MUD FIGHT!!!!!!! Mud vs. Steve & Trygve

Trygve Trooien, Oak Lake Farms, Astoria, South Dakota, is one of our fabulous Unbridled Beauties Calendar Sponsors. He wanted to pick up a couple more calendars for some of his friends. They sent money with him. So Trygve paid us a visit. He had with him another one of his friends, Steve Hemmingsen.

We did the calendar transaction, and then we were going to go introduce Steve to the rescued horses out in the pasture. Trygve has met the horses several times already. But this was to be Steve's first encounter. So Steve & Trygve were going to drive Steve's pickup out there. Shadow (black lab pup) and I would walk.
I should have known it was too muddy. But the sun was shining so nice that day and things had been drying and, well, it was just  a little deceiving. It did LOOK dryer. But oh boy, right when the path turns to go up the hill, it was not dry.

The Realization

how are their facial expressions?

click on all these photos to enlarge.
some of them twice.

oh boy, they do NOT look too happy here.

Shadow is definitely laughing at the men.

The Rescue - ah, now Trygve's smilin' too!

Looks like Steve's in good humor now too.

He's got his camera; all's well.

Ran out of time to visit the herd in the pasture, but had a few minutes for some therapy from Baylee, who is barn-bound as she is being treated for white line disease. CLICK ON THIS ONE TWICE; IT'S PRETTY CUTE.

By the time we got the boys unstuck, they had to leave to stay on their busy "road trip" schedule.
But Shadow and I continued on out to the pasture to check on the mudballs.

I do hope Steve can visit again this summer. I know he will enjoy the horses, minus the mud.
Here's Spirit. Beautiful even in his mud coat.

Here's Lovely Lily, playin' in the mud

enlarge this one too. It's great; see her beautiful dun stripe.

 Lily and Prince and Hero in the middle

click on the photo to enlarge. look at Princie's mane. and Lily's face!

  Minerva, Miss Mud.

 Hero discovered the electric fence was broke. the deer messed it up. (oh, it's fixed now alright!)

Shadow and I revisited the crime scene on our way back to the barn.

Polly, Don & Lauren sponsor all the rescued shelter horses for a day

Last week we had visitors. Polly & Don Mosey and their granddaughter Lauren, who was visiting from out of state. For Lauren's birthday, they visited our shelter and made a donation to sponsor all of the rescued horses living at New Hope Horse Shelter (11 of them) for a day. For Lauren's Birthday!
Click on photos to enlarge. Click twice for some of them to enlarge even more!

Here are our guests with Flicka. Not the new rescued Flicka. This is the Flicka who lived here before we started rescuing. She is not a rescued horse. She has been well cared for all of her life.

This is Flicka, Lauren and Baylee. Baylee is not a rescued horse either. Baylee and this Flicka lived here before we started rescuing. Baylee is being treated for white line disease. It's kind of serious. but she's an excellent patient and is in good spirits. Flicka was in the barn keeping Baylee company. though you can see she had been outside earlier. pretty muddy here last week. 

Lauren is an excellent rider too!

And of course we went out and met all the mudballs.

above, Lauren & Spirit

below, Princess & Polly and Don & Minerva's dirty back

Lauren sent us a thank you note:

and Polly sent a thank you message too:

 "Lauren and I are having a little fun with craft things this morning. Can you tell? One thing we wanted to do for sure was write you to thank you again for such a wonderful Saturday afternoon with your endearing horses. Thank you for being so personal and for all the thoughtful extra time and energy you spent making it such a memorable day...for all of us! We loved your passion and appreciate your calling! You certainly created the high point for a little eleven year old girl coming to visit her grandparents on her birthday. Polly & Don Mosey"

Apache's story

With Apache in such a horrible situation (probably in a feedlot in Montana waiting for his turn to go across the border into Canada for slaughter for human consumption). Some people familiar with that area and situation are trying to do what they can, but it's not a very hopeful situation. (of course now, March 24 2011, we know that Apache probably never was at this feedlot; he was direct shipped to the "plant" in Canada, and he is gone.)


