UAWR Alumni - Jacob

I got some really great pictures and update from an Adopter the other day and wanted to share with all of you Jacob came into the UAWR program in April 2005.

Jacob's story does not seem to be an unusual story in that at one time he was considered to be a "crazy" horse due to his bad behavior with his handlers. It is unknown as to why he acted as he did??? Generally from what I have seen with a horse being "crazy" it is due to some type of pain or lack of training. Pain from a bit, saddle, harsh rider, chiropractic problems, etc.

I do not feel lack of training is the issue for Jacob as he had proven to us that he was reliable and dependable with kids and beginners in the arena and on the trail. Therefore he was placed for adoption.

Jacob found a home with a wonderful family here in southern California and is now being shown by a young girl. The family loves him dearly and he is being spoiled rotten with them! The part that I loved was when I asked her if it was OK to post the pictures of Jacob and her daughter to the Internet and her response was ABSOLUTELY, and she hoped that everyone out there seeing his pictures might just prompt someone else out there to give a chance to an older horse who is in need.

So many people are only willing to adopt the young ones. These older guys need a home too and many times they make some of the best horses you could possibly own especially for kids. The older ones have been there, done that, seen that. I can not count how many calls I get each month of parents wanting a young horse for their kids, or a young horse as a first horse. I wish they would give the opportunity to one of these older guys a horse at the age of 18 still has many years left to provide a wonderful learning experience for the kids.

Extreme Mustang Challenge Results with a bit of Drama

Hmmmmm very interesting... well the results are in and there were some issues with the Norco Competition one issue that I had first hand and that was a mare who foaled. BUT, there have now been some changes to the selection process that BLM will use when choosing horses for the competitions. They also found that the winning horse was previously adopted and then returned to BLM facility... wellll read all about it.... glad to hear about the policy changes on the mares though! I am really really hoping they come back to southern calif or does anyone wanna sponsor our travels to go else where lol...... they have a competition in Northern Calif. Ha ha anyway where is the link to the letters from BLM and Mustang Heritage Foundation that I thought you would find interesting.

http://www.extrememustangmakeover.com/forms/mhfpolicyletter.pdf

I am a Rescuer

My job is to assist God's creatures
I was born with the drive to fulfill their needs
I take in helpless, unwanted, homeless creatures, without planning or selection
I have bought dog food with my last dime (and Hay)
I have patted a mangy head with a bare hand
I have hugged someone vicious and afraid
I have fallen in love a thousand times
And I have cried into the fur of a lifeless body too many times to count
I have animal friends, and friends who have animal friends
I don't often use the word "pet"
I notice those lost at the road side And my heart aches
I will hand raise a field mouse And make friends with a vulture
I know of no creature unworthy of my time
I want to live forever if there aren't any animals in Heaven
But I believe there are Why would God make something so perfect and leave it behind
Some may think we are master of the animals
But the animals have mastered themselves
Something people still haven't learned War and abuse make me hurt for the world
But a rescue that makes the news gives me hope for mankind
We are a quiet but determined army
And we are making a difference every day
There is nothing more necessary than warming an orphan
Nothing more rewarding than saving a life
No higher recognition than watching them thrive
There is no greater joy than seeing a baby play
Who only days ago, was too weak to eat
By the love of those who I've been privileged to rescue
I have been rescued
I know what true unconditional love really is
For I've seen it shining in the eyes of so many Grateful for so little
I am an Animal Rescuer
My work is never done
My home is never quiet
My wallet is always empty
But my heart is always full

Author Unknown

Things that make you go hmmmmmm

So we have the pleasure and opportunity to be a quarantine facility for horses who are coming off the feedlots or auction. Due to the conditions and exposure being questionable of where these types of horses have been it is a general practice to quarantine (QT) a horse for 30 days where they are kept away from the others in order to be sure there are no sicknesses or diseases the horse may be carrying and could pass along to the other horses at a facility. It is very unfortunate that many of the rescues do not have sufficient QT locations and/or facilities because of the need to pull so many horses out of auctions and from feedlots so they rely on others to help out with this task. This is where UAWR comes in and is able to help out... the horse comes here and is kept in a stall away from other horses and it cared for to bring it back to health and any other rehab that is needed while we also watch the horse for signs of sickness. After the horses 30 day QT if the horse does not show any signs of sickness then they are moved to another more permanent location. Soooooo we got a new QT horse over the weekend and seeing him makes you say

WOOOOOWWWW what happened in this horses life that he ended up at auction and then at the feedlot. He is beautiful and he is very kind and well behaved. His mane appears as if it has been pulled not to far in the distant past, he has expensive egg bar shoes and pads on that are a bit overdue but not toooo drastically so someone spent money on shoes. His bridle path is a bit over grown but non the less it has been shaved not to long ago.... soooo someone loved and cared for this guy... WHAT HAPPENED????? WHY??????? How come this horse was destined to land on someone's dinner plate over seas?????

