Spirit of giving

While the practice of rescuing horses is in itself a rewarding experience, it is by no means a sexy endeavor.
It relies on countless volunteer hours, caring for horses that someone else couldn't or didn't want to care for themselves.
It can also means great personal expense, as a team like we have at Sadie's Place often dips into their own pockets to care for these animals.
It can also stir up its fair share of negative emotions, like sadness and even anger towards those responsible for suffering imposed on an animal.
But the events of the past few weeks with the rescue of Chippy (aka Walnut) have also brought forth emotions like gratitude and awe, and reminded us why it is we continue to do what we do.
The number of well-wishes that have poured in for this thin, emaciated little gelding, is amazing. Children with 'Get Well Soon' cards and carrots, adults with blankets and bags of feed and of course the dozens of people who made donations through our website or through the mail, asking for no recognition in return.
The kindness strangers have shown towards a horse that no one knew, is unbelievable. People from all walks of life, income brackets, age groups and locations. They represent english disciplines and western, pleasure and harness racing and some have no horse connections at all.
All these people have come together with one common theme - the love of horses - and we, at Sadie's Place are thankful and inspired as we realize we are not a small group of rescuers but a large community of horse lovers, working together for a common good. Thank you everyone. Merry Christmas to you all.
Jana Hemphill, director

P.S. Please continue to follow Chippys recovery on our FBpage at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Sadies-Place-Equine-Rescue/187271664678011?fref=ts

Good things come to those who wait...

And I will apologize for making you wait so long--life got in the way!  All the stall mucking, fencing and earning money only to watch the four-footers gobble it down sure does take up time!  But, you will be glad you waited!  'Cause we have NEWS!!!!!

For those who haven't already heard, Devil, Yankee and Jake have all been adopted!  Hooray!  We still have Chance, Wyatt, Lily and Jane in foster.  If you are in the market for a horse, maybe you want to swing on over and have a look....Lily and Jane are both lovely girls, great to work around and ready to go home with some lovely family.  Chance has undergone a personality transplant and, from being a loveable grump, has been transformed into a loving, follow you around like a labrador kind of guy. He has plenty of energy, and he has a lovely trot and lope, not too fast, not too slow (perfect for those of us who are slowing down ourselves.).  Wyatt's ankle is straightening out and he is ready to start learning how to be someone's buddy on the trails.  So, please, check them out!

As always, we are constantly on the lookout for people with an extra stall or two and some space in their heart for a horse that needs a second chance.  Could that be you?

And now for some pictures.  This young lady is on our courtesy page until we have another stall open up.  Her name is Missy, she is 6 years old and she retired from racing about a year ago because she was too slow.

What a lovely face! This lady has excellent barn manners and has already spent 3 months under saddle, so the hard work is already done.

You can see here how she is put together.  Typical of off track Standardbreds, she will need some work to build up the top of her neck, but she's obviously got lots of room to breathe with those wide nostrils.

Side on, you can really see what a nice little mare she is.  Imagine what she would look like after a few months practice collecting herself and building up the muscles in her hindquarters!

The owner really needs the stall and he is hoping we can help him find a good home for her, as he is very fond of her.  Because she is a courtesy listing, if you are interested, just drop us a line and we will send you her owner's contact information, so you can go see her in person.

That's all for now!  I'm hoping to score some pictures of the adopted babies in the near future and we'll have a post to show them all off! Until then, don't forget to hug your horses!



Coming up on two years and what a couple of years they were!

Well, we are rapidly approaching our second anniversary this spring and a lot has happened in these years. We're picking up steam and, baby, we're just getting started!

First of all, I should mention what a generous bunch of people Islanders are.  Not only did our Avon Christmas basket draw bring in over $600, but we had donations as well totalling another $700!  Thanks to Marlene from Summerside,  .  This is a wonderful thing because, as we all know, the bills don't stop once you buy the horse, there's always something happening.  These Christmas donations will allow us to either send two horses for a month of saddle training, or will keep the whole crew in hoof trims and wormer for the better part of the year, while leaving us with a little emergency fund. 

