Hayley's Gifts at Work

Hi! Sorry I have been missing for so long. We've been traveling or sick but I promise to stick around for a while this time. A couple of Sunday's ago I was happy to have Rylie, who read my blog and wanted to come volunteer, out to LEARN to show her around. We started at the pony barn and it was hard work! First we started by grooming Rudy and boy was he dirty. I showed Rylie how to use the different brushes and my Mom showed her how to pick his hooves. Doesn't he look pretty after all that brushing?

Rudy giving Rylie some pony love

Next we mucked out the stalls. Is it weird that we had fun doing that too? We also washed out each stall's water bucket and refilled them with fresh water. Thankfully, there are only 3 stalls to clean or we may have been there all day. It is important for the horse's health to have a clean stall and fresh water every day.

Rylie and me with the manure scoops

After the barn was done, we went out to the pasture and cleaned all outdoor water buckets. These also need fresh water daily and regular cleaning because they get gross pretty fast. These ponies may be small but they still drink a lot of water!

Rylie cleaning buckets

Me filling the outdoor water bucket

After all of our hard work, it was time for a little fun. I taught Riley how to put a halter and lead line on Rudy and she got to learn the correct way to lead a horse.

Learning to put on the halter

Rylie asking Rudy to walk

Rylie looks like a pro!

When we were done walking Rudy around the pasture, I introduced Rylie and her Mom to the other horses that live at the pony barn. Everyone had such good manners and they loved meeting new friends! Rylie and her Mom had some more time so we went down to meet the big horses in Meggett. We stopped at the mare's pasture first. The girls were really hungry so we got to help Mrs. Janice feed. We helped mix up the grain in the first set of feed pans and then we took turns putting two scoops of chopped hay in the second set of feed pans. Once they had feed it was safe to go with our Mom's out to brush some of the big girls.

Rylie's mom, Mrs. Kim and Laddie

Rylie and Ellie brushing Allie



Rylie, Ellie, me and Allie



After hanging out with the girls for a while we went over to the main LEARN property to see the boys. It was feeding time for them as well. Our moms did this while I showed Rylie my favorite dirt mound to play in! Sometimes you just have to have fun! Boy did we have fun but we were a little too dirty which made our mom's a little upset but that is what kids are supposed to do, right??? We worked hard then we played hard and my hope is that Rylie and her Mom come back very soon. Taking care of the horses is a lot of work but when you have friends to help, it takes no time at all!! Thanks Rylie for coming out to meet all my horse friends at LEARN!

Mom's Note:

Hayley and I are so appreciative to Rylie and her mom, Kim, for taking their afternoon to come out and see what LEARN is all about. Hayley's Gifts is a LEARN program in its infancy. Our goal with Hayley's Gifts is to educate and expose the youth of the lowcountry to the world of horses and proper horse care. We hope to educate and inspire the horse owners of tomorrow. There are several ways we are trying to accomplish this. One way, is through having youth volunteers and teaching them through one on one interaction, just like Rylie. Another is by giving presentations to groups like the girl scouts/boy scouts. We welcome any group out to the LEARN farm or we can come to you.

The final way and truly how Hayley's Gifts was started is by fostering the gift of giving. If you or someone you know is interested in having a birthday party that benefits the horses, we would love to help. We are going to be offering pony parties that benefit the rescues 100%. Hayley and some of our other LEARN youth ambassadors are willing and able to come and teach their peers a horse 101 kind of class. So not only will your party guests get the experience of riding but they will have hands on time with some of our rescue ponies. It is certainly different and will have a lasting effect on your guests. If you would like more information about Hayley's Gifts, please don't hesitate to contact me at charlotteblairwest@yahoo.com. Take it from this proud momma...it is a LIFE CHANGING experience!

What has been going on around LEARN?

I'm back! I was gone with my parents on a trip to Florida for Farm Bureau but while they had to work, I got to play. I went to Animal Kingdom, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Sea World. It was a great trip but I was happy to come home and see my horse friends. A lot happened while we were gone and I can't wait to tell you all about it!

