Piper

There's a lot of chatter and debating today on Facebook and other social media sites about the bill that President Obama recently signed into law which now allows slaughter of horses in the U.S. for human consumption (mostly shipped outside of the country).  It's been weighing heavy on my mind.

I just wanted to share a few photos of Piper, who was rescued by Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary, when she was just 6 months old and headed to slaughter. 

Thankfully, due to their efforts, she did not end up on some Europeans' dinner plate.  It's hard to think about, but sometimes we have to force ourselves to think about things like this in order to be compelled to do something about it.  Please take a moment today to call the White House Comment line. The number is 1-202-456-1111. This is not a recording, there are real operators answering and taking down your comments.  State your objection to this legislation and request that it be repealed.

XOXO, Piper and Bridget

Piper

Last Saturday was the Equine Voices fundraiser.  Piper was one of three featured adopted horses for the event.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and it rained the whole day.  AND it was cold.  Ugh. 

This picture was taken by one of the volunteers, Rose Mayer (she has a photograph/video business, Unique Views of Nature).  I can't get over how big Piper looks in this pic!  We had a little demonstration planned (I was going to ride Piper through some obstacles and generally show how she has progressed in her training, but due to the rain, that part of the event was cancelled).  Darn.

2 years ago (and I can't believe it has been that long already!) Piper was also one of the featured horses.  At that time, she wasn't even 2 and I had not  begun riding her.  I just walked her through some of the obstacles and showed some of the ground work training we were working on at that time.  Check out that post here.  It's amazing to me to look back and see how she has grown.,

Even though we didn't get to "perform" on Saturday, Piper was still able to show off a little. I turned her out in the arena and she ran laps around that thing, kicking up her heels and having a great time.  Scroll down to the very bottom of the blog to check out a slide show of an awesome series of pics of Piper running around (photos by Scotter Grubb).

Piper's Training - Week 2

Today is 2 years to the day that I brought Piper home from Equine Voices.  Wow, how time flies!  She's come a long way from the 10 month old PMU filly who was headed to auction (you can still see the "105" that was shaved into her side)...

To this big beautiful girl:

Colt did a great job with her last week and Piper made tons of progress.  So much so, that today I got to ride her around the arena!

We walked...

We trotted...

We laughed, we cried..    OK, just kidding about that part.  We even loped!  I didn't ride her that long, but it sure felt great to be riding her, actually riding and having her respond.  She still has work left to do, but she is coming along really nicely.

I'm not proud of her at all.  Can you tell?

The gang's all here (almost)

I was looking through my pictures and found this montage my brother put together for me awhile back of all of our animals. Well, at the time it was all of them... we've acquired a few more since then (specifically, 1 little filly, one dog and 5 bunnies) Top left is my mare, Liberty. She is no longer with us (a gal in Phoenix bought her and loves her to pieces. I miss Libs)

Top middle is Gerty sporting her hat (I did mention previously that I'd dress up anything that would sit still long enough, didn't I???)

Top right is Sassy, Lee's horse. She's a little princess and don't get in the stall with her or she'll stalk you and make you pay! I have personal experience with this.

Middle left is Bandit. aka Bandito Brown, Bandy Boy. He's a sweet old guy who is just hanging out, enjoying his retirement these days.

In the very middle is Sandie. Sadly, she is no longer with us. I adopted her from the Humane Society when she was 8 weeks old and she lived to be nearly 16. Sure do miss that girl, too.

Middle right is Nutmeg. Boy, she was a little fatty in this pic. It was shortly after we rescued her from living in a hutch in someone's garage, all but forgotten by the kids who she was bought for. :( Apparently they fed her well, but that was about it.

Bottom left is Phoenix, the old guy, smiling for the camera.

On the middle left is Patches. She was little in this pic! She grew up to be 10 lbs! She's our gunga-galunga bunny. Otherwise known as Patches Monster or Biggie.

The middle right is Valentine. Our "porch goat"... (see previous post)

And lastly, the bottom right is Angel, our Rotten-weiler. I picked her up on the side of the freeway in a thunder storm almost 10 years ago. Her official job is to go out and check on the horses every morning and make sure everyone is behaving.

The others that are not pictured are Piper (my rescued PMU filly), 5 "baby" bunnies, who are now a year and a half old (oops bunnies from a bunny I rescued that ended up being pregnant. Surprise!) and Snuffy (Snuffaluffagus) the neighbor's black lab who decided he liked it at our house better than theirs and and has basically never gone home. Oh, and our four chickens, none of which really have names, other than the Rhode Island Red, who we call "Red"... original, I know.

So, there ya have it, the entire bunch. Never a dull moment around this place!

Equine Voices Wine Tasting Fund Raiser

Equine Voices, the sanctuary where I got Piper, is having their annual fundraiser this Friday in Amado. Of course, Lee and I will be going to help support the rescue work that they do. It should be a fun evening with food, wine tasting from local wineries, and a silent and live auction of donated items. Below is a necklace I created for the silent auction. I'm hoping it will bring in lots of bids! If you are in the area and interested in attending the event, all the details are on the Equine Voices website.

Baby Piper

As a follow up to my previous post, here is a pic of Piper when she was brought from the PMU farm in Canada to Equine Voices Sanctuary in October 2007.

She was only 6 months old when she made the trip from Canada to Arizona with a load of other mares and foals who had been saved from going to slaughter. The "105" that is shaved on her side was her "auction" number. We don't know what happened to her mother.

She spent six months at Equine Voices Sanctuary before she found me. :) As you have already seen from the previous pics, she is growing into a beautiful little horse. She is smart and willing to learn and easy to work with. She has been a great addition to our ranch! And to think that she might not have been here at all...

If you're not familiar with the plight of the PMU mares and foals, visit the Equine Voices website at http://www.equinevoices.org/ for information.