We also had two Islanders step up to sponsor the board for horses that were in desperate need of a home.  For those of you who worried, yes, Jake is fine and is being boarded in Clyde Rivert.  His sponsor has offered to pay his board until the spring.  Duke has half of his board sponsored until the spring, but we are looking for people to help with his board costs, so we don't have to dip into our precious emergency fund. Please consider a small donation to help Duke out, as he is a lovely boy and deserves all the good luck he can get.

Sara Fraser of CBC PEI did a 2 minute story on Sadie's Place.  Featuring (drumroll please...) Janie and Admiral!  You can see the video here.  And doesn't Admiral look good under saddle?  These horses are so smart, it really doesn't take long to teach them things.

I've been getting requests for an update on everyone, so here goes:

Chance had his teeth floated again today.  Boy, does he love to see the vet coming!  (NOT!)  I swear, if his eyes got any bigger, they'd pop out of his head.  But, he was a good boy and, while his teeth are definitely not the teeth of a teenager, he is eating hay.  He has lost a bit of his summer flab, but has generously agreed that we can substitute grain for fresh grass, subject to his approval.  He has a LOVELY winter coat this year, thick and soft, with long guard hairs, and the most lovely mahogany colour.  So different from the dull yellow brown he wore all last year.  I'm glad he updated his wardrobe. (I'll add in a picture of him in his new duds as soon as I remember to charge the camera!)

Lily is coming up on three years and is proving a very good girl.  She still has a lot of pep and is a typical youngster, but looks like a very good prospect for a riding career.  She was retired because she was too slow, but slow for a racehorse is probably plenty fast for the rest of us.  She hasn't had any saddle training yet--possibly the spring. Her foster mom says she has a lovely, high movement in her front legs--dressage potential, perhaps?

Devil is still in the Moncton area and we have had a number of inquiries about him, but so far no one has submitted the necessary paperwork for us to start processing his application.  He is working well under saddle and his foster mom loves him dearly. 

Duke has moved into a sponsored stall in Brookfield.  He is currently being worked with by several very enthusiastic ladies and is being a perfect gentleman, both in the ring and in the barn.  He has already had some professional training and is ready for a loving home.  Right now, his stall is NOT one of our foster stalls--his stall is being sponsored.  We have a promise of half sponsorship for his stall until the spring, but he needs generous people to sponsor the other half of his board, until another adoption goes through and we can move him to a donated stall.  Please consider sponsoring his stall--you can donate through Paypal, just click!

Wyatt is growing into a typically gangly teenager,  all bum and legs, but we are sure the rest will catch up soon--it always does, doesn't it?  He absolutely adores being the center of attention and will take any grooming, scratching, cooing or flirting you are willing to send his way.  He leads and crossties and, after a few more visits from the farrier, his foot is getting much better!  Oh, and he has had his "brain surgery", having certain important (to males, anyway!) portions of his anatomy removed.  He is available for long term foster, as we would like to keep closer tabs on his foot until he has stopped growing.

Yankee is still in Nova Scotia, in the Antigonish area and working hard.  He's a lovely guy to work with too. We have a picture coming of him wearing a set of reindeer antlers from Christmas--I'll get it up as soon as it arrives in my mailbox, lol!

Janie is currently in work, as well, but is showing some signs of having some back pain, so we are having that looked at. She is a well behaved mare, but is very smart and that is something that must be kept in mind as, the smarter the horse, the more likely they are to start questioning who REALLY should be the boss and then what do we end up with?  Something that looks like a horse, but acts more like a cat. And, cute as she is, she is WAY to big to crawl into my lap and purr. Before we decided to have her back looked into, she was doing walk/trot and was excellent.

Jake is in a sponsored stall in Clyde River, where he is taking a bit of R&R time and learning how to be just a horse again, instead of an athelete.  He has been racing all his life and needs some time to adjust, which is typical of horses when their racing career is over.  In a couple of months, once he has completely relaxed, he will be reevaluated and sent for training, unless he is adopted before then.  His sponsorship is also only until the spring--please help Jake out and sponsor a part of his monthly board.

