This past weekend was very busy. On Saturday, UF students came out to visit and to do an interview. I always love it when we have an opportunity to share the horses, their stories, and raise awareness about helping horses!

The joy seen on the ladies faces when they put their hands on the horses, was priceless!

Daisy is simply adorable. She LOVES to be loved on. She comes over and literally lays her head across my lap (on those rare occasions when I get to sit down) asking for scratches.

Dr. Mangen was out a few days ago to treat Daisy again – he’s very pleased with what we are seeing. The mass under her right eye is smaller and appears to be sloughing off. We still believe!!!!

Our trio of trouble! They are hilarious – just love them all!

"Shhhh Mommy Theresa! We can’t talk now, ok? We’re playing Hide and Go Seek with CaryLou and we don’t want him to find us behind this tree!"

So we have two diva’s living at the barn now. They’ve come to some sort of mutual understanding which is very good. Beauty senses that Betsy Rose is fragile, I’m sure. Anyone else and she’d pin her ears to warn them away or just simply run them off. Beauty stands in front of Cookie’s stall door a good part of the day and makes faces at Cookie.

What is the first thing the girls do after a bath? That’s Aaleyah Belle standing and Baby Girl rolling.

Can anyone guess whose nose was peeking around at me in the golf cart? It’s a give away! LOL

Two simply stunning horses – Donovan and Athena.

Yesterday was a perfect day for laying sod – it was overcast with a nice breeze. We had a lot of help for this project and it got done in record time! Now, we just need a few more pallets to try to fix erosion issues around the barn and at the smaller paddocks.

Betsy Rose, Freckles, and Vermont Bear checking out their Easter basket! So cute! Betsy Rose is always so thankful for every little thing.

The boys sure enjoyed their Easter Day!

"Jazzy do you think we look like bunny rabbits? We have whiskers, a cotton tail, and long ears! Do you think mommy Theresa is going to make us wear our masks today? I don’t think bunny rabbits wear masks. Maybe we’ll get out of it today! Let’s go try to hop on down the bunny trail! I know we don’t have a bunny trail, but we can make one up as we go along!"

The boys most certainly, loved being bunnies for Easter…..

"Vermont Bear do you think me and Jazzy look like bunny rabbits? I think the bow tie thing on the head looks a little silly. Bunnies don’t wear bow ties, do they?"

JoJo practiced his hopping skills – he hopped up on the porch when Elizabeth and I started to put things away. Oh my gosh these boys don’t realize they are not humans at times!

Daisy seemed to really understand how it important it was to the boys that they look like bunny rabbits for awhile. And they did – by the stretch of our imagination.

I think Daisy enjoyed watching the boys get their wish of being bunnies for a day! She’s like a big sister to them. They all got an Easter basket.

How often can you see the sun and the moon in the same photo? It was beautiful! The moon is off to the right – little white dot in the middle of the sky.

I told Willow she’s coming to the rescue tomorrow! Her response was simply priceless! Her coggins came back and she’s all set. If anyone would like to help with her monthly care costs, donations can be made via various ways through the "Donate" page of our website at bhfer. All donations are tax deductible and no amount is too small.

Today Willow begins a new chapter in her life.

Willow looks much better without her fuzzy coat. I think she’s even gained some weight over the last week. Everything is so new to her. She’s talking up a storm!

Willow will be getting her teeth done on Thursday by Dr. Bess Darrow and her Hooficure later in the week – maybe Saturday.

I need to ask everyone for prayers for Beauty. She’s my heart horse and I love her dearly. It’s because of her that Beauty’s Haven came to be. If you are unfamiliar with her story, a short version can be found on the "About Us" page of our website at www.bhfer.org.

Beauty foundered a couple of years ago – it was bad, very bad – she rotated a few degrees. But thankfully, she recovered and just recently, I got on her for the first time since she foundered. I only rode her for a few minutes and it felt so good to be upon her back once again and she truly seemed to enjoy it too!

Beauty has been living at the barn with Betsy Rose these last few days. She’s in Soft Rides and we are doing ice wraps, Essential Oils, massage, etc. Beauty will be having lab work done and I’d like to get Dr. Julia to do acupuncture on her. I’ve been a worried wreck. I do believe in the power of prayer and there’s strength in numbers – so I’d appreciate all the good thoughts and prayers possible. Thank you.

March 21st

Yesterday, we were blessed with a group of visitors from the Equine Photographers Network! What an awesome group of people! EPN is an international association of 200+ photographers! Betsy Rose was the main attraction and she soaked up the extra attention (and the cameras)! EPN is having their Winter Meet Up in Ocala through this week and we greatly appreciate Carien Schippers including us in the schedule – it’s truly an honor!

Betsy Rose is in front of all of those cameras!

The weather was a bit toasty and we didn’t have any volunteers yesterday so we weren’t as prepared as I would have liked to have been. All the horses did get a good makeover on Thursday by volunteers but we had a very heavy dew early Friday am and, of course, most of the horses decided to roll and get filthy.

It was awesome seeing Carien again, and Darlene. And it was a pleasure to meet so many other wonderful people that are passionate about capturing the beauty that horses offer! Take a few minutes to look at Carien’s website at www.imageequine.com and her ImagEquine Facebook page. If you visit the EPN Facebook page, or website, you can learn more about their great network which is an excellent online resource for equine photographers – it represents photographers worldwide! And, oh my gosh, be careful – you can find yourself looking for hours and hours at the many beautiful photos! If you are looking for an equine photographer, career development through education, portfolio reviews by peers, and so much more in equine photography – EPN is the place to start!

I came across this photo tonight of Princess and Gentleman and wanted to share. I still look out my bedroom window each morning, remembering Gman under his tree and wishing he was still there. I miss them both, very much.

Katherine, one of our wonderful volunteers, on Donovan – a big, comfy, sofa horse.

March 22nd

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! And the fact that ALL of the horses/donkeys here now have the cost of their spring vaccinations covered is a HUGE worry off my plate! Thank you Jeanne for sharing my wish to make it happen and thank you to those that donated!

So, tomorrow is my birthday. "Tomorrow" really is a good word! But we never really know if tomorrow will come for any of us, do we? I think we always need to make the best of our tomorrows starting in this very moment.

The past year, well, where did it go? There were lots of ups and downs, tears both good and bad, and memories made that can never be taken from me that I’ll cherish forever. We lost so many beloved horses over the past year – it takes a toll on the heart. But most of them come to us in poor condition and the effects of neglect take a toll – we are blessed to have the time we are granted with them – be it an hour, a day, no matter how long.

I’m blessed with a great family – a wonderful husband who has helped me achieve my dream and he continues to work hard beside me to maintain it, and our two wonderful (adult) kids who support my passion and make us so very proud with their accomplishments! I’m blessed by the support of a Village of great people who believe in what we do and help us to continue in our mission to help horses. We have awesome volunteers and I’m surrounded by horses that are happy! What more could I ask for? Well, maybe a few more volunteers; a few more hours in a day and a couple more days in a week; a short family vacation with my family would be nice; and a winning lottery ticket which would enable us to help more horses which would be great!

Thank you all for being part of our Village and thank you for all you do! I know you also make sacrifices to help the horses – we truly appreciate all of you. We’re calling it a day here – have a great night everyone, and thank you for the wonderful birthday wishes!