THE BACK IN THE SADDLE PROJECT

Did you ever meet someone and wish you hadn't?

2011-06-20T23:08:00.000-07:00

That's how I feel about the guy who was going to shoot this horse. When the owner emailed me that if she didn't move her horse by Monday he would be shot by the property owner I thought it must be an empty threat. When she gave me the address I felt absolutely sick to my stomach.
I used to board right next door and the trails were fantastic but in order to get to the trail you had to ride past this one house. The path was not on his property but it didn't stop him from putting up wire lines right at rider height to try to keep people from riding by or maybe to purposely hurt people . Clotheslining someone is not legal by the way and it's down right nasty and dangerous. The first time I saw the line I had just rounded a corner on a young colt at a canter . It was dusk and I barely saw it in time. Literally I stopped inches from it. I came straight back and took a bolt cutter to it and let's just say " he and I met". It went back up, I cut it down . Again, this was not on his property it's about 20 ft before his property line in an area where people have been riding for years and he built his house there recently. I called the police , who I believe had it removed again. It kept on like this for months I moved so I don't know if it continued after I left but I do know a girl who got knocked off her pony from it. Luckily she was not seriously hurt or worse.
He now boards horses at his house ?? Bizarre world.
We planned on Monday afternoon because we wanted to make sure it was at least 90 degrees so I could really enjoy the long drive with no air conditioner. UGH, why do they work fine when you don't really need them?
I pulled up and saw the man outside. I was really prepared for another round of words with him but he just went inside. Whew, very glad of that because my tolerance for jerks is directly impacted by the temperature . The owner went to go get the horse and when she brought him out of his pen she said" last two times it took 6 people 7 hours to load him"
Oh great! I saw she was having trouble with the odd contraption of a gate and offered to hold the horse. He was a little wound up but not too bad we walked over to the trailer . He did not load right up unfortunatly and did not care if there was hay , carrots or nice treats in the trailer. Happily it didnt take 6 people7 hours but about ten minutes just the two of us , one long line and a little tapping on the butt.
So he is Eddie a 6 year old Andulusian that was broke and then turned out for two years. The new owner of 2 months has been lounging him but has not tried to ride him.
So that's how he got here, why I think he really would have been shot and who he is.

Hello Peyton !

2011-06-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

Peyton is a Quarter Horse/ Arabian/ Thoroughbred/ Mustang mix . They said his story is that he was a bottle fed orphan who has figured out how to buffalo people and can be pushy .
He is apparently not over the traumatic childhood?
Well, Payton you are now three years old and the label orphan just doesn't cut it anymore , just like everyone else you are going to have to get over it. You are no longer a rescue horse so that isn't your ace in the hole either.

They said he knows the 7 Games (TM ) but I have a couple more for him.
1. Red light Green light=. I stop , you stop , I go , you go. No tailgaiting or bumper cars and I will not play Tug O War and drag you by the face , you have 4 legs you can keep up with me

2. Follow the leader , my way= You can't walk directly behind me , I can't see what you're doing and don't want to get run over when you jump at the boogey man behind you.

3.Mother May I = You walk , trot , canter and whoa when I say and you don't get to change until I say.

4 Freeze Tag= Whoa , means whoa it does not mean slowly creep up or eat or any other fidgety things
Really simple games and we both win . I don't get hurt and end up in the hospital unable to do the chores or pay for your feed and care. You will be treated kindly but like the horse you are.
Sounds fair right ?
Game on !

The foals meet Mr Halter.

2011-06-05T11:12:00.000-07:00

There is nothing cute about a foal you cannot handle, give medicine or hoofcare to . In fact it's just dangerous . So today the foals had their first lessons about the halter and leadrope. I have to wait until they are in the stall and shut them in , eventually I'm hoping they are more approachable in the pasture but the mom's are nervous and they follow mom. The filly did great without any issues at all. The colt had a little tantrum about being touched and mom pacing outside and whinnying didn't help. Once she had some hay she settled down. After that he did great! He even got led around outside of the stall and eventually he even let me lead him away from mom without pitching a fit. I feel much better knowing that if they need medical help at least I can lead and hold them without any "high ho silvers". They even learned it's ok for me to hold their feet up, this will come in handy real soon because their hooves need a trim badly.

More pictures of the halter lesson on http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150224373919758.328743.161382019757&l=b78764d054

What happens to those cute foals all over the country?

2011-06-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

These horses are a prime example of why we want to bring awareness to over breeding and offer the low cost gelding clinics.

The mothers and foals were 2 out of 4 that were on the way to slaughter. A feedlot is no place for a foal, ever, so we offered to rehab them until homes could be found. Shipwrecked Farms will be taking one of the pairs .

I don't know who bred these horses but their hooves don't look like they have ever been touched. Their tails are a solid mass of matted hair which gives them a good thump just from trying to swat a fly. The feedlot said the larger mare leads but she will not let anyone touch her yet. She has a large scar that appears to have been left on its own to heal. The younger mother is only a 3 year old filly herself, meaning she was bred at 2 years old. Her filly was a week old when it was sold for slaughter. A feedlot is a rough place for a big horse and this filly shows she has been pretty beat up. She has missing patches of hair and scrapes all over her face , body and all four legs are bald from the hoof to the pastern. Her mother was so stressed at the feedlot that she was refusing to nurse her. The cruelty to an innocent animal and her newborn is beyond fathom.
The old owner managed to make sure they had a brand on their hips though. Whoever it was should be ashamed to be connected to the neglect these animals are showing. People can claim their rights to own horses and consider them livestock but a real breeder or rancher would have tried to put some effort into caring for them to keep his stock alive and healthy. Even cattle raised for slaughter get more care than this.
I am disgusted by this breeder and all the others like this. All I can do is try to make the rest of their futures a little brighter by getting them healthy again and putting some effort into their handling.
It won't make up for what they went through but hopefully it will keep them from going through it again.
If anyone can donate to help it would be greatly appreciated and used on the horses. If you can't donate please share our website or facebook to get the word out about overbreeding and the importance of gelding clinics for those who need an incentive or help getting it done. We do not need more foals ending up neglected or heading to slaughter.
Together we can all help
paypal address is info@backinthesaddleproject.com

Thank you
Enjoy reading about their progress on our facebook - Back In The Saddle Project
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150218586784758&set=a.10150218585429758.326813.161382019757&type=1#!/pages/Back-in-the-Saddle-Project/161382019757

36 New Geldings !!!

2011-03-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

The gelding clinics went great! We somehow picked a small gap in the rain and wind this week and actually had pretty good weather and even some sun.
I'll spare you the close up pictures of the surgeries but we got some great shots if anyone is interested email me.
The first clinic was held at Epona Farms in Galt. Kelly and I arrived in the dark to set everything up. There were already 10 horses who had been brought in the day before . We cannot thank Catriona at Epona Farms enough for her generosity in letting owners bring horses in so they didnt have to take the day off work . The vets and UC Davis students arrived in their bus. Some fugly blog readers may remember my suggestion to get a bus to go around gelding horses, well Dr Eric Davis really has the Gelding Bus!

The students got right to work unloading equiptment and Dr Davis started right in on the surgeries.

They made sure each horse was comfortable and even put pillows under their heads

This is where the bad kids had to go stand . I think the guys were just getting a little uncomfortable with all the women and castrations going on , they seemed to get further and further away

We had a great group of owners and friends of owners at the clinic. Thank you to Michelle and her crew for helping set up and making sure everyone had coffee and food . Here she is with her boy Charger as he is starting to feel the sedatives.

This pretty pony was quite a character. He looks like he knows whats coming doesn't he?

Grumpy is trying to get his bearings after waking up , he was so small we all thought the stall was empty when we first walked by.

The students were so nice and so professional , it was a pleasure meeting them and watching them work.

Everyone had a good time even this guy was smiling

Two of the best behaved ponies , pals Kokomo and Ranger patiently waited their turn

The Galt clinic had 21 horses succesfully gelded, 6 of the horses were cryptorchids, even though we were only expecting 2 to come. Dr Davis is so skilled at finding the anatomical landmarks that the cryptorchid surgeries didn't seem to take any longer than the "regular" guys.The students were very lucky to have such a good teacher .

Cryptorchid surgeries can be very expensive , some quotes were $1000-$2000 and when an owner can't afford it we see the horses being sold off or sometimes people have even resorted to just removing the testicle that was showing and not telling the next owner. Our hope was that by offering the surgeries at an affordable price we could prevent that very dangerous practice. Every castration, even the cryptorchid surgeries was only $75 for the clinic . Each surgery went very well and each patient was checked over before the owners were sent home with the vet's recommendations for aftercare. The clinic and cleanup went until almost 8pm making it a very long day for everyone. We were all exhausted but very happy to have been able to help the horses, owners and offer a great experience for the UC Davis students

7 am seemed to come pretty quickly and we were back at it again in Auburn at The Shiloh Horse Foundation's gorgeous barn. They are boarding horses at Shiloh to help support the rescued horses they are rehabbing , it is the nicest barn and great facility - visit the theshilohfoundation.com for information on boarding and see some wonderfully rehabbed horses that are looking for homes.

Cindy McClinn (in the green jacket) is an amazing teacher and equine technician Cindy has more than 12 years of experience as a surgical assistant, veterinary nurse, and field anesthetist, over 8 of them at the University of California’s veterinary teaching hospital.

This cute little colt is waiting his turn to be an even cuter gelding

Another cute Arabian , and his caring owner Sue. There were quite a lot of Arabians at the Shiloh clinic. Each time we have a mini donk scheduled to come to the clinic they always seem to cancel . This little guy "Donk" missed the Galt clinic but was able to make it to Auburn. He was definatly a crowd favorite and so sweet. He will be used for a petting zoo so it was a good choice to get him gelded .

Just look at that beautiful sky pasture and horse! The weather was supposed to be rainy windy and cold with chances of thunderstorms and even snow possible in Auburn, but both clinics we had great weather. Rowdy was a sweet boy with wonderful owners

Another pretty Paint , this guy was the only one out of all 36 that gave us a little to worry about . He had a little trouble with the anesthesia and fell down bonking his head and hip . After being checked out he was ok and had no problems after that and was gelded without any problems. His mom was so sweet and worried about him. We know he has a great home there and is a lucky horse.

This little Arab has been studying ventriloquism , he can make a deep rough whinny without moving his lips.

We even had a zebra at the clinic

Just kidding it was BITS' own little Duffy the 2 year old POA. . This guy is a blast to have around. He even fetches toys! . He was in a bad spot and two other rescuers wanted BITS to take him in until his owner could pick him up The new home plan didn't work out though it wasn't anybody's fault . If they had met Duffy they would have snatched him up in a minute because he is such a playful character , pretty flashy colored , and is so entertaining to watch charging around the pasture challenging everyone in races or down on his knees playing with the mini Tater Tot. We will be putting him on the website soon after he heals up. He will be a great addition to any home but we are hoping he will have a home with lots of room to move around and be a 2 year old. A big thank you to Beverly of healingthruspirit.com for sponsering Duffy's surgery . He may not be happy about it yet but we are.

Thanks to Julie for waking up at the crack of dawn to help get the BITS horses down to the gelding clinic!

The Auburn clinic had 15 horses and 6 of those were cryptorchids as well.

Both clinics went really well and we got to meet some very nice horses and owners as well as the great vets and students . We really hope we can continue these important clinics . They take a little work and planning and we are exhausted from lack of sleep and lots of work but we are happy to do it for the horses . We are so grateful that the vets we have worked with Dr Mather from BearRiver Mobile Vet , Dr Jeske and Dr Davis understand the importance of controlling the horse population to help the horses now and for the future.
We would love to expand the clinics to more areas and were so happy to be able to bring a clinic to Galt this time . We will continue to look for more vets and facilities in other areas and would appreciate any volunteers to help in our search.
Thank you to the wonderful Dr Davis and the amazing Cindy McClinn and all the students from the volunteer group , they must be exhausted but never showed it
. HUGE THANKS to Catriona Watson of Epona Farms and Cheryl Rankin at The Shiloh Horse Foundation for allowing us to come to their facilities to hold the clinics. Clinic volunteers Kelly Reade and Jenni Odum were fantastic .We could not have held the clinics without their help . Kelly made it to both clinics and is probably still recovering from exhaustion . Kelly has an absolute passion for learning about anything to help horses. She has studied equine dentistry and is continuing to study about every aspect of horse care and particularly healing horses through body work , her enthusiasm for learning everything she can to help horses is amazing. Jenni's business is NaturallyCowgirl.com and she does everything from website designs to Bowen Therapy for horses as well as makes the most amazing natural soaps and bath items.
You gotta check out her website http://naturallycowgirl.com/

We would also like to ask you to help with a very special guy . There is a little rescued colt that is HYPP N/H , he could not be done at the clinic because of his condition but Dr Davis has agreed to help with his surgery in a facility for a reduced cost. Zero the colt needs your donations to get the surgery done so he can go to his forever home. Please if you came to the clinic and appreciated what we did consider donating to Zero'scryptorchid surgery . The cost will be $500 which although significantly lower than the original $1500 quoted its is still quite a lot . If you can help in anyway please do you can paypal through our website or email us for more information. We believe the R-vets.org could take the donation directly as well. Please be sure to tell them it is for Zero the HYPP N/H cryptorchid colt.
This guy has a real chance at a great home if we could all pull together and help get this surgery done every dollar helps . Paypal is at the top right of this post , go help Zero's hero please !