The best news of all is that 4 horses have gone to live at their forever homes!


Sugar

 Sugar has found her home with a wonderful friend of ours, Ms. Frances. She is settling in just fine and I will be going out for a visit soon to see how much she loves her new forever home. Check back for that update.


Pixi

 Ms. Frances paid it forward by helping find Pixi her new forever home. She now lives with a very nice woman who has a grandson named JJ. He is 5 years old and LOVES his new pony. I know JJ and Pixi are going to love each other just like Rudy and I have loved each other for so many years.



PJ Magee

 PJ Magee has gone to live at his new forever home. He is now living with a wonderful pasture mate and is living the life he deserves. I know his Mom in heaven is smiling down on him now!

Molly and me last spring

Molly, one of the sweetest ponies I know, is going to her forever home in Loris, SC. She will be living with some of our Farm Bureau friends who have a sweet little girl named, Savannah. Savannah's family have several horses that will keep Molly company and I know she will continue to be loved the way she deserves!



Rudy and Pumpkin

 Remember these guys? My favorite guy and girl, Rudy and Pumpkin are coming home! My dad is finishing fixing up our pony pasture and they will come to live on our family farm in the next couple of weeks. I am so excited that they will be here so I can love and take care of them everyday! We saddled up Pumpkin yesterday and she did pretty well. My mom is going to work with her a bit before we start riding her but I know she will be great. My goal for Rudy is for him to pull a cart just like Smarty Pants. He is so smart so I know he will be wonderful at it just like his buddy! He is quite the character, check out the picture below. Mrs. E thinks he is Elvis in a pony body! I think maybe she is right!

Rudy as Elvis

That is not the end of the good news! There are some new sponsorships and pending adoptions at LEARN! We need many more of these. Do you think you can help? Maybe you know someone who is looking for their special companion? I am happy to report that Mrs. Janice and her family are now sponsoring Allie and plan on adopting her in the very near future. Don't Mrs. Janice and Allie make a cute couple?


Allie and Mrs. Janice



Allie, Ellie and Mrs. Janice

I am also very excited to tell you that my family is sponsoring Scarlett. She is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. My hope is that we can continue to grow our bond and that one day we will adopt her and give her a forever home! Look at how pretty she is. I think we are a good couple. What do you think?


Scarlett and me




Scarlett



Me grooming Scarlett

There are also 2 new members to the LEARN family. They are from right here in my county and are adjusting well and learning to trust their new care takers. They are a mother/son pair and are both registered Quarterhorses. The mom Berkeley is 18 years old and the colt is named Doc Williams. They told Mrs. E that he is going to be 3 years old but his size and teeth tell us that he is younger. Either way, he is very small for his age. I can't wait to see how much better they both get as recover here.

Berkeley

Doc Williams and Kelsey

Today I am going to meet a fellow horse lover, Rylie. She learned about LEARN because her mom read my blog and told her about it. We are going to groom the ponies at the pony barn and I plan on introducing her to the other rescues. It is going to be a GREAT day. I will let you know how it goes.

Remember, if you have any questions about sponsoring or adopting one of our rescues, please contact my Mom at charlotteblairwest@yahoo.com. Come back soon to hear about my day with Rylie, the details of Hayley's Gifts and the new retirement home that we hope to build very soon for some of our older guys. To make this dream come true, we are going to need your help! You can make donations from the LEARN website, www.learnhorserescue.com. THANK YOU!

I am proud my Daddy is a Farmer!

I wanted you to see this video that was made at my family farm. My Dad and Mom are part of the Young Farmers and Ranchers group and I thought this was really cool. Me and my brothers are in it too. I hope you like it! Thank a Farmer today. I just did!

