A new life begins

Second Chance's Ochre, a 7yo Anglo Arab gelding is coming to me tomorrow (April 6th). He was surrendered to us at the end of February and was gelded shortly thereafter. Until now he's been with a temporary foster carer, recieving correct feeding for the first time in many years and also recovering from his castration.

Now he comes to me to take the next step - learning to become a model citizen of the equine world.

I thought I'd record his progress on here for everyone so they can see what sort of work we regularly do with horses. He is the 4th entire, barely handled rescue we've had in and he needs a lot of work.

So, here we go - starting stats:

Name: Second Chance's Ochre
Age: 7yo (rising 8)
Height: Approx 15.2hh
Breed: Anglo Arab
Colour: Chestnut

History: We were told that as a foal Ochre was bottle raised. We believe this to be true as like many bottle raised babies he has no fear at all of people, is very in-your-face and is quite a friendly boy most of the time.

He came to us through a lady who worried for his future. He used to belong to her neighbor who kept a group of approximately 12 horses in a paddock. These horses were mostly left to their own devices and did not recieve adequate feeding, were not wormed, never got dental or hoof care and bred indescriminately for many years. We have been told Ochre was owned by the same person from birth.

Eventually the person who owned them all left the property and abandoned them there. She did come to take away her two favourites but the remainder were signed over to the neighbor so that she could home them. All but Ochre were rehomed by kindly experienced locals and as there was nobody else prepared to take a mature aged, mostly unhandled stallion it looked as though Ochre would get the bullet.

Handling: Ochre is halter broken and ties up. He can be easily caught and led however he has no concept of personal space and frequently tries to walk on his handler. He has been washed and seems to have no undue fear of the hose and water being squirted on him.

Bad habits:
Ochre has a strong survival instinct. Because he is used to periods of starvation, he will behave contentedly with abundant food at his disposal however if he runs out of grazing or hay, he will repeatedly test fencing until he can break through to find food. Ochre does not trust people to provide him with food and looks after his own survival.

He also will rear and strike if overfaced or if he feels threatened and he has bitten a handler once before.

Good habits:
Ochre is very friendly and approachable. He likes a good scratch and will happily follow a person around his enclosure to see what they're doing. He is well socialised and gets along with other horses well. He is very calm and doesn't appear to be frightened of much. He is intelligent and learns quickly.

Needs to learn:
- Personal space and to respect human handlers
- Pick up hooves for trimming and cleaning
- To have no fear of being touched all over
- Float loading with confidence
- To accept having legs bandaged, wormers, immunisations
- To lunge comfortably
- To accept saddle, bridle, rugs, lunge rollers etc
- Mouthing
- Starting and training under saddle for walk, trot and canter.

This is a lot of work and will be undertaken over several months to ensure that Ochre is happy to do as asked and has no fear of us and the things we will be asking him to learn and do.

Photos:
Ochre the first day he came into SC's care.


A more recent photograph after 2 weeks of good feeding and worming. Also after castration - showing a large improvement in his condition.

The Duty

Its been a while since I last posted, I've been busy as usual and not much of it is material I can post. So I thought I'd post this subject which is very important to me.



The Duty

"We order the time of their conception and the time of their death. In between we have a Duty."
~ Terry Pratchett - "A Hat Full Of Sky"

And it is true. We order just about everything in their lives. We make demands of them that is most unnatural. We expect and desire their unquestioning obedience. We use them for pleasure, for entertainment, for companionship, to make money and for our egos. We rarely give them choices unless it is a choice between what we want and discomfort.

We have a duty to care for them. We have a duty to ensure that they are safe, comfortable, happy and secure in themselves. We have a duty to provide for them as they cannot provide for themselves and we have a DUTY to learn as much as we can about them and to always seek more knowledge for their benefit.

I spoke to a person this week concerning an underweight horse. This person told me the horse was fed twice a day however in my opinion for that particular horse's circumstances she was not getting enough. The person told me that his mate had done her teeth a few months ago but this mate is not qualified nor attended any sort of course. The person told me with all the conviction of a seasoned horseman that blood tests only show if a horse has worms or not. I was completely gob-smacked. That is pretty much the only thing a BLOOD TEST can't tell!!!

This person considers themselves very experienced. Unfortunately because of this train of thought - this person is not interested in trying everything to get the horse back to proper health and is neglecting their duty as the animal's carer and provider.

