The statistics are up for May, if you would like to see the graphs bigger just click on them.  We had a total of 67 animals come into the shelter this month.  37 horses, 6 donkeys, 10 peafowl, 10 geese, 3 chickens and 1 pony.

In all 16 animals passed away in the month of May.  6 were euthanized due to behavioral problems, unsafe or dangerous, 5 were euthanized due to pain, disease or pre-existing injury, 4 were euthanized due to old age and poor quality of life, and Pig Pig died after being sedated for his toe and teethe trimming by the vet.  NO animals were euthanized due to lack of space or funds.  We are an open door shelter and will not turn any horse away that needs help, even if all we can do is give them the last act of kindness.

Wednesday the little rescue rig was hooked up and got ready to head out.

4 Peafowl were being adopted and transported to their new home.

Bravo also had to say “Goodbye” to his friends as he was being transported to his new home as well.

Bravo was soon in the trailer ready to go.

Once every one was loaded they headed out of the shelter.

While the rescue rig was on the road, visitors were at the shelter enjoying visiting the horses.  We are working hard on our irrigation system, we wish it had a manual.  We do have most of the sprinklers going, so hopefully the grass will start growing green once more.

Precious, the pregnant donkey who was surrendered the day before, is enjoying her stall.  It has been decided that she will be transported to her new home after she has had her baby.  We believe she is going to have her baby very soon.

April enjoyed feeling the baby move.  Her baby should be the first baby born at the new shelter.

Hundreds of miles away the Peafowl were being unloaded.

The were so happy to get out into their new pen and start pecking around for good things to eat.

Bravo’s adopter was also very happy to have him safely delivered as well.  We are so happy for him!

Thursday found our staff at Animal Control picking up some more donkeys that had to be transferred.  If they couldn’t have found a place for them they would have shipped them off to the local livestock auction, and we didn’t want to see that happen!  Meet Jack, an ungelded donkey.  He is very friendly and sweet.  He was a stray with his buddies and had been hit by a car.

This is Eeyore, he is also an ungelded jack donkey.

And last to load was Moose, who is also an ungelded jack donkey.

Animal Control transferred this pony to another rescue, and when he arrived it was found that he is an in-tact stallion.  They were not equipped to handle a stallion, so they asked us to take him.  Meet Smokey, a 5-7 year old pony stallion.

He was a very good boy, and got right into the trailer.  Look at his beautiful dorsal stripe! It is such a treat to have a grulla colored pony, he is the first grulla pony we have ever had.

He is so petite and refined.  He looks like a full size horse, just scaled down.  At the shelter he looked curiously around while Alex got ready to lead him to a waiting stall.

His face is so adorable with those big beautiful eyes!  If you want this guy, put the $50 hold on him, he won’t last long.  He will be ready to go home once he recovers from his gelding.

Then it was time for the donkeys to get out of the trailer.  First Jack hopped out.

Then the other two got out.

It is so nice to have stalls for all of these ungelded critters.

As Jack was being led to his pen the sun was at the perfect angle and the perfect photo was taken.  So gorgeous!  If anyone was counting that is 4 ungelded critters that came into the shelter Thursday, along with 3 that were already at the shelter.  That is a lot of gelding surgeries that need to be done and we could really use your help.  Please make a donation to help with this.  The 4 that came in from Animal Control came in with absolutely no financial support, and your donation would be greatly appreciated.  To make a donation, please click here.

Thank you all for your support both financially and emotionally.  It really means a lot!

Then the riding instructor gave them a class on horse anatomy.  Then it was off to learn hands on how to saddle and bridle.

The kids sure had a lot of fun and thanks to Tammi’s hard work, the arena was very nice and fluffy.

It was so neat seeing the kids confidence grow with the horses.  It really shows what amazing animals they truly are.

Little Joe was also saddled up to be ridden in the class.  He is a very nice horse and now we will be able to take larger students into the class.

There is an extra well on the property with a dead pump in it.  A well company donated their time to come pull it out!  We really appreciate it!

We had two animals transferred to us from Animal Control.  One was a Paint gelding.

The other is a donkey.

The donkey seems to be pregnant.

First the gelding unloaded.  He was a good boy and got right out of the trailer.

He looked around wide eyed at his new surroundings.  He was a stray when Animal Control picked him up.

