Once again, time got away from me and I haven't written. Part of the problem is that I spent two weeks away from home. During the first week, I spent 4 days in Boston, MA. I got to do some site-seeing and went with friends to the most wonderful used bookstore. She has an entire room full of horse books, some dating back well over 100 years (and worth several hundred dollars). I had a great time shopping - and got a little 'ego boost'. While looking at the shelves, I spied a spine that looked familiar - and it was my own book, How to Start and Run a Rescue (www.howtostartarescue.com). So that was exciting! When we got back from Boston, we went to Austin for the Old Settler's Music Festival. I got to talk to a bunch of fellow campers about what the rescue is and what we do - raising a lot of awareness.

I came home for a week and then left again. This time I spent five days in Kentucky with the Southern Ohio Ladies Aside and American Sidesaddle Association (www.americansidesaddleassociation.org) members, riding in the Kentucky Derby Parade. On Friday, I left for Arkansas to attend the rescue's Arkansas Members Meeting. It was a great event - I got to meet some new members, previewed a gorgeous quilt that will be auctioned off at the Texarkana fundraiser, and discussed new ideas for the rescue. That kind of stuff always re-energizes me. Now I'm home plowing through email, working on the virtual show and working on the Bluebonnet Horse Expo.

More soon...

I can't believe its already been a week since I last posted. Time really has flown lately. I think that's partially because it is spring and the weather is just too gorgeous to sit inside too long. I've made a pledge to my personal horses to spend more time riding them, and I've been focusing on my very green eight year old mare. She can be such a witch to the other horses and even to humans at time, but she seems to enjoy time spent riding and working and becomes so sweet when you work with her. She's a really nice mare - its too bad I don't have the skill to train her to be a big-time show horse or the time/money to campaign her. I think she could do something...

But the reason I don't have the time/money is because I chose to focus on rescue work. Yeah, showing is fun and getting a ribbon is neat - but rescue work is something that gets into your soul, ignites your passion and drives you forward. While there are days now and again when I wish I could just take a break from rescue, I don't do it. Because I really can't - rescue is in my blood and its why I'm here. It may sound goofy, but there it is.

So riding Freckles hasn't taken up all my time. We've had a lot of neglect reports lately. People ask me if it is because there's no more horse slaughter, and I don't think anything it is anything that simple. Our country is having economic problems and unfortunately horses get hard during times of economic difficulty. The rising cost of fuel means that the price of all of our goods is increasing. My feed went up 50 cents/bag in just two weeks. That may not seem like a lot - but it adds up. I know most of us would starve ourselves rather than let our animals starve. But for some people, they don't feel like they have a choice. They can't sell them (or refuse to for whatever reason) and before long the horses are starving. I sure hope we have a year with plenty of rain and good grass, or the neglect cases are going to get a whole lot worse.

Neglect cases aren't the only things I've been working on. I'm in charge of our Bluebonnet Horse Expo this year, so I've been working on finding sponsors and vendors and getting the event ready. Lucky Elizabeth is doing the scheduling again - and she's already got some great people lined up. I'm excited about the Expo and hope everyone joins us. The Expo Website is at http://www.bluebonnethorseexpo.com.

I'm also working on the virtual show. The entires are way down this year, though, so it may be our last show. There are some gorgeous horses entered - check them out at http://www.bluebonnetequine.org/virtualshow/

Of course, I have a zillion emails and phone calls to answer/return, too. So I stay busy, busy.

Until next time... go enjoy your horses and enjoy the spring before summer smacks us in the face with superheated air!

A little over a year ago, a friend and I drove out to pick up a horse who was being surrendered to the rescue. His owner had been reported for neglect, and when a volunteer arrived with a deputy, the owner began making excuses for the condition of the horses. One horse, a black and white paint, was in particularly bad shape. She said she was feeding him but he just kept losing weight. She offered to let us have him, so we told her we would take him and keep an eye on the rest of her horses.

So Julie and I drove out there. We turned down a narrow dirt road bordered by houses that looked unlivable - despite the cars parked in front of each one. When we got to the property, it was crowded with horses. The owner refused to let us on the property, so we parked the trailer on the side of the road and waited for her to bring the horse out. When he came into view, I knew he wasn't the skinniest horse I had ever seen - but he was in pretty bad shape. She claimed he didn't load well, would strike and kick and was too dangerous for any farriers or vets to handle. However I took the leadrope and he hopped up into the trailer right behind me. As I was loading him, two horses came running down the driveway and into the road. I called to the owner, but she said not to worry - they just wandered the road. I cringed at the idea of the lose horses, but I decided to get the boy out of there.

Julie carefully drove him home and began working with him. He was leery of new people and new situations, but he was not a mean horse. Since Julie lived near by, I got to visit Kido often. He began to trust Julie and came around. He gained weight and recovered from rainrot. He turned into a gorgeous, stout and shining horse.

We put him up for adoption and waited for the right person. He needed someone patient, someone willing to win his trust and someone able to work with him slowly. After a year, that person came along. She fell in love with him, and she wanted to give him a home for life. She didn't care if he could become ridable (although she felt she could help him come around), but he would always have a home.

So yesterday Julie and I delivered him. He stepped off the trailer and looked around. He didn't get nervous or tense, and he seemed to immediately settle into his new home, grazing and exploring.

I know it was hard for Julie to leave Kido there with his new family, but it was a proud moment, too. She had helped him find his forever home.

It was great to be there the day he came into the rescue and the day he found his forever home. Too often I get buried in paperwork and administrative duties and miss out on seeing horses go to their homes. That's what this is about - helping neglected horses become beautiful. Helping them find the person who is right for them. It was great...

I really started this on-line journal (I hate the word blog!) to help people see what goes on "behind the scenes" at a rescue. Lately, though, I've been posting about our foster homes (which is important), the horse overpopulation problem and similar topics. Today, I'm going to get back to the point of this journal: letting you all know what it is we do when we're not doing public stuff.

So in the past week ....

I've worked on a lot of neglect cases. In the last week, we're received 9 reports of neglect and 2 reports of abandoned horses. We picked up a year and a half old colt and a year and a half old filly who were found wandering lose. We'll try to find the owner, but if we can't then we'll ask the county to award them to us.

We also had two horses horses awarded to us in a neglect case last week. This was an unusual case. When the sheriff's office went to talk to the owner, he threw himself under one of the horses and hollered that no one would take the horse from him. He then wrapped his arms and legs around the horse's front legs - kind of like a kid who doesn't want mom to leave. The guy ended up in the ER - with broken ribs and a broken ankle. He went on to make threats against the sheriff - and I'm sure that went over well. Anyway, the horses have been moved to a "safe house" several hours away. They'll get rehabilitated there and then we'll find them a new home.

