There is something that's a constant irritant to me and I'm reminded of it every day, one way or another. It seemed particularly pertinent this evening, as I looked out at scrawny little Ada, who arrived this week. She's such a sweet girl who is a bit unsure of her new surroundings, trying to be friends and fit in with everyone but nobody is very interested in her. She is now in a small paddock with her mother, but Hazel has forgotten they're related apparently, and she is not being the Camp Esco welcoming ambassador that she usually is. We've had to give Ada her hay at the opposite end of the field this evening, so that she doesn't get chased off... She needs every strand she can get!
I do wish people would "think before they breed". This is sound advice for all species I think, but sadly not the case often enough with horses. Aside from the obvious fact that there is an endless supply of unwanted horses out there, without caring humans to call their own, there is the lesser known route into rescue and that is as a direct result of horses simply being bred for no good reason. Anyone who has the space and a big enough heart to offer a rescue horse (or horses) some help really should be able to keep that space available for those poor horses that are most desperately in need, as a result of abuse and/or neglect, rather than simply picking up the pieces in the wake of indiscriminate breeding and the results of bad decisions. When careful consideration is not given, and there is no regard as to what will happen up ahead (once that gorgeous, fuzzy foal grows up) there will always be a horse market that is literally flooded and bursting at the seams with poorly bred horses. Rescue spaces are especially vital in times of economic difficulty, when even professional and well regarded breeders are having trouble giving their impeccably bred horses away!
Having a new foal frolicking about the place is a joy, that can't be denied. If you've ever had the chance to meet a brand new foal in person you will know, they are the most beautiful and gregarious babies to have around. The cuteness factor falls somewhere between a deer calf and a puppy, only they really are a million times more cute than either... It's true! But a baby horse, just the same as a baby anything, requires some kind of "plan for life" to have been thought out on their behalf from the get go in order to get the best start possible... It's when that doesn't happen that things can go horribly wrong. The neighbour's stallion might look really nice and all, and it certainly won't cost much to walk your mare up the road for a week or two and let them "get on with it", but unless these horsey parents are exceptional in every way, then the stud probably ought not be one at all and your mare would be far better off being given a job to do besides producing random offspring. Indiscriminate breeding is a big problem, and one that's growing, for rescue operations worldwide.
Foals are usually weaned at around 6 months and they quickly grow into bouncing young horses that will need proper care and attention, not to mention ongoing training and a good home for the duration of their lives, which can be 30+ years in some cases! There is currently a "Responsible Breeding" campaign underway in the UK, which was launched by the British Horse Society (Gawd bless 'em) fairly recently (http://www.bhs.org.uk/Horse_Care/Campaigns/Responsible_Breeding/Responsible_Breeding_2.aspx) and, along similar lines here in Georgia, GERL (http://www.gerlltd.org/events.html) regularly run their "Stallion to Gelding" clinics, offering cut-price castration (no pun intended) to encourage horse owners to participate and be sensible and selective, rather than adding to the already massive population of unwanted equines. You can't make wannabe horse breeders take a more serious approach to the subject, of course, and there is no law in place to deal with utter idiocy (I wish there was) but hopefully these initiatives will help raise awareness and make folk think twice about breeding for no good reason.
So, skinny little Ada is here. This young lady had not done anything at all except run wild until earlier this year, when she was lightly backed and turned away for a few months over the summer. It didn't go fantastically well I have to say, but it's early days for Ada. At almost 5 years old, there has been a huge gap in her education, and this presents problems aplenty, for us, for future trainers, for the vet, for the farrier, etc. She has never had a routine of any sort, and has barely been handled really, so we are all entering into a world of the unknown as far as Ada goes.