And should the day come when they break down or we decide we don't want them or that they don't suit our needs and wants - it is our responsibility and our duty to spend the time, dollars and effort to ensure they go to a good home or live out a kind retirement, or are put to sleep with dignity. There's no "I don't want it, give it to the first person to come asking, I can't be bothered with the hassle." If you didn't want a hassle why did you get a horse?

We owe it to them. Just as we owe it to our children. We have a duty and we must uphold that. I know I couldn't live with myself not to and I will gladly and have frequently sacrificed something for myself to ensure my horse never goes without.

Obesity can KILL!

Being overweight can cause serious health issues and even kill a horse or pony.


Here is a dire warning for everyone, a message to be constantly viligant on your horses. Not, for the most commonly held notion of neglect - starvation... but for a just as common problem yet not as well known - over feeding.

Over feeding and having your animals (any animal, not just horses!) obese can make them seriously ill and yes, it can also be the death of them. Don't overfeed because they call to you or you feel bad for putting them in the diet paddock on rations. Don't kill with kindness. Please be careful.

Currently one of the SC rescues is fighting for her life. Right now she has a 50/50 chance of survival and getting through to live another good few years before her time comes. All because of being over fed and fed junk that I wouldn't even feed to chickens unless they were due to be eaten soon!

Second Chance's Beauty came to us from Gingin along with several others including her constant companion Velvet. Both ponies were dangerously obese, showed signs of foundering in the past and at great risk of foundering again. They had been fed some sort of pellet/pollard/bran mix which has overloaded their systems with fat.

For a while, they were doing exceptionally well. A strict diet was enforced to bring them back from the brink of founder and both were starting to be able to get around much more comfortably. And then ever so slowly Beauty began to be a little off-colour, a little listless which we put down to her drench a couple of weeks ago. When she really began to go downhill the vet was summoned immediately and she was rushed down to Serpentine Veterinary Hospital for care.

She wasn't eating nor drinking and was dehydrated and feeling very off. Blood tests and liver function tests were done and we got our diagnosis.

The scientific name is 'hepatic lipidosis' or hyperlipidemia syndrome (also called 'fatty liver'). It is quite a common problem in miniature horses and ponies and also in donkeys. It was not caused by Beauty's weight loss (which was necessary to control her laminitis) but was most likely set off when Beauty was drenched, wormed and vaccinated, which caused mild diarrhoea and she went off her feed a little, this caused a negative energy balance in her body and started the whole process.

The fat deposits in the liver and causes liver damage and impaired liver function. Beauty's liver function is still adequate for survival as long as we can prevent any further damage and control her energy balance by increasing her appetite. If she has another episode and recurrence of hyperlipidemia, she is unlikely to survive without very intense treatment (such as tube feeding her 4-6 times each day).

Fingers crossed she continues to improve and we can stabilise her current liver function.

Velvet too began to come down with the same symptoms and had the same diagnosis however she was not nearly as bad as Beauty. Another liver enzym test done today revealed that she is improving a little since she has begun supportive care with our hard working Vet so there is some hope.

But it all hinges on the next blood test at the end of next week. If Beauty is continuing to improve, she'll be allowed to come home and will have to be carefully cared for and monitored for the rest of her days. If there is no improvement, we may well have to put her to sleep.

So please, if you love your pets, go and ensure that the diet they are on is not detrimental to their health. If in doubt, ask your vet or better yet a qualified Equine Nutritionist. They are out there and getting a diet prescribed does NOT COST MUCH. It will most likely save you an awful lot of heartache and your pony a heck of a lot of pain and discomfort.

Here are photos the day we met the ponies back in December 07. Waaaaaay too fat.

Saved at the eleventh hour

A new rescue has arrived with one of our Field Officer's and foster carer's. A 9yo bay TB gelding that had suffered a bad run with inexperienced owners.

He was verbally surrendered to Second Chance literally 45 minutes before he was due to be shot and the official paperwork was signed two days later.

His owner had only had him a short time and had bitten off more than she could chew. Thinking she was doing the right thing, she gave the horse to a local farrier however 4 months later, the farrier gave him back.

Having moved to another town with no resources to do anything with him, it was decided perhaps he ought to be put down as he'd been a very difficult horse to load onto a trailer and they were concerned he may be dangerous particularly in the wrong hands. Time was running out and a decision had to be made.

