed!

Here he is on Halloween, the day he arrived at his new foster home.

He arrived just in time for lunch.  His new roommate, Penny, joined him.  The waitress was very attentive.

Chance is still eating.  Penny, who is somewhat, ummm, fluffy(?), was noticed eyeing his lunch, wondering if she could woo him away from it long enough to grab a mouthful.  Unfortunately for her, once his nose went into the bucket, we didn't see it again until the bucket was empty.

Seasonal dessert--apple au naturel.

Dropping the apple au naturel--his mouth was still a little sore.  Penny is playing the part of a vulture here, waiting to swoop in and scoop up what Chance dropped.  Luckily, the waitress was on the ball that day, and Chance got to finish his lunch uninterrupted.

Finally, a nice quiet graze on the last of the autumn grass.  In these pictures, he hasn't changed much from what he looked like when he arrrived.  The big difference is in his attitude.  He's much more alert (particularly when there is the remotest possibility of food) and much more active as well.

Now, zoom ahead 3 weeks, to November 21.  Chance has gained a bit of weight, his bum is rounder and his ribs and backbone are disappearing just slightly.  The biggest difference here is that he has finally grown a real winter coat.  He is having more success eating hay, but I think we'll have to have the vet out to look at him again, to see if there is anything else that can be done with his mouth.

You can see in this picture that the area between his spine and his hip has filled in a bit.

Still ribby, but look at that full belly (though that might have something to do with he and Penny figuring out how to get into the bin holding the hay stretch pellets.  First morning ever that he didn't come and breath down my neck while I made his breakfast.  I wonder why...)

Side on, not a lot of muscle coming back yet, but we'll probably see more next month.

Stick pony in need of a good grooming.  Any volunteers?

And, here's the girlfriend, out having a last green snack with him, since they have already eaten everything with any pretense to being a green plant in the paddock. They're an odd looking couple, because it's pretty obvious that he's missed a lot of meals, and that she hasn't missed any, even ones that weren't meant for her! But still, they get along pretty well.  Chance stays in the barn, as he doesn't have enough fat on his bones to stay warm in the cold weather, and Penny stands outside or just inside the door and visits.  They encourage each other in naughty pony behaviour, but that's what ponies are all about anyway, right?

Well, need to go clean a stall and make sure my latest attempt at pony proofing the grain bins has been successful.  I'm really hoping this worked, because my next option is an in the wall safe with a 6 inch steel door. (And Penny will have that open 10 minutes after I head into the house.)  Have a great weekend and don't forget to hug your horse!

Old Friends

Back in the spring, we had a lovely little mare, called Dusty Lane Dot, come to Sadie's Place, looking for a new home.  At 14.3, she was a petite mare, with lovely eyes (and ears like a mule, but we don't talk too much about that around her--she gets upset). This is what she looked like when we first met her.

Still in racing form, very slender and wondering just what was going on. Here's another pciture, from a bit later, when she had started to put on a bit more weight.  This is very normal for standardbreds who are racing.  Like any athelete, they have very little body fat, unlike pleasure horses, who tend to carry a bit more flesh.

While a little shy at first, she very quickly warmed up to her new mom and dad, Ian and Jennifer Steeksma.  While Ian was building her run in shed, she became very curious and began to follow him around as he worked.  This eventually developed into a game of hide and seek around the shed. She's really very happy with her new home and very willing to please. 

She went two weeks ago for saddle training and her mom and dad (and the trainer) are very excited about her progress. Her trainer describes her as 'a smart horse' and 'a kind mare'.  She is walking, trotting and loping in the round pen, turning, bending and backing up. The really neat thing about Standarbreds is that they are, for the most part, people pleasers.  It's bred right into them, to make their humans happy. And they will take on any challenge to do it.

Here she is under saddle, very relaxed looking.  It seems so strange to see the freeze brand on her neck, but she's looking very good.

