Job Title

Often, when we fill out applications, forms, reports, or other “outside” paperwork, we are asked for the name of a contact person and that person’s job title. That got us thinking. Unless a sanctuary is huge and actually has one person on staff to fill each separate position, most rescue-type people have a long list of job titles. On any given day in rescue, one worker may be:

Triage nurse
ICU or on-call nurse
Dietician
Chef
Waiter
Housekeeper
Waste disposal engineer
Maintenance and Repair
Groundskeeper

Pest Contol Technician
Veterinary assistant
Dental assistant
Receptionist
Volunteer coordinator
Fundraiser
Record clerk
Bookkeeper
Dispute mediator
Public Relations Officer
Publicity Chairman
Purchasing Agent
Consultant
Behaviorist
Trainer
Teacher
Weather analyst
Budget specialist
Researcher
Data Entry clerk
Motivational Speaker
Cheerleader
And
All Around Trouble Shooter

I’ll wager there are that many more job titles we missed. But what a resumé, eh?

Today I am Angry.

Having spent 15 years in the horse rescue field, I long ago learned to not get angry about the condition of new arrivals. Getting angry does not change the past and it certainly does not help a horse heal.

Today, however, I am angry. Maybe that is because Forrest's case is still so raw. Maybe because Nathan, the new gelding, has more serious problems than one horse should have to deal with. Perhaps its because an owner once again waited until it was likely too late to help before asking. Probably also because the calls to rescues all over Virginia are coming on a more frequent basis with no slowdown in sight.

For today, though, we need to focus on Nathan. We know he is very underweight. He appears to have Cushings. He shows signs of advanced neurological impairment. His feet have been neglected, at least one filled with maggots.

The vet, bless her, is again on her way on a weekend. We'll have a more thorough evaluation later today. Unless she can offer a miracle, however, we are likely facing a hospice situation. To deal with that, we will have to set the anger aside and let Nathan know that someone gives a damn. Inhale........Exhale...........Inhale..........Exhale.............wax on,.........wax off.

This is what we're here for.

Doesn't mean its always easy.

The Soul of a Horse

We don't usually use our blog for things like recommending books, but several weeks ago one of TREES' volunteers (Thank You, Tanya) began talking about a book she was reading. She related some of the author's thoughts and said it really helped her better understand horses, from behavior to health and everything in between.

After reading only 1/4 of the book, I have to recommend it to our visitors. The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd alternates chapters about "modern" horse management and training with vignettes illustrating feral or "wild" horse herd dynamics at work. Joe Camp, in writing the book this way, shows how we first need to understand horses' "language" if we want to communicate with them effectively.

Mr. Camp also talks about how many modern horsekeeping schemes are not at all in the best interest of the horses. If you think about it, almost nothing we do with or "for" horses is natural for the horse, including the foods we offer, the stalls in which we confine them, and the shoes, blankets and tack we ask them to wear. In some cases, traditional horse care techniques can even shorten a horses life. (For example, feeding to obesity and inviting laminitis, or keeping a horse in a poorly ventilated stall, irritating his respiratory system.)

Often, the way we keep horses is the way "its always been done." This excerpt from the book sums it up:

"Its still a mystery to me how people can ignore what seems so obvious, so logical, simply because it would mean change. Even though the change is for the better. I say look forward to the opportunity to learn something new. Relish and devour knowledge with gusto. Always be reaching for the best possible way to do things. It keeps you alive, healthy and happy. And makes for a better world."

This one passage also sums up what we try to do at Traveller's Rest. No two horses are the same. No two have the same personality, the same history, the same learned behaviors. Each one arrives as a puzzle, to be solved as we become acquainted. Only when we learn to interpret each horse as an individual can we develop a care regimen for that horse. To interpret each horse as an individual, we must understand how things appear to the horse rather than how things look to us. Then, when we feel we've deciphered a horse's needs, we do our best to customize care plans, but always starting with maximum turnout and forage based diets.

