November 28th
It is 3:09 a.m. and the newest member of our rescue is finally settled in. AMERICA - MEET AND FALL IN LOVE WITH "PRECIOUS". She is another "side-effect" of what happens from the stress of the roundups. Her mama was young, and ended up not having enough milk and "dumping" her baby. PTL the folks were paying attention and brought her in to help her out. We received the call this afternoon and brought her to Chilly Pepper - Miracle Mustang........... She cannot get up by herself, and although from a distance under all her long hair you cannot tell, she was severely dehydrated and underweight. She is weak, but a fighter. As usual - we need help, prayers, love, support and good energy. Matt and I were truly amazed and SO THANKFUL that she actually made it home alive. She is far away from being out of the woods, and under all that hair is actually much thinner than Mikey & Ikey were. So we are asking y'all to help us with another Miracle Mustang. THANK YOU TO THE FOLKS THAT TOOK CARE OF HER UNTIL WE COULD HELP! BIG HUGS! Let's have another miracle. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Later...
Precious is still with us. Just have to figure out how to lift her - for all she is so skinny, she still is heavy to lift. She did well the rest of this morning, having fluids every hour. She is eating and actually drank some of her water on her own. Please keep sending prayers and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Later...
Precious is fighting the beginning of a cold? Respiratory infection? So she had her first Vibra VM treatment. Was interesting since she is not even halter trained and from what I understand only had hands on pretty much when she was being lifted or helped to stand up. She did really well. Please say your prayers for her & the rest of the critters. Thanks

November 29th
Precious is hanging in there. It is such a roller coaster ride with these criticals. I was bouncing for joy (and with my knee that is really something - haha) yesterday because we got her eating her munchies, and then a few hours later she was completely lethargic, with her cold in evidence and looking like she was crashing big time. It really looked like we were gonna lose her. They can crash in minutes, and it is so emotional.

I am anxiously awaiting the point where she tries to help when we pick her up. She does whinny like crazy when she needs to get up and go potty, and she is just the sweetest little thing that ever walked the earth. Trying to get some of that gunk off her today. Although you cannot tell, I brushed her for about half an hour yesterday - but you simply cannot over do too much at once. I know she looks awful, but we brushed her until she got too tired.

Video of Precious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7AOzGPwF6M&feature=youtu.be

Hi All,


First of all, I would like to thank all of you who are part of our rescue and helping to keep it going.  It is so amazing to have the privilege of doing the hands on care of all the critters that come through here,  but the only way we are able to do so is because of  all you folks who support us in so many ways.  Whether it be networking, prayer, donations, or just by being there when we are struggling, YOU ARE THE REASON THAT MIKEY & IKEY, AND ALL THE OTHERS HAVE SURVIVED!  SO THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS ALL THAT YOU DO!   This is definitely the season for thinking about all that you have to be thankful for, and WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR, AND SO APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU AND THE WAY YOU MAKE ALL OF THIS HAPPEN!!!


I have some very good news about Ikey & Mikey.  Both of these little ones have improved so much.  Their breathing, although not always perfect, is much better, and although Mikey still tends to have a cough once in awhile it seems that lately they are both acting much like normal little babies.  They are starting to play more and more and are growing in leaps and bounds.  Both boys had their first trim (of sorts) while standing upright the other day.


Prior to that, I had done a tiny bit of reshaping of their hooves while they were lying down.  They were so close to death when we got them that they could care less what we did.  However, it is quite difficult to trim and shape little hoofers when they are not where you can really see them.


Both of the boys "stance" has improved so much.  Ikey is still down quite a bit, but coming up gradually as we had hoped.  We had discussed wrapping their legs which might have made them stand upright quicker, but there were several things to consider.  When babies are that compromised, you don't want to make too many changes or put too much stress on their system.  Also, any time you cast or wrap something, it causes it to need the wrap and weaken.  I have unfortunately had too much experience with that with my own knee.  Also, it can sometimes cause more pain to their tendons and ligaments when you change the way they stand too quickly.


Mikey's legs are coming along beautifully and Ikey's are a little further behind, but improving.  The more they run and play the stronger they are getting.  It is so wonderful to see them acting like normal little babies and running and playing.  Unfortunately, you can still see a bit of the trauma they must have gone through during the auction from the way they were handled.  Every once in awhile you can see the fear from a memory when they were mishandled,, but that is decreasing little by little.  I know that the woman who had them after the auction was amazing with them, but even Honey Bandit seems to hold the memories of the roundup and all that excessive energy.  There seems to be missing times in their memories though.  Much like Honey Bandit, the first month or so that Mikey & Ikey were here they were so ill that they don't really seem to remember much.  It's funny because that is when you would like to think you were bonding the most, but it is so far in the backs of their minds that they often don't or can't remember it.  They definitely remember times before and after that though.  I guess it is not that different from not being able to remember the time around surgical recovery etc.


