Trainer's Challenge Underway
The students have been delivered to the trainers and the lessons are starting to get underway. As with last years event, we'll be posting updates on each student's progress as the trainers send us the information. Since each trainer has their own schedule, the updates will be intermittent, as time allows. For a quick overview of the students and which "blog" has been updated, you can click here for a listing of all the students and their update status. Otherwise:
The Challenge - where you can catch up on what this is all about.
The Trainers and Students - where you follow the progress of your favorite pair(s).
The Event - where you want to be on August 22nd.
Also...
A great horse-felt "Thanks!" goes out to Ley Bouchard, publisher of The Valley Equestrian newspaper, for helping to get the word out about the MHARF Trainer's Challenge by donating advertising space in the upcoming issues of The Valley Equestrian. You can view the on-line version of the newspaper here.
4th Annual MHARF Garage Sale
It's Garage Sale season and the 4th annual MHARF Garage sale will take place July 2nd through July 4th at the Princeton Civic Center in
Princeton. We will accept donations starting May 1st of any household items
or tack. No TV's or electronics of any kind will be accepted, however.
To donate, please call Deb Farm at (763)856-4475 or via email or contact Deb Anderson at (763)389-9185 or via email.
Please see our Events page for addition information
Nebraska 200 Mustang Rescue
You may have heard of a rather unfortunate state of affairs at the Three Strikes Ranch in Nebraska, or a collection of horses that has come to be known as the "Nebraska 200". Quite simply, it is a collection of 200 wild Mustang horses that have been left unfed and uncared for. The HSUS has stepped in, and in support of that organization, the MN Hooved Animal Rescue has opted to take "ownership" of three (well, it's kind of more like five) of the Mustangs.
A bay dun mare with a newly born buckskin foal - #3856
A bay roan mare (likely with foal) - #3894
A palomino gelding - #3786 (Gone to live at Black Beauty Ranch.)
A bay mare (likely with foal) - #3875
The catch is the fact that these horses are down in Nebraska, and we have limited resources with which to transport our wards. All horses have been Coggins tested, microchipped, and vaccinated, so they are ready for travel.
If you, or you know of, someone transporting horses through Nebraska in the near future and has room to handle any or all of these horses, please contact us for specifics! We would very much like to get the (assumed) pregnant mare to Minnesota before she foals so that we can start her on necessary supplements and help with her birth
UPDATE #1: Thanks to Roxy Kahn for volunteering to make the trek down to Nebraska and pick up #3994 (the pregnant bay roan mare and who will hopefully have a name soon) and bring her back to Minnesota for care. And another round of thanks goes out to Siete Leguas Equine Veterinary Services in Cold Spring for being the care-giver for the aforementioned pregnant bay roan mare.
UPDATE #2: Thanks to Bill Meyer who will be transporting the remaining two-and-a-half (okay, three) horses to Minnesota. Bill also would like to throw out an offer to anyone else who may need a horse transported between Nebraska and Minnesota, since he has room to spare. Please call the Rescue for information on how to get a hold of Bill and determine transportation fees.
UPDATE #3: There's been a slight jockeying of horses and it turns out that the palamino gelding (#3786) will be brought to the Black Beauty Ranch. To replace him, we'll be collecting a bay mare (likely with foal), who is #3875.
Information from the MN Horse Welfare Coalition
An excellent program dedicated to the education of new and seasoned horse owners, the MN Horse Welfare Coalition (MNHWC) has posted literature on the AHS website that we feel is required reading. There are documents on "Evaluating a Horse's Body", "Horse Hay Resources", and "Humane Options for Unwanted Horses". You can download and view these documents here (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).
The Gelding Project
The Minnesota Horse Welfare Coalition, the Minnesota Horse Council and the Animal Humane Society in cooperation with the Minnesota Association of Equine Practitioners are launching The Gelding Project. This two-part program is designed as a key step to reduce the number of unwanted horses in Minnesota. For more information on this project and how you can help make it a success, please visit their website! There are PDF files available for download (Adobe Acrobat Reader required) that help detail the requirements and benefits of this project.
Wyldfyre MISSING!
On December 9th, 2008, one of our horses presently in foster care in the Rush City / Rock Creek area - Wyldfyre - disappeared from the farm where she was fostered. We do not know if she strayed away, is lost, or has been stolen - but we certainly would like to have her back and safe! Wyldfyre, is an Arabian sorrel mare that stands about 14.2 hands. She has very little white, with the only spot being a small star on her forehead. She also has a scar on her hind leg, but given the fuzzy nature of horses right now, that might be hard to see. Here is a flyer (99KB PDF) you can download and post if you are in that area or are attending any horse auctions.
We are offering a reward to anyone providing information that leads to the safe return Wyldfyre. If you have information on her whereabouts, please contact the Rescue immediately at 763-856-3119.
MHARF "Rescue Me" Posters Available
Thanks to the collaborative efforts of graphic designer Kari Finkler and animal photographer Mary Ludington, we are excited to announce the release of "Rescue Me" - a 13" x 18" poster donated to the Rescue to help raise funds for the animals in our care. Want to learn more? Then by all means, click here!
Pet Points from Coborn's
Have you been collecting Pet Points from Coborn's but you don't know what to do with them? Do you have no idea what "Pet Points" are? Do you want to help the MHARF even more? Then read on!
Coborn's has been a local grocery store in the upper midwest for several decades, with the first one opening in 1921 in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. One of the promotional features at select Coborn's stores is "Pet Points". Pet Points are coupons given at Coborn's when you buy pet food. When you have enough points, you can convert the points into cash - 150 pet points = $10.00 that can be used for anything at Coborn's such as food for the animals in the care of MHARF or even gas for trailering horses to and from foster homes and veterinary clinics. If you have extra Pet Points that you'd like to donate to MHARF, please contact Deb at 763-389-9185 or Deb at 763-856-4475. (Yes, two different ladies named "Deb".)
MHARF Yahoo! Group
A Yahoo! Group has been created for the MN Hooved Animal Rescue to keep everyone informed of events, alerts, and other time-sensitive information that may not be posted to this website. This group is certainly not a replacement for this website, but more to supplement the communication process for everyone concerned about the welfare of horses in Minnesota. To learn more about this e-mail list and what it does, you can visit the MHARF Yahoo! Group home page here. This list is carefully moderated by volunteers of the Rescue to ensure the privacy of the members and the content of the notices. In order to participate, you will need a valid e-mail address. For more information, please visit the MHARF Yahoo! Group
An important article has been posted at TheHorse.com that we encourage everyone to read! (Free registration required to view.)
How to Manage Starved Horses and Effectively Work with Humane and Law Enforcement Officials - "The role of the veterinarian in the community is very important (in equine welfare cases)," said Julie Wilson, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, head of large animal medicine at the University of Minnesota's (UM) College of Veterinary Medicine during the 50th annual American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Convention. Read More... |