On the up side, she behaves very nicely, all things considered, and she is extremely calm minded and willing and, curiously, seems naturally respectful of our space, so far. She isn't pushy at all and she's a really friendly, sweet natured girl at least. She virtually leaps into the halter when it's time to be caught out in the pasture... You can't shake her off! On the down side, we have discovered that Ada doesn't think she can stand on three legs. She refuses to lift her feet without an almighty fight, mule kicking with both hind legs, just like the board game "Buckaroo". Sadly, this is something that could have been dealt with so easily when she was a foal, or as a weanling for that matter, when the "fight" in her was not quite so determined or dangerous. Now it's a big problem. It's all very well being able to saddle a horse up and ride off in a reasonably straight line, but it really is these basic, every day routine things that will render a horse a problem in the long run. Interestingly, she doesn't mind us moving around or being behind her and she absolutely loves to be groomed all over, including all four legs right down to the tips of her toes... Just don't try and pick 'em up!!! Standing 14 hands (1 hand = 4 inches) and weighing in at far less than she ought to right now (but still, somewhere around 650lbs) Ada has never willingly stood for a farrier to trim her hooves in her life... Not without being drugged up to the eyeballs. We have yet to see how our lovely farrier (Chad) approaches this and we'll be following his lead on how best to work through it without getting booted into next week in the process of teaching her to balance politely. We aim to work out Ada's foot foibles over the course of time, and it might be a while yet. We are getting some meat on her bones before winter hits hard as a matter of priority and we'll just take each day as it comes. She's such a sweetheart, really, she just doesn't know anything except how to look pretty. There will be a big celebration come the day she happily lifts her hind feet up to be cleaned out without even noticing.
So, this is a perfect example of "those that shouldn't" breeding horses and it's nothing short of infuriating! Whoever "bred" Ada wasn't looking very far ahead at all, that's for sure... Probably not beyond 6 months! Nobody worked with her as a baby and it's through no fault of her own at all that she is utterly clueless as to what's expected of her. If she hadn't come our way, she may well have ended up with people less patient or with someone who had no understanding of how she came to be a such a handful in the first place and handled her roughly in response. I'm certain she would have gone through umpteen sales and would have been bred by now too, since she is registered with fairly respectable looking papers (AQHA/Toots Shining Star). And this is how the sad cycle continues for so many.
Luckily we found Ada in time and plan on giving her a chance to start over, from scratch. And so, Ada begins again :)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Raindance y'all!
It's been around 100 degrees down here for the past few weeks, and the daily chores have had to be carried out before dawn, or after dusk, to avoid melting.
Dave has been very busy (mostly in the very early mornings and very late evenings) fixing up a couple of additional stalls around the corner from home, which we now have use of in exchange for doing the work and for getting the place up to scratch. He's done a fantastic job of it and the stalls are now much more luxurious than our house will ever be! We had to invest in a heavy duty solar fence charger to make the fencing "live" around there... It's true, the grass is always greener... And curious hooves will go a-wandering. The acreage of pasture we can use is absolutely vast and requires an extra powerful unit to carry a charge all the way around the perimeter fence. It is money well spent though, and it will mean lots more wonderful grass for hungry newcomers. It is a beautiful place for our waifs and strays to be, with a big sand arena and miles and miles of woodland trails... Perfect for "test riding" and de-spooking the horses. It will serve us well in ascertaining what level of rider each horse might be suitable for and mean that we will be able to look for the right homes, in the right places, from the get go and avoid unnecessary upheaval for the horses. It's very kindly been offered to us by our friendly local hay-man and we're very, very grateful for his help. We're thrilled to bits about having the opportunity to use it and it gives us a chance to expand a bit, but it's been a good deal of hard work (not to mention expensive) to complete.
What with the weather being so brutal lately, and us being busy with getting that done, we have haven't had a chance to get much of anything done around here for a few weeks. Our regular routine of working with the horses has diminished to a quick check over, to make sure there's still a leg in each corner, and a daily hose off for all (the dogs and geese included). Each day sees us racing around to get the feeding done while it's cool enough to move around outside.
Despite the current temperatures, we now have to turn our attention to building an extension onto our small barn before the winter. We have space for two horses currently but desperately need stalls for two more, so that the less woolly varieties can be housed under cover when it gets cold again... And it will!
