Upcoming Euthanasia Clinic -Tuesday Aug 31st

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

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

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

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!!

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

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

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….