Weston's New Life, Day 1

(Stephanie Writing)

He's a damn handsome horse! Look at his gorgeous mane. What an amazing guy! We're the lucky ones!!!

Today, I dragged my sorry but out of bed at 5am. I had just gone to bed at 1:45am because I was up playing on line doing various rescue related things. I make it sound like a big deal, but I wasn't going to be able to sleep anyway.

Bob Casse, a family friend, who does Horse Transport *in addition to being on of the FINEST human beings to ever walk the planet*, was kind enough to take me to Camelot Auction in New Jersey on about 15 hours notice. Considering he is Corrections Officer for NYS, Father of seven, grandfather of 16 and great grandfather of 8 -- there isn't a whole lot that anyone could throw at him and find that he couldn't handle it.

Bob has an amazing truck for performance hauling and two nice trailers, a two horse straight load and a three horse slant, so I wasn't worried about the equipment.. which is AWESOME. 

Well, after four and half hours of listening to me talk, (He now is among the privileged few people on this earth that know that Boys from Brazil is one of my favorite novels, I secretly love John Wayne movies, I cry when I talk about Mickey Mantle and know a freakish amount about things like Benjimin Franklin, ice fishing, and a whole host of other things that I talk about after four cups of coffee and no sleep.) we finally arrived at Camelot. 

In a humorous side note: I walked into the 'Office' of Camelot and found four, white haired, scruffy middle aged men smoking cigars and playing poker at 11am on a Monday. I was so happy by this fact, I had a big grin. They must have thought I was a real weirdo. But really, it was just like something out of a 'B' gangster drama about a cop from the wrong side of the tracks who is forced to go under cover in his own family or something.....

Well, I knew Weston from across the room. He was so handsome. Dirty, nervous, a little scared but quiet fetching anyway. 

I met Heather, a fellow Camelotian who I had talked with when looking for transport.

Weston trailered like an old pro! He was a little anxious to get off the trailer. (Wouldn't we all be??) But calmed down as soon as we got him into the pasture! He took a nice drink and then went of in a cute little trot to explore his new surroundings.

After a few more pets and an apple, we headed in to the house. Weston was happily eating hay. (The other horses were staring at him from across the paddock but he didn't seem to care.)

More information on Weston to come~!

THANK YOU JESSLYNN PETERS!!! You're a CHRISTMAS ANGEL!!!!!!! The world needs more people like you.

**Weston** A Missouri Fox Trotter Gelding

(Stephanie Writing)

Every Wednesday, Camelot Auction in New Jersey runs horses through to a literal 'kill pen'. The Proprietor, Frank, is kind enough to give until Saturday at noon to find someone to bail out the horses. This week, there were 54 horses. 

A WONDERFUL woman offered to bail out a horse if someone had room for them. So, we offered to take him. Even though he is not a draft horse, we are glad to welcome him into our ranks. 

We'll keep you updated on his progress!!! In the meantime, BUY THOSE SHIRTS!!!

 

**Murphy** - Yearling Belgian For Adoption

This is Murphy! He's about a year old and ALL Belgian! He's healthy, happy and CUTE. But, make no mistake, Murphy is going to be a big boy. He has been gelded! He's ready to go to his new family!!

Murphy's Story -

Murphy was rescued in March from an auction near Rochester, NY. His hero, a woman named Jonna, rescues Standardbreds normally but she could not pass up the little weanling Belgian. So, she took him home.

Murphy at the auction!

 After she got rid of the lice and matted fur, she saw how malnourished he was! And thus, Murphy's road to recovery began. Jonna has done an amazing job. Also, he was gelded!

He was so young when he arrived at Jonna's he was still having suckling tendencies. He would sass the other horses like some babies do. Although we can't be sure, he had no idea what grain was (or what to do with it) which is a good indicator that he was taken from his mother and went to auction. Though we don't know his exact age, it was clear that he was just weaned! He was a typical, mischievous colt. 