We are estimating his age at 10-15 years old.  He is a very pretty boy.

Next it was time for the donkey to get out. She was a little worried about getting out.

She needed a couple helping hands to gently persuade her.

In no time at all she was out of the trailer and promptly put into adoption pending by one of our volunteers.  He’s been looking for the perfect donkey and he immediately fell in love with her.

She was put in a comfy stall, ready to settle in.

Shari, who brought the animals up from Animal Control, hadn’t seen the new shelter yet, so Tawnee gave her the grand tour.  Parcy enjoyed seeing Shari again, but he enjoyed the nice neck massage from Tawnee more.

Then Shari gave him a massage and she hit the perfect spots.

Thank you all for your support, we really appreciate it!

While many people took Monday off work and were playing, our staff and volunteers were lining up for a very big day.  6 panels had to be attached to the big rescue rig.

When all was ready they headed out of the shelter.

It was a long, beautiful drive to their destination.  The Feather River Canyon, highway 70 between Oroville and Quincy, is such a scenic drive with mountains, the river, waterfalls and 3 tunnels.

They arrived at Kevin’s house and met his 3 horses.  Kevin was laid off of work and realized that he did not have the means to continue caring for all of his animals, so he asked for our help.  He had a total  of 29 beloved animals that he was surrendering.

Meet Patty, a 9 year old paint gelding who is trained to ride.

This is Curly, a 7 year old trained to lead Curly gelding.

And this is Valon, a 7 year old Arabian / Mustang cross gelding who is not trained to lead.

There was also 10 geese that were being surrendered.

6 Java and Royal Peafowl.

6 bantam chickens and 4 white Peafowl rounded out the group of animals being surrendered.

The first thing to do was get the horses loaded into the front of the great big rescue rig.  Patty loaded into the trailer like a champ, but the other 2 were a bit hesitant about the idea.

But that’s why they brought panels!

Valon was the last one to decide to get in, he was a little nervous about it, but finally he decided that if his friends were in there and doing good, it was OK for him to get in too.

It was nice to have all 3 horses settled in for the ride.

Then it was time to load the geese.

Groups of them were put into a cage.  They protested loudly!  10 distraught geese can really make a lot of noise.

Group by group were carefully carried to the waiting trailer.

They settled in and seemed happy that they were all together.

One of our volunteers came along to lend her expertise in catching large fowl.  She had come to the shelter in the morning with her tractor to get the arena worked over, but after sharing some great ideas on catching and caring for large fowl, she was invited along for the trip.  She couldn’t say “No!” to such a big adventure!

Tami showed her experience by carefully catching each Peafowl and passing them on to other to place into their cage.

The chickens were no problem.

They didn’t mind their cage and waited patiently to see where they were going.

Last of all it was the big Peafowl.  They are such amazingly gorgeous birds.

Tami did a marvelous job catching them.

One by one they were hauled to the waiting rescue rig.

Their colors are just out of this world, it dazzles the eyes to look at them.  Every feather is bursting with shiny colors.

Finally the last Peafowl was being carried to the waiting ride.  We really appreciate Tammi coming along to lend her experience.  Next time we have a feathered rescue to do we are definitely inviting her along!  As Kevin said goodbye he simply said “Now I’m going to go inside and cry.”  It is always so hard when the economy forces people to give up their beloved companions.

The ride back through the high mountain valleys was so beautiful.

It wasn’t quite dark when the rescue rig pulled into the shelter.

The cages of birds were put on the Hay Wagon to be hauled to the waiting Fowl Pens.  They were covered with tarps the entire trip to keep them calm, the weather was pleasant and we made sure they were cool and comfortable.

Then they were released into their waiting Fowl Pen.

Meanwhile Tammi was on her tractor making the arena so nice.  We can’t thank her enough!

Stardust and Streeker peeked out of their stalls with amazement at all the activity after the sun had gone down.  They said “Goodnight everyone” and went back to sleep.

Many thanks to each of you who donate to make rescues like this possible.  Won’t you make a donation in honor of these animals?  Kevin was unable to assist with their care while at the shelter, he is counting on people just like you to donate even $10 to help care for his beloved companions.  Please, click here.

Thursday was the vet day.

As we expand we have started using two different vets.  Dr Humason was out today getting a whole lot done.  Streeker had some issues that needed to be looked at.  He had a toothe that was half broken off that needed to be pulled.  While he was under sedation his teethe were also floated.