And then a friend of his owner thought to contact us and of course one thing led to another and the poor boy was given another chance.

At the moment there isn't any photos available however if I get any I will certainly add them on.

This sweet natured horse is a bit of an artful dodger when it comes to getting out of something he doesn't want to do which we believe is a large part of his issues. He is however also very sore in the back and does have confidence issues and appears to be afraid of ropes. We are confident however with the right home, he'll be a superb little horse once he has completed his rehabilitation.

New chappie on the block

Our 7th rescue for 2008 has just been signed over this weekend. He is an unregistered Anglo Arab stallion standing at approx 15.1hh and he is around 7/8 years old.

This guy had a tough go, his owner allowed him to run with mares 24/7 and he was breeding with his own sisters indescriminately. He suffered a cut to a hind leg (most likely on poor fencing by the look of it) which was never treated, his teeth are a mess which is the main reason for his scrawny appearance. This chap has a parrot mouth which of course needs even more regular dental care than a horse without this fault.

He's lightly handled and needs castration and work of course but I feel he'll make a nice riding horse with the hard yakka put in. He's well socialised at least and has a nice temperment even though he bit the Vet that went to see him! He needs somebody to handle him properly for a few months and he'll be a model of obedience.

No name yet, still trying to decide what to call him. Why oh why are there so many people around that will allow this to happen with their horses and then when the manure hits the fan they just cut and run, leaving the equines behind?

There is no excuse for this! Ever!

Under no circumstances whatsoever is there any excuse for a horse or pony to look like this. These two are Arty and Blossom, rescued this week from a large property where they'd been left to die along with many other animals.

Their rescuer emailed me today, allowing me to use these photos to highlight why Second Chance exists. This is happening, right now, in our own backyards. On tucked away places away from the public eye, animals are winding up like this. How can anyone possibly live with themselves allowing any animal to get to this state? These has to be the thinnest ponies I have ever seen so far and still breathing.

Please, if your animal is starting to look bad, call a Vet or call us! Stop it before it gets to what I call the 'death row' look. If your animals are starting to drop off weight, do something before it becomes a life or death struggle for somebody else to help them.

SC Quiz Night a resounding success!

Wow what fun! Even the organisers and helpers had a great time so that is saying something.
Again a HUUUUUUGE thanks to Gail Kegie for her hard work bringing this all together as Project Manager and making it such a fantastic night. You did a marvelous job, mate :)
Thanks to Sheona (Deschuur) for the platters, thanks to our lovely judges, our super MC John Robertson who really made the night and everyone who helped.

Congratulations to the winning team, the Red Demons. You guys did a great job on some really hard questions, well done!

Here are some photos from the evening...

170 participants


Our panel of judges


The winners of the evening, The Red Demons who looked positively delighted with their prizes as they divvied them up.


Our wonderful MC John Robertson, who was the star of the night and despite knowing diddly squat about horse racing did a wonderful 'race call of the prizes' for us!


Hmmm can't half guess where this lot are from!


The Wild Bunch, formerly known as the Pooper Scoopers who were last year's defending champions


Second place went to The Pony Pals team who did a fantastic job and lost by just ONE point!


The winners of the 'Best Dressed' team, team Lackanooki


It was nice to see that some participants came well presented...


Everyone having a crack at the dancing at our half-time break with the Swing Zing dance troupe.

And HUGE congrats to Kylie Jones who won the 5 night family holiday!

Overall we raised just over $3,300 for our cause. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Rescue update; Nova

Nova is the oddly coloured mini pony that's photo features on this blog (see right) and also on the SC main page at the moment. She came to us from Gingin with her companions after her owner passed away.

Nova had severely overgrown and deformed hooves as a result of founder coupled with no farrier attention for around 6 years or so. She and the others lived on sand, so there was no hard ground to wear away the hooves naturally either.

Here is some photos of when she first came to our care.




At first we thought she would have to be euthanased but after consultation with several Equine Veterinarians, Xrays, farrier and physio treatment coupled with a careful diet and some TLC she is still with us and as happy as anything.

She still stands with her toes pointing down because her tendons have contracted due to having to stand like that for so long on overgrown hooves.