Title is boarding in Clyde River (with Jake) while he waits for a foster home to open up.  We are totally impressed with how quiet he is and he is going to make a stunning and enthusiastic partner for someone.  He really is absolutely gorgeous and I am going to be so jealous when he gets adopted, because I want him myself, but I am too busy to look after him the way he deserves--he's way too nice to just be a pasture ornament.

Teela is waiting for a foster place to open as well,  She was just too slow for the track and her owner can't afford to keep her if she isn't paying her way.  She is a big girl, a lovely solid brown bay with a dishy face--very elegant!

And, last but certainly not least, there is little Golly, the weanling filly who suffered a minor injury which effectively ended her race career, but which is absolutely no bar to a long and happy career as someone's trail riding/pleasure class/driving buddy.  She is adorable and has outstanding bloodlines--a high class lady all the way!  She, too, is waiting for a foster home to open up.

Admiral was adopted in the fall and is very happy in his new home, as you can see in the CBC video above.  Bandit, too, was adopted, and is living the life of Riley as a saddle horse.  Both adoptive families are hugely pleased with their decisions to adopt a standardbred.

One sad moment in the year, though...after a lot of discussion with vets and among the board, it was decided that the kindest thing we could do for Apple was to have her put to sleep.  Her knees were so arthritic that she was in constant pain, even with medication, to the point where she was losing weight just from dealing with it.  So, this fall, after a summer spent on a lush pasture, we took her to the vet college and she was euthanised.  Goodbye, Apple, you know we miss you.

The last thing on our plate is our Cookbook fundraiser. Our deadline to get the recipes in is Monday.  I know, I should have had this out earlier, but I honestly only thought about putting it on here today.  If you have a favourite recipe, one of those sure fire crowd pleasers, and are willing to share it, we would greatly appreciate it!  Just email us with the recipe and we will include it in our cookbook, with your name as the person donating the recipe.  I'll tell you, the horses are ALL excited about this--who would ever have guessed that Chance could cook?  Though the fact that the horses are all donating desserts should tell you something about their food preferences.  And that Duke, well, he's some sophisticated, from the look of that recipe...want to find out what they included in our book?  Buy a copy when they come up for sale in February--just in time for Valentine's giving, though we will be continuing to offer them through the year!

And, of course, don't forget to hug your horses!

Silkie's Money, aka Jake

Racing season is over and pastures are slowing down.  Unfortunately, the financial reality of horseracing hits about this time, so I would like to talk to you about Jake.

Jake is an absolute sweetheart, but his owners do not have enough stalls in their barn to keep him, now that his racing career is over. The reality is, for every owner in this situation, that no matter how much you love the horse, if you have nowhere to put him, you have to let him go.  I won't stay up on the soapbox very long, but we really do have an amazing overlooked resource here on the Island with the ex rachorses--they trailer, stand for the farrier, let themselves be caught, don't mind the vet, great ground manners--half your training is done for you!

Look at that face and tell me that he isn't a horse that is interested in EVERYTHING!  Does he not look like he's just waiting for someone to announce the Adventure of the Day?  At 10 years old, he still has many years left in him and has outgrown most of the young horse silliness that you see up until about this age (for those who haven`t had much to do with young horses, try thinking of little boys in the 6-9 year old age range...it's a pretty accurate comparison! :D)

Not only is he older and more sensible, but he`s HOT!  I mean, smokin'!  Look at that shoulder, the extension, the flow of the back into the hindquarters (why do I have a sudden urge to go watch Pirates of the Caribbean?)  What a lovely competition horse he will make for someone.  What an even lovelier friend and best bud he will make too.

If someone steps up and takes him home before October 15.  Because that is the date of the next sale, when his owners will be forced to send him along, because they don't have the space to keep him.  Sadie's Place is full at the moment, we have no stalls for him.  Is there anyone out there who could open up a corner of their barn for this darling young fellow?

I have to go hug my ponies.

Hello, Goodbye and everything in between

Well, it's been an eventful summer here at Sadie's Place.  Now, summers are always a little crazy here on PEI, but this summer was really nuts.  I, your faithful webmaster, was off junketing around Quebec for all of July, home for a wedding, then off to Nova Scotia for a week right after.  Jana, our executive director, was inundated with camps, lessons and training (as well as numerous baby horses!  Woohoo!  LOOOOVVVE babies!)  And our ever faithful, ever patient and (thankfully!) half a bubble off plumb foster families were busy playing musical horses.  Why?  Well, here's why!!!!

