Merry Christmas to all you Horsey Fans!

Saint WhinneyHorse Christmas Poem
by Jerry Hlavac  Copyright © 2002-2011

 

‘Twas the night before Christmas out on the farm,

Not a creature was stirring, not even the cats in the barn

All of the horseshoes were hung on the stall doors with care

In hopes that St. Whinny, would soon be there.

 

Now the mustang mare in her kerchief

Last  Chance, her stall mate in his cap

In their stalls had just settled down

For a cold nights nap

 

When out in the pasture

Came such noise and clatter

All the horse jumped up to see what was the matter

 

When to their wide eyes appeared such a craft

A great big sleigh pulled by eight Belgian Drafts

The driver from a wild herd of many

All the horses knew instantly, it was St. Whinny

 

Into the barn he came with a bound

Looking extremely funny dressed in his coat of Brown

Now a bundle of goodies was tied to his back

Which he put down and opened the sack

 

His eyes really twinkled, His nicker so merry

The cheeks were frosted and his nose was real hairy

Now he neighed not a sound going right to work

Filled all the horse shoes with treats of grain

Carrots, apples, molasses cookies, then with a jerk

Closed his sack, shook his mane

Swished his tail & his ears did perk

 

Out the door he cantered, to the sleigh with a gallop

As the team took flight,

He exclaimed 

“Merry Christmas to all and to all horses Goodnight!”

Lakota. a new arrival at the Rescue!

Meet Lakota! He is an Appy, T/B, & Belgian cross. He is about 7/8 years old & is a rescue from the PMU industry!! Lakota has been boarded at a facility in Red Bluff, Ca. for the last 6 years! His owner had high hopes of getting him transported back East, where she is currently living, but due to health reasons beyond her control, she had to face the fact, that dream could no longer happen for the two of them. She contacted Safe Haven to ask us to take him, so the boarding facility did not take him to the Auction, as she could no longer afford his board!  Linda & Volunteer Jamie loaded up the trailer & off they went to get him & Ta-dah.........here he is in a pen at Safe Haven! Linda Richards is showing me that he is a little scared & standoffish, but we know that he will come around after a couple of weeks at the Rescue, while 'we do what we do!'

See...he is all ready being So Brave! Lakota came over to me to have a close-up pic taken! What a handsome guy, he is! He is all fuzzy with his winter coat, so he looks all white but Guess what! He has little black spots all over him!!!! I am so looking forward to Spring to see what he will shed out to be!!!! Be assured that will be a Blog!!!!! This was on a Thursday......wait till Saturday big guy, & you will meet....Bonnie!

Yep, it is Saturday & Bonnie wasn't at the rescue for very long before she had Lakota in the round pen for a meet & greet! She worked him in the pen for awhile to see what he could do, when she was happy with the results, she decided it was time for a little brushing! Lakota is checking out the brush & he is a little worried, but again is being so brave!

Lakota is not too sure about this brushing business as his ears &  facial expression shows! Bonnie kept brushing, & Lakota decided.....................................

I LIKE IT!!!! Look at that face & ears now! What a handsome handsome guy you are!!!! Lakota will be allowed to settle in at Safe Haven for a couple of weeks, (our standard procedure) & then we will have had time to assess him & will then let you all know, what kind of Home would be best suited for this big Guy! Stay tuned for the up-dates on Lakota & all the other horses at Safe Haven Horse Rescue!  

Bye for now,
Linda C.

Cori & Sam riding in the arena.

Last Saturday at Safe Haven Horse Rescue, Volunteers Cori & Daughter Samantha went for a ride on two of their favs! Cori is riding Cowboy, a nice old gelding that was a personal rescue for Cori. She saw him on the way home every day & when she saw he was Not eating but standing in the corner of the Pasture, wasting away to nothing, she stepped up to the plate & looked up the landowner! Of course he swore the horse was Not his, & offered to shoot him right then & there or at least by days end!, so Cori squelched that idea & began to feed Cowboy herself twice a day, until there was room for him at Safe Haven! Good job Cori! Cowboy is no longer depressed & is finding he is quite Loved!

