The Golden Carrot Newsletter's Archive

 

The Golden Carrot

September 7, 2011 Newsletter

 

Shine and Spencer

 

First, let me apologize for dropping off the planet!

 

My last newsletter was 7/25/11 when I reported the loss of Debbie and Mary. http://goldencarrotrescue.com/BestFriendsForever.aspx   I am deeply grateful to report that Debbie's Sponsor, Daria, has transferred her part sponsorship to Chief, and Mary's Sponsor, Sarah, has continued her support as well (I apply her donation to Prophet now, as he was once her horse too).

 

A few days after this loss, which affected me deeply, I was in hospital for dehydration and gastritis. Since I’m poor and uninsured, you can guess how bad I felt to agree to go to the hospital! 

 

I want to thank Lisa and Julia Brozek, who came to volunteer before Julia’s pending knee surgery, and instead of having some fun horse time, ended up driving me all over Southern California trying to find someone who would help me! I was a basket case and they were wonderful, fighting their way through our wretched medical system, filling out forms and dealing with indifferent "medical professionals" to get me the help I so desperately needed. Such a comfort to me to have friends like this! And neighbor Mike worked with them, when we finally got home and I zonked out under the pain meds, to feed the horses and put them away for the night, and for the next few days helped me with feeding morning and night!

 

I didn’t keep up the "News/Update" section of our website but keep an eye on http://goldencarrotrescue.com/NewsUpdate.aspx for current activities.

 

BEWF Comes Thru AGAIN!

 

Brennan Equine Welfare Fund came through for TGC again, helping us with a grant for hay. I am so grateful for a grantor who will help with the most important and never ending cost of horse rescue - FEED!  So often, enough of the proper feed prevents problems that grantors WILL help with, such as colic surgeries! Thanks to BEWF, the horses at TGC were provided with breakfast hay for the whole summer! THANK YOU, BEWF! Any time you get tired of supporting TGC, donate to BEWF who provides grants for feed, for structures, for surgeries, for horses all over the nation.

 

 

I am particularly grateful for that grant, as well as the donation of Marilyn Braly, which made this summer less stressful for me than usual. Normally, I save money for the first 5-6 months of the year, to cover the summer months which are normally barren of donations. This year was no exception, and the first six months of the year had been low in donations as well. The loss of four horses (Deb and Mary, Mr. Happy Grump and Cha-cha), and their final expenses, was adding to the difficulties. BEWF and Ms. Braley made the summer bearable for me and comfortable for the horses. THANK YOU BOTH!

 

Laddie is coming home

 

Although in April everyone felt Laddie was doing great under training with Neighsavers and looking gorgeous, after getting a clean bill of health from their vet, now Laddie is "not sound for riding" - apparently he now flinches even for grooming of his back, let alone when a saddle is put on. His personality has also changed for the worse, as the farm he is fostered at reports he attacks other horses, without exception. This is NOT the Laddie we knew here. Karin has done so much for him, but she’s not set up to keep him as a sanctuary horse and has requested that we take him back, to free up a stall for a horse she feels she can rehab and rehome. I’m very hopeful that with some layup here, he will heal and become our sweet nutty Laddie again. At any rate, either NeighSavers is right and Laddie is not sound for riding, in which case he qualifies to live at TGC as "manageably disabled", another victim of racing, or he needs layup and freedom to heal from a possible injury - and either way, he’s coming home. I hope I’m right. He’s only 7 years old!  Karin was going to have an equine chiro look at him, but last Friday, Laddie colicked! With the holiday weekend, she had to call an emergency vet, which used up his chiro funds....  We are working now on getting him here, as Laurie can look at his back and hopefully find something she can adjust.  Always generous, Karin is helping TGC with costs of building a stall for Laddie, and of course paying his transport from Northern Cal to here.

 

 

Horses - Welfare

 

This summer, I’ve been getting some dental work done on some of my elderly horses that didn’t gain weight the way I wanted this summer after the longest, coldest winter I can remember. Sunny and Victor were done, Buddy needed a little more work on that one longer tooth that touches his upper jaw, and Navigator, Prophet and Beau were done last Friday. I’ll have the doc out to check Oso, Remy and Bruhad next. Most of the horses look fine, but these elderly guys are looking thin, although no one is ‘cudding’. It’s hard to float the older guys’ teeth - the teeth are growing much more slowly and if you take too much, the grinders won’t meet. So we try to keep the points down (that prevent the jaw from grinding side to side) and that’s just about all.  As always, Dr. Z gives me a great deal, but getting dental work is one of the more expensive 'maintenance' expenses here.  If anyone wants to donate towards these costs, it would sure be appreciated!

 

I was very surprised to hear the doctor say that neither Buck, nor Sooner, really had much wrong with their teeth, and due to Buck’s age and Sooner’s poor condition, he didn’t want to sedate them for so little. So in an effort to get some weight back on Buck (who’s showing a little rib) and maybe help Sooner, I’ve started an early morning bucket for them just like Buddy - maybe they’re not able to get enough grass, you know? And with his weird stance, I’m actually wondering how easy it is for Sooner to eat off the ground?

 

Finally, Oso has boogered up his left knee. It’s not hot, but it is swollen. He lifts his leg when I massage it for him, and bears weight including walk and trot. I’m not sure if he’s been laying down because the knee hurts, or if he hurt the knee getting up, but I’ll be keeping an eye on that, and if it’s still swollen, have the doc look at it when he comes out for the next floatings...