We are waiting to hear the outcome of another court case. This involved two horses, but it was out of our area. We helped convince the sheriff's office to seize the horses, and they may award them to us.

When not working on the neglect cases, I read more email than I care to remember! I also worked on our Expo - I sent out sponsorship packets, made some webpage updates, and helped revise the vendor contract. I'm going to spend quite a bit of time working on the Expo this week.

And I got ready for a booth at Texas A&M's College of Vet. Medicine Open House. I've been doing booths there for 10 years - that was the first booth LSER ever had. And it was also one of the first booths BEHS did. This Saturday was an excellent booth - I worked the entire day by myself, but I talked to a lot of great people who were really interested in adoption and fostering. I'm hoping to hear from some of them soon. I handed out all the brochures I had, all the Expo flyers, all the membership applications and all my business cards. It was a great time - I so enjoy talking to people about the rescue.

So that's what we've been up to ... I'm off now to promote our April Virtual Horse Show. There's info at http://www.bluebonnetequine.org/virtualshow - Please enter a photo or two and make it a fun show!

I read a few horse email lists - I like to see what other people are up to, chat about our horses and find out about horse events in the area. And sometimes I get drawn into a conversation or debate. Today was one of those days.

Someone posted that CBS news was doing a story on starving horses throughout the US. One of the posters pointed out that this was because the slaughterhouses in the US had shut down. However I pointed out that there are a lot of factors involved in this problem. While slaughter is not an option in the US, dealers are buying horses and shipping them to Mexico and Canada for slaughter so its still an option for unwanted or excess horses.

The bigger problem this year is the drought. Its hit several southeastern states and water and hay are at a premium in those states. This is making it hard for people to afford their horses. The economy is also an issue - with the price of fuel going up, the price of grain, hay and all other supplies is going up. This might not be a huge problem for people with just one horse, but it'll be hard for those with several horses.

Most neglected horses who come into our rescue are owned by people who aren't willing to give them up. They don't want to sell them at auction, send them to slaughter, or sell them to individuals. They claim they love their horses and don't want to part with them.

An example - this week we were awarded two horses from a neglect case. When the sheriff's department went to pick them up, the owner threw himself underneath one of the horses and wrapped his arms and legs around the horse's legs. He was screaming that he wouldn't let his horses go. Unfortunately for him, being underneath a horse isn't a great idea - he ended up in the hospital with broken ribs and a broken ankle. The horses are now recovering at a foster home, and the owner is facing criminal charges.

While most owners of neglected horses don't pull such dramatic stunts, they DON'T want to give up their horses. Even though their horses are literally starving to death, they won't give them up without a fight.

The horse overpopulation problem isn't an easy problem with an easy solution. A lot of things go into the problems we're seeing now. But it is clear we need to pull together as horse lovers to help those horses who have no place to go as well as those who are neglected and abused. They need us.

Some rescues have ranches or farms where all the horses live. There are benefits to that way of doing things: all of your horses are in one place, you can keep an eye on all of them at once, and you can have people out to the farm to visit all of the horses. But not all rescues operate that way - we don't.

We operate thanks to the generosity of many foster homes. These people open up their barns and pastures to horses in need. They pay for hay, grain, shavings and other miscellaneous expenses (those expenses are tax-deductible since we're a 501c3). We pay for vet bills, medications, supplements, de-wormers, and part of each farrier visit. Our goal is to eventually pay all of the expenses, but that's something we have to work towards as our fundraising gets more advanced.

Foster horses become part of the family. Foster homes love their fosters like their own - I know I sure do. They get to know their likes and dislikes, and they handle them and help them overcome issues. Foster homes make sure each horse gets a lot of individual attention, and they help screen potential adopters to help us get the best possible placements.

Its really amazing when you think about it - all of these people spread throughout Arkansas and Texas who are giving their time to make this world a little bit better, one or two (or three or four) horses at a time. Without these people, we couldn't do what we do. Without these people, these horses would have no place to go.

Of course, we always need more foster homes - and I can tell you that fostering is so amazingly rewarding. I love seeing horses come around and learn to trust people again. I love seeing them regain the spark in their eye and spring to their step. I love hearing them nicker for dinner and see them kick up their heals in play. And they've taught me and so many others about patience, and made us better horsemen.

Here's to all the foster homes out there - whether you foster for BEHS or another rescue. You make the world a better place.

The rescue has really been a roller coaster lately. We've had some wonderful news - but it has been countered by some tough times and sad news.

I'll start with the GOOD news first. I got an email yesterday from the person who adopted Lancer. He was my foster horse for a while - and he was HARD to let go of. But I knew his adopter and I knew he would be a good fit. I was right - she sent me a picture of him with one of her twelve year old students at their first show. They did awesome and earned a 3rd place ribbon. I'm so proud of him - and I know he's going to be winning classes before long. To think, this boy was dumped in a pasture and dropping weight when we found him. Now he's teaching kids to ride and show.

We've also had several more adoptions - Blazer, Chocolate Chip, Lakota Moon, Dottie, and Matilda. And we've got more adoptions pending.

It is so wonderful to see these horses who were starving and unloved become healthy and happy. And when they go to their new homes, we are all so thrilled. It is just such a great feeling.

The rescue is really hopping, too. We've got a new donkey coming in from a neglect case. His weight is ok, but his feet look like elf slippers. I'm sure his foster "mom" will have him in shape in no time. We're also working on a couple of cases where the horses need to be seized. We're also planning to hold informational booths at some up-coming events and we have fundraisers in the works - including an event in Texarkana in May and a Virtual Show in April.

Unfortunately the happiness is tainted with sadness. A few weeks ago, we took in a herd of five horses. Their case had been reported to us months ago, and volunteers tried working with the owner. They gave him guidelines on how to take care of his horses, but he ignored them. He then claimed to sell a few of the horses, and we hoped he had gotten down to a more manageable number. However when we went back to check on him, one of the "sold" horses had reappeared and he had purchased another horse, a six month old bay filly. She was in horrible shape, and since the other horses weren't improving either, our volunteers told him we were getting a warrant to remove all the horses. He offered to surrender them instead, so volunteers loaded up the horses and headed home. The little bay filly was sweet - but very weak. She went down that afternoon and would not rise, but after a few hours she got back to her feet. For the next two weeks, she slowly improved and we hoped she would be able to recover. But last weekend she went back down and could not rise. The vet who examined her felt she had given up - and feared she had gone into organ failure. He helped her cross the rainbow bridge - and we're all mourning her loss. Her foster "parents" and the volunteers who took her from her negligent home are especially heartbroken. It is so hard to lose any horse, but a baby is even harder. No one can understand how someone could neglect a baby....