Little Celebration

2010-11-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

To Steve who keeps emailing about Smutty, I emailed back check your spam folder maybe?
Anyway, the latest on Smutty.
Today, I'm super excited Smutty finally stood still for mounting .
A big Wahoooo!
We stopped at that point , one because he finally got it and two because it was pitch dark outside.
He is such a good boy I can't imagine what he went through that he is so worried about us people, but he's come so far already that I'm really proud of him.
I wish I would have remembered to bring extra batteries for the camera.
He looks so good all tacked up.

How's Judge?

2010-11-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

A few comments on the blog were asking for more information on Judge. I can give you a little more information about how he is now but sadly we don't know anything about his past.
The comments suggested he is a Saddlebred or National Show Horse.
Just a little update on how he is coming along.
He now lets me pick up all four feet consistently and holds them up like a good boy , which is great because he is due for a trim.
He has gained quite a bit of weight , you can no longer see those ribs. Yeah!!!
He will let me put a saddle pad on and off without any fuss. Bends his head down to put the halter on and has never been hard to catch , he enjoys the attention and really likes his ears and neck being fussed with.
He stands tied, does fine being led around and is getting really good at whoa and back while on a a lead. He's coming along really nicely , once he puts on a little more weight we can start working more on getting him in better condition and put some muscles on those spider legs
.

.
e

Here comes "The Judge"

2010-11-19T22:48:00.000-08:00

This is Judge he is a 3 year old , a soon to be gelded 3 year old.
Judge is super leggy really big boned and tall already and will probably end up just around 16 hands . He is halter broke and is easy to work with so far. Right now Judge is just hanging out trying to put on enough weight to be healthy enough for castration. Poor guy was dumped at a feedlot by a "rescue" that was closing it's doors. He is really underweight but has a good appetite and is starting to gain a little already, he will be looking good in no time.

The Judge

That mane will soon be getting some much needed attention , that is one shaggy mess right now

I guess the more obvious name would have been Mickey

Look at those long legs!

All legs

11/6 Gelding Clinic More Geldings/ Less Breeding!

2010-11-10T21:23:00.000-08:00

The weather on Saturday cooperated and we had a beautiful sunny day for the Operation Gelding Clinic. ( Blogger has not been so cooperative and this post was delayed a little while ). BITS has now gelded 33 horses through our clinics.

Which means 33 horses will not be breeding and adding to the excess horse problem Considering how many horses these 33 could have helped produce if they were left as stallions, this one day clinic has made a serious dent in the horse population. We believe these clinics are the most important and long lasting change we can make to help the future of horses.

The vets and students got right to work getting everything ready

Three little minis came in for the clinic from Oakdale Rescue, one was
running a fever and had to skip surgery. No worries, Lori from Oakdale Rescue said he is feeling much better now.

This little mini got gelded

This little mini had a high fever but did get lots of attention and vet care.

This little mini had fun.... until it was his turn

We think he was trying to make a break for it under the door

But look he is still smiling . The picture wasn't edited by the camera crew on CSI, the sun just happened to provide a little privacy to his private area.

Newlyweds Dr Jennifer Mather and her husband Jim get Chance ready
for his gelding surgery.

Chance also had some very swollen eyes which Dr Mather flushed out.

He is a really nice looking guy and makes an even prettier gelding

Tank gets a pep talk from Becca before his turn.
Becca and her friend Kim were great helpers during the clinic

Taking advantage of the sleeping horses wolf teeth were removed.

Mickey's owner was really glad these pointy teeth were removed

NEXT!

Mocha and Mom Tara
Mocha was born on a feedlot . Cheryl took Mocha and his mom Tara into her rescue the Shiloh Horse Foundation
They are two great looking horses if anyone is looking please contact Cheryl at Shiloh Horse Foundation

Mocha had his human mom Cheryl and horse mom Tara to comfort him.

All the surgeries went well and everybody was back on their feet and ready to go home in just a few hours.

We are extremely thankful to Cheryl of Shiloh for letting us use her wonderful barn again
We are all extremely thankful for Dr Jennifer Jeske, Dr Jennifer Mather and husband Jim and all the hard working volunteer students. We could not do these clinics without them. It was a really great watching them work. The vets were fantastic mentors and the students were so confident, talented and knowledgeable. Watching them work you realize they are doing exactly what they must have been meant to do and the animals and owners are lucky to have them..

FIRE UP THAT GELDING BUS!

2010-10-20T03:25:00.000-07:00

The next gelding clinic is scheduled for Nov 6th in Auburn
The Unwanted Horse Coalition , Shiloh Horse Foundation and BITS are working together to help horses. The UHC has started a program called Operation Gelding to help make more people aware of the need for more gelding clinics.
We have a couple of non profits asking for help in this clinic , if you can help by donating it would be very appreciated.

The application form is online right from the homepage or click the link below
http://backinthesaddleproject.com/GeldingClinicApplihttp://backinthesaddleproject.com/GeldingClinicApplication.htmlcation.html

Best donkey in the world!

2010-10-18T23:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday BITS was invited to attend the Ride and Dine event at Camelot Equestrian Park in Butte Valley It was perfect weather and it was wonderful to see so many horses and riders having a great time. We had an amazing bake sale table to raise funds for the Hay Bank thanks to Betty and Rich's Cafe (best coffee cake EV ER) . We also had a petting zoo for kids of all ages thanks to Suzanne. These guys worked so incredibly hard to get everything set up.
It was a little slow fundraising because everyone was too busy enjoying the great trails but we did manage to make enough for a few bales.
So whats with the title of this blog?
Well, at the end of the event they always do a game called donkey plop bingo. There is a cute donkey in a pen a wherever he plops is the winning square. Well everything was over and everyone was waiting and cheering Brody to make a plop. There was a little bribery from some people to keep him on their square and even a little begging. Some folks threw carrots all around the pen to try to stop the cheating.
Stage freight hit and poor Brody just couldn't do his doody. A couple of other donkeys were added in and a little scuffle broke out and poor lil Brody suffered some unwanted advances from another male donkey.
I had to comfort lil Brody after that experience and he must have appreciated it because he walked right over and plopped in what turned out to be my spot.
I screamed and got a little choked up ! $1000 for BITS !!!!! It was fantastic! With winter coming and emails about horses needing help $1000 is so appreciated.
So that's why Brody is the best donkey in the world , to me anyway.

Here he is Brody , my hero!
Big thanks to Betty , Suzanne , Rich's Cafe, Camelot , the bake sale patrons and of course Brody !

But he isn't skinny?

2010-09-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

Ok guys, lots of emails asking about Smutty's story and more pictures so here goes. No, he is not skinny or sickly but he still needed help. He was left behind at a boarding stable and nobody else wanted this big of a project so, here he is getting a restart at life Smutty is a result of too much RFDTV DIY NH and probably some real rough handling too. Wiggle the rope, he backs up. A neat trick but someone over did it because he also backs up when you try to pet him, pick his hooves, or try to mount. If backup racing ever takes off Smutty will be the Triple Crown Winner. So even though he is a pretty and healthy horse, he is still a horse that needs rehab to find a new home Sometimes just fixing the bodies is easier than fixing the minds . But he has a great attitude and tries so hard.
He is getting better every day , he just needs to unlearn a few things and get a lot more forward and confident.

He is about 9 years old and a smidge over15.3 He is very very quiet , easy to handle, calm and very gentle just scared but he is starting to relax a lot more already so we are off to a good start. He does have some old scars on his neck and shoulder areas and is in really bad need of some farrier care , his hooves are a wreck right now, so the first thing we are working on is getting him to pick up his feet - without racing backwards.He is wearing a bridle in the pics but it was because the only halter that actually fits him was missing when I took the pictures . He is a big boned guy and 'average" horse size didn't fit. Quest was too tiny for average halters and Smutty was too big - Tractor Supply is starting to really love me, but these are both such nice horses that are well worth the trip .

The quest for Quest

2010-09-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

I don't think Aurora and I have ever been on a short drive together and Saturday was not going to be the exception. We got up super early to go pick up Quest . She was being housed at the feedlot in Fallon, Nevada. A rescue had a man buy her and a few others at the auction but her potential adopter backed out and the rescue's rig was out of commision. Sooo the next thing you know we are on a 4 1/2 hour drive to Fallon. Remarkably for the first time on a drive together we did not have any car problems or get lost. We stopped in Boomtown for lunch . The only thing in Boomtown was Denny's. We got a huge kick out of the menu . The menu is divided into sections; hand held food or fork and knife. I'm not sure what the average IQ is of the regular Denny lunch clientele but I'm guessing there must have been a reason they had to put that on the menu. They also served something called "Basket of Puppies" which was a little creepy. Glad to find out they were mini pancakes. How ironic that they dumb down the menu to explain how to eat your food but then think mini pancakes isn't clever enough.
Really glad we stopped there though, when we did because there was major construction right outside of Reno for miles that really slowed us down

Hmmm. knife &fork or hand held lunch?

Spaghetti is not a hand held food item, who knew?

After lunch we got into Fallon and drove out to the feedlot. It looked like just any ordinary little ranch and Quest was the only horse there. She was very sweet and friendly and walked right into the trailer. So back on the road we went and managed to hit more construction going the other direction as well. It just wouldn't be a road trip with Aurora without major delays somehow.

We finally made it back and all went well . Quest will be in quarantine for a while because auctions and feedlots hold a lot of animals and its a good chance she may have picked up a few bugs along the way. She is super sweet and very mellow. I know Arabians get a bad rep for being snorting spook machines but this girl is so very calm, and easy going. We went for a walk , past dogs, flapping flags and a few birds flew out at us and she did not even care She is registered and we do have her papers. Her registered name is Bey Street Blaze . She is even cuter in person than she was in her pictures and I hope I did her justice. Its hard to take a picture of her because she wants to be right next to you. Not crowding just friendly.
I don't have a halter small enough for her tiny face so I had to use the one she had on when we picked her up.After she is vet checked and ready for work we are going to send her to All Terrain Training to see if she is going to be the calm trail buddywe think she will be. We decided that each horse will have it's own training blog so the potential adopter has a good idea of if the horse will be a good match .

On the way over to Fallon , Aurora had asked me to explain a little about feedlot saves and how they work . I am not trying to start the slaughter / anti slaughter debate I just don't see the logic and would rather see people do more productive things with donations.

While Quest was bought at an auction not from the feedlot itself, there are other groups that say they are against slaughter but who are actually paying kill buyers money for horses . The kill buyer does not just quit his job, he just uses that money to buy more horses. The same number of horses go to slaughter , just different ones. I know people who are very anti- slaughter and they get so frustrated at these types of saves. Sure it's high drama and tear jerking to some people, particulary people who are against slaughter , it's counter productive, a waste of donations , explotive to the horses and emotional backmail to the donors. ,. I think, and this is just my opinion, but I think it's a bit like the Denny's menu and people are treating donors like they are so dumb that they don't think behind the sad horsey pictures to where the money is going. You would not buy drugs from a dealer and think you are stopping drug abuse or buy blood diamonds in an effort to stop that trade.
Why would you bankroll a kill buyer if you want to stop slaughter?
. Or is it just an effort to save the one in the picture regardless of how many others take it's place . Nobody seems to be able to answer that question yet and I am tired of trying to figure out the logic
.
BITS would rather help a horse before the situation is so desperate the horse ends up neglected or sold at auction and when nobody is rewarded financially for failing the horse.
It might not be as exciting but we know this is the right thing for the horses and adopters.
Off the soapbox about that subject

.

The other problem with helping a horse from just a picture is that you don't get to know very much about the horse. With Quest we don't know her history and she could be pregnant or have medical issues so we will get her checked out and before she is adopted out we are going to talk to the vet about having her marbled . Marbling is not always foolproof but it is the only option we have at the time to try to keep horses from getting pregnant. If she turns out to be an amazing show horse that should be bred things may change but considering the number of amazing horses selling cheap and not so amazing horses being given away , there does not seem to be a rush to make more horses just yet.

Well, this was a lot longer post than I had intended. I wanted to tell you guys about the other horse we have in as well. He is a BIG STOUT smutty buckskin that is going to need a name because I keep calling him Smutty and that's just not right. Here is a sneak peek of "Smutty"

The End-pun intended

As always your support is most appreciated and we could really use some for these guys and a few other horses that need help. Any donation amount helps and goes right back into the horses and programs.

This is the hardest part !

2010-09-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

Most of the emails we get are asking for information on when the next clinic is, but lately we have had quite a few emails and calls about horses and owners that need help.
When we first started we had been concentrating on getting the clinics going and have not had the time to do fundraising. Something I dread doing but seems to be needed if we want to reach more horses.
We will continue to have proactive programs like the clinics  , but we still want to be able to help horses that are already in trouble or will be shortly.
I pay for BITS horse's care out of my own pocket and the adoption fees go to help pay for help for other horses we take in or are not ours but need help. So far we have not had to ask for any help caring for our own horses.
The clinics pay for themselves and only require our time and gas money as a donation.
After last month we have $304 left from adoption fees and your donations to help any horses that need it. Remember we are only a few months old now.
Eventually we would like to see BITS be able to be much more self sufficent with plans to add a lot more programs , but it may be a few years for us to grow and we do have to prove that we are public supported to stay non profit.
Here is the part I hate to have to do but
We would really appreciate your help so we can help the people who have contacted us.
Here are the situations and if you want to help only a particular one you can state that. We consider everyone part of the BITS team and your support is what keeps us going so your input is appreciated . .If anyone is interested in fostering or adopting please send us an email. I should add that foster care can't be reiumbursed but it is deductible.
Here are the horses and owner's situations. We may not be able to help them all and people may feel like some of these horses should be left alone or the owner's should give them up. The problem is there really is not a lot of options for horses with issues or medical problems and the owner's are good horsepeople that are just trying to do what they feel is best first. It's not easy for most people to ask for money from strangers and the owner's have offered to help donate their time and services in return I said I would ask for help for the horses so I am. .
The first two are not owned but need a new owner

There is a 3 year old bay filly who was adopted by a rescue , but the new owner backed out so she is at a feedlot. Regardless of how you feel about slaughter it's just not a good place for a horse so young . She has 90 days training and is sound.and I'm told very sweeet. She is already paid for so we only need gas money, our time is free or course. PS she is gorgeous and a registered Arabian

Late 20's bay QH gelding. The young lady emailed asking if we could help . She was a camp counselor and brought the horse home with her but is heading to college and can't take him. The horse has been a summer camp horse for years and packed elk in the winter. The original owner no longer wanted him this winter because he didn't think he could pack elk anymore.

