SWAP FEED FUND

MAKE CREDIT CARD DONATIONS TO THE SWAP FEED FUND... CALL FOSTER FEEDS AT 304-269-1333, TALK TO CHARLIE TO GIVE A DONATION TO THE SECOND WIND ADOPTION PROGRAM FEED FUND, WE GO THROUGH 6 TONS OF FEED A MONTH. YOU CAN ALSO PAY FOR ADOPTIONS AND PURCHASES THIS WAY!!

 
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Stay up with our President/Executive Director, all the directors, volunteers and riders. All the CSS/SWAP supporters and adopters are having a big time sharing stories, pictures, lots of good stuff about their horses. Our President is at her max friends so she is full but we have set up a fan based page so everyone can be added. So sorry to the 2000 + people who have asked for a friendship....  our fan page is now up.

The Wish List of Our Needs:

More than anything we need a large donation to help us pay off our farm, we owe 50k. With a farm paid for, we will never worry about the program and schools closing.

We are looking for 2 to 3 people to work in the barn in exchange for board for their horse and possibly personal board in exchange for part time or full time work/volunteer.

1. New or used truck and 2 to 6 horse trailer, our equipment has seen its better days, we've been using both for nearly 14 years to pick up horses and move them to their new homes.

2. A Farm in any location for low cost long term lease or donation to expand our program to develop a retirement farm for our now aging horses returned to us from adopters who could not retire our horses. Our highest priority locations initially are Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia or Delaware.

3. New or Used Farm utility vehicle (like a john deere gator or mini truck),  farm tractor, & manure spreader

4. Tack and large horse items donated... like carts/buggies, racing bikes, jog carts, harnesses, saddles, horse trailers, blankets/rugs to use or sell on SWAP Shopping. Supplies to use around the barn or office.

5. A bulk feed bin that will hold anywhere from 6 tons to 9 tons of grain donated or at low cost or even a break on the cost of purchase and instillation.

7. Monthly Sponsors for our horse and dogs while they are waiting on their forever homes.

8. Volunteers to commit to doing one fund raiser for SWAP horses at your location during 2011, it can be a golf tournament, a bake sale, book sale, lemonade stand, car wash, setting up an information stand at a horse show. This is a great way to kids to get involved in helping horses.

9 Anyone interested in free high quality top soil (manure already composted) and manure for gardens, you can pick up for free by the truck load at our WV location (bring a loader). If you are a gardener and only need a small amount, pick up in a truck or we'll be selling it by the feed bag full at $2.00 a bag (in a bag that is usually used for 50 lbs of feed). This is beautiful clean top soil.

11. Someone to do dozer work on the farm, level arena/round pen, do terracing on the hill sides to keep water out of the barns and level the top soil and manure pile to increase the level of that land in that bottom so we can put our methane digester in and indoor arena. Volunteer or at a reduced cost.

Reporting Neglect:

Please, if you see neglect (ribs and hip bones showing or no food available), its critical to call the sheriff of the county where the horse/animal is located. Have the address where the horse is located or directions to the farm, pictures and the owners name (if possible). If the sheriff does nothing email PETA's cruelty case workers Stephanie or Tori at sbell@peta.org, or ToriP@peta.org Remember horses can not speak for themselves so we must speak for them!! All reports are kept anonymous.

Getting Help for Your Horses/animals if you can not care for them:

If you can not feed your animals, whether they are horses or other animals, if you are adopters, call SWAP HQ immediately, if not, call your local horse rescue and plead for help, if they are full then call your animal control officer or sheriff to release ownership of your animals so they can get them help Before they are starved to death, do not wait until they are starved, its critical to get help early. Contact us if you do not know what to do. call 304-873-3532 or email secondwindadopt@aol.com. Many counties have pet pantries so you can get feed when times are tough. If things are getting tight with costs, go to a less expensive grain like a simple stock pellet supplemented with corn, according to Ohio State Corn is the leading horse feed in the US according to their research, many large equine schools and large farms feed these all natural feeds because of what they get for the price, a lot of negative stuff has been written about corn but no one can support it with actual proof and research. We feed a simple all stock pellet from southern states and we supplement with cracked corn for those who need more calories, here is the link:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/b

762/b762_7.htm

Crossed Sabers Stable:

Preparing for a Cold Winter:

HAY: Get your hay now before the prices become outrageous, get enough for the winter (good planning is 2 bales for every 3 days for one horse or 10 bales per month per horse, so to make it until the middle of June (first cutting), you're looking at 90 bales per horse at the very least (from September to June). If you have good thick grass that has been mowed and fertilized then depending on where you live in the US you might just need 60 to 70 bales. For good grazing its recommended  that you have 3 to 5 acres of mowed, seeded, fertilized grass per horse. Remember Grass is dead in WV from Oct/Nov until about April and every state has some months where the grass does not give the horses their calories or nutrients it needs to sustain life (USDA has details of that for each state). They may be grazing in the winter but they are not getting anything from the grass to survive. I know most know that but I say it because we had an adopter last year in WV that thought if they were eating grass that was all they needed and she nearly killed 2 horses.

GRAIN: Remember on average horses need 1 lb of concentrated feed (grain) for every 100 lbs of body weight, so on average horses need about 10 lbs of grain a day, more when its very cold or if they are living outside in a run because much of their calories go to keeping them warm. Also older, sick, skinny, stallions, bred mares and young horses take more feed during the winter. Some  horses need more so its critical to watch to make sure their ribs and hip bones are staying meaty and covered. If you see ribs, the horse is too thin and needs more calories, not supplements but more calories, which means more grain.. Easy keepers may be round but it does not mean they are healthy, most easy keepers need a certain amount of calories and a multi vitamin to stay healthy.

WATER: One of the most critical things needed in winter is clean fresh water all the time, anywhere from 5 to 20 gallons per day per horse and everyone knows what a pain that is when there is ice and snow on the ground but its critical to preventing colic and water helps keep the horses body temperature regulated. Get your electric heaters, defrosters now, heated buckets, what ever it takes to make sure they have good water in front of them all the time and at least 10 gallons (2 flat backed buckets per horse at the very least). Here we keep 100 gallons troughs in the stalls since we have big stalls, its much easier than frozen buckets in winter, all we do is break the ice and remove it most days and put a heater in them on really cold days. We use a sump pump to empty water and scrub troughs each week which keeps water fresh and clean. So look for easy ways to keep water thawed out and clean. This is the biggest reason horses die in winter.

SHELTER: Domestic horses need shelter, they are not wild and can not survive outside without shelter or some kind of heavy waterproof rug to keep them warm during snow/ice and freezing temperatures but the best is a closed in shelter that is free from drafts (meaning its closed on all 4 sides with some sort of ventilation). Wild horses first of all don't live very long, living outside in the elements is very hard on them, secondly wild horses move in cold temperatures to keepselves warm and they often times move over thousands of acres to keep warm or to find cover or water. No domestic horse can not do that on 5, 20 or even 100 acres. Just because your horse has learned to survive in bad weather does not mean its good for them, they need shelter in bad weather.

CARE: Its important to make kids take care of their horses but they must have adult supervision on a daily basis to make sure horses are getting what they need. Trust me, I usually have 30 year olds working in our barn and I still have to be there daily to make sure things are done, that they have clean water, especially when its cold because our young helpers want to get out of the weather and then the horses are left at risk for colic. Every day check your child's work, do not leave your horses care to a child (completely), if you do you are asking for trouble.

The  Woman  I will  Be

The perfect analogies for why we have the life school tied into SWAP and animal welfare work:

"Everyone thought we took this broken down horse and saved him but really he saved us"

     Jockey Red Pollard from the movie Seabiscuit

I rescued a human today

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.

She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.
I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.

Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.

Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.

