Me, the Auction Recap and November Highlights Thus Far

ME:

Well, here we are, somehow in the middle of November. I have no idea where this year has gone and how it is almost 'next year'-- blowing my dang mind! I cannot be the only person who feels this way. This has been a tough year. A lot of growing pains. A lot of lessons. A lot of just feeling like I am in a bad dream of running as fast as I can and getting no where.

Does anyone ever take a moment and look back on YOU like two years ago and think to yourself, DAMN, I have grown so much?! This is in so many ways. Perspectives, strength, boundaries, the type of people you want to surround yourself with, eating habits, choices, theres so much that accompanies growth. God forbid you look back 10 years -- the growth in 10 years is insane. If anyone ever tries to use the argument with me that they 'know who they are', I always respond with well, you know who you are right now. Who you are going to be is a whole other story.

I struggle with the WHO AM I GOING TO BE every single day. I know who I am. I try to stay true to that person every single day. It is the who am I going to be that is terrifying. As life makes you harder you either build up stronger walls or become more forgiving, or a combination of the two. I had to grow up strong I didnt realize it continues your entire life. Life is fucking hard. Its so beauitful also though.

I saw a quote the other day on how small and short your life really is and that if you really could comprehend that you would treat the precious days you have left a whole lot different. That there is someone who woke up thats YOUR AGE whose last day is TODAY and theyd give anything to trade you places. That one resonated with me massively. Dont stop fighting to walk your passion path. Even if you fail, this is the only chance you really have to do what it is that your soul is screaming at you to do. For some it is to be parents. For others it is to make an impact in a different way. For yet still others, it is to lend support. Live whatever it is that gives you THAT happiness, that gives you THAT determined feeling every day. Screw what anyone says or what your insecure self is trying to tell you. Just do it. LIVE IT.

THE AUCTION RECAP:

So lets jump right on into it -- the auction recap. November. THE HARDEST fundraising month we have ever had. It made me sick. I truly didnt know what more I could do and to all of you who reached out, who shared, who offered support, who made reels, who reached out to people, who created fundraisers, who tagged people, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! It truly takes a massive team and you are the best community I could ever ask for!

I think it was so hard due to a combination of another rescue fundraising for 110 horses (which was great!), the election, the economy, it had to have been. I truly didnt know if we were going to be able to help the horses and donkeys that I was seeing. The reality is we weren't. We werent able to help a lot of the ones I wanted too, that were on my list, from shipping, but we did help 42 of them, and to their lives, that is massive. That is a wonderful thing!

The Auction week started with fundraising for two baby belgians (Eli and Ethel) and Puggy, the poor girl with the smashed in nose who was having a horrible time breathing. Puggy went to Outlaw Vet Hospital and is still there needing a second surgery. Eli and Ethel are at quarantine and will be available for adoption soon as will be added to our babies and prospects page on our 'adopt' page of the website. They are absolutely precious baby belgians! Anyone will be SO lucky to have them be a part of their family.

Once we finished that fundraiser, we then started working on the 14 draft horses that were part of a large group that was tagged and shipped to ship to Mexico. Out of the 14:

ASIAB: We took in Sally, Lt Dan, Haley, Percy, Kitty and Bear, Buford and Nixon.

Kaity with Millys Place: Tag 5672

Lauren with Happy Heart Happy Home Sanctuary: 5671

Jillian Triple J Horse Haven: 5621

Moon Mountain: 5659 and 5661 a bonded pair

Of the ones we fundraised for (Nixon, Percy, Haley, Sally and Bear) who we knew needed to be seen by the vet immediatelly due to the extent of their injuries, their helath, or a combination of both, all of them ultimately had to be given their wings and let go. Nixon, Haley and Sally's leg issues were all so bad from neglect and hard work that there was absolutely nothing the vet could do for them to relieve them of their pain and suffering. Nixon broke all of our hearts. It was gut wrenching watching him even try to walk. Percy, the black percheron, was at the vet hospital for two weeks being spoiled when he started to go down hill. His kidney and liver eventually were what got the best of him and he had to be let go so that he wouldnt have to slowly suffer. That would not have been fair to him. Bear's strangles had been left untreated for so long that his entire body was quite literally in organ failure. It was like the second he could 'rest' he just let go.

What makes it so gut wrenching is that all of these beautiful souls didnt deserve THAT. They didnt deserve to be worked to death, literally, to end up at a Kill Pen, to ship 17 hours down into Mexico to be horrifyingly killed. Its wrong. We have got to get this banned and legislation put in place to protect the horses coming out of the Amish. No animal should be allowed to be used to the point that their own lives are ruined and taken advantage of. This goes actually for ALL of them in every single situation. It 100% should be illegal to ruin something life for our own benefit. Its so wrong. So messed up.

Once we had the draft horses fundraised for, we turned our attention to a group of 6 horses that were tagged to ship as part of a larger group. We were only allowed the 6 horses due to the paperwork needing to be done and finalized and also the truck having to have a certain number of horses on it that were already contracted to the slaughter plant.

• Lt Dan and Buford are in California at our CA location and Kitty is at the RST property

We chose: Nora, Harrington, Marla, Ann, Hogan and Debbie as our six:

Of this group, Nora and Marla came to California to be quarantined here with us. Marla, the buckskin paint, had her dental last week and was aged around 17/18 years old. Nora has proven that she is going to be a bit more complicated. She is super sweet, HOWEVER, she is NOT halter broke at all. So this will take time before we will be able to safely handle her so that we can safely get her dental done and seen by the vet. Unhandled horses can be extremely dangerous especially if they are trying to flee because they are scared. We dont need anyone hurt, either human or horse.

