March 27th, 2011

Wow, sorry for the delay in posts! Not much has been happening at the rescue in the last few weeks (and a certain blogger was on spring break in North Dakota...which is almost an oxymoron).

This March is on record for one of the most rainy months of all time, even for a soggy state like Oregon. It hasn't even gotten up to 60 degrees yet, which, as many of you Oregonians know, is certainly possible (if only for a day or two) at this time of year.

The horses in the east pasture are still in their winter quarters, but they spend most of their time in the side pasture that Jim recently opened up. They are spending all of their time in the new, less muddy field, or inside the barn. Hope and Cameo are still in the big field alone, but they prefer this arrangement, seemingly.

The volunteers and boarders have been hard at work, like usual. The past weeks have brought Sam and Katie to see their horses, and both have been helping Jim out tremendously.  Sasha, Julie, Kari--these are volunteers who have been out regularly. There are two new volunteers, too: Katie (another Katie!) and Jeff.

Sasha has been working with Vanilla Bean and mucking stalls. New Katie and Jeff have been cleaning stalls and organized an office area. Julie has been out at the barn, and although she is sad that Jasmine was adopted, she's happy that Jasmine went to a really great home.

Speaking of volunteers, now is the time for spring grooming! Besides mud, this time of year is when horses shed their thick coats and need some attention to get the winter mud and grime off of them. And, they all will appreciate the attention! Some of their manes have gotten very tangled over the last few months. Usually, spring brings new activity to the rescue. Volunteers who may be hesitant of mud, rain, and cold start to arrive. We can use all the help we can get--and the horses will thank you!

Another call for volunteers: Chuck will be at the barn on April 2nd, and any help holding horses for their farrier appointments and pedicures is much appreciated!

Also, don't forget to check out the Sponsor-a-Horse page. Some of our older residents could use some new friends and sponsors. Check out http://www.hytymeequinerescue.org/ for more info on this really important fundraising effort! For only $29 a month, you'll get updates and reports on your sponsored older horse. For some of our aged residents, like Braveheart, Granny, or Cameo, there are no adoptions in their future. They'll spend the rest of their lives at Hytyme. The older horses at Hytyme are very special and very wise. They love attention, grooming, and treats, too!

We'd like to also wish our favorite Carrot Lady, Michelle, a speedy recovery from surgery!

In just a few weeks, the horses will be much sleeker, the pastures will be drier, and the weather will be warmer. The horses will start to transform--so visitors in the next few weeks, pay close attention. Everyone will be looking very different in a short time!

Here's a picture that Amanda, Jim and Sherry's granddaughter, took of a rainbow:

There's bound to be a pot of gold somewhere out there!

March 13th, 2011

This weekend brought all the regulars--Katie, Sam (who is feeling better, yay!), Becca and Joey, Kassi, and some of our newer volunteers, too. Sasha was out to work with Vanilla Bean and Ada, too. There are two new girls, another Katie, and Kari. Kari is a student at Estacada High, and she is a good rider. She'll be working with Velvet. Katie plans on being out at the barn most Friday mornings. Both are great additions to our wonderful crew of volunteers!
Chuck and Anthony were out to trim hooves, too, and Jodene came out to see Abby and get her feet done as well.

Things were a bit more quiet on Sunday. Buddy and Hope both got some exercise in the arena, as did Story. The wind started to pick up around 4, and pretty soon, the wind was blowing sand all around the arena. Jim was in the first barn, and rain blew in through the doorways, soaking all the horses who were standing inside.

Katie and Sam had to hold Story and Charm inside. For the most part, the horses were very good--those in the big field decided to stay in the open. For the humans, it was hard to decide where to be.

The winds were close to 80 miles per hour! Yikes!

The storm showed up really fast, and it knocked down branches and powerlines all over the area. Here's a news story about the storm: Clackamas County 3/13/11

At the barn, an oak tree came down, and the storm also about half a plum tree next to Jim and Sherry's house. A few trees blew down at the far end of the pasture, on the trail, but those weren't too damaging.