I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.
So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors.
So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

(these are things we found to be true from working with the thousands of horses that have come through this program)

"It can be Done!"

THE HERD SOUR HORSE, 24 HOUR TURN OUT AND ONLY HAVING 2 HORSES, the Myth that keeping horses on 24 hour turn out is natural, like the wild horses

We can no longer duplicate life as it was meant for wild horses, wild horses travel thousands of miles to good weather and good grazing, they move when the weather is bad to stay warm, they bed down under trees when its too hot and they are tough or they die. Wild horses live an average of 12 years... domestic horses, horses kept by people live much longer and they should, we are taking care of them.... that means shelter in extreme heat, cold, storms, cold rains, drafts, etc. Horses were domesticated thousands of years ago, they no longer have the ability to live and survive without our care (water, shelter, feed, grain, farrier, vet, dental care, etc).

-Its so critical to understand where the horse is coming from and the problems he had with previous owners. Many of the problems the horse has had can be alleviated by changing the environment or changing the handler/rider. One example: Horses that are kept on a 24/7 turn out allows the horses bond with the herd to be even stronger, the horse never stands on its own 4 feet by being separated and put into a stall, being put into a stall builds the horses confidence in himself and makes the horse more dependent on you, forcing it to bond with you. It is no surprise to me to see a 24/7 turn out horse being herd sour. This should not surprise any owner. Unfortunately many beginner owners leave the horse in 24/7 turn out, then start thinking the horse is crazy or difficult and the problem can't be fixed and then horse becomes an ornament because they can't handle it away from the herd and the problem just becomes worse. This is an environment problem that is worsened by the owner not knowing enough about horses, their instincts and how to get a horses respect. I've always felt that beginner owners, especially older riders (who can't afford to get hurt) should never have horses in 24/7 turn out because they don't know how to handle the fresh herd sour horse, they don't know how to reestablish the respect of the horse each time they pull it away from the strong herd bond. The herd is so important to that horse in this situation and the owner is only a visitor, an intruder, an annoyance more than anything... someone keeping them from his friends. The first thing we do when we get a horse like this is put them into a stall (with regular daily turn out of about 8 to 12 hours a day in the herd) but he's in the stall about 12 hours a day, we get control of his life and make him stand on his own 4 feet and make him depend on us, make him realize we have control of his schedule and life (and that he can depend on us, we will take care of him and protect him as his alpha). If you have a herd sour horse, put him in a stall and away from the other horses and you will have a much more controllable horse in no time. Even in a stabling situation you have to ask the horse to walk away from the group on a regular basis, even the bad horses will become bad about this is you never ask them to be independent. We feel the worst thing you can do is have only two horses, because you are asking for them both to be herd sour, being alone is better than just having two. Three horses or companions are a better choice. I mean you have to ask yourself, do you want to just look at a horse in the pasture or do you want a safe mount that you and your family/kids can enjoy and ride? 

THE MYTH THAT HORSES WILL DO WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM

-This is ludicrous, horses are like kids, they absolutely will not do what is best for them, we have to make our kids come in bad weather when they want to play in the snow to protect them from frostbite, we have to do the same to horses. The gray horse covered in melanoma's will stand in the sun all day long, the horse that really needs to exercise will stand in the field and do nothing, the horse that needs to sit still and not move will run all over the field and re-injure that same bad tendon, the horse that really needs to get out of the sun, the weather, the snow, ice and rain doesn't, they will even stand in a pond or under a tree during a lightening storm, they will run across icey snow, fall and break a leg (we have this happen every year with an adopter who put the horse out when the horse had no business being out). They may do what they like but they have no understanding of what is best for them, they only follow their instincts... that will get them killed.

We domesticated horses, we now have to take care of them as domesticated animals. We have to pull them in during bad weather, we have to keep the gray horse out of the sun, we have to protect them from themselves. Good examples of this is we had a horse with an adopter that allowed a horse to stand out in an Indiana snow storm instead of putting the horse in a shelter and it died of hypothermia. Its clear the owner should have put that horse in a shelter and the excuse about he hates being in a stall will kill your horse. Another example is the horse who has always lived in a dry stall with straw up to her knees and she goes to a home with a run in and she stands in the mud all winter long and her feet fall off from abscesses and she had to be put down. If the weather is bad, if their are lightening storms, if the horse needs to not move around, if the horse must exercise, if the gray horse needs to be inside during sunny days, then we must make them do that, regardless of what the you think the horse 'likes'. In many cases, it may mean your horses life. There are tough love times with horses, you have to do what is best for them even when they don't want to do it, that includes stall rest if they have an injury.

THE MYTH THAT PUTTING HORSES OUT ON 24/7 TURN OUT IS THE WAY NATURE INTENDED

-If you study horses in the wild you will quickly understand this is not true. Let me explain. In the wild, horses migrate to the area of the country that has the best weather (moderate weather), you would never see a wild horse migrate to the new england winters, they move when the weather is bad, cold and wet and they move over anywhere from 100 to 1000 acres of land (depending on the weather and the location of food and water). they move in order to keep warm and find rich grass/forage and water. Putting a domesticated horse (or even a wild horse) out 24/7 on 1 acre, 10 acres or 50 acres in foul weather is really more abuse than it is as 'nature intended'. Moving in the wild kept them fit and kept their feet hard and strong, putting horses on small tracts of land, especially in freezing temperatures (and even more so in extreme hot, anything above 90 degrees) is just making the horse figure out a way to survive and live miserably. These are domesticated animals, we domesticated them and we have to care for them as domestic animals and bring them in out of the cold, hot extreme weather, protect their bodies and feet from extreme temperatures (hot or cold), provide good shelter from drafts and cold and provide them regular exercise that they would get naturally in the wild. The biggest reason people do this is they are too lazy to take care of the horse as a domesticated animal and clean their stall daily and they use the excuse that its more natural.

We feel from experience the best situation is to have a stall for each horse, to always feed them in that closed in stall, so no other horse can take their food and they never get to the point where they feel they have to fight over food. Give them all the time they need to eat all their feed (at least 2 to 3 hours each feeding) and turn them out on at least 2 to 3 acres of land per horse, but 10 to 20 acres per horse is much better. Turn them out in a diverse herd, not alone and not with only one horse. The herd teaches the horse badly needed respect and social skills and will make him a easier horse to handle for you. Bring them in to their stall and close them in during electrical storms, high heat or buggy times (80 degrees and up), very low temp times (freezing or below), rain anytime the temps are below 40 degrees, snowy and icing conditions. Injured, sick, young and older horses need more care and more protection, more time in and things like rugs and blankets, especially if they don't grow a winter coat. If you always feed horses a carrot or apple when they come in, they will always come to you, even in the best weather.

REHAB FROM INJURY OR EPM, INJECTIONS AND DRUGS

-90% of all injuries will get better with time off (after taking care of any breathing problems, open wounds, lacerations, fractures, bleeding, or subsequent infections). Time off means more than a couple of weeks, it could mean a year off or even two, but the horse will become sound.

-Most youngsters (6 and under) will come back from an injury and be sound with enough time off, sometimes it might take a year or more, the magic number seems to be 2 years to get past the worst injuries but its critical to know when to start rehab work to keep joints flexible. The only thing we have not been able to bring back is sesimoid injuries and fractures in major joints like hocks. All other injuries the horse become sound again. This does not mean the horse will be able to jump and stay sound, in fact what we have found is most horses should stop jumping after injury if you care about the long term soundness and quality of life of the horse.

-Injecting joints to maintain soundness by putting toxic materials into a horses body damages that joint. It is only a short term fix and ruins the long term life of the joint. Every injection means a shorter life of that joint.... is that blue ribbon, saddle or even cash prize really worth crippling a horse for life?