So often I write about depressing topics - its time for some good news!

About a week ago, one of our members wrote me and told me she was really unhappy with the rescue. She felt like we kept taking horses in but never adopted any out. Her timing was ironic - because this month (March), we kicked our advertising program back into gear. We placed ads in Horseman's Roundup, Texas Horse Talk, Texas Horse News, Horse Gazette, Southwest Horse Trader and Lone Star Horse Report. This week we'll also be placing classified advertisements in newspapers across both AR and TX. Our goal? To get these guys into their forever homes!

Half of our ads kick off our new campaign: Don't Breed - Adopt Me! This advertising campaign highlights the healthy, beautiful and talented foals who have found their way into BEHS and now need new homes. The other half the ads feature our adult horses who are broke to ride and need a family of their own.

And although the ads hadn't had time to work their magic yet, in the last two weeks, six of our horses have found their forever homes!

- Honey - Honey came to us in 2005 - yes, she's been with us over two years! She was part of a grisly neglect case where we found four dead equines. She was starving but gained weight quickly. However she is a mustang and is leery of people - and she's got an old injury that leaves her unridable. Not many people are interested in an unfriendly horse they can't ride. BUT someone was... she loves Honey and is giving Honey the home and love she deserves.

- Hondo - Hondo is a palomino yearling who was part of a herd of over 20 horses who were surrendered to a humane society by owners who couldn't take care of them. Hondo gained weight and learned to trust people, and he found his "forever person" - a guy who had wanted a palomino horse for years. His new "dad" says he's settled in and is doing great.

- Chelsea - She's a pretty, buckskin mustang who was captured as a young horse. Her owners were moving out of the country and could not take her, so they placed her with BEHS. She is the first horse her adopter has had in over 20 years. She's thrilled to share her life with a horse of her own, and we're excited to see Chelsea someplace where she'll be loved and ridden.

- Tallulah - She had been with us over a year. She's a pretty black/white paint filly who was in terrible shape when she arrived. She hadn't been fed properly and was starving. She put weight on quickly but it took longer for her foster "mom" to gain her trust. She was just adopted by someone who already adores her - she's a lucky girl who will be spoiled and adored.

- Angel - Angel was skin and bones when she arrived at BEHS. She gained weight slowly and once she felt better, she became pushy both on the ground and under saddle. Several people were interested in her but none were the right until her new adopters met her. They rode her, handled her and knew she was the horse for them.

- Lad - He's a cute Missouri Foxtrotter with a laid back and friendly attitude. His owner couldn't keep him and asked BEHS to take him. He's only been with us a few months and he met his person yesterday. Her daughter has had horses for a while and she was looking for one of her own. She initially was interested in another horse - but once she met Lad and saw how nice and sweet he was, she knew he was the horse for her.

What a great past two weeks - we also have more adoptions pending so I know there will soon be more good news to share!

Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society

Annual Members Meeting – Saturday February 16, 2008

Summary





Attendees: Jennifer Williams, Regina Anderson, Loretta Pinnell, Tabitha Pinnell, Jodi Mullins, Jackie and Leon Early (win the prize for the furthest distance!), Steve Urban, Kathy Fraser, Denise Crosthwait, Cynthia Lawhon, Laura Lewis Winkleman, Elizabeth Beverly, Susan Brown, Bernadette Wiley, Pam Archung and Courtney Anderson



Thank you to everyone who attended – I applaud you braving the weather and traveling the distance to come to the meeting. I know we all have family, jobs, animals and other things taking up our time – so it meant a lot to me that you all attended.



For those who couldn’t attend, please start thinking about attending next year. The meeting will be held on February 21, 2008 – and everyone will get a chance to vote on the location.



We begun the day with brief introductions – we had some newer members and I wanted everyone to get a chance to know everyone else. We then broke for lunch – with some awesome food including a birthday cake for Bluebonnet complete with BEHS logo in icing! Very cool.



After lunch, we got down to business.



Presentation of BEHS Goals



At the directors’ meeting in January, the directors discussed their goals for Bluebonnet and we reviewed previous goals that were set. For this year, we divided the goals into two sets: Arkansas Goals and General Goals.



Arkansas Goals. We set specific Arkansas goals – because we’re concerned about BEHS operations in the state. We started BEHS-Arkansas at the same time we started BEHS-Texas, but BEHS-Texas has more active members while BEHS-Arkansas handles a large number of neglect cases and neglect case horses. We’ve got to have help in Arkansas if we want to keep going – and the horses in Arkansas need our help badly.



So the Arkansas Goals for 2008:

1. Recruit new foster homes. At a minimum we want 10 active foster homes (actually fostering horses). (We currently have 9)

2. Recruit new Trailering volunteers. At a minimum, we want 5 active Trailering volunteers. (We currently have 2).

3. Hold Arkansas members meeting. This is scheduled for May 3 in Pine Bluff.

4. Make personal calls to BEHS members in AR to see how they would like to be involved. We will need volunteers (either in TX or AR) who would be willing to help with these calls. I will give you info on what to say/ask. Email me if you are interested in helping



General BEHS Goals for 2008:

1. Re-implement the BEHS Training Fund. We currently have money ear-marked to send horses to training. The goal is to get horses started under saddle or correct behavioral problems in order to make the horses more adoptable. In order to use the training fund, we must have a training bid from a trainer, we must approve the trainer. Preferences will be given to trainers offering discounts to BEHS. For a horse to go to training, a training request form must be submitted to the Foster Home Coordinator. Preferences will be given to horses whose foster homes make a donation towards their training costs. Horses WILL NOT be sent to training if we do not have a foster home who agrees to continue the horse’s training once he returns. BEHS will also pay for 1-2 (possibly more) lessons for the foster home with the horse and trainer.

2. Volunteer Reward Program. This year we’re implementing a volunteer reward program. Our volunteers are our lifeblood – and without them, we could not survive. We worked for almost two years to come up with a program that could reward volunteers without taking money away from the foster horses. The complete program will be announced in a separate email.