We have been trying to think of ways to do some "barn(fund)raising" in order to make the addition possible in time, and I am in the process of setting up an Etsy shop, in aid of CEHR. I will be parting with many of my vintage delights that have amassed over the years... It may take a while, I have a huge collection! There may also be couple of guitars up for grabs along the way too... So keep your eyes peeled! I will let everyone know once I get it up and running properly, but meanwhile, if you have any fund raising ideas or you'd like to contribute and help us turn our tumbledown tin-shack into adequate winter housing, please do get in touch, either via campesco@yahoo.com or our Facebook page. We also have our official site up and running too: campescohorserescue.com, and there we have a dedicated donations page.
There has not been a single drop of rain in weeks, at least not until yesterday afternoon, when it poured down for about an hour, monsoon style. Oh how we all danced, twirling around outside and splashing in puddles, enjoying the cool air. Sadly, it didn't last long at all and it was straight back to sweltering heat and humidity very soon after. We were, once again, wrapped in hot, wet bath flannels. Since we've been hosing the horses down like crazy, just trying to keep them cool, we are hoping that the measly amount of rain that fell yesterday will go some way to helping our (very slow) well get replenished.
As I type, there are some big ol' black clouds right above the house and it looks like there might even be some more rain on the way... Get yer dancing shoes on! Woohoo!
Dave has been very busy (mostly in the very early mornings and very late evenings) fixing up a couple of additional stalls around the corner from home, which we now have use of in exchange for doing the work and for getting the place up to scratch. He's done a fantastic job of it and the stalls are now much more luxurious than our house will ever be! We had to invest in a heavy duty solar fence charger to make the fencing "live" around there... It's true, the grass is always greener... And curious hooves will go a-wandering. The acreage of pasture we can use is absolutely vast and requires an extra powerful unit to carry a charge all the way around the perimeter fence. It is money well spent though, and it will mean lots more wonderful grass for hungry newcomers. It is a beautiful place for our waifs and strays to be, with a big sand arena and miles and miles of woodland trails... Perfect for "test riding" and de-spooking the horses. It will serve us well in ascertaining what level of rider each horse might be suitable for and mean that we will be able to look for the right homes, in the right places, from the get go and avoid unnecessary upheaval for the horses. It's very kindly been offered to us by our friendly local hay-man and we're very, very grateful for his help. We're thrilled to bits about having the opportunity to use it and it gives us a chance to expand a bit, but it's been a good deal of hard work (not to mention expensive) to complete.
What with the weather being so brutal lately, and us being busy with getting that done, we have haven't had a chance to get much of anything done around here for a few weeks. Our regular routine of working with the horses has diminished to a quick check over, to make sure there's still a leg in each corner, and a daily hose off for all (the dogs and geese included). Each day sees us racing around to get the feeding done while it's cool enough to move around outside.
Despite the current temperatures, we now have to turn our attention to building an extension onto our small barn before the winter. We have space for two horses currently but desperately need stalls for two more, so that the less woolly varieties can be housed under cover when it gets cold again... And it will!
We have been trying to think of ways to do some "barn(fund)raising" in order to make the addition possible in time, and I am in the process of setting up an Etsy shop, in aid of CEHR. I will be parting with many of my vintage delights that have amassed over the years... It may take a while, I have a huge collection! There may also be couple of guitars up for grabs along the way too... So keep your eyes peeled! I will let everyone know once I get it up and running properly, but meanwhile, if you have any fund raising ideas or you'd like to contribute and help us turn our tumbledown tin-shack into adequate winter housing, please do get in touch, either via campesco@yahoo.com or our Facebook page. We also have our official site up and running too: campescohorserescue.com, and there we have a dedicated donations page.
There has not been a single drop of rain in weeks, at least not until yesterday afternoon, when it poured down for about an hour, monsoon style. Oh how we all danced, twirling around outside and splashing in puddles, enjoying the cool air. Sadly, it didn't last long at all and it was straight back to sweltering heat and humidity very soon after. We were, once again, wrapped in hot, wet bath flannels. Since we've been hosing the horses down like crazy, just trying to keep them cool, we are hoping that the measly amount of rain that fell yesterday will go some way to helping our (very slow) well get replenished.
