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$1000 Match Game & Summer Fundraiser Update!

A dear friend and supporter has recently come forth to offer a Match Game whereby all donations up to $1000 will be matched dollar for dollar. Once the Match has been met, our Summer Fundraiser goal of $5000 will be complete! This is a wonderful opportunity in which to not only double your contribution, but to make an incredible difference in the life of each and every member of our beloved little herd.

The Tractor & Mishka’s Paddock – Covered!

With the rainy season upon us, horses with thin soles, like Mishka (who carries 2,000 lbs. on his feet), need extra attention. It’s essential that he has soft sand upon which to stand, but the rain has washed away much of this footing material. We plan to fix this issue by adding an additional load of sand ($250) which will be kept in place by adding fabric at the front and side of his shelter. This is a big job that requires a tractor, but the tractor needs repairs – a parking brake, hydraulic actuator seal, hood latch, 4-wheel drive shift lever, and seat replacement. The estimated repairs are $1,800, but we will not have to schedule the next regular maintenance check until we have utilized fifteen hours of run time.

Fence Boards Still Needed

As the seasons change, our fence boards expand and contract, oftentimes breaking. This creates a safety risk for our horses. We need to replace at least 20 fence boards and keep 5 spares on hand. The 1”x6”x16” pressure-treated boards cost about $19 each, and we’re hoping our wonderful supporters will help sponsor a board to assist us in maintaining a hazard free environment for our little herd. And, with the Match Game, each donation for one board, will automatically, translate into two!

Beauty’s Haven Truck

The BH truck, essential for our daily work, needs its annual maintenance to keep running smoothly. We’ve received an estimate of $2,400 from the dealership which does not include 5 new tires with sensors, which would add another $1,700. We plan to get the tires done at Sam’s Club for a lower cost.

Miscellaneous Expenses

In preparation for the upcoming hurricane season, we’ve had the generators serviced for $440. We also still have veterinary bills ($3,000+), farrier and hay expenses, as well as additional ongoing needs.

If you’re able to participate in the Match Game, please click on the ‘Donate’ button below. If you’re unable to help financially, we completely understand, but you can still assist us by sharing our fundraiser amongst family and friends.

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More than HALFWAY THERE!

We are more than halfway there in our Summer Fundraiser thanks to the generosity and love of our wonderful little village of supporters! As we still have a ways to go, we would be forever grateful for your assistance with any of the much needed items listed below.

The Tractor & Mishka’s Paddock – Covered!

With the rainy season upon us, horses with thin soles, like Mishka (who carries 2,000 lbs. on his feet), need extra attention. It’s essential that he has soft sand upon which to stand, but the rain has washed away much of this footing material. We plan to fix this issue by adding an additional load of sand ($250) which will be kept in place by adding fabric at the front and side of his shelter. This is a big job that requires a tractor, but the tractor needs repairs – a parking brake, hydraulic actuator seal, hood latch, 4-wheel drive shift lever, and seat replacement. The estimated repairs are $1,800, but we will not have to schedule the next regular maintenance check until we have utilized fifteen hours of run time.

Fence Boards Still Needed

As the seasons change, our fence boards expand and contract, oftentimes breaking. This creates a safety risk for our horses. We need to replace at least 20 fence boards and keep 5 spares on hand. The 1”x6”x16” pressure-treated boards cost about $19 each, and we’re hoping our wonderful supporters will help sponsor a board to assist us in maintaining a hazard free environment for our little herd. And, with the Match Game, each donation for one board, will automatically, translate into two!

Beauty’s Haven Truck

The BH truck, essential for our daily work, needs its annual maintenance to keep running smoothly. We’ve received an estimate of $2,400 from the dealership which does not include 5 new tires with sensors, which would add another $1,700. We plan to get the tires done at Sam’s Club for a lower cost.

Miscellaneous Expenses

In preparation for the upcoming hurricane season, we’ve had the generators serviced for $440. We also still have veterinary bills ($3,000+), farrier and hay expenses, as well as additional ongoing needs.

If you’re able to participate in the Match Game, please click on the ‘Donate’ button below. If you’re unable to help financially, we completely understand, but you can still assist us by sharing our fundraiser amongst family and friends.

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Summertime Blues & Freedom at Last!

