Hi y'all,

Sitting here doing end of the year tax stuff.  (Have to git 'er done before my next surgery)   Was looking at all the people who donated on and around February 7, 2012.  There were so many people who kicked in $5 or $10 or other amounts so we could go and pick Little Mister up.  I couldn't help but feel the pain of his loss again, and also the tears came thinking about all of you who made it possible for him to spend his last few days loved, safe and warm.  It took so many people to make it possible to go and get him, but together you guys made it happen.   I cannot tell you how awesome y'all are.

Brought joy to my heart and tears also, thinking about so many people trying to help that little guy.  I know that he is safe in heaven, but I couldn't help but think about his short time here on earth and how many people he affected and how many people fell in love with him.

Just wanted to let you know that everything you guys do is amazing, special and never forgotten!!!!.  Thank you again for all you do and God bless y'all.  The pain of losing him is actually kind of a blessing, as If I hadn't been able to pick him up, I wouldn't have fallen in love with him and wouldn't miss him.  So it is all worth it in the long run.

I am so grateful that there are people like you out there and that I can keep the faith and know that God has put all you special angels out there to help us get where we need to get and do what we need to do.  Matt and I are very lucky to have such a wonderful array of "rescue family".

Just sayin'  :)

I attached a picture of him so y'all could see again what a sweetie he was.  I feel so blessed to know that when the next one needs us, it will have so many people to help save it.

Hi y'all,

Chilly Pepper Miracle - Mustang is sending out a big THANK YOU to LOWE'S, in Redding, CA.  Once again, they have demonstrated their love and support for their community.  As most of you know, not only do we specialize in the critical foals, but we are also involved with the local schools and are truly a "community rescue".  It is not "our rescue", it is YOUR RESCUE, and Lowes stepped up AGAIN to do everything they could to help all of us make this a safe place for the animals at the rescue.  We are blessed to belong to such a supportive and compassionate community and that is what saves these critters and lets so many children (and adults) come visit and enjoy them.

We are finding out that living so close to Mt. Lassen puts you in a whole different world weather wise.  Looking out the window, the sky is a brilliant blue, and the trees are magnificent against the pristine, blue backdrop.  The ice and snow are sparkling like tiny diamonds in the sunshine.  It is absolutely beautiful.  It is about 20 degrees and we are living in solid ice.  The ice has been here since before Christmas, and although it is much better for their feet than the mud ,it is quite treacherous.  In the areas where the horses spend the most time, they are walking on about a foot of packed ice.  

Wow, I just glanced out the window in time to see Honey Bandit "sitting" on the ice.  His back feet slipped out and he went down.  However, the good news is that he got right back up and although favoring his back leg slightly, appears to be fine.  Man, that is so very scary.  It makes you panic until you know they are okay.  We of course will watch him like a hawk, but he is walking around and eating just fine.  There is always that little part of you that wants to stuff them in a stall and "protect them", but that is not natural for them.  If we look at the mustangs in the wild, they travel in all kinds of weather, in all kinds of terrain.  The horses have shelter, but make it very clear they would rather be out in the fresh air.

However, due to the severity of the weather we have been having, and the cold and unrelenting temperatures we have been experiencing at night, that little part of me that is so protective, is making sure that their shelters are much warmer than before.  Matt and I decided that we would make the shelters warmer by adding more walls and wind breaks.  The other morning it was said to be about 3 degrees with the wind chill.  It's funny though, because it may warm up to mid 40's during the day and then it feels like spring.  If you look out, you will see the critters scattered all over, soaking up whatever bits of sunlight come through.

So Matt and I headed down to Lowe's to get some wood for the shelters.  Upon arrival, we saw a stack of culled lumber.  We spoke with the manager and he gave us an additional (rather large) discount on the stack.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!   So yesterday Matt and I used our "new wood" and added a couple of much needed walls.  We still have lots more to do, but this will make a huge difference in the wind chill.  The stalls already stayed dry and free of snow, but this will be much nicer for the horses.  As we get the funds, we will be adding additional walls to all the shelters.  It is kind of interesting looking, as it is made up of mismatched pieces, but the horses don't care and we may not be fancy, but we will eventually be warm.

Honey Bandit is now hanging out with Chilly Pepper and Dakota, as he was getting quite pushy with the little ones.  He actually "rolled" Romeo the other day.  He ran right into him and knocked him down.  Romeo is fine, but it is time for Honey Bandit to remember a few more of his manners.  All are well and enjoying the bright and beautiful days.

I did have a recent phone call which was kind of upsetting.  Basically the message was that I should not be trying to find a forever home for one of the horses up for adoption.  Unfortunately, we are not a sanctuary.  We have limited space and extremely limited funds.  We are a "rehab and then re-home".   We have to keep adopting out the babies or we won't have room for the criticals.  Unfortunately this person did not offer to "sponsor" the horse, and just expected us to feed and pay for it the rest of it's life, and as much as I would love to, we simply cannot afford to do so.  It also seems like people are forgetting we are in "crisis" as a horse loving nation.  There were over 100 (not exact on the numbers) of wild mustangs rescued at the last second from being sent to slaughter in Nevada, just in the last couple of months.  The Nevada Dept. of Ag has been continuing to round up the wild mustangs.  People have stepped up to "save them from slaughter", but many do not realize that is just the first step.  Most of these horses are still in temporary homes, and will need to be supported and fed and cared for the rest of their lives.  Yet through all this, there are still sanctuaries out there breeding more unwanted babies.  It is hard not to want to "save them all", but it isn't possible the way things are.  It is heartbreaking on one hand when we find a home for these babies.  After spending 24/7 and then pulling them back to life, it is extremely hard to let them go.  But we simply cannot be available for those emergencies if we don't do what needs to be done, and that is find loving, safe, forever homes for these babies.  This is what they deserve.  So please, when you are passing judgement on the folks who "rescue and re-home", remember that a little piece of their heart leaves with every critter they save and move on, whether it is horses, cats, puppies or whatever.  It is hard.  If you are really concerned about a specific animal, there is always the possibility that you could sponsor that one, and help to save it even if you can't care for it yourself.