However our trusty Vets (she sees them regularly) assure us she's in no undue pain, she's getting around OK and ever so slowly the tendons are beginning to let down again. It is likely she'll never be 100% normal however she will very likely be paddock sound enough to make a great pet as she's the sweetest little girl with a heart of gold.

It isn't that hard to keep a horse healthy

Oh sure, it is hellishly expensive, and takes a fair bit of adequate knowledge, but keeping a horse healthy ain't that hard. If you're not spending a lot and you're finding it 'hard' to keep the weight on your horse, please find help fast before things get unmanageable.

Case study; Asha.
12yo TB mare, came to SC's care on the 14th of Feb. She had a 4 and a half month-old foal at foot. Despite her owner telling us that they'd 'done all they could and fed her heaps every day' this is how she looked.




Now she's had her foal weaned, her teeth seen to by a qualified dentist, she has been wormed properly, she has also been fed correctly. Yes, mares do tend to drop off weight when suckling a foal however if they are recieving adequate care, they DO NOT drop off this much. If your broodmare has dropped off this much weight with adequate care and no other serious medical issue being tended to by a vet, you're doing it WRONG. This photograph below was taken today just 5 weeks later.





If she can look this good in 5 weeks after just receiving basic, correct care, imagine how good she'll look in another 5 weeks as we step up her feeding and carry on with her handling and training & exercise?

Her personality is also changing. She is no longer agitated and nervous. She comes trotting to the gate, calling when she sees her carer appear. She is content to stand with a person to be groomed or scratched whereas she used to fidget and stress. She no longer has the fear of having her legs brushed and she is well mannered to handle.

This is not ethical horse care

Folks this is not how a horse is supposed to look! This girl is Duchess, the most recent rescue for SC. She was bought from the pound for $1 because her owner couldn't be bothered coming to get her. So now she is not his problem and he gets away with allowing his animal to look like this. He still owns tonnes more that are, we are told, always getting out. At one point he had 14 horses impounded at once! Can I say "FENCING"? It is most important to maintain good and safe fencing!

This girl has a list of issues as long as my arm. Are you ready?
- Superficial cuts/bites
- Body score of 1.5 (healthy is around 3 or 4)
- Skewed spine
- Knee that bows out when she walks
- Full of worms
- Teeth are in shocking condition
- Hooves are just about falling apart under her, she is walking on her soles
- Deep cuts on two legs
- Deep cut on her side which got her artery (been sewn up)

And this is mostly external stuff! Who knows what's going on inside, we're going to arrange to her her pelvis and knee Xrayed as apparently she was hit by a car some time ago and her back is right out. The knee is another story, who knows what is going on with that.

Would you just look at her?





Duchess will be undergoing some serious rehab and will never be ridable. Apart from the obvious like feeding, worming, dental work etc, she'll also need a lot physio too. At this stage our Vet is confident she isn't in undue pain and once given TLC her qulity of life will be good as a pasture pet but we just don't know what those Xrays may show.

Even so she is an absolute delight to handle and will allow us to do anything at all with her. She has perfect manners and has been such a good girl.

Her two companions who were also bought from the Pound are in much better shape and indeed look superb on the outside. We are yet to investigate their inner workings to see what they need. Dental and worming is definate but the youngest, a 3yo, needs some work first as she is so scared of everyone.


Cut on her leg


Skewed spine

Full-on February

As usual it has been all systems go.

The newsletters have been giving us a bit of grief. First up a new computer program has not worked as it should although this may well be due to the operator who isn't overly familiar with it, and then for some reason our printers haven't recieved it so with any luck we'll have them printed and posted by Tuesday!

We've checked out a few more reports of skinny horses and helped along the owners where possible. Now we hope that they take the advice and sort their horses out rather than just leaving them to get worse. I always give the owners benefit of the doubt to begin with and sometimes I am delighted with how it turns out and sometimes I am horrified at some people's lack of responsibility for their animals.

We had a foster carer workshop this morning, Louise Atkinson who is a Parelli Level 4 person donated her morning to go through some tips and tricks and exercises to assist foster carers with common problems that crop up with rescues. It was very useful and enlightening, and I know I am safe to say all those who attended came back with something they could use in the future to help their horses.

We have been notified about some needy neglected horses needing help however with a couple, somebody else has already taken them on (and good on you whoever you are, we wish you the best of luck with them) and the last one, the owner is reluctant to relinquish the horse. We're not sure why as it is clear he either cannot or will not provide her with proper care but there is some reason.

