2014 Winter/Spring - Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation

Five Ponies Rescued from Wadena County, MN, During
Record Cold February Temperatures
On one of those days in early
February when the wind chill
threatened to drop to forty below
zero, we received a call from
Investigator Hanson of the Animal Humane Society telling us
of an urgent case in Wadena
County, MN. There were five
ponies on a property with inadequate shelter and no water or
hay. The person hired to care for
the ponies claimed they had
only been out of hay for a few
days. However, by the time the
case had come to the attention
of the Wadena County Sherriff's
Department and the Animal
Humane Society, there were
already three dead ponies in the
pasture. Though very hungry
and thirsty, the remaining ponies
were wary of being caught. We
got the first three loaded relatively quickly but the last two,
being unhandled, proved to be a
challenge. Finally, with the sun
going down and the wind pick-
run them onto the trailer.
The next stop for the ponies was Siete Leguas
Veterinary Clinic where
they were bedded down in
thick shavings for the night
and given hay and water.
In the morning they received their vet checks.
Above: Pulling up the windbreak.
We were not surprised to
Below: Two of the three dead ponies
found on the property. We believe one find out that the three
mares were all pregnant.
of these to be the dam of the orphaned foal, Peter.
Of the two younger ponies,
one was a nine month old
filly and the other a six
month old orphaned colt,
presumably his mother
was one of the dead pintos
on the property. The body
scores for the ponies
ranged from 2 to 3/4, this
being harder to tell because of their thick winter
coats.
It only took the ponies
about 24 hours to realize
ing up, with the help of Investithat at this barn people
gator Hanson and the Sheriff’s
bring them FOOD and
Deputy, we were able to pull
before long they were all
the panels up from the snow
easy to catch and handle.
around the makeshift wind(cont. P.2)
break and create a chute to
MHARF
Newsletter
Winter/Spring
2014
Top: Peter, 6 month old orphaned colt.
Middle: Nikka, pregnant pony mare.
Below: Sochi, pregnant POA mare.
Bottom: Sochi has a damaged eye that
may require removal.
Some of Our Fall/Winter 2013 Intakes
Top Left to Right: Honey, Lahab, Wait, Helen’s hind feet, Helen
Bottom Left to Right: Leo and Monroe, Olivia, Amber Dee, Esme
For a full list of available
horses visit us at
www.mnhoovedanimalrescue.org
Page 2
2014 Brings Some Changes to the MHARF Trainers’ Challenge of the Unwanted Horse
It’s hard to believe it’s time once again to
start assigning horses to trainers for the
2014 Trainers’ Challenge. We have had a
great response to our application request
and expect the 2014 Challenge to be as
big and amazing as ever. This event has
become the high point of the year for everyone at MHARF, not only because it
gives us a chance to visit with all of our
supporters, but also because it allows us
to showcase some amazing rescued
horses and the incredibly talented trainers
who take them on (and the fact that we’ve
had a very high adoption rate for the past
Challenge horses doesn’t hurt, either!).
Because this event has been so successful for us, much of it remains the same for
2014 (and here’s a shout-out to our Challenge volunteers—we have heard from
many spectators that the 2013 event ran
like a well-oiled machine. We even finished on time!). However, there will be a
few updates that we feel will improve the
event for trainers and spectators. First of
all, we will be including rescued horses
from two other organizations: Truhaven
Ranch, Inc. and This Old Horse, Inc. Not
that we don’t have enough of our own
horses to enter (that’s unlikely to be a problem any time soon) but because we feel collaboration with like-minded organizations is
very important to the future of the equine humane industry.
Another change will be to post all tabulated
standings in the finals, and to include a cash
prize of $1,000 with 3rd place in the finals.
The trainers who work with these horses all
summer do an amazing amount of work and
the Challenge would not be such a successful
event if it weren’t for the trainers who are willing to give of their time and energy, not to
mention the amount of heart and soul they put
into the horses with whom they develop deep
bonds. As any one who has attended the
event has seen, there are never many dry
eyes in the arena when it comes time for the
silent auction of the horses to pre-approved
bidders at the end of the day! We hope every- Above: Grand Champion Trophy & Ribbon
Below ( left to right): Some of the 2014 Trainers’ Chalone is able to join us for this year’s event!
lenge Candidates: Keno (MHARF), Hope (This Old
Horse, Inc.), Crouching Tantrum (MHARF), Denny
(Truhaven Ranch)
Rescued Ponies cont.