Samantha is riding Zebi, a little 1/2 Curly that came in with Smokey the Buckskin, & the big bay mare Reba. The story here is in reverse of the first one! This little curly girl has taken Sam under her 'Wings of Love' & has Sam back in the saddle every chance she gets!!!!! That is so Awesome! 

When you volunteer at Safe Haven Horse Rescue, you do not get paid in cash, you get paid in life touching experiences!!!! A Nicker here, A snuggle there, it all so good for rejuvenating the soul! YOU also can come out & see who will be the one for you! Hope to see you soon! If you cannot come out to the ranch personally, you can help us support the horse of your choice through our Sponsor Program! All the details are on our website www.safehavenhorserescue.org! You can also find Safe Haven on Facebook, to keep up with all the activities!

Bye for now,
Linda C.

For the Love of Horses' Whinny & Wine event

 Safe Haven Horse Rescue, would like to Thank Everyone who participated in making the evening a huge success!!!! We are very grateful for your support! Cori M. & Linda C. were on hand to get the party started w/ ticket sales!!!

 The room was quite full of guests! New faces & old familiar faces!

 Denise & David Derk are avid supporters to Safe Haven fundraising events! They have participated in the Play Days & the dinner fundraisers! We, at Safe Haven, Love to 'dish it' out to Dave...cuz he can dish it right back!!!

 Sherrie & Larry, & then Paula also come to compete at our Play Days! Thanks, we appreciate your loyalty!

 A beautiful bracelet was made by Tail Spin Bracelets for the Live Auction, & one was made for Linda Richards, Founder & President of Safe Haven Horse Rescue! Cori went around to ALL the horses currently at Safe Haven & gathered a tail hair from each, for Linda's bracelet. Cori then gathered tail hairs from the 3 Secretariat descendants that we have & that one was put in the live auction! Very nice gift!

 Cori then presented the bracelet to Linda R. & Yes, Linda is trying very hard not to cry!!! Good job Cori!

 Big Thanks to Alpen Cellars of Trinity County! They came a long way!

 Big Thanks to Dakaro Cellars!!!!

Big Thanks to Lassen Peaks!

 Big Thanks to Matson Vineyards! Lynette on the right, has adopted 2 horses from Safe Haven, Buster & King!!!!! Matson Vineyards also donated a beautiful Wine Gift Basket that used as the 'door prize' of the evening! Awesome!

& last but not least! Mt. Tehama Winery was serving up some of it's very best!

Be sure to check out 'The Scene' page of the Record Searchlight tomorrow to see more pictures from the Whinny & Wine, & I'll post more pics also in another blog. Safe Haven would like to Thank Mike Killingbeck of L&M Equine Photography for all the hours he has donated to the horses also! The Derks bought his $100.00 gift certificate of any picture of your choice mounted on canvas, in the Live Auction & have all ready picked out which one they want!!            THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

 Bye for now,
Linda C.

Drifter’s tail!

                                           This is what Drifter’s tail look like in April 2010.
This is what someone has done to his tail! It was done sometime this month, we noticed this a few days after the Oct 1, 2011 Play Day we had! This is just heart breaking!!!!! We at Safe Haven are very upset! The 2 horses on either side of him had NO evidence of his tail in their pens, & there was NO tail hair caught up in the clamps of the pen!
Needless to say…….a police report has been filed & we WILL pursue this issue to the fullest! There has been other cases in other states of someone doing this to horses in the last 6 months! If you have any clue to who is doing this Please contact Safe Haven @ 530-347-4941. Everything will be handled with complete anonymousness! Thank you so much!
Bye for now,
Linda C.

Kaliffe's Adopted Mom sends an UPDATE! AWESOME!

Hi Linda

An update on Khalif (you pronounced him Cuu-Leaf),

Besides being completely healed - He’s Perfect!!!! I love him so much, and I know he feels the same. His energy and personality is just what I hoped for, but never thought I would have again after the passing of my life-long best friend last thanksgiving.

