This week at the Rescue

This week, I had a nice, busy afternoon at the Rescue.

I started off with mixing the evening rations for Darcy and Fin.

Then I got to hang out with Hamilton for a bit, and feed him treats.  He continues to make progress: he let me touch his cheek without losing his mind!

Hamilton scoping out a treat

After chilling with Hamilton, I headed out to trim Jack's bridle path (which involves trimming a small section of his mane to allow the halter or bridle to fit properly).  When I finished Jack, I led Delta out for a tail wash and braid, and mane detangle, and a new bridle path for her as well.

Delta, who is one of the bigger horses at the Rescue.

Then I got to bring Shaw out for a quick groom and some treats :)

Looking handsome!

This week at the Rescue

This week was all play and no work!  Nicola and I went for a nice ride through the bush, where I actually trusted Delta to not buck me at the slightest provocation (not that she has the gusto to toss someone anyway - she's pretty chill, and is a verrrrry slow walker).  Thus, I actually gave her rein to move, and did my best to steer her so she couldn't scrape me off on a tree (though she tried twice anyway).  I even got her to trot a few steps without me falling off!  Ha!  That's progress, friends :)

Anyhoo, as promised, daylight pictures:

Darcy.  Isn't he in much better shape?!!  What a fine looking fellow :)

Finigan, who must be part Arctic Hare - he's got a white undercoat and a brown topcoat.

Darc and Fin

Gracie, who can smell treats from 200 paces

Two of the llamas: Bailey on the left and Sarah on the right.

Amy, who continues to make amazing progress.  She let me hold her halter twice, and pet her neck once.  Fabulous girl :)  Nicola has been working with her twice a day, and she gets socialization with us volunteers too.

John Boy, still feeling sorry for himself after being gelded a few weeks ago.

This guy has the coolest eyes I've ever seen....

... his left eye is both brown and blue!  It's split pretty much perfectly down the middle... awesome :)

This week at the Rescue

Due to recent scheduling weirdness, I missed two weeks at the Rescue :(  I don't like it when I can't volunteer, as I find that being at the Rescue and working with the animals really calms my mind and greatly reduces my stress level.  Needless to say, I feel much better after visiting with everyone last night.

I started with cleaning the pig's stall.  It turns out that his name isn't Evan, it's Winston.  Oops!

Nice and warm in the straw

Winston is getting much more social - he barely hesitated to eat out of my hand this time!  He's still not keen on people attempting to pet him, but he's still improving in leaps and bounds due to the dedication of Nicola, her adorable daughter, and the other volunteers.

Next, I mixed up feed for 2 meals for Darcy and Fin, who are still on special diets to help them gain weight.  One meal stayed in the feed room to be put out the next morning, and I took the other meal out to them.  Darcy is looking much better (though it was dark out) - his winter coat is coming in and his hip bones are much less pronounced.

Here's Darcy when he first came to the rescue:

Image from the PGER website

And here's Darcy at the beginning of October, a few weeks after he arrived:

And he's even better now, but I can't get a picture because it's usually dark when I'm there.  He's been wearing a blanket since he got to the rescue, but he's now gained enough weight that the blanket is less important - he wasn't wearing one last night, and it was about -6 out.  (Plus the blanket would discourage the growth of his winter coat.)  I'll try to grab a photo of Darcy when I'm there during the daylight, hopefully next week.

After I fed the boys, I walked John Boy, who was gelded recently.  He came in from a property down the road where he has lived with a rotating cast of caregivers for the last few years.  He hasn't been moving around as much as he should be in the last few days, so I grabbed his halter and headed out to take him for a stroll down the driveway.  On the way, I passed a wagon with one and a half square bales of hay for the pigs.  On top of the bales, I saw this:

Rawr!

Just in case my night wasn't already awesome, that was the icing on the cake :)

I woke up John Boy, and took him for his walk.  He was well behaved, if a bit slow and cautious.  I don't blame him!

Then I got to pick who I groomed.  One horse that used to be a favourite was Dominic, and I was sad to see that he has returned to the rescue after a failed adoption.  He came when I called him, and while he had a bit of a fit while I brushed him down (the kids were playing nearby, which may have startled him), he was otherwise just as sweet as I remember him.  Poor guy, it's unfortunate that his adoption didn't work out (though I'd rather he be at the Rescue than in a situation where he was not receiving proper attention and care).  Hopefully he'll find another great family soon!

This week at the Rescue

I'd like to start by wishing you all a reverent Remembrance Day.  Let us all take a moment today to be thankful for the sacrifices of our many service men and women who have bravely put themselves in situations that we can't even begin to understand, all in the name of freedom for all.

