HORSE RESCUE FACESS
Your Subtitle text
SSPADES HORSES
JOKER This little cross eyed "curled up nose" gal is Cat Ballou. You can find a more attractive photograph of her as the 5 SPADE card. Cat is very human friendly & will follow you around just about anywhere.
GREAT NEWS. Little Cat is now adopted & her new name will be LUNA!
*LUNA is just now 6 months & able to be weened. She will be transported to her new home (complete with brand new barn) soon!
APHA
MARE & FOAL
This perfect little guy is Sargent Major only a few days old. He was born on May 21, 2008. Mom was an APHA PMU mare. The PMU facility in South Dakota closed & 7 mares remained-all pregnant. There were some other horses left there too, that hadn't sold yet...a couple of studs, a foal, a filly etc. The owner was also a breeder who wanted out so he sold the herd to slaughter. Based on making more money, the breeder negotiated with rescuers who were willing to "buy" lives & save the herd. The former owner did agree to sell, but only for top dollar. In the end high prices were paid, but what is the right price for a life today? 
Photo: Sargent & Mom are having their breakfast in this great photo. The green pasture crop is organic oats-just ready for light grazing. Remember anything this rich has to be limited or the foal can develop scours from moms overeating rich new grass. Basically anything Mom eats will be passed through to the foal while nursing.Also see TWO DIAMOND (Sargent as a yearling).
DUSTY & DILLON
AUCTION RESCUE
These two guys may not have any idea their lives were spared the very day this photo was taken. It all started with some horse advocates who keep watch on equines who come through the local auction. These 2 fellows stood out because they were twins, twin paints. Not your normal pair. A rescue was contacted who put out an urgent E mail notice "Does anyone know of a good home for these twin paints?" The notice went out to many people including other rescues & foster homes, but during a time when rescues were full & homes were few. 
One recipient of the E mail was a
rescue who had formerly been asked if they ever got any twin paints.
Of course the answer was no, but when that rescue read the plea that
old request came to mind....but could the rescue remember the name of
the couple who requested the paints...it was 10pm & the auction was
the next morning 8 am sharp! 
Here Dusty & Dillon are being trained to pull a cart as preparation for their pulling a wagon at parades, as well as Senior citizen rides for local & surrounding towns!
*Dusty & Dillon also participate in WAGON FRIENDLY trail rides.
EQUINOX
SADDLEBRED FOAL
Born March 20, 2008, on the calendar day of the vernal equinox; hence the name EQUINOX. His mom is Miss Sassy (See Queen Spade). Equinox was always a warm & friendly pony, & has continued to grow into a wonderful yearling. He is halter broke & ready to move on to a new home. He has also been in the round pen, but technically real training doesn't come until about 2 years old. Manners & personality develop long before round pen training, so a loving interactive environment makes a big difference in a young animals tendencies.
*Yearling, halter broke, very friendly & now gelded, adoptable & residing at a rescue.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
DOMINO
SHETLAND GELDING
Such an adorable & friendly little Shetland pony, Domino came in with a large herd as a stud. One of many primary purposes of rescue is to REDUCE the number of unwanted horses, so first on the agenda upon his arrival to the rescue was to geld Domino & the other studs. Because he was so cute, he was adopted right way along with other of his pasture mates.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
CAT BALLOU
PMU APHA FOAL
This beautiful little girl is also one of the JOKERS in the deck.
Here
is Cat Easter 2009 being introduced to the rope. She is calm &
accepting, Don't you wish we knew what she was thinking??
Isn't she adorable?Anna thought so & is her new mom.
Cats new name is LUNA.
________________________________________________________________________________________
SMURF'S MAGIC BAG
& PMU APHA FOAL
This photograph simultaneously depicts so many things-new life, saved lives, the beauty of newborns, a moms nurturing nature, horses are worth saving, life goes on if we allow it to...What does the photograph say to you?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
DAKOTA
AQHA FILLY
This filly is the product of a PMU birth, one of only a few horses allowed to live on while residing at a PMU facility. 
June 2009
_________________________________________________________________________________________
NAVAJO RED
PMU MARE
You are looking at a horse on borrowed time. Sure she was rescued, along with other PMU mares from a PMU facility. Just narrowly escaping death-the herd was ALREADY priced by weight for slaughter! ...but what doesn't show is the severe nutritional deficiency this mare was allowed to endure. Countless months of starvation shown in complete muscle deterioration of the hind quarters & sores on multiple parts of her body. After all, she was practically dead anyway-why feed her (feed cost more than what they'd get to fatten her up-she was too far gone)?It was a long arduous ride to her salvation. She physically dropped in the trailer 3-4 times over the long haul. The driver feared this mare would never make the trip.
