This 'n That

[SandyG]

Howdy, Everyone!

Labor Day Public Hours are upon us. And yes, I'm open mouthed with the shock of how quickly time passes! I still have bulbs to plant in the Memory Beds!!

Monday, September 7th, we are open to the public from 10am to 3pm. I would like to invite those of you who are volunteers and also those of you who are thinking of volunteering to be at THE FARM for those hours or even part of those hours.

We have projects to do in the barns (stock tanks to clean, barn floors to clean, etc.) and a few projects to do in the garage to get ready for the upcoming sale (sheets hung, tables up and positioned, etc.). All are welcome!

If you are a volunteer, please come in your Refuge Farms t-shirt in case we need you for a guest tour. And if you have yet to complete the Walk-Thru, then just dress for the barns: blue jeans pants, work boots, work gloves, and long hair pulled back.

This is our final scheduled Public Hours and I'm hoping we are swamped! Wouldn't that be a grand way to close out this season!!! ;D ;D ;D

P.S. Had some emails yesterday, and yes! Of course Ole' Man Cole's mane is a mess and needs attention! And Laddee loves - read that as goes to sleep! - to have her mane brushed! And Lanna? Well, Lanna's long, long hair gets all twisted and knotted. Of course there are horses that need attention! That is just a given!

[Shar]

Hey Sandy-
Romeo now goes into a stall where there is no window to climb through. lol =) That fixed that problem! The other day he found a way to open a gate (it was only partially latched because we were still riding) to get into the back garden area and I walked out to find him standing in a pile of pop cans with the bag open- my dad stores popcans that he's going to bring in for metal in an old shed by the garden area, and Mr. Romeo must have figured it was something fun to play with so he pulled a bag out of there and somehow opened it. lol =) He's not afraid of ANYTHING! A plastic bag with a ton of pop cans in it?!? Any other horse would have lost it when that thing came down to the ground... not him... he was just standing in the middle of it. I swear that horse smirks!!
By the way... we had our first baby! No- we don't believe in breeding and know that there are so many unwanted horses out there, that would never have bred ours but I bought that horse in January that was not supposed to be pregnant... and before I bought her, we found out that she was... so now Romeo is not the only boy. We have a sweet little colt named Titan (his mom's name was Pandora because like the myth, we did not know what was inside...) but you have never seen such a beautiful colt! I included a picture in this. Very exciting, and no baby has ever had so much attention! I swear my mom figures it's the only grandchild she will ever have from me, and so she made him a halter and presents. =)
Jessi and I are going to pick up a donkey for the neighbor tomorrow past spring valley, so might stop by if you're around. We'll call first.
Thanks!
Sharlyn

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[SandyG]

Keep those stories and pictures coming! What a doll the little colt is! And Mom is quite a looker as well! Very beautiful horses, Shari. And thank you for your consideration in not breeding. Love the Pandora name....made me smile.

Romeo is a wonder, isn't he? So self assured and not jumpy or afraid of strange noises or sounds. He was always so calm here. And playful. I remember watching him play with sticks and buckets - trying to get the other horses to play tag with him. He was comical, that's for sure! Glad to hear that he hasn't lost that sense of humor!!

Dr. B. comes today to remove Dude's stitches. Then it is back to the U of M for one more check-up on his jaw and fini! Dr. B. asked me how I was doing yesterday and my reply was, "Pretty good, actually! No one is at the U of M having surgery!" Hah!

I just cannot believe the streak of luck we are having. The weather is beyond gorgeous! Cool for sleeping and no flies at night so the kids can pick at the pasture and then warming up in the day. Sunshine and a light breeze. Man! How lucky are we?!

AND today I found a dime in the driveway! Wonder what that means, eh?

Enjoy today, people! It is September, after all!

[osrose]

It means you are 10 cents richer!

Every day, morning and night, I say this little prayer:

Thank you, Lord, for this day!
You are the wind beneath my wings
You are the steel in my spine
You are the hope in my heart
You are the light and love in my soul
Thank you for this day, Lord!

And sometimes I whisper: It wouldn't hurt if there was a little more money, too, Lord!
Ha! I know he has a sense of humor....he made us, didn't he???
OSRose

[Shar]

Sandy- I left you a message about an older couple looking for 2 horses to pretty much just dote upon and light trail ride and thought that rescue horses might be exactly what they need. I told them I could work with the horses if need be first. I always look at your horses needing homes page- and not sure any of them are what they need, but just wondered if there were others that you knew of that might be something that would work out. I just figured I would check with you first before looking through all the horse ads. Thanks. =)

[SandyG]

Shari -

I don't have a pair right now. Do have some riding horses but not sure if the couple is up to them. One is a registered Appaloosa mare. She is very calm under saddle. Almost too calm. Her blindness is new to her and so she really needs to trust the rider before she will move freely. Nice horse. Well mannered and a very easy keeper. Trims, takes dewormer, and gets vacs like nothing is happening. Nice horse.

I've got a couple "out there" that I will follow up on. Do these horses have to be young? What about if there is a touch of arthritis? You are way to young to identify, but as the good ones get a bit older their joints start to ache a bit. That happens with horses, too, by the way, Shari!! ;D

Thanks for thinking of us. I can ask other rescues I know that are reputable and see what they have? Let me know if you want me to do that. I would love these people to rescue two unwanted horses!! Save two lives! That's how we change the world - one horse at a time.....

