GodSpeed, Elmer!

Elmer, the pigeon, should be safely back in home in New Jersey by now. His owner, Bob, picked him up yesterday morning. Much to Elmer's delight, he shared his traveling quarters with a female pigeon who had been picked up in Delaware earlier in the trip.

Elmer's racing season is over for the year, so he now has many months to recuperate and enjoy the summer at leisure. By the way, one of Elmer's flockmates won the race that discombobulated Elmer, with an average pace of 48 miles per hour! That's faster than any of our Thoroughbreds ever dreamed of.

Bob told us that he credits the Internet with saving the lives of many racing birds that might otherwise be lost. People who, ten or fifteen years ago, would not have known how to care for an exhausted bird can now easily find the information on care, feeding and tracking down owners.

We'll miss Elmer (he appreciated mealtimes every bit as much as our equine residents do) but are glad he's been returned to family and friends.

Meanwhile......in TREES bird news........We've already seen quite a few young Mockingbirds this year. At least 5 of the 7 Bluebird houses the Girl Scouts built last year appear to contain nests. A pair of barn swallows have taken up residence on the weather station on the porch, in addition to those in the barns and sheds. We're glad to see all of them since this spring's wet conditions are encouraging the bugs to create way more bugs than in "normal" years.

There are also a plethora of sparrows everywhere and, just discovered, a mourning dove nest in a crabapple tree near the house. What is fairly astounding is that any of these nests are still in their trees after some of the storms we've experienced. They are a testament to nature's engineering skills.

Thank You’s and other Tidbits

We have a lot of short updates and want to thank a lot of people today, so we’ll try to do it all in one post and hope we don’t leave anyone out.

We’d like to remind local Reiki practitioners that the first Shelter Animal Reiki Association orientation for the TREES program will be this weekend, Saturday, June 20, 10AM – noon. To participate, or for more information, please contact Janet Dobbs

The next Reiki workshop will be Reiki I, for both humans and animals, July 11-12. Saturday will be in McLean, VA, Sunday at Traveller’s Rest in Spotsylvania. For more information.

Our first resident update concerns Jubal. He’s back out with his “herd” (Fitz, Emma and Josh) and seems to be doing just fine. The wound on his fetlock is almost completely healed and almost all of the puffiness gone. Whew!

Lizzie is still gaining weight and doing well. She has settled in to the group including Sonny, Rienzi, Val, Marye and Wade. We’ve discovered she prefers to be called just Liz (not to be confused with “Just Jack” for Will and Grace fans.) Call “LIZ!” and she comes at a trot, but call “LIZZIE,” and she barely acknowledges your presence.

Josh is moving up in the pecking order in his field. Yesterday we noted that Fitz, who towers over Josh and outweighs him by several hundred pounds, was waiting in line behind Josh for a turn at the water tank. (The two boys and Emma all go for a drink immediately after eating a meal.)

Marye is still doing well and has not needed another Aeromask treatment yet this spring. Fingers crossed!

Now, the thank you’s!

First, thank you to Rennie, Gene, Carol, Michaele and Jim for coming to the sanctuary last weekend to help dry the place out after our freakish rainfall. It’s rained a few more times since, but nothing like the approximately 9 inches we got in about 24 hours that week.)

Thank you, too, to Gene and Carol for dropping off a new Wet Vac in case the weird wet weather continues.

Thank you to our neighbor, Patty, for arriving with a smorgasbord of seeds and grains about ten minutes after learning of Elmer’s arrival.

Thank you to COTH’s “Oldenburg Mom” for the gift of ~ 900 pounds of luscious smelling hay and to Samantha for coming along to help unload. Thank you, COTH’s “Nootka” for posting TREES’ contact information, making this donation possible.

Thank you, “Janet’s Dad” for a roll of quilt batting to use as leg wraps.

Thank you to Janet Dobbs’ students all, both Reiki and Animal Communication, who participate in workshops at TREES. It’s always fun to watch people’s faces as they come to understand that all things in nature are connected.

Thank you to everyone who sent prayers and support when Forrest arrived then departed in too short a time. Special thanks to Dr. Amanda Blanton who spent a good portion of her holiday weekend here. Thank you, again, to Gene and Carol for taking over the farm chores so we could focus on Forrest. Thank you Sam for transporting this determined old gentleman. Thank you, Janet, for being with Forrest as he crossed, and to Nelson, for bringing your backhoe out on Memorial Day, then returning a few days later with a donation. It seems Forrest touched a lot of hearts in the few days he was here.

