BHFER Update 02/28/12

It’s staying busy here – as usual. It’s still busy at the Paso farm too. A little update on both…

Beenie Barbaro arrived at the rescue today! He made his way first to visit Legacy who has an ouchy front left foot. Dr. Ryan examined Legs today and it’s likely an abscess. I remember holding Legacy in my lap after he came to the rescue only a couple of weeks old – his momma had died the day before from untreated eye cancer. We almost lost him a couple of times (his body wasn’t making bone marrow) but God answered prayers and this boy thrived. He is simply stunning – and huge! He’s about 16 hh now, still growing, and is ready for a forever home!

Legacy today and Legacy as a baby.

As a baby and today in his stall.

Legacy standing next to HighTower chatting about something 2+ years ago. Legacy is as tall as HighTower is now! Please spread the word that Legacy needs a good home. He’s ready to start his training. HighTower is also looking for a good home.

Nikole is doing very well. Sorry that the pictures are a bit dark – the weather here hasn’t been very good. Nikole is available as a pasture pal.

Asiya is looking for a home. She’s a nice 20 year old mare that loves attention – very easy keeper.

And Morning Star still needs a home! Gary worked with him a bit on his last visit. Morning Star loves to play ball and he adores attention, ropes, and garden hoses! J

Montana is ready for a new forever home. He’s about 17 years old. He neck reins and rides like he may have been a cow horse at some time in his life. He’s got an awesome personality and makes us laugh.

It’s been a long few days at the Paso farm too – we’re trying hard to process horses as fast as we can so that they can get into good homes. Catching and stalling them, coggins, feet, vaccinations – it takes quite a bit of time with horses that are not used to being cared for. And the paperwork can be overwhelming! Some of the horses do ok with handling but many need extra patience and reassurance. We are hand walking the ones staying in stalls so they get some sunshine and can graze a bit.

We’ve had some studs leave for their new homes – as of now all studs have homes. I shouldn’t say all studs – many have been gelded. Some were gelded today and a couple of more will be gelded tomorrow.

This grand old gal has been vetted and her feet were done today. She’ll be going home with another mare friend that lived in her paddock and is now staying across the aisle from her. She isn’t sound for riding but she is fortunate to have found her way into a human’s heart that wants to offer her a forever home as a pasture pal. What a blessing!

One of the boys trying to wake up after being gelded.

And one preparing to go down with help from Dr. Joan Gariboldi.

Mare #10. Very kind – an alpha mare.

This is how most of the mares greet us now. With a core team of volunteers working with them they have learned to somewhat trust. But when new faces appear they still go the other way – but they are getting better. And the smaller the 2 herds are becoming in the 2 paddocks – the more manageable they are becoming. The mare barn is full but as one or two leave we fill their stalls with others. We’re trying to bring friends in together. I can’t tell you how hard it is for me when I think about the herd being separated. I wish we could keep them all together but it just isn’t possible. We are trying to make the transition from how they have been living to being handled and rehomed as easy as possible for them.

Mare #22. She is also an older mare. She’s very beautiful.

A good roll in fresh shavings – it’s awesome to see.

Mare #20. She is an older mare – likely at least 20 yrs old with extremely kind eyes. Please consider giving her a home as a pasture pal.

Mare #19.

Mare #7. Very kind. Six years old.

Mare #4. She’s 4 yrs old. Nervous around humans but getting better each day – she’s now in a stall at the barn. She’s put a good amount of weight on but still has a ways to go.

If you have emailed me please forgive me if I haven’t responded. This evening is really the first time I’ve been at the computer for awhile. Thank all of you for caring and for your continued support!

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Paso Fino Case Update – Mares and a Colic

February 26th, 2012

It was a very productive day at the Paso farm yesterday. We got a couple mares into the barn and got them settled in.  I called Dr. Joan Gariboldi out to treat one of the mare’s (Maraca) that has been in for a few days that appeared to be trying to colic and she had a slight temperature.  Maraca was oiled but as of this morning she still had not passed any manure.  Pam is on her way to transport Maraca here to the rescue where we can monitor her and have Dr. Joan out again if needed.  Pam is a wonderful transporter and we recommend her without any reservations!