The heavy winds took down much of the electric tape around the fences, so Jim and Katie had to go out in the rain to fix them. Jim and Sherry went almost 24 hours without power. The horses in the big field went through part of the fence and went out to graze in the portion of the field that's fenced off for now. They were all very happy about that. Later, Jim will open up a smaller field, to start getting the horses used to the grass again after this long, wet, windy winter.

There are more storms in the forecast this week, so let's hope that none are as crazy as this one!

March 12th, 2011

For the past three years, the pre-vet club at Willamette University has organized a worming day for the Hytyme horses. On Saturday, these really nice girls from Willamette were here trudging through mud to worm all of the rescued horses. Here are some pictures of their day at the barn:

All of the horses were wormed except for the boarders' horses and Cameo. In the second to last picture, it looks like one of the Willamette girls is trying to get to Cameo, but, as usual, she doesn't want any part.

Thank you, Willamette University pre-vet club! We appreciate all your hard work and dedication to helping us out each year with our winter worming and veterinary maintenance!


On Saturday, we had another long-distance visitor. A man came from north of Spokane to look at Caroline, one of the Morgan mares. Since Caroline had been adopted the day before, he decided to meet Jewell and Jasmine, the remaining Morgans. He liked both of them so much that he couldn't pick just one, and decided to adopt both! Jewell and Jasmine are very bonded, so he didn't want to separate them. They will be living on his ranch, and they'll be working cattle--a very cool life for two very cool horses! We wish everyone the best of luck!




Good Luck, Jasmine and Jewell!

The one downfall to this double adoption was that it took three hours to get Jewell and Jasmine into the trailer. Their new owner had an 8-hour drive ahead of him, but these two girls decided to take their time. Eventually, they loaded up, and were on their way north. Most of the afternoon looked more like this (three hours worth!):




Sponsor a Horse!

There are a number of horses that will be living out the rest of their lives at Hytyme. These horses are too old or injured for adoption, and they are part of the Hytyme family. All were rescued at one point or another in their lives. Maybe it's not feasible that you can come out to the barn regularly, or maybe you live too far away to meet any of the Hytyme residents in person. Maybe you can't afford a rescue horse of your own, but you still want to help.

For $29 a month, you can sponsor one of the permanent residents at Hytyme. Every three months, you'll get updates on your sponsored horse as well as photos and videos so you can see how your horse is doing. You'll help cover their feed, veterinary, and farrier expenses, and you'll ensure that these horses live out their lives in peace and comfort.

Check out our webpage with more information on this brand-new program. There are also pictures of our permanent residents. Expect more of their stories to come!

http://www.hytymeequinerescue.org/HyTymeEquineRescue/Donate.html#grid

March 11th, 2011

There hasn't been a whole lot of activity out at the rescue this week, which is good! This weekend, however, brought a new home for Caroline, one of the young Morgan mares. Caroline's new owner is Ellee, who happens to be Carrie Ann's niece. To give you even more names and Hytyme history, Carrie Ann adopted Norma Jean and Jake.

Norma Jean was a big Percheron, one of Jim and Sherry's first feedlot rescues and mentioned in an earlier post; and Jake was a beautiful chestnut Thoroughbred. He had a hole cut in his palate--some sort of procedure done so he would be able to breathe easier when he ran.
Here is a very technical link about his condition:
dorsal displacement of the soft palate--Merck Veterinary Manual.



Jake at a 2009 training day at Hytyme

Back to Caroline and her new person, Ellee--congratulations! Caroline is one of the sweetest horses around and has been deserving her own special person for as long as she's been at the rescue. She really started to blossom with attention and training, and now she's onto the next chapter in her life.

Here are some pictures of Carrie and Caroline working together:

And now Ellee and Caroline together:

Congratulations to Ellee and Caroline! They are going to be a great pair, and they'll be together for a long time! We look forward to all their wonderful stories!



Michelle the carrot lady was out giving the horses their favorite treats, too. They probably know the sound of her car coming down the driveway!

That orange bag on the ground? All carrots.