We are continually (and gratefully) overwhelmed by the people who want to help offer retirement/hospice care to special needs elder equine. The horses, though, always feel there should be more visitors (more admirers.) If you’d like to visit and meet our special residents, please email us at info@equineelders.org or call 540-972-0936 (but remember that we’re somewhat telephonically challenged until Verizon comes June 24.)

Update on Elmer the Pigeon

This post obviously isn't about horses, elder or otherwise, but it is about recognizing, once again, the wonders of Mother Natures' creations. Granted, man's had a hand in developing domestic pigeons, but he had to start with Mom N's groundwork.

Let me begin by saying we've named our guest "Elmer," in honor of the great Elmer Bandit, the competitive trail horse that recently broke the existing total mileage record at age 37.

When Elmer, the pigeon, arrived yesterday, he was quite weak. When we approached him, he tried to fly away, but could not get more than a few inches off the ground. We scooped him up and placed him in a dog crate with a little water, then searched the Internet for more information. We found a wonderful source of information on the American Racing Pigeon Union's site, in their article "How to Care for Lost Pigeons."

After reading Elmer's leg band, we found he was registered with the International Federation, an American Homing Pigeon Fancier's organization that's been around since 1881. Researching the band lists on the IF site, we discovered that Elmer is a "member" of the Toms River Triangle club in New Jersey! We were also able to reach his owner.

It turns out that Elmer was a little off course when he reached Traveller's Rest, not surprising considering the ridiculous weather in the region over the last few weeks. His race began in Zanesville, OH and was to end back in New Jersey. Spotsylvania, VA isn't exactly on the way. To make matters worse, poor Elmer was still headed in the wrong direction. The day before he arrived at the sanctuary, his owner had received a call saying he was in Hartwood, about 30 miles north of us.

After talking with Elmer's owner, we found these birds more fascinating than ever. The fact the Mother Nature programmed them with such a keen homing instinct is awe-inspiring, regardless of Elmer's little detour. For the most part, these birds can find their way to their home roosts from hundreds of miles away.

Its not a non-stop flight, though. Naturally, a trip of this length burns up a lot of energy and the birds stop along the way for water, food and rest. As it turns out, that is why many horse farm owners are blessed with pigeon visits. Apparently, experienced racers learn that there is often grain to be found in proximity to horses so, as they fly along and become a little hungry, they learn that horses point to good prospective rest stops.

Many times after a little food, water and shut eye, the pigeons will go on their way. This time, Elmer needed a little assistance. We fixed up a small apartment for him in a large dog crate with grain, water, and a branch to roost on, and he seems much perkier and more alert this morning. As a matter of fact, we get the distinct impression he wants OUT!

His owner, however, asked us to keep Elmer right here until he can come to retrieve him later this week. We hope Elmer won't hold his confinement against us, but we learned that he has been missing for about a week and his owner is anxious to return him to the flock.

Meanwhile, we are grateful to Elmer for showing us yet another wonder of Mother Earth's inhabitants. Seems they're all around us if we only look.

Age is Just a Number

"At what age should I retire my horse?"

We hear that question often and I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. I'll just say that there is no magic number. You should retire your horse when he no longer enjoys his work.

"'I will retire Elmer when he no longer enjoys the trail,' said [Mary Anna] Wood. Saturday (10-25-08) was not that day." http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=12985&source=rss

Elmer Bandit....our hero! Many senior horses' owners have followed Elmer for many months as he approached the competitive trail mileage record. In Kansas, over the October 25-26 weekend, he did it. Elmer broke the old record of 20,710 career miles. As if that number wasn't impressive enough, here's another: Elmer broke that record at age 37!

See? Just a number.

Be sure to read the article linked above, written by Marsha Hayes, who had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- to ride her horse Ransom, next to Elmer during his record breaking ride.

"Elmer Bandit is not scheduled to compete in any other events in 2008. "

37 Year Old Workin' Man

Elmer does it again!

Congratulations to owner Mary Anna Wood for keeping up with her 37 year old half-Arab in competitive trail riding. In his first ride of the year, Elmer traveled 55 miles over 2 days, averaging 5 mph, vetting out sound at the finish line and bringing his competitive miles total to 20,300.

For a little more on Elmer, visit 37-Year-Old Horse Completes First Competitive Ride of the 2008 Season by: Marsha Hayes and 37-Year-Old Horse Closing in on Trail Mileage Record by: Marsha Hayes