As I type, there are some big ol' black clouds right above the house and it looks like there might even be some more rain on the way... Get yer dancing shoes on! Woohoo!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Huck, our mascot.
It's been about a year now since we waved Huck off to pastures new. I can't say that this is s a major "success" story at all, because he still isn't 100% right and he probably never will be, sadly. But he is getting along wonderfully well in his new home and that is success enough.
We saved this guy from dying a miserable death, either out in a cold, muddy field with absolutely nobody to care what happened to him, or in transit to an auction where he'd be worth whatever he weighed, if he even made it to the sales ring alive.
This was the horse that changed everything around here, and got us into gear.
Huck is a very special little Arabian horse who came to live with us in 2010. He had not been fed anything worth eating over the course of about a year, and had been living on dirt and fresh air, from what we could tell. He had been bullied, to the point of starvation, by other horses that were also constantly hungry. They were out in a bleak, bare "pasture" without any intervention by the owner. I was advised that he managed to graciously throw in a single flake of hay (between four horses) here and there, whenever he remembered to, but more often there were the times he forgot he had horses to take care of, clearly. Through the rain and snow, he went from bad to worse over the winter. To add insult to injury, he was being ridden regularly and receiving nothing in return. He was being saddled up daily, worked until he bled, literally, and then turned out again on dirt with nothing to eat and no fresh water available. On the rare occasion a little hay did arrive, he wasn't allowed to get any and so it went on for him for far too long.
When I first went to see him he had open, bleeding welts which had been caused by badly fitting tack, and wherever there were pressure points in the saddle area and around his girth there was a wound that hadn't been attended to. It was truly pitiful. There was simply no flesh on him to protect his back and ribs at all, and I was incredulous when the owner insisted that I ride him around and "try him out". I declined his kind offer, utterly bemused at the ignorance of the man, to which he laughed and told me that I didn't need to be afraid to ride the horse! Actually, I wanted to say that I was afraid that he might die underneath me if I were to get on, but I bit my tongue and instead we talked money. Huck certainly was not a creature to fear by any means... He was almost comatose, with resignation in his eyes and he was a very, very sad picture to behold. He needed us to take him out of that situation so badly, and begged us in ways we can't ever fully comprehend. And so we purchased him (yes, unbelievably, the owner expected quite a lot of money for him!) and we brought him home with us. He absolutely couldn't stay where he was for a moment longer, and nobody would have paid a cent for him in the condition he was in if we didn't buy him. He was heading for the meat market, but I'm not sure he would have lasted long enough to get there.
The poor guy had so many issues when he arrived here, both physical and psychological, that we were at a total loss as to how best to deal with him to begin with... Where could we start! Our vet was puzzled, as was an expert natural horse trainer friend of ours, who worked with him for months after he came home with us. They helped tremendously on his road to recovery (we couldn't have helped him without the additional support at all) and, between us, we were resolved to help him learn to be a horse again. Although we had around 100 years combined experience, none of us had never dealt with a horse quite like Huck before. We could only conclude that he must be suffering from some form of equine PTSD (it does exist!) and, essentially, we had to treat him as any major trauma survivor would be treated... Slowly and carefully, one day at a time, taking tiny steps towards improvement as and when we could get him to cooperate. Some days he would be very laid back and we would feel we were making great progress, and then on other days he would just be plain nuts and off somewhere else, far away, in his head. There wasn't a great deal of ground covered fast due to the inconsistency in his outlook. He seemed to think he was about to be killed, no matter how gentle or persuasive we were. He would often just freeze up, unable to move a muscle, thinking it was the end. At other times he'd turn himself inside out trying to escape a heavy handed punishment that wasn't coming his way any longer, of course. The first time he met our farrier, Chad, it was pretty "lively" to say the least! Chad suggested we call him Skeletor, as we hadn't decided on his name yet and he really was nothing but skin and bone at that point. "Thanks for the suggestion Chad, but that's not quite right for him... " We went with Huck in the end, and it suits him perfectly now.
