Monday, December 29, 2008
Let it go, let it go, let it go :)
Well, the snow is melting very quickly and we admit, we were ready for the snow to GO! Farm chores are hard when you're pushing wheelbarrows across ice or through slush... it just makes everything slower. We got in enough blankets to keep everyone warm but we have new rescues (Kat, Risque, and Promise) who need weight and to improve their health, much harder in the cold cold weather. On the bright side, these horses are MUCH better off than when we picked them up, and they seem to know and appreciate us.
With the melting snow, and all this rain, the weather forecasters are warning of "urban flooding, small stream flooding... widespread flooding, no. But annoying flooding, yes! Almost all of Western Washington is under a flood advisory" (King 5 news 12/29/08
).
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What does that mean for the farm? Water and mud, the enemies of every horse facility. We've spoken with some local boarding facilities and other rescues and it sounds like everyone is dealing with the melting... some have it much worse than we do and we're keeping our hooves crossed that things improve for everyone.
At SERR, we made some improvements prior to this rainy season- we never had it too bad, but this fall we brought in loads of gravel for our front rescue paddocks. Also, in September a 75 person team from Microsoft on the Day of Caring (photos at right) did a beautiful job of creating a ditch along our driveway and rock stream through our lower pasture so we have great runoff for normal rain.
But this excessive water has already proven challenging in our barn, where we had a couple stalls flood and had to do some shuffling around to make space for everyone. All of our pastures have shelter, so the horses would have cover if left outside, but most rescues come in at night and our barn is the hub of activity at Serenity. Patricia was out in the rain working until 11 pm on Saturday to make sure everyone who needed one had a warm stall.
Some fabulous volunteers came in Sunday afternoon to work and help out, as always, and our visitors to the farm during our usual open house hours were wonderful.
As always, we continue to manage our farm in the cleanest, safest manner possible and offer Horses for Clean Water as a resource to anyone dealing with the rain and mud this season. http://www.horsesforcleanwater.com/
Want to help Serenity Equine Rescue? E-mail Darcy to join our volunteer force : volunteer@serenityequinerescue.com or donate a load of gravel to help us continue our water management improvements. To donate, contact patricia@serenityequinerescue.com or paypal your donation (just go to http://www.paypal.com/ and elect to send funds to paypal@serenityequinerescue.com).
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Blanketed in Snow
The cold snap is here. It will get even colder by Monday but the horses have detected the weathe
r change and are feeling frisky...so this morning we took the rescues to our indoor arena one or two at a time) and unblanketed them, let them run and play and then groomed them, reblanketed and returned them to their runs.
They enjoyed the opportunity to kick up their heels and we enjoyed watching- there is nothing as rewarding as seeing a rescue get healthy and sound and be able to run and play.
We are trying to blanket every horse and pony, so we are in need of more blankets- we were able to make due with what we have but we could use some size 68-80 blankets, especially warm ones or rainproof shells. If you'd like to donate a blanket for funds for us to purchase some, please e-mail patricia@serenityequinerescue.com
r change and are feeling frisky...so this morning we took the rescues to our indoor arena one or two at a time) and unblanketed them, let them run and play and then groomed them, reblanketed and returned them to their runs. They enjoyed the opportunity to kick up their heels and we enjoyed watching- there is nothing as rewarding as seeing a rescue get healthy and sound and be able to run and play.
We are trying to blanket every horse and pony, so we are in need of more blankets- we were able to make due with what we have but we could use some size 68-80 blankets, especially warm ones or rainproof shells. If you'd like to donate a blanket for funds for us to purchase some, please e-mail patricia@serenityequinerescue.com
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Winter is Here!
A walk around the farm finds our rescues getting fuzzy as their bodies prepare for our coldest time of year.
Little Destiny is recovering from her hernia surgery (photo at right- she is a newer rescue to SERR to please excuse her still-rough coat and look. She decorated her tail with shavings for the photo!
Little Destiny is recovering from her hernia surgery (photo at right- she is a newer rescue to SERR to please excuse her still-rough coat and look. She decorated her tail with shavings for the photo!
She has made a lot of progress so far- she's put on weight and gotten rid of worms, etc that she arrived with- we've been thrilled to see her personality come out as she's gotten healthier in her short few months at Serenity. She has a very outgoing manner, and truly likes people. Right now she bandaged to protect her incision site but she is healing well under Patricia's constant care. Like most of our rescues, she relishes her time in her stall- rolling in her shavings and laying down to sleep at night.
We head into winter grateful for many things- our new drainage in the lower fields, gravel that has eliminated mud in front pastures, our new shelters in runs 1-8, and the blanket donations we've received that are now keeping our rescues warm... but we have much to do to make it through these upcoming very cold months.
We've got vet bills to cover for Destiny's surgery, we need some more blankets to insulate our thin new rescues from the cold (our newest rescues need them the most- and they are tall thoroughbreds so size 80 and larger are needed) and we're gathering tack for our next tack sale.
So if you're cleaning your barn or tack room in preparation for Santa to fill your stocking with tack, or if you've got a spare blanket or two- please let us know. You can e-mail Patricia at patricia@serenityequinerescue.com to make arrangements to drop off donations.
We head into winter grateful for many things- our new drainage in the lower fields, gravel that has eliminated mud in front pastures, our new shelters in runs 1-8, and the blanket donations we've received that are now keeping our rescues warm... but we have much to do to make it through these upcoming very cold months.
We've got vet bills to cover for Destiny's surgery, we need some more blankets to insulate our thin new rescues from the cold (our newest rescues need them the most- and they are tall thoroughbreds so size 80 and larger are needed) and we're gathering tack for our next tack sale.
So if you're cleaning your barn or tack room in preparation for Santa to fill your stocking with tack, or if you've got a spare blanket or two- please let us know. You can e-mail Patricia at patricia@serenityequinerescue.com to make arrangements to drop off donations.
Our first blog...
Welcome to the new Serenity Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation Blog, we're glad you're here. We've set this blog up so we can share information on what's new at the farm- so you'll see posts like- -new rescues that have come to the farm
- -updates on our current rescue horses
- -stories about our adopted horses
- -what's happening on the farm (facility updates)
- -vet visits, farrier visits and other horse care happenings
-training updates from volunteers
-news on adopted horses
-events and fundraisers
-wish lists and needs
-and more as time goes on.
Our website (http://www.serenityequinerescue.com/) will still offer the most up to date information on what horses are available, our wish lists and needs, success stories (a list) and more. Please consider this blog a more casual journal of our rescue as we work to save horses- a way for us to share with you our successes and challenges, to keep you current on the week to week happenings at Serenity Equine Rescue and Rehabilitation.
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