Wednesday, April 27, 2011

April 19th, 2011

Sun! Finally!

It was a glorious weekend out at the rescue. So far, this year has been totally weird, weather-wise. By mid-April, this part of Oregon usually has had 17 days over 60 degrees. We've had three so far. Things are looking up!

It was a very busy weekend for us. Many of the regular crowd was out. Michelle the Carrot Lady is feeling so much better, and she was here to give the horses their favorite treats. Kim and her daughters, Brooke and Vanessa, were out mucking stalls. Brittany and Logan stopped by to groom horses. Kari mucked stalls. Kassi was out to work with horses and show horses that were up for adoption. Of course, Sam and Katie were at the barn, being their usual amazing selves.

One of our long-time volunteers, Amelia, is coming back from college in Montana on May 10th. Amelia worked with Boss, the most troubled of the four fillies, and gained Boss's trust. Boss is stunted, and as a result of malnutrition and neglect, won't really grow much more. She's stunted a bit mentally, too, from whatever horrific past she endured. Thanks to Amelia, Boss has realized that people aren't all so bad. We're excited to see what the summer holds for Boss and Amelia!

As those of you who know Boss understand the importance of Amelia's hard work. On another blog, we'll share some more of Boss's history and progress. (This paragraph is also a bit of a hint about our mystery horse in the last post...!)

In other fun and exciting news, we have a Facebook page!!! Check it out!

Jodene put this wonderful page together for all our friends, and to keep them updated about what's happening at Hytyme. You can see some great pictures over there (including many of Boss!). You can also see lots of videos of life at Hytyme, and learn what some of our adopted equines are up to these days.

If you've got a Facebook profile--definitely "like" the Hytyme Equine Rescue page!

Mystery horse!



Guess who this is? Hint: she is one of the four fillies...

Friday, April 15, 2011

April 15th, 2011

Today was an extremely sad day at Hytyme.

Sam called Jim this morning to let him know that Cash was limping badly. Cash, featured on an earlier blog, was a young Thoroughbred gelding who has called Hytyme his home for most of his short life. Abandoned at an auction with his mother, Spendy, the two were brought to the rescue in 2007.

Jim rushed out to get Cash and discovered a deep wound on his stifle joint. The cut went right into his joint and was very swollen. Dr. Rosario was out at the barn in about 15 minutes to see what was going on. A deep wound into the joint is a difficult predicament alone, but Dr. Rosario thought that he may have had a fracture there as well. There wasn't much of a choice, and Cash was put to sleep. He is buried in Grannie's pasture near a big oak tree.

Cash was a good guy, very playful and nosy. He had a number of fans at the rescue--volunteers who worked with him over the course of his four years or so at Hytyme. While we're sad to lose such a young, promising horse, we are glad that he was spared the terrible fate of the auction or slaughterhouse.

Goodbye, Cash. We'll miss you.

April 9th, 2011

A few days without rain! Amazing! This weekend brought all the regulars--all who must have been extremely surprised to be working with their horses on an actual sunny day. This summer can't come soon enough...

Here's an interesting sight: Jim captured an albino robin on camera. Check it out!



A quiet week at the barns. Jim brought Hope, Cameo, Shannon, and Natasha inside the first barn so they could all get out of the terrible rain (i.e. the younger horses were being very bossy about not sharing the shelter with the older ladies). Now each has their own dry stall and run for the time being. When everyone gets back out into the pasture, Hope, Cameo, Shannon, and Natasha will join them. Until then, they'll be fine in their private quarters.

On April 8th, our friend, Dr. Shakyra Rosario from Eagle Fern Equine Hospital came to float teeth. It was a busy day for her! She met with eight lucky (well, they might not think so) horses to inspect and float teeth. Everyone did very well!



Dr. Rosario and Juliet
 Some interesting information was discovered about Hope--she's a bit older than we've thought! Dr. Rosario estimated her age is actually in the mid-twenties. Don't tell Hope this, though. She's convinced she's only 18 years old...