ADOPTIONS!!!!!!  And new horses! Yay, team!

First off, Bandit has gone to his forever home in Emerald.  Here's a picture of him with his new mom, Courtney.  (His new dad is too camera shy.  But, we'll get you one of these days, Scott!)  If she looks familiar, it's probably because she's a part of Fiddler's Sons and has just put out her own cookbook!  Go Courtney!

Doesn't he look happy? 

Here he is doing his new job....

Grazing in the field...

And, darn it, he still looks like the equine version of Antonio Banderas!

I love happy endings.  And he certainly looks happy.  Scott says they are riding him a couple of times a week and he is going to the trainer in November to learn a bit more about being a saddle horse.  He's apparently become even more cuddly since his adoption and can't wait to see his adoptive parents every day.  Congratulations, Courtney and Scott, he's a very lucky horse and you are very lucky horse parents.  We miss him here.

Our newest arrival is Admiral, a tall gray standardbred gelding whose owners decided to retired him after a mild bowed tendon, rather than risk his legs to another injury.  He's just striking, a lovely dark gray, with that amazing personality we have come to associate with the Standarbred breed.

Here he is in the field at his foster home with, is that Tigger, Jesse?  Regardless, you can see how well put together he is.  Here are some more pictures of him under saddle with the lady (Verna) who is currently working with him.

Pretty relaxed about the whole thing, isn't he? 

This is Verna. We are so happy to have her working with us!  I'd like to just quote her last email, rather than trying to explain things myself, because I really couldn't describe him any better than she has.

Hey Jana, just an update on Admiral! I'm so excited....I put a saddle on him for the very first time today and he was a superstar! I hadn't planned to do it till later in the week! I gave him yesterday off cause I have lunged him for five days straight the last two with side reins and with not having done too much in awhile thought he may need a day off hehe!

So today I lunged him to warm him up (a little both ways), then hooked up the side reins (even had them shorter by one hole) lunged him for about 20Mins on each side and he was brilliant as usual! So I decided to try a saddle on him, he sure gave it a good looking at as I let him sniff it, took off the surcingle and side reins and put it on! I first walked him around with it on then I tried lunging him, he scooted at first but never threatened to buck at all! You could tell he was very aware of the saddle but very sesnsible about it and trotted along nicely......I only lunged him about 10 mins on both sides with the saddle and he did awesome.......so very proud of my man!


So I will lunge him with the saddle for a couple days then try putting some weight in the stirrups as soon as I feel he is ready........he trusts so readily and I do not want to lose that trust, so I like taking it one step at a time with him till he knows exactly what I want of him! He looks awesome under saddle, had to take pics after he was lunged of his first day with a saddle on!


I rest my case.  Oh, and I only feel it fair to warn you, that it sounds just a little bit like Verna may be thinking of adopting him herself, so if you are interested in this gorgeous guy, you may need to move quick.  I don't think he's going to last long at all.

What else is going on?  Well, there has been interest in Devil and Yankee, but no definite offers yet, so if you would like to meet one of these boys, let us know and we'll set you up on a date. (The matchmaking mommas, that's us!)  Chance has developed a layer of something that can only be called flab over his ribs and his grain has been pretty much eliminated until the cold weather rolls in.  Wyatt had his feet done and the crooked one looks so much more promising than before.  Apple has changed foster homes and is keeping another older mare company. 

And that's it for today.  Time to go out and move the fence, hang out some laundry and head into town for some back to school stuff. Enjoy the last days of summer and don't forget to hug your horses!

Chance in June

It's been a little crazy here lately--I'll get to that in another blog.  But, I thought people might like to get a peek at Chance, now that his winter coat has FINALLY shed out.  Sheesh, that took a while!

Looks a bit better than before, doesn't he?  Here's another picture:

And, for a closeup of that lovely bum he has now....

Still a little ways to go on his back, and, to be honest, he may never get it back.  It's amazing he's built so much muscle back up the time between the middle of October and now.