Dr. Joan also vaccinated some of the horses and pulled coggins and did a health certificate.  One of the mares left to go to her new home.  Slowly but surely we are making progress.  I was supposed to go back today for pictures but it’s horrible weather and my bronchitis is worse again.  Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

Red got to play in the round pen yesterday and he loved it! And we enjoyed watching him!

One of the available mares – #10.  Not sure of her age yet. A coggins needs to be pulled on her.  She is an alpha mare.

This is Scarlet.  She’s a very sweet mare estimated to be 6 years old.  Coggins is done.

Maraca is now here for monitoring.  She has passed some poop and seems less stressed.  The weather is still horrible.

Hope to feel better tomorrow.  Calling it a day now.  Two of the studs are being picked up in the morning.  Hopefully the rains will subside long enough for them to load without any problems.  Seeing them go is bittersweet but we are very happy that they will have their own human family.  It’s hard for us not to get attached to each one of them – and we do.

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BH Update 02/24/11

Well, our day started out finding HighTower in the tack/feed room! The giveaway was Little E’s butt hanging out of the workshop door and High Tower was nowhere in sight. He’d only been in there for a couple of minutes – I’d just gone to the house from the barn. The cat wanted to follow and got the door open – we’ll be changing door knobs!

Voila! Look what a little Cowboy Magic and a lot of time will do! This Paso Mare is looking for a home. She’s a very sweet girl (#14).

This sweet mare went home this week.

They all love their walks. This is another sweet mare – they are all sweet.

And this mare came into the barn today. She’s a little older but a jewel of a girl.

Tomorrow we hope to get a couple of more mares into the barn – hope to post more pictures of mares on Sunday evening. Today some studs and mares got vaccinations. A couple of the studs will be leaving for their new homes on Monday. There is a stud being gelded on Monday and a couple more on Tuesday. We are waiting to finalize adoptions on studs #3 and #7. We really are making progress. It’s a lot of work but these horses deserve it!

Have a safe and blessed weekend everyone! Thank you for your continued support!

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Hooficures And More – Update 02/22/12

02/22/17 Update

Fabio was out today to do some hooficures. Classy still doesn’t like anyone touching her back feet. Touch her legs anywhere and she is fine but touch her feet and oh my gosh she’ll kick you from here to Texas! Legacy, Silver Belle and Aaleyah Belle were good. But guess who didn’t want to go back to her paddock? Yep, that’s our Aaleyah Belle – she just wanted to plant her feet and slime Pam! For those that don’t know about Aaleyah Belle – she was born with a wry nose and was going to be shot along with her mom (we called her Momma Sue) if we hadn’t taken them in. I named Aaleyah Belle after Eight Belles – Aaleyah was born the day that Eight Belles lost her life running in the Kentucky Derby – what a bittersweet day that I’ll never forget. Momma Sue was an amazing mare and raised not only her own little wry nosed filly but two other orphan fillies as well. One was a nurse mare foal that came to us only a couple of weeks old and the other was orphaned when her mother died when she was only a few months old – she came to us with serious open and untreated injuries to her chest and knee. Their story is an amazing one and can be found on our website.

Morning Star is more handsome each day. He’s looking for a forever home. He’s a beautiful mover and has a great personality – there is never a dull moment with him!

Indy trying to catch up with Marsha to see what he can get into. He’s pretty comical too – he’s a very good boy.

Little E and a couple of the boys hanging out.

The Paso case is moving forward. Some of the horses will be leaving over the next week for their new forever homes. If anyone needs transport Pam (Double B Equine Transport) does a great job. Her number is 352-427-0474 and she does transport out of state. Please remember that if a horse is being transported out of state it needs a Health Certificate in addition to a Coggins. These horses are all very kind and every one of them deserves a good forever home. I’m still not feeling well but hope to get to the Paso farm for a bit tomorrow. The volunteers at the Paso farm and here at the rescue are doing a great job too – we appreciate all of them very much – we couldn’t do what we do without their help!