Two ends of the spectrum a young horse that didn't get much of a chance and an older horse who probably deserved to be Sainted for being a rental his whole life

The next group are owned already and can stay in their homes if the owner's can just get through a temporary rough patch with a little help.

A pony that was adopted out by a rescue at the end of winter and the owner realized when the de worming didn't help the coat shed that the pony is probably suffering from Cushings   . She did not plan on having a pony with so many medical problems so quickly and could use a hand getting him treatment and medication. She does not need to rehome him and he is a perfect pony for her daughter but just needs a little help. Returning it to a rescue that didn't catch it in the first place is probably not a great idea either.

A mare that was hurt badly because she was flipped on concrete by a new buyer trying to force a horse into a two horse trailer. The horse got left behind at a property by the buyer and seller . The new owner is paying for chiropractic care and vet treatments but the horse also needs dental care badly and they are asking for help.

Three older horses that need soaked pellets to eat. The owner doesn't feel they need to be put down but is having trouble with the extra expenses right now.

Also Shiloh Horse Foundation has hit a rough patch as well and have a few horses that need training and adoption. If you are looking for a project please check them out.

So there we have the list
I know some people will say they should just get rid of the horses  but
Rescues are crowded and can't take them in.
Adopting out horses with issues is hard
BITS is too new to take them all in.
I could ask my day -job boss for a raise but that seems unlikely.
So are options are to walk away or we, all 300 or so of us on FB,  can all pitch in a few dollars  to help the owner's keep their horses and help the first two get a second chance with a new owner.
As horsemen we need to keep our community strong , and we should help each other and be grateful we are not the people asking for help this time, but that if we ever were in the same position that someone would be there to help us.

BITS is seeing a real need to have a fund set up specifically to help horses that need it like Holly or Thirsty and others we helped in the past. We can do more with your help and remember you have every option to designate what your donation is for and we will always try to post the situation so if you disagree with helping we will respect that and not apply your donation towards it.
Thank you for your past and future kindnesses for the horses.

.

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Rain in August?

2010-09-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

This August was definitely full of surprises and extremes. The hot summer weather suddenly turned cold and rainy.
Just when the last available horse was adopted , we suddenly had several horses that we were asked to help out with and while we were trying to figure out which one of those to take in first, because they were not urgent situations, suddenly we had horses that were in urgent need.
Never say to yourself or anyone else "Wow, I'm actually out of project horses." It is an invitation for it to start raining horses.
It had been pretty quiet for a while when suddenly we had to plan a euthanasia clinic as quickly as possible. The clinic was the last day of August. While we were glad we could help the horses and owners it's not a happy event by any means. Now we need to get back to planning the clinics for Sept and October and get back to trying to sort out which horses to help first. Again -I say first because they are not urgent situations and again any urgent situations will take top priority

Ill post another blog with the information and pictures I have if anyone would like to foster or in some of these cases adopt directly from the rescues that are asking us to help.

What to post?

2010-09-01T00:09:00.000-07:00

We have been going over what to post about the euthanasia clinic today.
Of course the first thing is to thank the amazing and kind donors and volunteers and of course Dr Gillen all of you are truly compassionate.

We don't want to post pictures of the horses because it feels wrong to exploit what happened and disrespectful to the horses and their owners.
It was an emotionally draining day for several reasons and we don't want to pass those feelings on to anyone but we do feel obligated to report what took place.
We did take a few pictures but we were more wrapped up in taking care of the horses than documenting the day. It is not easy for horse lovers to do this Nobody wants to do this. Some of us used our vacation days or rearranged our schedules it isn't easy but it is something we feel strongly about, are glad we can offer to help end suffering for the horse and owner and want to be sure is handled correctly.

It was decided to just state the facts of what happened without trying to stir anyone up emotionally.

The vet made it very clear he was NOT going to put down any horses out of convenience to the owners or to the rescues, only horses that truly need relief from incurable conditions. Which is our stand as well. This clinic is to end suffering only not resolve financial issues.

5 horses were evaluated by the vet this morning. There was a stall and trailer ready in hopes that a particular horse was going to be fine even if just a pasture pet, but it turned out she was the worst off of the group. This was a real disappointment to hear. She had advanced arthritis causing lameness pain and an inability to balance. It was very obvious when she moved and after the vet tested her and evaluated her it was very clear this horse was not healthy and ride-able as we were told.

These were the guidelines from the AAEP and actual questions from our application
Guidelines for Recommending Euthanasia – The following criteria should be considered in evaluating the immediate necessity for intentional euthanasia of the horse to avoid and terminate incurable and excessive suffering:

1. Is the medical condition chronic and incurable?
2. Does the immediate medical condition have a hopeless prognosis for life?
3. Is the horse a hazard to itself or its handlers?
4. Will the horse require continuous medication for the relief of pain for the remainder of its life?
5. Will the medical condition result in a lifetime of continued individual confinement?

Each horse that was accepted and put to sleep met the AAEP guidelines and and the vet's own strict guidelines. Each horse was treated kindly, fussed over and everything was done so calmly that each horse passed on without any issues. They did just appear to go to sleep peacefully and although incredibly hard for everyone there , including the vet, you did sense the relief as each passed. The vet report will be attached below.

The following codes and laws are also something we want people to understand as there is talk of rescues putting down animals needlessly. We pledge that euthanasia is only done as last resort , under recommendation of a vet and with kindess and respect to the owner and horses.

California Civil Code
1834.4. (a) It is the policy of the state that no adoptable animal
should be euthanized if it can be adopted into a suitable home.
Adoptable animals include only those animals eight weeks of age or
older that, at or subsequent to the time the animal is impounded or
otherwise taken into possession, have manifested no sign of a
behavioral or temperamental defect that could pose a health or safety
risk or otherwise make the animal unsuitable for placement as a pet,
and have manifested no sign of disease, injury, or congenital or
hereditary condition that adversely affects the health of the animal
or that is likely to adversely affect the animal's health in the
future.
(b) It is the policy of the state that no treatable animal should
be euthanized. A treatable animal shall include any animal that is
not adoptable but that could become adoptable with reasonable
efforts. This subdivision, by itself, shall not be the basis of
liability for damages regarCalifornia euthanasia laws.
Business and Profession Code, Section 4827(d), and in the California Code of Regulations, Section 2039.

“(d) Administering sodium phenobarbital for euthanasia of sick, injured, homeless, or unwanted domestic pets or animals without the presence of a veterinarian when the person is an employee of an animal control shelter and its agencies or humane society and has received proper training in the administration of sodium phenobarbital for these purposes.”

BITS volunteers and board members do not perform euthanasia they are done by a licensed vet at each clinic to be sure the animal is given a proper medical evaluation.We appreciate the vets who understand the need and volunteer their time We would prefer to rehabilitate , retrain and re-home a horse but we also have to do what is right for the animal and in some cases all we can do is spoil them for a few days and relieve their pain.

Upcoming Euthanasia Clinic -Tuesday Aug 31st

2010-08-27T02:19:00.000-07:00

We have come across some very sad situations where horses who were long overdue for a peaceful end are being left to languish. Today a 30 year old mare was left behind at a property. The water had been turned off on Monday and the feed she was receiving was sparse. People concerned about the horse left her some hay but contacted us about the empty water buckets They asked us to please do something so they didn't have to watch the horse die. The person living at the property stated he did not want the horse and signed her over. It was just in time as today was another scorching hot day .

Holly the sweet and now spoiled mare from the flea market gave the last ride her body could handle and should never have been asked to make.

Rather than take a chance on her tired body giving out on a trailer ride we were able to find a way to bring the euth clinic to her. So the clinic will be in North Highlands this time

A very special thank you to Melody and Jed Durnay . They have volunteered for us at past clinics,offered Holly a soft stall to rest in , took in the Thirsty 30 mare from today and offered the use of their property for the clinic . They are the kindest hearted cowboy and cowgirl you would ever want to meet.

We have been contacted by a few other rescues with horses that need relief from constant pain.
There is room for a few more horses if the horse truly needs the service and the owner does not have the financial capability to pay the normal costs .
The horses will be treated with kindness and the owners are allowed to stay to say goodbye if they wish.

The low cost clinic is Tuesday and you can contact us at help@backinthesaddleproject.com.com for application forms and information.
We would appreciate anybody who wishes to help sponsor a horse, fully or in part, any amount will help us be able to continue these clinics. Any sponsor donations are tax deductible. Another clinic is planned for September as well.

A horse community coming together

2010-06-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

Monday was a hard day. As many of you know BITS has been raising money to help Gina, a 29 year-old Rocky Mountain mare with severe laminitis. Her owners had come to the conclusion that no more could be done to ease her pain and that her time had come. After much heartache they realized that they could not afford to lay her rest.

A caring friend offered to help find a solution to their problem and was able to find our low cost euthanasia clinic on-line via Google. Unfortunately, she found our information just days after our June 17th clinic. Once Gina's condition was made know to us we knew we could not turn our back on this poor gal and her owner. Thankfully, BITS has an amazing team of generous vets and we were able to secure Dr. Jeske for Monday. This gave Gina and her friends time to say goodbye and they took every opportunity to spoil her rotten. Gina's last days on earth were filled with grass grazing, baths and lots of treats.

As you can see from these photo's Gina's hooves had been casted to try an alleviate her pain caused by laminitis. Her hooves would gently rock with each step.

There was also a large growth on her right leg

as well as many body sores from her constant laying down.

It is obvious that even a short trip in the trailer to our Elk Grove clinic would have been extremely hard on Gina. BITS is grateful to Naturally Cowgirl, Horses, Hope & Healing, the friends at Craigmont Equestrian Center as well Kat, a very dear friend of hers, for their generous donations which allowed for Gina to pass on peacefully at her home.

On a brighter note, our trip to Sacramento for Gina resulted in our meeting up with Horses, Hope &Healing a youth program in the Sacramento area. Tiffany Oreglia, founder, was available to show us around, introduce us to the horses in her program as well as explain her organization and the great work they are doing for the underprivileged youth in the area. Her program includes gang intervention and education, homework assistance and tutoring, teaching leadership skills, safe after-school and week-end activities as well as giving the children the opportunity to participate in horse related competitions.We cannot wait to meet up with her again!

We are also extremely excited; Kate, Gina’s friend, has pledged to be our first monthly Hay Bank donor! With these funds BITS is able to help support and feed horses of responsible owners who have come on hard times. When life throws us a curve ball we need our horses more than ever. Their friendship and trust is what gets us through on our hardest days. Please consider becoming a donor as well, and help keep a horse in it’s loving home during job loss, illness, military duty and family displacement. Together we can make a difference in the lives of our fellow horse lovers.

We hope everyone is enjoying this great riding weather and we wish you all a great 4th of July!

June 17th Euthanasia Clinic

2010-06-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

On June 17th, BITS held it's 3rd Low Cost Euthanasia Clinic. We had only 6 horses this month which is 5 less than our last clinic. We are hoping the drop in numbers is a indication that horse owners are doing better during these summer months. Euthanasia is a last resort, it used when nothing else will keep a horse safe, healthy and pain free. We hope that by offering these low cost clinics that we are keeping horses out of horribly uncomfortable and dangerous situations.

BITS had a double whammy when it came to passing of two "first horses". Mandalay, was a 26 year old Arabian show horse who had made it to Arizona 10 times. He was retired from his career and has spent his last 5 years being the first horse to a lovely little girl. The condition of Mandalay showed how much he was loved and adored. His girl had taken just as good of care of him over the years as he had her. They were best friends and he had the charm to prove it.

Putting Mandalay down was not an easy decision for his owner, and as a single mom of two and an employee of a county agency that is being shut down, she was grateful that we were able to give her the option to do what was right by a horse that had given her family so much. Mandalay's girl was there and was able to sit with him long after he was gone. She was also able to take a piece of him home with her since the family made a mold of his hoof as a keepsake and a way to remember a first horse who was worthy of all the tears his girl shed in his honor.

Our clinic is a compassionate one, we are happy to allow horse owners the opportunity to stay with their horses until the end, we are also happy to take on whatever part of the process they feel they can not handle. Our goal with the euthanasia clinics is not only to help relieve the suffering of horses but also to aid horse owners in the process. It is one thing to have to make the decision to put a loved horse down, it is quite another to be unable to afford to do. We know that those who come to us for help as doing so by putting aside their pride and doing so for the best interest of their horse. At our clinics we begin to build a friendship based on a common bond. We are all here to help the horses and our compasion for one another is evident in the sharing of the hoof compound used by Mandalay's owners.

Danskin was a 26 year old Arab mare, a first horse that was sold 17 years ago. She was recently reunited her with her first "girl" who now had a "girl" of her own. She was older but still the same old horse with the same old babysitter instinct. Unfortunately, it was not long before she showed signs of fast growing tumors all over her body. Her first girl was hoping to spend a few final years with her but after the tumors showed their aggressive side, she made the decision to put her to rest before the pain got any worse.