Rusty was also looked at.  We rescued him on April 8th, and he seems to have some back problems.  Every time we would saddle him up to evaluate him, he would be fine.  But when we put our foot in the stirrup, his eyes would start bugging out like he knew he would be in a lot of pain, so we would stop.  She confirmed our suspicions, he has back problems and problems with one of his back legs.  Just to keep confusions down, we have two Rusty’s at the shelter, this is Rusty the Arabian gelding, not Rusty the yearling TB.

Stardust Dancer had his teethe floated.  He is only 4 years old, but already has a lot of teethe problems.   She says that he will continue to need teethe checkups routinely to make sure he can actually chew his food properly.

All the auction horses were examined by the vet.  It was so wonderful having a vet there to see each horse and make sure they are A-OK.  Bombay always keeps his tail in the air, which is a little odd.  The vet examined him and found that most likely he has nerve damage.  When she put pressure on certain points on his rump his tail will fall back down naturally, then when she would release the pressure it would pop back up in the air.  She has given him the OK to be evaluated for the adoption program as it doesn’t seem to bother him at all.

Little Joe, as you can see from this photo should have been named Big Joe, was examined and found to be in great health.

The babies were looked at too, although some of them didn’t want to be touched quite yet. They all passed the visual health check.

Jason has been working on getting the irrigation going for quite some time now.  Finally, today he had success!  This is the clean out pipe getting all the dirt and leaves out of the system.

The little sprinklers look so great spraying water out to keep the grass green.

Unfortunately, years of neglect have left most of the sprinkler heads broken off and there are many hours of repair left to do.

Pig Pig had to be sedated so his toe nails could be trimmed, and some other things done.  Everyone was horrified when Pig Pig never woke up from the sedation.  Rest in peace Pig Pig, you knew you were loved and you had very happy few months with us.  The vet has no idea why he passed away other then she suspects he had fatty tissue around his heart and just couldn’t handle the sedation.

We got to scratch the donkeys off the Adoption Pending board as the donkeys were going home!  They were brought up from the lower pasture.

We were so excited that we found a wonderful home to adopt the entire donkey herd, all 4 of them.  They are all friends, and seeing them go to the same home together made our hearts happy.

In no time at all they were in the trailer ready to head out on their new adventure together.

Their adopter came to the shelter to make sure everyone was safely loaded, he wore a very appropriate shirt we think.

Off down the road they went!

In a little while the trailer gate opened up and the donkeys looked out at their new home.  We know they will be very happy and cared for.  They have 30 acres to run and play in.

Thank you all for your support!

The big rescue rig headed out of the shelter with Ra Makoa safely in the back, and Jason and Alex in the front.

Before long he was at his new home, heading to his beautiful new pen.  He is such a gorgeous boy, and we are so thankful that he found a great home.

Back at the shelter Bugs Buddy and Dundee were being adopted.  Their adopter initially wanted Bugs Buddy and Luke, but they really fell in love with Dundee and decided that he was a better fit for their family.

They loaded up into the trailer safely.

They were peering around with wonderment.  We told them “Goodbye” and it was as if they said “Thank you for rescuing us, and thank you for giving us a new start to our lives.”

Jason and Alex got to the next stop after dropping off Ra Makoa.  Meet Mon Ami , a 3-4 year old Arabian mare who is halter trained.  Her owner was no longer able to keep her.  She looks to us like she may have some Morgan in her as well, but we were told she is 100% Arab.

She hasn’t had much training, but haltered and led just fine.

She also loaded right into the trailer without a hitch.  She was a very good girl.

Another horse was being surrendered at the same place by a different person.  This is Little Joe, a 24 year old gelding.  He is a wonderful horse, her 78 year old dad would ride him and said he is one of the smoothest horses he has ever ridden.  He is in great shape for his age and is a very sweet boy.

They also donated some great panels!  We can always use panels!

In all they donated 13 panels and a gate.

After a drive they arrived safely back at the shelter.

Little Joe was happy to get out of the trailer.

He is such a gorgeous boy!

Last of all Mon Ami (French for My Friend) was the last to unloaded.

She is a really sweet girl who is ready for a perfect home.  She is absolutely gorgeous.