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This was the first week of many this winter that I volunteered in the dark. As such, there are fewer pictures. Here's how this week's evening went:

I got to the rescue just as Nicola was coming back from a lesson. I fed the pigs (all 5 of them!), then fed Bingo 3 flakes of his special fine hay (due to his heaves, which is almost like asthma for horses, and his dental problems, he gets special hay), and I fed Holli a flake of the regular hay. I led Delta, who is one of the regular lesson horses, back to her pen, and then led Jack, who is new-ish but also one of Nicola's horses, to the pen as well. I fed Gracie, the second most skittish horse a treat, and when Amy (the Queen of Skittishness) came up to the barn entrance, she took a treat from me too. Amy wasn't handled at all until she came to the rescue this summer, and Nicola spends time with her every day to get her used to people. I also mixed up the next morning's food for Darcy, Dallas and Fin. I really spent more time talking to Nicola than I did working this week, but that's okay :) It was nice to catch up with her, as she's been busy the last few weeks while I've been there so we haven't had the chance to chat. We scheduled a ride for the week after next (every so often, she takes us volunteers for a ride to show how much she appreciates us).

Three of the four barn cats, keeping warm in the feed room. From left to right: Alvin, Blitz and Pickle.  Just as I took this picture, Bailey (one of the llamas) poked her head up to the window, but she moved as the camera was processing the image so I just barely missed her!

This week at the Rescue

(I apologize - this was actually my afternoon at the rescue last week.  Usually I can post these on Saturday, but this past weekend was too busy to hop online.)

This week, I got a little variety in my day.  I started by mixing the food for the three horses that are on special diets right now: Finigan, Darcy and Dallas.  Nicola has a special recipe for each of them, and they're getting fed three times a day in this cold weather as they try to put on some weight.  I mixed up two meals' worth, then took one meal out to them, which they happily devoured.

Finigan

Dallas

And my favourite, Darcy

Then I got to pick a horse to groom.  I attempted to catch another horse, Jewels, but she wanted nothing to do with me so as I trudged through the snow back to the barn (after chasing Jewels around her pen for ten minutes), I saw Bingo looking at me over his fence, and decided that Bingo was my next choice.  He's a very sweet and gentle 22-year-old, and if we were currently in the market for a horse, I would take him.

Bingo

Lookin' good!

This week at the Rescue

It was another super quick day at the rescue this week.  I cleaned Evan's stall again, and then hung out with him for a bit.  I even got him to eat right from my hand!  He's getting more used to humans, slowly but surely.  I then swept the aisle of the barn, which needs to be done regularly, especially when there are animals in the stalls (as that means that hay and/or straw is being hauled in to the stalls, and you can't help but lose some of it in the aisle on the way there).  I didn't mind having a quick day this week, as I had some other running around to do in town before heading home to see Jordan before he left for work.

This week at the Rescue

This was a fairly light week at the rescue.

I started by cleaning the pig's stall in the barn. He's getting less nervous - he came close enough this week that he touched my hand! He'll be used to people in no time :)

Then I mixed up the food for Darcy and Fin. They are both on special diets, to supplement the grass and hay they are getting right now.

I was lucky to work with Bob and Lorraine again this week. They went to walk two of the ponies, Applesauce and Chilli Pepper, while I had a quick visit with Darcy. He is gaining weight, and was happy to see me :)

I then decided to try and catch one of the ponies, Holli. She is very nervous and skittish. Bob and Lorraine gave it a try, but were unsuccessful, so I decided to try my luck. With Lorraine and Chilli acting as wingmen, I slowly walked up to her, and mirrored her movements when she would try to escape - if she stepped left, I stepped with her. I held out a treat in my hand, and when she finally reached out to take it, I was able to grab her halter and clip the lead on. Success!!!

Walking down the driveway

She walked pretty good. I think that because she is so small, I was not terribly nervous about catching her, whereas I would have been scared to catch a full-size, skittish horse.

What a pretty girl :)

Last weekend, Nicola held a bottle drive to raise funds for winter food. She posted the total raised on the PGER site: $607 in empties and $270 in cash! Hooray!

This week at the Rescue

This week I got the chance to meet two other regular volunteers, the husband and wife team of Bob and Lorraine. It was lovely to put faces to the names I see so often. We split the To Do list, and I got:

Clean Evan's stall. He was feeling a bit friendlier this week, and walked around in the stall a little bit while I was there. He was intrigued by the smell of fresh shavings, and even came as close as a foot and a half away to try to smell my hand.

Evan - it was too early for his supper, so there was nothing to distract him this week.