Juliet had a tough time this winter holding her weight, so we've been feeding her a mash of beet pulp, senior, and alfalfa pellets. She seems to be feeling better with her improved diet, but Dr. Rosario had a look at her teeth. She determined Juliet was most likely in her 30's, and that two teeth were giving her a lot of trouble. Those teeth were pulled. The rest of her molars are pretty much gone, so she'll be enjoying her soft diet for the rest of her life. 

We do have a bit of a dilemma on our hands, considering Juliet, however. Juliet, as some of you may remember, is Tempest's best friend--and eyes. Although they may have their squabbles, Tempest depends on Juliet because Tempest is blind. Tempest is about ten years younger than Juliet, so we may have to start integrating a replacement friend into their lives.

In better news, our dear Carrot Lady, Michelle is back! We are so happy she's on the mend (and the horses are particularly happy, too!).

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

April 6th, 2011

Rain and mud, mud and rain--it seems that's all that has been happening at the rescue in these past few wet weeks. This is the worst spring in a long time--it's been cold, wet, and dreary weather for days on end. At least some of the trees are starting to sprout leaves and flowers are beginning to grow. Maybe spring is in sight? We need just a few warm days to get the big field growing, so the horses will have plenty of grass to enjoy.

Here are some mud pictures so you can see what the humans and horses of Hytyme are contending with:







If you come to the barn, you'll need some serious rubber boots...


Friday was the warmest day of the year, practically. All the regular volunteers were out, and they enjoyed the brief break from rain and wind. Saturday brought a bit of hail, and a biting, chilly wind. The horses all seemed a little loopy from the constant barometric changes. A few had gotten into the big field and spent all of Friday and Saturday running around and eluding the people who tried to catch them. Everyone was back safely by Saturday, though, after Jim lured the escapees from one field to the next with some delicious grain.

Michelle the Carrot Lady was back out at the barn this weekend, which is wonderful news! She's recovering from surgery, and we've definitely missed her. The horses have missed her, too. She mentioned that Shanu, a horse who called Hytyme home for a brief period before moving to California, was sick. Thankfully, it wasn't her time, and Shanu has made a good recovery.

Also, in more good news, we'd like to thank a long-time friend of Hytyme, Scott, for a wonderful donation of $500! Scott's been one of our biggest supporters and good friends over the past few years. Thank you, Scott, for everything!

One of Scott's favorite horses is Dunny. Dunny is a big red dun gelding with a lot of lameness issues. We'll talk more about Dunny on a future post (he's been doing wonderfully with a new kind of boot--a Boa Boot). Here is a picture, though, of Dunny and some new visitors to Hytyme:

March 30th, 2011

What a great day at Hytyme!

Several weeks ago, Sara, a teacher from the Oregon Trail Primary Academy contacted Jim. She taught a class of second and third graders. These second and third graders loved animals, especially horses. They wanted to help horses, and thus raised $202 dollars to donate to Hytyme. What a wonderful gift!

So, Sara arranged for her cass to take a field trip to Hytyme. The entire class came to the barn and had a tour with Jim. The twenty boys and girls from The Oregon Trail Primary Academy were some of the nicest kids Jim has ever met!



Here are some pictures of the kids as they toured the rescue:



Meeting Rosa


Meeting horses in the big field



Meeting Braveheart

There was one horse the kids couldn't wait to meet: Hope.

Hope's story is featured on the Hytyme website: http://www.hytymeequinerescue.org/, and so are the pictures of Hope as she recovered from starvation. The students from The Oregon Trail Primary Academy saw Hope's picture and read her story online and fell in love. Jim must have told her story ten times! All the kids laughed when Jim mentioned that her original name was Rhubarb.

Hope, as some of you may know, can be one tricky horse! She didn't want any part of being caught, but she came up to the side of the barn for a visit. All the kids were able to see her in person, and they could see what a rehabilitated rescue horse looks like.



Typical Hope!
Thanks again to Sara and the class at Oregon Trail Primary Academy for the really fun day and the hard work they put in to raise that money for us. We really appreciate it, and we'll remember this visit forever!