I apologize for being remiss in keeping everyone informed about the latest happenings at Beauty’s Haven, but as you know, we have been dealing with Pigeon Fever here at the rescue, which, unfortunately, has affected our donations significantly. The extra biosecurity measures and daily care required a great deal of time, making it difficult for me to stay active online. Thankfully, things are getting back to normal, but now, we have a lot of catching up to do. We are, thereby, reaching out to share some of our current needs, hoping for your support as we move forward. As of today, we are, therefore, launching a fundraiser with a goal of $5,000 which will help cover these pressing needs:

With the rainy season upon us, horses with thin soles, like Mishka, who carries two thousand pounds on his feet, need extra attention. It’s essential that Mishka has soft sand upon which to stand, but the rain has washed away much of this soft footing. To fix this, we plan to add fabric at the front and side of his shelter to help keep the sand in place. This is a big job which requires a tractor, but the tractor currently, needs repairs – a parking brake, hydraulic actuator seal, hood latch, 4-wheel drive shift lever and seat replacement. The repairs are estimated to be $1,800, and a regular maintenance will not be needed for another fifteen hours of run time, so that is, most fortunately, not an immediate expense.

As the seasons change, our fence boards expand and contract, oftentimes breaking. This creates a safety risk for our horses. We therefore, need to replace at least 20 fence boards and keep 5 spares on hand. The 1”x6”x16” pressure-treated boards cost about $19 each, and we’re hoping our wonderful supporters will sponsor a board (or part of one) to help us maintain a safe environment for our herd.

The Beauty’s Haven truck, essential for our daily work, needs to have its annual maintenance done in order to keep it running smoothly. We’ve received an estimate of $2,400 from the dealership to perform this work, as well as an additional estimate of $1,700, for the installation of five new tires with sensors. We plan to get the installation of the tires and sensors completed at Sam’s Club at a lower cost.

In preparation for hurricane season, we’ve had the generators serviced for $440. We also still have veterinary bills ($3,000+), farrier expenses, hay, fuel, as well as many additional ongoing needs.

While these needs might not be as exciting as rescuing a horse, they are crucial in ensuring our mission of rescuing and rehabilitating horses in need, so if you are in a position to donate, please click on the ‘Donate’ button below. If you’re unable to help financially at this time, we completely understand, but you can still assist by sharing our needs amongst family, friends and social media.

Special Thanks!

We were blessed to receive a $1,000 donation from the Pine Ridge Equestrian Association, which helped cover our most recent hay run. We are so deeply grateful for their generosity! We have also received a most generous Match Game offer whereby, all donations up to $250 will be matched dollar for dollar.

Freedom at Last!

Horse running free in a fenced field.

This is what freedom looks like! Valley Girl is back out with her friends and she is so very happy! I am happy to say, we are, at least for today, free of Pigeon Fever! It’s still in the surrounding area so we will continue to take precautions. But we are thrilled that Valley Girl is finally out and about once again. Please click on the image to view Valley Girl’s joyous return to freedom.

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Summer at the Farm

Summer – a time of fireflies twinkling in the early evening light.
Summer- a time to light sparklers and eat watermelon and let both drip down.
Summer – a time of homemade cookies and lemonade on the porch.
Summer has a magic all of its own!

As we navigate through the intense heat and torrential downpours of summer, we continue to count our blessings for our remarkable little herd, our wonderful volunteers and our truly loving supporters.

After several attempts to trap a sweet little cat for quite some time with no luck, we were blessed that somehow, she managed to catch herself one evening last week. She is small with beautiful eyes and markings. I named her Opal, and after transporting her to the vet to get spayed, she was then released within a few days. I believe she is the last feline here who needed to be fixed, although we did spot two kittens a couple of weeks ago who appeared to be just passing through. Opal is TNR Feline Sixteen.

One day last week, Jo didn’t come in with Dancer for her breakfast. We checked her vitals which were normal, but we decided, nevertheless, to give her some IV meds, which made her more comfortable, and she was, thankfully, soon back to normal after a few minutes. Jo does experience ‘dementia days,’ but this is the first episode she’s had in quite some time. We are truly grateful that she recovered so quickly.

The ‘Three Amigos’ constantly bring us so much joy each and every day with their silly shenanigans! They love their little excursions into a small paddock with lovely green grass. I release them from their dirt paddock once or twice weekly for a few minutes as they are all a little on the ‘porky’ side. Their paddock also appears to be quite conducive to growing melons to which Kathy and I can attest after discovering seven nice melons the other day, which were just ripe for picking and so very delicious!

Mishka recently enjoyed a cool shower and brief respite from the hot weather. He’s such a big love! Peaches, in the mean time, so loved showing off her new fly mask, gifted to her from her Auntie Gillian.

We are so very appreciative of our kind and wonderful supporters who continue to assist us in fulfilling our mission by supporting our needs here at the rescue – needs such as hay (fundraiser below), our farriers, our equine dentist, our veterinary expenses, as well as a myriad of additional necessities such as fly spray, fly masks, meds and supplements to name just a few. Click here to donate.