PJ Magee - The New Guy on the Block



PJ during his first day at LEARN

PJ is the newest guy on the block and he needs a new home with someone to love. His story makes me very sad. A little over 2 months ago PJ's life changed for the bad. He had a wonderful owner named Ms. Dee Hillman and they were together for 20 years. That is a LONG time. He is a 26 year old dressage horse and was very well taken care of for all those years. Ms. Dee passed away suddenly at the young age of 58. He lived at a barn and was used to getting fed grain and hay twice a day and getting groomed on a regular basis by Ms. Dee. After she passed, PJ was put out in a field and got hay but no grain which is bad news for a senior horse. He also didn't get groomed again. This is why PJ looked the way he did the day he came to LEARN. See the pictures below.

Can you tell that he hasn't been groomed in months? Ms. E fixed him up right after this picture

Even though he is an old guy he is still very handsome

This is why I love LEARN so much! After 2 months of being alone and confused Mrs. E came to the rescue. She brought PJ all the way here from Clemson. Ms. Dee had a lot of nice things for PJ but Mrs. E couldn't find his blanket which should have been on him because it was really cold that day. So after he got all groomed Mrs. E had to put the only blanket she had that would fit him which was too big and PINK. Not good for a handsome boy! Mrs. E put a message on Facebook that he needed a new blanket and some other things. Guess what? My friend Ellie and her Mom, Mrs. Janice, got PJ a new blanket. We went down the next day to give it to him. You can see that in the pictures below.

Mrs. Janice  meeting PJ for the first time.

PJ getting ready to get his new blanket

Ellie giving PJ a carrot after he got his new blanket

Now, I know what you must be thinking...purple isn't much better than pink. But my Mom says it is a very regal color and I think he looks great. The most important thing is he is now warm and dry during bad weather. PJ is settling in just fine with his new pasture mates. He isn't the only 26 year old in the pasture; Ali is the same age and is one of his new buddies. PJ is thin and has some rain rot on his back but he loves being fed like he should and is putting on weight everyday.

If you think that you would like to sponsor or even better give PJ his forever home, please email my mom at charlotteblairwest@yahoo.com. He is one of the sweetest boys I have ever met and he would really love a forever home like the one he knew for the past 20 years. He really deserves it! Look at how cute he is below.

Me and PJ nice and warm

PJ filling his belly with yummy chopped hay

Thank you Lott family for his nice new blanket! I love seeing these horses getting the love and care they deserve. I know PJ really, really appreciates it too.

My Concern (aka Sweet Tea)



Sweet Tea the day she came into LEARN

Today I want to tell you about my friend Sweet Tea. She came to live LEARN in April of 2010. As you can see from her picture she was hundreds of pounds under weight. She came from Beaufort County with her pasture mate, Ella (who is at her forever home in Martha's Vineyard). She was in very bad shape and had been kept in a very muddy round pen. That isn't a lot of room for 2 big horses. Her teeth were overgrown and her hooves hadn't been trimmed in years. LEARN brought in the equine dentist and the farrier to take care of those problems right away.

Sweet Tea having her teeth worked on

Did you know that horses teeth NEVER stop growing? They need to have them "floated" which is a fancy way of saying filing them down. It depends on the horse but this could have to be done once or twice a year or if your horse has slow growing teeth it may be every other year. Either way, it is VERY important for your horse to see the equine dentist regularly just like you and me.

Back to Sweet Tea, Ms. Elizabeth told me she is a Thoroughbred that is 13 years old and has a tattoo on her lip that tells us she was a racing horse. Mrs. E traced her tattoo number through the Jockey Club and learned she once won her owner/breeders money. I wonder how good horses like this end up in a muddy pen in such bad shape. It makes me sad. How about you?

Not only was she very skinny but she had A LOT of worms. She had to be wormed many times and feed 3 times a day to put weight back on. LEARN always feeds it's horses the best feed and hay money can buy and in just 2 short weeks she looked like a new horse.

Sweet Tea after 2 weeks at LEARN

Another picture 2 weeks after getting to LEARN

Sweet Tea under saddle this past summer and looking very healthy!

