May was a very busy month! Between the auction and the 1-Day Open Door Shelter in TX, and all the other rescuing and sheltering we have been doing, it’s been a very hectic month. The horses at the shelter have been taking it easy: munching on hay, enjoying the fresh grass, visiting potential adopters, and working with our trainer.
Speaking of hay, hay is just starting to be cut here in TN and there is nothing that smells better than fresh cut hay! We go through a lot of hay, about 200 of these round bales through last winter. This summer we have to get a hay barn up so we can store the hay through the winter so we don’t have to buy it one load at a time. We are currently researching hay barn prices and options.
The mules and donkeys were all ears with curiosity when the vet came out. Little did they know the vet was there to geld the boys who needed it.
One by one they were gelded. They woke up wondering what happened.
The two stallions from the auction were gelded too. It was a very busy gelding day!
The sad part was when the vet evaluated Paloma. Paloma was the extremely emaciated horse that we rescued from the auction. It turned out she had been on the kill truck, and was unloaded at the auction as the kill buyer was planning on buying more horses to fill his truck. Due to her poor condition, he pulled her from the kill pen and ran her through the auction. He knew she wouldn’t make the trip.
The vet had bad news. Paloma had cancer and was suffering from other medical problems as well. The vet believed she was in her late 30’s, maybe even early 40’s. He said the kindest thing we could do is say goodbye. Tawnee gave her a big hug and talked softly to her as the sedation took effect. That’s always the hard part of rescuing.
There are sad days at the shelter, but there’s happy days too. We have had a lot of adoptions this month, and we would like you to meet a few of them. Chief was adopted, we rescued him at the request of the Sheriff department last year. He was running loose and his owner could not be found. We are so happy that Kristen was able to work with him and find his new home.
Diamond was adopted by one of our previous adopters. We are so happy for her! She is such a pretty girl. Diamond was rescued from auction. We would like to thank everyone who donated to make the auction rescue happen, you made this happy ending possible.
Velvet was adopted. Her new mom is so happy with her, and we are so happy for the both of them. Velvet came to us as an owner surrender.
Two of our donkeys found a very wonderful home with this guy. We are so happy for them, they both came from auction and now they have a wonderful home.
This little guy was adopted and his little owner just loves him to death. They are so cute together!
Jesse was adopted, and she really puts a huge smile on her new family’s faces. Jesse was surrendered at the 1-Day Open Door Shelter in TN.
Bo was adopted, he came to us last summer as a 14-year-old untrained gelding. Now he is trained thanks to Kristen’s hard work, and he has gone to a great home. We are so happy for them.
Peanut and Poppit were adopted. The little girl and her dad were very happy to be bringing these two little ponies into their family. Look at that little girl’s smile!
These three beautiful horses were adopted. All three of them were from the auction, and we are so happy for them.
Our farrier came out to trim the horses we rescued from the auction. He had to call his wife as he was falling for this pony.
She came out and fell for her too. We are so happy that Willow will have such a great home!
Tawnee spent Mother’s Day running pipe for water faucets. As we get all the pens set up, water lines have to be ran to them. Tawnee plumbed hundreds of feet of pipe that day!
Jason did the finishing on the plumbing, and had to tap into old water lines to get the water flowing.
We desperately needed an enclosed tack room, and finally had enough money saved to get it built. Up to this point our tack has been in a 3 sided shelter with a dirt floor. It has made it very rough to keep the tack neat and orderly. Jason got to work laying out the new tack shed.
By the end of the day the tack room was taking shape.
Once the roof was on and the inside painted, the tack was organized. It’s so great to see the tack organized again!
After the tack room was organized, the girls headed to the office to make up adoption packets. Adopters receive a packet with coupons and other goodies with their new family member.
We got a call about a donkey in a dire situation. Her owner was extremely concerned about her, and called the vet to check on her recent lameness. After the vet visit, the vet called us and asked if we could help. Tawnee headed out to pick up the donkey. When she got there, she found a very fat donkey who was experiencing founder.
She went into her shelter, and saw why the donkey was so fat. There was grain and pelleted feed in piles across the floor. This donkey was so overfed she ate herself into founder. The owner’s husband had passed away, and she was from the city and had no idea how to care for the donkey other than to give her food, and gave her plenty of food and water.
The donkey turned out to be unhandled, and Tawnee had to call for help. Kristen was on her way to work, and stopped to help, and Jason came with panels. Finally the donkey was corralled.
The donkey’s owner gave her a tearful goodbye, it’s always sad seeing goodbyes, knowing that it could have been prevented with a proper feeding schedule made it that much worse.
At the previous auction rescue we saved a huge number of donkeys. We originally planned to send some to our California shelter, but since our board made the difficult decision to focus on 1-Day Shelters and close the branch shelters, the donkeys were going to one of our adoption partners in California – A Grazing Grace.
The donkeys loaded up and got ready to hit the road. Jason and Tawnee were going to drive them to TX and meet up with Melissa from California who would take them to A Grazing Grace after their weekend layover at the 1-Day Shelter. Melissa was bringing out Gray, one of our resident horses, so he can live in TN.
The donkeys were happy to get out of the trailer at Hoof and Souls in TX.
The 1-Day Open Door Shelter in TX was a huge success. If you missed that blog, click here.
After the event, Melissa said “Goodbye” to Gray and told him that he would enjoy TN and she would come visit him some day.
The donkeys were loaded up in the trailer and they headed to CA. If you are in California and would like to adopt one of the donkeys, contact A Grazing Grace.
Gray made it safely to TN, and was absolutely bewildered by all the grass. He kept walking, taking a bite, walking some more, then taking another bite. He couldn’t believe that horses live on grass out here.
Even after several days, Gray is still confused about the grass, and chooses to eat hay more often than not.
Bonnie had her new family coming to get her. Kristen had a talk to her about being a good girl for her new family, and that she was a very lucky mule.
Before long she was loaded up in the trailer and headed to her new home. We are so happy for her and her new family.
Kristen has been working with the different horses that came from the auction. This is Ebony. She is a very pretty Tennessee Walking mare.
Rusty is an awesome little horse. He’s got a great personality and would be a great horse for an experienced young person.
Bryson is an awesome horse, he is a Kentucky Mountain Horse. He has a great personality and is doing great under saddle.
If you are interested in adopting any of these horses, please contact Kristen. We have had over 60 adoptions just this year, and we are so thankful! She would love to help you find your right horse. Her email is: [email protected] and her phone number is: 888-HPHS-077 ext 702.
We had a beautiful double rainbow at our shelter, and we would agree that the pot of gold for horses to transition into their new lives is here.
Thank you all for your support! Please consider making a donation to help us in our mission.