We are ready to start planning Ikey's hernia repair.  It is definitely bad enough where it could be deadly if it isn't repaired, and he is tired of me stuffing his guts back inside of him 4 or 5 times a day.


I am sending a few photos of some of the "before and after"s that y'all have made happen.  Sometimes it is easy to forget how much difference you guys have made in so many lives.  Have a wonderful holiday season and a very Merry Christmas.  We are helping God's creatures as He puts them before us, and so blessed that we can all have a part in it and accomplish so much together.

WOW - I knew Mikey & Ikey were hard on the propane bill, but just found out exactly how hard. My last fill up lasted 6 months, as we only use it for hot water and cooking. I was filled up SEPTEMBER 12, about 7 days before we picked up the boys and needed to REFILL AGAIN NOVEMBER 7TH to the tune of $467.26 and the ONLY difference is that the nursery needed to be heated. Please say your prayers for warmer nights and healthier babies..... There are so many hidden costs for these little ones. Luckily we are using a little less each night now, but it will depend on the weather. Hopefully I can get the Monitor heaters hooked up soon and get some kerosene going as they are supposed to be more efficient. But we do what we need to for these babies. They are growing so much and feeling better overall but we are still fighting their lung issues. Thank you for all your support and prayers. Was in sticker shock this a.m.

The boys are growing like crazy and even have enough energy to play for a few minutes most days.  However, as much as the Vibra VM machine is helping, they still have a cough.  We are talking to the vet about which antibiotics to try now.  We didn't want to just flood them with antibiotics as that is so damaging for them.


Please keep us all in your prayers and thank you for continuing to support these little guys.  They have been through so much and are such fighters.  They will be up for adoption at a later date, but ONLY TOGETHER, AND ONLY WITH A GUARANTEE THAT THEY REMAIN TOGETHER THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.  I have never seen two babies more closely connected.  It is like they are biological twins - (even though they are not even related).  But they have pulled each other through it all, and are so protective of each other.  The machine is loud at this point and the baby that is not being treated is always at my elbow to make sure the other one is ok.


God Bless y'all and make someone smile today!


hugs p

Hi, 

Sorry it has been awhile.  I have to say that the three of us have been a bit exhausted.  For the last 6 weeks, we have all been awake pretty much 24/7.  The boys could only lie down for a short time, and they were coughing a great deal of the time also.

We received a wonderful donation of the Vibra VM, a machine that helps break up mucous and the plugs and helps decrease the inflammation in the airways.    www.vibravm.com    Today is day 4, and there seems to be a teeny tiny difference.  I cannot tell you how many times we have had foals and folks will visit and tell me that "they are fine, or doing better", when that little voice inside my head is telling me - "no, they are definitely not", and they are not "OK".   I am very blessed because God chose us to do this, and that He gave me such a wonderful mentor that I can call day and night.  Believe me, I have spent many nights on the phone with Shirley in tears, hoping and praying that Mikey & Ikey would actually make it through the night.   I didn't wake up one day and say "oh - I want to take care of foals".  God put it in front of me and I am so very grateful that this is my tiny part of the horse world.  I don't ever take for granted the privilege of being able to do this, and I am always amazed at how wonderful you folks are and how you keep stepping up to provide what these babies need.  Thank you and God bless you so much.   It is exhausting, heartbreaking and absolutely wonderful.  The reason I mention this is because I am having one of those "feelings", and it is telling me that something is changing for the better.

There is nothing really that you can see, with the exception of the fact that the boys are "different" and are able to get more rest.  Both are still having breathing difficulties, but it seems that there is a tiny improvement.  I really cannot say what it is, but I am getting the feeling that we are starting that climb up the mountain to being better.  If there are 100 steps for them to climb to be healthy, we are on about #3.  But 4 days ago, they were progressively getting worse.  So I am hoping and praying that we continue to climb in huge leaps and bounds.  The change is so small, but I truly believe that they are no longer getting worse.

Doc wants to hold off on giving them antibiotics and give them a chance to get better.  She said it could be a bacterial infection and we should just watch them closely.  As everyone knows, too many antibiotics cause many more problems if they are not needed.  We have not ruled out using another antibiotic if we need to, but this is the first time in 6 weeks that they are not getting worse, so I am going to keep doing the treatments and watch them closely.

Thank you so much for your donations.  It is so nice to know that whatever these guys need, they will have.  Again, please be patient as I will send out individual thank you's as soon as I am able.