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Update 02/21/12

Sorry, not much of an update today. I’m feeling very much under the weather but did get out long enough to meet the vet at the Paso farm for her to pull coggins on a few of the mares today. I did not go through any paperwork today – none. I’ve had little of a voice so I have not returned many phone calls. We have received more applications but nothing got processed today – I apologize. I hope and pray I’m back to work tomorrow if only for a few hours. The farrier and the vet will be here at the base rescue in the morning. It will be another busy day – thankfully, volunteers will be here to help.

Very kind and wondrous eyes.

I did get stud #6 out for a short walk. It wasn’t a long one – I really am not feeling well and I’m off to bed soon. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll wake up feeling much better. At least today I did have somewhat of a voice back.

Thank you all for your patience and for your support. For those that do not know – we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and operate totally off of donations from the public. We have no paid staff – we are all volunteers. For my husband and I – this is our full time job – 24/7/365. While we do not receive any salary we are rewarded by the fruits of our efforts – helping the horses helps us in so many ways. Our organization is not funded by the Government at all. Donations are tax deductible and no amount is too small.

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BHFER Update 02/19/12

We hope everyone had a great weekend. It was busy here, as usual. The winds today were horrible – anything that could blow away, did. The temps tonight are going down into the low 40’s so we had to blanket some. Here are some weekend pictures.

Rolling out some big hay bales. There were more fence repairs done to make them safer for the horses, waterers were cleaned, it was just another busy working weekend.

The Paso’s haven’t been groomed in a long, long time – there are some serious tangles!

More hay – that’s me on the phone (been there a lot lately).

Little Red getting ready for a trim. He was a good boy.

One of the mares getting a trim.

One of the studs went home on Saturday and is doing great (and yes – studs will be gelded). And the little guy that left last week is doing awesome. It’s really rewarding to see the changes in them – good food, turnout time, and TLC goes a long way! Studs that are now available, provided another already approved adopter doesn’t step up in the next day or so, are #’s 3 and 13. Stud #’s 4 and 7 are pending. Status can change because people change their minds for whatever reason, etc. We may find a different way to do things for the mares – it’s very time consuming to try to keep up with all of this and it does slow down the process.

The farrier will be here at the rescue this week to do some hooficures – if anyone would like to help there will be at least 6 horses done.

We’d like to thank everyone that has helped in any way with the Paso’s. And to those that continue to support our herd here at the rescue – thank you all for everything you do. And to our volunteers – thank you so very much for caring and giving your time to help. We have some fundraisers coming up soon to help with the costs of the rescues here. We have many nice horses looking for good homes – we’re updating info and pictures to go on the website which is also in the process of being redone.

I may not post tomorrow night – our daughter is a participant in her high school’s FFA pageant – we hope she wins! We hope everyone has a blessed week – God bless and again, thank you all!

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BHFER Update 02/17/12

I know I’m behind on updating about the horses here at the farm – I’m sorry about that but they are all doing well. They loved their Valentine’s Day cards!

Gentleman is doing really well. Where ever GMan is you can usually find Sayan.

Montana had a visit with a potential adopter – he’s so loveable!

The “kids” are all fine – running and playing in the beautiful weather. Magic is doing well too – the cows are back in the 60 acres behind us and the other evening I saw 4 calves lined up across the fence looking over at Magic and he was looking them – it was really cute. Harley is also doing great and loving live at his new home – just look at him!

Progress is being made at the Paso farm. Three of the five worst condition mares were brought in today. We’ll be working on getting them in better shape. The vet will be out next week. The farrier is coming over the weekend. We truly appreciate everyone that has helped with this rescue project. It’s so nice to see the horses putting on weight and getting more comfortable around humans. The mares have a ways to go but we are working on it.

I’ll update on studs tomorrow. I’m sorry but I’m just too tired tonight and need to get up early for the farrier. We hope everyone has a blessed and wonderful weekend. I’ll update again tomorrow evening on the status of the studs. God bless and have a good night.

