Wednesday, July 27, 2011

July 26th, 2011


One of Hytyme's most difficult rescue situations involved Vanilla Bean, Iris (now gone), and another mare named Gimlet. It's hard to imagine the type of abuse and neglect these horses faced. They were "rescued" from the feedlot in Yakima by way of the Columbia Basin Equine Rescue, and sent to a horrible place not fit for any sort of animal life. Why these horses, saved in time from potentially going to slaughter, were sent to a farm that could have rivaled the slaughterhouse as far as cruelty goes, is unknown. Regardless, Hytyme intervened, and these three mares were safe.

The following pictures are pretty graphic. If you don't want to see them, keep scrolling down and you'll see some happier pictures of their recoveries.

Iris:





Iris was a very beautiful older Quarter Horse mare. She was so damaged from her abusive past that she was never able to trust humans. In 2008, a couple years after she arrived at the ranch, she was back to an excellent weight and in good health. Sadly enough, Iris sustained an injury that would have required more invasive treatment than she would allow. She had been through enough, and her mental and physical suffering had to come to an end.

Here's Iris as she looked a year or so after the previous pictures were taken:

It was very sad to lose Iris, but we feel better knowing that she isn't in pain anymore. That's what matters.

Gimlet, another chestnut  mare, wasn't in as bad shape as Iris or Vanilla Bean. You can see her lurking in the background of some of the pictures of Iris above. She was adopted shortly after her arrival at the barn.



Vanilla Bean, who is now a long-time resident and volunteer favorite (and available for adoption!), was also in sad shape. Here are some of her pictures upon arrival at Hytyme. She was around two years old as well as pregnant:

Remarkably, and despite the terrible neglect, Vanilla Bean had an adorable and healthy filly, Baby Bean (also adopted and doing well!).



Many volunteers have worked with Vanilla Bean over the last few years. She's practically a tank! She'll be an excellent trail horse! She's an extremely easy keeper these days, and has really tough feet. She's lived through a lot for such a young horse! What an inspiration.

In other news, things have been going well out at the rescue. Despite a cool and rainy week, this one has been warm and filled with all of our favorite summery happenings.

Shannon hadn't been feeling well, and she came off the big field and was put into a stall. She's perked up, and Jim let her back out with the herd. Peanut Butter Boy's foot is just about healed, and he's also back with his friends.

Michelle was out the other day feeding carrots to all her equine friends. Thanks again, Michelle, for keeping the horses so happy and well supplied with carrots!

Jim has been burying a lot of concrete this week as well, concrete that's left over from the foundation removed to build the arena. Here are some pictures of that project:
The concrete comes from here:





The arena view sure looks awesome, too!


Also this week, Scott came out to volunteer. He was able to fix the leak on the backhoe's big cylinder, which made this concrete removal project lots easier. It's working great now!

Anthony of Running Bare  was out to do trims. Here are some pictures of Anthony and Devon:



More to come soon!

July 24th, 2011

Things are going well out at the rescue!

Hopefully, many of you can attend the 5k Brain Tumor Walk on August 20th! Laurie's strength is truly inspirational, and we want to do something to help and honor her. Our goal is to raise $1,000. Here's the link again to register and join our "Walk For Laurie" team:
http://www.braintumorwalk.org/Portland

Hope to see you all there! August 20th! It will be a blast!

In news from the barn, Juliet and Tempest have joined Braveheart and Granny in the front field. The senior citizens all enjoy their beet pulp and alfalfa pellet mash, and they can also enjoy the clover growing in the field. Juliet seems to be doing particularly well after her teeth floating in April.

After such a wet winter and spring, the pastures are in full bloom. Many of the volunteers and Hytyme crew have noted how green and lush everything is. We will keep monitoring the horses to ensure that no one is experiencing any symptoms of founder.

Kassi recieved an update on one of our favorite Hytyme horses--Mac! He's doing really well with his new family near Bend. Here's a picture; you can see how shiny and good he looks!
Mac grazes with his new friend Ezra in the background
We've gotten some AMAZING updated pictures of two of our adopted horses this week, too. Check out the Facebook page to see pictures of former Hytyme horses Anna (now Remi) as well as Izzy.

One of our long-term volunteers, Dorothy, is back in the area for a few weeks. She's been a Hytyme regular for years, working with horses like Dakota and Peanut Butter Boy. Here's a picture of Dorothy and Natasha--what a nice, untangled mane!

One really, really cool thing about Natasha--her mother was one of the horses to play the Black Stallion in the movies of the same name!

Anyway, welcome back, Dorothy! It's so nice to see you again!