-Any equine athlete that has had a lay off with have what the racing industry calls 'come back pains'... more pain coming back than getting fit the first time. People go through the same thing after time off, it hurts more to get back to the level of work you were at but takes 1/2 the time once you've been to that level of fitness and work. There is some memory in the muscles and bones. Bones have to get tougher too and they take longer than muscles and soft tissue. Its no different for horses.

RETIREMENT

-The worst thing you can do is totally retire a horse. The average man lives only 7 years after retirement... the horse is no different. They must have something to keep their minds sharp and their bodies engaged. I'm not talking about necessarily tough jobs but they must have a job, whether it be as a lead line horse with children, getting dolled up and walking in the local parade, a baby sitter, in hand therapy and just being petted and groomed by kids, an easy trail horse for someone who rarely rides, there is a huge range of jobs all horses can do and every horse can be useful. The horse who has no reason to live will decide to die. 

COLIC

-Banamine is a life saver, always keep it on hand in paste or injectible, know how to administer and give it at the first signs of an upset stomach or any signs of colic.

SHOTS AND DEWORMING

-Over doing shots and deworming is just as bad as not giving them, it reduces their immunities. We give shots once a year and de-worm quarterly and even with all the horses we have coming in and out of here, we never have a problem. The worst thing we ever see is a cold. We are considering going to only twice a year for deworming now, one before the growing season and one in the middle of the growing season. In hot climates where there is no freezing, that would be every 6 months in areas of the country and in canada where you have very long winters possibly one worming a year may be enough.

-Worms can cause permanent damage to internal organs, there by making horses more susceptible to colic. When you buy or adopt a horse, don't just look at the last deworming but make sure the horse has always been on a deworming program.

-Too much deworming is a bad as not enough. You will have just as much of a problem with the horse that has been wormed monthly as one that is never wormed.

-Rescue horses will always be more susceptible to colic because of past parasite damage to internal organs. If the person was not feeding the horse, you can bet they were not deworming. So adding to that risk by breeding a rescue mare may not be worth risking the life of the mare.

-Never deworm or give shots to a rescue horse (or any sick or skinny horse) until you have it healthy and at a stable healthy weight.

-Its important to understand that all dewormers are poison. You might as well give it rat poison because its basically the same thing so you need to select the best time, amount and condition of the horse as to when to do this and watch the horse for several hours after deworming. Absolutely do not deworm before shipping or after shipping.

ADOPTION

-Most beginners over estimate their abilities on the adoption application. They think that just because they can ride the professional trail horse or lesson horse, they can ride all horses. This is a huge lesson to learn and hopefully it comes to each person without a broken back or neck.

-Most experienced male riders over estimate their riding abilities and most experienced women under estimate their riding abilities.

-When moving from east to west the percentage of riders change from mostly women in the east to mostly men in the west (the numbers reverse).

-We can look at every possibility for attempting to match a horse and rider or handler and have it still not work out. Its like trying to fix up a couple, sometimes it just does not work even though everything tells you it should on paper and by all the descriptions of both.

-Parents either extremely over estimate their child's riding capabilities or greatly under estimate it but 8 times out of 10, they over estimate the ability of the child. The best thing to do is see the child ride.

-You really have to consider what the person has been riding and their experience to really know how good of a rider they are. If they have been riding old lesson horses that never get out of line or their backyard appy that is nearly 30 or even professional trail horses, then that is really more like riding a merry go round or the mechanical pony outside of Walmart.

If they have ridden untrained horses, ridden hot young TB's in shows or competing, if they have ridden maybe 20 or 30 different horses of all ages. If they have ridden Arabs or TB's that were not lesson horses and younger than age 10. If they can handle of shy, a straight buck, a run off and a small rear. If they can handle a walk, trot, canter and hand gallop in all environments. If they have competed, traveled with their horses, taken their horses camping or ridden them away from their normal environment. If they can read a horse and know when to get on and when to not get on, then that is a good rider, that we would consider an intermediate rider, beyond a beginner level.

-Our placement is only as good as the adopter knows themselves, their experience, what they want and how well they can express that to us.  If we do not get a realistic view of the adopter/handler/rider then we will not be successful with the placement.

-No matter what you do there are some people that will take the worst horse you have with the most problems, (both physical and mental) and they will make it into the best horse, a horse that everyone wants.

-There are those that will take the best horse in the program and ruin it in a week or two or they will give up the day, a week or a month after they get the horse home. This is not a horse problem, its a people problem and nothing in the application will ever tell us who these people are in advance. No application can figure out whether a person is fickle or gives up easily. 

-Dump all the old myths and wives tails about mares, stallions, colts, babies, older horses, injuries, breeds, etc and look at the individual horse first (yourself, not through someone else's eyes), then look at the sex, breed, age, training, past experience, past problems and what past owners/adopters have thought of the horse last.

-You can compete and ride a horse (on the flat) until its 30 and older, it all depends on the care you give, the warm ups and cool downs you provide. We have seen this be done successfully and there is nothing like seeing a 30 year old horse that is fit, well cared for and still doing 100 miles a week in endurance rides. Don't let anyone ever tell you.... 'well that horse is old, he is suppose to look like that' that is just not true. Don't accept the cop out, older horses can and will look wonderful and do all sorts of things if you take care of them and give them what they need.

-Horses are different with every handler, with every rider, in every living environment and in every situation. To get a horse to be exactly the way he was with the last owner, you must be able to duplicate everything the last owner did, even down to the living environment, feed and turn out, tack, regional influences, predominant weather, schedule, handlers and riders who ride exactly the same way.... otherwise you will not see exactly the same thing as they did.

-When an owner, previous adopter, foster, even if I give an opinion about a horse, its only one opinion that reflects that persons experience, their knowledge and what they have seen from that horse (it is not the horse talking about himself). Change any of those things and you might see something totally different. If that person has more experience than you, in handling and riding horses, they will get a different result. This is sometimes a hard lesson to learn but its a critical one to learn. Just because everyone at CSS can ride a horse does not mean that you can. That is not the horses fault or your fault, it just means you either need an easier horse to ride or you need to learn and practice more. We recommend both. The horse is only half of the puzzle, the handler and rider must progress as well.

TRANSPORT

-Never never never hand your horse over to anyone without completely checking them out and not without discussing the complete plan for their transport.  click here to read our transport page full of critical information to keeping your horse safe.

-If there is any question as to the safety of the driver, truck or trailer, pay them and send them away. Its better to lose that money than to lose your horse or have a 12k colic surgery at the other end of the trip.

-Give a horse at least 7 days before you ask them to do anything, when arriving at a new home. Don't ride, don't tack up, don't lunge, don't train, don't bathe, don't clip, don't bring in the farrier, don't give them short, don't bring in the vet, the dentist, don't even deworm or turn out. Even if the horse seems totally settled as soon as they arrive.  Quietly groom, feed, water and hand walk or hand graze only.

-Some horses may take months to settle in enough to be safe to ride. The less the experience of the rider/handler, the longer they should wait before getting on the horse. The first ride is always after getting to know the horse on the ground thoroughly, after being quietly lunged (not pushed) and shown signs of allowing you to get on, any red light signals and you must stop or chance being hurt. 

-Transporting is a high stress situation for a horse. Never transport a sick horse, a horse that is down in weight, a horse that has had shots with in the past week, a horse that has been dewormed in the last week, a horse that has had its shoes changed in the last week. Never put wraps or shipping boots on ship day on any horse unless they are totally comfortable in them and used to wearing them. If you feel the horse must wear these things to protect legs, spend 3 to 4 days making them wear them in their stall before the shipping day. Shipping is high stress already, don't add to the problem by changing anything in their life and what they are used to. When in doubt, don't change anything.