As in many cases we see—these ponies
were not necessarily mistreated—just
gravely neglected due to ignorance, apathy, and tough economic times. Luckily,
someone, most likely a passer by, cared
enough to contact the authorities and
these ponies were saved. Of the five, the
two youngsters (Peter, the 6 month old &
Katya, Odessa’s 9 month old filly) were
moved to the MHARF farm. Sochi, the
POA, was taken into one of our foster
homes for foaling, and the last two
mares, Odessa and Nikka, were taken on
by Truhaven Ranch. Katya and Peter are
both available for adoption through
MHARF. Sochi, Odessa, and Nikka (we
gave them all Russian names in honor of
the Siberian-like weather they survived )
will remain in rehabilitation until after
foaling and weaning. (Thank you to Andi
Saatzer for digging her trailer out of the
snow to help us load and haul these ponies!)
Above: One of the three dead ponies on the
property in front of the very inadequate (and
obviously much-used) windbreak. Top Left:
Katya. Bottom left: Odessa
Annual Tack & Rummage Sale!
2014 Minnesota Horse Expo
Unfortunately MHARF will not be participating in
the 2014 Minnesota Horse Expo in April due to
the high cost of booth rental and traveling expenses. We have found in the past that we do not
earn enough at this event to cover the cost of
participation and we feel that this year the money
would be better spent purchasing hay (the cost of
the booth alone buys a week’s worth of hay ).
We regret missing this opportunity to educate the public about equine welfare but we
will continue to work hard to do this through
our own programs, events, fundraisers,
website, facebook page, and newsletters.
Thank you to all who have come by our
booth in the past to support us & to the
volunteers who have staffed the booth!
We need volunteers for set up, selling, &
clean up. Sale will take place at the Zimmerman Civic Center on May 8th-11th.
Set up will be May 6th & 7th. Clean up
will be May 12th-13th. We are also accepting Donations! (no electronics,
please). To donate or volunteer please
email [email protected]
or call (763)856-3119. Thank you!
New for 2014: “Diamonds in the Rough” Small Unwanted Equine Competition
MHARF is proud to announce a new event
for 2014 in collaboration with Truhaven
Ranch, Inc. It’s called the “Diamonds in the
Rough” Youth/Amateur Small Unwanted
Equine Competition. It will be somewhat
similar to our annual Trainers’ Challenge
but will feature ponies, miniature horses,
mules, donkeys, and other horses too
young to be started under saddle. The competition will consist of a halter class, a vet
and farrier class, a freestyle exhibition, and
an obstacle class. Just like our main Challenge, cash and prizes will be awarded.
The event will be held on October 4th,
2014, at Truhaven Ranch in Winstead,
Minnesota, (www.truhavenranch.org). We
are still working out all of the details so
watch our website and Truhaven’s, as well
as both facebook pages for future announcements about the competition and
how to apply. We feel this event will be very
beneficial in giving our ponies and youngsters a great start as well as being a valuable experience for new trainers!
New MHARF “It Takes One to Know
One” T-shirts available! 100% cotton,
design on back, MHARF logo on front, unisex, black, sizes Small-XL $25.00 each plus
$4.00 shipping (shipping discount for multiple shirts) Please email
[email protected]
and we can set up payment through
Paypal or by check!
Some of the Small
Equine competitors:
Top: Tater Chip
Middle: Hans
Bottom left: Rikki
Bottom Right:
Dolly
2013 Horse Crazy Holiday Market
MHARF was happy to be
asked to participate in the
first annual Horse Crazy
Holiday Market on Dec. 8th,
2013, at the Ramada Inn in
Bloomington, MN. The
event featured many vendors with amazing horsethemed artwork, gifts and
clothing. We had a great
time meeting a lot of new
people and seeing many
old friends! We also sold place on the first weeksome beautiful handmade end in December.
ornaments and other
items that had been donated for the sale. We
hope to participate again
this year. You can find
more info on the Horse
Crazy Holiday Market on
their facebook page. The
2014 Market will be a two
day event and will take
Left and
Right: Donated items
for sale at
Market!
Page 3
Kids Helping Ponies!
Our friend Macy Farrier
visited the MHARF farm
and presented us with a
check for $375.00 which
she collected in lieu of
presents at her birthday
party in March! It’s so
amazing to see children
care so much about our
cause! If you have a
youngster who would like
to “sponsor” MHARF on
their birthday, let us know
ahead of time and we can
send them some special
items to help them celebrate! We can also set up
a farm visit! Contact us at
[email protected] or call
(763)856-3119
Blattner Energy and Cinch Chix Sponsors of the 2014 Trainers’ Challenge!