We are ready to tell as much as we know about this long shameful story. It will take us a while to get it all told, but here's how and where we first met up with Apache's herd, back in Oct. 2009.
Here's the inside of one of the shelters the horses had. Do you think this meets even the minimum standards for safe, acceptable horse care? Go here to read the first part of Apache's story.
http://newhopehorseshelter.blogspot.com/2011/03/apaches-herd.html

intro. to Shadow's rescue story. (both rescues)

Here is a brief story about Shadow. It is about the same as Bella's.
Except Shadow was just a weanling the first time we rescued him. These photos will enlarge when clicked on. Some of them will enlarge more if you click on them again.

Rescued Oct. 2009. We assisted. Same herd as Bella. Shadow went through a period when he could not get up without our help. He spent about 2 weeks in the hospital. He was full of worms, and that was a main problem. along with the fact that he needed some groceries. But when the worms are this bad, the groceries don't do a lot of good. After about 2 weeks at the vet clinic, he was strong enough for a foster home.

Here he is in Feb. 2010, in foster care. looking some better, but still kind of sad.

He must have known he was about to be sent back to hell.

I don't know exactly when, as we were rudely dismissed from the case and the officials would not give us any more information. They did not want us to know that Shadow and the other 7 horses were all returned to the neglectful owners. That was spring 2010.

ok. fast forward to now. March 2011.

This is how he looks now. He is a little bigger but not much.

Same as with Bella, you can follow Shadow's backbone and the "shelf." can even see some of his ribs through his winter hair. And yes he's full of worms; thus, the full looking tummy. Shadow is actually in a little better condition than Bella, if we just look at body condition score.

This is Shadow's  2-year-old year. Back in Oct 2009 we were told that Shadow's mama is/was (don't know if she's still alive; there was a "dead pile" in Jan. 2011) a registered quarter horse.

he is very very sweet. He just kind of stands there like "ok, where am I going now, wonder if there will be food this time, do with me what you will, I am under your command and who am I to ask for anything I am just a skinny little horse who does not deserve any more than my owner wants to give me. that's the life of a horse, and I accept it. I accept whatever happens to me, and I will be nice and cooperative no matter what that is. Even if it hurts. That is what I deserve; I am just a skinny little horse."

He must have been able to graze during the summer months. And then starved again during the winter.

I have no idea how he survived. He had no shelter this winter. Officials removed him from the same owners in late Jan. 2011. His second rescue, and he is not yet 2 years old.

This time he was taken to a court appointed caretaker who put him in with 17 other horses and fed them all like cows. Mares, stallions, big guys and little guys. All together in a feedlot type situation. Shadow had been there for 40 days. None of the horses had received any vet care. Not even something as basic as a fecal check and dental check. And eating ground up cornstalks and hay. Like cows.

I recently remembered something the salebarn lady told me. (these horses were originally going to go through a loose horse sale; and the sale manager told me a little about this.) She was involved in "the rescue" in Jan. 2011. She said when they got all these horses to the new place (the feedlot), they wouldn't even eat the first day because they didn't know what feed was. I didn't think too much of it at first. But then I asked both her and the guy who was feeding them, what it was they were feeding them, and now I think I understand.

I guarantee you these horses have no problem eating what horses are intended to eat. and for starving horses, that would be excellent quality hay including some alfalfa. And possibly some horse feed/grain. you know, stuff that is actually for horses.  I guarantee you they would not have waited a whole day before they started eating that. Of course, I can imagine there would have been quite a bit of fighting going on with all 18 horses mares and stallions and big guys and little guys all in one pen, if they had really good feed.

We do not have pictures of them from Jan. 2011, because we only found out about this a few days ago.

We immediately found a way to purchase him, so he is ours now.

But nobody had much compassion. The court-appointed new owner charged us $406!!!!!!!!!!!!

But there was no way we were letting Shadow go through a public salebarn complete with a well advertised loose horse sale and acknowledgment from the sale manager that there are usually 5 or 6 kill buyers present at her sales.

Ah well. Shadow is ours now.

We heard that 9 of these 18 horses were returned to the owners again!

not sure what has become of the other 7. But we did not get enough donations to purchase more than 2 of them, at $406 a piece. You know what. the more I think about that, that is just mean. I mean that the guy wouldn't take any less than that, after we explained to him that we had already rescued them once. Mean. just mean.

