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!

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! 

NAKED PONY PICTURES!

Well, it's Chance's 5 month anniversary and we have NAKED PONY PICTURES!  Just a quick review: here's what he looked like on October 14, 2009, the day after he was dropped off to us.

If you're looking for a skeletal anatomy lesson, these picture are a pretty decent educational tool. 

Here's what a horse like this can look like, with some very simple treatment:

Big change, huh?  And how simple was the treatment?  This simple:  we fed him food he could eat.  Lots of it.  You don't want to know what his feed bill was, but imagine all the food he would have eaten over the course of a year or two, and then imagine paying for it over the space of 5 months.  Whew!

Still not full weight, but maybe a 3.5 on the scale?  And pretty happy too.  Mostly he just walks around, but he's been seen trotting, cantering and bucking, as well, so everything seems to be all right.  His manure has never come completely back to normal, but we're hoping to see firmer poo once we ease him back down off the high carb feeds.  At his highest, during the coldest part of the winter, he was eating 3 litres of beet pulp, soaked, 20 cups of 16% protein mare and foal and 3 cups of roasted soybeans a day.  Plus, all the best grass hay he could tuck into himself.  He's being weaned off the mare and foal and is now down to about 15 cups per day--still a lot of sugar, but getting there.

Haha, checking to see if the door to the feed room is open!  Little monkey!  It's like living with two cat burglers--everything has to be locked up like Fort Knox.  Actually, I think Fort Knox could learn a thing or two from trying to keep ponies from breaking into the feed room.  You don't even want to know how many times we've repaired/replaced the stall door, to keep Penny from stealing Chance's feed.

So, as he feels better, we get a better sense of his personality.  One, he likes to be outside.  In fact, given the choice, he would rather eat outside than in.  He is nervous of getting caught and when you are holding him, he is very tense.  You have to stay really calm with him.  At the same time, he is very nonchalant about people working around him, cleaning the stall or whatever.  We do give him handfuls of grain sometimes and I have found him very well mannered about that as well--he does dive at it rather like a stooping falcon, but I have never once felt the least bit of concern that I was going to get...ummm, nibbled?....where I am very careful around Penny, because she is not always that careful to make sure that what she is eating is food.  Grain is definitely his favourite treat.  He can be pushy and will rush right past you if you aren`t firm, but you can stop him with an arm in front of his chest. He doesn't care for being groomed, but will stand reasonably quietly for it.  It's obvious that he is tense while you are doing it, so we try to groom while he is eating.  His biggest trick is that, whatever you try to do with him, he will try to spin or run away from it, but gives in with fairly good grace once he knows that you mean business. 

His back still hasn't filled in, but we are starting to look for a western saddle and a good heavy pad to put on him, so we can try him under saddle when he is ready. His legs are really good and he still has lots of energy, so, barring unforseen circumstances, he's probably got another 7-10 years of riding left in him.

Wonder what he'd do if we tried running a barrel pattern with him?  *Giggle* We may create a monster...

Well, happy weekend and don't forget to hug your horses (if only to stay warm!)

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

Wow, 2 months since our last entry.  Part of that was midwinter blahs, part of that was just startups for a number of different things we hope to have going on this year.  So, a quick update on everyone and everything, who's where and what they're doing.

First of all, the website.  We've changed a few things around and renamed some others.  The adoption page is now call Sadie's Horses.  We've added a courtesy listings page, as well.  Because we get more requests to find homes for horses than we have foster homes, we decided to add this page, so that people can see what horses are still waiting for foster.  Horses can be obtained directly from the owner on this page--Sadie's Place makes no guarantees to either the horse owner or the purchaser/adopter as to the personality, fitness or suitability of the animal, or of the facility it will be living in after transfer of ownership.  That being said, you also don't have to go through our inspection process, if you obtain your horse through that page. This is a good option for both the horse owner and the person wanting a horse--the horse owner knows that people looking at our website are already predisposed to a 'rescue' horse, the person wanting a horse may be able to obtain the horse for much less than our usual adoption fees.

As well, we are in the process of setting up a page where you can personally sponsor a horse that tugs on your heartstrings.  Some of this money goes towards training, an emergency medical fund (the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare fund covers regular visits, but as we know from Chance, emergencies do happen), equipment, extra feed if the horse needs more than the usual and any rehabilitative farrier or veterinary work. 

Now, on to the horses:
Tilly--still in Mayfield, hanging with Wyatt. Had another chat with his former owner, who says he stopped racing because of a bowed tendon and that his best time was 1:56.  He's still absolutely adorable and, if I had room for another, you'd all be cryin' in yer corn flakes, 'cause he'd be MINE! For someone who wants an all around horse who will give his all to whatever you ask of him, he really is a good choice.  I just can't say enough good things about him.

Wyatt--growing, playing, manipulating his foster mom and dad into feeding him carrots every time they go by.   Hmmm, who's supposed to be training who? Wyatt is going to have his fetlock assessed by a vet soon, to see if corrective shoeing or some other treatment will help. We'll keep you updated on his prognosis.

Bandit--scheduled to go for saddle training on April 1.  Since he's already had a saddle on, this should be old hat for him.  He's really settled down and has gotten a lot more cuddly.  Better snap him up, because he is going to make someone a right fine riding horse this summer.  Here's a photo of him from the winter--isn't that adorable?

He loves to come up to the fence and just visit with you.  And, I can tell you, from personal experience, I have grabbed his head and done the "Oh, what a cute little pookey poo!" thing to him, and he didn't even twitch.  Probably thought I should get back on my meds, but was very tolerant of my bizarre behaviour.