We are so truly blessed!

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All Hands on Deck as Pigeon Fever Descends

I didn’t want to let another week end without sending out an update. To say we’ve been extremely busy would be an understatement. As some of you know, Valley Girl got sick about a month ago. It started with edema under her tummy. She was examined by the vet and blood tests were done. Over the next couple of days without improvement, the vet came back and did an ultrasound. A culture was also done and, unfortunately, the results were positive for dreaded Pigeon Fever. Valley Girl had already been separated from other horses and the barn was placed in lockdown. Valley has had a few abscesses rupture from her tummy to her chest. She had another, hopefully the last, to open yesterday.

Each horse is inspected from head to toe daily, sores are treated, SWAT and fly spray are applied, and fly masks are changed.

A couple of weeks ago, we found swelling on Addi’s chest that was suspect, so we put her in quarantine. The vet examined her and performed blood tests and a culture. Most recently, Mo also had some chest swelling so the vet came again to examine him, do a culture and run blood tests. Cultures for both Addi and Mo came back negative, but, out of an abundance of caution, we continue to treat them as a worst case scenario. Since then, the vet has lanced the swelling on Addi’s chest in order to drain and collect the discharge, but there is still some swelling. Mo had one open under his tummy on Friday and although I collected the discharge, he continues to experience some swelling.

Pigeon Fever is transmitted mostly by flies carrying the bacteria when they land on a horse that has open sores or wounds. It is, thankfully, not transmitted nose to nose like strangles. We don’t know where it originated but we are located in an agricultural community and have farms all around us with cows, horses, goats, etc. and the flies are absolutely horrible this year. It is possible that it was already in the ground, but we’ve been here almost twenty years and never before have had this issue.

Bio-security is real and it takes time and resources, all day, every day. Volunteers have been very good about following protocols put in place. It’s been quite an expensive, and exhausting, endeavor with no end yet in sight.

We’ve invested quite a bit into bleach, exam gloves, fly spray, SWAT, etc. If anyone would like to help, we would greatly appreciate it. Donations are tax deductible and no amount is ever too small. We don’t know how much the veterinary bill will be, but we will share it once it is received.

A few of our needs can be found on our Amazon Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/363QQBR2KM14O

Thank you and have a safe and blessed weekend.

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A Very Special Visit!

We had a very special visit yesterday from Dr. Christopher Burnham, D.C., accompanied by a great group of students learning about chiropractic on the horse. Chiropractic adjustments can help restore and correct spinal alignment while decreasing muscle tension, leading to increased flexibility and range of motion, thereby, helping to relieve pain and discomfort. And we most certainly, witnessed that today!

It is so very rewarding to see the impact chiropractic has on the horses.

Mishka, Jo, Peaches, Valley Girl, Dancer, and Danni all greatly benefitted, but we saw a tremendous improvement with Mishka! After his treatment, it was so good to see him grazing and moving about much better. The look that came over Mishka during, and after, his treatment was priceless! We truly appreciate Dr. Burnham and the entire group for taking the time to come out today. Dr. Burnham may be contacted through his Facebook page or via his website. He is located in the Ocala area and I learned that he also works on Magnum, a horse that Dr. Bess Darrow adopted from us a few years ago!

We hope to see Dr. Burnham again in the near future. We can’t thank him enough for the relief he brought to many here today. And I do believe that Valley Girl has a new best friend in Dr. Burnham.

Many thanks to our volunteers who came out too – our Saturday crew today was Tara, Pam, TJ, Melissa, and Yessaira. We appreciate them all!

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And Then There Were FOUR!

Beau is just the cutest boy! Not just because he’s an Arabian, but because he just is! Upon his arrival at Beauty’s Haven, Beau had a Nasal discharge and a cough which did get better over time. He was in QT for at least three weeks and then we moved him to the other side of the property away from the lime rock road which blows dust throughout the paddocks. While in his new paddock, his cough and nasal discharge continued to improve. He never had a temperature and he has always had a good appetite. Out of an abundance of caution, however, we had him scoped and he is now, thankfully, clean! As soon as we figure out where to put him, he will be sharing a paddock with other horses for the time being.

On the last Sunday in March, we thought we would be needing an ark due to the extremely heavy rains, but thankfully, we did successfully weather the storm! March truly did “Go Out like a Lion!”

Then on April Fools Day, Amira seemed to enjoy the joke that she played on us! The prior evening, we had gone to bed with the knowledge that there were only three horses in one of the paddocks. The next morning, however, we discovered that there were now, four! Amira had walked through the electric tape during the night, which thankfully, was turned off, to join her friends. And then there were four!

