We have been so busy at the California Shelter. We thought it was going to be slower with only a few appointments on the schedule. Boy were we wrong.
A young man called and desperately needed help with a very small pony that he was given. This young man did not know how to care for the pony. His friend had told him the pony was foundering and needed to be moved off pasture and thats when he decided to bring him to our shelter.
Mr. Pony aka Smalls, was very uncomfortable when he first arrived at the shelter. His feet had not been trimmed and he had a lot of extra weight on his body. Ponies should not be overfed and need regular hoof trims just like full size horses.
Small’s hooves were long and he had chipped and cracked most of them.
His feet were very tender and he wanted to get off of them frequently.
Melissa couldn’t wait for the farrier to arrive at the shelter to help Smalls feel more comfortable. Smalls had his hooves trimmed and was a perfect gentleman. His feet aren’t perfect yet but with a few more trims on a regular schedule he will have great looking hooves again.
After Smalls had his trim he was given a lot of extra bedding in his shelter so he would have a soft area to stand. We knew he may be a little sore after his trim.
Pancake got her hooves trimmed too. Unlike Smalls Pancake does not like having her hooves trimmed yet. She is improving but we still had to resort to safety measures to finish the job. Sue was thankful she didn’t fight to much.
We received updates on Ulysses who was adopted earlier this year. His owner adores him and sent us some photos to show us how much Ulysses has come along in his training.
Thank you Elena and Eddie for giving Ulysses a safe and happy home. We love the beautiful photos and updates.
Smalls had a visitor just a few days after he had his feet trimmed. Samantha fell in love with Smalls. She was already an approved adopter. Samantha wanted Smalls to come home the following day. She didn’t have a trailer of her own. Tanya helped load Smalls into the Horse Plus trailer and Jay delivered him. Congratulations Smalls and Samantha.
Our shelter held a Last Act of Kindness clinic this week. Kelly is one of our newer volunteers. She made sure every horse received extra treats. She went through and groomed each horse and told them they were all special and well loved. Thank you Kelly for helping us show compassion to all the animals during their last moments with us. These clinics offer horse owners who have horses that need euthanasia a humane option rather than dumping their horses at auctions or putting them free on Craigslist.
Zach and Joanna were building a much needed coop for all the roosters that are surrendered. We currently have one smaller coop that just wasn’t big enough to lock everyone up at night. Zach and Joanna donated all the material, lumber and labor. Thanks to these two hard working dedicated volunteers and donors our roosters will be much safer at night.
Tina from A Grazing Grace called us and said she would be picking up two donkeys close to our shelter. Tina knew she would need help getting them loaded. They had halters on but did not like to be caught. When we all arrived to pick up the donkeys we knew extra care would be needed. The two jenny’s are older and severely underweight and have skin issues from dehydration. The lighter gray jenny was having a difficult time even moving around.
We got the two loaded into Tina’s trailer and knew they were not going to make the 3.5 hour drive back to her shelter. We all agreed to take them back to our rescue that is only 20 mins from where they were picked up. We were able to unload Marshmallow the darker jenny fairly easily but Misty was not going to be able to take the big step down. We had to put together a makeshift ramp and guide her out.
This is Marshmallow after she was unloaded at our shelter. She’s very shy but curious.
This is Misty. She’s very dehydrated and full of pain. We gave her fluids and pain medications to make her more comfortable.
Marshmallow and Misty are both older, tired and very weak. The vet will be evaluating them, we are praying for the best and keeping them as comfortable as we can until the vet can see them soon.
Please help us in the work we do saving animals in need, we can’t do it without you!