Does managing horses this way take a little extra work? Doing what's in the horses' best interests is not always what is most convenient for the caregivers. So in some ways, yes, individual management plans mean a little more work. In the long run, however, it often means the horses stay healthier and live and work longer.

In following Mr. Camp's advice, spend time just watching your horses. Learn how they interact with each other, how they communicate with each other. In other words, learn from the horses. After all, they have centuries of experience being horses. Who better to teach us how to care for them?

Honor the Wisdom.

Review Traveller's Rest!

Many of you are probably familiar with the ZooToo web site. Traveller's Rest has been listed on the "rescues" portion of the site for a while, but we've never taken advantage of the features of this site.

Time to change that, and you can help.

When visitors to the site look in the rescue listings, the default order appears to show those facilities with good reviews at the top of the list. Too date, nobody has rated or reviewed TREES on ZooToo, so we don't appear until page 7 or 8.

We're asking anyone who has visited Traveller's Rest to go to http://www.zootoo.com/rescuegroups/zip22553_travellersrestequineelderssanc , click the "Write a Review" button and....well......write a review. If we can bump TREES further up the list, that may encourage more people to visit the TREES web site and, in turn, that may help a greater number of elder horses, particularly through the articles and information about caring for older equine.

Thank you for your help! In addition to writing a ZooToo review, if you know of animal or horse welfare sites that we've missed, let us know and help us get the word out.

Honor the Wisdom!

Attention, Valley Vet Shoppers!

It seems as though we've been asking for help a lot lately. We have. With the horse market in the toilet, and many people cutting back on expenses, elder horses are often the first to suffer. Special diets, extra feedings, and frequent vet or dental exams combined with job losses and higher prices mean more people are trying to rehome their horses or need help getting over a "hump."

Trying to find as many ways as possible that you can help TREES help equine elders at small cost to you, we opened a gift registry at valleyvet.com . The items listed are small items that we use frequently. Please don't feel that "small" donations don't help. For example, during last December's Giving Tree program, shoppers at two local feed stores bought the same types of items while in the store...........all told, the total value of items donated was a little over $400, the equivalent of almost two weeks worth of feed for the entire TREES herd. The "little" things add up.

So, if you visit http://www.valleyvet.com to shop, please remember to look for the TREES gift registry at http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_registry_detail.html?ID=2347 while you are there. Every package of gauze and every roll of coflex will be sincerely and gratefully appreciated.

New Guy A-coming

This is one of those "Stay Tuned......." posts. We're making preparations for a new arrival, to be welcomed this weekend. All we know to this point is that he is 36 years old, a draft horse cross, has melanoma and Cushings, and needs to put on some weight. Challenges ahead..........?

Booty Call!

Alright. Not what you're thinking.

We mean Fly Booties! Seems there are at least twice as many flies this year as in past years. As a matter of fact, I don't remember them ever being this plentiful before. We've always had to put fly boots on some of the residents during the summer, mostly those who make a habit of schmearing their mashes on themselves turning their legs into lucious fly-bait, but his year it seems everyone may need to wear them.

For many of our Elders, these boots are more than a luxury. Without them, some stomp and fuss at flies so much that they begin to lose weight. The fly boots keep stomping and stress to a minimum, allowing the horses to maintain good weight and health through the Dog Days of summer.

We just received an order of boots, thinking we were prepared for an "average" summer. This summer, however, ain't average. So, we're putting out a Booty Call. If you would like to recycle, repurpose, or regift some fly boots that your horse can't or won't wear, we'll put them to good use! We're not married to any specific brand, style, or shape as long as we can keep the flies off the horses' legs.

Got Booties?

If "yes," please send to TREES, PO Box 2260, Spotsylvania, VA 22553. Or let us know if you'd like to drop them off in person and meet the recipients! 540-972-0936 or info@equineelders.org