Sometimes life gives you lemons...

So I tried to make some lemonade. Whooo (pucker up!!!!)...now that's some sour lemonade! Such was my recent experience trying to help an elderly woman and her 9 horses desperately needing rescue. Without going into too much detail (a very easy thing for me to do), many people inside and outside of the equestrian community pitched in to help her and the horses for months. Two mares went to rescues. One very sick mare died, and one stallion was gelded (yay!) and adopted into a fabulous, loving home. Three of the horses were adopted by a family. That situation is VERY questionable, but at least the horses are getting fed. By the way, I feel like putting the disclaimer out there that we didn't organize the adoption of the last 3 horses mentioned. The elderly woman chose that family. The remaining two stallions still belong to the elderly woman, and she's without resources to care for them. That's why my husband and I have been continually taking hay to her property. There were plans to let the younger stallion come live with us. However, now the woman won't let this guy go to a home where he'll be gelded ("fixed"). In her words, "She can't do that to him (sob, sob!!!)." Oh brother! As if gelding this sweet horse is just a horrible thing. No, what's horrible is his first 7 years of life--living in filth, no vet care, no maintenance, no love, no job, no fun, no other horses to play with, no shelter, not to mention he's not suitable to keep as a stallion. He's too short, has poor conformation, not trained or shown, not to mention he's totally inbred! Just because he's sweet and colored nicely does NOT make a suitable stallion, especially in a world where backyard breeders breed "junk" horses like rabbits. And people wonder why there is such a huge number of horses leaving the US and going to slaughter in Canada and Mexico. Go figure. Things that make you go, "Hmmm..." I guess that's all I have to say about that. Well, not really, but I don't want to bog you all down with my frustration.

The bottom line is that, despite the unpleasant end results, I'm thankful that God used me and others to help. I'm greatful to provide help, even temporarily, to those who need it (4-legged individuals as well as the 2-legged individuals). It just makes me sad when people start to take advantage, when the help is only received with conditional restraints, when the victim card is played more than any other card in the deck. Oh well, maybe what God has done will actually sink into this person someday. That's my greatest hope, with the exception of the horses finding loving, wonderful homes. One other thing, this experience has given me hope that there are still incredibly generous, caring people out there. Sometimes it's too easy to focus on the negative and forget that there are some pretty neat folks in this world. For the people who offered horse transportation, hay money, vaccination money, groceries for the old woman, free spots to temporarily board rescue horses, and PRAYER, you are each a blessing! Thank you!

Now what do I do without these Appys to help? Well, shoot...I might actually have time to ride my own horses now. Yeeehaw!

In the meantime, there are fish to save! Salmon and sturgeon to be specific. Remember, every drop of water contributes to fish habitat; therefore, try to conserve as much as you can. This planet IS our habitat. We (the collective "we" meaning all living creatures and the abiotic environment) are all connected. The fishes' (yes, that is correct spelling and use of the word 'fishes') fate is closely tied to our own.

Hug your horses and save the wild, native fish!