Besides his general erraticism and craziness, the most challenging of his "problems" to manage, on a practical level, was that he couldn't be turned out with other horses. He was absolutely petrified of them, would panic whenever we put him out into the pasture and take off, in full flight, through electric fences as if they weren't there! It is a pretty tough job convincing any horse that they're safe, even under normal circumstances, but Huck was almost impossible and, even now, I doubt he will ever feel totally secure. He couldn't believe that things were so very different around here. Our horses get fed accurately, so they don't feel the need to try to kill other horses because they're half starved themselves. Everyone gets exactly what they need and they are balanced, well-mannered equines, unlike his hungry pasturemates where he came from, where they were fending for themselves, virtually unattended, year 'round. It took such a long time for Huck to settle in and feel confident enough to eat properly. He'd lived in constant fear of being chased off food for so long, and it had to be offered to him in the only place he felt safe. In the round pen (which was his safety zone). Separate and alone.
The sorry photo (before) of him is actually quite a happy one in fact. It was taken as he was enjoying his first proper bucket of grub for years when he first arrived! He got to be pretty talkative at feeding time, once he'd learned the routine here, chatting away excitedly and asking us to hurry up with his breaskfast. It was monumental to hear him whinny for the first time, as we came out of the house to do the feeds one morning. It was such a joyful sound, it made me cry with relief. It was the first "normal" horse trait that he's displayed up to that point.
But just look at him now! The second photo (after) is the new, improved Huck, just a year down the line. He is a different horse these days, in every respect, and has been successfully integrated into a small herd of other rescued Arabian horses with similar stories to tell. Although he is still a loner, and not entirely sure he's going to be safe in every situation, he is a very happy and healthy horse now. We hear that he has even got himself a girlfriend these days, and she is the spitting image of him!
Huck appears to have learned how to be a horse again. finally, and that was what we set out to try to teach him. We really want to say another huge thank you, a year after we began, especially to Guy Sears (for his careful and considerate transport) Tara Maxwell (for her incredibly gentle training methods) Vincent Smith DVM (for being on call for us always) and Dennis Horion (Adopt-A-Horse Inc.) who, along with us here at Camp Esco, formed "Team Huck" to help him heal.
We saved this guy from dying a miserable death, either out in a cold, muddy field with absolutely nobody to care what happened to him, or in transit to an auction where he'd be worth whatever he weighed, if he even made it to the sales ring alive.
This was the horse that changed everything around here, and got us into gear.
Huck is a very special little Arabian horse who came to live with us in 2010. He had not been fed anything worth eating over the course of about a year, and had been living on dirt and fresh air, from what we could tell. He had been bullied, to the point of starvation, by other horses that were also constantly hungry. They were out in a bleak, bare "pasture" without any intervention by the owner. I was advised that he managed to graciously throw in a single flake of hay (between four horses) here and there, whenever he remembered to, but more often there were the times he forgot he had horses to take care of, clearly. Through the rain and snow, he went from bad to worse over the winter. To add insult to injury, he was being ridden regularly and receiving nothing in return. He was being saddled up daily, worked until he bled, literally, and then turned out again on dirt with nothing to eat and no fresh water available. On the rare occasion a little hay did arrive, he wasn't allowed to get any and so it went on for him for far too long.
