Our Honorary Appaloosa

In this difficult economy, many animals are without homes and finding new ones has become more difficult than in previous years. This problem is not unique to horses and can be a special challenge for farm animals that have become family pets. “Smooches” the cow is a ten-year old Holstein who lost her home and simply needed a place to live out her life.

We met Smooches over two years ago. She completely won us over with her endearing personality and fondness for treats. When her family lost their farm, Smooches' prognosis was not all that good and her owner, concerned about her safety, asked for our help in locating a suitable new home. Her concern was well-founded. Smooches has had a long history of mastitis. This fact and her advancing age, make her no longer suitable as a breeding or milking cow. She was at risk of being made into freezer beef, a risk her owner was unwilling to take.

While many people keep horses they can no longer ride, most do not realize that cattle can make equally good pets. This is largely due to the way that most are handled, or rather, not handled. Most cattle in this country are raised for commercial purposes and generally receive little or no socialization with people. They are unsurprisingly wary of humans. But most family cows are handled extensively. Any large animal that you are going to get that personal with needs to be gentle enough for you to work with without injury to either of  you. These cows often bond with their owners and can become very affectionate. Tom and I have a special soft spot for these sweet old girls, who have spent their lives being valuable members of someone's family.

While Smooches is not an Appaloosa, we have awarded her the first “Honorary Appaloosa” status ever given to a bovine. After talking to a number of  candidates, we are happy to report that she has found a wonderful new home. Our sincere congratulations to new mom, Taby, on the newest member of her family! Big thanks also, to Smooches' former owner for her compassion and willingness to do the right thing.

Warmer Climes and Snow Deer

Wonderful webcam at a waterhole in Africa. Spent a happy few hours out of the freezing cold wind watching an elephant and hippo be-sporting themselves in the afternoon sun.

http://www.justin.tv/wildearthtv#r=fnmiw0o

And while we are doing "Animal Planet" check out these white deer in Wisconsin:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=inwi10s22a3q81f

As Others See Us

Link to a gallery of photos in the London Guardian newspaper, showing DC in the snow.

This isn't funny anymore!

Or in USA-speak "it's gotten old". That is the weather. We are standing by for more snow (already falling as I write) and Jorg is once again on snow removal duty. We have been promised wind this time, which may well make it the worse one yet. My sympathies to all you farms further north and west, who must feeling like it will never end.

So, if I have to retreat to the house and batten down the hatches, what better way to spend the time than watching Rugby. Good old BBC America has decided to show five of the Six Nation's matches live, including three of England's. A real delight (unless, of course, the unthinkable happens and we lose!) and provided the power lines stay up, and nobody colic's I shall be there tomorrow (Saturday) at 12 noon, beer in hand ready for the off. (If anyone else in the US, is interested it is Channel 264 on Direct TV). Obviously the next day's little affair (football match of some sort) pales into insignificance compared to England v Wales at Twickenham.

There is a silver lining after all, but it won't really be right until Jorg is safely back and the farm is complete again.

BOHECA

Those of you who have worked for large organizations (or in the UK) may know the expression summed up by BOHECA (I apologize if I offend anyone's susceptibilities) and which heralded changes in management practices, ruling political parties and the like - "Bend Over Here it Comes Again"! Well this winter's weather is giving me the same feeling. The view from our house has gone white again, and a cold wind is whistling around the eaves. The forecasters got it right over night with about 2 inches, and now we have a steady fall, which looks like getting up to at least the 6 to 9 inch level. C'est la guerre, but my feelings about this season are bad enough with short days and cold weather, struggling through snow and chipping ice off buckets just adds to the misery.

However, for once I listened to the weather forecasts and spent yesterday, with the help of our tireless rescue volunteer Julia Fussell (for whom grateful thanks) actually getting prepared for the snow storm. By nightfall everyone (horses, cows, sheep and chickens) was nicely tucked up in their various stalls and coops, with full bellies, hay to munch on and full water buckets. Luckily there is little wind so drifts are unlikely, and I had the good sense to put a store of hay bales in each barn ready for the weekend. Even with the tractor, struggling around the farm in a snow storm to deliver bales is tiring work! I even made sure that the hoses were empty and the bucket filling chore should be a little easier. Roll on Spring!

Rosebud went into standing heat on Thursday and so our friend Rhonda from 3 Rs brought the straws over and performed the miracle of conception, or at least the insemination part of it. Our aim this year is to have all three girls freshening around the same time, and well before the end of year cold sets in. Leo and Mona, haven't appeared to been too affected by the very cold nights we have had, but it isn't the best time of the year to be newborn. We also wanted to avoid the high hots of Summer, which leaves two fairly narrow windows of Spring and Fall.

Well, if the power goes out we have our new emergency generator switch ready, to give us water; the logs are cut for the house fires; the fuel oil tank has just been filled; we have food and feed enough to ride out a few days; and I added to the beer and wine collection (just in case). Should be good to go! Unfortunately, Jorg is on snow removal, which is the only blight on what could otherwise be a cosy weekend, once the menagerie have been taken care of. Hope wherever you are out there, you too are safe and warm and don't have to brave the elements.

Terrible Twine

One thing I always stress (among many others I hasten to add) to volunteers helping out with the rescue, is to bin twine. Those pieces of green or brown string around the bales of hay have a habit of escaping, and the perils of ingested and entangled twine are well documented. Well I now have another peril to add to the list that, unfortunately, I was responsible for. On letting the chickens out of the large coop the other week I found one of the Buff Orpington mixes hanging upside down, suspended by her feet from one of the perches. She had managed to pick up, and wrap around her feet, the cotton strand from the top of a feed bag, which I had inadvertently let drop on the floor of the coop. In her scratching in the sawdust of the coop she must have got it totally entwined around both feet, and then hopped up onto the perch, slipped and caught the cotton on a splinter of the perch. Luckily she couldn't have been hanging long, although at first sight I thought I had lost her, as once I had her upright and in my lap she rapidly recovered. Getting the cotton off was not easy, but we were lucky in that it hadn't cut into her legs.

So, I add another peril to our list of things to be careful with, and learn a lesson which, fortunately, didn't end in tragedy.

White Bird Video

 Thanks to Lennie Tierney, a prize winning video producer, the White Bird Appaloosa Horse Rescue now has a beautifully compiled video, with accompaniment courtesy of Madeline MacNeil, and narration by Lynne Daley. We think it is a great addition to the Rescue's published material and hope you enjoy it too.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyqIx1efJAI