On top of all the sorrow she was laid off. BITS was able to take away the finaicial burden and allow her to lay Danskin to rest with her old girl and her new girl by her side. After she was gone, her "girls" were able to make a print of her hoof to take home, thanks to the generosity of Mandaly's "girls".

Mooley, a blind 32 year old gelding, and his seeing eyes companion, 34 year old Avalon, were laid to rest. These two older gentlemen had worked on the pack trail together for over a decade. After Mooley lost his sight Avalon led him around daily and they were able to retire to pasture together for the last 6 years, thanks to a local rescue. This last winter left it's mark on these two old men and everything about them was saying "it is time to go". They were laid to rest side by side and now live together pain free. Many horse rescues are functioning on limited funds. The average donation base has decreased by 20% with the recent economy. BITS is proud help others who have the same passion to help horses. If our low cost clinics can help save rescue funds, funds that can be used on vaccinations, training and medical expenses for horses in need, then we feel that everyone benefits.

Two other horses, a older TB mare named Big Momma and a BLM mustang, were also laid to rest. Big Momma had lost all use of her incisors and was unable to process her food. The BLM mustang was untrained and aggressive to humans, she was deemed unadoptable by the rescue and brought to our clinic as a last resort. With the amount of horses looking for homes in a time when many land owners are unable to afford them, rescues are having to make hard decisions when it comes to the horses who have potential to be re-homed and those who are simply unwanted. Limited funds and growing numbers of abandoned horses make it obvious that we cannot rescue ourselves out of the unwanted horse epidemic. We must take pro-active measures such as proper breeding regiments, increasing the number of low cost castration clinics, and educating new horse owners on responsible horse ownership.

As many of you know the average cost to euthanize and render a horse is $500 which many horse owners are unable to afford, which is why we are coordinating these clinics. I have heard "if they can't afford the cost then they should not have horses" too many times. I would like to ask everyone to take moment to walk in the shoes of a horse owner who after 15 years of working for the same employer has just been laid off. For 15 years you have been able to make your house payment, trim and shoe your horses regularly, send your children to horse to camp and team pen every Saturday night. Now you are faced with making a mortgage payment on unemployment benefits, canceling Dish Network and selling off extra vehicles. You may be faced with the cost of $500-$1000 a month payment on Cobra benefits so your children have health insurance. You may also have to take a look in your pasture and sell some of your livestock, only to find that many of your horses are not worth money on the current horse market. An older lame gelding who totes your young children around on the property may be worth their weight in gold to you, but realistically in this horse market is worth "free". With no monetary value, we are unable to guarantee our older horses a safe place. Many of our young horses, even those with great bloodlines, are fetching a low percentage of what they are really worth. What is a horse owner to do?? They may no longer be able afford a horse that they could rightly pay for 3 months ago, but what options do they have today? The answer...very few.

Please keep an open mind, BITS has set up low cost gelding clinics to help offset the cost of castration for stallions helping to reduce the number of foals, we have a hay bank available to aid in the feeding of horses whose owners are under financial crisis and we have the euthanasia clinics to help end the suffering of horses at a cost their owners can afford. We are here to help anyway we can and with your donations we can help all those who walk into our barn.

Well-oiled machine

2010-05-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

Our third Low Cost Gelding Clinic last Saturday went on without a hitch. All the horses brought in were halter broke and easy to handle which allowed us to geld all 11 stallions in 4 hours! I think I can safely say that we have perfected our system; we are a well-oiled machine.

A few of our regular UC Davis Equine Vet volunteers were unable to make this month’s clinic, but lucky for us we had two new hands ready to help out. Let me introduce Dr. Gordon Bunting D.V.M. of Bunting Veterinary Services, who flew all the way from Bend, Oregon to take a closer look at how we facilitate our clinics. Dr. Bunting is interested in hosting some Low Cost Gelding Clinics in his area and we were happy to share our system with him.

Once all the horses were in their proper stalls, we were underway. The first horse of the day was Star who was recently adopted out from a rescue as an 8-year-old stallion with only one eye. Thankfully, his adopted family did not see a need for him to stay a stallion and brought him to our clinic. Adopting out a stallion is a recipe for disaster; this is exactly the type of scenario that could have easily led to the production of more unwanted horses.

Dr. Dewey and her team of volunteers were able to show Dr. Bunting our clinic charts and describe to him the process before entering Star's stall to sedate him.

My favorite part of our clinics is the educational element. I am thrilled to see the Veterinarian and Veterinarian Technician students get a hands on feel for their chosen profession. Here is Naomi doing the pre-castration exam on a little, 2-year-old, Morgan colt, named Bolt.

Here she is getting some one on one time with Dr. Dewey during the actual procedure. Dr. Dewey is a fantastic mentor and is always willing to show the students something out of the ordinary or give them scenarios and tips for problems that they may encounter in the field.

Out of the 11 horses that came to the clinic, I voted Sonic, a 10-year-old mini as our cutest patient. He was such a good boy and hopefully after our clinic he will be easier to handle and will have a much happier life as a gelding. He has been kept a stallion all of these years simply because his father was a grand champion. He was recently picked up “free”, underweight, with grown out hooves and has since been taken in from a private rescuer where he will be rehabilitated, taught to drive a cart and then re-homed. Good luck in your new life Sonic.

The Jim was back this month and ready to lend a helping hand as usual. It is so nice to have a farrier around when a horse comes in with overgrown hooves. Thanks Jim for all your help, you are a great leg holder too!

Allison was able to make us these great calculation sheets. They are proving to be a wonderful tool for the students who are still learning to the drug calculations in their heads.

After a lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, Grandma Lee’s homemade cheesecake and some good stories, we were all full and ready to finish up.

So, it was back to the stalls to cut a few more….

pull some more wolf teeth and

check more dosages

As Dr. Jeske demonstrates, practicing Veterinarian medicine is a dirty job; thankfully, everyone here is ready to do it!

Again, this clinic was only a success because of our wonderful vets Dr. Dewey and Dr. Jeske our great host Cheryl Rankin of The Shiloh Foundation and all of the volunteers who are willing to sacrifice a Saturday morning in an effort to help the unwanted horse.

Together, we have successfully gelded 34 stallions through our low cost clinics; many would not be geldings if not for our low cost option. We are all very proud of our work and will continue to host our low cost clinics as funds allow. You can help us reach our goal of gelding 100 stallions this year by donating to our cause, just click here. We are an official 501c3 and all donations are tax deductable.

77 TO GO!!

2010-04-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, BITS aided in the castration of two more stallions. Their owner contacted us to be part of our April 3rd gelding clinic; however, Jamie felt it would be better to castrate them at their home because the 6 year old stallion had not been handled in a while and the 3 year old had never been in a trailer and was not halter broke. Thanks to the donated funds from the Sammie’s Friends Horse Fund, we were able to do just that.

The stallions owner was a very sweet woman who due to the recent economy has had to cut back and without a stable job is having a hard time making ends meet. She was concerned for her horse’s welfare and open to Jamie's suggestions regarding the care and feeding of her herd. It has been her life’s dream to breed beautiful horses, but without the proper breeding stock or funds to support her horses she is beginning to understand that she needs to shut down her operation.

The life of a stallion is not very luxurious; many times, they are kept in smaller pens and are unable to be turned out to socialize with others. They are often assumed to be dangerous; therefore they get little handling from inexperienced stallions owners. This was one of those cases. Lotto a 6-year-old Polish Arabian is living in stall with a 20x20 run with no pasture time or hoof care because his owner is apprehensive when it comes to his handling. He has helping in the tearing down of his stall out of frustration and boredom and there is evidence of atrophy.

As you can see, his hooves where overdue to be trimmed and his mane has gone without combing for a long time.

Yesterday was Lotto’s first day as a gelding and hopefully his procedure will help him find a new home and a new life. If you are interested in Lotto please contact Jamie at Jamie@backinthesaddleproject.com, his owner has agreed to sell him.

Next up was Star, a 3-year-old Arab cross. Star was breed and born on this property and for never being haltered or having much handling, he was a gem. As with Lotto, we are hoping that after being castrated his owner will feel more confident handling him and hopefully this will lead to a better quality of life for him.

BITS is not here to judge, condemn, or ridicule horse owners; we are here to educate and shed light on the 100,000 unwanted horse epidemic. For every stallion we geld, we can save an infinite number of unwanted horses by stopping them from potentially producing another foal. Please consider the unborn horse before you choose to breed. Breeding horses with poor confirmation, undesirable genetic traits, and unproved performance will most likely result in giving them a one-way ticket to Mexico. Breeding to improve the quality and integrity of the breed should always be the main objective; we can all help the horses before they need it by promoting ethical and responsible breeding. Thank you again to Sammie’s Friends for their generous pledge to our gelding project. If you are interested in helping us continue our fight to save the unwanted horse, please consider donating to our much needed program. We have a goal to aid in the castration of 100 horses in the year 2010, so far we have completed 23 and with your help we will reach our goal!

Opening

2010-03-30T15:33:00.000-07:00

We still have one opening for a mini horse to be gelded on May 11th. Please refer this to anyone who might qualify for our gelding program http://www.backinthesaddleproject.com/geldingform.html.

Cathing Up

2010-03-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it has been so long since I did a post, so much has happened it is hard to know where to start! If you are a friend on facebook then you know most of the things that have been taking place, but if not then you should join. We are trying to get 300 fans by the April 3rd Low Cost Gelding Clinic, so please become a fan and help us achieve our goal.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Back-in-the-Saddle-Project/161382019757?ref=ts

Here goes the re-cap, it’s gonna be a long one:

First, we have officially filed for our 501 (c)(3) which means we can act as a legitimate non-profit and are able to send out tax deductable receipts the day our status is confirmed. This is huge since it now allows us to really go out, fundraise, and start applying for some grant monies. We are in need of so many things, one is funds to help supplement the gelding of horses in areas where a low cost option is not available at this time! Which brings us to our second item:

Our gelding clinics are such a success that we are on our second month with a May clinic in the works. We cannot thank Dr. Dewey of Bear River Mobile Vet and Cheryl from The Shiloh Foundation enough. Without the help of these two great people, none of this would be possible. Our April 3rd clinic is full and we have added a new gelding clinic form to help with all the inquires. http://www.backinthesaddleproject.com/geldingform.html. We currently have a 30 horse waitlist!

Today I was out to see a sweet little donkey who was in need of a new home. Thanks to a friend on facebook, we were able to collaborate and find Lin Donald and Tom Manuel of Indian Hill Ranch and Gardens. They have been looking to add a Jenny to their herd and fell in love with little “Pixie” today. She is 3 and has never really been handled but was extremely receptive to them and was very interested in the molasses treats and carrots they brought.

Arrangements have been made to pick her up and take her home on Saturday. Erika Williamson a barefoot trimmer and friend of The Hole in the Head Gang, helped out today and is ready to assist “Pixie” and her new owners with halter breaking and basic handling. It is so nice when we can all work together to find homes for those who need them without having to send them to a rescue. Together we can do big things and today we found “Pixie” a great new home with two donkey’s ready to greet her at the gate. I cannot wait to go see her at her new home at Indian Hill Ranch and Gardens, I picture her like this in a few months...

Today I was also up at Shiloh to meet Star. Star’s owner contacted me last week and wanted to talk about us helping her daughter who owned a 22 year old horse who was “skinny”. After several phone calls I was able to talk with the equine veterinarian who last saw Star in February and confirm over the phone that dental work was done on her and at the time she was a body score of 3, but had a healthy heart.

The owner was concerned about driving all the way out to Marysville since she was under the impression that we were located in Auburn. Knowing that Star needed our help as the owner stated many times that she could not afford to feed her the special equine senior diet she required I called Shiloh. No need to beg and plead with Cheryl who has a heart of gold, she gladly agreed to allow Star to be dropped at her place. So Star was left in Cheryl’s loving hands on Wednesday afternoon.

Cheryl said she was caked in mud and diarrhea so a nice warm bath was given and then she was showed to her very own stall where she whinnied happily at the other horses at Shiloh. When I came out today, I was amazed to see her with a little stumble here and there but a sweet demeanor and content look in her eyes. I put a blanket on and left her to eat her bran mash and senior with Galazy looking over her. We are not positive that we will beable to re-home Star, so if you are interested in sponsoring her care please let us know, with your help she could have her forever home here at BITS.

It was decided that Star will make the trip here to us on Saturday, as I am coming back up to see Hoss and Little Joe do some ground lessons. Last time I saw these two they were being penned up at our February 14th gelding clinic, untouched and wild.

Today , only a few weeks after coming to Shiloh they are happy, playful, halter broke and people loving little guys. I am so proud of them and Cheryl for their progress!

Okay, now the part I have been putting off for a week or so. I promised to be upfront and honest with all of our supporters all the time, and so our March 18th euthanasia clinic went off without a hitch. It was sad as always to let these horses go, but comforting to know that because of the help of Dr. Jen Jeske, Sacramento Rendering Co. and Lisa Dixon of Whimsical Farms we were able to help owners lay to rest their beloved pets without having to compromise comfort. The cost of rendering has gone up so much that many owners are unable to afford the cost of euthanasia and therefore many horses are left suffer due to lack of funds. The horses that come to the clinic were ready, and everyone who helped out was there to comfort and help in any way they could. Frisco Bey was 33 years old and a high prized champion in his younger days. His owner was upset to let him go, but I let her know what a rare treat it was for a horse to be with one owner for all those years. He was very much loved and cared for until the end.