I am beginning to think I should've gone to Uni to study phsychology... there's so many things I just can't understand about people that I wish I had some sort of insight into! I think I get along with troubled horses much better than troubled people.

The Quiz night is fast approaching and we're hoping it will live up to expectations. Gail Kegie one of our project managers has done such a stellar job organising the whole thing and we've got some truly super prizes up for grabs. I can't wait! It's gearing up to be another fantastic night.

Have you booked a table yet? No? Well I do hope you're coming because we're aiming to have something for everyone on the night.

Amazing what a difference a little TLC can make

On my travells today I went up to see 2 of our rescue ponies at their foster home. The difference in the pair is amazing!

The first difference most noticable is their appearance. One of the mares, Beauty, is very much the same as she wasn't in too bad a condition when we picked her up, but Velvet (we think is Beauty's daughter as they share very very simular unique markings) is a whole new pony!

Here's Velvet when we picked her up:


Disgustingly over-length hooves, bald at the top of her tail, obese and absolutley riddled with worms.

Now, 6 weeks later she has lost some weight, her hooves have been trimmed back comfortably so she can actually walk rather than just hobble! She's been wormed and the hair around the top of her tail is growing back beautifully.

She also has daily interaction with rowdy children and both she and Beauty have proven themselves to be practically bomb-proof lead-rein ponies. Beauty is quite timid around adults but very gentle and perfectly obedient for the children. Velvet is a touch more confident and will boss the kids at tea time but is generally very well behaved!

Another month or so should see both ready for new homes.

Whirlwind

What a busy week!

To add insult to injury, poor Romeo had an abcess on his cheek which burst and of course we're now cleaning it out twice daily which he isn't enjoying and to be honest neither are we much, nasty stinky thing. Poor boy!

We have been assisting the property owners of the location we rescued Asha and Harmony from, offering advice for a tricky situation involving two of the remaining horses on their land and have made several trips out at their request to give what assistance and advice we could. We've recieved word that their owner hasn't been to see them in almost two weeks now and so feed has been provided as she has not organised feed for them.

Also Asha's foal which is currently in care due to his pnuemonia was well on the mend when the poor fellow have his carers an absolute heart attack started having seizures or fits at around 8:30 last night. The Vet was called immediately and went over him from top to tail and her diagnosis was a concussion. She began treatment immediately which involved an injection of steroids to help stop his body reacting so violently and now the poor lad must be kept in and quiet for a few days and very closely monitored. However great news; he's eating well and looks like he's recovering nicely but he won't be completely out of the woods for a day or two. If he survives I'd like to vote a name change; to Cat - he seems to have 9 lives! (well, 7 now)

I made the trip down to Boddington yesterday to see Oscar and Nemo and to try them under saddle to see how they'd go. Oscar is so fat if he's a mare I'd be expecting a foal any day! He truly runs on the smell of a chaff bag as he has 3 hours of grazing and 2 tiny hard feeds a day for his vits more than anything and still looks like a beached whale. So we're restricting his diet a bit more whilst he isn't working.

He's not a happy camper under saddle. He was incredibly grouchy about the whole thing, and incredibly resistant. There was no go button at all and it took half an hour of ask, turn and reward to get him even walking around the round-yard. He resisted at any change of direction, resisted any attempt to get a trot and resisted any effort to get his walk more animated. He crabbed and cow-kicked and even managed a full pig-root, ears plastered to his head.

I get the distinct impression that the poor chap hasn't been broken to saddle at all and the people who owned him just jumped on expecting a good ride and then gave him hell when he didn't know what they wanted. Now he's just sour and still doesn't know what we want. So over the next couple of weeks, we'll move him up to one of our more specialist carers for some riding and groundwork to install an accelerator! (The brakes work just fine, thanks!)

Today the feed order has arrived and so I must sign off and get out there and sort it all out.

First Aid a real success

Yesterday saw us launch 2008's educational services with the Horse Health & First Aid Workshop. I was so pleased, it went very well and everyone had a great time and learned a lot about general horse health, various diseases, illnesses and lamenesses that affect horses and how to diagnose and treat them. We will be holding another in March so keep your eyes open for information on that one!