When I first went to see him he had open, bleeding welts which had been caused by badly fitting tack, and wherever there were pressure points in the saddle area and around his girth there was a wound that hadn't been attended to. It was truly pitiful. There was simply no flesh on him to protect his back and ribs at all, and I was incredulous when the owner insisted that I ride him around and "try him out". I declined his kind offer, utterly bemused at the ignorance of the man, to which he laughed and told me that I didn't need to be afraid to ride the horse! Actually, I wanted to say that I was afraid that he might die underneath me if I were to get on, but I bit my tongue and instead we talked money. Huck certainly was not a creature to fear by any means... He was almost comatose, with resignation in his eyes and he was a very, very sad picture to behold. He needed us to take him out of that situation so badly, and begged us in ways we can't ever fully comprehend. And so we purchased him (yes, unbelievably, the owner expected quite a lot of money for him!) and we brought him home with us. He absolutely couldn't stay where he was for a moment longer, and nobody would have paid a cent for him in the condition he was in if we didn't buy him. He was heading for the meat market, but I'm not sure he would have lasted long enough to get there.
The poor guy had so many issues when he arrived here, both physical and psychological, that we were at a total loss as to how best to deal with him to begin with... Where could we start! Our vet was puzzled, as was an expert natural horse trainer friend of ours, who worked with him for months after he came home with us. They helped tremendously on his road to recovery (we couldn't have helped him without the additional support at all) and, between us, we were resolved to help him learn to be a horse again. Although we had around 100 years combined experience, none of us had never dealt with a horse quite like Huck before. We could only conclude that he must be suffering from some form of equine PTSD (it does exist!) and, essentially, we had to treat him as any major trauma survivor would be treated... Slowly and carefully, one day at a time, taking tiny steps towards improvement as and when we could get him to cooperate. Some days he would be very laid back and we would feel we were making great progress, and then on other days he would just be plain nuts and off somewhere else, far away, in his head. There wasn't a great deal of ground covered fast due to the inconsistency in his outlook. He seemed to think he was about to be killed, no matter how gentle or persuasive we were. He would often just freeze up, unable to move a muscle, thinking it was the end. At other times he'd turn himself inside out trying to escape a heavy handed punishment that wasn't coming his way any longer, of course. The first time he met our farrier, Chad, it was pretty "lively" to say the least! Chad suggested we call him Skeletor, as we hadn't decided on his name yet and he really was nothing but skin and bone at that point. "Thanks for the suggestion Chad, but that's not quite right for him... " We went with Huck in the end, and it suits him perfectly now.
Besides his general erraticism and craziness, the most challenging of his "problems" to manage, on a practical level, was that he couldn't be turned out with other horses. He was absolutely petrified of them, would panic whenever we put him out into the pasture and take off, in full flight, through electric fences as if they weren't there! It is a pretty tough job convincing any horse that they're safe, even under normal circumstances, but Huck was almost impossible and, even now, I doubt he will ever feel totally secure. He couldn't believe that things were so very different around here. Our horses get fed accurately, so they don't feel the need to try to kill other horses because they're half starved themselves. Everyone gets exactly what they need and they are balanced, well-mannered equines, unlike his hungry pasturemates where he came from, where they were fending for themselves, virtually unattended, year 'round. It took such a long time for Huck to settle in and feel confident enough to eat properly. He'd lived in constant fear of being chased off food for so long, and it had to be offered to him in the only place he felt safe. In the round pen (which was his safety zone). Separate and alone.
The sorry photo (before) of him is actually quite a happy one in fact. It was taken as he was enjoying his first proper bucket of grub for years when he first arrived! He got to be pretty talkative at feeding time, once he'd learned the routine here, chatting away excitedly and asking us to hurry up with his breaskfast. It was monumental to hear him whinny for the first time, as we came out of the house to do the feeds one morning. It was such a joyful sound, it made me cry with relief. It was the first "normal" horse trait that he's displayed up to that point.
But just look at him now! The second photo (after) is the new, improved Huck, just a year down the line. He is a different horse these days, in every respect, and has been successfully integrated into a small herd of other rescued Arabian horses with similar stories to tell. Although he is still a loner, and not entirely sure he's going to be safe in every situation, he is a very happy and healthy horse now. We hear that he has even got himself a girlfriend these days, and she is the spitting image of him!