SOUTHERN
SADDLEBRED GELDING
Shy Boy was his tag upon arrival, he wouldn't even join his herd to eat. 
Southern is now halter broke &
craves human interaction. He has also been ridden (in saddle) on
multiple occasions. He has jumper tendencies & needs a wonderful
forever home where he can be ridden, loved & enjoyed on a regular
basis!RIO
BARREL CHAMPION
A victim of EPM, Del Rio Glory (his AQHA given name) literally walked out of the arena in a daze.Over time Rio wasted away to a mere skeleton hind end, resting himself on fence posts to keep his hind end up & not dragging behind him lifelessly. Later EPM was confirmed by a veterinarian ($400 Spinal Tap exam). A now rescue stepped in & paid for chemical pasting, while simultaneously supplementing with enzymes, oxygen & aloe vera.
There was definite progress of added weight & more control over body movement. Although not high in effectiveness, another pasting was paid for & used in hopes of full recovery. This dose was, in the end a waste, as no additional progress was made. Sadly this once winning barrel horse would not return to competition, in fact never to the arena again because permanent damage had been suffered to the Myolin sheath. Such nerve damage disallows complete communication from the front end to the back end which means there was a "gap" which made Rio unpredictable in his motion...in fact possibly dangerous. He simply would loose control at a certain point. Being of no further use (to the ranch where he was), he
was discarded to a rescue. Since then he has had a complete liver
& kidney detox once a year, followed by infection supports to
asse to further infestation. His health has improved greatly, he
is back at full weight, & he has as much energy as any healthy
horse. 
He still has limited control after a stop & especially
nearing the end of a turn. Rio never lost his will to energetically
approach every day. He is a fine example of a horses desire for life
& all it can offer!_________________________________________________________________________________________
BUCHSHOT
29 YEAR OLD PAINT
You've got to LOVE this guy! An exemplary display of grandeur at 29 years old...you'd NEVER have recognized him 3 years ago!
Teaching responsibility tohandicapped children.
2008 On loan & Ready for
4H Rodeo Competition!
_________________________________________________________________________________________
MISS SASSY
SADDLEBRED MARE
A pint sized ball of sass, this gal was the only female that remained of a herd of 27 that were saved from slaughter._________________________________________________________________________________________
CROWN ROYAL
APHA GELDING
Only 1 of 4 horses that survived an auction at a sale barn that day. Sadly over 20 horses were loaded & headed straight for slaughter in Mexico following the close of the sale.
______________
MORE BOX PHOTOS
This
photo was a card at one point, then a joker. The idea was "Three's
Company", "Three amigos", "Three Stooges"...but more funny photos won
out. Not wanting to loose the opportunity to share this unique shot
along with yin/yang (below) & other photos-the group of photos for
the back of the box was created. Pictured here are three domestic wild saddlebreds (front to back) Cherokee (also King of Diamonds), Equinox (also 3 Spade), & Miss Sassy (Queen Spade-also Equinox's dam).
YIN YANG ____________________________________________________________________________
Cat Ballou (PMU APHA FOAL-5Spade)
Navajo Red (PMU Mare-Queen Club)
(Also featured as cards: 8 Spade/Queen Club & 5 Spade).
_____________________
TY
This contemplative stare speaks volumes. It was included as a thought provoking addition to the group of pictures on the back of the box. We really liked the sun glistening through the bars of Ty's training pen. Ty has been loaned out to a nearby 4H group & has competed in show & drill team with a young high school girl. Ty was originally an owner surrender, after a women (Julie) went through a divorce & could no longer keep her horse. In Julie's case she went on to nursing school. Rarely, yet occasionally, rescues will try to work with people who need safe respite from their animal. In this case Julie did not return for Ty.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
More SARGENT MAJOR Box photo: A favorite, as well, it was a card at one point, but trying to allow as many horses to be seen got the photo pulled & the mare/foal shot used instead. This is Sargent Major as a newborn (See 2 Diamond as a yearling).
...Here's another darling one that didn't make the deck or box.
...& yet another one.It makes a great photo with a hint more of doting Mom at his side, but more difficult to convey on a box or card.
__________________________________________________________________________________
JOKERS CONSIDERED THAT
DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT!
DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT!
Opting for funnies, but not crude,
(also there was no room for captions under photos) the following Jokers were eliminated:
"Look out...I had beans for lunch!"
"Does this make my butt look too big?"
-The two headed horse was a real favorite for some, but not for others so it lost its spot in the deck.
-The cat/horse photo-loved it but not that great of a horse shot.
...& the FULL OUT LAUGH (well..technically a yawn), in this version was a bit mouthy, LOTS OF GUM showing! The one chosen as the JOKER was a nice clean laugh easier to appreciate.
More Stories Coming Soon!