Sunny was TB whose owner had moved and was unable to help him in his last days. She was trying to figure out how to lay Sunny to rest being so far away. When she saw our ad she asked if we could help. Thanks to Wendy, a great volunteer, we were able to arrange pick up of Sunny and overnight stay at Whimsical Farms. She could afford the normal cost, but needed help in facilitating the procedure. She was happy to sponsor a spot for a horse in need in as a tribute to Sunny and thanks for our help. It was a pleasure to be with such a sweet guy in his last moments, as he walked out of his stall you could tell his hind end was off and he was dealing with discomfort. Sunny was a gentlemen to the end, he enjoyed a big bucket of sweet grain and quietly went to sleep.

Sis was an older mare who was never trained to ride, but was able to spend her days out to pasture in peace. She had a few young ones who loved to brush and love on her into her old age. As the years went on she got old and her body began to fail her, so much so that she was unable to stand so that her front hooves could be trimmed. She was laid to rest knowing tons of love her whole life.

Angel was a sweet, loving 2 year old with sever club foot in both front legs. Her condition could not be corrected and she was uncomfortable. It is such a shame because this little one was as kind as they come. We are happy she was loved in her short time here and never knew a bad day.

Cammie, Walter and JP were all older horses who had been surrendered over to a rescue in the area. All were elderly and having a hard time getting around. It is so hard when a body fails, but there pain is over and they are in a better place now.

Sammy was brought to our clinic after he went blind in his second eye. He has been the beloved horse for a 4 year old cowboy for the last year and has known love, love, love from his family. The recent loss of sight was hard on him and he was showing signs of nerve damage. His owners wanted him to be laid to rest prior to any further deterioration. His owner stayed with him until the end; he was extremely grateful for all Sammy had taught his little boy.

Hope was a mare who had been rescued form a feedlot and then surrendered after her new owner realized how hard it was to keep and care for a horse. That was 4 years ago and Hope has known only comfort and love at her home with Lisa. Her eye was like this when she came,

and so was her bum knee. This winter was the worst on Hope, and she showed signs of pain and struggle more and more each day. There was little else to do to relieve her discomfort, so with tears in her eyes, Lisa let Hope go.

Our last girl was in retirement for 2 years with a mummified foal in her belly. She was lame the day her owner acquired her, but was now hurting too much to function. Lacey was so lucky to get 2 good years in at the end. She was extremely cherished and loved.

At the end of the day I was sad and tired, but thankful for all the help we received. Without compassion and understanding, we would not be able to help those who need it right now. I was not feeling so great as I stopped by my cousins house on my way back home, but thanks to a little dog named Thistle I had a great laugh as I was locked out of my car. Waiting for the tow truck to arrive with tears of laughter in my eyes I silently thanked God for all the animals in our lives, is there a better way to end a day?

We strive to help those who want the best for their horses. Today with the job loss and foreclosure rates horse owners are having to make tough choices and we promise to be there to assist them in any way we can. It does not all have to be doom and gloom, this week we were able to re-home a lovely little Jenny, save Star from further starvation and help 10 horse owners give their horses the respect they deserved at the end. Now I am off to write an article on our gelding clinic for an e-magazine with 22,000 subscribers. I will post the link once it is out. And if you missed it, BITS was featured in TheHorse.com the other day….

Busy Busy Busy

2010-03-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

Today was spent talking with Animal Control about how to better assist them. With today’s economy not only is Animal Control working with a slimmer version of its once bigger self, they are dealing with a rise in calls and cases of animal abuse and neglect. BITS wants to make sure we understand their position and also help educate them on equine care such as proper hoof care and body scoring. Many Animal Control officers are unfamiliar with equine and the care they require, just as I would not know the first thing about rabbits and the care they need. Most of their training is with dogs and cats, and while it may be frustating to us who know the differnce between proper horse care and nelgect, it can be hard for someone who is not familiar with equine to tell the diffrence between a fat horse and one that is bloated with worms. Rather then be upset and complain about the slow movement on many neglect cases, BITS has chosen to reach out and assist Animal Control anyway we can. Many of us want results when it comes to those poor horses in need, so we are stepping up our efforts to make sure we available should our assisance be needed.

Since Jamie was in town, she went ahead and posted flyers for our April 3rd gelding clinic. It is so important that we are out there advocating responsible breeding especially in today’s dismal horse market. We must make an effort to curb the number of horses born and bred. While we at BITS applaud those who are responsible with breeding, it is those who are unphased by the unethical breeding of horses with poor confirmation and health issues (papered or not) that are putting so many horses in danger. It is no secret that there are more horses in the United States than there are homes, so please help us spread the word, GELD YOUR STALLIONS TODAY and save an unwanted horse prior to its conception. We are currently working with other rescue groups around the USA to collaborate in a National Gelding Day! In the mean time, feel free to post the attached flyer regarding our local $50 Low Cost Gelding Clinic, click here to print.

Jamie is trying her hardest to update our website. The site was constructed and send out to the world wide web in less than three days and now that the 501 (c)(3) paperwork is lessening and the medical contacts have been made she has a little time to really make it shine. Please keep checking back to see the great changes to come. Also we are on FACEBOOK!!! Please help up reach our goal of 300 fans by the April 3rd gelding clinic!

Gelding Clinic a Success!!!!

2010-02-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

Our first low cost gelding clinic was a success with 11 horses gelded! As you know BITS has been working on offering a low cost gelding clinic for some time, so when it finally took place on Saturday, February 13th we were overjoyed, if not exhausted. Our goal is to help geld 100 horses in the year 2010 in hopes that our efforts will mean a decrease in the unwanted horse population. We can save an unwanted horse today-prior to its conception-with castration.
Our clinic was supported by Shiloh Foundation, a pregnant mare and foal rescue, Dr. Jennifer Dewey of Bear River Mobile Vet, and a few volunteers who are also students of the UC Davis Veterinarian school. Horses started rolling in at 7:30 am. Coffee, donuts, fruit and yogurt were available since many folks drove 2 hours to get their horses gelded for $50. Thanks to our great volunteer Becky and Jamie's organizational skills, all the horses were numbered, tagged and stalled by 8:00 am and we were ready to begin!

A short meeting with the vets and handlers took place and we were off. We had two teams, A & B, and both were in for a few surprises. As you can see from the pictures, the Shiloh Foundation barn was made specifically for clinics and nursing rescued horses. This barn is completely rubber matted from wall to wall, with large stalls, heaters, fans, skylights, and giant automatic waters. The large isles and gates made it easy to run unhalter broke horses through. Cheryl built this barn knowing that rescuing horses was her passion and she would not have it any other way.

Dr. Dewey set off for our first horse, a three year old named Deja Vu. This horse along with 9 others are rescues. It is comforting to know that this clinic is allowing other rescues the opportunity to help out a horse in need, while saving money which can now be used for other things- like hay and vaccinations.

Once everything was underway we were off..here is a shot from the outside. All these guys are awaiting their turn at a nice nap and some quite time!

And here is Chocolate who was unanimously voted the cutest colt around. Chocolate and his mother were rescued from a feedlot in NV and brought to Shiloh Foundation. His mother, is a 9 year old untouched mare but Chocolate is quite interested in us humans even if mom is not. One great thing about Shilo, they take the time to gentle horses like this mare. I cannot wait to do an update on her in a few months!

All the horses were given a number when they checked in. The number coordinated with the tag the owner was given to retrieve the horse, the stall and also the paperwork which detailed the horse. The system worked well and will be in use at our next clinic as well. It was so nice for the vets and handlers to know who the horse was, age, personality and whether it was halter broke or not just be looking at the sheet taped to the front of their stall.

Here is Herbie, a 2 year old grade pony who was taken in from a rescue in Colorado after they closed their doors. Lucky for him, he already has a new home in Elk Grove!

As you can see, Herbie's poor hooves were very long. Thank god we had some farriers on board to help out, they would not let Herbie leave without a proper trimming. Thank you Jim for donating your time to get Herbie back on the right hoof! It is amazing what can be accomplished with team work and sedation drugs.

One of our older stallions had a distinct heart murmur and everyone was curious to hear it. It was amazing to see the students whip out their note pads and write about the unusual sounds heard from this guy. Jamie was so excited to see our future vets getting a dose of what is come, she was so proud of their dedication and eagerness to learn and help out.

Our next guy, Hoss, was an untouched yearling. He was also rescued by Shilo Foundation with his friend Little Joe who were both found in a feedlot nursing off the same sweet mare. Unfortunately, they have not been at the ranch long enough to be halter broke. So, how to do you sedate and geld an unhalter broke yearling?

You pen them to the wall with a panel and talk sweetly to them as they drift off slowly to sleep. Hoss was really not interested in anything we had to say, but he did eventually cooperate and he is no longer able to reproduce! Little Joe was not interested either, but he succumbed to our sweet voices and was okay with a halter on after some persuasion. Both these cuties will be available for adoption once they are halter broke and have basic ground manners.

Not only did these generous vets pull these..

they pulled Wolf teeth as well..

Ouch

Thanks again to our volunteers, we had a successful day and all horses are doing well. Our next clinic is tentatively scheduled for April 3rd , so please tell those who might benefit from the low cost and if you are interested in sponsoring a horse contact Jamie by email at jamie@backinthesaddleproject.com.

Our hay bank is still in effect and we have been able to help a few families in the last two weeks. We are however running low on feed and funds, so if you have some leftover feed in the barn or a bale or two to donate please contact us. We are always in need of monetary donations as well, which can be made directly to Dave's Hay Barn 42 She- yo Lane, Oroville, CA 95966 530-534-9026
Thanks to Fran and Theresa, Jamie will driving to Grass Valley in the morning to pick up some bags of left over foal feed, which will come in handy!

If your facility is interested in hosting a clinic in your area for gelding or other services please contact Jamie@backinthesaddleproject.com

Low Cost Gelding Clinic Details & More

2010-02-02T23:18:00.000-08:00

Today "Jamie spent the afternoon touring the Shilo Foundation facility with Dr. Dewey and Cheryl, founder of this great rescue. Shilo Foundation specializes in the rescue of pregnant mares which makes the low cost gelding clinic near and dear to their heart. This amazing facility is equipted with a 20 stall barn complete with heaters and fans for the comfort of the pregnant mares, an arena with lights, round pen and 9 wonderful pastures. Every horse is given the utmost care and Cherly agrees that all horses must have the basic training they need to help them survive in this rough market. Without proper training we are giving the horses nothing to help prevent them from winding up back in a rescue or worse situation!

After viewing the property and doing final touches on logistics, the $50 Low Cost Gelding Clinic has been officially scheduled. We will have space and time for 10 horses, all horses admitted to the clinic must be visually intact.(Unfortunately, we cannot accept cryptorchids at this clinic.) If you have a horse that needs to be gelded and have been hit by this economy, like many of us, please contact Jamie at 916.849.7953.

All details can be viewed here

Jamie also got in touch with Brittany from Distric 3 High School Rodeo. The CHSRA is selling $10 raffle tickets for the chance to win a 2010 3 horse logan slant trailer! BITS bought one ticket and our fingers are crossed that it will be the winning ticket which would mean a new trailer for the rescue. Please support this great organization which helps keep youth involved in horse related sports, allowing them to compete in an american tradition and all the while keeping horses in homes! For more information you can contact The Thundering 3.

Sunday Jamie will be off to a barn in Elk Grove to check out the layout in hopes that it might serve as our Sacramento based euthanasia clinic. With no where to take horses and little money to afford the expensive rendering many horse owners are left with little options. Together we can make a difference by offering a low cost option for humane euthanasia. Remember for every 2 horses able to pay the $100 euthanasia and rendering fee, we are able to offer the service to 1 horse at no cost.

Please consider making a donation to our organization. We are partnering with local Animal Control to assist horses in our area from abuse, starvation and neglect while using our man power to offer low cost clinics and help horses and their owners provide nessesary services at a discounted cost. Our Hay Bank is a great way to donate some extra feed to those who might be on some rough times and our Books for little BITS is still accepting horse related books.

Thank you in advance for you consideration. We at BITS pledge to be an ethical, trustworthy and campasionate organization. We will always do what is right for the horses and will use all funds in a proper way. We promise to make you proud of the rescue you support!

Sunday January 31st, 2010

2010-01-31T13:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, we can't believe it has been 3 weeks since we sat down to write and update everyone on the progress with BITS! Things have been moving along nicely and we are very excited for what we have been able to accomplish so far. Jumping into the non-profit sector and starting a horse rescue is something that we both, just not something we planned on doing. We have already had our list of set backs the first and most consistent is the liability issue. Everywhere we turn, we are faced with the issue of protecting ourselves from lawsuits. If you follow us on Facebook you will already know that the cost for our insurance is $700 for the year. Neither Deb and I have the money at the moment as all of the horse care is still being privately funded by ourselves. Hopefully once our 501C3 status is completed we will be able to apply for grants to help with the cost of rehabilitating and helping horses.

The hardest thing is knowing what we could accomplish for the horses and owners in need with the $700 (Geld 14 horses, pay for 20 trimmings, purchase 7 tons of hay or 70 bags of Elk Grove Stable Mix for the hay bank, 3 months of professional training for one of the rescued horses, an opening to care for a rescued horse, etc. etc..)We even tried to rent out a few facilities for the gelding clinic and each one turned us down for fear of liability issues. It does become slightly disheartening that in order to do any good you must first protect yourself..