She contacted me a week ago because Murphy is already getting to be so big that the tack she has for the Standardbreds are starting to become too small. Plus, he is starting to act like a Standardbred. We're going to bring him here so he can get some quality draft horse time and find him a family!!

E-mail me at info@atonoflove.org to inquire about Murphy!!

Thanksgiving Eve!!

(Stephanie Writing)

I was going over my mental check list of what tomorrow is going to be like and I decided that I could write it down because it would be both informative and serve as a way to double check that I have all my lower case 'j's dotted! (Wayne's World II reference for those of you will appreciate it.)

Tomorrow: Wake up. Barn AM - Feed. Ride with Aunt Sue.

Then, return to my post as sous-chef behind the all mighty Lucille Creighton! On the menu: First - Appetizers of cheese, pepperoni, cracker platter, pickle and olive plate. Main Course: Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Mushroom Casserole, Carrots, Candied Yams, and Cranberry Sauce. Then, Deserts: Apple Pie, Cheesecake (Strawberry), Pecan Pie, and White Chocolate Chip Cookies with Macadamia Nuts.

Then the horses get Carrots and Apple Feast - per request of Missy at Milfer Farms. Followed by a nice warm mash of Alfalfa Pellets, Beet Pulp, a little extra molasses, and applesauce -- Topped off with some Corn Oil and Sweet Feed. (Note: This is not their normal meal. They're getting thanksgiving too.)

Chester lying next to the wood stove. Literal warmth of our home.

The cats and dogs will get a few pieces of turkey and then their own can of Turkey and Liver Giblets with Gravy courtesy of Purina!

We are all very lucky to have such a bounty of food. On Friday, we're going to the auction -- perhaps we will find someone else to bring into our circle of love and warmth. I am so grateful to have my friends and family and pets! Life is just so much better with them.

Let's just be so thankful that God has given us all these blessings. Sometimes it seems like life is hard but this is the good stuff. :-)

Our First Rescue...

As long as everything goes as planned, we should several horses that will be arriving in the next week or so. Just in time for Thanksgiving! Believe me, we will be giving MANY MANY thanks!!!! One of the reasons that we'll be thankful is for the little someone who literally wondering into our path. 


My Aunt and I had gone to Norwich to buy some horse food and look around Country Max, our favorite store these days. On our way home, we took a country road and happened upon a wayward cat sitting in the middle of the road. He was very scared. We asked the only person who lived nearby and he said that he'd never seen him before but that people just drop cats off in the middle of the road all the time. Apparently so, because he had several cats that he had taken in from the same situation.


Well, Aunt Sue and I brought GOLIATH home. Since he wasn't neutered yet, we put him in the barn. We don't have any outdoor cats around our neighborhood and my four cats are house cats. Goliath was still very nervous and he disappeared for about twenty-four hours. Then, Kevin (a friend who boards his Quarter Horses with us) said there was a cat sleeping in the hay.


Well, a week and a half later Goliath is the king of the barn. He winds in between the horses legs. He has a little kitty hut where he sleeps leisurely during the day. He has already left us gifts of dead moles right next to where we keep the grain. I guess he felt he needed to contribute to the food pile. He is very cute and snuggly.


My friend Dona, of Little Mews Cat Rescue put me in touch with All Animals Matter and he will be neutered on Friday at Compassionate Care in Norwich. We are so happy to have him around. The horses even seem to enjoy his presence. 

 

The Wheels of Progress Turn Slowly

(Damian Writing)


It's been a while since we've posted, so I just wanted to give a quick update.  While there hasn't been any visible evidence or progress, Stephanie and I have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to get the ATOL ball rolling.  As previously mentioned, we went to the draft horse auction on Friday, October 15th - and although we didn't rescue any horses there, the experience was worth it.


Since then, Steph has been busy working on the barn and otherwise preparing to take in some rescues at her place, and has submitted articles to a few online/print publications to help get the word out.  One of them, Moo Dog Press, has agreed to publish!  Stay tuned to www.moodogpress.com to see it.