I had a busy morning, got up early to feed the horses here, then scooted to Oakford to pick up two of the test subjects only to find Shishka, one of the Gingin rescues had foundered! The poor girl has been borderline since we collected her and we've been working hard to try and prevent her going down that road as we can tell by her hooves she's foundered before but sadly she went downhill yesterday. So I put her in a sandy yard, gave her water and shifted the two horses for the Workshop and then drove back to Oakford to meet the Vet.

She checked Shishka over, gave her a shot of bute and we booked the poor darling in for Xrays. The farrier's booked and she's now on a diet of soaked hay (gets a lot of the sugar out) and a handful of chaff to mix her magnesium and bute in.

Then I drove back to Kelmscott to help with the workshop, and then came back up for our other vet Donna Colvin to take a look at Spud and she decided she wanted to Adopt him which is fantastic! Then back to the workshop for the end of it, load the horses up and take them back to Oakford again.

Then I had my own horses to clean up after and feed, then a family to feed as well. It never ends in this line of work but every minute is worth it.

Today was orientation for our new Apprentices and everyone seems very keen and gung ho about it so I have a very positive vibe about SC's 2008 progress!

The last couple of days has been so busy! Wednesday the 16th saw us arrive to collect Harmony. She did the usual ears-back-grinding-teeth routine so I spent a few minutes leading her around and working on her manners. She wanted to push past me often so I kept halting her and asking her to back up when she did this. She often flattened her ears and ground her teeth at me, a sign of annoyance that I was not leaving her alone. But after a few minutes she began to get better and not do it so much. I think the key with her was to reinforce my position by asking her to back out of my space when she did this and then praising her the moment her ears came forward and she relaxed. I let her go again whilst I waiting for the float to arrive.

When it did, with the two people helping me, Gary went to catch her. Harmony didn't want to know and trotted off down the paddock. "Should have left the halter on." Neryl remarked. So I had a go to catch her and what do you know she just stood up for me no problem at all. So it seems she might have a disliking for men but I can't be sure without testing this theory.

Harmony loaded onto the float immediately and without hesitation or fuss, I was so relieved as I didn't want her stressed any more than necessary. We took her to the Vets and left her there for the day and lo and behold, she is in foal, and the Vet says she's about 3 months along. Due to her lift being caught up and both they and myself assuming the other had called the Vets, Harmony spent an impromptu night at the Vets and early Thursday morning I shifted her to her new home. She settled in well and I am very pleased and confident she is in the best of hands.

"Ohhh she's so skinny!" her new carer cried, comparing her to their 'butter-fat' broodmares.

Then I high-tailed it to Oakford as a photographer was coming to get a shot of Asha and her carer for an article in the local paper. I missed him as I was running late but saw Asha and I must comment on how she has changed. She is now very friendly and not at all concerned with being handled. Her aloofness has turned to interest and she is also moving better, she looks like a different horse!

Her foal has had a snotty nose since before we picked them up and we were very worried as he had a temperature and was not eating well. Yesterday we had to act, the Vet was summoned and it seems the poor soul has equine pnuemonia although we need to take him for an ultrasound be certain it isn't something more sinister or contagious. We had to immediately isolate him in the weaning box on a different property to his mother just in case and we're hoping he'll pick up quickly now with the anti-biotics.

Poor chap! If his owner had caught it when it was just a cold and treated him, he'd never become so ill. Constant viligance. If your horse looks a bit off, particularly with a nasal discharge, GET THE VET!!!

One down...

Today we collected Asha and her foal (we're weaning the foal and halter training him for the owner as we were worried he may hurt himself in the paddock they were in if we just removed the mare) and things went exceptionally well.

We had a bit of song and dance from the foal to begin with, he pulled and pulled, and tried to get away and when that didn't work he lay down on the ground and looked at us as if to say "NOW what are you going to do?" But once he realised laying down wasn't going to make us go away he became quite ameniable. Funny little fellow, he's full of spunk but he's smart enough and learns fast.

He had a brief halter lesson on the way down to the float and followed his mother quite well. When it came to putting them onto the float we removed the partition so they'd have plenty of room and asked the foal to come up first. With the aid of a bum rope and lots of praise when he tried for us, he came on very quickly. Then we asked his mother to come on and she wasn't so sure, poor girl was nervous. But we gave her some time to think about it, kept her calm and then after 5 minutes with a light tap on the bottom she walked right in and stayed in! Such a good girl.