-When moving a horse or accepting a horse, make every attempt to completely duplicate the horses former environment, schedule, the way the horse was kept, everything in detail for at least a month and slowly, very slowly change one thing at a time to get the horse on your schedule, feed, training, tack, farrier, deworming, turn out, etc. Always consider the life and environment the horse has lead and lived in most of its life (especially during the young years because that is when habits are formed). You can easily kill a horse by not considering the place (stable, surroundings, people handing the horse, how busy the stable is, how the daily life is different, what's different and what do you need to introduce them to... like the neighbors Emu's or crazy dogs, the wire fencing you can't see, the chicken coop, the cows, etc), consider the schedule they are used to, region of the country they come from, predominant weather (hot, dry or all seasons and extreme weather) and winds, how kept (whether in a stall and blanketed), the soil (grass or sand), the terrain (hills or flat), the pasture, the rider and how the rider rides (weight of rider, experience, how much and how the use their legs, how much and how they use their hands, how heavy they are on the horses back and how quiet or not quiet they are in the saddle), the tack and the changes in tack (do one change in tack at a time, if you change more than one thing at a time, you are asking for trouble, ask the previous owner/rider about saddle pads, bridles, bits, type of saddle, size tree, type of tree, weight of rider and weight of saddle, even the normal schedule before riding the horse).

FEEDING

-Stay away from sweet feed or any feeds that have artificial or natural sugar of any kind in the feed. Sweet feed is fed to race horses to hype up the horse, make them want to run and work and to get them hot. But Race horses get worked 6 days a week, 52 weeks out of the year. If you can't handle your horse, look at what your feeding them. If you can't get a totally natural feed (most times it has to be shipped and its usually 20. a bag) then get a simple natural feed like oats, corn or a simple pelleted feed. STAY AWAY FROM SUGAR, ITS JUST LIKE FEEDING SUGAR TO YOUR KIDS!!

-Water, Water, Water. Loads of clean fresh water every day. 20% of dehydration to a horse is death.

-Grassy Hay gets the grain through the horses body (along with the water). Always make sure they have water first when feeding, Hay next and grain last. If you are feeding grain first or by itself, then you have nothing in their stomach too get the grain through their body. Always feed right beside the water supply and always hay before graining.

-All the problems that come out of feeding are more management problems than problems with the amount of feed your feeding. Race Horses are eating as much as 60 lbs a feed a day with out colic or foundering but its carefully managed.

-Stay away from all sugar, for snacks choose carrots and for feeds select whole feed that have little or no sugar.  If you think he will not eat anything but a sugar based feed then you didn't feed the other feed long enough for him to acquire a taste for it. The stickier the feed, the more sugar it has in it. The more sugar in the feed, the higher the energy the horse will be and the harder they will be handle. Sweet feed is the worst, then oats is a high carb feed that is high energy, that is why sweet feed and oats are fed to race horses to give them a spike of energy. The best feed are low carb, low sugar, high fat, high fiber with enough protein for the horse (ie. whether they are young and growing, a mare in foal, a stallion breeding and horses in work require more protein).

-If the horse has a sensitive stomach or susceptible to colic or founder, stay away from rich feeds, go to a simple pelleted feed that does not have a lot of additives or supplements.

-Don't ever assume anything about a horse or assume your new horse can eat what your other horses are eating and be fine. He may require double or triple the feed. You feed what the horse needs. When you see the back getting lean and not cushioned, you need to bump up the feed. Back bones, ribs or butt bones should never be seen, They should be felt but not seen (regardless of the horses age or condition). We don't feed more than 15 lbs in any one feeding, so if they need more, you add another feeding so if they are eating 60 lbs of feed a day, it should be in 4 feedings or more, evenly separated.

CARE

-Horses know instinctively who cares about them and who does not and they figure that out immediately.  If your horse won't come to you, if they won't relax with you, if they don't come running when you call, if they shy or back away from you, or if they have developed a vice they are telling you something about you. Listen, because all these things can be changed by changing your care, how you treat them and how you think.

-Your horse is a reflection of you, if you don't like your horse, change what you are doing and your horse will change.

-When horses are not cared for and not getting what they need, bad habits will arise and training and attitude problems will come up. Horses will crib and chew more if they are hungry and they will throw fits and throw people if they are hurting. Always consider their care, condition and how they are feeling when you are seeing problems arise.

WATERING

-Always make sure water is given to the horse first, then hay, then concentrated feeds. Always have clean fresh water within 10 feet of the normal feeding location.

-Horses are like people, they can live much longer without food but will die immediately without water. 20% body weight loss in dehydration will kill a horse.

TURN OUT

-Almost any combination of horses will work together (mares, gelding, mares/foals, colts, older just castrated geldings and even stallions) if its managed well and given plenty of time to allow horses to settle in. The smaller the turn out area the longer it takes and the less likely it will work. Most problems occur when you have less than 3 acres of turn out per horse in the pasture and less than 5 horses.

You will tend to see more problems with one or two horses and will tend to see more problems when their turn out area is small (below 3 acres per horse in the pasture)... once you get over 6 or 7 horses in a larger area (over 5 acres per horse in the pasture), the problems seem to work out better in the group, maybe because the underling can move away and get with a horse they do better with or the alpha has more to think about than just one or two, therefore less of a focus on one or two. There are always a few exceptions but we've seen this over and over again, with anywhere from 5 to 50 horses in anywhere from 25 to 150 acres, you can throw most any horse (mares, geldings, mares/foals, very young colts, older castrated geldings, etc) together and they will probably work it out over time.

Many time when you separate the bad horse away from the group, it just makes them worse, even when it comes to how they are with you. If you are having problems with a horse you are separating from the herd, rethink that separation. Especially if the horse was ever a breeding stallion or castrated late in life or is an alpha mare (who knows she has a job to do) as their sense of fairness is very strong and they feel cheated.  There is always a horse they will get along with, whether it be mares or geldings, even babies but you must give them the appropriate space and number to make that happen.

FOUNDER AND NAVICULAR, FOOT CARE FOR EVERYONE

Founder and Navicular are no longer show stoppers for riding and getting a horse sound or keeping a horse sound, go to www.naturalhorsetrim.com and see how natural trimming can cure (YES CURE) these problems (and do it without the huge expensive shoeing and drugs). Stop putting those $120. pair of shoes on your horse every 4 weeks and drugging it to keep riding because that only masks the problems, it does not fix the problem. Think about natural horse trimming and you can fix the problem. Natural trimming and care gets the foot working as it was intended, it increases the blood flow and oxygen into the foot which is the life of the foot. Shoes actually decrease those things and if a horse is in shoes long enough, those veins will close off and stop allowing blood into the foot, permanently damaging the horses feet, the foundation of the whole house. Even if you compete and feel you must compete in shoes, pull shoes in the off season, between events and shows.

-If you live in Florida or Southern California (or any place else) where you don't have a built in 'off season' because of weather, then make your own. Its absolutely critical to keeping the horse sound for life.

BREAKING YOUNG HORSES, WEIGHT LIMITS

-Never canter, gallop or jumping a light boned horse before age 4 (warmblood and draft should be age 6), horses are not fully developed until age 4 so you are damaging their legs, knees and back by galloping and jumping before they are fully grown.

-Never get on a horses back before age 2, and even then confirm by x-rays that the knees are totally closed.

-Horses under age 4 should only be worked for a maximum of 1/2 hour per training session, with some one on their back.  You can do longer sessions if there is no additional weight on their back.

-Horses with a longer back, have a smaller build or have less bone in the leg or a smaller diameter around the leg below the knee, then you should wait to get on the horse until 2 1/2 or even 3.

-Never start jumping a horse as a new profession after age 12, the age when bones begin to change and get more delicate and lose substance.

-Follow the 20% rule, never put more than 20% of a horses weight on its back. Most full grown light boned horses are around 1000 lbs, which means it should not carry a rider bigger than 200 lbs with all its tack.