I've been pounding the pavement around here (Southeastern PA) and online to try and spread the word.  And we're working on a layout for our full-blown website, which is taking entirely too long but will be up within the next few weeks.


Steph is planning on going back to the auction this coming Friday, so let's keep spreading the word!  We need all the help we can get!


That's all for now - we'll keep you updated as we continue with the progress!

The Auction

(Damian Writing)

So the auction was very surreal.  Puppy (that's what I call Stephanie) got there and registered early on Friday, then came to meet us at the hotel.  It was a miserable, rainy day but that didn't dampen our spirits.  We all went over to the auction house and took a peek at the horses.  While some of them were in pretty bad shape, it wasn't really as bad as I had expected.  We went out and sat through part of the tack auction.  Puppy was so excited to place her first bid ("Oh my god!  I just placed a bid!"), even though she was soon outbid.  Eventually she got an english saddle for $5.00 and a halter.  Then came the horse auction.  At 1:00 it was supposed to be draft horses, and for the most part it was but there were also some other horses too.  We bid on a pair of shire colts but were outbid.  The bad news is that we walked away empty-handed, but the good news is that it seemed the people who got the horses were genuinely interested in keeping them and taking care of them.  After the horse auction there was more tack, and Steph got a couple bags of tack and a western saddle for her Aunt Sue's horse, Sophia.  The saddle was a steal at only $20.00!

After the auction we went to the hotel to check in, and then went to Puppy's house.  Although it was rainy and dreary, we went out to meet the horses.  They are all so sweet, especially Ajax!  We hung out at the house for a while, and then Amy and I went back to Sidney to grab a bite to eat and get settled in at the hotel.

Today (well, yesterday now since it's after midnight as I write this) we got up and went to visit Steph and the horses again.  The weather was much nicer than Friday, so we got to spend a lot of time with them.  We took Ajax up and worked him in the round pen, and then Puppy asked me if I wanted to ride him.  I was so excited and maybe just a little nervous.  Aside from breaking a plastic patio chair trying to mount, it went pretty well.  Ajax was so gentle and easy-going.  It really made my day.  This weekend really made me appreciate what motivated Steph to start A Ton of Love, and I'm so happy to be involved!

Anyway, I'm pretty much exhausted and I know I'm rambling, so I'll stop now.  G'night.

You Don't Hear the Word "No" Very Often...

Dr. Ben Sobel: You don't hear the word "no" a lot, do you?
Boss Paul Vitti: Well, I hear it all the time, only it's more like "no, please, no!" 

 (Stephanie writing)

It's 3:30 in the morning. I am laying in bed thinking about pulling some horses out of the kill pen. I get up. Flick through some channels to find that "Analyze This" is on AMC!

Those of you who know me -- particularly Nadine and Michael Joy -- know that in my life (especially in the past few years) I have a lot of drive. I am resourceful and intelligent. In a word, I don't hear the word 'No' very well. John (my husband) can attest to that. For example, he only wanted one cat. (We have four.) I fell in love with a Clydesdale gelding that lived in Canada. He now resides in my pasture. I am putting together all this from dust in the wind.

Getting Ready

(Damian writing)


Amy and I are almost ready for our trip.  I for one am really excited to be able to make a difference - and help out a really good friend.  Thanks to all my friends for supporting me and A Ton of Love.  It really means a lot to me and Stephanie.  Tomorrow will be a hard day, but I know that it will be worth it in the end.  I'm so excited for a multitude of reasons, and can't wait for tomorrow!

The Day Before The Auction

October 14th, 2010 - 10:03pm

(Stephanie Writing)

I am getting ready to go to bed. The eve of the auction has finally arrived! We've prepared as much as one could possibly prepare for something like this. Damian and Amy are coming up in the morning. John and I are going over at 9am to get registered and look around a bit. It's supposed to rain all day. I guess that is only appropriate!