Here's Dottie with her new dad.  Don't they look happy together?  Ian says he will be going trail riding with her in another couple of weeks--he's very excited about it.

It takes so little to give these ex-racehorses a second chance at a productive, happy life--a bit of time and space, 4 weeks of training and a home where they know they are loved.  So little effort, to save a life, and so much to receive in return.

Well, it's bedtime snack time around here, so I'm off to fatten up the Stick Pony and try to hide the grain from the Greedy Grumpy.  Don't forget to hug your horse tonight!

Have you ever wondered...

what Antonio Banderas would look like as a horse? (What do you mean, I'm the only one?  Huh!)  Well, I can answer that question for you right now, because I have the pictures!

See what I mean?  This is Riverlea Bandit, a 12 year old standardbred who is just retiring from the track.  Now, just take a good look at the above picture and the one just below:

Looking at this horse, you can really see the Morgan influence on the Standarbred breed.  He's really got a lovely shaped head and a gorgeous curved neck.  He does have the typical Standardbred conformation between his hips and his withers, which was celebrated for giving the foundation sire Messenger and Hambeltonian 10 their speed and impulsion.  Get this hind end collected under you and you will really be going places!

Now, Bandit's mom and dad love him dearly (pretty obvious in the pictures, I think!) and they really want to find a good home for him.  Bandit is a very strong horse and will test you to see if you are enough man (or woman) to handle him. That being said, he loves to work and, by gum, he's gonna win, too!  No matter what! His mom and dad say he can be jogged by anyone (and they look like they are having lots of fun!)

He will need an experienced handler, who knows how to handle a strong horse, at least for the moment.  We will reassess his personality after he has had a bit more time to relax from the track atmosphere.  With his Type A, win at all costs personality, he should be a good candidate for retraining for saddle.  Now, like any horse who has been on the track for that many years (he only stopped racing at the end of the summer--tough guy), his legs have taken a bit of beating on the track.  We can tell you he is pasture sound and gets along well with other horses in a turn out situation, that he has been visited by one of our members, who stated that he seemed 'sweet', but we cannot guarantee what degree of rideabiity he will have.  If you have the time to train him to saddle, you could have a nice pleasure horse to head out on the trails with, 2 or 3 times a week. Because of his legs, we are listing him as a 'pasture companion', and simply looking for a donation of any amount in exchange.

Well, it's getting late and, since I can't hug Antonio Banderas, I just have to run out and hug the Greedy Grumpy and the Stick Pony (aka Penny and Chance)

Have a great week, don't let the flu bug bite and don't forget to hug your horse!

Hello, Tilly!

I only have one picture of Tilly to show you, but I'm hoping for more.  Tilly is an approximately 8 year old standardbred who adores people and loves attention.  We were told that he was simply dropped off at a barn near Charlottetown and no one knows his owner.  We are attempting to trace him at the moment, but that can take time.  In the meantime, this gentle boy needs a home--foster or permanent.  He's another one of these tall, dark and handsome lads.  He loves kids and the neighbourhood kids love him; they visit all the time.

Ok, so maybe not the best picture of all time, but when you look at the expression on his face, he reminds me very much of a horse in the riding stable when I went to college, many years ago.  Kind and sweet, willing and eager to please.  The barn owner where he is now says he is all those things and more. Tilly really needs a home, as the barn owner can only keep him another couple of weeks--she has a new boarder coming in at the end of November and he is in their stall at the moment.  She has said that she can send his buckets and some grain to help support him until he has a permanent home.

Stories like this are sad, but hopefully Tilly's will have a happy ending.  I'm going to go hug my two ponies now.  Can somebody volunteer to be Tilly's hugger?

Update:  I have another picture now, which is much more attractive.  You can still see his kind expression.  We are going to try to pick him up on Sunday and we'll have more information on him shortly after that.

Now, does that not look like a nose that needs kissing?  Awww, you just want to hug him.