TRAINING

-Anybody can call themselves a trainer, an equine dentist, farrier or transporter (with no formal training or experience). Check out these people before allowing them to do anything with your horse, look at their formal training and don't hesitate to ask for proof, ask about years of experience and how many horses they move, train or take care of each year. Look for trainers who have experience and references doing specifically what you are hoping to do with your horse. Don't get a barrel racing trainer to teach your standardbred to do dressage... it does not work that way, don't put a QH trainer on your saddlebred or arab. Look for a trainer that has the same philosophy that you do, amount of work to be done, when, how much and how high to jump the horse at what age and experience level, whether they hit the horse or not, whether they force things like head set with things like side reins and draw reins.

-Horses problems are a direct reflection of its handler/rider/care taker, a sign of something being wrong physically or the environment its living in (ie. 24 hour turn out, no shelter, not enough turn out, stall bound, in a climate or region of the country its not suited for, in a job its not suited for mentally or physically).  When you see a horse with a problem, look first at everything around the horse instead of just writing it off to being the horses fault. The horse is only a reflection of you and its environment.

-If you are an adult and not ridden since you were a kid. Trust me, things are different as an adult. You know you can get seriously hurt and you now have fear.... since you now know that, the horse feels your 'worry' in your butt and will then also be afraid. Its a vicious cycle. Anyone who comes off a horse over the age of 30 can and will get hurt, potentially an injury that could change their life forever. People over 30 do not bounce so don't get on a horse until you thoroughly know the horse and have spent several months on a lesson horse first. Also get a youngster with tons of experience to get on the horse first.  If you can not afford to get hurt, then riding may not be the hobby for you, buy a bike or 4 wheeler... something that does not have a mind of its own.

-It is unsafe to ride out alone hacking or trail riding. This is like Scuba Diving. YOU ONLY DO IT WITH A BUDDY. Most horses will not trail ride alone without other horses and usually its only safe with the most advanced riders or with a rider who has been riding this horse for at least a year or more with no breaks in riding. When you are riding alone, even in a ring, its critical to let someone know you are riding and call a friend when done. Most farms are very rural and you could be hurt for as long as a day without someone realizing it.

-Sensitive horses or horses with a lack of confidence need at least a month to settle in to a new environment (new rider, new home, new schedule) before being ridden or asked to do anything except be mannerly in hand. Advanced riders and trainers who ride consistently (at least 3 times a week) and have done so for years can go faster but there is always a risk and many horses will now show their stress until you are on their back. So don't assume they have settled because many have not.

-Want a better riding horse, drive...drive.... drive.... Long line or put them on a cart and go for miles. You'll be amazed at what a difference it makes. Everything you can teach under saddle you can teach them in long lines or with driving.

-The person with 20 years experience of riding hundreds of different horses 5 to 6 days a week can get away with more with less risk, the less experience the more risk involved.

-If a horse can not get you to listen to him when he's telling you he's hurting or what you are asking him to do he is not ready for mentally or physically. He will find another way to tell you, it usually involves an injury to you.

-Stay away from killing a fly with a sledge hammer. Have appropriate responses for everything that happens with your horse and get what you want with the least amount of pressure, the easiest tack, the lesser restraints first.

THE STRONGEST LEAD ROPE OR BIT YOU CAN EVER MAKE IS INSIDE A HORSES MIND, TRAIN THEM TO DO WHAT YOU WANT, DON'T TRY TO MAKE THEM.

DO WHAT YOU CAN AND WALK AWAY, OR CONTINUE UNTIL THE HORSE SETTLES

IF YOU RUN INTO A NERVOUS REACTION FROM YOUR HORSE, WORK THROUGH IT RIGHT THEN AND DON'T QUIT UNTIL THE HORSE IS TOTALLY SETTLED, IF YOU QUIT BEFORE THE HORSE IS SETTLED, THEN YOU IMPRINT THE FEAR INTO HIS MIND.

SULLEN AND NERVOUS REQUIRE 2 DIFFERENT RESPONSES

A HORSE WITH A CONFIDENCE PROBLEM REQUIRES A DIFFERENT RESPONSE FROM YOU THAN A HORSE WITH A RESPECT PROBLEM

FASTER MOVEMENT W/ TRAINER MEANS FASTER MOVEMENT IN THE HORSES, THE HORSE WILL MATCH YOUR TEMPO OR HAVE A HIGHER ONE 

HORSES ARE ALWAYS LEARNING, BOTH GOOD AND BAD. ITS UP TO US TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE LEARNING THE GOOD STUFF AND NOT THE BAD

RED LIGHT/GREEN LIGHT, LOOK FOR THE GREEN LIGHT SIGNALS TO MOVE ON. They are talking to you clearly, listen or you can get hurt. If the horse is giving you red light signals, moving to the next point (like say getting on their back) can get you hurt. Learn to read their crystal clear communication. Look for the signs and know when to stop and back off. 

3 TIMES A CHARM, GET THE HORSE TO DO IT 3 TIMES AND HE'S PROBABLY LEARNED IT. Until he's done it 3 times, he will probably act like he's forgotten it twice.

THE RIGHT AIDS AT THE WRONG TIME ARE STILL THE WRONG AIDS 

A HORSES TEMPERAMENT IS A REFLECTION OF YOURS, GET TO KNOW YOURSELF

MUST HAVE CALM DOWN CUE 

PAIN GETS IN THE WAY OF TRAINING

HORSES ARE MUCH LIKE PEOPLE THEY WOULD RATHER BE WITH THEIR FRIENDS OR IN THEIR STALL THAN WORKING. USE THAT INFORMATION IN TRAINING. ESPECIALLY IF YOUR HORSE DOES SOMETHING BAD, IF YOU PUT HIM BACK INTO HIS STALL OR BACK INTO THE PASTURE, YOU HAVE JUST REWARDED THIS BAD BEHAVIOR. I GUARANTEE YOU WILL SEE IT AGAIN 

NUMBER ONE RULE! THE PERSON CAN’T GET HURT, THE HORSE CAN’T GET HURT, THE HORSE MUST BE MORE RELAXED AT THE END OF SESSION THAN IT WAS BEGINNING

ANYTHING FORCED IS NOT BEAUTIFUL, ANYTHING NOT BEAUTIFUL IS NOT RIGHT

BE PATIENT, CONSISTENT, PREDICTABLE

90% OF ALL HORSE TO HORSE CONFLICT NEVER ENDS IN CONTACT, 95% OF ALL HORSE TO PEOPLE CONFLICT ENDS UP WITH CONTACT, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT

THE MORE RESTRAINT, THE BIGGER THE CRASH 

-When hanging anything on a horse, (new or different tack, a different bit, a new saddle, side reins, draw reins, standing or running martingales, drop nose bands, figure 8, tail cruppers, leg wraps, shipping boots, a driving harness, a cart, long lines) allow the horse to just sit in his stall for at least an hour before you ask him to do anything with the new equipment. The more comfortable the horse can get in his own environment, the better he will be when you have to put him into your environment or some place new.  Don't hang anything on a horse and then immediately ask them to perform and expect it to go perfectly, some are so sensitive that it may go very badly unless you allow them time to get used to the new equipment.

HORSE HIERARCHY OF NEEDS (FROM THE HORSEMAN'S POINT OF VIEW)

FOOD/WATER, SHELTER, SEX FOR STALLIONS, HEALTHY BODY, SOCIAL/HERD LIFE, NOT ACT LIKE PREY, GIVE TRUST/RESPECT, HEART & DESIRE, SELF ACTUALIZATION, THE BASICS HAVE TO BE CARED FOR BEFORE YOU CAN ASK THE HORSE TO DO ANYTHING, THE MORAL OF THE STORY: YOU CAN NOT ASK A HORSE TO CARRY YOUR FAT BUTT AROUND IF HE'S HUNGRY OR HURTING!!!

