Rainy Monday

Here it is June the 14th and the temperature is in the 60's. Wow. I love it. We have had quite a bit of rain this morning. Some areas of Oklahoma are flooding. Speaking of flooding, much sympathy to those who lost loved ones in Arkansas. One never knows when one's time is up so live each day as if it were your last.

These are pictures I took of Rose a couple of days ago. She was a little ways away from the rest of the herd. Just peacefully grazing alone. Click on the picture to enlarge it.
Sweetheart is doing well. Back up to full rations and seems to feel good. Cruiser is coming along in learning to trust. Talking to a donkey is so much fun. They really listen and you can see their eyes watching you. Trying to understand what is being said. 

Things are pretty quiet here and that's the way I like it.  Well, except for the thunder this morning. I love listening to a storm. 

If anyone reading this can help with this fund raiser, it would be so appreciated.

http://horseandman.com/the-drop-in-the-bucket-fund/

The funds will be sent to a wonderful lady who is raising orphaned foals from the Calico herd that the @#$^&%**@#$$#  BLM rounded up.  A couple of foals died before anything was done by the BLM to save these helpless little ones.  Last count there were 5 babies that were being raised by this lady.  It's only $5 per donation. Not much but a little adds up to a lot if several people help.   Oh, and read Horse and Man daily. It's a fun blog. 

Well, that's it for now. Have a great week everyone.

End of May

This is Sweetheart. She is recovering from enteritis. Which is inflammation of the small bowel. A lot of horses do not make it with this. She was lucky.....so far. After 8 days in an equine hospital, she is home. She had loads of antibiotics and other medications. We were continuing her treatment at home for another 5 days.Until the morning, she just flat said to us she was tired of being penned up, tired of being a pincushion, and having things shoved down her throat. If you listen with your heart and not your ears, you can tell what a horse wants. And she wanted to be a normal horse again. So we gave in to her desires and turned her loose.  She seems to be doing pretty well. She is out to pasture with Tessa and Sandy. She is 20+ years old, we are not sure of her exact age. She is a throw-a-way horse. Saved off the feedlot. So, we are making her last days with us as happy as possible. Her name truly fits her. So easy to work with.

 Now, this is Cruiser. One morning a few weeks ago, we didn't see the donks at breakfast time. He was the reason. He had gotten into the pasture because Belle was in season. New baby next year????? Maybe, hope not. He is now a gelding and is trying to fit in with the rest of the donkey herd. However, Dunkey is not too happy with that. But things will work out and he will settle down and be one of the herd. It just takes time. They sure do make a lot of noise when they get started braying. Wakes you right up, lol.

Have a wonderful, safe Memorial Day weekend and don't forget why we have that holiday. God Bless America. And, Freedom Is Not Free!

First Memories

What are the first childhood memories you can remember?  Mine are playing in a sandbox when I was about 6 or so. Living on a 60 acre farm with my family. Dad, mom, me and little sister. We were dirt poor but happy. Dad worked hard to earn a living for us on that small farm. We had cows, pigs and chickens. Hated the chickens. Wasn't too crazy about the pigs. But loved the cows. But I wasn't playing with little plastic cows in that sandbox. Nope. I was playing with little plastic horses. The kind one could get at the dime-store for a few cents. My earliest memories are of wanting a horse so bad I could almost taste it. But knowing we couldn't afford one. Fast forward several years to when I was living in SW Missouri. Raising a family. Hubby and I went to a few local horse sales. I was in my twenties but had absolutely no idea that a lot of those beautiful horses at the sale would die in a slaughter house. We lived on a small place in the country, it wasn't ours but I had a couple of horses to ride. Then came divorce, having to sell my precious horses. Fast forward several more years. Another marriage and our own land in the country. Able to retire from my job and be at home. Loved watching the Kentucky Derby. Who was this horse, Barbaro?  Wow could he run!  Saw the Preakness!  While searching the Internet for news of him and praying somehow he could be saved, found an Internet forum. Followed along with Barbaro's story. This inspired me to buy a couple of horses and the rest is history. Now here we are in Oklahoma on 42 acres. We don't have to depend on the land to earn a living for us and we can give a life-time home to rescued horses and donkeys. I was happy when the slaughter houses in the US were closed. But too many of our horses are still going across the borders and dying horrible deaths. I keep trying along with many others to pass the laws to stop this. The good people in Canada are trying too. Someday, we will win. All I know is the horses in the above picture are safe with us. Never will they ride in the horrible truck to their deaths.

