Tues Jan 26 2010

The morning was overcast, but by afternoon the sun came out from behind the clouds. All the animals and people rejoiced in the bright light.

Princess and Fiesty snuggle in a warm chair by a sunny window. Muddy Belle mule and blind Charles took advantage of the break in the storms to enjoy an outdoor meal. Charles has recovered wonderfully from his surgery. We still owe the vet some money . Can you help? Use the PayPal and help Charles' vet bill.

Jim is getting ready for more warm wood fires. The heavy winds had taken down several branches.

Julian and Banjoe took advantage of the afternoon sun to make a nest and take a nap.

There are four kinds of rescues.(1) Those who rescue whole herds. Often the individual animals are not as important as the herd. (2) Rescues who save the animals, rehabilitate them, then resell them. (3) Sanctuaries who rescue then give a permanent home to the animals, (4) Hoarders who take in animals, then take more and more until they cannot care for the ones they have.

Home At Last is a sanctuary. All the animals here will live out their lives here. We have more than 50 horses, donkeys, mules and calves, but can care for all of them. We carefully manage the herd and do not take more than we can care for.

Can you help the animals living here? Any amount is truly appreciated.

Home At Last Sanctuary POBox 4129 Yankee Hill CA 95965 homeatlastsanctuary@gmail.com

Mon Jan25 2010

Thank you Lin C for your continued support. Your generousity makes a cloudy day bright. Speaking of cloudy days remind me this Summer when it is 100 degrees and there are flies that I complained about the mud and goo. I really do love the rain. It just makes the day's chores take twice as long.

The solat panels think they are on permanent vaction. They haven't seen the sun in two weeks. The wind turbine doesn't care if it's sunny or cloudy as long as there is wind.

Oliver is dining in today. The barn floor is too wet to chase mice.

Love dog asked to be excused from morning chores. Too much water falling on her head.


Pico is doing either a Food Dance or a

When Will This Mud Be Gone Dance.

Even the guineas are tired of the rain and having wet feet.

Wild Friday Jan 22, 2010

The morning started quietly, but soon turned into a wild Friday. The computer is being goofy so there will be more pictures tomorrow.

One Thoroughbred in, three still out. Chance is heading home.

Ruby and Rico finally get tired of the wild rumpus and head to their corral. Whew! Now it's Daisy's turn. Jim and Daisy are heading to the turn-out through the mud and goo. Beth is safely in the back of the pick-up taking pictures.

Daisy wants her Levi. Who says blind horses can't run?



Levi is waiting impatiently for his turn to get out of the barn.

Levi loves to be free, free, free

Where is he going now?

No, you can't hide from us, Levi. That beautiful tail gives you away.

Levi ran and romped and put on quite a show.



He finally ran to Jim who let him in with Daisy.

The day ended calmly with a glorious sunset.

Thurs Jan 21 2010

Star reflects the feelings of all the horses. Enough Rain!!! Enough mud!!!!

Sweetie Pie is asking "When will the rain stop and the mud go away?"

Tucker tiptoed through the slime. No running today.

Some of the horses were glad to get out today, but a few were cranky. Smoke and Smokey do not like the gooey mud.

Look at this beautiful boy. Who could ever do anything cruel to him?

Quincy came to Home At Last when we first started collecting horses. He was the most physically abused horse we had ever seen. His body was covered with scars from being beaten by whips, chains, boards and anything else the abusers could find. It took years before we could even touch him. He still does not trust people, though we can pet him sometimes. His best friends are Jake, Smokey and Bobbie. His back leg is permanently swollen, but he can run like the wind with his tail held high over his back

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Would you, could you spare $5.00 a month to help sponsor Quincy?

Storm Aurora & Cajun Wed. Jan 20 2010

The welcome rain stayed with us all day. The wind made the horses jumpy and nervous.

The clouds tonight were beautiful and promised a nice tomorrow. We'll see
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Aurora and Cajun were seized by a county authority because the horses were severely neglected. NorCal Equine Rescue took them first and then we got them. Cajun had been a stallion , free breeding all the mares at the ranch. He is about 15 years old and could be a Morgan or Morab (Morgan Arabian cross). He is a beautiful bay with soft, kind eyes. He was so starved that his neck was thin and his hips sunken. Most stallions have a very thick neck, large hips and a full jaw. Not Cajun. He was a sad sight.