Lastly, CaryLou and Jazzy, together with JoJo, continue to bring us so much joy and laughter as they are always up to some type of shenanigans especially when it involves a golf cart!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

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On The Farm: A Pictorial Overview

A few pictures from last week – everyday has been very busy. The weather has been a bit better and we’re thankfully, starting to see the paddocks turn green! This week we’re getting ready for the trail ride on Saturday.

Pictured in Row One

(L to R) Valley Girl seems appreciative of having been relocated to a paddock where she has hay. Valley Girl, Jo, and Dancer are all in their 30’s and get multiple meals a day along with hay that’s available 24/7.

Kali and Flint were moved down to a paddock with Amira and Valley Girl was moved into the main paddock with Jo and Dancer. Since Amira cannot have hay due to her history of choke and her pasture mate, Valley Girl, was losing weight, we felt that it was in the girls’ best interest to separate them. These horses all get fed at least four times a day and they are on grass 24/7.

Mishka and Willow just enjoying one another’s company while hanging out beneath the tree.

Pictured in Row Two

(L to R) Beau getting a hooficure on his front feet only – he was a bit unsure and uncomfortable. He still has mental cobwebs that need to be cleared out. I feel so badly for any horse that has been mistreated. He wants to trust but it’s just going to take some time, consistency, and TLC. He’s pretty vocal – he lets us know when it’s meal time or if he’s out of hay. He still has a cough but his nasal discharge has cleared. If the cough is no better in another week, we will have the vet back out to scope him.

Magic taking a rest after a rather chilly night.

Peaches is still doing ok. She’s twenty-five years old now and since she has very few teeth remaining, she cannot have hay. She, too, is fed multiple times a day.

Pictured in Row Three

(L to R) Frodo gets his hooficures with the assistance of the sling. He took an indirect lightening strike a few years ago which caused him some permanent issues. His hoofs grow at least an inch every two weeks!

Danni and Tobias are both very sweet. Danni loves to give kisses and Tobias is happy with every bit of attention he receives.

Bouie and Frodo are both special needs boys. Bouie has metabolic issues and is prone to founder. We are very careful with their diets. They live around the barn where they have access to their stalls throughout the day.

We hope you enjoyed your little tour of a day at the farm!

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Around the Farm at Beauty’s Haven

We caught another kitten yesterday, from the feral colony that stays around our storage buildings. She is about seven months old. A growth was sadly discovered under her tongue so she was scheduled for surgery today in order to have it removed. She is now back home after doing just fine during the course of her surgery, spay, examination and vaccine administration, and she will be ready to rejoin her friends in a couple of days. If anyone would like to assist with the veterinary expenses ($452) of this precious little kitten, please click on the ‘DONATE’ button below.

On Sunday, I took twenty minutes from my very busy schedule for some much needed ‘me’ time! It was so wonderful to be back in the saddle, riding past Mo, Walker, Aaleyah Belle, Dancer, Jo, and Danni who were all out and about enjoying the beautiful weather.

Sweet Flint is always smiling! He is just a ‘makes you feel good’ kind of guy! Flint is in charge of this month’s hooficure fundraiser so please assist him in raising the necessary funds, so all his friends here at Beauty’s Haven will have ‘Happy Feet.’ The average cost per hooficure is $45, so if you are in a position to help, please click on the ‘DONATE’ button below.

Lastly, for your enjoyment, a video of CaryLou, who is always in the ‘ready, set, go’ mode,’ which can be viewed by clicking on the image above. At the start of the video, notice how CaryLou stops for a few seconds and stares right into the lens of the camera to make certain that all eyes are upon him! CaryLou has always been and will forever be, such a hoot!

Thank you, all, for your continued love and support!

Sincerely,
Theresa

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Backbreaking Day Brightened by Resident “Super Model”

Yesterday was truly a backbreaking day to say the least! As the tractor is no longer functioning and is in need of major repairs, Bob and I had to manually unload big bales of hay which was not only tiresome, but took away many valuable hours from caring for our herd. The tractor, like the golf carts, is one of our most important tools here at the rescue, as we use it to haul hay, pull fence posts, together with many other tasks. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to address erosion issues until it is repaired.

Since the cost of repairing this essential piece of equipment is quite expensive at $3,500, any help with this need would not only be very much appreciated, but would greatly reduce our work load here at the farm.

If you are in a position to assist with this need, please CLICK HERE TO DONATE. If you are unable to contribute at this time, we truly understand.

The bright spot in all this? Our beautiful and sweet Addi, strutting around the farm and showing us how all the “Pretty Girls Walk.” See video below. She is most certainly Beauty’s Haven’s resident super model!

Thank you, all, for your love and support and please stay safe and warm!

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