Sadly, that is not the end of Sweet Tea's story. Ms. Elizabeth noticed that there was something wrong with her left eye. One Vet came to look at it and said it was fine but Ms. E had a bad feeling that wasn't right. She called another Vet who came to have a look and agreed with her. They did an ultrasound and a biopsy which told them she had cancer in her eye. They had to make the hard decision to have her eye removed so the cancer wouldn't spread to other parts of her body.

What Sweet Tea looks like today

Still a beautiful girl!

When I first met Sweet Tea I was afraid because she looks different with one eye but once I spent time with her I discovered why they call her Sweet Tea. She is gentle and is a peaceful spirit to be around. Mrs. E said that she did great under saddle and will make a perfect horse for somebody. The fact she only has one eye doesn't bother her at all. She has adjusted very well. I am so thankful she is safe, well fed and loved here at LEARN.

Are YOU looking for a horse to love because she is looking for her FOREVER home! If you are interested in adopting this sweet girl you can download an application here http://learnhorserescue.com/rescues.php . If you can't adopt her maybe you want to be her sponsor? It costs LEARN $150 a month for her feed, hay and farrier. If you can donate some or all of that, you can do that here http://learnhorserescue.com/index.php, just click on the Donate button. I know if Sweet Tea could say THANK YOU she would, so I will say Thank You for her. I makes my heart fill up when I hear of people helping these animals I love so much. If you have any questions about Sweet Tea or donating to LEARN my Mom said you can email her. Her email is charlotteblairwest@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading and loving Sweet Tea too!

Meeting Sweet Tea for the first time

I am in LOVE!

Meet Some of my Friends

Yesterday I spent the day with the rescue horses. I would like to introduce you to them.

This is PJ, the new guy on the block.

This is Greer. I love him and he loves me!

This is Sugar. She is beautiful. Isn't she?

This is Scarlett. She is Sugar's pal. She is beautiful like her name and I can't wait to ride her!

This is Gizmo. He is still learning to trust people but he is looking MUCH better!

This is Angel, Charlie's Mom. She looks like a different horse than when she came to the rescue barn. She rules the roost at the pony barn!

This is Charlie. He reminds me of the horse Flicka, he is a little crazy. But Mrs. Elizabeth says he is going to learn his manners soon. When he runs, he looks amazing.

This is Coretta. She is a little cranky but I am trying to change that by being nice to her. I know she will change for the better!

This is Laddie. She is a BIG girl and is the boss at the mare pasture. But she was sweet to me.

This is Allie. She is a sweetheart. Mrs. Janice and Ellie are in LOVE with her.

This is Sweet Tea. Her other eye was taken out during surgery. She is sweet and will make a perfect horse for someone to ride. She is looking for her forever home.

This is Cinnamon. She is a little shy because of Laddie but was great once she got over to me. I even got a kiss!

This is Ali (like from the movie Aladdin). He likes to stay to himself but Mrs. Elizabeth says he is a very good boy. He would love to have a Sponsor.

This is Chase. He had surgery on his neck because he had a tumor. He used to be a race horse and won someone a lot of money. But he ended up here and that makes me sad. At least he gets a lot of love here.

This is Reese. He was a race horse too. He also won someone a lot of money. He sticks his tongue out when he wants a peppermint! He is really funny!

This is Uncle Fester. He also needs a sponsor. I think he has a cute face.

Here is my girl Pumpkin. I just wanted you to see how good she is looking. Being in love with the Rudster has been good for her soul.

Last but not least, my boy Rudy. He LOVES to give kisses. Wouldn't you love to have one?

Please check back regularly. I am going to be posting each of these beauties stories for you to read. If you have any time or money to donate to these horses I promise it will make your heart feel good. My mom says you can do this by going to their website http://www.learnhorserescue.com/. If you can't find your answer there, you can ask my Mom and she will put you in contact with the right people. Thank you from me and my horse friends!!