Both travelled like a dream and unloaded calmly at the other end. I was so pleased as we were expecting a right rodeo but both horses were very sensible about the whole thing.

We swung by the Vets and got Donna from Serpentine Vet Hospital to have a very good look at her shoulder and it was deemed that she is not in pain from it, and is using it quite well. Overall Donna was fairly happy about her general health and says with hoof, teeth care and good feeding she'll come along well.

She lifted her hooves up for a good look and had a look in her mouth and although unsure, Asha behaved very well and was much more relaxed about us handling her than she was at our initial attempt to make her comfy on Saturday.

Then we reloaded Asha (who went on even quicker this time) and made the haul to the foster home.

Asha is as I speak tucking heartily into a hay roll and has not lifted her head from it since she arrived!

Now we just have to collect Harmony, get her preg tested and on to her foster home tomorrow. I do hope she is as cooperative as the sweet Asha!

Trust us

Today I became aware of many people believing SC advertised somebody's sale of horses that had nothing wrong with them and seem disconcerted with the fact we appeared to be helping somebody make money.

I would like to say, without saying too much, that we advertised the sale for a genuine reason and in good faith on part of the sellers. The fact that they raised prices last minute is not something we can be responsible for.

Also animals sold were certainly in excellent condition. The individual animals we became involved with were not present and we cannot disclose details of the problem.

We appologise for misconceptions however please trust us... there is much we'd like to say but cannot but please bear in mind neglect comes in many forms - not just obvious ones.

Trust us, we had horses wellbeing in mind and for those who are wondering, SC did not recieve any of that money at all.

The most amazing people

In this job I meet the most amazing people. Each and every one is amazing in their own right. Some are so very dedicated and passionate about horse welfare that they amaze me. Some out so much hard work into something for us, they amaze me with their selflessness. Some people have such big hearts, or have the most incredible skills... the list goes on and on.

And then, there are people who amaze me for the wrong reasons. Yesterday I met probably the most amazing person I have ever come across and sadly, all for the worst.

This particular person has proven themselves to be utterly selfish, self centred, self promoting, ignorant, compulsive liar and a long-time habitual neglector. It was horrible to watch them at work and morbidly fascinating at the same time.

The conversation with this person left me completely gobsmacked and I really began to wish that I had gone to Uni to get a psychiatrist degree. Surely, the human mind is the most incredible instrument and when it 'goes bad' it is even more amazing, if not downright frightening.

You know you are in trouble when you come across somebody operating under a name that means 'bringer of death'.

I can't quite get over the fact this person advertises the fact!

Rescues are go!

Wow wasn't today a busy one!

First up I changed Romeo's bandages. (For those who don't know, last Saturday I came down to the stables to find he'd gone through a solid post and rail fence and torn his leg open to the tendon) He's much more co-operative about it now, so I am able to do it alone without the need for somebody to hold him. Still a tricky job, anyone who knows will sympathise with the 'need-for-eight-hands' feeling when you're trying to juggle bandages, padding, gauze, dressing for the wound, the tape to go over it and the horse itself all at once!

Then I went off to see Shelley McCaw with the intention to do facial readings for all the horses on her place. Well, I got time to do one and then was suddenly drawn into negotiations via third party for the life of the skinny mare in yesterday's blog. Then I was able to speak to her owner in person and after a little while she finally agreed to surrender this mare and one of her others into SC's care. HOORAY!

So I spent good part of the rest of the day organising to go there tomorrow with the paperwork and feed (and thanks to a couple of helpers, somebody to try and trim those poor feet!!) and to do a full assessment.

And then lo and behold I decided to touch base with another horse owner whom we'd been involved with over a severe neglect case in July 07. Turned out she was planning to sell majority of her horses and so I sent out notifications to everyone I could possibly think of to help find buyers for these animals.

For anyone interested who may read this before lunch time tomorrow, the message went like so:

OK the horses are at Big Valley Ranch which is on Flynn Drv in Wanneroo. There’s a big sign so you cant miss it, pretty sure it’s the first driveway on the left as you get onto Flynn off Wanneroo Rd

BIG VALLEY HORSES - Wanneroo

All animals under $1000, prices negotiable. Mixed breeds, have Appaloosa, Clydesdale and Arab blood. Possibly others as well. NONE (except perhaps the 3 adult & broken in horses) are registered nor registerable and we very stongly advise that these horses are NOT taken for breeding purposes as they will make LOVELY pets but are not breeding quality and as stated, cannot be registered.

