okay, so here's the back story behind pasture time for bo & belle

You know how everything suddenly smooths out with your horses and all is going well? There's a moment of almost near insanity where you take a deep breath and thank the spirit that is. I don't know about you but at that same time I am busy crossing my finger and toes. You have that fleeting happy thought quickly followed by "oh no, I didn't just think that"! While you enjoy the moment the next phone call is coming. Well, that's exactly what happened. All was going well and then I got the call that Belle was in trouble. Now, when Belle's foster mom calls with a concern, I pay attention. Belle could not have a more loving, efficient and knowledgeable foster mom, so if Katy is upset, I know we have a problem. Before I go any further, I will say that this has a happy ending but for a very long 48 hours our little Belle kept our hearts racing.

Always very anxious, Belle had worked herself up into a total panic. What caused this, we have no idea, but nothing would calm her - turnout time, walking in the orchard, Katy's bag of comforting and calming tricks - nothing would stop Belle's panic. To make a long story short, two vet calls later, sedated, hydrated, and vigilantly watched, it was decided that the only option we had was to turn Belle (along with Bo) out into the mare pasture to hopefully calm and sooth Belle's anxiety. Belle always showed great interest in the mare's so later that day it was turn out time with the mares.

All I can say is never underestimate the power of the herd. The mares quickly accepted the ponies into their herd and the change in Belle was amazing. She came into her stall that evening, willingly I might add, and was calm, hungry and ready to rest after a long day out with the big horses. Turn out time in the pasture with the big horses will now become a part of the ponies life, weather permitting, and we are hoping that this it what Belle needs to be happier and less anxious. Fingers are crossed but so far life is much calmer for Belle.

bentley - from stud colt to gelding

Blue Horse Rescue’s little man Bentley has been full of surprises since his arrival from Texas! He is quite the character and has charmed us all with his cute little pony self.

However, … when Matt (our wonderful hauler!), suggested quietly that we may want to keep an eye on Bentley because he was acting like a little stud muffin, it didnt take us long to figure out that our little kid was actually a little stud colt!

With only one testicle descended we were concerned that he may require a more extensive surgery. Bentley’s foster mom immediately called her vet to check out our little one. Since Bentley also needed a dental we thought we could do the dental and take advantage of the sedation to check out the testicle situation. To make a long story short, with a little sedation the second testicle descended and Bentley was able to not only have his teeth floated but was gelded as well.

It was a good day & Bentley did just great. His wonderful foster mom, Sandy, helped him thru the first 24 hrs with great care and he was soon feeling his playful self again. It’s now been nearly two weeks and he has healed well - no infection and no complications.

Plus, we found out that he is actually a little younger than we were told - we thought he might be 3 years old, but in reality, according to his teeth, he is about 18 months to two years old.

Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Bentley!

bentley gets to hang out with his new friend carl

BHR's little brown pony, Bentley is finally enjoying time out in the paddock with his friend Carl! Bentley recently arrived from Texas and is ready to settle in and start making friends. So far so good - their first time out together went really well.

It's wonderful to see Bentley settling into his new foster home. I think he's claiming it as his own!

so, what have bo & belle been up to?

Bo & Belle have been settling into life with their foster mom Katy and are beginning to relax and enjoy life. It has taken some time, but kudos to Katy for her patience and commitment to getting these two little ones to think about trusting us humans. Katy is truly an expert at what we call ‘ the black bucket days’!

Bo is a little more forgiving and tolerant while his sister Belle makes you work hard to earn her trust. She and her brother are now able to accept the halter (from Katy) and are enjoying time spent out in the round pen.

They’ve even made a new friend in another little one named Denali, and are really enjoying their play time and walks. Each baby step they make is really huge! They’re gradually shedding out their winter coats and teasing us with glimpses of a healthy shiny coat underneath - great to see, especially on Bo who had a nasty case of what looked like ring worm hiding under his very long winter coat. Again, a big thanks to Katy for the excellent care she took making sure that Bo was treated everyday - no easy job since Bo was more than happy to not be touched. They have definitely come a long way. It’s wonderful to see their noses over the stall door, and hear their little nickers when Katy shows up.

bentley has arrived!