3. Evacuation Plan. BEHS operates in states that are subject to many natural disasters: grass and wild fires, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. We need to implement an evacuation plan to get our horses, horses owned by fosters or adopters and if possible horses owned by citizens out of harm’s way. If you would like to be involved in the BEHS Evacuation Planning Committee, email me.

4. Speakers Bureau. Most people learn of BEHS by word of mouth – and we need to get out there and make sure more people are hearing of us. One way to do this is to give talks at 4-H, FFA, Pony clubs, horseman’s associations, community service groups and more. We want to establish a Speaker’s Bureau to help spread the word about BEHS. If you would be interested in becoming a speaker, lining up speaking opportunities or more, please email me.

5. Foster Home Reimbursements. One of BEHS’ long-term goals is to completely reimburse all fostering costs. However we’re working at this goal slowly. In 2005, we began reimbursing for pre-approved vet expenses, pre-approved corrective farrier work, pre-approved supplements and pre-approved medications. In 2006, we began reimbursing for paste de-wormers (not tube de-worming nor daily de-worming). In 2007, we began reimbursing $10 of every routine farrier visit. As more funds come in, we’ll be able to reimburse more.

6. Bluebonnet Horse Expo. After the success of the 2007 Bluebonnet Horse Expo, we’re ready to jump into the 2008 Expo. This one will be held Sat. October 11, 2008 at the Travis Co. Expo in Austin, Texas. We’ll be needing a lot of help to make this work – and I’ll be sending separate emails about this.

7. BEHS Awareness. We need to increase awareness of BEHS so we can help more horses and recruit more volunteers. To do this, we not only need to find places to talk about BEHS, but we need to hang flyers, send emails to our friends and email lists, hold booths and look for various opportunities to promote BEHS. If you have ideas on how to do this, post them on the main list (BluebonnetEquineRescue@googlegroups.com) and lets talk!

8. Improve the BEHS Reputation. BEHS has a great reputation – but it can get better. We need to remember when we’re presenting ourselves to the public (whether in person, in writing or on the internet) to make sure we present a professional image. Any members can feel free to ask any officer or director for help proof-reading emails, flyers, etc. before they go out. We’re happy to help!



Bluebonnet 2008 Fundraising Plan



April Possible tack auction in Bastrop. Paula Weisskopf is working on this one.

April Virtual Horse Show. You can visit www.bluebonnetequine.org/virtualshow to learn more.

May BEHS Donation letter. We’ll be having envelope stuffing parties here in Alvin or Rosharon and possibly in Austin for this one. We can use everyone’s help!

May Texarkana Equine Education Day. We’re working on a date – but I hope to see a lot of our members there. ;) The day will include training and horse care clinics, items for sale to

benefit BEHS,, BEHS horses to meet the public and more

June June 21, 2008 – Loretta and Ralph Pinnel’s Carnival Fundraiser. This event was much fun last year and Ralph will be posting more stuff about it.

July or August Soap and Candle Fundraiser. Joanne Terry is in charge of this one and will be posting more about it as it draws closer.

August Ralph and Loretta Pinnell’s Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser. This should be a fun – and tasty! – fundraiser. Ralph will post more about this one.

October 11 Bluebonnet Horse Expo – Will post much more in a separate email.

November Virtual Horse Show

November – December 2nd BEHS Donation letter. I’m hoping to have envelope stuffing parties here in Alvin or Rosharon and also up in the DFW area. More will be posted as the time draws closer.



Unscheduled – but in the works:



Jodi Mullins – Play day fundraiser

Calendar Sales

Bracelet Sales

Cook book sales

Spring and fall softball tournaments in AR



Presentation of District Coordinator Program



The District Coordinator Program began last year as a way of breaking both states into more manageable portions. The goal is for our district coordinators to help promote the rescue by maintaining a booth kit, helping locate and set up booths and recruit volunteers and by touching base with volunteers in their area to act as a resource. This year, we’re going to further develop the District Coordinator Program by recruiting great coordinators for the various districts and by supporting them so they can succeed. If you would like to become a district coordinator, contact Michelle Stockton at mstockton@dfwair.net.



Below are a list of districts and their coordinators– all “Open” districts still need a coordinator.

Texas
South Texas/Brownsville
Brooks, Cameron, Duval, Hildago, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Kleberg, Starr, Webb, Willacy, Zapata
Open


Southeast Texas/Corpus Christi
Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, Goliad, Jim Wells, Live Oak, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria
Open


Southwest
Dimmit, Frio, La Salle, Kinney, Maverick, McMuller, Medina, Uvalde, Zavala,
Open


San Antonio
Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Dewitt, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Victoria, Wilson
Open


Southwest Houston
Austin, Brazoria, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Matagorda, Waller, Wharton
Open


Houston
Chambers, Harris, Galveston, Grimes, Fort Bend, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker
Audra Rech


Austin
Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnett, Caldwell, Hays, Lampassas, Llano, San Saba Travis, Williamson
Pam Archung


Beaumont/SW Houston
Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Polk, Orange, Sabine, Trinity, Tyler
Open


BCS
Brazos, Burleson, Houston, Lee, Leon, Madison, Milam, Robertson, Washington
Open


Lufkin/Nacogdoches
Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith
Open


Central Texas
Bosque, Comanche, Coryell, Falls, Freestone, Hamilton, Hill, Limestone, McLennan, Mills, Navarro, Somervell
Open


El Paso
Brewster, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving, Presidio, Reeves
Open


Pecos/West
Crockett, Edwards, Gillespie, Kimble, Pecos, Real, Sutton, Terrell, Val Verde
Open


NE Texas
Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Red River, Titus, Upshur, Wood
Pam Dountas


Dallas/Ft. Worth
Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Hood, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Van Zandt
Jodi Mullins


North
Collin, Cooke, Denton, Grayson, Fannin, Lamar, Montague, Wise
Michelle Stockton


Upper Panhandle
Dallam, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Moore, Ochiltree, Roberts, Sherman
Open


Amarillo
Armstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Donley, Deaf Smith, Gray, Oldham, Potter, Randall, Wheeler
Open


NW Texas
Archer, Baylor, Clay, Foard, Hardeman, Jack, Knox, Pal Pinto, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Young
Open


West Texas 1
Bailey, Briscoe, Castro, Childress, Cottle, Floyd, Hale, Hall, Lamb, Motley, Parmer, Swisher
Open


West Texas 2
Andrews, Borden, Dawson, Fisher, Gaines, Howard, Martin, Mitchell, Nolan, Scurry
Open