RED LIGHTS: RAISING HEAD, TENSION, BIG EYE, FLARED NOSTRIL, SHAKING, SHYING, SNORTING, RUNNING OVER A PERSON IN HAND, RUNNING OFF UNDER SADDLE, TAIL UP, NECK ARCHED, ANY SIGN OF DISRESPECT OR FEAR IN HAND, THEM NOT ALLOWING YOU TO GET INTO THEIR SPACE, THEM NOT ALLOWING YOU TO TOUCH THEM EVERYWHERE. RED MEANS STOP, DO NOT GO ON UNTIL YOU ADDRESS THESE PROBLEMS AND GET THE GREEN LIGHTS. NEVER NEVER NEVER GO ON IF YOU HAVE ANY RED LIGHT SIGNAL!!!!!

GREEN LIGHTS:  CHEWING, LICKING LIPS, EAR COMING IN, LOWER HEAD, RELAXED FACE, CALM, LISTENING, RESPECTFUL, RELAXED HEAD, SMOOTH MOVEMENTS, QUIET, RELAXING TOP LINE & TAIL, RESPECTING HANDLERS SPACE, DOING WHAT IS ASKED OF THEM ON THE GROUND

MOVING OR SELLING OLDER HORSES (ESPECIALLY MARES)

-Take extreme care when moving older horses, especially when you are changing more than just the home (ie. changing their humans, the environment, the region of the country, the climate and humidity, type of ground and ground cover).

-It takes most healthy young horses about 4 months to really settle in to a new home. It takes about 8 months for an older gelding and about a year for an older mare. 

-BEWARE  with horses of all ages if you are changing regions of the country, predominant weather, terrain, type of ground and ground cover, people and the home environment (from stall to run in or from stall to pasture or from pasture to stall). Many horses will not survive extreme changes.

-If you have any horse over 25, do everything in your power not to move it at all.  If you have a strong gelding over 20 use extreme care but do not move a mare over age 20. Mares are more sensitive and many will die within 6 months to a year of their move. Most of the ones we've seen we believed just died of a broken heart when their owners gave them up.

-Mares are very much like women, they do run the show but they are also very sensitive about things that do not matter to most geldings.

-Every horse sale should include more than just a bill of sale, the seller should define what they expect in future sales, the minimum care required, the daily care required, the feed it requires and type of feed, any special care it requires, shelter it requires and have the buyer agree to that and sign it. Everything must be in writing and put a clause in the bill of sale with a 20k fine if the buyer breaks the agreement and a statement that the horse will immediately come back to the previous owner if breeched. A written contract is the only thing that will protect your horse. Thousands of Verbal agreements are broken on a daily basis over horses.

-Your horses future depends on you making the best decisions and doing things to protect them during sales. At a very minimum, you must ask specific questions about the following when selling your horse:

1. the buyers financial stability (job, how long have they been at that job, salary and money history such as money problems and bankruptcy, do they have stable work or do they depend solely on their hubby for their horse money.... remember 50% of all marriages end in divorce which puts your horse at risk),

2. the buyers knowledge (training, experience, specifically what they have done.... just saying they have owned for 20 years doesn't mean anything),

3. you should thoroughly review what the horse requires as far as amount and type of feed and be very specific, training, care, special care, etc and ask them if they have any problem doing any of those things.

4. Personal stability (do they own the farm where the horse is going to be staying? How long have they lived there? Are they married? How long have they been married..... 80% of all marriages end in the first 7 years).

5. Facilities, see current pictures of their barn, stalls and their current horses. Current means in the last 30 days.

6. Get a vet and farrier reference and talk to them. Go see the home if you can. Follow up a month later and 6 months later (don't just call, go there).

7. We check all these things, plus give a written test of 50 questions and we check bankruptcies, criminal records, civil law suit records, credit, talk to the employer. Even then, there is no guarantee but your chances are much better of knowing you have a good buyer and a good home.

BREEDING

-Never make decisions about a bred mare with an early ultrasound, always wait for a much later palpation. You'll never guess how many mares we've gotten from breeders or former adopters who say the mare they are donating or putting back into the program can't get in foal or won't keep a foal and they end up foaling here because they came to us bred.

-Every foal is 80% of the dam, you will never have a good baby without an exceptional mare, regardless of how good the stallion is.

-Never never bred a mare that has ever been a rescue, more than likely she has years of parasite damage and breeding means death to many mares with a rescue background, especially if you add age to the picture. Never breed a mare that is not in top shape, weight and condition. The baby is a direct reflection of the condition of the mare.

-Many mares that people are breeding and can't get in foal will get in foal with better care, especially with lots of good quality feed and good shelter.

-Don't do shots or deworm foals until 4 months old. Some shots should not be done until 6 months and some wormers are not safe for foals... read all labels.

-You can get nearly anything in foal if you work at it hard enough.

-Breeding any mare the age of 20 or over is risking the life of that mare.

-Always have bred mares checked for twins very early and have the vet pinch off the smaller of the two. TB's, Arab's and QH's have a higher probability of producing twins according to studies done by Colorado State University.

WINTER CARE

-We lose at least one adoption horse every winter at an adopters because of major fractures from falling on ice and snow. This has happened every year since we started the program. Turn out is important but is turn out more important than the life of your horse? This is one of those tough love things, you keep your kids in too when going out will hurt them.

-We lose another adoption horse every winter at an adopters because of colic. Loads of Fresh water must be available to every horse but not only that, you must make sure they are drinking. Some horses will not drink cold water, they certainly won't drink water that is solid ice or has an ice layer on it. Here we have 250 gallon troughs in each and every stall, they are either heated or we break ice and take it out twice a day. Horses can live without feed but they will die immediately without water. Feed and no water is a set up for colic. The water and hay gets the grain through their body.

-Spend the summer getting your horse round for winter. If the horse if going into winter thin, you'll have to feed 3 times the amount to get the weight back up in the cold months.

-You don't have to bump up feeds in the winter to keep horses round if you put a heavy weight rug on them in temperatures at freezing and below and a light weight rug between freezing and 40 degrees. Much of the feed is being used up to keep them warm and you can do that with a simple water proof rug. Without a good rug and good shelter you should plan on adding 1/4 to 1/2 more to the daily ration in the winter to keep them warm and round.

-Some horses will never grow a winter coat and yes horses do get hypothermia and can die from being cold and getting core temperatures down to low.

-You need to put a heavy weight rug on older, thin, sick or injured horses during the winter months because much of their feed if going to get them better or to take care of the injury, so nothing is left to keep them round and to keep them warm.

RIDING

-Don't ever get on any horse until you do a Monty Roberts style join up. Not just mindless lunging, don't drive the horse around in a lunge, you can actually get a horse hyped up and hot by driving them in a lunge, this should be a relaxing lunge to allow them to get the edge off, you must see the "green light signals" that the horse is accepting of you as their partner and leader and is confident about what you are doing. If you don't get those signals, you are risking your life when getting on the horse. Every ride and every training session at SWAP HQ starts with this procedure in the round pen. Make no assumptions even when you know the horse, you are between 100 and 200 lbs and they are at least 1000 lbs, you give them the definite advantage when you get on their back. 

-Do not get on any horse if you get any of the 'red light signals'. (see Red Light and Green Light signals above under training).

Best of 2011

-Foster Mom of the Year, Lydia Millner, we didn’t have a lot of horses in foster homes this year but Lydia was so different from most fosters who want a certain horse or a certain capability and only want it for the summer. Lydia called and offered to help by taking any horse for the winter, now that is a foster mom that all programs dream about having. Someone who is more concerned about helping any horse in need than thinking of themselves she even paid to ship him to her place, what selfless devotion to helping a horse that would have never had a chance without us and her. Lydia is fostering Aargon for the winter and is focusing on helping him become an even better horse, he’s not just going there and sitting in a field, she’s handling him every day and this will end up really helping this horse find a great home and help him be success in that home. I would give my right arm to have more fosters like her.