 

My friend Jan Heppert donated a bottle of "Well Horse" - a topical medication that has had wondrous results. Spencer’s hip wound, which had every kind of medical care available, closed in only a week after I started applying this stuff. It came to my attention on FB, and I found a video of a particular use of this product in aiding laminitic horses. I have to get the tool (approximately $100), and more Well-Horse ($25), and the other medication ($20) but am working toward that in an attempt to see if this treatment will help Sara and possibly even Rocky’s bad foot. While trying to get that together, I’ve found another treatment, much less invasive and much easier, called Equisocks. I’m gonna try that first, as it had impressive results both for a laminitic foot similar to Sara’s, and is as easy as wrapping a foot which will work great for Rocky. This will also be less costly, and works well with the hoof in a natural way, rather than metal shoes which cause a lot of problems (they’re often referred to as a ‘necessary evil’.)

 

I feel at this point we’ve tried everything for Rocky and Sara without any appreciable success - we’re gonna try these new treatments and see if we can make a difference in their comfort levels at least. Sara’s sponsor has given some extra this month towards this project, thanks Margaret! And, Thanks Jan, for stepping up.

 

 

Volunteers and workers - I’m giving up!

 

The two volunteers I reported on in early July lasted 3 weeks in one case, and just over a month in the other! To be fair, Ashley had transportation difficulties. She was very helpful to me when she could get here, and I’m sorry she’s gone. I’m still not sure why the other volunteer was here at all. I don’t get the volunteer thing. The help needed here is all hard dirty work. Grooming; bathing or exercising the horses; cleaning stalls; fixing stalls and fences, even filling water barrels that need to be dumped and scrubbed. Nothing is glamourous except the horses themselves! So why come here to "help", and then either be unable, or unwilling, to do the work? About the time I get them familiar with the chores, they give up. VISITORS, however, are always welcome!

 

However, I actually prepared a Help Wanted flier. I described the work in detail, indicated we would provide the tools, offering $10 per hour. I had precisely three responses! Two obvious tweakers. One guy seemed sort of ok, but turned out to be a looney-tunes! However, one day that he worked here neighbor Mike worked with him, and so Comet and Allie finally have completed stalls, all snug for winter.

 

Yay!

 

But, I’m still fretting over several of the worst worn stalls, and how I’ll find help to repair them. Good news is, neighbor Mike came home from the swap meet with the number of Mike Sweet - here he is, fixing the fence!  I have great hopes for this man, seems capable and has a good heart.

 

At this point in time, I have two open stalls. I haven’t filled them mostly because two of my main stalls flood badly in the winter, and I intended to move those two horses into the open stalls when that happened. Even before knowing that Laddie was returning, I really needed to build two new stalls, along the main stall line in the South Stream area, so I don’t have to lead Silver and Keller out everyday (I’m set up here to put fly masks on, open their gate and let them run out to eat). Keller in particular can be frisky on a cool morning, and I’d like to put him back next to Oso, his best bud.

 

So between the ease of maintenance, whether to take in new horses, Laddie’s return, moving existing residents around, I’m really hoping for some new donations, and some help (fingers crossed that Mr. Sweet and the other possibilty work out) to help winterize the stalls and make repairs, and perhaps build two more out. That would leave me with two extra stalls - to be used when the rains come and flood the two open stalls.

 

In addition to Mr. Sweet, though, I might have a work crew coming this Sunday (fingers crossed) - I'll have them put up the stalls if so. I don't want to say more and jinx it....

 

NEW Horses

 

Well, Laddie isn't exactly NEW, but as mentioned above, he'll be coming back, perhaps for as much as his lifetime, but hopefully just for a year....

 

In addition, I've been approached by a local family.  The parents died in a car crash. (It was sad, the lady who called was clearly still shaky about it.) They were able to rehome two of their parent's horses, but one is left, an elderly (30-ish) Arabian mare named Lola. They don't have homes with space, or the know how, to care for horses.

 

  Who in the world could resist that face? This little lady is too old, like our Prophet, to be working at anything except being well, and maybe carrying a little kid around now and then.  I want to help her, and the kids are willing to send some money with her to help in her golden years.  I need a little more support for her, anyone interested?  Maybe another $25 a month?  She's been well cared for in the sense of floating her teeth (a few months ago), getting her feet trimmed and utd on wormer and vaccinations. But I think we can see she needs a few more calories...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, my beloved workcart Lou has been having troubles. Turns out, with the on/off feature of this cart, starting it 20 times a day or so really hammers the batteries (like a golf cart, every time you take your foot off the gas, the vehicle stops). I have learned the hard way I have to add water to them - it’s like going back in time to have batteries that need maintenance! "-) And o how much I LOVE my workcart. Hauling feed around for this many horses is just brutal without him.

 

So now summer is ending. Most everyone is back to the usual school and work routines. I’m hoping people will consider the Golden Carrot horses, and whether they can help to keep us going, keep these horses in good form thru the coming winter. We’ve missed having visitors and would love to see any of you who can find your way here including a few of you more local sponsors! And our need for your support continues. The more you can help us, the more horses we can help, it’s as simple as that. While the vet was here, I got two emails and three phone calls from people wanting to dump their horses. These poor horses NEED our help! Can you help?

 

 

 Medina, asking for help too!

 

I understand if you’re struggling - remember, I’m the one who can’t pay for health care! But you CAN help by spreading the word. If enough people sent in $10 month, it would make all the difference. The Golden Carrot has well over 400 members on its FB group. $10 from all of those folks would keep all of these horses well fed. It’s all numbers, so the more people who know of our need, the better our chances. Please tell everyone you know.

 

In addition, you can do your online shopping by signing up with www.iGive.com, name TGC as your charity, and a percentage of your purchase will come to us.  If you have an old car, and want to donate it, TGC can get a percentage of it's value. And remember, even $10 a month from enough people can make the lives of these horses, and more, comfortable in their vulnerable old age. 

 

Thank you, for anything you can do.

Casey

 

Prophet and Topper