West Texas 3
Concho, Coke, Irion, McCulloch, Mason, Menard, Schleicher, Sterling, Tom Green
Open


Lubbock
Cochran, Crosby, Dickens, Garza, Hockley, Kent, Lubbock, Lynn, King, Terry, Yoakum
Open


Abilene
Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Eastland, Erath, Haskell, Jones, Runnels, Shackelford, Stephens, Stonewall, Taylor
Floe Copeland


Midland/West
Crane, Ector, Glasscock, Midland, Reagan, Upton, Ward, Winkler
Open






Arkansas
NE
Clay, Randolph, Greene, Lawrence, Craighead, Mississippi, Jackson, Poinsett, Cross, Crittenden; Woodruff, St. Francis, Lee
Leon and Jackie Early


North Central
Fulton, Baxter, Marion, Searcy, Stone, Izard, Sharp, Independence, Cleburne, Van Buren
Open


NW
Boone, Newton, Carroll, Benton, Wasington, Madison, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Pope, Sebastian, Logan, Scott, Yell
Open


SW
Polk, Montgomery, Howard, Sevier, Little River, Pike, Hot Spring, Clark, Hempstead, Nevada, Ouachita,
Miller, Lafeyette, Columbia
Open


SE
Grant, Jefferson, Arkansas, Phillips, Desha, Lincoln, Cleveland, Dallas, Calhoun, Bradley, Drew, Ashley,
Chicot Union
Tammi Kozlowski


Central
Pulaski, Lonoke, Praire, Monroe, Saline, Garland, Perry, Faulkner, Conway, White
Neva Little






Presentation of Open BEHS Positions



We’ve announced several new volunteers lately – but we still have more volunteer jobs to fill!



- Two Director Positions. Directors are responsible for guiding the organization, setting and fulfilling goals, establishing and enforcing policies, overseeing the finances of the organization and fundraising to bring in the money to fulfill the budget, and promoting the rescue. It isn’t a small job – but it is a vital one. Ideally we would like to find a vet, farrier, professional horse trainer, attorney, professional fundraiser, someone with marketing or PR experience for the BOD.

- Secretary. This is an officer position on the Board of Directors, so the person holding this position is responsible for fulfilling the above Director responsibilities. Additionally, he/she keeps meeting minutes, manages BEHS outgoing mail, maintains some non-horse files, etc.

- Bylaws Committee Chairperson – responsible for annual bylaw review and for submitting recommendations for amendments to BOD.

- Emergency Evacuation Coordinators – Need 2 people in different regions who will lead the Emergency Evacuation Committee, design and implement evacuation plan and manage all evacuation activities during disasters.

- Volunteer Program Coordinator. Responsible for managing volunteer rewards program, designing and implementing volunteer training, acting as a resource for volunteers.

- PR Coordinator – Responsible for BEHS PR. Arranges and coordinators television and radio stories, newspaper and magazine stories, creates and submits press releases, etc.

- Marketing Coordinator – Responsible for designing and implementing advertising and promotions campaign to market both BEHS and the BEHS horses.

- Speakers Bureau Coordinator – Solicits volunteers to serve in speakers bureau, locates speaking opportunities, makes sure volunteers are prepared.



If you are interested in any of these volunteer jobs, please email me at jenn@bluebonnetequine.org.



Q&S Session



We covered so much during the meeting that there weren’t tons of questions, but we did have a few ideas come up:



- Steve Urban is trying to arrange a booth at the Austin Rodeo on March 13-15. We will need volunteers to man the booth.

- Fundraising project; Sell bronze horse shoes with BEHS horse name and date into rescue on them. They can be a keepsake and conversation started. Need a volunteer to run with this project.

- Kids as Minispokespeople or junior spokespeople. Need to put together info kids can use to give talks in class, at 4-H/FFA/Pony club meetings, etc. to teach other kids (and parents) about BEHS and what we do. Need someone to run with this project.

- Have BEHS Caps (and possibly other merchandise) made for purchase.

- Recruit volunteers to call new BEHS members (and those who aren’t active) and to see if we can get them more involved in BEHS. We’ll need volunteers to help with this.



We had a great meeting – and got a lot covered. I’m looking forward to the Arkansas members’ meeting and to seeing all of you at various events throughout the year. Mark the 2009 Members Meeting on your calendar!

Last week was just not a good week for me. I wasn't in a good mood, I was stressed and I was frustrated. On Friday, I had to go get hay - I don't mind getting hay and certainly love having a barn full of it. But I hated having to spend all day on the task.

Before I left that morning, I got a call from someone who identified herself as a florist and said she had a delivery for me. We set up a time for her to come - but I was puzzled! Who would be sending me flowers? I called my husband and Spencer said it wasn't him... so I left to pick up hay wondering.

While I was unloading hay, the florist left the flowers on my front porch. There was a lovely arrangement with greenery and sunflowers arranged inside a boot! The card inside read,

Thanks for helping me find some peace, green pastures and a home with peppermint treats. Thanks for helping the other horses in Texas and Arkansas - keep up the good work!



Neighs,


Kaluha

What a great way to end the week - with a sweet note from one of our foster horses (with some help from his foster mom). In nearly 10 years of rescue, that's the first time I've gotten flowers from a horse! It really made my day..

Thank YOU Kaluha (and all the BEHS horses) and Ann (and all the BEHS members) for what you do for me. You give me more than I give you - in so many ways. I am blessed.

Last Friday I got to visit with Lancer at his new foster home. If you have been reading this journal, you might remember that Lancer was one of my foster horses. He's a really neat American Saddlebred gelding - a fun horse to know and a really fun horse to ride. He's been trained for saddleseat - which we almost never see in the rescue - and as I used to ride saddleseat, I had a blast with him.

Unfortunately our place flooded a few months ago and has remained under water, so Lancer moved to another foster home where he could get DRY! Luckily he's nearby though, so I got to go see him. Even more exciting, I got to be there when his adopter came to meet him and took him home!

I have known his adopter for several years - she fostered and then adopted a horse named Mister Bo Jangles from Lone Star when I ran that rescue. She used Mister Bo for some riding lessons and her son showed him in walk-trot classes. When I first met Lancer, one of my first thoughts was "Cindy should have this horse!" But I didn't know how to reach her....

Fortunately she found us. She emailed a few weeks ago to see if Lancer was available and if I could give her some information. I told her I had been wanting to find her so I could introduce the two of them. She sent her application right in and let me know that the girls in her lesson program were watching his website and were so excited for him to arrive.