Our January 12th Euthanasia Clinic was a success. We were able to help 3 horses who's owners could not afford the cost to euthanize and render their elderly and injured horses. Unfortunately, the cost of rendering is increasingly expensive due to the rise in its demand. Many years ago, you could still bury horses on private property, but with the expansion of housing and water contamination issues, this practice is not so frequently used. So good old supply & demand has made it even more costly to render along with the rise in gas, liability and workers compensation costs. Our clinic used several resources to be able to offer the service for $100 a horse. For every 2 paying horses we were able to offer a slot for free, without having to ask others to pay for the cost. Much can be done with Jamie’s office work of placing calls and calling on those who are willing to give their time, as we all know money is tight these days, but we can still accomplish much with the donation of time and product.
A special thanks goes out our vet Bear River Mobile Veternarian Service, Dr. Jennifer Dewey who donated her day and gas to come down here and perform the euthanasia. Without compassionate veterinarians like herself, this clinic would never have been possible.

And to North State Rendering Co, who like Sacramento Rendering Co gave us an excellent discount on the removal and disposal of the euthanized horses.

On a brighter note, Jamie is off to Auburn on Tuesday to do a walk-thur on a facility that is willing to partner with us in the gelding clinic. It is such a blessing to have a fellow horse rescue step up and offer their 20 stall barn, since we ran into lack of venue issue. Together we can accomplish much more and help those who are the heart of our operations- THE HORSES! We will officially open up the 5 available slots for the clinic once the time table and volunteer schedules have been completed. We still have a goal to geld 100 horses this year, so lets all pray that this event goes well enough that it will occur on a monthly basis.

Since is it is a lovely day, Jamie is off to take Bob out for yet another lesson on confidence and Deb is already hot on the trails with Repo who's eye is completely healed with no sign of his melting ulcer. See you all soon!

Week of January 2nd

2010-01-05T22:25:00.000-08:00

January 2nd & 3rd

Deb was sick so I spent most of the weekend cleaning stalls and feeding our 3 rescue horses, waiting for the call that she was still alive. If you had the flu that has been going around- you understand my concern.

Finally, on Sunday Deb started to feel better and took the long drive from our Magalia facility down to the Loma Rica headquarters with one of her personal rescue horses, Richie. Richie was listed on Craigslist for $250 and needed a home ASAP or else... Deb took action and posted her plea to get Richie on the Alex Brown Racing forum and was able to raise the money to purchase Richie and pay for a little of his rehab. With a bad shoulder, paper thin soles, navicular and a sad look on his face Richie was a 9 year old Double Dollar QH on his way to a better future. Deb's rehab of Richie took over a year and today he is a happy, healthy and gorgeous horse. He is such a gentleman and I am so happy to have him in Loma Rica for a few days.

Monday January 4th

Today I spent some time laying out the new fencing. What a job!! Words can not describe how excited Deb and I are. Up until now, we have been paying for all of our horse rescue related expenses out of pocket and to get a couple hundred dollars of free fencing material was the break we needed. So, with a can of construction spray paint and 16ft tape measure, I took to the pastures to create 3 areas for our horses in addition to the 6 stall QT area. We cannot wait to post pictures!

Tuesday January 5th

Today was bittersweet. Today Richie went to his new home. After a year of TLC and lots of care Deb was able to let Richie go. We were very particular about who adopted this horse. One, he is a perfect gentleman! Two, he is ranch ready, can do trails like a pro and can haul the kids around without any problems. Due to his navicular, we really wanted to find him a home where he would be able to roam in a large area and be used lightly. Thank god for good friends, we found it. I drove up with Richie this morning to his new home on 25 acres where his family of 7 will ride occasionally, but love him daily.

His new mom, Joe and a few of the four legged residences accompanied Richie down the drive to his new pasture. All 15 acres of it! After being turned out he set his head down and started in on the great feed the pasture has to offer. With one last look and a " see ya gal" to me, he was a home. I could not wait to give Deb and call and let her know that this was the match made in heaven we had been praying for.

After all the adoption paperwork was completed me and my rig were off to the next stop. I got a picture of Richie at the time he picked up his head and realized that this playground was his very own.

Happy trails Richie, you deserve this!

Week of December 28th

2010-01-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

Monday December 28th

Not a whole lot to report mostly office work, stall cleaning and feeding of horses. I am trying to rearrange our website to make it more user friendly and easier on the eye- wish me luck!

A few calls were made and the euthanasia and rendering of Cash was scheduled for the owners. Apparently the lady who owns Cash has no knowledge of the three horses she owns, all where her husbands who just suffered a massive stroke. I will be at her place Tuesday morning to meet the vet and assist him with the proceedure.

Deb has been busy filtering calls about the lost dogs she found on Christmas Day; hopefully they will be back in their rightful home soon.

Tuesday December 29th

I was passing Cotton's Flying U Rodeo at 7 am this morning headed to Lincoln to assist Cash's owner with his euthanasia. I fed Cash his last meal and met the vet at 8 am. Everything went well and after Cash had passed I talked with the vet on his estimated age and he said no younger than 30 and he only had 3 back teeth left. I must say I was relieved that Cash was not longer in pain and subject to the cold weather we have had lately. It must have been hard to keep his body temperature up with the little body fat he had left. Thanks to the concerned donor who brought Cash to Sammie's Friends attention, without your help Cash might still be suffering. RIP Cash.

I plan to visit Cash's owners again next week to discuss the 2 other young horses they own. We will be talking about training and the possibility of rehoming them to someone with more experience. It is not a good idea to get young, untrained horses when you have little horse experience. I suggested an older well broke gelding for the family and hopefully my suggestion will be well received. Cash’s owner mentioned to me on my was out that there were two other horses worse shape than he was when they picked him up. I doubt they are still there but I will follow up and make sure there are no suffering horses left at that house.

After leaving Cash’s I was off to pick up Raz, a 15-year-old Appaloosa gelding with moon blindness and arthritis. His owner sent him to BITS for our January euthanasia clinic, but after meeting Raz we believe he may have a chance to make it as a lead line horse or pasture pal. Dr. Tortosa will be out to evaluate him on Wednesday and talk about his current pain level, hopefully a little Bute is all he needs. Cross your fingers for this guy; he is just too sweet!

While picking Raz we also took in Bob a 5 year quarter horse gelding. The owner was being evicted and was trying to find him a home but ran out of time and asked that we find him a new home. She had contacted several rescues in the area, but was told she needed a $200 surrender fee before they would take him. Due to her current financial situation, she was unable to come up with the funds and was extremely grateful that were able to take him, no charge. Bob has a great disposition, he is trained to ride and he tied and trailered like a gentleman today.

Upon arrival back at the BITS headquarters, Bob and Raz were both de-wormed and placed in their stalls for the night. Raz is a little underweight so his blanket was on before night fall. Bob will be vaccinated tomorrow when Dr. Tortosa makes her appearance and hopefully if all goes well, Raz will too. Once Bob has been properly evaluated, he will be available for adoption. If you have any interest in him, please give us a call.

Wendsday December 30th

Not much excitement. A lot of phone calls to confirm our euthanasia clinic, which will be January 12th. The clinic will be offered for $100 a horse, which includes veterinarian administered euthanasia and professional pick up &rendering from Sacramento Rendering Co.

We have also confirmed that we have 9 available spots for the $50 gelding clinic. This clinic will be help February 13th and is available to all who qualify. For more information, please email us at info@backinthesaddleproject.com or click here

Thursday December 31st

Today BITS got the best call ever! A friend of a friend, is moving and has sold all of his horses. He has about 20-30 newer t-posts and electrical fencing materials that he is willing to donate to BITS, if we come and take it all down. It took me less than a second to say "give me the address; this is an answer to our prayers." With more fencing, we are able to take on a few more horses and able to cut down on feed costs.

Since Deb was at work, I recruited a few great friends and we set out with some amazing equipment to remove t-posts, electrical rope and insulators.

Notice the 4 paw worker on top!

Many hands make light work, and after a couple of hours were loaded up and ready to head back home. I cannot thank our friends enough for sacrificing their New Year's Eve to help out BITS. We had a great time watching the kids work together and play in the fresh MUD!

All and all we came home with 1 light table, 10 acres worth of electrical rope and dozens and dozens of insulators for both t-posts and wood posts. It was a great day.

Friday January 1st

Well today is the day to put some t-posts in and get these horses out of the barn and into the sunshine (what little there is today). BITS hopes you enjoyed the Tournament of Roses Parade, we watched it on HGTV and are so proud of our young FFA kids! Wish us luck today and Happy New Years.

This week we are in need of:

de-wormer, vaccinations, used halters & leadropes

Can you help?

Tis the Season

2009-12-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

After much talk, Back in the Saddle Project has decided to blog every Friday. With our full time jobs, children to love and care for, and the horses to feed, groom and ride, we are short on time-so Friday it is. Please check back with us once a week to get the weekly low down!

Little Bit dressed as Christmas Elf with Ruby and Jamie

We have three horses signed up for the January euthanasia clinic where we are able to provide Veterinarian administered euthanasia and rendering for $100 a horse. We have 1 horse signed up for the $50 gelding clinic and we have almost completed the paperwork for our IRS 501(c)(3) filing. Deb and I are on the hunt for electrical horse tape and other fencing materials, wishing we could afford to rent a hydraulic t-post driver!

Monday, we were contacted by a family who came across a starving horse in an abandoned pasture near their home. Although they had no horse experience they knew, they could not leave him there to die a slow and painful death. They were able to get permission to take the horse home and walked him down the lane to their pasture where they fed and rehabilitated him. Now that he is healthy they are looking to place him in a home, but they know little about him.

Goldie, the mustang

I was going to be in the area so I stopped by to check him out. After shaving his neck it was evident that he was a BLM mustang, approx 9 years old and he was still intact cryptorchid with poor confirmation. I took pictures of his brand and have sent them off to BLM to try and get title figured out. In the mean time, the family is keeping him and taking care of him until further notice. Goldie is very lucky that these people are loving and caring enough to help him out before it was too late.

While out on a Christmas BITS Bites delivery to Sammie’s Friends, a call came in from a donor who was picking up, Cash, an emaciated horse that Sammie’s Friends was willing to rescue and rehabilitate. Unfortunately, Cash would not load in her slant trailer and she was unsure of how to transport him to Sammie’s Friends. Sammie’s Friends has a horse fund and are able to take in 1 or 2 horses at time. They understand the importance of proper rehabilitation, vet care, hoof care, and they believe that proper training before adoption, is necessary.Since I was there, I offered to transport Cash in the BITS stock trailer. We set up a time to meet the following day, Christmas Eve and transport Cash to his rehab home. After the morning chores of feeding horses and cleaning stalls were done, Deb and I set out driving down to Lincoln to pick up Cash. When we arrived at the home we found Cash in pretty bad shape, after evaluating him, we found him to be an approx. 28 years old, sway back, Arabian with a bit of an attitude. His teeth were worn down, but he did not drop any feed when eating, Deb noticed signs of ringbone and bone spurs as well.

Deb evaluating Cash

Even though he looked bad, he still had it in him to put a healthy fight, as he was unwilling to load in the stock trailer as well. We were all set to put up some panels when the owners arrived home.

We began to talk with the concerned donor and the owner and found out the owners had little horse experience, but wanted to do right by Cash. They did not understand that the horse was elderly and most likely his weight loss was due to a metabolic issues rather than neglect. The owner was willing to provide humane euthanasia if that was what the horse needed.

It was then decided to return Cash to his pasture and help the owner set up the vet and rendering. Before we left, Deb and I took the opportunity to help the owner clean up the discarded baling twine and metal gates in the pasture, explaining to her the dangers they presented to her horses. We found the water trough empty and explained that horses need an average of 10-15 gallons of water each a day. The owner was very thankful and asked if we could come back and help her on the day the vet came to put Cash down, we happily told her we would do whatever we could to help. Deb and I could have simply loaded the underweight horse and left the home, but by taking the time educate the owner rather than just take her problem horse away, we were able to help make a better horse owner out of her and hopefully help keep the other two horses she has healthy. Remember most neglect arises from lack of education and is not intentional. Education is the key!!

On Christmas day, Deb was on her way to feed the horses when two dogs ran out in front of her car. After stopping the care and feeding them some of our Christmas BITS Bites, Deb allowed the two to jump in the car. She knew she would not be able to enjoy Christmas dinner in her warm home if she left the two to fend for themselves.

Bones sleeping on Deb's couch, which is normally a big NO NO in Deb's house.

As you can see from the pictures, Bones, an intact, male, pit-bull, is emaciated to the point that he feels pain when he is petted. Diva, the black lab mix is sweet and not as bad off as her mate but still underweight and dehydrated.

Bones and Diva resting in the warm house on the comfy couch

The two are resting happily in Debs home for the weekend and we are looking to place them in a home as soon as possible. If you are interested, please contact us a info@backinthesaddleproject.com

Getting ready to deliver our BITS bites

Little Bit did his job on Christmas afternoon, delivering Christmas BITS Bites to neighbors and BITS supporters. He was such a good little elf, he really likes the attention he gets from his girl! We hope you had a great holiday week and wish you a Happy New Year. See you next Friday!

Time to Celebrate!

2009-12-02T09:54:00.000-08:00

BITS had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we have certainly been enjoying all this amazing weather, which has allowed us to ride almost every day. We attended the Chico Equestrian Association Turkey Trot and checked out their great facility and met a lot of really nice riders.

We are certainly making headway on the Euthanasia and Gelding Clinics. Our new pals from Nevada County, Sammies Friends, have donated 3 gelding procedures! We are so grateful and so very excited. Sammie’s Friends is a group dedicated to helping shelter animals get the small procedures they need to adoptable while helping other animals in the community with veterinarian care as well.

Yesterday, Jamie sent out about 30 emails to equine veterinarians in Northern California requesting help with both gelding procedures and the Euthanasia Clinic. 5 hours after the emails were sent a response came back from Dr. Dewey. Not only is she donating 2 gelding procedures, but she has pledged to head the January euthanasia clinic and is a active member in the Equine Medicine Club at UC Davis Veterinary school. She is going to help get a FREE gelding clinic set up in Nevada County where we will be able to geld 10-15 horses in one day and offer valuable experience to the next generation on veterinarians! We are picking a date and will be sending out the information later this week.

