Grace has been in our senior sanctuary with Christina for the past year. Found wandering and alone, and with euthanasia looming as no one came forward to claim her, Christina opened her heart (and with one more senior shelter available!) Grace had a place to live out her days. Great to see Grace happy and part of a family!
Mutual Grooming
Molly and Mouse just adore each other and everyday they spend time mutually grooming each other. They love their grooming sessions! Mouse has now bonded with our little donkey Calvin and I caught this grooming session thru the fence. The grooming wasn't actually mutual - Mouse groomed and Calvin enjoyed his efforts!
Molly and Mouse and the Big Blue Ball
Today the big blue ball showed up. Not quite sure why, or what they were supposed to do with it but ever so slightly interested, Molly and Mouse checked it out from a safe distance. I think I was more excited about it than they were. Anyway, Molly and Mouse decided that they’d humor me and calmly go along with the whole thing and see what happened.
What started out kinda flat and boring gradually filled up with air until it was a ball and began to roll around a little in the wind. Now it may not be so boring after all! It was agreed that they really needed to check it out a little more before just walking off to spend the afternoon searching for interesting dried grass.
(After a few moments Mouse was elected to be sent in for a closer look and to possibly make contact.)
Mouse bravely stepped up to make sure that all was safe and then, being the perfect little alfa mare in training that she is, Molly stepped up to see for herself. “Hmm, smells rather strange, but it may have potential. Keep checking it out, Mouse”.
So Mouse, being the sweetest little gelding ever, did just that. Taking his job very seriously Mouse checked it out from every possible angle just hoping that the girl would want to play.
Mouse so thought that this might just prove to be a lot of fun on a windy afternoon. He had visions of chasing the blue ball around with Molly in hot pursuit at his side. But that just wasn’t meant to be.
Playing with the big blue ball was not about to happen. And with the look that only a little alfa mare in training can give you, Molly glared at Mouse not once from the other side of the big blue ball, but just to make sure there was no misunderstanding, she glared twice- the blue ball was definitely out!
And that was the moment that Mouse knew there was absolutely no way Molly was going to show any kind of interest in the big blue ball.
However, Molly is never short on ideas and she enthusiastically let Mouse know how they were going to spend the afternoon doing exactly what she wanted to do. It was her very favorite thing in the world and Mouse would just love it too!! They were going to play the best game ever - it was called mutual grooming!
And so Mouse, being the sweetest little gelding ever, did just that. Mutual grooming it was as the big blue ball sadly drifted off in the wind to finish the day ignored in the far corner of the arena. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.
Quail Fire
Our first smoke and fire of the summer. We were very lucky and did not have to evacuate - the response was incredible, the wind was in our favor and the fire was quickly contained. Still, it gets your heart racing.
Our Lovely Senior Grace
Grace came to Blue Horse Rescue as a horse that had been found wandering. With no-one to step up for her she was due to be euthanized by Animal Control. Thanks to our foster mom for seniors, Grace was able to come to BHR and is now living her days out with a loving family and her senior friends, Mariah and Bonnie.
Lots of Planting Going On!
And Then Came Covid-19
Let’s all stay safe and healthy as we navigate these new and challenging times!
The Boys Play Hard!
Donkey play is tough stuff! The first time I saw this I was really worried but a few minutes later they were buddied up and napping together. While Calvin looks like the under dog in these pics, I can say he definitely is the initiator 90% of the time and has quite a few amazing moves himself.
Calvin and Hobbes in Mini Turnout
Calvin and Hobbes enjoying their new found freedom between their stalls and the turn out. Plus they’re helping out with keeping the green grass trimmed back!
We Have a Hay Shed!
Blue Horse Rescue now has an amazing ‘hay shed’ to keep all our feed dry and covered. No more crawling around under water logged tarps at feeding time! Many thanks to Tom for coming out on a very wet and chilly day to put this up for us - much appreciated! And also to John S. for this incredible and much needed donation!
Feeding Platforms
To cut back on the amount of sand, dirt and dust our horses inhale or swallow when eating off the ground we have put two feeding platforms at each end of our large turn outs. It has really helped a lot - much less coughing, sand in bellies, and wasting hay that ends up in the mud and dust. Great to not hear my respiratory mare coughing with every bite!
Tina the Turkey
Today we had a very unexpected visitor to BHR in the form of a wild turkey. She showed up early this morning and was calling and calling to her buddies. No one answered her. She checked out all the stalls, the tack room, cars and trucks and even strolled through the runs looking for her friends. She became a regular at the barn and then one day was gone. I like to think that she found her buddies.
Our New Gates
It may not look like anything too exciting but we have added a gate system on either side of the barn so our untouchables (Calvin and Hobbes) are able to leave their stalls and head out to the turnouts, and it keeps everyone just a little bit safer from the road.
Happy 2020!
May yours be filled with health, joy, love and adventures!
Winters Here!
Hard to find the barn this morning with all the fog. Horses are doing good considering this is their first experience with dense fog and little visibility. Lots of firsts for them at our new barn!
Christmas Comes to the Barn
Wishing you all a very happy holiday season!
And Then the Rain Came
Just as a reminder to myself … it’s not always in the triple digits in Vacaville!
Rain Day in the Barn
Mouse checking out what’s going on in the barn on a very wet, dreary and rainy day - he’s definitely very curious. Everything was touched and all surfaces were cleared. Even our left over thanksgiving pumpkin was inspected. Plus a little nibble here and there was much appreciated!
Lead Line Time for Mouse
Carol came to visit today and met Mouse and Molly - we practiced walking nice and we all went for a walk around - they did great!
Molly and Mouse Relaxing
Loving their down time in the November sunshine!
Their winter fuzz is beginning to show :)