Sunday was an exciting day for Blue Horse Rescue with Bentley’s long anticipated arrival in CA. After a long quarantine in Texas, he made the trip to us without problems and arrived at his new foster mom’s on Sunday evening. As you can image Sunday was filled with constant phone calls & excitement as Bentley got closer to us. The anticipation to finally meet Bentley, (who we had begun to think of as our little brown mystery pony), was intense. A welcoming foster family was waiting and then there he was …  cute as a button, very curious and eager to check out his new home. If I had to describe Bentley, it would be absolutely adorable and a huge personality too!

Having a new friend waiting to meet you makes things even better! A Fuzzy Socks look alike to remind him of his best friend in Texas made the landing even softer for little Bentley!

A huge thank you to everyone who helped Bentley along the way on his journey to CA. Especially his quarantine mom, Cindy who helped him get healthy again after his time at the livestock auction, and who also took the time & love to help him understand that people weren’t all that bad. A huge thank you to Matt who took great care of our little guy on the road & delivered him safely to us. And then, of course a huge thank you to Bentley’s amazing foster folks who opened their hearts and home to him. Couldn’t have done it without you! From our hearts, we thank you all.

bentley's bags are packed and he's heading to ca!

A very big day for Bentley, his quarantine mom Cindy and all of us at Blue Horse Rescue! After a very long quarantine, Bentley is now on his way from Texas to California! It's going to be a long trip for the little guy but he's in the great hands as he makes his way west. We can't wait to meet Bentley and get him settle in his new foster home!

But, ... it's also going to be a bittersweet day for quarantine mom Cindy. She has been taking great care of Bentley since January and while happy to see him move on to the next part of his life, she is also sad to see him leave.  Cindy has done a wonderful job taking care of Bentley for us and we can't thank her enough,

Safe travels little one.

One last good bye ...

dental day for bo & Belle

Friday was another huge day for the little ponies, Bo and Belle. It was the day they would meet their new vet, Kasie, and learn all about having their teeth floated. And also, about sedation.

Both ponies did really well, although we did learn a lot about them. Bo is actually about five years old and Belle is four which is definitely in the same age range as we were told by the auction folks. Neither looked as if they had every had any dental work, but on the whole is wasn’t too bad. Nothing that wasn’t expected.

Bo did really well with handling all the people that were there and he was a really good boy throughout the whole day. He is curious and not so afraid of people the way his little sister Belle is. Bo’s cautious about us but willing to give us and the situation a chance without too much of a fuss. We did find out that shaking off the sedation was a little more difficult for Bo, and he was still pretty zonked and not wanting to chew on his “new teeth” later that evening. A little uncomfortable, I’m sure, but was back to his normal Bo-self the next day.

Belle, on the other hand, was full of beans that day - her walk showed us how well she can crow hop, buck and leap in the air. Luckily, as soon as Bo was in sight she calmed down. Our vet, Kasie, took some time with Belle, getting to know her before starting and that helped a lot. Soon Belle was sedated and the dental clinic began. All went smoothly and Belle had no problems shaking off the sedation and getting use to the feel of her new mouth.

One small step at a time, things are definitely moving forward with Bo & Belle.  

Many thanks to everyone who helped out throughout the day!

Settling In

Bo and Belle are now settling into the the 'settling in' phase of their new life in foster. Lots of new and friendly faces to meet as well as new experiences. Bo is meeting every challenge, or avoiding it, in a very confident and determined manner. He is very much the little pony who is large and in charge! He is also very much in charge of his little sister Belle. His goal is that no human shall ever be able to touch her! He tells her where to stand, how long to stand there, when to eat, how much, etc. I think you get the picture. Belle tries so hard to be brave and reach out for human contact, and that tasty looking cookie, but Bo just wouldn’t allow it. He is definitely his little sister's protector and does a very good job of it! He is also Mr. Personality and really enjoys interacting with us humans but very much on his own terms!

Without any fuss, Bo and Belle are now in separate stalls next to each other and both are enjoying the freedom to be themselves - especially Belle! Big changes have already been seen in our little mare.