We had 2 other horses surrendered as well, but these don’t eat.  La Makoa’s adoptive mom wants them to be permanent residents in our office to cheer it up.  Thank you so much, they are so gorgeous and it was extremely thoughtful of you.

Many thanks to each and every one of you who donate to make our life saving work possible!  The horses thank you too.

Shortly after arriving at the auction, Shari was yelled at by a very upset auction worker.  You can watch and listen, but be warned they do use a lot of foul language.  Click here.

Then a short while after the angry lady yelled at her, the auction manager told her to leave.  You can watch and listen to that dialog by clicking here.

After we were kicked out, Cowtown auction really starting posting angry comments in earnest on our Facebook wall, using all capital letters.

Sunday the transporter who had purchased the horses for us picked up the horses.  It was so neat seeing them pull into the shelter.  Cowtown had tried their best to keep us from rescuing horses from entering the slaughter pipeline, and they failed.  Auctions need to realize that we always have a plan B, C, etc, as we know what their game plan is to protect their long standing customers who buy a lot of horses… A total of 12 horses were rescued, 2 the transporter kept, 1 they found a home for, and the remaining 9 came to the shelter.

We were so thankful to see these beautiful lives when the trailer door opened.  It took so much hard work and coordination to save them, but they are safe!

One by one they came down the ramp.

It was so neat seeing them come out of the huge trailer.  The transporter says that he has hauled race horses all over the country, but these guys were the easiest to load and rode the nicest.  It was as if they knew someone cared and that everything was going to be ok.

Meet the rescued horses!  This is Gambler, a very cute little colt with a hernia.  We will have our vet out soon to fix him, and all the other colts, all up so they can be placed into the adoption program.

Meet Blizzard, a 14 hand Paso cross gelding who is very nicely trained to ride.

This is Crystal, a 2 year old Arab Paint filly.

This is Bombay, an Arab gelding who is also trained to ride.

Meet Ruby, a 2 year old Arab filly.

This is Scarlett O’Hio, shortened to O’Hio.  Just from her looks we thought that she was a poor older horse.

She had a brand and we looked it up. She is an 8 year old off the track Standardbred, born in Sugarcreek, OH.

We found a newspaper article that had a picture of her on the track.  You can read it by clicking here.  It’s so sad that so many race horses are tossed aside like trash.

 This is Scarlett, a yearling Thoroughbred filly.

Meet Rusty, a yearling Thoroughbred colt.

And finally this is Patriot, a Quarterhorse / TB colt.

The babies and O’Hio were all put in stalls, and the other horses got to get out in the arena and stretch their legs for a bit.

They really loved getting down and rolling in the nice fluffy dirt.

We posted for all our followers on Facebook that “Surprise, we did get horses at the auction after all!”  We did not want to say that we had a horse transporter buying horses for us so that Cowtown wouldn’t kick them out.  After we posted this up one of the auction workers, who was at the auction and yelled at Shari, wrote on our wall: Tonya Amos: “Not one of those horses where at the sale !!! You people are so lame and lie….”

Cowtown contacted us and wanted to set down some ground rules for us.  They told us we cannot take pictures of the horses before we purchase them, which we agreed to.  After the conversation their staff continued posting nasty comments on our wall.  We believe that the  issues have finally be resolved, and we has been invited to come to any auction that we want to.

Many thanks to all of you who donated to make saving these precious lives possible!  Now we need adoptive homes for them all!  We are hoping to have our adoptive page updated today, click here.

Thursday morning Spot gave us a scare.  She was laying down in the pasture and didn’t seem to be able to get up.  After a little bit of help she was able to get up just fine.  The day before she was running around a lot in the pasture and probably just had a few too many sore muscles.  She was put in a nice stall where we kept a close eye on her to make sure everything was A-OK.

Cash and Stumpy were waiting to be loaded into the trailer.

They were off down the road to their new home.  Stumpy looked wide eyed, wondering what was happening.  Last time he went on a trailer ride he was taken to the vet to be gelded, so he was no doubt a little worried about what was going to get chopped off this time.  Don’t worry Stumpy, you’re just going home!

When we arrived at their new home Cash looked at Tawnee with those great big eyes.  You could tell that he knew he was leaving us, and Tawnee assured him that everything was going to be OK.

He realized that everything really was going to be OK when his new little mom, who he had met before, was by his side leading him to his new pen.

