May 23, 2010 Newsletter
The Golden Carrot
Winter-like weather continues to plague TGC
TGC is still in a 'spring/winter/spring' weather pattern, so everytime we start to do something, the weather kicks up again and brings us to a halt. As I write today (May 23), we've had several blasts of snow/sleet to go with the icy wind which has plagued us for a week.
In Mid April, we had quite a snowstorm, as these pics illustrate.
I guess the only good part of this is - donations have been slow and low, so I was unable to purchase the 300-400 bales of grass hay I'd hoped to stockpile for the summer, and so - no damage! However, we're still hoping to be able to buy a large 'wall of hay' as we did last year, not only for the convenience of it, but because buying in large quantities allows savings in the thousands of dollars...and if there was ever a year for getting every possible savings, I think this is it! Please think of us if you have anything left from your tax return.... and always remember the power of numbers. That is, if enough of you will donate even $20 a month, a LOT of good can be done....
Daisy gets first roundpen workout - possible problem?
Of the three rescues this year, Daisy, the oldest, has recovered from her difficulties the best and fastest. She is truly one gorgeous mare, and it was hard for me to understand how a 23 year old mare could look this good - perfect legs, lovely ground manners, fat, shiny and sassy on a fraction of the feed I give the others. My first guess is that perhaps she'd been a broodmare - lord knows the 'color' people like to breed their horses. So I figured I would start her in the roundpen and see if she had any experience. She does. And with her willful and strong personality, she wants to have her way. 
However, after only a short session, she was working for me well. Unfortunately, she was also breathing very very loudly! I've seen her play with much more force and for longer without it, but the noise was noticeable enough, and odd enough in a mare that had barely cracked a sweat, that I stopped and walked her for another couple of minutes, in which time her breathing became normal again. I'm going to research a condition I've heard of called "roaring", and then possibly consult with Fred Zadick, our vet, before I continue working her. Later in the newsletter, you'll read that Daisy was turned out with the herd, and although the breathing wasn't as loud after a tremendous workout, she DID make this odd sound again, and just as quickly recovered. So perhaps Daisy has a condition that kept her from being used a lot..... More, as I learn it...
Oso, Daisy and Anaba introduced into main herd
This was so dang exciting, I forgot my camera! I've never turned three horses into my herd at once - in fact, never more than one at a time. I fretted for weeks trying to decide how to do it - as those of you who have visited will remember, there is a large open area where the horses have breakfast and spend most of their day, and a very brushy, rocky, hilly area where they go for shade and scratching late in the day, and then a clear area where I have the hotwalker, and the sand wallow. I decided to turn the three out in the back area by the hotwalker, with a barrel of water and their bermuda grass, after I had turned out the main herd to eat their bermuda in the front open area. Thus, everyone's eating breakfast, and getting used to where they are, and they can start to explore the brushy area when they want to, learning it before meeting the main herd .....Boy, was I wrong.
Luckily for us, volunteers Andrew and Ingrid were there to help and had both brought their cameras. There may be other pics, but these are the ones they have provided for me so far. Leslie and Shela were also on hand, in case of any situation that needed more bodies to control. Like we had control, wow!
Oso, Daisy and Anaba walked calmly over to the hotwalker area for breakfast as though they'd done it every day. I'd given them an early morning bucket of senior and pellets to be sure they had something on board if they were too excited to eat. I'm glad I did that, as they each sniffed their bermuda grass and started looking around. Oso made sure he had distance between all people and himself, and took off like a crazy man, with startled Daisy and Anaba in hot pursuit! They roared out of the back area, took the main path through the brush, and burst into the main paddock screaming 'hello' and 'watch out' as they came! We had about 10 minutes of thundering around, with every gelding latching onto Daisy, who was styling frantically with her tail flagged and mane flying, and group after group cautiously approaching Oso who ran the fenceline with little Anaba skipping along with him (I don't think she could keep up with Daisy and her fans). 
Above, Oso tells Topper to keep her distance, while Ronan steps away ....Below Ronan whispers advice to Oso....
After the first 10 minutes of drama, Oso led his ladies, at a dead run, back to the hotwalker area. They WERE followed, tho, by Lew and HIS ladies, Star, Song and eventually Chacha (who is not fond of the rougher footing in this area).
Lew and Oso decided to talk the matter out over breakfast, which had been interrupted by all this silliness...
and Lew kept an eye out for his ladies, who were checking out Daisy, on whom Star developed a huge and immediate "girl crush"...
Little Anaba had the sad position that day of being disregarded by almost everyone, but about a week later, Ronan 'discovered' her and the two have been attached ever since. Each night, he escorts her all the way back to the hotwalker, where I take her out to her stall, and he calls two or three times to her before heading to his own stall for dinner. Very cute couple!