Thank You to SHI and the FOBs for saving this sweet and beautiful guy from slaughter!

More About the Horses

Well I guess it is about time I actually talk about the horses huh....????

Soo much going on around here and so much is changing but it is all changes for the good.... Remember my comment about Sometimes in the Winds of Change we find our true direction.

We have placed several horses in some great homes over the past month. We are still in need of finding more great foster or adoptive homes for horses so please check out our website at www.uawr.com and find a new friend to take home with you. :)

Also, a reminder that the Mustang Mare who I took on for the Norco Extreme Trail Challange (which was this weekend by the way) is still here with me and they too are now in need of an adoptive home, but they will be adopt thru the BLM rather then UAWR so you need to check out their guidlines and rules and I can forward you any info needed.

Faith Like Potatoes

So I actually took time away from my day this morning and stopped moving for about 2 hours and watched a movie.... I can not tell you how long it has been since I did that... Anyway I watched Fireproof which was an EXCELLENT movie and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone out there. This is a MUST own kinda movie so you can watch it over and over and over again... lol

"Hang on During the Hard times!"

So then you ask so why is the title Faith like Potatoes... well that is because there was a really cool preview of a movie called Faith like Potatoes which is based upon a true story. Its about a man who basically was loosing or lost everything and decided to put his faith in God and he became a true inspiration to all.

So the blurbs that caught be from the movie trailer are:

The seed for a Great miracle lies not in difficulty, but impossibility.

Where there is Love there is HOPE!
Where there is Trust there is PEACE!
and Where there is Faith there is GROWTH!

Good stuff I think.......

So now I am gonna have to take another 2 hours of "me" time and go rent Faith Like Potatoes to watch lol.

Be Delighted / Have Patience

So I was emailing to a friend about Patience and all that fun stuff and came across this verse and It pretty much jumped out at me too.... ummmmmm hmmmmm Patience I think we could all use a big dose of that!!!! Hope you enjoy!!


Psalms 37:4-7 says: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Be Delighted

God knows the secret petitions of your heart. He knows every unspoken dream and every hidden desire that you have for your life. He knows those things that you haven’t told anybody else. Maybe you were believing for something that you have decided will never come to pass, or maybe you buried a dream or goal because things were not falling into place on your time table. Maybe, in the natural, you have every reason to give up on your dreams. Be encouraged today – weather you can see it or not, God is still working behind the scenes on your behalf! He is preparing you for your future. He is getting ready to bring the right people across you path. He is preparing to open a door of opportunity and blessing for you that no man can shut!

And while God is doing His part, we have to do what the verse days and delight ourselves in Him today. The work delight actually means to make you soft and pliable. It’s the picture of God as the Potter and you as the clay. Put yourself in God’s capable hands. Allow Him to mold and sharp your character. Relax and rest in the knowledge that He is in charge of your life. Allow Him to direct your plans and ideas. Keep an attitude of faith and expectancy today. As you submit your ways to the Lord and open your heart to His leading, He will fulfill those secret petitions of your heart!

My Mother's Day Tribute

I would like to say thank you Lisa for coming into my life and allowing me to put a smile and yours and your sons faces. I also thank you for humbling me and inspiring me to push forward harder then ever before! I am not sure if you caught it or you might have thought it was the wind (which I was trying to play it off as :D) but as you shared your story of the obstacles you have over come you truly did bring tears to my eyes..... You are an AWESOME MOM and an amazingly strong woman and you deserve kudos for all you have done for your son and not allowing the doctors to drag you down and just accept the negative.

This post is actually connected to my May 3rd post titled "True Direction" where I mentioned more to follow about the boy with CP. But I think today is perfect timing to share this story. However, I really don't like to refer to him as the boy with CP cause he really is overcoming his disabilities so he really should be the boy who is overcoming CP :)

So when you hear the story of what Lisa has over come thru their fight with Cerebral Palsy (CP) it is amazing. I don't know if I would have been strong enough to push forward as hard as she and several others I have talked to have.