Renewable Energy Industry Leaders
www.blattnerenergy.com
Blattner Energy, Inc. of Avon, Minnesota, & Cinch
Chix, Inc., of North Branch, Minnesota, are once again
our GRAND & RESERVE CHAMPIONSHIP sponsors
for the 2014 Trainers’ Challenge of the Unwanted
Horse! With their generous donations we’re able to
offer over $10,000.00 in cash & prizes this year! The
2014 Trainers’ Challenge is also brought to you by:
The Valley Equestrian Newspaper, Siete Leguas
Equine Veterinary Services, and MHARF’s loyal and
amazing contingent of volunteers who have come together year after year to make sure the Trainers’ Challenge is a huge success. Thank You! If anyone else
would like to help sponsor this year’s Traines’ Challenge please contact us at:
[email protected]
New MHARF Posters
Available Now!
Beautiful posters on
heavy stock! “In Their
Eyes” (full color pinto
foal) ; “The
Horse” (black/white draft
horses); “On the Back of
My Horse” (full color
dressage horse). All
11.25” x 14.25”
$5.00 each, or 3 for $12
(one of each design)
plus $2.00 shipping
(shipping discount for
multiple posters) Please
email
[email protected] to
order. We can accept
payment through
Paypal or by check .
Designed by Victor Medina
Photography
M innesota Hooved An im al
Rescue Foundation
PO Box 47
Zimmerman, MN 55398
www.mnhoovedanimalrescue.org
(763)856-3119
[email protected]
MHARF is an all-volunteer, non-profit 501c3
organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, retraining, and re-homing of neglected, abused, abandoned and unwanted
equines and other animals. Because some of
the horses we take in need extended rehabilitation and some have serious medical needs,
we are always in need of financial support
from friends like you. Please consider joining
the MHARF family by making a financial
contribution. No donation is too small or
too large!
All donations are tax deductible. We also accept gifts in- kind and gifts of stock.
__YES I would like to join the MHARF
family by making a financial contribution. I
have enclosed a check for $ ______.___
Complete this form and mail it with
your donation to: MHARF, PO BOX
47, Zimmerman, MN, 55398
Or contribute online through PayPal or
Network for Good at
www.mnhoovedanimalrescue.org
Name___________________________________
Address ________________________________
City___________________________ State ____
Zip ________
Phone (____) _____-________
Email address_____________________________
Date______________
Visit us a mnhoovedanimalrescue.org or
email [email protected] for
Upcoming Events
Annual MHARF Spring Tack and Rummage Sale
Our tack and rummage sale will once again be held at the Zimmerman Civic Center in Zimmerman,
MN. We will be accepting donations up until the days of the sale of clean, gently used tack, farm
items, household items, books, yard and garden items, etc. (no electronics or broken items please).
We could really use some volunteers for set up and clean up this year, as well as for help with running the sale. Set up will be May 6 & 7, sale will run May 8-11, and clean up will be May 12 &13.
To donate or volunteer please call (763)856-3119 or email [email protected] or
[email protected]
2014 Trainers’ Challenge of the Unwanted Horse
Our annual Trainers’ Challenge will once again be held at the Leatherdale Equine
Center on the U of M campus in St. Paul. This year’s date is Saturday, August 16th, 2014.
See all of the Trainers’ Challenge information at www.mnhoovedanimalrescue.org
“Diamond in the Rough” Small Equine Competition for Amateurs and Youth
This is a new event in conjunction with Truhaven Ranch, Inc. It will be similar to our Trainers’
Challenge but will feature miniature horses, ponies, pony mules, donkeys, and young horses. The
event will be held at Truhaven Ranch in Winstead, MN. The date is October 4th, 2014.
For event information please visit www.TruhavenRanch.org
Gateway Antique Mall
Don’t forget to visit MHARF’s booth (Booth XYZ) at the Gateway Antique Mall,
12825 Main St., Rogers, MN, 55374 (763)428-8286.
We have a booth full of horse and other animal-themed vintage and antique items.
All sales benefit MHARF!
2014 Minnesota Horse Expo
Unfortunately MHARF will not be participating in the 2014 Minnesota Horse Expo in April due to the high cost of booth
rental and traveling expenses. We have found in the past that we do not earn enough at this event to cover the cost of
participation and we feel that this year the money would be better spent purchasing hay (the cost of the booth alone buys
a week’s worth of hay ). We regret missing this opportunity to educate the public about equine welfare but we will continue to work hard to do this through our own programs, events, fundraisers, website, facebook page, and newsletters.
Thank you to all who have come by our booth in the past to support us & to the volunteers who have staffed the booth!
Visit us at www.mnhoovedanimalrescue.org for more information and for links to the following:
Gateway Antique Mall
Rogers, Minnesota