Huck appears to have learned how to be a horse again. finally, and that was what we set out to try to teach him. We really want to say another huge thank you, a year after we began, especially to Guy Sears (for his careful and considerate transport) Tara Maxwell (for her incredibly gentle training methods) Vincent Smith DVM (for being on call for us always) and Dennis Horion (Adopt-A-Horse Inc.) who, along with us here at Camp Esco, formed "Team Huck" to help him heal.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Hazel and Ada and their tales of barbed-wire fencing and bullets...
To start with, it's probably a good idea to introduce you to the horses. There are currently three horses at home with us right now, and we have two more at a friends place close by. Two of the horses that live here are the usual suspects... Our own horses Coal Miner and Zella. But just last week we took in a third, a battered looking old timer called Hazel, to live with us permanently.
We can only guess that Hazel must have got tangled up in a barbed-wire fence at some point when she was younger as she looks like a "Frankenhorse" with deep, criss-crossy black scars all over her that never healed properly. She doesn't appear to have received any kind of attention at the time and the worst cuts, across her face and very close to both eyes, would definitely have required immediate expert handywork and refined patchwork skills in order for them to heal nice and neatly. As she is, she is beautiful still, just a bit sorry looking. Her scars made me wince the first time I met her, even though I have plenty enough scars of my own! Despite her wild youth, Hazel is the sweetest old lady these days and so terribly polite in every way. She hasn't put a hoof wrong since she arrived and even when she had to have her vaccinations, when she got here, she behaved perfectly.
Horses and barbed-wire make for a very expensive combination. As cheap as it is, initially, to install barbed-wire fencing, veterinary bills are sure to pile up high when it's used for containing horses! Barbed wire was designed for cattle on huge ranges, not for horses in restricted pastures. Cows generally move very slowly and deliberately, if they move much at all, but horses travel at speed in panic and in play, and they have pretty poor eyesight and depth perception at the best of times. When a horse runs into a fence, it will jerk and thrash around and fight to get free, rather than calmly wait for help to arrive. Obviously that makes already severe injuries far worse and it's not a pretty sight at all... Think Paul Newman, in the motorcycle scene at the end of "The Great Escape" only better looking!
Hazel came to us with her 4 year old daughter, Ada, who is being backed and trained right now, having had very little by way of an education to date. Ada had been shot in her previous pasture, and arrived with a seeping hole in her shoulder. Thankfully, a good check over, some penicillin and a safe haven is all she needed and she is doing just fine now. She will end up being a very useful horse with a proper job someday, rather than just a feisty pasture ornament with a pissy attitude, which is what she was fast becoming in the absence of experienced handling and management. She's a very well-bred little girl, with many champions behind her, so we will just have to wait and see what she is best at, once she has her basic training and can concentrate for longer than fifteen minutes at a time. Once we know what she enjoys doing most we can point her in that direction and rehome her appropriately. She is bred well and super smart, just like her mother, and we don't think it will be difficult to match her with someone who will take her onto greater things and make the most of her athletic abilities.
Hazel will see out the rest of her days here with us, doing very little at all except being a happy, healthy horse in semi-retirement. She will occasionally be expected to potter around in the woods at a leisurely pace with guests or our wonderful next door neighbour, Jackie, perched atop. I have a feeling Hazel is going to be lavished with love and attention (and spoiled rotten by Jackie) for the rest of her life, which is exactly what she deserves! Jackie takes care of everything here when we are away and does a truly amazing job of keeping everyone fed, watered and entertained in our absence. She lost her own horse (at 28 years old!) last year and has since given over use of her land to us. Her old girl Blossom, is buried under a tree out in the front pasture, and a large compacted bump of red clay still remains. She was a very gentle and sweet old soul, from a less than ideal background herself, so it's apt that the grass should grow tall around her and her old pasture be a home to others like her. I am convinced she must be keeping a very close watch over the waifs and strays out there and letting them know that they're safe here. Everyone is munching away outside, quietly contented, and all is as it should be for them.