-Adopter Update of the Year, Pony Pastures along with all their students that are our adopters!! What can you say, with all their SWAP horses and many of their students with our horses and all the pictures we get all through the year on facebook… we have no doubt what a great home they are all in. Nothing like constant updates, we love it and the pictures of the kids and horses are priceless. We are so thrilled to have found Pony Pastures, they have become a SWAP East helping us find horses homes and putting the word out about our work. What great adopters, every one of them.

-Best All Around Volunteer, Ellen Mitchell, Esq.…. Anyone who will drive 12 hours one way about every 3 months to spend a weekend to clean stalls and troughs and sit all day helping with inventory in the SWAP store, plus donating funds to the feed fund, donating stuff for the SWAP store, donating her legal expertise on different issues deserves much more than this recognition. Ellen has gone above and beyond the call of duty and asks nothing in return but the chance to help a horse in need. We are so praying to keep her around for a long time and begging for more like her this year!!

-Best Fund Raisers of the Year, Delaware Harness Racing Golf Tournament for SWAP, the Ring Raffle Sponsored by Faye York and The Donor Challenge by Sherry Galt and all the donors that accepted her challenge. We can thank these three fund raisers for our continued existence. The golf tournament paid for all of our hay, the Ring Raffle paid the farm mortgage for 10 months and the Challenge continues to help us pay for feed, farrier, vet and monthly expenses. Shew, what do you say to people that saved your life and the lives of so many animals that we helped this year and the years to come. Reminds us all to have the faith of a child that there are good people out there that really care and when help is so badly needed, help comes when you’re heart and work is in the right place.

-Best All Around Supporters: We had so many that helped this year that its hard to pick out of handful but Dale Ames, David Ferrell, Jim Gerchow, Chip Copper, George & Tina Dennis along with so many from Delaware Harness Racing, Faye York, Sherry Galt, Carole and Clint Wade, Peggy Breakiron, Gene Swansey, Sara Gauer, Kaitlyn Snodgrass, Diana Greenhalgh, Donna Moore, McKinzi Straub, the Swisher Family that brings us all our hay, Foster Feeds, all those transporters that kept our horses safe on the road …..these folks have made all the difference in the world in the programs operation...

-Donor of the Year, Quang Hua and Vietopia Restaurant of Houston bought $5000. worth of raffle tickets for the ring raffle… no matter how hard I wished they would have won, they didn’t and I was heartbroken but they made the ring raffle a success and kept the farm running for another year. Wishing we could do something special for so many that have given so much in money and time.

-Presidents Award, Diana Greenhalgh,  Years of working at Second Wind, doing whatever needed to be done for over 11 years now but this year with Celeitas injury Diana was at the farm every day to make sure the horses were cared for, she was the one that came daily to pack and wrap Sonny’s feet, cleaning up after dogs and doing all the things that Celeita could not do for over 3 months, she was the one that covered the operation when Celeita had to have surgery or be gone all day at the VA hospital. There is no way we could have ever paid her for her time, gas money and for all the work she did this year. It was a hard year on everyone, the volunteers were tired and worn out with Celeita’s injury it put a strain on the whole operation, many just stopped coming to help. Diana was the only one coming to help consistently even when Celeita was begging for help from anyone. The program and the critters owe her so much, so much more  than we’ve ever been able to give her for her devotion and dedication to the animals in our care.

-Life Time Achievement, Rhonda Ross was a longtime friend, adopter and supporter of Second Wind. She spent a lifetime of loving horses but her life was shortened from diabetes, which first took her sight, then took her kidney of which she got a transplant. She always talked about SWAP to her family and friends, she had dreams of being a professional horse woman and dreams of showing and competing, even dreams of doing what we do here at SWAP. Unfortunately all those things had to be put aside for Rhonda to fight for her life, which she did for many years and then her poor heart could not handle all the stress any more. Rhonda was really an inspiration because she took great care of 2 SWAP horses, riding both as well, proving a good relationship with a horse and respect will compensate for strength in the rider. I saw her ride the first time, already legally blind and had already had the transplant. It was one of those times when you think, I have no excuses, if she can ride that well, I should be able to do anything. She was riding horses that many able bodied riders could not, she showed us anything is possible, it just depends on how badly you want it and she wanted to ride badly. Rhonda lost her battle this year and sent all her horses to SWAP plus told her family she wanted all her horse stuff to come to us. Even in her death she was thinking about helping horses. She was a precious delicate gift to horses and to us, she is so desperately missed by all who knew her.

-Most Dedicated Vet, Dr. Shannon Loomis along with Marla, her vet tech.. this year was such a tough year for Second Wind, we had to put down more animals in one year than all the past 15 years total. Dr Loomis and Marla helped us make good decisions about animals in pain and about our toughest welfare decisions because we never got into horse/dog adoption to put animals down. When you have feet and legs falling apart, illness so bad that the horse is hurting itself, legs breaking down so badly that it takes 4 people to trim the horse, horses sloughing their hooves from poor care, excessive seizures that we could not stop, then we are forced to consider what is humane. We expect people to dump horses here when they don’t want to put them down, and when they are old and lame, when they have not been fed or cared for but its never easy when we can’t fix the problem or help them. We’ve realized that ending the pain, pain we never caused is the most humane thing we can do. To be there for them, to put them down where they were loved and cared for, to do it humanely with lethal injection and bury on the farm is the best answer. Shannon, Marla and Audubon always handled these animals with care and compassion and they were there for the SWAP staff, knowing how painful those decisions are to us.  Many of them we had had in the program for many years, following them through years of homes and then allowing some of them to live out any good life they had left in the Old Timers Sanctuary until they were in so much pain and could barely walk or barely get up. We hate the whole thing but as a rescue we have to find a way to give horses relief, relief from past injuries, from serious illness, from damage done from past owners. We are always attacked for all our decisions, regardless, attacked by people who think we should put the horse down at the first sign of an issue and also attacked by those who feel that you never put any horse down regardless, that they should always die on their own from natural causes so the attacks and outside opinions make things even worse and its already a very painful situation because we love the animal. Dr. Loomis made this so much easier, reminding us that quality of life is a major consideration, as is the horses safety and survival. I know I will think of these animals for the rest of my life, but I know we made the right decisions for each with the knowledge and experience of our veterinary team. 

-Directors Award, Michael Asthalter, Michael has been a long time friend to SWAP as an adopter, donor, foster, transporter, advisor and even checking out new homes when he delivered horses to their home but this year he returned to Germany because of the limited opportunities in the horse industry in the US. The decision all started with the death of his beloved wife Zorana Ristic, a veterinarian that always gave us free advice and supported our operation completely for many years. We miss Michael and it was a huge loss to SWAP, he was a meticulous transporter and worker, his knowledge of horses is unmatched and being German he was always kind but always honest, even when it was something we didn’t want to hear. We hope that his home land will give him all the opportunities for great work that he longs for.

-Vice Presidents Award, Alan Macy in Indiana, We all lost a great animal advocate when we lost Alan Macy to cancer. He and Angie have been adopters, volunteers, fosters, rescue assistance and emergency transport for Second Wind since the late 1990’s while helping Angie care for their 20 + equine, dog and cat family and two kids. Alan was what most horse women would call a loveable puppy dog, he was always ready to do whatever was needed to be done and had the patience of a saint. He was a good man, husband, father and animal lover. This is a small tribute to his years of selfless work to help animals and care for animals. Sorely missed does not describe the huge loss to the animals and to his family.