He is now a beautiful, friendy gelding with the sweetest disposition. He attracts a lot of attention when we have visitors.
Aurora was in even worse shape. She was so thin that her backbone showed almost all the way around. Her hips stuck way out. Her hair was matted and dull. Her belly was swollen and we thought she was pregnant. She had used most of her body's protein and was using her body fat to stay alive. She was so poor that she could not hold up her head. We thought we might be able to save the foal, but did not know if she could live..

When the vet did a pregnancy test on her he thought he could feel a foal's leg. It turned out to be rock hard manure. Poor Aurora could not pass manure because she was completely impacted. The vet felt she had eaten nothing but mud and manure for years. She was so starved down she was continually driven off her food.We put our hands on her and asked her if she was willing to fight for her life. Her sad eyes told us she was a fighter, so we started an intensive program to soften her manure and hoped she had enough muscle left to push it out. It took weeks of round the clock care to help her.
She was very weak and one night she went down, completely exhausted. She was dying. Cajun came to her and stood with his nose on her saying good-bye. The tears flowed and the vet was called. Jim gave her a pain shot to ease her discomfort. We sat on the ground with her, waiting. When the vet arrived Aurora was up and eating and HOORAY pooping. She has been improving ever since.

She still has a big hay belly, but now it is full of good hay. She stands up for herself and is part of a trio with Sunny and Chardonnay. Of course, Cajun is their herd leader.

Would you be able to send $5.00 a month to help Cajun and Aurora? They have fought for their lives and will appreciate any help you can give.
You can send a check to Home At Last POBox 4129 Yankee Hill CA 95965 or use PayPal

Thank you so much Donna Kyle

Mon & Tues Jan 18 & 19 2010 Storms

Mud, mud mud. Rain and mud. The horses have a hard time slogging through it and so do we. It adds a lot of time to our chores.

The storms are beautiful and the rain is needed, but it makes work at the ranch much harder. It takes at least 2 hours to feed morning and night. Instead of just throwing the hay over the fence many trips are made carrying the hay in the barns. The horses have to be moved around, as someone always gets in with someone they shouldn't be with. Water tanks must be filled, but often the generator has to be started first.

The windsock Hal shows just how hard the wind is blowing.

Our front yard is getting green and grassy. The calves love it and so do the horses who escape.

The wind has been howling and the rain pouring down. The trees look almost ghostly.

Bobbie is one of the horses who would rather be out in the rain and be wet, than be locked up and dry. She's young and healthy enough to enjoy the weather.

The frogs are back at the pond. They are singing softly now, but by summertime we won't be able to hear ourselves think. They get REALLY loud.

Dancer and Levi share a stall, but are tired of the rain.

Some things you have to see to believe. Are those Super Calves ready to save the world? Are those calves pretending to be turtles? Nope. Jim and Beth made them raincoats out of feedbags and baling twine so they could eat in the rain and stay warm and dry. I'm still shaking my head.

Happy Anniversary Tawnee and Jason.

Thank you Grace and Tom K and Valerie D for your generous donations. Your kindness makes it possible to take care of the horses.

Sat and Sun Storm Preparation Jan. 16 and 17 2010

Watching the weather is important for running the ranch. Will there be enough wind and sun to keep the batteries charged or will we need the generator? Since we are completely off-grid we need the power to run the wells, the fence chargers, the pumps and the house.

The weather forecast also helps us to decide who must go in and who can stay out.

It was cloudy most of Sat. and rained all day Sun.

We use a 1/2 bag of senior and a 1/2 bag of beet pulp each day.

You never know who you will find in the feed/tack room- a mouse? a cat or two? a granddaughter?

Zoe is ready to feed.

Dancer and Pilgrim have not forgiven Jim for fixing fences and ending their over the fence weed munching

Breeze Bay did a breakfast dance while Levi watched in amazement.




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Keecha decided the horses had enough carrots and it was time for the dogs to have a few

When Grace and Lexi arrived they came with extra fence panels. Thanks, Cathy, the panels made it possible to house 10 animals in the upper barn.

Most of the animals are in now, although some prefer to make their own arrangements. Pico was in last night, but let himself and Skittles out by morning. Cajun was in this morning, but was out this afternoon with Pico in his place. Tucker and Sweetie Pie tore out of their stall and stood in the rain as if to say, See? We like the rain!

I wonder who will be where tomorrow morning?

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