One last thing: As you all know, this economy has hit the non-profit sector really hard. When things are hard, there is an even bigger need for those dedicated to offering relief for those who need it. BITS would like to suggest that since most of us are cutting back on Christmas spending this year, maybe we could all take a different approach to this giving season and donate our time. We can accomplish a lot with help, so we encourage you to find a non-profit which is close to your heart and offer your services. The local food banks always need extra hands, and your salvation army has many to feed this year and a blanket drive for the homeless can be done by simply walking the block and asking your neighbors and friends for warm blankets to pass out to those who need it. Good luck!

Meeting Thursday Night

2009-11-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

Happy to report that BITS is meeting with a well established animal rescue in Nevada County. Hopefully we can work together to get some more vets on board for the gelding clinics and establish our Nevada County foster home and volunteer base. Deb and I are so excited, this is a perfect contact who knows how to work with the local animal control and can help us get in there and make a diffrence. Keep good thoughts and we will let you know how it all goes!

More Great News on the Homefront!

2009-11-04T22:01:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night Deb and I went to CAWS meeting in Nevada City. It was a quite amazing group, mainly dog and cat rescues, but none the less a group of individuals from various organizations getting together to help network and save lives. Deb and I were totally amazed. Can you imagine what kind of change could be made for the horses if horse rescues were interested in working together? There did not seem to be any competition for donors, and everyone was there to offer advice, suggestions and support. Deb and I will be going back in January for sure! Thank you to Scooters Pals, Sammies Friends and For Pets Sake, we are grateful for the warm welcome to the group.

C.A.W.S

Wednesday night, we went to Bette's (our cheerleader) for great burgers, wine and the most amazing homemade garlic french fries ever. It is so amazing the support we have received. Many people are astonished to see the truth behind so very many non-profit organizations. BITS promises to conduct our organization with ethics, compassion and the best interest of the horse at ALL times. We are certainly out to make it known that there is an alternative to the conventional horse rescue. Please join us in our efforts.

On another note, we received our first confirmation from a local vet who will be donating two free gelding procedures for the year 2010. BITS has made it our goal to geld 100 horses in the new year! BITS is in favor of, and thankful for the responsible breeding of registered, purebred and wanted horses. We are not however, nieve to the back yard breeding epidemic which is the cause for many of the 100,000 unwanted horses in the USA today. Please help us in passing this great program on to your local vet, we are not confined by city, county or state lines; we have no boundaries. The amount of unwanted horses that can be saved prior to their conception is infinite. Please help us Save Unwanted Horses!

The unwanted horse problem- is there a horse storm coming?

2009-10-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today I was doing some research on the unwanted horse statistics and found that the 2009 Unwated Horse Survey has been issued. Click here to read survey

"The Unwanted Horse Coalition, a broad alliance of equine organizations that have joined together under the American Horse Council, is concerned that some horses may slip through the various safety nets within the equine industry. Too many owners are unaware of, or do not give enough thought to, the available options, services and assistance available in the industry to help them ensure that their horse has caring and humane support throughout its life. The Unwanted Horse Coalition will help educate the horse industry about this issue and help people learn to Own Responsibly."

Page 31 shows the most appealing solutions to the unwanted horse problem

Horse ownership education focused on buying and owning responsibly
Increase ability of rescue/adoption/retraining facilities to care for unwanted horses
Reopening U.S. processing plants
More resources for humane euthanization

and along with the least appealing soluntions to the unwanted horse problem

Expand legislation or regulation to control horse ownership
Federal funding for carcass removal
Increase awareness of animal welfare rights
Federal funding to expand horse adoption

What I take from these statistics is that it is up to us. The general public who love horses and are corcerned about their welfare. We need to band together and start taking action on behalf of those who need help and those who cannot help themselves. Please take a moment to read our objectives for the Hay Bank, Low Cost Gelding Clinics and Euthanasia Clinics. We are taking a leap of faith in our efforts to form a Non-profit for the horses and we need your support.

What can we do today that will change the outcome for tommorow?
I confirmed with the owner of Roseville Livestock auction yesterday that they are closing their doors. The property needs too much repair to be brought up to county code, and the property owner is not interested in making the $60,000+ in repairs. So I ask you, where does that leave the desperate horse owners? Anywhere from 50 -100 horses a month were run through the Roseville Auction each month, many owners brought their horses to this local auction in hopes that they would be purchased and fnd a new home. Many brought their elderly or untrained horses as the last resort because humane euthanasia was too expensive and traveling to another auction 3 hours away is not possible. Owners who had no luck selling privately and where unable to properly care for their horses had at least this option, now what? Is there going to be an increase in horse abandonment? What can we do to help?

We hope our hay bank will help owners who want to keep their horses but are just struggling temporarily with hay costs. We also hope we can help owners connect with trainers to help horses with behavior issues through our rehoming assistance but what about the rest?

Although we would all like to help each horse find a new home and plan to try our best to help but the reality is there will be many who will not be able to find homes. BITS believes that many horses will be forced to suffer this winter simply because their owners are unable to care for them. We can prevent that suffering if we give owners the option of having their horse put down by a vet in a humane manner and at an affordable cost. It is not a wonderful option but until another solution can be found it is a neccesary one. We hope you understand it is in the best interest of horses that cannot find homes. BITS has formed a network of giving vetrinarians and disposal businesses who are willing to donate their time and equiptment, all that is left is the funding to make it affordable for every owner in need. Do you know someone who might be interested in donating to this worthy cause?

Click Here

A great weekend!

2009-10-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

First off it seems like our bad luck is over. BITS received wonderful news today. We have been chosen to receive a grant from the Ralph and Virginia Mullin Foundation! The grant will pay for all of BITS IRS filing fees. This is fantastic news and we are all so excited. Yesterday we had our first tabling at the Ride & Dine held at the Camelot Equestrian Center. What a place, with trails and arenas everywhere.

Thanks to Betty our cheerleader(pictured in the pirate witch outfit), we had a great table next to Valley Tractor complete with witch hats and hanging bats! Deb made fun candy mice, caramel apples and crispy treats to sell for our Hay Bank. Aside from making a few dollars, we made great contacts with the Pony Club and some enthusiastic college girls. The kids had a great time doing everything Halloween and horsey.

They even had a pumpkin polo match.

BITS will surely be back next year. Thank you Camelot, we had a blast.

We are still here!

2009-10-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in posts. The bits team has had two weeks of bad luck! First is the was the craigslist scam that cost us a day in driving, two tanks of gas and two girls in a funky mood. Then it was followed up with a death in the family, a blown transmission and a rain storm. We were felling like "Why us?", when a package came in the mail.

It was the cutest flymask all decked out in American Pride courtesy of The Well Groomed Horse!

This is a serious fly mask and since Lil Bit has gone through 3 in the past 2 months, it is a welcome site. The well enforced back strap is sure to stay closed. Great handmade American craftsmanship!

Even my husband was impressed by how well it was put together and the fabric is soft and sturdy so it will not rub Lil Bit's hair off. If you remember, he has to wear a fly mask at all times due to the improper way his torn eyelid healed prior to his adoption.

When I walked out to place on Lil Bit he was hesitant, he is still working on his confidence. After the mask was placed on him, he was all smiles for the camera.

Even Shorty his pasture mate was jealous. So a huge thank you to The Well Groomed Horse for the great pick me up. She makes an excellent product, if you are interested in purchasing some of her new gear, click here to check out her blog .

They are fat, fuzzy, happy, mini horse approved!

Hitting the trail at Spenceville.

2009-09-27T23:12:00.000-07:00

Aurora and I took a trail ride at Spenceville Wildlife Preserve. The Epic Journey as Aurora calls it, started at 8 am at BITS to load up Emmy. Emmy loads herself on any kind of trailer and would probably drive if she could, so that part was easy. Needing a new battery for my truck, getting lost (there are no signs as we were told there should be) and getting directions such as "turn where the road turns" and several roads named Spenceville Road didn't make it easy to find. We finally arrived as the trails and although it was incredibly hot we did enjoy the peace and quiet and a nice cool dip. We did not see much in the way of wildlife , unless you count the red dun hippo. Emmy we have decided was a hippo in another life, as she will put her whole head under the water and blow bubbles out her nose as well as graze underwater.

Aurora's Arab had never crossed a creek before and he was very brave and jumped right in. In fact he has decided that cool creeks are much better than hot trails anyday. He is a great trail horse who can really step out and now he can add creeks to his list of accomplishments.

All in all , it was fun to go riding. The horses were absolutely perfect and it beats a day stuck behind the computer working or in front of a TV anytime.

Emmy jumped in before we could even get her leadrope on .

The Red Dun Hippo- the only wildlife we spotted other than a squirrel

Aurora and her cute Arab Blaze

Emmy and me

Guess who LOVES creeks now?

Bale Out Calendar

2009-09-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

Show off your horse and help a fellow horseperson in need!

BITS is having a calendar contest to raise money for an emergency hay and feed bank for horseowners in financial crisis. If we can help a horseowner through a tough time that keeps one more horse in a home. Our hope is to help horses before they end up in rescues or worse. The calendar will be titled..

Get Back In The Saddle America!

Our hope is to rebuild the horse community and economy by getting people back in the saddle, keeping horses in homes and getting more horses and riders exposed to different horse activities. Show off your horse in red white and blue, take a picture of your horse in a beautiful American landscape, send a picture of your horse under the stars and stripes. You get the idea now go get the camera! One of these horses will be the cover model is it yours?

Every person entering gets a copy of the calendar and a chance to get your horse featured on a calendar.

Show off your horse , help feed a hungry horse and keep one more horse in a home and get bragging rights!

You can read more about BITS and the calendar contest on our website: www.backinthesaddleproject.com

or below to enter

Update from the Homefront

2009-09-24T16:02:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Deb took Repo back down to UCDavis Vet Hospital to do a re-check on his eye.

Apparently Deb and I are really good at rehab since the whole staff was amazed at his recovery. The ophthalmologist said most times owners take horses home who need meds every 2-4 hours round the clock they come back and look worse.

Deb's dedication to Repo paid off. Poor thing she slept on the couch and put most of her own life on hold to make sure Repo made a full recovery. Neither of us could stomach the fact that such a young and promising horse could loose his sight.

Here is how it looks two weeks later...

So now that the Repo eye drama has subsided, we are back to setting up the Low Cost Euthanasia Clinics.

3 more vets have signed up to donate their time along with another livestock removal company. We are on our way to being able to provide low cost clinics in various locations throughout Northern California. We are confident that by taking this service to areas where there is a large cost to euthanize we will be able to reach those who really need this service. Please help us spread the word that help is available!

Can you help?

2009-09-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

BITS is here to help desperate horseowners, so when this can across our email we thought it appropriate to send out. If you know of anyone who might be able to help this mustange out please contact his owner. If you know of anyone who might be willing to sponser this mustange to live with BITS until his owner returns from Afganistan or can be re-homed please have them contact us at help@backinthesaddleproject.com.

PLEASE cross post wherever appropriate!

Lucky is a 19 year old sorrel BLM mustang gelding. He is owned by Thomas Glover in the north Reno area. Thomas is a National Guardsman who has just been called up and is being sent to Afghanistan.
Thomas will be unable to board Lucky while he is deployed so he needs to find either a temporary or permanent home for the horse. Otherwise he will have to consign Lucky to a livestock dealer when he has to ship out, which he clearly does not want to do.

Lucky can be ridden, stands for the farrier and trailers. Tom will be happy to trailer Lucky to anyone in the region who could take him.

Let's not send Tom to serve our country in Afghanistan worrying about what will happen to his horse. If you can take Lucky or provide Foster Care until he can be placed or until Tom returns.
Please call Tom at 775-997-4545.

On another note, thanks for the kind words on http://www.thewellgroomedhorse.blogspot.com/. We will do our best to make you proud!

Repo and the EYE

2009-09-20T23:12:00.000-07:00

So Deb has been up every 3 hours, walking to the barn in the dark to deliver Repo his eye meds. I know we have promised pictures for awhile, so finally they are here. Here is Deb as the sun rises giving Repo his dose of 4 liquid eye meds and Banamine.

PICTURE REMOVED by Deb

Way way too scary of a picture.

Of course he had to tear out a part of the catheter and needed a visit from the vet to fix the missing pieces and adjust the eye piece. Repo is such a good patient, he is getting a little fussy after the week of medication; however, he remains he great self, calm and ready for anything.

We wish we had pictures from when the eye first became infected, but here is what it looks like today, about 50% healed and 100% bettter! Keep Deb in your prayers, she has taken on this huge task of medicating Repo every 4 hours and even every 2 hours yesterday to make up for the tear in his line.

Poor guy, he really wants to make his way to the pasture on run with his buddies. I doubt we will be able to coax him into a stall again anytime soon.

It's looking better everyday, and tomorrow morning he is going back to UC Davis for his follow up exam; hopefully everything checks out okay.

Great News!

2009-09-16T23:32:00.000-07:00

Three veterinarians from the Livermore area returned our calls today, and every one of them is interested in donating time to our Euthanasia Clinic. We hope to have everything worked out and ready to go for an October 25th date. The vets are also interested in doing low cost vaccination and gelding clinics! We are so excited to be able to offer these programs to struggling horse owners. For more information on our clinic please click here.

BITS wants to stay proavtive and try to help horses and their owners before they become desperate. If you know of anyone that might benifit from our clinic, or might be willing to donate, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to help the horses! Click here to donate!

