In case you missed it, there were 33 yearlings in the Fallon kill pen this past week.
One woman set about finding homes for them all… she just needed time. And, the only way to get time was to pay for the yearlings’ food while on the feedlot.
Here is where we stepped in. The HORSE AND MAN GROUP paid for all of the hay needed to place the remaining babies! I am happy to report that every single one of the 33 babies was placed in a week’s time. Wow!
You can read the original story here.
FILLY #5 NAMED!
Just two weeks ago, the HORSE AND MAN GROUP helped rescue another 48 horses who were in the killpen. They had a home at Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescue but Lifesavers needed support money to take on that huge responsibility.
We donated over $1000 in less than 24 hours! That was incredible and it allowed us to name one of the babies. We were given Filly #5.
The top two name choices were “Diamond Lil” and “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.
I hate to say this but Diamond Lil got the most votes which seems unfair since it was my suggestion. But, that is the one that won. (I won’t suggest any names in the future so that I will never win again.)
Anyway, presenting (drumroll….) DIAMOND LIL!
A FEELGOOD STORY
Did any of you read this story out of Los Angeles?
Evidently, a police officer down there rescued 2 horses last year. After rehabilitation, he was going to train them both to be patrol horses. I’m going to cut and past the news articles because they say it better than I could…
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Two horses left for dead were taken by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s sergeant earlier this spring — and now the pair has a new purpose in life.
KNX 1070’s Diane Thompson reports “Dude” and “Ladybug” are living the high life in Leona Valley, thanks to “KNX Hero” Sgt. John Hargraves.
Just one year ago, both horses were in bad shape: Dude was found starving, injured and trapped under a fence in Downey, while Ladybug was struggling to regain her health after a Lancaster woman left the red mare behind.
“When she was going through a divorce with her husband, she took her ten best horses and took off for Arizona, and left the other eleven there to die,” said Hargraves.
But in the near future, Dude and Ladybug will become deputized members of the sheriff department’s Mounted Enforcement Detail, where they will be patrolling parks and working crowd control.
“The advantages to having a horse and rider versus a motorcycle or a car is they can get into more places,” said Hargraves. “It gives us a good lookout post to see far away, because they are nine feet up in the air.”
And yes, Hargraves confirmed that the “laid-back” Dude is named after the lead character in the Jeff Bridges film, “The Big Lebowski”.
Besides Dude and Ladybug, Sgt. Hargraves and his wife have taken in five other horses in need, tending not just to their physical need, but their emotional ones as well.
And then the continuation…
Sheriff’s Department’s Rescued Horse Delivers Filly Early
July 28, 2011 –
In February 2011, Sergeant John Hargraves from the Parks Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, adopted two horses, Miss Ladybug and Dude, from an animal shelter.
Both horses had been abandoned by their owners and were found starving. It became Hargraves’ goal to get the horses back to a healthy condition so they could be trained to work Mounted Enforcement Detail.
Hargraves began a feeding and training program for both horses and they began gaining weight. As time went by, he noticed that Miss Ladybug’s belly was larger than normal. Suspecting that she may be pregnant, he called the veterinarian and he confirmed she was pregnant with a due date of October 2011.
Miss Ladybug knew better. On July 7, 2011, Hargraves walked out to his corral at 4:50 in the morning when he heard Ladybug whinny. “I shined my light towards her corral and saw an extra pair of eyes looking back at me,” he said.
White Feather is chasing the dogs like they’ve known each other for years. Sgt. Hargraves says he will raise the filly and see if she’s suitable for police work.
It was a little filly, red like her mom, with a large white star on her forehead.
Hargraves says he ran back in the house and woke up his wife, “who levitated out of bed and ran outside to see the filly. Then we called the neighbors. Everyone wanted to be there when the baby was born, but nobody was.”
The veterinarian was happy to report that it was a full-term birth and mom and baby, whom Hargraves named White Feather, are doing fine.
“She is running around, being a little brat, and having a good time chasing the dogs. They are playing together like they’ve known each other for years,” Hargraves says.
Asked if he plans to recruit her for police work, the sergeant says they will raise her and see if she’s suitable for police work. “Like people, not all horses are.”
Hargraves has been with the Parks Bureau of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department since it was formed a year ago. The agency is responsible for general law enforcement within Los Angeles County’s more than 140 county parks.
Equestrian Civilian Volunteers
In the mid 1990’’s Equestrian Civilian Volunteers started to become affiliated with individual Posse units, supporting the Department by patrolling rural trails, shopping malls and beaches and acting as “eyes and ears,” much the same as Volunteers on Patrol. Equestrian Civilian Volunteers receive limited training and are actively recruited to become Reserve Deputies. They represent the Sheriff’s Department in parades and at community functions and recently paired with the Youth Activities League to spend a day with disadvantaged youth educating them about horses.
Equestrian Civilian Volunteers are attached to each Posse unit; two additional volunteer units are located at City of Industry and Palmdale stations.
The newly formed Mounted Search and Rescue Unit stood up in 2007. It is made up of Reserve Deputies and Civilian Specialists that must undergo extensive training including man tracking from horseback, wilderness survival, advanced first aid and lifesaving skills. They routinely conduct mounted patrol of areas such as the Angeles National Forest and work with other Search and Rescue and Forest Service assets.
For more information regarding the Sheriff’s equestrian programs, please visit http://www.lasdreserve.org/Mounted_Programs.html. Interested parties may also directly contact Sgt. Joe Haertsch or Deputy Steve Glass of the reserve force at (323) 526-5109.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO HELP ANOTHER GROUP OF BABIES…
Sadly, the killpen revolving door never quits.
This is gut wrenching because we need more than money this time, we need HOMES.
Right now, there are another 14 babies – and one donkey – in the Fallon, Nevada kill pen. There is no more room in any ranch that we know of to quarantine them so right now Debra is asking for anyone to come and take them somewhere, anywhere, away from death. If you have a rig and ability to quarantine them please let her (or me) know.
Here is the page where you can see them. They start at the donkey, # 34.
Here is Debra’s Facebook page – to follow any progress. Please let me know if you have any ideas of a quarantine pasture or lot or anything.
So sad…
Here are some of the photos. There are more.
I hate that Fund Raising will not save them. They need HOMES and transportation. If you can home any of these or know of someone who will, I will gladly raise funds to get them there…
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
Copyright
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Hi Dawn,
Been trying (unsuccessfully) to send you a picture I saw on the Hooved Animal Humane Society post (FB), of an award-winning photo of a horse either rescued or awaiting rescue. One of those “a picture speaks a thousand words” pics, especially the look in the poor horse’s eyes. You might want to check it out, with all your spare time ;).
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