The Golden Carrot Newsletter's Archive

 

October 2009 Newsletter

The Golden Carrot

 

1. Website is DONE!

Website is done, finally! Credit card donations CAN be accepted via the Paypal link, and at the same location is an additional credit card link that does not go through Paypal. I hope you’ll take full advantage of that! Please visit the site and let me know what you think! If you find any errors, or links that don’t work, let me know so I can fix them, please!
 
All recurring credit card donations which had been scheduled are no longer operational. Please go to http://thegoldencarrot.org/Help.asp and you will see your options to reschedule your donation. I am desperately hoping you can and will do this, as things are as tough here as everywhere else, and I still need your help! Remember, those of you who have not done it before, a monthly donation of even $10 or $20 can make a huge difference here at the Golden Carrot!
 
 
2. Labor Day Pictures, Finally!
 

I finally got the pictures of my end of summer visit from Julia, Kaylee and Alex up at http://goldencarrotrescue.com/LaborDayVisit2009.aspx and hope you can take a peek at that.


3. Horse Show in November!

My volunteer Sierra continues to help TGC horses, and me, and we have decided to take her, Joyful and Prophet to the Tierra Del Norte Arabian Horse Association Community Show on November 8, 2009. TDNAHA is a wonderful organization, who have been supporters of TGC and co-sponsor (with Debra Duncan) of Bruhad for a couple of years. They also gather used tack (including many useful blankets for the horses,) for me to pick up twice a year when I work the morning half of their show. I have to work as ring steward, and so I’m happy to report that Sierra’s parents, and my neighbor Mike, will join us to help get Sierra ready for the classes and handle the horses. If you’re interested in attending as our cheering section, give me a call or email for details! We’ll only be there for the morning, but if you can’t make it, keep an eye out for next months’ newsletter where I hope to have some great photos!

In addition, Sierra has ridden Hershey, Song, Sara, and has been ground driving Ronan with such success that we’re now deciding when she’ll ride him. I have posted photos of her rides on the page of the appropriate horses, and some more pictures of her working with Ronan. Check out their pages to see her work. And again, I urge you to consider donating a few bucks towards her gas, as her help has been invaluable. To have a volunteer with her skills - with green Ronan, with blind Brave, and grooming, exercising and riding the other horses, well, it’s a lot of hard work for which I often don’t have time. She also finds time to help me fill water barrels and put the horses away, and always notices if anyone has a booboo. A tremendous help!
 
 
4. New resident: Brave
Shirley Puga, who sent Surely here last November, sent out another plea for some horses - hours away from climbing into the next slaughterbound truck. The pictures she sent included one old horse (supposedly 18-20), a small, sad, skinny, bigheaded, ugly appaloosa. My heart went out to him - based on that picture and his age, he didn’t have much chance of someone wanting to help him out. So I said, ok, Anna’s stall is still vacant....
Well, it turns out, Brave is very handsome, with very little white and an elegant, subdued coloring like a stormy sky, much larger than the picture indicated, in fairly good flesh, and ...... blind. He’s very well behaved and obviously trusting while on a lead, so Marlene and Shirley didn’t realize he was blind until he was at Marlene’s ranch, where they watched him run into things if not specifically directed. O my. For years I’ve avoided accepting blind horses, because the Golden Carrot main paddock is very large, varied in size and terrain, and parts of it are full of brush and boulders.
 
Well, in choosing Brave for his name, I wasn’t kidding. This guy is smart enough to use sound (including the sound of his own cries off buildings etc) to locate structures. He’s counted his steps and probably uses scent to know exactly where his stall is. He does seem to possibly see shadows with his right eye, and will drop his head at any darkness on the ground (shadow or water) and carefully circle around it. He knew the exact dimensions of his stall after only a couple of hours. It took him a few tries to determine how to orient himself to come out of the stall without bumping his hips but he’s got it now. And the first day that I called him to his gate, and invited him to come out independently, he carefully walked the length of the stall line, clearly following the fenceline after that, and on reaching the top of the corridor leading to the main paddock, threw up his head and called, and trotted briskly straight at the herd! He was careful in placing his feet, head high and ears pricked and swiveling at every sound, but trying with his best effort to appear ‘normal’ and friendly to the herd. I believe I felt the same pride and fear that a mother feels watching her youngster walk to the bus stop by himself for the first time! He was walked out every day for about 5 days by myself, my neighbor and Sierra, but this was still astonishing to me.
 