At the age of 2 years Lisa was told her son would never walk. WOW what devastating news that would be to a mother and I can not even begin to imagine what that must have made her feel like. I personally think I would have been sad and devastated and may have given up at that point and just accepted the fact that my child would be wheel chair bound for the rest of his life. But, NO when the hospital offer her a wheel chair to take home with her son she REFUSED it and said NO my son WILL walk so how about you send me home with a walker instead. The doctors all thought she was crazy and pushed for her to take the wheel chair again she refused and went home with a walker. I am not sure at what age this happened but at some point with her working with her son he began to walk, he used that walker!

The part that saddens me is that they were actually kicked out of one of the state funded programs for physical therapy because her son was functioning too well..... How do you function tooo well??? How and why does this happen??? I get they have to free up room for other who are more disabled but isn't there a transitional program or something rather then just pushing these people out and say bye bye good luck...????? But, once again Lisa pushed thru and moved forward with her sons therapy and finding him another place to go in order to continue his progression forward.

Their next step forward was Therapeutic Riding which sounds as if they have found a wonderful instructor and therapist who is located in Reche Canyon near their home. She says he has progressed wonderfully since starting his riding. When he was here it was amazing to see him. The boy that doctor said would "never walk" was literally running around my yard going from horse to horse telling his mom "This is the one I want to take home" it was great to see his excitement. Then we put him on a horse and he just LITE up it was amazing to see him and the joy he felt while up on the horses back.



After he rode for about 20 mins and then he let us know when he was done. After, he got off the horse I turned to Lisa and asked her if she wanted to ride to and she looked at me for a second and said really??? I said yes of course so we got her up there also and she rode around for a bit too and really enjoyed herself. It was just a great day for everyone all of us that were involved were truly blessed to be a part of it all.

What a great day and an Inspiring Day!!!

Paying it Forward

Soooo I am here to ask all of you for help with a "mission" of mine. I have been for several months "felt" like there is a family out there who has a child who is really in need of an outlet or just something to make them feel special. I kept thinking that person would cross my path and viola there you go..... but that has not happened and I can no longer sit back and wait..... So I am putting the word out and going to FIND that family.....I would like to find some really deserving child maybe from a low income family that would like to come out and ride horses. I want to do a casual lesson type setting but more about having a good time with horses... ride around the arena, eventually a trail ride or two... no "real" plan for what happens other then to bless a child in need.
Can anyone help...does anyone know of a family who spending time with horses could make a difference for them?

I am Sad.... Kinda....Mustang Challange comin up soon!

So as the time comes closer for the Extreme Mustang Trail Challenge I am starting to realize how truly bummed I am about not being able to compete. I thought it would not be that big a deal but I am getting emails each day about the updates and all the fun the trainers are gonna have and weeelllll I am bummed.

They are having a baby shower for the moms and baby's who do compete and are auctioned off. That sounds like so much fun awwwwwww ...sigh.... oh well I guess we will have to do our own baby shower here.. lol I am really hoping to find someone I know to adopt mom and baby so they can stay close as they are both very close to my heart and that mare is gonna make someone a really nice horse. Baby is getting HUGE and she too is gonna be a dream to own for someone.

That is my kinda gloomy update on the Mustangs... Oh an I forget to metion they have names now lol

Mom is Kalei which is Hawaiian and means "The Beloved" / Wreath of Flowers and Baby is Leilani which means Heavenly Flower

HOWEVER, if someone adopted them reality is those name may change and I will be sure to update everyone on what happened with mom and baby in the future.

True Direction

Sometimes in the Winds of Change we find our TRUE direction. <--- ISN'T that the TRUTH!!!! So I have to give a big Thank you to the one who worked so hard to make my life miserable, instead as I blogged about 2 days ago things have come back to me two fold and double. What you thought would make my life miserable truly has blessed me and helped to get my life headed in the TRUE direction! Thank you for what you have done! So as most of you know UAWR is in the process of a down sizing due to several things that have gone on. This I see as a blessing cause what I have said allllll along is that Therapy Riding was what I wanted to do and to combine the Rescue and the Therapy sooooo I am working on getting that started and look forward to the journey ahead of me and meeting some wonderful kids and people. I have already meet up with some great kids that truly do inspire me. We were just out last weekend with another boy who has Cerebral Palsy and wow to hear his story is just amazing! More to come about that..... So Therapy Riding with Rescued Horses that is the true GOAL around here.

