CHILLY PEPPER - OUT OF TRAGEDY COMES "HOPE" - literally!! URGENT HELP NEEDED!

I have to say that this is probably the hardest update I have ever had to write. For over a year we have been working with a rescue in Naples Idaho. Everything was great for about a year, until it was not, and then it was beyond horrible and the devastation was heartbreaking. There is no worse feeling than knowing you have spent so much time and money and worked so hard to make sure a horse is safe and then you find out something like this. So we picked up all of ours who are not being held for evidence in the court case.

Matt and I had been to the rescue in question numerous times and the horses were all fat and happy. There was lush pasture and we wanted to live there. The horses were all doing well and we received updates via photos and videos. We also shared our visits and how awesome things were.

We visited the horses remaining in Idaho as "evidence". Although it was beyond heartbreaking, they are under great veterinary care and the lady providing them with the care while the case gets under way is like a ferocious mama bear and I so relate to that. So now the healing starts... (immediately for the horses, and hopefully some day for our hearts.)

As I write this, we have 8 horses in our trailer (7 that we are bringing back to the rescue), 1 whose frantic Mom is on her way to get her, and Mel is babysitting the 9 "slaughter babies" we were in the middle of picking up.

So while we are waiting for the final paperwork to bring our horses home, Little Man Gypsum was enjoying all the attention. He is doing well and our vet is very hopeful is leg will heal well. He had been our newest "critical care orphan".

As I went out to check the wild horses I noticed a miracle. The horses had been abnormally agitated last night, and the answer lay on the floor. There in the midst of 24 wild horse hooves lay a teeny tiny little foal. HOPE was perfectly formed and I couldn't believe she was alive.

Her mama had "done her job", and had nothing left to give. She showed no interest in her beautiful baby, although by some miracle she had kept her from getting squashed on the trailer floor. She watched as Matt picked up Hope and brought her to me. (there was an amazing amount of stress and work to make that happen lol). Her mama is emaciated and has no bag. It is absolutely amazing that she had a healthy baby. SO Far, Hope seems very healthy and has had her Colostrum and is receiving critical care. She is feisty and bouncy and hanging out with Gypsum.

What happened to this rescue really made me stop and think. It is terrifying how everything could be so "good", and then someone just stops caring or even feeding the critters. I don't understand how you can hurt any animal. It is beyond heartbreaking. It really makes you want to hang up the towel and walk away.

Then comes HOPE. God gave us a huge blessing in the midst of despair and chaos. So we have something even more to fight for.

But the reality is that we are bringing 7 more horses to the rescue that need special feed and care and some of the slaughter babies. We are needing funds to do Coggins and Health Certs so we can bring the 9 babies, and now we have 2 additional orphan foals, ages a week plus and 8 or 9 hours old who are really enjoying their milk.

At this point we are beyond grateful that it appears that the "weanlings" we were standing by to pick up, are going to be held (to my understanding) through the winter so they can be adopted. Thanking God for that one.

Some of the 9 babies will be placed on the way home, thanks to folks having prepped to help the weanlings.

Thank you for ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT - Especially during hard times like these. As always, we will do everything we can to make sure the horses have good homes. Although it doesn't change anything for the horses, there were lots of folks who believed in that rescue, and we are all shocked and horrified. When I found out about the situation, Ted Bundy flashed in my mind. We lived in fear for many a year as he poached women at our lake. He is a perfect example. Someone everyone trusted; well liked and oh so personable. Who knew a monster hid inside.

But there is never a rest. This teeny tiny little one needs the critical care we specialize in, so back to work we go. She is the start of the healing and of looking forward to better times. As of now we are waiting on paperwork so we can get back to Yakima and get the babies ready. Thank you for making this happen.

Oh yeah - and a great big thank you to Willis Lamm for helping us plan our approach to safely getting this baby out of a trailer filled with so many anxious hooves. So many times in what we do the Large Animal Rescue training comes in to play. The chances of getting a baby out of a trailer filled with stressed out wild horses without her getting stepped on are not really high. But with God's grace and the training we have had (and the luxury of having Willis to help us come up with a viable plan), it all worked out in the parking lot. (Not always my favorite place to move wild horses about.)

"CAM" feeding Gypsum his bottle.

If you want to help You can go to You Caring - to help us keep saving lives..

You can go to Paypal - Palominodancer@yahoo.com or go to our Donate & Support page
if you would like to help these horses.

You can donate via check at Chilly Pepper - Miracle Mustang, P.O. Box 190 Golconda, NV 89414

You can also donate via credit card by calling Palomino at 530-339-1458.

NO MATTER HOW BIG OR HOW SMALL - WE SAVE THEM ALL!
SAVING GOD'S CRITTERS - FOUR FEET AT A TIME

Chilly Pepper - Miracle Mustang, WIN Project - Rescue & Rehab

_We are now part of the WIN Organization
WIN (WILD HORSES IN NEED) is a 501c3 IRS EIN 55-0882407_