-Most Dedicated Riders, McKinzi Staub and Donna Moore, what a year we had, seems like every horse came to us untrained, unhandled, crazy from mishandling, uncastrated, completely herd bound. At times I was starting to think I was getting too old to take the really hard rescues. None were completely starved but all of them needed training. McKinzi and Donna were ready to take on any problem they had, from mounting issues to just never being trained or handled. They were becoming old pros at putting new horses under saddle and most of the horses we found homes for this year was because we had these two ladies and their gentling talents to bring horses along so they could be adopted and be successful in the home. Donna brought McKinzi on board and McKinzi brought her college church group to volunteer as well so they are much more than a couple of riders/trainers… they are two caring young ladies who really want to help animals. Kudos!

-8 years of Service, Aldine Hart... Wow!! What a work history. For many years Aldine was the barn and farm manger, then he retired but has continued to help us with farm maintenance, building, fixing, mowing, weed eating, fence repairs and walking the miles of fence lines, helping us stay up on stalls and even horse care on occasion. He’s been a trooper for so many years and such a great dedicated, honest worker that always does his best work.

-Adopter of the Year, Dr. Sherry Galt of TX, at first we thought Sherry was going to be just another great adopter, keeping her horse beautiful, good about doing her updates, then she was given a professional award and she could either take a donation to a program of her choice or take an extended vacation in the Bahamas. She had her award sent to us. She always got our newsletter and stayed in touch when we started struggling because of the economy Sherry’s challenge kicked in, getting several others donating monthly to the mission to match her donation, she also put $3500. Into our feed fund this winter, nearly paying our winter feed bill for the horses. How do you ever pay someone back for that kind of support and how do you thank them? We have no clue but she is certainly adopter and donor of the year all in one. She deserves so much more. We’ve seen some real heroes step forward this year and make a big difference in the horses lives and we have all been sleeping much better, not having a fret over feed and care for the horses. Outstanding dedication to helping the ones who cannot help themselves. Bravo!!

-Groom of the Year, Sara Gouer, Our bathing, clipping, grooming, spit shining geru... she goes all day taking horses to the wash stall making them all looking marvelous! We’ve not found anyone who enjoys this more and does quite the job she does when it comes to spit shining up a dog or horse. The animals love her for it too.

-Animals Best Friend, Jean Kruse of WV Jean runs our county Spay Neuter Program, of which all the SWAP small animals went to but she has been instrumental in helping dogs and cats that need help…. even horses too, does transports, pick ups, placements, tracking down abandoned/stranded animals and dogs that have landed in shelters by mistake, takes in animals and finds them homes, helps us get our dogs placed into homes too, she is an animal’s best friend for sure and its so nice to finally see someone in our own county step up and do something for animals besides us and Donna Francisco!

-Adopters with the Best Horse Pictures: Amanda Rockower with Fior in PA, The Stouts with Ebony in WV, The Riehl’s with Banner in Indiana, Betsy Bailey and the Bailey family with Classy and Mistral in VA, Marissa St. Clair with Melody and LilBit in Maryland, Morgan Crabbs with Ren and several SWAP horses in Maryland, Alexandra with Zahara in Florida, Kim Stark with Country Lane in Oklahoma, Wendal and his human family in Arkansas and Pat Pape in Texas. This is always a hard choice, all these folks send the best pictures of them and their horses, when things are hard here and we’re really struggling, we turn to these pictures as a critical reminder as to why we work so hard for no money, why we struggle, why we continue even though we have sleepless nights worrying over horses, why we ignore the BS on the forums being written by people we helped put in jail for horrific neglect or people that abused their horses and even the ones we didn’t approve their applications for dishonesty or extreme selfishness… these pictures serve such an important purpose to us, not only in fulfilling the adoption contract and letting us now the horse is safe but also that all important reminder that some people do really care and it’s so badly needed.

-Biggest Transformation in Horses: You expect rescues to go through a huge transformation, certainly Aargon comes to mind, going from a dangerous jerk to a sweet easy going confident pony in training but also watching Morgan Crabbs and Ren go from a well cared for TB with a wonderful beginning to a big beefy competitor jumping big in big shows was a sight to see. Also Cortez has turned into a fit, capable lesson and dressage horse in the hands of Andra Constantin and Carol Popp in CT, Rocky is another in CT that is looking wonderful and coming along so well with Lynda Morhardt. All very dedicated people who take pride in how their horses look, knowing that your horse is a reflection of you as a person.

-Best All Around Adopters: Carole and Clint, The Wade Family of WV adopted yet another horse this year, all are always fat and shining, they have donated to the mission, worked at the SWAP store building tables for us, bought a ton of stuff from the SWAP store, volunteered, bought calendars, offered transport help to volunteers and to Celeita when she fractured her arm… the list goes on and on as they are always looking for a way to help, this couple is a dream come true to any program trying to get things done with very little money.

-Adopters with the biggest hearts: Nancy Trotter of GA, Micki Ollman of NC and Dana Limpert of Maryland. Nancy and Micki for adopting completely blind horses just because they needed a home and they could give them that home, this is the second year we’ve selected them for this honor. Nancy has gone through a major injury with Amber, a family move and even found a Donkey to be Ambers buddy. Micki now runs a blind horse sanctuary in NC and we’ve recommended several blind horses to her that she’s accepted into her program. She even had our beloved 41 year old Kochese a birthday party with local kids attending and walked him in the local Christmas parade, she even went out of her way to meet Kochese’s original owner who had him for many many years but lost her home to foreclosure after a major family illness. When a blind horse comes to you as a rescue, it’s the biggest worry wondering if anyone will ever adopt or if they will ever have a family of their own and then you worry about them being neglected or abused… most rescues just turn them away and many times It’s their last chance. When such a needy horse finds a great home it is really a gift from god. They will both tell you there is nothing better than having an animal that needs you so much and they realize what a gift to them that it really is to have such horses in their lives. Dana Limpert adopted Klack and is working to get his OCD removed as promised, it took us 2 years to find someone that cared enough about the horse to accept the challenge, amazing how many people want something great for nothing, not Dana, she has no expectations except to get him healthy and give him a chance. You just do not find people with the spiritual and personal strength and faith, courage and selflessness to take on horses like this every day. It is truly commendable.

-Adopter that has learned the most since adopting: Katharine Owens and Arab mare Melody of VA, she adopted unhandled 10 month old SA Melody who came to us from a breeder that was over breeding many years and then would send us 10 to 15 unhandled youngsters each year. Melody was lovely but needed so much training…. Fast forward 11 years and they are showing, competing and winning in halter, dressage and stock seat show classes and Katharine is not a professional, she paid a trainer, went to lessons, she got trained and got Melody trained, it really shows that with the investment of time and money and many years of dedication, everyone can raise the horse of their dreams, no matter what their start has been but it does not happen in a month and many times it does not even happen in a year, slow and steady always wins the race.

-SWAP horse that has lived the most interesting life: Mikado and Revue, Mikado was born in Ireland, competed in eventing there, then imported to the US and competed around NY and the east coast, then was adopted into a home in Fairbanks, Alaska. That boy’s been around and his personality is bigger than life. Revue was born in Australia, competed there, went to Europe and was owned by the FEI President, competed there, imported into the US and competed here. Came to us as too much horse for an amateur and not enough for a professional to win but to the surprise of many we placed her with Rhonda Ross, a legally blind rider who built a relationship with her and Revue would ride her anywhere, we sadly lost Rhonda this year and Revue is back with us looking for another home that will give her the time she needs to establish a relationship with in order to see the best of her abilities.

Thank you all for a super year. Without you, SWAP today would just be a memory of the past.

      "Saving the life of one horse may not change the world,

          but the world will surely change for that one horse”

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