Okay, gotta gloat a little about what Khalif and I just did last week! We went on vacation in Humboldt County, and camped along the way from South to North. I’m attaching just a few of the pics – my dial-up is sooo slow. If you would like to see any more, just let me know and I can send you a CD.

We started in Cueno Creek State Horse Campground in the Avenue of the Giants, and rode in the ancient redwoods, (FYI - $35 per night, 2 small pipe corrals per campsite, pay showers). The trail takes you to Bull Creek near Albee Campground, where there is the most living bio-mass, measured in tons per acre of land, than any other place on the planet!!!! I swear the horses were looking up at the giant redwoods as much as us humans!  Khalif even saw a bear 20' off the trail before anyone else did.  It was laying down, and I only saw it just as we were directly across the trail from it.  It lifted its head to look at us, and then went back to hanging out.  Whew!  What good horses!!!!

Then, we went to the beach (free!) and rode in the surf on the South Spit near the old light house in Lolita. It was actually sunny – very unusual for summer in Humboldt. Khalif was great, and cruised though the sand and loud surf – no problem! We went slow, and stayed on the hard wet sand to help my mostly blind 27 year old Russian arab mare. Khalif could have run all day, and thoroughly enjoyed himself! He only spooked once at a piece of driftwood (at a walk) I love arabs! The horses stayed at a local ranch that night, Hillcrest Stables, in acres of beautiful pasture (free!). They didn’t want to leave!

 Then we trailered up to Orick and stayed at the rodeo grounds run by the chamber of commerce, ($10 per horse, per night, camping is free, big wood stalls on a 1^st come 1^st filled basis, no showers). The entire camping area is low grazed, green, green grass, and is bordered by Redwood Creek. The gravel is small, and the creek wide, so you can run in the river on the horses! But, the real reason to go is the adjacent trail up into Redwood State and National Park. It has a ride-in redwood tree that Khalif went right into – no issues!!!!! The ferns and thimbleberries are taller than the horses! And the redwoods are HUGE!!!!!!!!!! The fog was thick (normal), and we used blankets on the horses at night. What a difference from our hot summer up here in Hayfork!

Linda - Thank you for all of this. I truly appreciate what you did for Khalif, and for bringing us together. Khalif has found his happily-ever-after home because of you – and I feel good knowing I didn’t support the horse breeding industry while so many are being euthanized.

Take Care & Long Live Safe Haven!

Sincerely,
Jamie Levitan & Khalif

The Baby's education Begins, on Aug 4th, 2011

Mid afternoon on August 4 was just a typical day for the un-named Paint Filly, she was just 'hangin out' with her Mom, Kisses, being Very Cute! Little did she know that her basic education was going to start in an hour or so when Linda R. & Ashley Ewing would get back from picking up TONIETTA! Yes, Tonietta the big T/B mare is back to Safe Haven, but that is for another blog! Ashley brought her friend, Cassie, along too. Moving Tonietta went very smoothly as Ashley, our Trainer really knows what she is doing, so back to Safe Haven at an early hour......it was time to put a HALTER on the Filly!

With the help of the Unmovable tree, the Filly was soon CAPTURED by Ashley & Cassie.

The halter is ON! But we decided it was just way too big, we did not want to take a chance of her getting her foot caught up in it! Hold on to her Girls, I'll be right back!!!

There we go! All haltered up & time for some human hands to rub rub rub! You'll see, she looks so much better in Blue!

Well, the rodeo is not over yet! Even tho there are encouraging words & soft nurturing noises, little baby filly is Not going for any of it!!!

Kisses, the 7 year old, Not halter broke, or ever ever handled, was very good through the whole 'haltering' of her baby! She stayed close but did not offer to attack or anything!!!!

Yep, the Baby Filly decided to throw a fit & Ashley kept a firm grip on the short lead rope & just let her back up into the panel, no baby neck was injured! As you can see Kisses is right there too!