Take care and remember - LOWES is the answer to all your hardware needs.  Tell 'em Honey Bandit sent you!

The photo with HB and the feeder is taken on about 1 foot of ice.  Very deceptive as it seems like you are on solid ground until you fall through on those warm sunny afternoons. :)  The horses don't seem to but we sure do.  Guess God made them better at this outside winter stuff than we are.

Honey Bandit and the babies took the screens off the kitchen windows, so now they can "visit".  

The pix of the car shows how much snow is really still out there.  Love it when it's white. .

Bear (black rescued doberman) is starting to spend more time "hanging out" closer to Soldier.  They still have some issues of "who owns mommy", so we are working with that slowly.  The girls spend lots of time playing with him in the pen.

Just thought y'all might like to see what you have accomplished.  We sure appreciate it! and so do the critters!!

Hi y'all,

As usual, life is keeping us pretty busy.  I spent a good share of New Year's eve, dreaming about parties, dancing, pretty clothes and lots of sparkles, as I spent a very cold hour digging through ice and snow with a shovel and a flash light, to find the hose that I had so carefully drained.  It has been awhile since we had a "real winter", and although I remembered to leave the faucet with a drip so it wouldn't freeze, and I remembered to drain the hose, I forgot one really really important fact.  You have to actually be able to find the hose to use it.  But it was another great lesson of how we need to improve our winter prep.  I have to say there will be many things that we will do much better next year!!  :)

The horses are all doing well, although we are feeding about twice as much as normal due to the cold and snow.  But everyone is happy and the youngsters are growing quickly.  Romeo and Rocky have the cutest "winter jammies", and the Rock Star has actually mellowed out quite a bit.  I think being pushed around all the time by Honey Bandit has crushed his little fantasy that he was "it".  He and Romeo are pretty equally ranked, and although they will both push each other around a bit when it is time for grain, neither one of them seems to be the boss of the other.   They are more like brothers, pushing and shoving but never in a serious way.   I think mainly they are sticking together to stay away from Honey Bandit as he is being quite bossy.  

As I looked out in to our winter wonderland, I cannot ignore the beauty of where we live.  The snow is frozen, and sparkles endlessly on the trees and in the sunshine.  The icicles bring back warm childhood memories of days passed.  There is something so magical about looking out and seeing icicles glistening along the eves.  It looks as though everything is covered in diamonds.  (I just love the sparkle).   The air is crystal clean, the sky a brilliant blue and the world feels clean and beautiful.   I can hear the crunch of hooves as I see a resigned Donkey trudging through the ice and snow.  You can tell by the way he looks that once again, this is not his idea.  He is followed closely by the Rock Star and Romeo, and bringing up the rear, all puffed up and proud, is Honey Bandit.  Honey Bandit normally seems like my little old man, but he seems to be thriving in this cold winter weather,  He absolutely loves pushing the others around and making them crunch through the snow.   He is getting a little too pushy around the food though and is almost ready to go back in with the "grown up horses", who will put him in his place.  But for now, he gets to be the boss and think he is a "big shot".

We had taken HB to the Palo Cedro Christmas celebration, but this time we left him in the trailer, instead of putting him in his pen.  He was extremely irritated and promptly turned his butt on me and proceeded to pout the rest of the evening.  Needless to say, he will be back in his "corral", available to mingle with his adoring public next year.  He has been going through a big growth spurt lately and is turning in to a very handsome young man.  It makes me sad though, because it is as if that year of 24/7 care never happened.  He doesn't seem to remember much of anything we did back then.  He acts like he has never seen a blanket before.  PTL he does not need one, but it amazes me that after spending nearly 24/7 with him for a year, and actually moving out and building an attached bedroom so we could sleep with him, it is like it never happened.  Rocky, on the other hand, remembers everything.  But I guess it was just the extent of HB's condition that made him forget, kind of like when you have surgery and don't remember much.  But seriously it would be nice if he remembered as it would make him one of those "bomb proof" ponies.   The Rock Star isn't scared of much.  Romeo is still extremely sensitive around his head, and when he was sick a few months ago, he seemed to have one of his little times when he couldn't remember much.  But he has been doing very well and as long as we are gentle and soft with him, he will have one of the softest heads around.  Rocky, Romeo and Chilly Pepper are all available for adoption.

The nursery is turning out to be absolutely adorable, and we won't have to use "diapeys" on a regular basis.  It is also going to be a Godsend as it is the one place that I will be able to bring in the babies for hoof trimming and winter training.  The stall is large enough for 3-4 "critical foals" (if there are any left by the time NDoA gets through), so we are getting the place much closer to where we need it.  We cannot thank you enough for being part of this and making all of this possible.  Even if you cannot actually adopt, please feel free to come and visit the babies and the rest of the critters.  We love the visits and will never forget that this is your rescue and we are just lucky enough to be hands on. God bless y'all and we thank you in advance for your continued support, prayers, visits and love for the critters in 2013.  We will be sending pix soon, so you can share the smiles.

We also have several miniatures that we are trying to help place.  So if anyone has been looking for a mini, look not further.  Just call us at 530 474 5197 or 530 3339 1458 for more information.  I also want to thank everyone again for the help and support as we were able to get the tank warmers that we need.  It is so amazing to have water instead of ice blocks, and it is crucial for the horses' health to drink enough water.  So many horses colic simply because they don't drink as much water in the winter.   So thank you - you guys rock!!!