SLAUGHTERHOUSE SUE

This woman (and that is an insult to the rest of us females!) is getting on my nerves!  She is a state rep for Wyoming.  She is insistent on having a horse slaughter house in her state. Wants to feed the meat to prisoners and children. WTF!  I really think that she has gone around the bend or maybe she is on some of that left-over LSD from the 60's.  She states that there are as many horse meat meals served as McDonald's hamburgers!  Now lets get real here. She is an idiot. She say Dr. Temple Grandin is going to design a nice, humane way to kill horses.  I don't like Ms Grandin much either. Why is it one can never see her name without the word autism???? I think she uses her disability to make money. I think it is a slam to all mothers who have autistic children. Autism is a terrible thing. But Ms Grandin brandies it about like it's the most wonderful thing in the world. I have read that Ms Grandin says animals talk to her by putting picture words in her head.  Okay...... Like I believe that. But, I digress, back to ole Sue.  Missouri and Tennessee threw out their bills on horse slaughter for this session.  Are we getting scared Sue????  Think someone might believe that the damage to nature from horse slaughter plants or the cancer-causing drugs horses get might have finally sunk in to people.  Finally! someone is getting the truth out. The USDA will not pay for inspectors at the plants. Sue thinks the states should pay them. Now most states are in trouble with their budgets. Sure, let's fire teachers, policemen and firefighters so we can pay for inspectors at the plants.  Stupid, stupid. Maybe Sue is slipping into middle-age and is having a crisis. 

Just for fun, Google slaughterhouse sue and see what comes up! 

All my horses have had Bute at some point so they are not eligible for slaughter. So there, take that Sue!

Spa day for Rose

Well looks like Rose has rolled in the red mud again. She loves to do this, especially in the Spring. When we brought her here two years ago, she was a flea-bitten grey. If the light was just right, one could see her blaze but most of the time, it didn't show up. She gets brushed and curried and when it rains during warm weather, she loves to stand out in it so the mud washes off. Except, her mane and tail have taken on a flame red color. Guess I could shampoo them and get the red out but I really kind of like her look. Besides, isn't a mud pack good for the skin?????  She is the sweetest old girl. She can walk up behind you so quietly. Then all of a sudden, you have a horse chin resting lightly on your shoulder. She is another one saved from slaughter three years ago. She is our grand dame for sure. Love ya Rosie!

Freedom of Speech????

An undercover series of videos taken in a couple of the Canadian horse slaughter plants was released by the Canadian Horse Defense Coalition. These videos were available on YouTube. Not now. Seems they have been pulled. Wonder who put pressue on YouTube to do this?????  Could it be someone from Missouri. The state that wants so bad to bring slaughter to the beautiful countryside in the southern part.  Horse blood flowing down those rivers that are so nice for a canoe trip????? 

 The videos were graphic but showed the horror of horse slaughter.  In one, horses were shot with a .22 caliber rifle. There is a humane way to do this but this method was not being used. The horses were wounded many times before being released out of the kill box to be hung by one leg and their throat's slit. One horse was definitely not dead as she kicked the poop out of the throat-sliter.  IMO, it's too bad she didn't kick his head off. There was an inspector wandering in and out of the kill room but said nothing about the treatment of the horses.  So much for humane euthanaisa.

Now what has happened to our freedoms here in the good ole U.S.A.? Seems as though our rights are being violated by this removal. I watched them and was so very mad, I wanted to take the man out back and teach him a lesson.

http://www.defendhorsescanada.org/ChambersofCarnage.html

Warning, they are very graphic but  one needs to watch to learn what our horses are going through. 

Angry as hell in Oklahoma.

Vet Trip

 We took Tessa to the vet yesterday for x-rays of her front fetlocks/hooves. She had been limping on the right front last week with her boots on. She is chronically lame on the left and this was a new development. I was very worried about arthritis and her being in constant pain. The x-rays were negative for arthritis thank goodness. We do have the copies here at home and I emailed them to our farrier. He now has a new plan on trimming her feet that may make a difference in her left foot. She stopped limping on the right after a few days of Bute. You know Bute, one of the banned meds from the EU slaughter rules that take effect in July. No horse who has EVER had Bute is to be slaughtered for human consumption. Of course that is a joke. Who is going to enforce these rules at the border? No one probably. Bute is known to cause cancer in humans.

 Anyway, back to Tessa. I was afraid she had come to the end of her road but since there is no arthritis, this is not the case. Thank goodness!!! Tessa has quite the Tessa-tude thank you. She was ready to go home after the x-rays were taken. In fact, she tried to get out the door to the x-ray room, lol.  She is a strong willed girl but does not give us a fight. She just lets us know her opinion on things. She was so glad to get back home where she is pampered. Her buddy Sandy was glad to have her back home too.

 The winds are blowing strongly from the south and it's warming up. Storms on the way this weekend though. Toronado season is upon us. Yippee!