He's a pretty cute guy.  If you know someone who needs a companion horse, he's pretty much bottom of the pecking order.  He adores apples, but really couldn't care less about carrots.  Fresh grass is his absolute favourite.  He gets along really well with our other little pony, who bosses him around, despite being only 2/3 his size.

Here's a video of him, in our little grass run that day:

Please consider taking on this old guy.  I can't say yet if he is rideable--I'm away until the end of July, but will try to get in a few rides when I get back.  He has been out walking along the road and he's, so far, been very quiet.  In fact, he really seems to like that sort of thing.

Well, enjoy the summer riding weather, when it's not raining.  Think of it as an extra rinse after you shampoo your horse to get the mud off.  Right?  Riiiigght...

And, don't forget to hug your horses!

All the news that's fit to blog!

Wow, has it really been that long since I last blogged? I can't believe just how busy it has been. Horses in, horses out and lots of news, both good and bad.

First off, it looks like Bandit is going to have a new home. We just received his paperwork and all that is left is the site visit. This is just such good news, because he really has been overlooked by a lot of people. Here are some recent pictures of him at his current foster home.

Big hug.

Getting kid handled.

Snugglin'.  (Or at least permitting himself to be snuggled.  He really is much too dignified to suggest the idea.)

 

And, finally, a bit of peace to fill his belly, after a hard afternoon of being spoiled.  Tough life, boys.

Tilly has moved again.  He is officially in foster, but, if he works out, he may be adopted straight out, which would be nice for him.  Here's a couple of pictures.

In their last email, his new foster family stated that he seemed very kind and gentle, and was especially patient with children and timid adults.  This is a recurring theme with him--people are amazed at just how kind he is.  He is not yet in adoption pending so, if you are interested in a kind, versatile horse, old enough to have grown out of the silliness you often see in young horses (and people!), please contact us.  He's too sweet a guy to languish in foster--if I wasn't full up, I would be looking at him for my own personal mount, regardless of my short legs.  I can stretch.  I think.  Anyone know of a good yoga class?

Now, on to the bad news.  We've determined that Apple's knees are very arthritic, so she will never be suitable as a riding horse, only as a companion horse.  However, she is BEAUTIFUL and if you have a single horse that needs a companion, she would be ideal.  Bottom of the pecking order and just as cute as a button.  See her most recent pictures here.

Cute, cute, cute

Doesn't it just make you want to say 'awwwww'?

The news about Wyatt's ankle keeps getting less optimistic and treatment options are getting both more expensive and less likely to help.  We are right now trying to determine his quality of life and pain level, so we can figure out how much support he will need to have a decent quality of life.  I don't have pictures of his ankle--I should get some someday, to give an idea what we are up against.  It's a shame, because it could have been corrected right after he was born, but now the ankle has grown and damaged itself more.  Only time will tell.

Admiral has arrived at his foster home (Apple's old digs) and we'll soon have a post on him.  As well, we have an older pony on our courtesy page, if anyone is looking for a companion horse or a leadline pony, please check him out.

Devil, the tall, dark and handsome guy, is still looking for a home.  Give him a donut and he's yours forever.  Jane, too, is looking for someone to take her home.  She's a pretty horse, already trained to saddle, just a bit rusty and used to getting her own way. 

Updates soon on Chance, as well, who has slicked up lovely and shiny.  Like most boys, though, he'd rather be dirty than clean.  What is it with you guys and dirt?

Looking ahead to fall, we already know that we are going to be 3 foster homes short for the winter, as we are losing some of our fosters temporarily.  If you have space and a bit of time, please consider fostering a needy horse. It really is a good feeling and you get to 'dip your toes in the water' a bit if you are considering getting into or getting back into horses. Our support network is great, and remember, Sadie's Place will pay for vet bills, farrier costs and worming directly, so it is somewhat less risky than outright buying yourself a horse.

Anyway, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.  You know you really need a horse, to save you mowing the lawn.  Just think of all the extra hammock time you would have, if you had a horse to mow your lawn.  And remember how the girls ooh and ahh over the cowboys in the movies. Just a suggestion. No pressure.  Hint, hint. 

Don't forget to hug your horses!