We are so happy for both of these horses, they both came from the April auction rescue.

After delivering Cash and Stumpy to their new home, it was off to pick up another horse.  Meet Tychonic Kid who was just surrendered. He is a 9 year old, TB, gelding, who is trained to ride, but needs some improvement on his ground manners. His owner was no longer able to keep him. He has a biting/nibbling problem and will kick at other horses. He is nicely trained to ride though, so he may work wonderfully in a one horse home.

Tych’s owner just had a baby and knew that she wouldn’t have the time for him.  She is hoping that we can find him the perfect home where he will be able to get out and do more stuff.

At the shelter a great big truck and trailer were pulling up.  This is a new transporter that we will be using when a lot of horses need to be moved.

Today they were bringing the 10 Thoroughbreds that your donations made possible to come to the shelter.

Soon the ramp was down.  The thick bristled rug was laid over the ramp so the horses wouldn’t slip at all.

One by one the horses were led down the ramp.

More and more horses just kept coming out.

It’s a really nice trailer inside, nice rubber mats, slants and dividers to keep the horses safe and comfortable.

The 10 Thoroughbreds were safely unloaded and moved to their waiting pen.  To see more photos of the Thoroughbreds, click here.

Back with Jason and Tawnee on the road, the sun was setting as they traveled on.

After the sun had set they finally arrived at their last destination to pick up two Thoroughbred mares who could no longer stay in their home.

As the trailer was set up for them to load they looked on wide eyed.  If you were counting in this blog, that is 13 Thoroughbreds in 1 day.

You can see all the new horses as of May 18th by visiting our adoptable page, click here.

Many thanks to you all for your generous support!

Bunny, who came back to the shelter, has some pretty severe behavioral problems when it comes to riding.  We knew we couldn’t place her in a riding home, she just wanted to hang out and be a pony.  We called Home at Last Sanctuary and they said they would be happy to take her.  Jason hooked up the trailer and got ready to deliver Bunny, who was waiting impatiently in her stall.

Stormy was also going to Home at Last as she was Bunny’s best friend and seemed to have some neurological issues, maybe lack of oxygen at birth or something like that.  She is a very sweet and pretty horse, just didn’t seem to be all with it.

Cheyenne was going to the vet to be checked out.  She has some weird back / hind end issues and we wanted her to get evaluated.  Due to her old age we were very concerned about her.

Macho Man was getting ready for his makeover.  He was very excited about this.

Plus he got to tour the office, which he hadn’t gotten to tour yet.  He was very excited.  He has the cutest personality, he loves adventure, meeting new people and he loves being inside of buildings.

In the arena Chance was being shown to his potential mom who had him in adoption pending.

She really fell in love with him and the feeling was mutual.  In the end she just had to adopt him!  Transportation arrangements are being made.

The shaver’s battery died, but Macho Man got at least one side clipped.  He looks funny now and Dottie and Shadow, the other 2 minis, are no doubt teasing him.  They are probably telling him he had better find a new barber.

Sedona had a potential adopter come out and look at her.  They fell in love and they put the adoption hold on her.  She is anxiously waiting for her adoption application to be processed.  They are the perfect fit and we are hoping that soon Sedona will be in a new home.

Meanwhile, Jason had also taken Ice Man to the vet.  He has been adopted and will be transported from the vet office to his new home.

From the vet Jason headed up to Home at Last.  Stormy was delighted to get out and run with her new pasture friends.

Bunny was a little more laid back and just walked calmly around taking it all it.  They will both enjoy the rest of their life frolicking in the sun, resting in the shade, and eating lots and lots of yummy food.

Streeker was surrendered at the SAFE Surrender Site at the vet office, so Jason picked him up on the way back through.

Streeker is a 17 year old Arab gelding who is trained to ride.  He is such a nice boy!

In no time at all he was at the shelter being led to his waiting pen.  What a long and busy day!

Thank you all so much for your support!

These horses range from 3 to 7 years old. Help us keep these youngsters from going to slaughter!

For more information and to donate: click here

We would like to thank everyone for helping to finish the Auction Rescue fundraiser.  We can’t wait to save lives at the auction this weekend!  Watch our Facebook Saturday night to see them rescued in close to real-time.

Tuesday Animal Control was headed our way.