They are however strong, hardy and good doers.Ages range from foals to 15yo... handling varies from fully broken adults to unhandled horses.Cash only and horses will be available to view TOMORROW between 10am and lunch time. And this is the ONE AND ONLY time they will be offered for sale.

There are:1 Grey gelding, approx 14.2hh broken in and nice natured, about 12yo1 Grey gelding, approx 14.2hh NOT broken but halter trained, bout 12yo3 chestnut & white paint colts, weanlings and will mature around the 14 – 15hh mark all unhandled13 Bay horses, mares and geldings, all unhandled, mixed heights and from weanlings to 12yo1 black weanling colt, mature approx 14 – 15hh, unhandledThere are also a couple of buckskin foals not yet weaned, they must be sold with their mothers as a package dealMany mares MIGHT be in foal (as they run in a brumby-like herd) again and the other big thing is that she can only keep the horses in until Monday evening – then she has to let them go again so anything not paid for and collected by Monday won’t be able to go. The sale is this weekend only, horses are ONLY able to be viewed between 10am and 12pm tomorrow.

Just a small window of opportunity but this is much better than not being able to help any horses at all!

With any luck somebody tomorrow will get photos for me. I can't go... I'll be dealing with the other mares!!

Argh gees effin' goodness!!

I simply cannot believe people sometimes!

I was called out to be asked advice on what to do about some horses whos owner had not paid their agistment for some months and the horses were looking a bit off. Found this girl with a 4 month old foal at foot. A bit off? You've got to be kidding me!!



This is neglect to a high extent! This horse is JUST 12 YEARS OLD!

Im no expert but even I could feel the razor edges and hooks on the poor things teeth.

We are working exceptionally hard to save at the mare and with any luck we will be able to.

... this is severe neglect. Unforgivable and unacceptable.

Gee I love Standardbreds!

Yesterday (Friday) I went out to see and take some bits and bobs out for two of our rescues, Oscar and Nemo. I can't get over how quickly they've come good for us - very resiliant horses.

When I went to catch Oscar to stand him up for a photo he decided he didn't want to be caught and nicked off. After a couple of minutes he decided to give in and stand up for me. Took the photos and let him go again. He had this expression on his face... "Oh, is that all you wanted?"

But man I get SUCH a good vibe about that horse. I can't explain it but I just know he's going to make somebody very happy and will be somebody's best mate. He's very well put together for a Stb - I'm not particularly fond of how his croup slopes but heck he's a nice type - good bone, good feet, good teeth and strong. I just can't wait to bring him in for work. For some reason I am so excited to have the prospect of riding him... I am more enthusiastic about him than most of the others. (Except Viento, have a special place in my heart for that one).

But he really reminded me how much I love Stbs!

Nemo is a darling, he's also going to make somebody happy as he's such an absolute sweetheart.

Here's some photos for you all:

Oscar -

Nemo -

So different to when they first came! See their pages on our website for 'before' pics. www.schrar.org

All systems go!

Well hasn't the year begun busily! I have a feeling this is a sign of times to come. I have had four 'at risk' horses reported to me, one I've actually seen so far and another three. One is even a retired RDA horse - the story goes that the current person responsible for its care is being paid $100 for its needs... however the money is not being used for the horse which is going without feed other than its grazing, is kept in a fairly green but small paddock with poor fencing and was rugged in full winter doona LAST WEEK when it was stinking hot!

We're doing some research to find the legal owners to get this situation sorted as soon as possible and sadly we don't have a lot to go on but we are working on it and with any luck will have a result soon for the poor creature.

Today the current President of Horse Rescue Australia came to visit and touch base with us. It was great to meet somebody from the org which is based outside of Sydney. They have 200 odd acres they opperate from and he tells me they've arrived at the property to begin their chores to find horses tethered to their front gate with a note attached "Please look after this horse". Another thing SC can expect once we have an actual base of operations I expect. Sad old world, isn't it?

Another busy day tomorrow, shuffling horses backwards and forwards getting the dental appointments sorted for the newer ones. Will be great to get their age estimated by a pro and I am certain they'll pick up beautifully once this is done.