And then, the herd. I can hardly tell you how moved I was to see how kind they are to him. Even Chacha, who of course snaked out her head and swooped down on him, did NOT bite him, merely threatened, and veered off. He was aware of her approach of course, thundering hooves, but simply dropped his head and turned a little away from her - defusing her attack that simply. Hershey and Bruhad have been very kind to him, and Swing’s Lew has brought tears to my eyes in his kind attentions. At one point, I saw Brave heading toward a big mud puddle, and before I could move to intercept him, Lew had moved quietly and quickly around to his right side, and used his own body to steer Brave gently to the left, away from the puddle. And Sierra brought Brave back to his stall one day to find Ronan and Bruhad in it - and as they thundered out and started to turn into her and Brave, Lew FLEW at them, head stretched out and jaws gaping, and turned them away, keeping Sierra and Brave safe! Its amazing - there can be no doubt that he knows Brave is blind. I don’t know how this will work out - Lew has a harem of ladies who may take exception to his spending time with Brave - and will keep you posted.
Sierra has formed a sweet bond with Brave as well, and has worked with him in the round pen on a lunge line. He was thrilled at this, understands the concept and although he prefers to lunge left hand track (where he can hear Sierra on his bad side, and have his "good" eye on the fenceline), he bucks and canters freely, confident that the line is steering him safely! And this is much needed exercise, as he can’t really run free ... He is smart enough though, on the days Sierra doesn’t come and I can’t lunge him, to trot up and down the stall line about 10 times a day, while I clean stalls. A real smart guy!
Brave, of course, needs a sponsor! He seems to be an easy keeper and doesn’t need shoes. Anyone?



5.  Request for Help in StallRoof Repairs

In my last newsletter, I asked for help in replacing some rotting roof panels on the stalls, and building out Savannah’s stall before the rains start in earnest. I know LA recently got hit by a big storm, but unfortunately (or fortunately, I’m not sure which), we didn’t get a drop. But it’s coming, and I did have some inquiries about exactly what is needed. So here we go:
      Roof panels (for roofing and upper stall panels) (I need at least 30) cost $12.33 per sheet.
      Lower stall panels (I need 5) cost $15.33 per sheet
      2x4x8 (I need at least 20) cost $2.13 each
      4x4x8 (I need 5) cost $5.87 apiece
 
So, to complete Savannah’s stall, for materials I need $172.95; I believe Albino can put that together for $100.00 - so a total of $272.95.
 
Albino’s labor in removing old roofing panels and replacing them comes at $12 per hour. He’s fast, and strong and a wonderfully conscientious worker - no slacking off! But this is difficult work, climbing up and down ladders and both removing and replacing panels on a pretty old and rickety roof structure, so he has to take care.
If anyone can help with this, I would be very grateful. Although each horse has shelter, those of you who have seen my stall line know it’s really in need of repair and reinforcement.
 
And I’ll end this letter as I do all of them - begging you to remember these wonderful horses who even in their golden years are so happy to help all the people who visit to have a good time, and who recently, with Brave, have shown me the sweetness of their souls as they accept this truly disabled horse into their fold. Any help you can send will be deeply appreciated by them, and by me!  This newletter provides links for credit card donation, and at that link are other ways to donate. Money is needed as always, endlessly, for feed; for lumber for repairs; for labor for repairs; and hopefully a little for Sierra.  I know it's hard.  But as I mentioned, even $10 or $20 per month from enough people will do so much.  Thanks for considering it, and for telling your friends, co-employees and family - we need all the supporters we can get!
 
 
Thank you all!
Casey