[Shar]

Sandy- the horses they are looking for definetly don't have to be young. They are truly the kind of people who are looking for horses to just dote on- I really am not sure how much riding they will really do- I think they just want the ability to go on walk/trot trail rides if the mood strikes. They are retired and have a farm and spend all day outside with their animals. They said when their sheep had a baby, they stayed outside with it all day when they thought it was going to have it and then stayed there all night once she had it to make sure everything was alright.
I also know another amazing home looking for a second horse- I just sold Holiday to them. They have spent all summer building stalls (huge beautiful stall) and redoing their barn (lol, they are redoing their barn before their house) and built a fence just for their horse. They are just looking for one to ride on trail with Holiday (light trail riding through acres and acres of farmland) and to keep her company since she is the only horse out there. I have never been so happy to see a horse leave- knowing how excited the family was to have her. The 15 year old girl is going to sleep out there tonight on a cot to keep her company. lol =) It is definetly the amazing forever home that every owner wants their horse to go to.
Takara was sad to see Holiday go, but happy she went to such a great home. Sometimes I feel like our house is a half-way house for some of the horses; as a couple of the horses I bought last year would never have sold to anyone because of their bad habits or things people had done to them- and now... I honestly do not have a bad one in the bunch. They all walk/trot/canter- we ride them bareback out on trail. And now- Holiday is in a home that she never could have dreamed of back when she was the trouble horse running over the top of people and had no respect or manners. Life is good at the barn.
Keep me posted.

[SandyG]

I am delivering little Quarter Horse today to her new home. A home where she will be treated well and no mind will be given to her blindness.

This little mare came here frightened to move, with watery eyes, and a big belly from worms. She held her head in and mule kicked when anything went close enough behind her that she could feel its presence. She inhaled her feed and then stood with ears twisting, waiting for the approach of another to steal her food.

She is now round with a fat tummy from hay and feed. She stands with her head up and out. And she comes forward for love on her own. She hasn't mule kicked in weeks. And she scratches the other horse spontaneously. She eats her food but pauses once in a while to smell the food, too. Her eyes are dry and beautiful. She is calm and accepting of human touch and me even walking behind her.

I am so happy for this mare. She had had a tough time of it before she arrived here on Easter Sunday with Dude. But now, her world is anew and she is about to meet her new pasture mate (who can see) and bond with another mare. We have done a good job with this one. Another life saved.

[jetmech]

I am going to miss that little Quarter Horse. She is so sweet and was always the first to come and greet me along with Blaise. She always came so close, almost like cuddlely. I am going to miss here and the sweet thing that she grew into, but am so happy for her that she is going to a home that will give her all the love that she is going to need for the rest of her life. I had been thinking about making her mine since she had been there so long, but I guess that she is not the right one, yet. God Bless you Quarter Horse and your new home.

[Shar]

How did the delivery go?

[SandyG]

Quarter Horse is one amazing little mare. Rose and I pulled her out of the basement of an old dairy barn. She was surrounded by stallions and standing in wet manure. She would pee on her hay and then bend her head down and eat that very same hay. She couldn't move without fear of being attacked by a stallion. Her eyes were watering from the ammonia smell. And she trembled and tucked her butt under when you touched her.

THEN when she arrived here she became borderline aggressive. Not knowing the other horses were kind animals, she used her defenses whenever anything - horse or human! - came near her! Her defenses were biting and mule kicking. I tell you, she would have made a dynamite bucking bronco!!!

Fast forward thirty days and you have a loving little mare who comes forward to the sound of human voices for pets. She first attached to Addie-Girl and was grieving her loss. But low and behold, Laddee appeared within 36 hours and Quarter Horse was once again attached. She didn't seem to mind the smell or the flies that were just part of Laddee's life.

So the little mare I delivered yesterday had stolen the heart of Tom. She nuzzled him and wrapped her head around his neck to hug him. She is "his girl", for sure.

This couple had adopted another horse from THE FARM and so Quarter Horse had already begun the task of attaching to this sighted mare by the time I left after homemade cornbread (now, that's a whole other story! Delicious!!!). And last night, when the two mares were stalled for supper, they both whinied for each other.

It is a bit quiet in the barns this morning without Quarter Horse. I would be dishonest to say I didn't miss her. But she has a great forever home and she already is finding the hay and the water and the fence perimeters all on her own. What a change in this little girl's life. Another Easter Resurrection, I would dare say!

[SandyG]

Today is the last public hours day of this season and I hope to see many of you volunteers out here!

It will be a glorious day where we will celebrate those that have made this season possible....hope to see you here!

And Julie M. - it is your birthday today! Enjoy the day! Even if the days are getting shorter........get it?

[SandyG]

Today was fantastic! OSRose headed up the tours and Pam and Tracy fell in as needed. We had steady - read that as constant! - traffice from about 10:30am through 3:30pm!

People that saw us at Wal-Mart and people from the Shriners and people that heard about us from the St. Paul Pioneer Press! One young lady presented a gift of cash to THE FARM from her projects to raise money for us. How did she raise her money? She held a garage sale and sold perennials! And this young lady was 12 years old!!! ;D Her parents are doing a great job with her. Thank you, Paige!

Our policeman was with us today and did wonders in the garage helping getting ready for the upcoming sale. Thank you, Jason! And Landon, too!

A special thanks to OSRose and Pam W. who have supported THE FARM by being here for all of our public hours this summer. Cound NOT have done this summer without you two! Many thanks for the countless stories you have told and questions you have answered!

[SandyG]

Hitting the ground running this morning - Garage sale to set up for and horses to re-home....paperwork abounding and Gala meetings to attend.....WHEW!!!

Hope all had a great end-of-summer weekend - Here comes the fall! And here comes another year of life, Betty G.! Betty the Human, as BIg Jim used to call her....Happy Birthday, Betty!

For those of you asking, my friend's Mother has not passed yet and my other friend is hanging in there....lonely and crying, but hanging in there. My heart breaks for both of these women. Life can be tough at times...

[tracy1]

happy birthday to Betty G! My heart hurts for these women, I know what it is to feel rejected, disappointed and generally not valued by someone you love. It really stinks.