We could still use donations for these horses. We have enough to cover the purchase price of one of them. But not the second. and now there are Vet bills too. Please use the Donate button at the top of our home page here. Or send checks to Horse Help Providers, Inc., 25337 470 Ave, Crooks SD 57020.

We are 501c3; donations are tax deductible according to laws for 501c3 nonprofits.

DoubleHP Bella (she used to be called Flicka)

There is so much to this story. it begins in Oct. 2009 for us. for now, here are a few pictures of Bella.
Here she is about a week or so after the first time we rescued her. We assisted officials in Lincoln County in Oct. 2009. She was 1-2 years old here. Probably not 2 yet. The reason it says Flicka on these photos is because that was her name when we originally rescued her.  But after we gained ownership of her we changed her name to Bella, because we already had a Flicka here. 

We continued to coordinate her care. Here she is Thanksgiving Day 2009, approx. 40 days after her rescue.

Shortly after this time we were rudely dismissed from the case and no one would tell us what was going on.

We found out many months later that all 8 horses were returned to the owner/owners.

(this is kind of a downhill picture. but oh doesn't she look content here; she thought she had made it. She had no idea she would soon be sent back to hell.)

We do not have rescue day pictures of Bella from her most recent rescue, in late Jan.2011.

because no one contacted us to help or to ask us if we would like to take care of her again.

We just found out about this in a kind of fluke phone call about an ad. we were running for PT employment. We just found out about this on Sunday, just a few days ago.

Her neglectful owner did not want her back, otherwise they could have had her back.

Nope, we don't get it either.

By court order, Bella and 8 other horses were signed over to a guy who has never done horse rescue before. He had no intention of keeping her. He made us pay him $406 for Bella so that we could claim her before she went through a loose horse sale in the next few days. And yes, we did tell him that we had already brought her back to life once and could he please show some kindness and give us a break here. Nope. $406.

Here is how she looks now, approx 40 days after her latest rescue.

40 days after her rescue in Minnehaha County this time, and she had received no vet care. No one even bothered to do a fecal exam or dental check. All 18 horses (9 were going back to owners who did this to them; 9 were staying here with the court-appointed new owner) from this herd, mares & stallions and small & big were all put in one pen in a feedlot type situation and they were eating cow feed. Some hay ground up with corn stalks. they said there was some molasses stuff in there too. big deal. We don't feed horses corn stalks and especially not starved horses. And how is she supposed to get healthy anyway when she is loaded with worms!

It's a little hard to evaluate her condition from this photo because she does have some winter hair which probably helped her live through this winter with no shelter. There were dead horses there; this information was confirmed to us.

oh geez, after I reread this I realized I really need to explain. We were not involved in her rescue this time. We did not know anything about it until just a few days ago. And we bought her as soon as we could and immediately took her to our Vet. Which is what should have happened to her 40 days ago!

you really have to feel the horses when they have this winter hair.

IF YOU CLICK ON THESE PHOTOS THEY WILL ENLARGE

But you can follow her backbone sticking up and the "shelf" that forms kind of above the rib cage on an emaciated horse. and her hip bones. She is full of worms, vet exam proof. that contributes to her "full tummy" look. In reality, she is emaciated. Body Condition Score 2. on a scale of 1-9. nothing lower than 1 except death.

We now have ownership of Bella. This will not happen to her again. She is not 3 years old yet. Just think what she must think about life in general. having "lived" like this. She is not even 3. And she has been in this condition twice that we know of. 

horses need to be re-rescued

We seriously need donations.
from time to time we have fun little fundraisers and get a few donations here and there and thank you all very much for helping out.

We have a situation right now that is not a fun little fundraiser. there are some horses that seriously need some donations right now.



Shadow, Oct. 2009


I'm going to write this really fast and briefly to get the info. out.

these horses, Shadow and Bella, we met back in Oct. 2009. We answered the call for assistance from a humane officer, a deputy, and states attorney in a county outside of where our shelter is located. We assisted with the seizure of 8 horses and coordinated their foster care and veterinary needs. Little Shadow spent 2 weeks in the hospital because his condition was so critical. After we got all the horses on their feet, literally (little Shadow went through a period when he could not get up without our help), we were dismissed from the case and were told to not talk about it and not show our photos, so we would not "ruin the case."