We are so proud of our Lil Bit

2009-09-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

Lil Bit is coming along soooo well.

We are so proud of the improvements he has made.
Notice no more goat hairs on his face?
He still has a long way to go, but he is starting to socialize well with the other horses (something he did not do well when he got here), and is allowing us to touch him more and more without fear.
He is pictured here with his mate, Tonka.

He is set to have another lesson with Erin Murphy of Equestrian Partners Inc next week. He still has a scratching issue, which we belive is due to fungus so his daily bath with anti-fungal wash continues!
Deb and I took another trip to UC Davis Vet Center today. Anyone who has dealt with a melting ulcer of the eye will know what we have been through. So not only did I have to put Handsome Jack down on Saturday, after the long morning Deb and I headed out to Davis to take care of her horse Repo's eye. The whole story with gruesome pictures and the medication schedule tomorrow. BITS wants to know, did you ride your horse today?

Time to Say Goodbye

2009-09-13T22:01:00.001-07:00

As many horse owners know, having to put our trusty steads down is one of the hardest decisions we make as horse owners. Saturday was a doosie for the Back in the Saddle founders. "Handsome Jack", was a rescue horse I adopted the day after mothers day this year. He came to the rescue where I saw him with a body score of 1 and a tired look on his face. I knew Jack had to come home with me, whether he would ever be a great ride or not. He had been left to die in a pasture with his mate, Pike,the least I could do was take him home and try to make it up to him.He needed me- I knew that.
So he came home and he got custom mash made by his little girl, and lots of love and attention. He was 25 year old and quite large. When my vet came out two weeks ago to winterize my herd she said the words I knew I needed to hear. "Jamie, you did a great job rehabbing him- he really looks great. But I have to tell you that I think this winter is going to be really hard on him and the more weight he gains the more uncomfortable his hind end gets". So there it is. I had to say goodbye to my Handsome Jack Saturday morning. Thank god for Deb, she held him when it was time while I sat and cried on the front deck. This is his last picture:

Good Bye Handsome Jack, we will miss you!

In honor of Jack and those oldies but goodies like him, Back in the Saddle is starting a low cost euthanasia clinic. We hope to allow other horse owners of seniors and uncomfortable horses allow their beloveds to pass quietly and with peace. When I called to get an estimate on putting Jack down I was shocked. It was going to cost around $300 for vet and rendering fees. I know how tight my budget is right now and am thankful that I was able to afford it. But that left us thinking, what if we could not afford it? What happens to all the elderly arthritic horses who's owners are not able to afford their peaceful passing?

We are almost there, Janice Pemental has already taken care of the rendering and place to hold our clinic, so now all we need is a vet to donate their time. If you have questions or want to help, please email me at jamie@backinthesaddleproject.com or click here. We are asking for donations for this program, we would like to be able to cover any cost the owners can not.

Our first clinic will be held in Livermore, where we will be able to reach many horse owners in need of some assistance. Back in the Saddle wants to help all horse owners, and we feel that this another way to do so. Please help us help them!

Horse Rescues 101 - Wordy but worth it.

2009-09-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

Most people think that horse rescues are noble, big-hearted people who have dedicated their lives to help horses . Well, sadly that is not always the case and considering the recent stories on the news as well as the countless email groups, blogs and internet forums dedicated to reporting about the fraudulent or neglectful horse rescues . I would have to say finding a good rescue is not as easy as you would think. In fact although the original plan was to start a horse rescue , we at BITS decided not to jump so quickly on the rescue bandwagon but to work pro-actively rather than retroactively to horse neglect.

We will take in horses that cannot be quickly re-homed and those horses will be accepted into the BITS 4R program ( Rehabilitation,Re-conditioning, Re-training and Re-homing.) However we will not be bringing horses into this program until we have the adequate vet and training funds to assure the program is successful, and does not rely day to day off of donated money . Our standards are non-negotiable when it comes to horses. While we applaud the rescues who do take great care of the horses entrusted to them , it is far too common for rescues to cut corners for various reasons at the facility while posting happy stories on the internet.

Our focus at BITS will mainly be on taking a new approach to helping horses and horse owners. While not as emotionally stirring as pictures and stories of starved horses , we do feel that our programs will help prevent the neglect for many horses for a longer period of time. Simply put we feel that EDUCATION for horse and horse owners is the long-term approach to the unwanted or neglected horse problems .

Rather than dwell on all the endless reports or even our many personal experiences about fraudulent horse rescues or horses being neglected , starved , suffering and worse in the hands of horse rescues , lets talk about what makes a good horse rescue.

Any rescue should be following or exceeding the guidelines for horse rescues written by the American Association of Equine Practitioners. Here is a link to the document it is a fantastic resource for any horse owner and a must read for anyone in rescue. The guidelines have a checklist of things to help any donor or visitor evaluate a rescue as well. While animal rescues may be operated in a perfectly ethical and legal manner, many are not and usually the person who has sent their horse to the rescue does not realize it until it is too late.The BITS staff actually feel that these guidelines should be strict policies and rules of all rescues and hope someday they will. AAEP Rescue and Retirement Guidelines

The following BOLDED paragraphs are excerpts from the AAEP guidelines . The first section listed seems to sum it up very well .

Ultimately, the best indicators of proper management of an equine rescue/
retirement facility are the physical and emotional health of the horses and the overall improvement in horses previously suffering from disease, trauma or neglect. Unless there is a medical explanation, all horses should regain and maintain an acceptable state of health and well-being with proper care.
Allowing rescued horses to deteriorate due to inadequate care, resources or space
is no favor to them and can progress to the point of cruelty. Those who take in very
animal, regardless of their ability to provide care or refusal to recognize when an
animal is suffering, are hoarders, not rescuers. All rescue and retirement organizations should periodically reevaluate their principles, practices, capabilities and goals with the help of objective, knowledgeable outsiders, such as their equine veterinarian.

**Tax exemption status 501 c3 has nothing to do with the type of care provided. The IRS does not evaluate horse rescues. In fact there is no regulation of horse rescues other than the local Animal Control who often have no experience or training with horses.
**We highly recommend that anyone donating to a horse rescue facility or surrendering a horse to a horse rescue visit in person and really check things out.

Here is a list of questions to ask and things to look for when visiting the facility or even just checking the website out. All photos below were taken at rescue facilities that have been cited or shut down. Please understand that BITS does not believe that all rescues operate this way, we are just interested in educating supporters that this has, does and will continue to happen until there are monitored guidelines for rescues.

1.Ask how long a horse has been there? When looking at horses a lot will depend on the horse's condition when it came in and underlying medical conditions but if the horse has been there for more than a few months , has lost weight or condition or still looks like a severely neglected horse, in most cases it's because -IT IS. Horses can suffer from neglect at rescues.

2. Clean and full water troughs. No algae , feces or empty water containers.

3.Is there enough and adequate shelter from sun and bad weather as well as stalls for horses that need to be contained while injured or ill?

4. Is it overcrowded for the size of the facility? Horses are not dogs or cats and need room to move around. Horses are susceptible to parasites, overcrowded conditions , uncleaned pens and animals that graze or eat from the ground is a recipe for a parasite infestation. Horses will fight , particularly over food and water when overcrowded serious or even deadly injuries can result.
As the AAEP states;hoarding is not rescue.

5. What is their quarantine program like? Would you believe there are rescues who do no quarantine at all ? Horses who are new or ill should be kept in quarantine and the quarantine area must be separate from other horses. Adopters should be very careful that they do not take a horse that has not been properly quarantined and expose other horses to diseases.

6. Are older, or weaker horses kept with younger or healthy ones? Weaker horses will not get their fair share of food in a herd situation.

7. What is their worming program , farrier schedule , shots, feeding schedule including types of feed ? These are real basic needs if there is no documentation on when the horse had shots wormer or it's teeth or hooves done- you can probably bet that it's because it has not been done. Always get an outside vet check on any horse from rescue or private party.

8. Do they provide more than just food, water and shelter? Are the horses groomed? Do they know the horse's personality or training? Every horse should be evaluated thoroughly if it is up for adoption. No excuses.

9.Who is running the horse rescue? Are they knowledgeable horse people? Do they have a Board of Directors and staff that are knowledgeable horse people? Some common factors among rescues that have gone bad are ; operators who rely on the rescue for their income, absent or unknowledgable about horses Board of Director members, relying on volunteers and no real staff taking in far too many horses than the on site people could possibly care for properly.

10.Is the rescue truly evaluating the potential adopter and where the horse will go and are they following up with the horses they have adopted out?

11. Is the rescue ran with a standard of ethics? Many times rescues will charge an owner of a surrendered horse a fee to “take it off their hands” and then turn around and charge the adopting family a fee. The rescue may even take the animal from the adopting family after a certain period of time, but never refund the money to the adopting family, again finding a new adopting family and take another sum of cash from them.

Again we cannot stress enough how important it is that you know exactly what type of rescue you support and the only way to know for sure is to visit the facility yourself , ask questions and be aware that calling themselves a rescue does not make them a true rescue. Just because the word “rescue” or “humane” appears in the name of the organization does not mean that they will follow through in taking care of the animal.

More on Lil Bit's Makeover

2009-09-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

So sorry for the long delay in posts. It has been a busy few weeks here at Back in the Saddle Project. We getting great response on our project ideas and are heading down to meet with a few other non-profits in the area to see if we might be able to do some good together! We are gearing up to kick off our first month of clinics, events and fundraisers in October, so keep a watch on the "Coming in October" section at www.backinthesaddleproject.com.

So Lil Bit is still undergoing his transformation, below are pictures from his dental and nasal flush from the other day...
It all started out with a walk with his girl. Miss Ruby Jean is Lil Bits favorite person, I think it is because they are about the same size.

Once the vet arrived she did a full exam on him. I was worried about his eyes, they have a lot of discharge. As you can see his left eye lid was torn and as far as we can tell, not stitched back properly allowing debris to come. He wears a fly mask to help keep debris out.

Once the exam was over it was time to get the little guys teeth taken care of. Anyone tried to do a dental on a mini lately? The flush begins..

He was such a good boy. I wish you could see how scared this little guy is- it was amazing at how well he trusted us during this procedure.

Now time to get the dental contraption on the sleepy minis head..

I had to tell him how much we loved him, and assure him that we were here for him

He was relaxed and the dental began

Then his girl came around the corner, and said "What you doing to my mini horse?"

Then it was time for the nasal flush.

His was totally blocked on his right side and surprisingly enough the left side, with the half lid, was totally fine. Lots of gross stuff came out, and hopefully it will help with the discharge
As you can tell, we love this little guy. He is getting better and better everyday. His wormy itch is gone and his coat is finally showing signs of being healthy. Tomorrow I will post his haircut- we took out the clippers while he was still sleepy, and went for it. Check back and see how CUTE he is now.

Oh so very high tech!

2009-08-27T02:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it isn't quite finished yet but a rough draft website is up and running .
http://backinthesaddleproject.com/

Please feel free to check it out and let us know what you think

Gearing up!!!

2009-08-25T21:53:00.001-07:00

Okay, so we are gearing up for our Non Profit status, but need to raise the funds to get the paperwork completed. We will have a table at the Horse Store and More tack swap in Chico on Saturday the 29th and we will also have a table at the Camelot Ride and Dine on October 17th http://www.camelotequestrianpark.com/calandar.html. We will be accepting cash donations and also gently used horse related items to use as follows:
Horse Books
The horse books will be used for our- BITS for Lil BITS- an education program. We would like to supply our local communities with books, both fiction and non-fiction, on horses and how wonderful they are. It is our goal to reach out all those little girls who dream of horses and give them the opportunity to get more involved. Down the road we will be offering free clinics to school aged children on horse care, riding and general how to’s. If you know of a library, school or child who would benefit from these books please email us at: booksforbits@yahoo.com
Other items
We are also in the process of setting up a thrift/used tack shop in Paradise or in the surrounding area. Therefore, if you have stuff you need to clear out of your garage, give us a call! We will most likely start with a few garage sales and open the thrift shop once our inventory is established. If you or someone you know might be willing to donate some time and work the shop please email us at backinthesaddledeb@yahoo.com.

More programs to help horses and horse owners in need to come- we are just getting started!

We are very excited to introduce Lil Bit!!!

Lil Bit was recently brought to Jamie’s from a local rescue where he was surrendered with a bad case of worms. Lil Bit is extremely nervous and very frightened of other horses. We believe he has some abuse in his past because you cannot touch his left side and he is very head shy. It took three days before he could relax enough to roll in the shavings of his stall. For the past three weeks, Lil Bit has been allowed to take it easy have some snacks on the lawn with Ruby and the dogs and just acclimate to his new surroundings. He is now ready for his transformation from scared unsure mini horse to the proud self- assured little man we know he is. Lil Bit will start his weekly sessions with Erin Murphy of Equine Partners Inc. in Penn Valley. You can check out her website at equinepartnersinc.com. So stay tuned and join us on his journey to transformation it all starts Wednesday morning at 10 am!

BITS for Little Bits!

2009-08-25T17:55:00.003-07:00

The Back in the Saddle Project (BITS) will be at the Horse Store and More in Chico tack sale on Saturday the 29th and are asking for donations of gently used fiction & non-fiction horse related books. The goal for these books is to donate them to local schools, libraries, 4H, Pony Clubs, and whoever is interested in learning more about horses. We hope that stimulating interest and providing proper education on horses will benefit both the horse and rider. BITS wants the next generation to love and ride horses too!
All items donated will be eligible for a tax-deductible receipt once our non-profit status is established.
Thank you, to the folks at the Horse Store and More for allowing us to sell tack and work on the BITS for Little Bits book drive!!!