Well, the tantrum is over for now, at least & we are looking good in that Blue halter! Quite sophisticated actually! Good job Ashley!

Cassie has a hold of the Filly now, & she has pretty much done wore her little self OUT! See Kisses, right there close but not freaking out! Ashley & Cassie would pet the baby down her back & then slowly put their hand to the mare, but she was not going for any of that!   Well, I'll share with you, that I have another blog to write on these two from yesterday, & I'll just say.......Cathy H. has figured out what makes Kisses very Brave! Wonder what it is???????????

Bye for now,
Linda C.

Pretty, Painted, & LEERY, New Arrivals!

Kisses & her 3 week old Filly arrived at Safe Haven on Tuesday, August 2nd. They were offered on Craig's List for $100.00, Maggie's Mom called her & told Maggie if she could find them a place to go, she would pay the $100.00 so the Untrained Brood Mare would not end up at the slaughter house. So, you can figure out the rest of the story!

Kisses is a Registered Homozygous Paint, she is quite leery of people, but we think she will come around after a whole bunch of FOOD, LOVE, & COOKIES!

The little filly is so cute, & she NEEDS a NAME! Got any suggestions?? The color on her ears, covers both ears but not the pole, so I'm wondering if she qualifies for being a Medicine Hat? I will be looking that up shortly.

What you see here is; The first step in the 'people are a good thing' process! We put some cookies in her feeder, as she will not come to take them from your hand. She Will some day soon tho! I'll be sure & let you know the Day she does! It's Amazing just how many horses we get in, that Don't know what Cookies, Apples & Carrots are!  

The little filly really liked the salt block with the selenium mineral in it! she was at that over & over again!

After all that Salt, she needed a Drink! These two will be out at Safe Haven for quite awhile, they are in the 'settleing' in stage, as Safe Haven always keeps the horses for a few weeks just to settle in, before they are evaluated as to what they know, & if they are sound, or if they have any issues, & just what they are trained for! If you have a couple of hours to spare, you are Welcomed to come & Volunteer at Safe Haven to help us take care of the horses! HORSES are the BEST THERAPY around! Hope to see you soon!

Bye for now,
Linda C.

Safe Haven has lost a GREAT HORSE HERO!.........R.I.P. Chet.

Chester Dale Borror (1957 - 2011)

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CHESTER DALE BORROR

Chester Dale Borror was born in Corning, September 22, 1957 and died July 12,2011 at his home on Tehama Angus Ranch in Gerber,CA.

He was educated in Gerber, Red Bluff and U.C., Davis. Upon graduation he worked for Kraft Foods in Chicago, Illinois in food engineering. He enjoyed working with his hands, constructing stone walls at the Chalk Mountain Ranch in Bridgeville, CA, and building his home on Holmes Road. He enjoyed designing and building many ranch signs and gates, building firewood processing machinery, and designing and building furniture. Chet developed a special bond with animals under duress - providing a home for stray dogs and working and providing support for Safe Haven Horse Rescue.

He is survived by his special friend Catherine Cadieux, his parents Bill and Sandy Borror of Tehama, brother Kevin (Linda) and Eric of Gerber, brother Aaron (Rebecca) of Terrebonne, OR and sister Alda of Miyazaki, Japan and nieces Callie Borror, Rochelle Borror and nephew Bryce Borror.

A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, July 23rd, at noon with a potluck at the ranch. Chet would request any gifts be made to Safe Haven Horse Rescue.

 * Chet's Parents had his celebration of life yesterday, at their ranch. Linda R. Rick T. Cori M. & Linda C. attended the services for Safe Haven. It was a beautiful & peaceful celebration of a Wonderful, Talented, & Kind Hearted Man, who gave his All, for each & every endeavour he took on.  Mrs Borror, welcomed everyone & said a Prayer for Chet & everyone attending. Mr Borron talked about his son's life. It was beautifully sad for everyone, they all loved him so.
Chet found Safe Haven Horse Rescue in the Nickel newspaper! He came out to the ranch, & after seeing the horse's hay on pallets, stored under tarps, he decided to build us a Hay Barn! & that he did! It is an Awesome well built Barn, that Safe Haven will Forever be Grateful for. Safe Haven is in the process of having a plaque built to mount on the barn to Honor Chet. He was the horses & Safe Haven Horse Rescue's Hero.