So we kept quiet and invisible.
The horses were all returned to their owners.

Yesterday we got a phone call. The caller told us the horses had been taken from the owners again. There were dead horses on the property.

Shadow and Bella are now owned by a horse sale manager. We are hoping to go purchase them on Tuesday. they will need to go back to the Vet clinic before they go on to their new perm. home.
So, we could sure use some donations for Shadow and Bella.
We are 501c3 (Horse Help Providers, Inc.), so donations are tax deductible as the law allows.


You may use the donate  button on this page.
Or send a check to DoubleHP, 25337 470 Ave, Crooks SD 57020

There are 7 other horses in this herd that will go through a sale this weekend if no one buys them privately before Saturday. The manager told us there are several really nice horses in this bunch, though several are quite underweight and there may be some pregnant ones. There are kill buyers who go to these sales.

If we get more than $2,500.00 in donations, we will purchase a third horse. Whichever one is the most needy or the least likely to find a good home. But we will need the money before Friday. use our Donate button on this page. If you are sending a check, get it in the mail immediately so we get it in time. You may also drop off money personally. just call to let us know you're coming. 605 359-0961.

If you want to try to save any of these other 7 horses before the sale, please please give me a call 605 359-0961 and I'll get you in touch with the people in charge of them. I have not seen them and don't know any more about them. I hate to play god and pick and choose, but we are buying Shadow and Bella because our organization already brought them back to life once, and we simply cannot ignore them now. But we are not in a position to buy any more and pay vet bills and hope for perm. homes to come along. We just don't have the money or volunteers available right now.

Please call if you want to purchase any of the other 7. 605 359-0961. thanks.

All horses - young and old and in between - need dental checks

One of the most dangerous myths about horse ownership is the belief that only old horses need dental work. That is so far from the truth.

Also, you should not wait until a horse is dropping weight or having trouble chewing. I mean, if that is happening by all means immediately take your horse to the Vet for a dental check.
But what is really recommended, what responsible horse owners do, is to have their horses' teeth checked once or twice a year.

The thing is, if you correct an emerging problem right away before it has a chance to do damage, you have a much better chance that your horse will have good teeth until his life ends. If he continues to try to chew and eat with uneven bite, sharp points, hooks, painful ulcers that often result from these, the wear on his teeth will not be normal. And this will lead to other problems such as poor nutrition, weight loss, loss of teeth early in life, and on and on and on.
For me, I have enough chores to do and if I can avoid the making mash because my Seniors don't have any teeth left, then that's what I'm going to do.
At New Hope Horse Shelter, we have the Vet come out twice a year anyway to check all the horses and do shots, etc.  So the horses here get their teeth checked twice a year. If they are fine there is no charge for the dental check.
We are lucky to have Dakota Large Animal Clinic nearby (Harrisburg, SD, 605 338-5558). they have 3 Equine Practitioners there so one is always on call. But they also have modern equipment. including for dental work. No more of that manual grinding. It's just easier on everyone with the modern powered equipment. easier on the Doc, the horse, and the horse owner too.
Our young horses usually have some type of dental work done during their first few years of life. Our Vets say it is as common in young horses as old horses. Maybe even moreso.

We pay close attention as the young horses are losing temp. teeth and the new ones are coming in. that doesn't always go quite right and sometimes the teeth need work during this critical development time.

But there really is no rule to what age horses need dental work. The rule for responsible horse owners is that horses need dental checks often throughout their entire life. And sometimes the checks will reveal that work is needed.

One of our rescued horses, Prince, had his teeth floated something like 6 times in his first 4 years. Of course his whole development program was screwed up because he had lived in a state of starvation for the first year and a half of his life. But so had his half sister, and she didn't have near the dental problems as he did.