So I was happy and sad when she loaded him into the trailer. I'm thrilled he'll be spoiled rotten, loved by kids and allowed the chance to SHOW. But I sure will miss him!

A side benefit to this adoption - Cindy teaches a lot of kids, and they'll all learn about rescue horses thanks to Lancer. He'll help teach the next generation compassion and may help recruit some new rescuers. How awesome is that?

Cisco came into the rescue about a year ago. He was found "estray" in Llano Co. and awarded to BEHS when his owners could not be found. The sheriff's dept. warned us that he had bitten, kicked and charged at the vet and other handlers - so we were prepared for the worst. Julie, his foster home, picked him up and discovered that he lead and
loaded well - ONCE you got your hands on him! This boy was very, very leery of everyone. When I met him, he always stayed away from you, and when he walked past you, he kept his hind end tilted slightly towards you - like he wanted to be ready in case he needed to kick you.

To me, it seemed like he had probably had some good handling early in
his life - after all, he led well and loaded well. But it seems
somewhere along the way someone was very unkind to him. He did not
trust humans at all - and didn't seem to have much use for us.

Julie's been working him - and tonight I got to go play, too. :) Cisco has come a long way. He's still leery of new people - but he WILL come up to you for a treat! (Hey, what can I say? I believe in bribes!). He also let me lead him around, was picking up flexing to each side, and relented and let me touch his ears (he's really bad about that). We also worked with him in a bridle and Julie's been teaching him to give bit pressure.

This horse WANTS to please people and he WANTS to be friends - but he's having such a hard time overcoming whatever traumatized him in the past. That breaks my heart...

I was just looking at pictures of our newest equine additions to the
Bluebonnet Family and while I was looking at them my mind started
wandering over my yeas in rescue and the horses I've known. and I
realized that at the end of the month, Bluebonnet will celebrate its
third birthday.

Wow. Its hard to believe its been three years! Sometimes it seems that I can't recall a time in my life without Bluebonnet . and other times it seems like just yesterday we came together to form this organization. In three short years, we've done great things. We've taken in nearly 250 equines - and helped 136 of them find their forever homes. We've met horses like Petey, Munchkin, Oreo, Ghost and Snickers - horses whose bodies were so ravaged by abuse and neglect that they could not survive. Horses who we could only "rescue" by sending them out of the world that had been cruel to them. We've also met horses like Serena, Zydeco, Pandora and Tiffany who survived emaciation and went on to become beloved companions, friends and riding partners.

We've also processed over 600 reports of neglect. Sometimes we've been able to educate the horse owners so that they can keep their horses and take better care of them. Those are some of our greatest successes in my mind. We've found some cases where there was nothing wrong, and in other cases like Grimes and Lee counties in Texas and Faulkner, Jefferson and Lincoln counties in Arkansas we've removed horses and found them better homes.

I'm amazed at what we've done. And I want you to know that you have
played a part in this. When you join the rescue, tell a friend about
the plight of rescue horses, foster or volunteer - you help Bluebonnet help horses. You are responsible not only for our success as an organization - but for the health and safety of these horses. You have done amazing things.

Since the Expo and then the Directors' Meeting, I've been thinking of
the horses we have helped and what each of you have done to help make
them safe - and it has reminded me how much I love being involved in
rescue. I feel like today I'm more passionate about Bluebonnet, more
committed to Bluebonnet than I have ever been. I feel pulled to work on Bluebonnet 24 hours a day, seven days a week so we can accomplish even more. I can barely sleep at night for thinking about the rescue and what we can do.

Please join me in making 2008 a great year for the horses in Texas,
Arkansas and beyond. Remember why you joined a rescue and remember the great horses you've met or read about. Help share the passion for rescue - and we'll do great things. (And feel free to share your 'why I got involved" stories).

Working together, we really can Preserve an American Tradition: One Equine at a Time.

We had our annual Directors' meeting on January 12th and 13th - and it was great. In the evenings, we got a chance to do a little socializing but we worked hard during the day.

We started off on Saturday morning by reviewing and discussing long and short-term goals for the rescue. We reviewed goals made at the 2006 Directors' retreat. We didn't meet a lot of them - but the organization was very young then and we were still figuring out what we could handle. There were plenty that we DID meet:

- Establish a training fund. The training funds allows us to send some of the abused horses and horses with behavioral issues out to professional trainers who can help them overcome their issues. It also lets us get some of the untrained horses started under saddle. We hadn't used the training fund a lot int he past, so we're making a renewed effort to find trainers willing to give us discounted training and to get more of our horses help.
- Implement a marketing plan to recruit adopters, fosters, members, etc. In 2006 and 2007, we ran ads featuring BEHS horses for adoption - and they generated a lot of interest in the rescue and rescue horses. In the fall of 2007, we contacted a marketing firm for help promoting the rescue. In 2008, we're going to implement some of their ideas.
- Develop a volunteer appreciation program. Without volunteers, nothing at BEHS would get done. So we appreciate them and feel they deserve acknowledgment for their efforts. A former director developed a program in 2007 and we're going to revise and finally implement that program in 2008.
- Set up an endowment. That was done last year - and we feel it is an investment in BEHS' future. The goal of the endowment fund is to eventually have enough money in the endowment that we can use the interest to fund the general operating/administrative expenses of the rescue. This is long-range planning.
- Put on an equine expo. The first annual Bluebonnet Horse Expo took place in October in Austin, Texas. We're working on the second one in Oct. 2008 - you can learn more at www.bluebonnethorseexpo.com
- Increase the amount of expenses we reimburse. In 2006 we began reimbursing foster homes for de-wormers and this year we'll begin reimbursing $10 of each farrier visit.

After reviewing the goals, we discussed goals for 2008 - including our personal goals. Mine are:
January
Attend BOD Retreat
Create Donor’s Package
Finish Nov. 2007 Virtual Show
Get Members Reward Program finalized

February
Get Members Reward Program finalized
Members’ meeting agenda
Attend Members’ meeting
Write Build A Bear Grant

March
Help organize and attend AR members get-together
Write Equos Foundation grant

April
Write PETsMART grant
Put together Bylaws Amendments
Virtual Show

May
Prepare summer mail out
Finalize all policies
Virtual Show

June
Attend Equine Investigators Academy
Review forms

July
Write PetCo grant
Review job descriptions

August
Expo Preparation
Review job descriptions

September
Expo preparations
Directors’ manual

October
Attend and work Expo
Prepare Holiday mail out

November
Virtual Show

December
Prepare for 2009 BOD Retreat
Prepare for 2009 Members meeting

After discussing our personal goals and establishing goals for BEHS for 2008, we talked about our fundraising plan. Our goal is to move from many small, labor-intensive fundraisers each year that raise just a few thousand dollars to having two big fundraisers each year and working to solicit grants and major donors. 2008 will be a transitional year - we'll be doing some small fundraisers (selling candles, soaps and a BEHS cookbook), medium fundraisers (a carnival type event, spaghetti dinner, and calendar), and one big fundraiser (the Bluebonnet Horse Expo). I'm sure I'll be talking a lot more about these fundraisers in the future.