So here is where my plea comes in. If anyone knows of a grant(s) that I can apply for in order to cover the costs of my Schooling to become a certified instructor that would be very helpful!! It is quite costly to go thru all the classes and the certification program. I am looking to do the at home and online course which is the least expensive way to go but still is going to run around $2000 including all expenses. Any ideas from anyone would be wonderful!!!!!

The Wizard of Oz

Sooo I know you all look at that topic and say HUH???? What's up with that.... So I got all inspiring, fuzzy, and warm yesterday soooo today I felt like a complaint.lol What's up with the wind up here in the High Desert this year? Did I forget and we always get this much and this heavy of winds or is this unusual for us? So as I have posted on my Facebook ... Dorothy I don't think we are in Kansas anymore.... or actually KIDS we're not in Phelan anymore we seem to have blown to Apple Valley I think hummmm.

So today I made a personal appearance at the Sun Country Horsemans Assoc show. They are a horse show club located up here in the high desert and they have decided as a club to take on UAWR as a "project" and try to raise funds for the horses. It was a great day for a horse show and sure wish I had taken a couple of our "kids" with me to show. However, I will keep you all up to date one or two of the UAWR horses just might make their show ring debut next month we will have to see how that goes. Anyway, cool people, neat show, everyone should go and have a good time.

Well the wind is blowing, the chimes are ringing, and I am ready for bed...... off I go...

Mustang Update

Ok soooo speaking of coming back.... are you sick of me yet.... I don't post for weeks at a time and now all in one night I am on post 3 or 4 lol ok sooo I finally got my computer to log into the blog and allow me to write soooo I am running with it while I can.

Sooooo, I know you are all wondering what is up with the Mustangs. It is with great sadness I report that we will NOT be competing in Norco. I do not feel they are ready or could handle the stress and commotion of the competition. There just has not been enough progress with having the baby and mom being so possessive of her. Mom is relaxing a bit more now but we only have 2 weeks left in the competition and I do not feel it is safe for mom and baby to push them that hard in order to have them "ready" for the competition. So mom, baby, and I are all regretfully bowing out of the competition which saddens me but really the safety of mom and baby are the most important.

So you ask what happens to them now? They are being transferred into the Mustang Heritage's Trainer Incentive Program (TIP) which means they will stay here with me for another 90 days and continue their training while I find them an adoptive home. So if anyone is interested in adopting these two please let me know and I can give you more information about it. They will be adopted thru the BLM so you will have to abide by their standard rules and guidelines as the BLM requirements and they do retain ownership for one year and then you can apply for title at that time. For questions or more info email me and I will answer those questions.

The Lord giveth and The Lord taketh away...blessed be The Lord

OK so tonight is my night to preach just cause it applies and I got the warm and fuzzies and so I am gonna share them with all of you too. Soooooooooo a friend of mine sends me this verse:

The Lord giveth and The Lord taketh away...blessed be The Lord Job 1:21

So I go and look it up in my Bible which is really cool cause it is called Hope for Today Bible and for many of the verses they put a "Hope Note" and elaborate more on that particular verse and well there was a Hope Note for this one and here is what it says:

As you read Job's story think about new seasons of increase. It's easy to get stuck in a rut to where we're not expecting anything better, we're not growing, and we're not pressing forward. That's when those negative thoughts come telling us we've reached our limits, and we're never going to accomplish our goals. We start telling ourselves that it's all downhill from here.
But don't ever believe those lies. God is a God of increase, not decrease. He never wants us to go backwards, only forwards. Well, you say, "But Job said, "The Lord Gives and The Lord takes away." And yes, that's true. But when it was all said and done, Job ended up with twice what he had before. God restored him back double. And sure, there are seasons were we are not seeing a lot of growth, seasons where we have to dig our heels in and fight the good fight of faith. But I can sense in my spirit that we are entering into new seasons of increase and favor. But you have to do your part and let that seed of hope take root. You have to believe that no matter what's comes against you, no matter how unfair things seem to be, God is shifting things in your favor. Every setback is simply a setup for comeback. God not only wants to bring you out, He wants to bring you out better off then you were before.

I will not get to deep into things cause more is to come as life continues to play out but I will leave you with the comment of our recent setbacks I can see now are just a setup for a COME BACK!!!! :D Blessed be the Lord I am COMING BACK!!! (Better then ever before by the way lol)