Memorial Day "Yard Sale"
On Saturday and Sunday, May 29 and 30, 8AM to 4PM at the Intersection of Highways 74 and 243, Mountain Center, CA, along with most of the mountain community, The Golden Carrot will have a yard sale. (Apparently, this is a huge annual community event!). Many people have donated many items, some new, most used, some very nice, and some just stuff. Horse items donated over the years, and not yet needed here, will also be offered for sale. If you're looking for a day trip, this sounds like a good one - anything you buy will help the horses, and you can check out the many wonders of Idyllwild and Garner Valley, which will also be hosting various yardsales and fundraisers. My volunteers Shela and Leslie are going to be working the sale, spelled by my girl scouts Julia and Kaylee, and volunteers Andrew and Ingrid. If we get a good response, we may have another in September, so please turn out, and tell your friends!
In addition to this, I'm going to be hosting a weekend sleepover for a couple of my girlscouts, who will be helping me with chores, sitting at the yardsale for a couple hours selling, and riding, riding, riding!
Update on Duke
As many people know, I consider our Duke to be our most frail, eldest resident. This year, Duke is losing his hair coat very slowly, with a lot of help from his sponsor Shela and volunteer/sponsor Leslie, who have spent several days with scissors and brushes cutting hair mats off him, and brushing him to his delight. With his advanced age, Cushings is a possibility, but medications for Cushings are quite expensive, and with a horse as old and damaged as Duke, I consider them to be 'extreme measures', which many of you know I won't do. With his 'knee over' condition making him exceedingly lame, I've been watching him for a sign that its time for me to help him leave this worldly plain. But Duke is clearly loving his retirement, and his herd. When I tried to move him to a drier stall (next to Anaba) when his became horribly muddy this winter, he went ballistic, calling and calling for "his" herd, and pacing that nice dry stall all night.
And since, with his knee over condition, he wears his feet differently, and with his sole movement being out to the paddock for breakfast, and back to the stalls at night for dinner, doesn't wear his feet down much, getting his trims every 8 weeks requires me to lay him down on the ground. Well, let me tell you, Duke doesn't like that. He fights it every time, although once on the ground, he lies calmly until his feet are trimmed. And then he hops to his feet and humphs off to glare back at us! Now, this seems to me to be evidence that Duke wants to live, and has his own ideas about how things should be. Here's a series of pictures of the latest trim-battle .....
Looks like there is life in this old boy yet!
He really has an opinion about this...
This time, we roped one foreleg, and clearly it was a mistake. In past attempts, although he fought just as hard, we got him down with less effort because we roped both hind legs together - his two BEST legs - That's how we'll do it in future attempts!
Thanks are due to Juan Mercado, who is willing to get on his knees and trim this old guy, as he did for Mitey Nice too
.
I'm grateful that Duke always accepts my apologies for the roughness. Sometimes I think he actually enjoys the whole thing - he's a feisty guy! I worry a lot about hurting him - I don't want to be the cause of the injury that makes me decide to put him down for good. But we have to trim his feet and he simply cannot hold his weight on his two good hind legs.... I know, I know, he's a wreck. But Duke has worked hard, very very hard, all his life. I want him to have a little 'me' time, to be a horse and have his own way a little, before it's all done....
Miscellaneous
I'm happy to report that Navigator's old sponsor, Danielle Reel, has finished school, found a job, thought immediately of her big Black boy, and has resumed a part sponsorship for him!
Please check out the http://goldencarrotrescue.com/HorsesNeedHomes.aspx page here, as I've been inundated with calls and emails of horses looking for homes. First thing you'll note is - they all belong here! But without sponsors, I just can't take any more. General donations are too low to cover more horses. If you see a horse you would like to sponsor, let me know. I'll contact them and see if that horse is still looking for a home .... and offer our help. I try to spread the word - somewhere out there is someone who can and will step up for each and every one of them, we just have to find that someone.
Thank you all for your support, past, present and future, for these great old horses. I know that the day to day support of old horses isn't as glamorous as some other rescue opportunities - I know that when you get that email asking for help to save a horse about to step on the slaughter truck, you have to help. But remember, once that horse is saved, unless a private home is found, they often end up at rescues like TGC. You know that Surely, Brave, Oso and Anaba were all saved that way. But now, I'm begging you to remember that the horses of TGC are the hardest to place, as they are often simply not wanted, and have special needs due to various conditions and simple old age. But they still do their best for us, and deserve a life after decades of service. This is a wonderful way to help horses too - if you can't donate, please spread the word!
I hope to have some more exciting news soon - check back often!
Casey