The heavy equipment operators have been very busy at the shelter. A total of 20 loads of gravel were brought in for the entry way, parking area and roads to the pens. It generally rains a lot in TN, and without this gravel we wouldn’t be able to operate when it rains. We would like to thank everyone who donated to Phase 1 of developing the TN shelter.
The bulldozer made the gravel nice and smooth. He also worked on drainage as there is a creek that runs through the pasture when it rains.
Darin came over to the shelter to deliver Star to her new home. He’s the first person to drive a horse trailer on the new driveway.
We are so happy that Star found such a wonderful home. She is such a sweet horse and deserves the very best.
After Star loaded up, Darin headed out. He was also going to check on a cruelty report that had been made.
Star’s new family was so happy to have her in their home. Star had a beautiful pasture and a new horse friend waiting for her too. After dropping off Star, Darin checked on the cruelty report, but the animals seemed to be fine. It may be more of a feuding matter than anything.
Parcey loves attention and Jason just had to stop and give him a scratch. He’s been with us for 7 years, and it was a special day: his birthday! We rescued him as a day-old drop calf . It’s hard to believe that he has been with us for 7 years, and contrary to the naysayers, he hasn’t attacked or killed anyone at the shelter. 7 years ago I was at an auction and there was an adorable little calf who was destined to become Veal. When he came into the auction ring, I couldn’t help myself and bought him for $5. It was one of the best $5 I’ve ever spent! To read that blog click here. Happy Birthday Parcey!
The USDA has been investigating one of the horses I rescued from the Big Lick industry at an auction. I actually ran into the trainer at the last auction I attended. He was very upset at seeing me. I got final copies of photos they are using to investigate this case. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen these pictures that I’ve taken on the internet, and seen where Big Lick trainers have stated that it’s not the same horse and that’s some random photo. These signed photos are now submitted to the USDA. I took these photos of Gen’s Ice Glimmer, and they are of him. No doubt I will end up testifying on this case. Soring does happen, despite the spin the Big Lick industry tries to tell everyone, I see it regularly.
The sores that these horses endure from chemical burns is horrendous. It’s hard to fathom the suffering these horses endure. I had to sign all the photos and get them ready to mail.
Rebecca came out to adopt Gumby and take him home. We are so happy for this little mini! We rescued him from an Amish family where he had been living in a stall with over 2′ of manure piled up. He hadn’t been out in over a year. Now he has a wonderful home where he is going to get a lot of love and attention.
Gumby was such a good little guy getting into the trailer. Horse trailers are definitely designed for big horses.
After Gumby was heading down the road I headed to town to mail the photos to the USDA. The fall colors are gorgeous!
I dropped off the photos to be mailed to the USDA and headed to Walmart to buy paint for the arena.
Back at the shelter the painting began. Black fences are very common in TN and they look great.
The painting took longer than expected, and we were finally finishing up with the sun gone and stars shining. Of course that’s only 5:00 pm with the sun setting so early! No doubt the last part of the fence is going to need some touch up since it’s hard to paint black in the dark.
From the headlights it looked great. We are planning on doing a community outreach with this arena and develop youth programs to encourage the next generation of kids to have proper horsemanship.
Thank you all for your support, and please remember the auction rescue coming up in Oklahoma. The auction is just over a week away and we still need more funds for our Oklahoma shelter to be able to rescue horses. It cost approximately $1,000 to rescue a horse from auction, give them medical care, quarantine, training, and get them adopted into new loving homes. We have already saved 12 horses this month and our goal is to save 20 horses, ponies, mules and donkeys from the slaughter pipeline this month and with your help we can!
Thank you so much!
Tawnee Preisner
President