We can only guess that Hazel must have got tangled up in a barbed-wire fence at some point when she was younger as she looks like a "Frankenhorse" with deep, criss-crossy black scars all over her that never healed properly. She doesn't appear to have received any kind of attention at the time and the worst cuts, across her face and very close to both eyes, would definitely have required immediate expert handywork and refined patchwork skills in order for them to heal nice and neatly. As she is, she is beautiful still, just a bit sorry looking. Her scars made me wince the first time I met her, even though I have plenty enough scars of my own! Despite her wild youth, Hazel is the sweetest old lady these days and so terribly polite in every way. She hasn't put a hoof wrong since she arrived and even when she had to have her vaccinations, when she got here, she behaved perfectly.
Horses and barbed-wire make for a very expensive combination. As cheap as it is, initially, to install barbed-wire fencing, veterinary bills are sure to pile up high when it's used for containing horses! Barbed wire was designed for cattle on huge ranges, not for horses in restricted pastures. Cows generally move very slowly and deliberately, if they move much at all, but horses travel at speed in panic and in play, and they have pretty poor eyesight and depth perception at the best of times. When a horse runs into a fence, it will jerk and thrash around and fight to get free, rather than calmly wait for help to arrive. Obviously that makes already severe injuries far worse and it's not a pretty sight at all... Think Paul Newman, in the motorcycle scene at the end of "The Great Escape" only better looking!
Hazel came to us with her 4 year old daughter, Ada, who is being backed and trained right now, having had very little by way of an education to date. Ada had been shot in her previous pasture, and arrived with a seeping hole in her shoulder. Thankfully, a good check over, some penicillin and a safe haven is all she needed and she is doing just fine now. She will end up being a very useful horse with a proper job someday, rather than just a feisty pasture ornament with a pissy attitude, which is what she was fast becoming in the absence of experienced handling and management. She's a very well-bred little girl, with many champions behind her, so we will just have to wait and see what she is best at, once she has her basic training and can concentrate for longer than fifteen minutes at a time. Once we know what she enjoys doing most we can point her in that direction and rehome her appropriately. She is bred well and super smart, just like her mother, and we don't think it will be difficult to match her with someone who will take her onto greater things and make the most of her athletic abilities.
Hazel will see out the rest of her days here with us, doing very little at all except being a happy, healthy horse in semi-retirement. She will occasionally be expected to potter around in the woods at a leisurely pace with guests or our wonderful next door neighbour, Jackie, perched atop. I have a feeling Hazel is going to be lavished with love and attention (and spoiled rotten by Jackie) for the rest of her life, which is exactly what she deserves! Jackie takes care of everything here when we are away and does a truly amazing job of keeping everyone fed, watered and entertained in our absence. She lost her own horse (at 28 years old!) last year and has since given over use of her land to us. Her old girl Blossom, is buried under a tree out in the front pasture, and a large compacted bump of red clay still remains. She was a very gentle and sweet old soul, from a less than ideal background herself, so it's apt that the grass should grow tall around her and her old pasture be a home to others like her. I am convinced she must be keeping a very close watch over the waifs and strays out there and letting them know that they're safe here. Everyone is munching away outside, quietly contented, and all is as it should be for them.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Here goes nothing...
So, the time has finally come for us to put down our guitars and get something up and running to keep all the lovely people who have made donations to our Camp Esco Horse Rescue fund so far up to date on how it's going and let everyone know what we are up to out here.
We thought it would be pretty easy, setting up a blog, but it's been a long afternoon/evening of misery and frustration this end, struggling to achieve something that's fit for public consumption (having gone back to the beginning many times over) and simply trying to make it look presentable somehow. We gave up, totally baffled as to how to get it to look any good, and settled on this.
This is a test run. Let's see what happens if we press thi......
We thought it would be pretty easy, setting up a blog, but it's been a long afternoon/evening of misery and frustration this end, struggling to achieve something that's fit for public consumption (having gone back to the beginning many times over) and simply trying to make it look presentable somehow. We gave up, totally baffled as to how to get it to look any good, and settled on this.
This is a test run. Let's see what happens if we press thi......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)