On the other end, our 29 and 27 year olds have beautiful teeth for their age. They have all of their teeth and no signs of trouble. We have owned these two for 20 years and so they have had dental checks once or twice a year for the past 20 years. No idea what their dental history was before that time. We have not even had to go to a more easy-to-chew type senior feed or anything. they eat what the rest of the herd eats. So far.

So, when we hear comment s like, "geez I wonder why my horse is losing weight and not eating very much. He can't need dental work already; he's only 6 or 4 or 2 or 12" or whatever age is inserted in there. That's just not right.

Horses of every age need dental checks. If you want to do everything you can for your horse and for you, so you have the best chance possible of your horse not needing too much in the way of a special, time-consuming, expensive  feeding program as he grows older, get his teeth checked regularly. Like all things horsey, there is no guarantee. But we can darn sure better our/their chances with regular dental checks by an equine veterinarian who knows what to look for.

I actually cannot imagine sticking a bit in a young horse's mouth without having a thorough dental check done first. A few years ago there was a survey among top trainers in the country. They figured that 80some percent of all training/behavior problems were dental related.  It's nice to rule that out first before you start some harsh correcting on a horse when the only thing going on is the bit is causing a great deal of pain.

So there are all kinds of reasons to let youself spend a little bit of money each year to ensure your horses' teeth are good.
Doesn't matter if he's a baby or an old man. Don't wait until he goes off feed. That's one of the things we are trying to prevent! Can you imagine being so hungry but just not being able to eat because it hurts too much to chew? It happens.  And it happens to horses of all ages.

One last plea this year to help replenish our spay/neuter/gelding fund. voting ends tonight March 3 at 9 p.m. CST

This is why spay/neuter/gelding is important. Because animals like Hank, whose history will remain forever a mystery to us, can and should be rehabbed from a wild untrusting inconvenient trouble-making potentially dangerous baby-maker; into a friendly healthy safe enjoyable easy-to-have-around animal friend who will no longer reproduce other wild potentially dangerous critters as he was in his previous life.

You may remember Hank; we began to tell his story a few months ago. A wild Tom who had roamed the trees at New Hope Horse Shelter for the last 2-3 years. This photo is right before Xmas 2010. This is as close as we had ever been to Hank at that time.

When our Winter got so terribly and consistently cold this year, Hank began to show up in the barn. And, little by little, we were able to entice him to come closer and closer to us. And the last few weeks we have been petting him and scratching him and listening to his happy kitty purrs.

On Monday, Feb. 28, we determined he was ready. We set a big porta-kennel in Hank's favorite area in the barn. And in he strolled. Door shut. Headed for the Vet. Dr. Teri Michaels, DVM, at Hartford Veterinary Clinic in Hartford SD was participating in our Spay Day Event, so that's where Hank went.

this is Dr. Micahels & Hank,

in the beautiful Hartford Veterinary Clinic

Hank was neutered on March 1. He had no signs of bugs but his ears were very dirty. He got dewormed and of course vaccinated. All of the 17 cats who live here are spayed/neuterd and also vax & debugged annually. Well, debugged more often. Dr. Michaels said when we do that consistently we can definitely get the ear mites and stuff out of our cat population. So I think that's what we have done here!

Hank is spending a few days, after his surgery, in the entry way here.

Then we'll release him out with the garage cats and he can decide where he wants to set up shop. in the garage or barn. The garage is heated, and there is a little room in the barn that is heated too. So either way will be purrfect.

And this is why most dogs and cats should be spayed and neutered and why most stallions should become geldings. WE can change their lives in a good way for them.

So anyway, if you could please donate even $5 by voting for one of our photos, you will be helping to keep our spay/neuter/gelding fund going. So we can continue to help other animals like Hank. This past year we have helped 12 cats, a horse, and 3 dogs; and that means we've helped these animals' humans too of course, helped them with their expenses and helped them to have a better pet or a better horse.

Participation in our Spay Day events is way way way way down this year. That is sad. Sad for the animals.


REMEMBER, VOTING ENDS TONIGHT THURSDAY AT 9 P.M CST
Vote for Hank's friend Frank
click on the above link to vote.

or go here to see all 31 photos of dogs, cats & horses to benefit animals in Sioux Falls area and South Dakota