Ann (the one with the hurt nose), Hogan the stud, Harrington the younger buckskin, and Debbie, the paint pony are all quarantining at our RST facility. Once they are healthy and ready to go we will be sending Harrington to training and everyone else will be assessed to see which direction we need to go with them; riding or pasture.

NOW, we move to the auction. Some of the more noteableones that people have been asking about are listed below.

The super skinny grey 'gelding' that we fundraised for and managed a to save, ended up being A STUD. He was not tagged as a stud or checked in as a stud, nor did he even act like one. He is too skinny to castrate, so once we get him healthier and he is able, he will be gelded. We named him Showman!

The old man little brown and white pony is also in California with us, his name is Paddington Teddy Rupskin -- a long name I know! A fight amonst us at the barn right now. Do we call him Teddy or Paddington like Paddington the bear. He has THE CUTEST fluffy bear looking ears. He is scheduled to have xrays done on his feet tomorrow so we can come up with a plan for him to make sure we are doing right by him. We dont want him to be living in pain and that is what our deep rooted fear is for him right now. Due to him having cushings, and being a senior, we are worried that his previous owners neglected him to a point of no return. We are all praying and mentlally willing this to not be the case!

Two more that everyone are asking about for updates are Lola, are blind sweet heart, and Darla, the white draft cross who literally resembles a unicorn out in a misty forest. Both Lola and Darla are doing good! They are both at the Texas RST property in quarantine. When they are through, Darla will transition to training with one of our trainers back in Texas, she is ONLY halter broke. She needs a lot of ground work to teach her respect, to lift her feet, all the things to really set her up for success.

Lola is just perfect, and get this, she is PAPERED with the American Quarter Horse Association. This means that someone owner her and just did not want to deal with her being blind so sold her at the auction. Thank GOD we got her otherwise she would have shipped to Mexico. It makes me sick to even think of that absolute sweet heart of a horse going anywhere near a horrible place like that. Lola deserves to change and inspire lives. She is such a testimate of these horses being so resilient that she has so much to give and prove and inspire.

In order: Lola, Needs a Name (still pending), Darla and Violet:

We also had two heart breaking losses, the little orphan foal and the super sick orphan donkey. Shortly after getting both of them off of the property after the Sunday sale, both of them passes away. The little donkey's pneumonia had unfortunately gotten so bad that there was nothing anyone could do. His body was already shutting down and he was literally suffocating to death. This is why when we see these poor donkeys at the auction breathing so bad it is terrifying. They are standing there suffocating because of massive puss pockets that form in their lungs. The longer they go untreated the harder it gets to heal the lungs, and even worse, the absesses (puss pockets) can rupture which is instant death. THAT is what happened to our little orphan foal who was super bad. Although she systemically was under control on IV fluids and medicine, one of the absesses ruptured in her body. There was nothing the vet or anyone could do. It makes me sick even typing it out. This is why these auction updates take me a while to put out. I mentallyhave to go back into these feelings and these situations that I truthfully want to forget. It is hard but I also want you all to have the photos so you can remember and get the updates that maybe you forgot you were needing.

We also managed to save 8 donkeys! Which was amazing! Some of them are listed below. We have three of them in California with us (Thea, Louisa and one other who we need to name still!). In Texas at the RST property we have all the remaining donkeys there in quarantine waiting to be castrated and cleared to move one step towards being available for adoption. Two of them already have a local home there in Texas as soon as they are cleared and gelded and ready to go, which is AMAZING! I love when we have pre-approved adoptions ready to go it makes it so easy to set them up for success sooner then later.

The donkeys make my heart so sad. They dont stand a chance if a rescue or sanctuary isnt there. No one wants ungelded boys. If they are the standard grey or brown they stand an even worse chance of being picked up by a good home. Everyone wants jennys and anything that is considered a paint, meaning multiple colors, usually gets bought up. If they are a mini donkey they always, always get purchased by someone either as a pet or to flip to make more money because of their size.

We did a lot of good during the auction. I am nervous for what the December auction will entail given it is alwasy cold, over cast, and people dump their animals left and right during the winter months. It is easier to sell them to save money over the holidays then to take care of and do right by them. Last December was insane hell at the auction with all of the Alpine's being there and 50 yearling foals tagged for slaughter. This was ON TOP OF the actual auction. I am STILL dealing with the trauma from that month that I experienced by people harrasing and bullying me. Thank God my sister will be there next month with me. There is always a greater sense of strength for me when she goes.

I am going to create a DONORBOX link specifically tied to saving lives NEXT WEEK at the December Auction, both from the direct ship to slaughter pen AND the auction itself. Wouldnt it be amazing getting there already having funds to just start saving left and right? It would be unreal.

Which reminds me, I get asked this question all the time: "do they ship horses when the auction is over?" YES, this particular auction operates as a full time horse and donkeys export to slaughter facility. They ship horses and donkeys to slaughter multiple times a week with them never being seen and never given a chance to be saved. When I am there I do my best to try to help as many of those horses, ON TOP OF the horses who are going through the auction who are in danger of ending up in the wrong hands; slaughter or a horse trader.

So lets do some good. Lets save some lives and make some amazing differences to them!

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