Soon they were pulling into the shelter with their precious cargo.

They opened their trailer up and were getting ready to unload the horses.  Notice the little dog watching on intently.  She has been hanging around the shelter, even when we were first looking at it, but we thought she belonged to a neighbor.  Come to find out she just roams from home to home from what everyone says in the community.  She seems to have decided that for now the shelter is her home.    Her name is Pippi.

The two horses unloaded safely from the trailer.

We would like you to meet Brandy.  She is a two year old Arabian Mustang cross.  She is halter trained and just needs lots of tender loving care.

This is Cheyenne, named by our Facebook fans as she didn’t have a name.  She was a stray that Animal Control picked up.  She is an older mare who is missing one eye and seems to have some back/hind end issues which we will have evaluated.

Bunny came back to the shelter.  She could no longer stay in her adoptive home.

We are happy to have her back as we always want what is best for our adopted horses.

Dot will be leaving for the summer, but she made a beautiful Bit Art picture holder for us to sell as a fundraiser.  It is only $45!

Dot and Steve worked on evaluating horses all afternoon.

We can’t say how extremely pleased we are to have this indoor riding arena.

It sure makes evaluating the horses so much safer and easier.  Next winter it will make it so much drier too.

As the sun was beginning to set it cast a golden light over the pasture while the horses were grazing contentedly.  We would like to thank each of you who donate to make this possible.  We do still need 12, $10 a month sponsors.  Surely you can help us reach our goal to cover the monthly costs of the shelter!  Click here, and scroll down.

We just published a blog with all the events from last week in it, you can read it by clicking here.

Our April statistics are available now too.  In all 59 animals came into the shelter in April. There were 28 horses,  26 goats, 2 ponies, 2 donkeys and 1 mule.  40 came from the slaughter pipeline / auction, 16 from owner surrenders and 3 were from Animal Control.

20 animals passed away in April.  We rescued a huge number of baby goats, they were extremely weak, and some didn’t make it.  10 animals died, 6 were humanely euthanized due to pain, injury or medical issues, 2 for behavioral problems, unsafe or dangerous and 2 where euthanized due to old age or poor quality of life.  NO animals were euthanized due to lack of space.  In our previous reports we had owner requested euthanasia as one of the categories, some people commented that we weren’t saying why they were euthanized, so we have just included the owner requested euthanasia in the appropriate category.  If you would like to see the graphs bigger you can click on them!

Monday we had visitors out looking at the horses.  The horses always enjoy getting visitors.

One thing that was very exciting was the first ever Horse Plus Beginner Horsemanship class.  We had 4 very eager students come for the 1 hour lesson.  First they were educated on why horses need to be rescued, what they are rescued from, basic tack, how to saddle, and basic horse handling skills.

Then they had their riding lesson on the rescued horses!  Spot, in the back, is going to join our Beginner Horsemanship class, and Raven Beauty, formerly known as June Bug, who we rescued from an auction in November of last year.  She has been adopted and her family loves her so much, but they are letting us use her for our riding program until we get more horses.

We are so thrilled to have this arena where we can do these riding and education programs.  It is something we have wanted to do for a long time, we just never had the facility.

We do need more children’s helmets to keep the kids safe!  If you would like to donate a helmet or two, we would really appreciate it!  Our shipping address is: Horse Plus Humane Society, P O Box 6108, Oroville CA 95966, or 1944 Robinson Mill Rd, Bangor Ca 95914.  We need kids small through adult large.  To buy a helmet, click here.

One of the visitors that came on Monday wanted to adopt a horse for a pasture pal / riding horse so her other horse won’t be lonely after losing his aged friend.

She fell in love with Ice Man and the feeling was definitely mutual.  We are so happy for both of them.

We are currently accepting new applications for our Horse Plus Basic Horsemanship class.  The classes will educate you or your youngster on basic horse care, grooming, saddling, bridling and learning how to ride. The class is for kids aged 5 through adults that weigh up to 180 pounds.  The funds from the classes will go to help support the shelter and rescuing animals in need.  Currently we have openings on Tuesday afternoons. 1 hour group lessons are $25, and the group is from 2 to 4 people.  Private 1 hour lessons are $50, remember the funds are going to help save animals in need, it’s win-win!  Please contact us if you are interested, click here.

Thank you all so much for your support!