Apple--still the diva, but is very good at training humans.  We're trying to get her into a clinic in Nova Scotia to help with some of her socialization issues.  She's discovered alfalfa cubes, which are rapidly becoming an obsession for her.

Yankee--BORED!!!!Someone come ride me!!!!! Please!!!!!  I'm bored!!!!  Yankee is still classy looking, even with his now rather ratty winter coat, but he really needs a job.  He's too young and has too much life left in him to sit and get flabby in the field.  If you are looking for a young prospect with a good attitude and lots of get up and go, you should come visit him.

Duncan--gone to his new home!  Congratulations, Brian, Chantal and Anna!  He's finished his month of saddle training and has upped stakes to his new digs.  Here's a picture of him inside the arena at his new home.  Way to go Duncan!

Isn't that a happy looking boy?

Chance--gaining weight, looking a lot better.  The difference in him is really what inspired the name of this entry. We'll get his 5 month anniversary blog up a day or two.  Gotta get the pedicurist out first and it's going to take more than a couple of days to deal with that dandruff...but, boy, what a personality, when he starts to relax! Unfortunately, he still thinks everyone is out to get him, but he is getting better.  He reached out to sniff my had the other day, all his own, which I'm taking as a promising sign.  Ultimately, it would be nice to have him come to be caught and to be able to relax when you are touching him.  Work to do still...

That's it for today.  Hope you are all enjoying your sunshiney week of March Break, here on the Island.  And, hopefully you all remembered to eat some pie on Sunday, in honour of Pi day. (You know, 3rd month, 14th day, 3.14, circumference of circle?  OK, who booed?  That wasn't very nice at all.  Me, I'll take any excuse to eat pie.  Or cake.  Or cheesecake. )

Don't forget to hug your horses!

Chance's two month anniversary!

I love stormy nights, especially when I don't have to go to work the next day.  Not that I don't have work to do, but it's pony work, which doesn't really feel like work.

First of all, Christmas came early for Chance.  He received a new blanket from a lady named Sylvette.  Here it is, still in the package. 

He needed a blanket, because he was too thin to stand any cold. Here it is out of the package.  It's a nice blanket, with lots of straps to keep it on.

Here he is, modelling it the first day we had it. (Please ignore the manure pile in the background.  You know how it happens, when you start picking the 'piles' and suddenly find yourself picking everything? And for some reason I thought that was a good time to take the picture...)

Here he is, licking the floor, because nothing tastes better than supper dumped out of your dish and licked off the floor...I don't bed that end of the stall any more, hee hee.

He likes to go outside now, which is nice.  Not only does he not leave as much 'mess' in the stall, but it's so much better for them to get outside, both healthwise and mental healthwise. Here he is relaxing in the sun.

He and Penny spend all the nice days following each other around outside.

In fact, he's decided that when it is nice out, he would prefer to eat 'al-fresco' and refuses to finish his meal unless you take it outside.

He seems very proud of himself now, doesn't he?  He's still not too sure of people and we're making a point of catching him to take him to his feed, to see if that changes his opinion.  He's still really quiet and easy to work around--I was tossing straw right under him and shaking it around and he didn't care at all.  He's getting MSM in his feed now, after his colic, because his manure was still a little loose, but it is better now.  We even got a little canter out of him the other day, when he suddenly realized that I had snuck out to the barn with his lunch without him noticing!  Didn't take him long to arrive once he realized what time it was.  So, all in all, despite our little colic adventure, things are going well for him.  He's finally figured out how to eat hay with his 'new' teeth and the new hay bale is disappearing quickly.  Can't wait to see him when the new grass comes in.

Well, stay warm, and don't forget to hug your horses! (You might need to hang onto them to stay warm tonight, with that wind!)

Not exactly how I planned to spend Friday night...

Friday night is supposed to be all about relaxing, kicking back and planning for the weekend.  The work week is over (for those of us not in the service industry) and we start filling up our batteries for the week ahead.

And then, you have ponies...

Came home from work, tied up the greedy fat pony so she couldn't eat Chance's 'tea', fed them both and headed into the house to make supper.  An hour later, out to the barn I go, like usual, to untie Penny, only to find Chance lying down at the end of the stall and his grain hardly touched. 

Now, don't get me wrong, we've been waiting for a colic from him and he keeps surprising us. 
We were expecting it when we first got him and started him on soaked hay pellets.  Nothing.
We expected it when he got his teeth done.  Nothing.
When he was wormed.  Nothing.
When we added new feeds.  Nothing.
When the weather got cold.  Nothing.
So when does he do it?  Friday night, just before Christmas.  Because, of course, we already have ALL our Christmas shopping done, right?  Yeah, me neither.

In all, it was actually not a bad colic.  No thrashing, no sweating, only lasted about 6 hours.  With him it is a worry because he has no energy reserves to get him through something like this, but he pulled through fine.  He's a funny old duck.  He'd drop to the ground and start to roll and I'd yell, "Chancie, don't you dare!" and he'd jump to his feet and look guilty. He would walk himself around the stall and he nearly tripped himself trying not to step on me when I would walk him and we had to make a tight turn.  He's such a good boy!

We did get the vet out to have a look at him--Thank you Barb from Kensington Vets!  She gave him some Banamine and some painkiller and evaluated his condition for us. He was much more comfortable when she left and was even interested in some hay at that point.

Ponies.  What do you do with them? Me, I'm going to go out and hug them again, then I'm going to go back to bed.  Stay tuned for pictures of Chance in his new winter blanket (Thank you Sylvette T!--by the way, his blanket stayed on the Whole Time!  Only one strap came undone on it's own!) and some happy holiday stories.

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!