Also in exciting, hay-related news, we've had another 50 tons of hay donated! It's got to be baled and loaded, but it will be an immense help for the upcoming winter (although most of us don't really want to think about winter just yet...). Once it's ready to go, we'll need help (people, trucks, trailers etc.) to get it from Colton to the rescue. We'll update with more information on where and when soon!

A huge thanks for that amazingly generous donation!

Brain Tumor Walk!

From Jim and Sherry:
"Hello all   ---  I've discussed my niece, Laurie, with many of you in the past.  She has been fighting a brain tumor for the last nine years.  Her outlook on life is inspiring and gives me strength when I need it, which is most of the time.  Don't think I could have made it so far without her inspiration. 
Anyway as a gesture of our thanks, Hytyme Equine Rescue has a team in the Brain Tumor Walk on August 20th 2011 at Willamette Park, in Portland Oregon.  If you are interested in joining us please contact www.BrainTumorWalk.org/Portland .  Be sure to join the Hytyme Equine Rescue Team.  We can all walk together.  Laurie, and my sister Debbie, who live in Fiddletown, California, will be at the walk.  They would very much like to meet you all.  Laurie will be walking in a wheelchair.  We can all take turns pushing her.  Your life will be better after you meet her.
This is a win win win situation.  It helps the National Brain Tumor Society.  It helps my Niece Laurie, and it helps Hytyme Equine Rescue.
After the walk will be a hot dog roast at Hytyme. Getting together will be a nice thing, plus we can pet some horses.
Hope to see many of you there.  We are really looking forward to it.
Jim & Sherry

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

a really big thank you!!!

Big, big thanks to the Ruddell Estate for donating hay to Hytyme! Karl Hendon came by the barn about a week ago, letting us know that we could have half the hay cut from a field owned by his inlaws. Karl and his wife, Judy, used to own the Eagle Creek Feed Store. They were also the ones who gave us Bo, a super nice buckskin gelding, who was adopted some years ago by a family in Bend.

Karl guessed there would be about six tons of hay that he could donate to the rescue. After it was baled, Jim and Kassi went to pick it up. They estimated that they could fit the hay in three loads. Well...it wasn't quite six tons. Or three loads. It was quite a bit more, in fact.

Sixteen tons of really nice hay! Yay!

It took nine trips back and forth to bring the hay to the barn (and Jim wanted to make a note that Kassi is one heck of a hay loader!).

It's really lovely hay, and it will help us greatly as we start to think ahead toward winter and hay-feeding season (not that anyone really wants to think about winter when it's 80 degrees and sunny...).

So, thank you, Karl, Judy, and the Ruddell's for this amazing donation!

July 13th, 2011

All sorts of updates! More happy news this time!

First, we'd like to congratulate two new adopters! This week brought adoptions for Ada and Velvet, two of our long-term residents. Both are young mares, and they have deserved their own special people for some time!

First to get to her new home was Ada. Ada is a dark bay, nearly black, Quarter Horse mare. She came from the feedlot in Yakima. She's a lovely horse, and a volunteer favorite for years.
Congratulations to Sam and Trish! Ada will be living at the same barn as Smokey. Here are some pictures of her arrival at her new home:

Best of luck to Ada, Sam, and Trish! Keep us updated on your progress!

Our second adopted horse this week was Velvet. You can look to previous entries and read about Velvet and the four fillies. All were rescued from the feedlot in Yakima as well, and their road to recovery was long and arduous. Velvet had issues with people touching her head and feet, and needed a very special person to work with her and help her recover from whatever past trauma she endured.

Last week, Lynne came to meet Velvet. She decided to adopt her, so this week, Jim and Sherry delivered Velvet to Redmond, Oregon, all the way on the other side of Mt. Hood.
Velvet loaded up just fine, and was content for the 140-mile drive. Here are some pictures of Velvet in her new home:

Velvet meets her new neighbor
(a black horse in pink tack--very cool!)
Velvet gets used to her new surroundings
another neighbor (this one is a Hackney pony!)
Velvet looks right at home here. Thank you, Lynne, for taking on Velvet! We are so happy that Velvet can live with you--and we look forward to hearing about all your upcoming adventures!

At the barn, things are also going well. All the regulars have been out and doing great things with the horses. Peanut Butter Boy is feeling better, and he's happy to be back out in the big field with his friends. All is well at the barn!

A note to volunteers:

Because of insurance reasons, we will no longer be able to have volunteers who are under 18 years old. It's impossible for the Hytyme representitives and boarders to monitor all activities and situations. Those who are under 18 can still come to Hytyme, but they must be taking lessons or working  under Kassi's direct supervision. Her email is k-sessions@hotmail.com. Thanks for your understanding! More to come soon!