Published in Daily News on July 14, 2011

Ebony & Aubrey, Summer Camp!

Ebony is an older gelding that The Equine Angel, Shirley Puga saved from the kill pens in Fallon Nevada, last October along with 2 other mares. Ebony has come along way in the few short months he has been at Safe Haven! I have doubled checked the dates on the pics & when he first appeared on the blog & yes he has not even been at Safe Haven for a whole year yet!

Volunteer Cindi is showing that he has the dreaded 'tea cup syndrome' which translates to; you could set a teacup on the top of his rib cage & it would Not fall off!

After a feeding or so, Linda R. decided that he needed her 'magic mush', the life saving mixture that Linda has refined over the many years of taking care of all the horses she has rescued. Actually a month or so ago, Linda R. decided that Ebony would just be a 'Musher' & would have No Hay, as he just doesn't have enough teeth left to chew the hay up properly. Well, Ebony is now one of the Favorite horses out at Safe Haven these days! Let's go see what he did in July!

Yep! That is Ebony! Doesn't he just looked Marvelous??? Nice & shiny & Awesomely Round in all the right places! Yes that Magic Mush mixture is a Godsend! Linda R. gladly shares the recipe for any horse in need!  He was little Aubrey's horse in the Summer Camp. Aubrey had a wonderful time on Ebony for Summer Camp & is now taking riding lessons on him on Wed mornings. I would say it is safe to say that they have Bonded!  If you would like Your Child to have this experience, you're in Luck! Safe Haven will be having another Summer Camp in August from the 1st - the 5th! spaces are limited so call to reserve your child's life long memories now! You can call Linda R. at Safe Haven Horse Rescue at 530-347-4941. Now for Aubrey's forever memory from Safe Haven's Summer Camp!

As the saying goes; You can lead a horse to water, but you can't Make them drink! Well, as you can see here Aubrey can! She just used the Love she has for Ebony & hand fed him some water! GOOD JOB AUBREY!

A Good Ole Horse & A Little Girl!

 Drifter, came to Safe Haven Horse Rescue in April of 2009, this is the very first picture of him. He's somewhat under weight, his feet need trimming & the worst thing of All, is that his right eyeball is Collapsed in it's socket! The next picture might be a little graphic for some.

 Yes, this is what his eye looked like when he came to Safe Haven, it was Very Painful for him! Drifter needed a $1000.00 eye removal surgery & Safe Haven needed to raise the money for that! That is when a Wonderful Group of People called Fans of Barbaro (FOB's for short) came riding to the rescue, & they, on the Alex Brown Racing Forum, Cheer leaded for Drifter, challenged each other to Match their personal amounts donated & Bumped to keep his story on top of the reading list, until the entire amount for surgery was raised!!!  Safe Haven & Drifter are forever Grateful to The Rockin' FOB's!                                        OK, that is Drifter's beginning at Safe Haven, now let's go see what he has been up to!

Drifter went to Summer Camp at Safe Haven! Drifter was matched up w/ little Elayna for the whole week of Summer Camp! They seem to be bonding nicely & helping each other as well.

I'm quite sure that Drifter is thinking Oh Ya Baby Girl that's the spot, right there just keep brushing my neck! Thank You!

 So the little girl got on the big ole horse & off they went to do  'Ca. Poles' in the horse show they put on for their parents! GOOD JOB! This is just one pair that took part in Safe Haven's Summer Camp & there will be more pairs to come! & now I'm going to end this pair's Summer Camp with just a picture. Thanks to All, then & now who have been involved in order to make this possible!

                                 Thank you for the ride Drifter, I LOVE YOU!