Horses Recently Saved - Mamie

A toast rack - how can anyone let an old horse get into this state and send it into the food chain?

Fortunately again some kind people clubbed together to end her distress and give her a chance of a happy retirement.

Horses Recently Saved - Ecumes

A very very old lady, why on earth did no one love her enough not to send her for slaughter? Fortunately, someone kind bought her and will let her spend her last years in peace.

Horses Saved Recently - Delta

Delta had the dreadful bad luck to not only be going for slaughter but also to get injured on the lorry, with a dreadful cut to his leg - naturally since he was going for meat, he was given no veterinary treatment, as the pain relief and drugs would make him unfit for human consumption, so he just had to suffer. A lot of people were touched by his distress and his injury, that he was purchased and put in a foster home in France, where he could be attended to properly. Once he is fit and well he will be rehomed.

He is only a baby and in dreadful condition. The outdoor pictures show him in his foster home, relaxing and recovering, the indoor ones, where he is crammed in with the shetland ponies, are at the fattening farm where he was left with his injury untreated.

Horses Saved Recently - Italiano

This little lad was very wild, very unhandled, and not going anywhere nice. Fortunately via the des chevaux et des ailes forum, he was found a home in France, where he has settled in very well.

Been Absent as Been Busy

With the closure of the old Equine-Section rescue site in February 2011, it was decided to try to keep equine welfare and rescue going as far as possible, so a new forum was created

www.equine-section.proboards.com

This covers a lot of UK and overseas horse welfare issues, and we have featured some UK and overseas horses at risk, sadly so far we have not been able to find a way to publicise UK slaughter horses before they go - most of them go direct from dealers, or via auctions. There isn't the openness in the UK about raising horses for meat, like there is in France, it is all very secrative, and we have been unable to find anyone willing to let us publicise the horses, just in case homes can be found for them.

We have featured a lot of sources for where to find project horses, for anyone who is interested in taking on a horse that needs help.

As a result, Vodka's tales have been a bit neglected while all the information is uploaded.

Sasa's History

We have managed to find out a little about the lady - she has been a brood mare, according to the French stud book, but not a very successful one.

Sadly, her mother, Etoile, was not registered, so we have no history on the dam's side, but on the sire's side, it is pure comtois all the way.

Etoile had foals year after year, nearly all girls, only one colt. And Sasa is not Sasa - her real name is Nilka. We tried it on her, but she didn't seem to recognise it either!

Burco Boilers and Mr T

Mr Tin Tin has not quite acquired the skills of how to manage his stable.

It's quite easy really, you designed your living areas, a toilet, a bedroom, you don't turn the whole place into a pit. But he does.

Then he goes to sleep in it, and comes up smelly, disgusting, manky. Not the sort of donkey that Vodka would want to be close to.

So Operation Clean Up Mr T. A burco boiler, heat the water, lots of it, to bed bath Mr T. So that he can be shampooed and rinsed but all in warm water. Mr T is chilled enough without cold water hosing... No way Mr T.

First try, half a boiler full is enough to do a pretty good shampoo and rinse and blow dry as an option - hand towelling currently but maybe he will brave the hot air!

A nicely fragrant donkey again!

Ordeal In Darkness

The horse and donkey team were left for the day. Chilled out. Nothing unusual.

Time to come in. Hours passed. No one came. 11pm.....at night! In the dark. Still no one came.

Finally, headlights. They are back.

A crescendo of noise from the field. Vodka, Tintin, Aimee and Ferguson a desperate chorus braying, where is dinner, we are cold, it is dark, where the fidgets have you been?

Well actually we have been in a broken down car, waiting for the RAC, fretting, knowing that you were out there in the dark, cold, hungry, but nothing we could do except wait.

Finally, they are all indoors, rugs on, apologies made.

There will be retribution. Donkeys never ever Forgive or Forget being left out like this. Watch this space.

Sasha Settles In

Sasha, the comtois mare, is finding her feet. Sadly she is still very sore and lame, as a result of her feet not being trimmed for a very long time, so she feels the stones and hard ground. On soft ground, she is sound and confident, but she is very pottery on the sort of ground conditions we have been having.

She is a very gentle sweet mare, who is supposed to have been ridden and driven but shows no aptitude for either, in that she clearly has not been taught anything much in her life. Basic commands and skills baffle her, but she waits patiently in the hope that you can explain what is required. She has now just about managed to learn how to lift her feet and have them cleaned - as she is a very heavy girl, trying to lift a foot when she has all her weight on it is backbreaking! She struggles to work out what she is supposed to do.

So far, she has not done anything nasty or unpleasant and seems very content and happy. She and Leo are firm friends as the pictures show.

Smokey is Gone

In February 2010 we travelled south to pick up an elderly british blue cat. We had just lost Saffy, our magnificent old british blue, and wanted another one, on arrival the cat was clearly not a british blue, just a very ancient grey moggy. Of course she came home with us nevertheless.

She was probably when we got her already in renal failure, but she perked up and had a nice few months, gaining weight and generally being a very happy girl. August time she stopped eating and blood tests revealed her kidneys were shot. However, on medication and injections, she rallied and had another six months of quality time, until sadly her kidneys got worse and she had to be pts.

A wonderful feisty old lady who is much missed.