The next topic was our marketing plan - we're working with a marketing firm to solicit some corporate sponsors, and we plan to continue placing ads in state-wide horse magazines and newspapers. We need to find some volunteers with marketing experience so we can take our marketing plans further...

The last thing on Saturday was to discuss developing a donor's packet. This is information we're putting together to help solicit large donations. It includes success stories, a history, listing of our accomplishments and a list of what we need.

On Sunday, we discussed our budget - we have a few things to investigate before finalizing the budget but we're almost there. Having a budget is essential - it lets donors and volunteers know where we plan to spend our money, gives the officers some guidelines on spending and will help us better track how we're doing on income and expenses for the year.

last we discussed our District Coordinator program. We set up this program to help promote the rescue and to give members a local contact who could help them out. The District Coordinators' Responsibilities include:

- Maintain a "booth kit" for the district
- Hold an annual members' get-together for their district (2-3 neighboring district coordinator may join forces to offer a joint get-together)
- Contact new members in the district to act as a resource
- Contact foster homes for updates
- Organize booths in their district

Districts:
Texas
South Texas/Brownsville Brooks, Cameron, Duval, Hildago, Jim Hogg, Kenedy, Kleberg, Starr, Webb, Willacy, Zapata

Southeast Texas/Corpus Christi Aransas, Bee, Calhoun, Goliad, Jim Wells, Live Oak, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria

Southwest Dimmit, Frio, La Salle, Kinney, Maverick, McMuller, Medina, Uvalde, Zavala,

San Antonio Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Dewitt, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Victoria, Wilson

Southwest Houston Austin, Brazoria, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Matagorda, Waller, Wharton

Houston Chambers, Harris, Galveston, Grimes, Fort Bend, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker

Austin Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnett, Caldwell, Hays, Lampassas, Llano, San Saba Travis, Williamson

Beaumont/SW Houston Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Polk, Orange, Sabine, Trinity, Tyler

BCS Brazos, Burleson, Houston, Lee, Leon, Madison, Milam, Robertson, Washington

Lufkin/Nacogdoches Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Henderson, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith

Central Texas Bosque, Comanche, Coryell, Falls, Freestone, Hamilton, Hill, Limestone, McLennan, Mills, Navarro, Somervell

El Paso Brewster, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving, Presidio, Reeves

Pecos/West Crockett, Edwards, Gillespie, Kimble, Pecos, Real, Sutton, Terrell, Val Verde

NE Texas Bowie, Camp, Cass, Delta, Franklin, Hopkins, Lamar, Marion, Morris, Red River, Titus, Upshur, Wood

Dallas/Ft. Worth Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Hood, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Van Zandt

North Collin, Cooke, Denton, Grayson, Fannin, Lamar, Montague, Wise

Upper Panhandle Dallam, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Moore, Ochiltree, Roberts, Sherman

Amarillo Armstrong, Carson, Collingsworth, Donley, Deaf Smith, Gray, Oldham, Potter, Randall, Wheeler

NW Texas Archer, Baylor, Clay, Foard, Hardeman, Jack, Knox, Pal Pinto, Throckmorton, Wichita, Wilbarger, Young

West Texas 1 Bailey, Briscoe, Castro, Childress, Cottle, Floyd, Hale, Hall, Lamb, Motley, Parmer, Swisher

West Texas 2 Andrews, Borden, Dawson, Fisher, Gaines, Howard, Martin, Mitchell, Nolan, Scurry

West Texas 3 Concho, Coke, Irion, McCulloch, Mason, Menard, Schleicher, Sterling, Tom Green

Lubbock Cochran, Crosby, Dickens, Garza, Hockley, Kent, Lubbock, Lynn, King, Terry, Yoakum

Abilene Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Eastland, Erath, Haskell, Jones, Runnels, Shackelford, Stephens, Stonewall, Taylor

Midland/West Crane, Ector, Glasscock, Midland, Reagan, Upton, Ward, Winkler

Arkansas
NE Clay, Randolph, Greene, Lawrence, Craighead, Mississippi, Jackson, Poinsett, Cross, Crittenden; Woodruff, St. Francis, Lee

North Central Fulton, Baxter, Marion, Searcy, Stone, Izard, Sharp, Independence, Cleburne, Van Buren

NW Boone, Newton, Carroll, Benton, Wasington, Madison, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Pope, Sebastian, Logan, Scott, Yell

SW "Polk, Montgomery, Howard, Sevier, Little River, Pike, Hot Spring, Clark, Hempstead, Nevada, Ouachita,
Miller, Lafeyette, Columbia"

SE "Grant, Jefferson, Arkansas, Phillips, Desha, Lincoln, Cleveland, Dallas, Calhoun, Bradley, Drew, Ashley,
Chicot Union"

Central Pulaski, Lonoke, Praire, Monroe, Saline, Garland, Perry, Faulkner, Conway, White

The title "Directors Retreat" sounds pretty fancy, doesn't it? It might make you think of the directors of BEHS hanging out by a pool, relaxing and having a few drinks. Well, that's far from the reality of BEHS' directors' retreat! The retreat is actually a two day long meeting full of work and planning.

The directors of BEHS will be gathering this weekend to discuss the future of BEHS. We'll be setting the 2008 budget, coming up with a fundraising plan and reviewing our personal goals for the rescue as well as our short-term and long-term overall rescue goals. My personal goals include writing three grants, creating a BOD manual and more. My rescue goals include increasing our membership to 750, increasing the number of adoptions and working towards having a facility (long-term goal).

Although the BOD members in BEHS are spread out, it is important for all of us to make the effort to get together at least once a year and have a long, hard planning session. We'll leave with a clear plan for the rescue's future and re-newed energy and drive for rescue work.

Next month, we'll have the annual members' meeting where we'll discuss fundraising, volunteering and members' issues and concerns. It'll be another chance to make sure we're all on the same page.