Oh – before I forget, again, we have a new Daily Blog website where you can sign up to receive our updates automatically! You can still get to the Daily Blog from our website but the new site address is: http://bhfer.wordpress.com/. Historical monthly Daily Blogs are still on the website. Also, our website is being redesigned and we hope to have the new one up soon. Please have patience with us while the transition is in the works. Thanks!

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Today at the Paso Farm

I just got in about 1 ½ hours ago from the Paso farm. Jenny and I took up another ton of hay along with “No Trespassing” signs. The newspaper article was great – I only wish the farm address hadn’t of been published. On the way there I had an interview with a radio station. Then a reporter came up from Orlando to do an interview late this evening. One of the questions during all interviews was “what do you need?” Well, donations and hay of course. But one thing that would help us tremendously would be a golf cart or better yet little utility vehicle. Doesn’t matter how pretty it is or what color it may be – as long as it runs good and is dependable. It’s a tool that would make a huge difference for us humans. Giving out hay on 20+ acres take time when you’re walking it and it gets heavy. And, of course, one can only carry so much so you have to make multiple trips to the barn. Knowing it will likely be a few months until the last horse is placed – if anyone could possibly help us with this we would be SO very appreciative!

I am so proud of all of the studs – they have come so far in such a short time. My favorite, #6, was our poster horse for the news clip and he did great! Handsome #12 left today – what a great job his adoptive did on loading him. But his departure freed up a stall at the front of the barn so I thought about how nice it would be for #6 to go from the back of the barn to the very front. I thought perhaps by putting him up where most of the traffic is by volunteers it may help him to come around faster. I took him out and walked him around – he really is so curious about what goes on outside. I wanted to walk him around for hours but there was no time.

Not one time after he was moved up to the front of the barn did I see him hold his head down like he was trying to hide! His head was towards the door – not his backside! And when the reporter was recording a section for the news clip she was about to open his stall door so the camera man could get a good picture of him and guess what he did??? He nudged it open himself and stood there with his head up, looking at them like “Hay! What’s going on out there?” It was awesome!

The TV news interview wasn’t over until after 7 pm. After Carla left, Jenny and I tossed hay, made sure all studs were tucked in and mares secure, and left. I think I will be asleep before my head hits the pillow tonight!

I’m very appreciative of our volunteers – they do a great job. And to all of you supporters – thank you! I can’t thank everyone enough – it’s because of others that we are able to do what we do. This herd of horses has a new chance at life because others care and are willing to help us to help them. God bless all of you – be proud of what we all accomplish by working together!

If I owe you an email response or return phone call I apologize I didn’t get to it this evening. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to work in the office and get caught up some.

PS – a well running UTV would REALLY help us a lot!

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Herd of 38 – Paso Fino Case in the News

A major undertaking – hopefully, financial and other help will come now the story is in the Ocala Star Banner.  We took on a case of 38 Paso Fino horses that had been abandoned and living pretty much feral for a couple of years.  Fourteen of them being studs that lived locked away in dark and dirty stalls.

https://www.ocala.com/story/news/local/2012/02/15/facility-rescues-horses-locked-up-for-2-years/64310499007/

#keepthefaith #wecandothis #believe #bhfer #paso #ocalastarbanner #rescue

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Paso Update 02/14/12

February 14th, 2012

Here is an update on available Columbian Paso Fino’s. Please remember that information about what horses are available is fluid – the list can and will, change.  As of tonight, here are the available studs and a few of the mares.

Stud #6

Stud #7

Stud #9

Stud #12

Stud #13

MARES…

Mare #2

Mare #3

Mare #4

Mare #5

Mare #6

We are an all volunteer 501(c)(3) equine rescue organization that operates totally from donations made by the public – we are not government funded.  All donations are tax deductible and no amount is too small.  Caring for this herd is not an inexpensive task – please help us to help them.  Visit our “Donate” page to learn more about how to make a donation.

If anyone wants to contact me please do so at my email address of bhfer@earthlink.net.  Thank you.

Theresa Batchelor

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