Today I had to do one of the hardest thing I ever do in rescue - tell a foster home that the horse they love is not going to make it.

A few months ago we got eleven horses from a woman. We were called out by law enforcement because the horses kept getting out and were starving. The owner decided to surrender them, and we moved them into foster homes. One mare was diagnosed with a pre-public tendon rupture or a uterine tear, and the veterinarian who diagnosed her said she could not have another foal. However we found out she was pregnant.

We moved her to Texas where she could see a specialist. Her first vebot in Texas said the original diagnosis was wrong - she actually had a severe abdominal hernia. She recommended that a surgeon look at her and give us our options. Another veterinarian as well as the surgeon examined her and agreed - we had no options for her. They agreed that the mare could not carry the foal to term, they both agreed that aborting the foal would likely kill the mare, and they stressed that as she got heavier in foal her chances of rupturing her gut and dying an agonizing death increased. In fact, they were all surprised that she was still alive - her intestines were through the hole and sitting on her skin. The hernia was about 1 1/2 feet wide by 2 feet long - too big to even fix.

So after exploring all of our options and finding out that we had none - we agreed to let her go. The last thing I want is for her to go down thanks to a ruptured bowel and die a slow and agonizing death.

Her previous owner should never have let her be bred - or should have aborted her right away once she was bred. But she didn't care enough about the horses to feed them - she certainly wasn't going to take care of a mare with very special needs.

But after we decided - I had to talk to the foster home. The foster home is new to horses and Snickers had been their first horse. They loved her dearly and worried about her. I called and explained the situation - and I know I broke their hearts today. I reminded them that they had done something wonderful for Snickers: they had shown her love and kindness. They had shown her that people can be GOOD. They had made her last few months wonderful.. and they were the first people to care about her.

I know they hurt tonight and I ache for them. I promised them that there would be other foster horses - and many would have very happy endings. I hope they keep fostering and find a horse who helps them heal.

I ache for the mare and her unborn foal. It hurts to lose not only one life but two lives... I would have done whatever it took to save these two, but it seems like there was no hope for either of them. It is heartbreaking.

As the new year begins, we often think of resolutions, what we're going to do and how we plan to accomplish it in the new year. I don't like making up resolutions because too often they're tossed by the wayside within a month or two.

So instead of making up some resolutions, this year I'm setting goals for myself. Some of those are personal - to get my eating habits in control, exercise more and lose weight. What woman doesn't want to be fit and thin?! :) I have also decided to spend more time with my personal horses. This year I was overwhelmed with work and we had so much mud that many days I only cleaned stalls and fed the horses. But I've decided that even if it is muddy outside, I'm going to do ground work with my guys. Spending time outside with my horses makes me happy, helps me relax and makes me a better rescue person.

I also have several rescue-related goals for the year. They include:
- Writing several grants.
- Promote the rescue via press releases, newspaper articles, television appearances, etc.
- Recruit members for the rescue - reach 700 members by the end of 2008
- Recruit people to fill many key volunteer positions
- Hold BEHS booths at more horse and community events
- Market the rescue to reach new donors, volunteers, adopters and members
- Schedule fun, education and money-making fundraisers

Meeting my above goals will help make BEHS a better organization. And when we're better, we can educate more people about good horse-keeping and help more horses. And that's why we're here!

I think 2008 has a lot in store for BEHS – and I’m excited to see where we can all take this great rescue.

This weekend I attended my first disaster-response training. The Houston SPCA (www.hspca.org) hosted training put on by the Emergency Equine Response United (www.eeru.org) out of Kansas City, Missouri.

The first day included a few hours in the classroom learning about different rescue situations and then some time spent on learning to tie various types of knots. During the afternoon, we learned about slings, flipping horses, dragging/moving horses, and using a "slide" to put a horse on and drag him to safety. We used "Lucky", a 500 lb mannequin horse.

On Saturday, we went out for the hands-on part of the class - a rescue scenario. "Lucky" was stuck in a deep mud pit, and we had to extract him. Although dirty, this was a great part of the class - we got to put our newly learned rescue skills to work on a situation we could encounter in real life.

I think it is important to continue expanding our rescue education - classes on grant-writing, neglect investigation, emergency/disaster rescue, and more are help us learn how to do a better job helping those animals who need us.

We lost our dog, Maggie, a few weeks ago and our house feels odd without a dog. I keep thinking I should let her in or let her out, and last night when I finished with my pizza I started to call her to come get the "pizza bones". We've been going to PETsMART and PetCo to pet the dogs so I can get my 'dog time' in that way. Last weekend, we met an adorable GSD/Lab cross named Hercules. He reminds me a lot of my mom's dog Grover, and Spencer and I both adored him.

We're now looking into dog adoption - and it is giving me a view from the other side of the fence. The application for the dog rescues is quite long and involved. It makes me feel that our horse rescue application isn't so difficult at all! Of course, most of the dog rescues only do a pre-adoption home visit and no follow-ups, or they do no visits at all.

There certainly is a fine line to walk when trying to place animals. We still have two formerly feral kittens living in our bathroom, and my husband is trying to find homes for them. I'm so overprotective that it is going to be hard for anyone to be good enough for them! But I also know the dog rescue people feel the same way about the puppies we want to adopt.

It is odd being on the other side of the fence. I filled out the long application and sent it in. Now I'm nervous that they won't like my answers. Or they won't think we're good enough. Or the puppy we want will find another home. It sure is different when you are on other side of the fence. It gives me far more compassion for our adopters!

I just received this email today - and I had to share:

Hi, I was on a Christmas trail ride in Rockport and had the pleasure of seeing two of your adopted mules pulling a wagon in our group. I was so excited to meet the man Rodger who adopted Elmer and Dixie. They were soooo precious.What a great home they have! The mules were so good with the kids all around them and all over them.Just as quiet and calm as can be. Happy animals for sure. The owner is such a great guy,and he adores them. Bluebonnet did a wonderful job getting them their forever home. I'm sending in my dues this week to keep my subscription up with the organization;as I am so impressed with results that I have seen for myself. Thank you so much,God bless you.

That email just made my day! Dixie and Elmer (formerly called Sage and Thyme) came in from one of the worst neglect cases we've had - there were five donkeys, seven mules and seven horses. And even worse, there were several horses who had died before we learned of their case. It took quite some time to rehabilitate all of the animals and find them homes, but Dixie and Elmer found the perfect home for them. Their adopter has a lot of experience with mules and has done so well of them. They make me so proud!