Wound and skin care for Bingo. Bingo was not quite as patient as Darcy was last week, but he took it well enough. He's very, very friendly, to the point that he will nuzzle and search for treats, which is just on the edge of getting to be TOO friendly. When Nic's horses started to do this, they were cut off from all treats, so I would not be surprised to see Bingo's name on the "no treat" list as well.

Bingo looking sweet.  You can see Bob and Lorraine talking to Nic in the background, along with some of the resident dogs and one rescued dog.

The wet spots on his coat are where I sprayed him with a medicated spray.

The rescue was a hopping place this week - there was a lot going on while I was there, including building a new pen, a few other people showing up, and a photographer stopping by to (hopefully) take some photos for the upcoming calendar.

This week at the Rescue

Hi folks, Mandi here.

This week at PGER, I got the opportunity to meet three new critters (and a new person).

I started off the evening by having a quick visit with Moo Cow, who was feeling quite talkative when I pulled up. As she was so vocal, I decided to pop in and see if she was feeling equally social, and I was not disappointed! She let me walk up to her, and as I started to scratch her head and neck, she started eagerly tasting my fingers to see if I had brought anything edible with me. Moo Cow then insisted on returning the scritches, by vigorously rubbing her head up and down my leg. She's a character :)

Moo Cow, looking bashful

I then headed in to the barn to see who I would be working with. I was greeted by three new names: Darcy, Dallas and Evan. Okay, Darcy first. I grabbed his halter off his hook (each horse gets their own halter while they're at the rescue) and headed out to the pond field to grab him. He was a little cautious but once he made up his mind to be sweet, I was glad it wasn't raining because he surely would have melted. I had to do a bit of wound care (nothing gruesome, I promise, but I'll spare you the details anyway) and throughout it all, he stood quietly, occasionally twitching or shifting his weight. As I finished, a car pulled up and the driver asked "Excuse me, do you work here?" I replied "Well, I volunteer, yes," and he explained that he had come with a donation of carrots - would they be useful? Of course they would!! I texted Nicola to let her know, and as the gentleman carried six bags of carrots into the tack room, she came down to the barnyard to say hello. The visitor introduced himself as Stu, and the three of us hung around chatting for 15 minutes. I was able to learn that Darcy used to be a racehorse, pulling a sulky (a one-person racing buggy), that he was 22, and that he came in with another horse (who was slightly overweight). As Stu left, I walked Darcy back to his field and released him.

Darcy

I swapped halters and went to grab Dallas. He's a handsome fellow who is a bit energetic, but listens well enough. I started by grooming him, which was a quick job; I think he's the cleanest horse I've ever seen there! I then took him out to graze for ten minutes. He didn't give me any grief, other than getting a bit too excited to see the hay field and tugging me along (which was easily corrected by turning him in a circle). He's got a fine nose - he was able to sniff out any clover patches and eat those exclusively!

Dallas

I returned Dallas to his pen, and got to work cleaning Evan's stall. Evan is a pot-bellied pig, and as he just came in he's in quarantine for a bit until Nicola can verify his health and temperament. He's very shy, but didn't give me any problems as I cleaned out the soiled shavings and put down fresh stuff. He was quite happy to munch his food, not taking his eyes off me the whole time.

Evan

There are four other pot-bellies at the rescue right now: Rosie and Twixie are pets, and Morris and Teddy are rescues who came in filthy, overweight, covered in mites and un-neutered. Nicola has remedied all four of their problems, and they now spend their days with the other two pigs, or with the goats, lamb and one of the llamas. I'll admit that Morris is my favourite - he's super sweet and very friendly.

Ah…… another relaxing evening at the rescue :)

This week at the Rescue

Hi everyone, Mandi here.

Last summer, I discovered that the mysterious PGER sign on the fence down the road from where we were living was the Prince George Equine and Animal Rescue (http://www.pgequinerescue.com/).  Nicola, the woman who runs the rescue, was holding a fundraiser garage sale, and while I was there browsing I asked if I could volunteer.  She said "Yes, of course!", and I got my orientation that day.  I've been going as often as I can ever since (usually once a week) and I can say that the rescue is my 'happy place'.  It doesn't matter what else is going on in my life; I don't worry or stress about anything while I'm there.  Nic is very good with us volunteers; she's never asked me to do something I truly can't handle, but there are often days when I am doing something new or working with a new horse.

This week was my first chance to head back after a long break this summer.  There is a photographer who donates her time to the rescue, and she will be coming this week to take some photos for a fundraising calendar.  As such, it was bath time.  Nic asked me to bathe Shaw (his registered name is Qar Shawinago Bay) to get him cleaned up for this photo shoot.  Shaw is very sweet, and although he didn't like getting a bath, he was more or less well behaved.  The part that bothered him the most was when water dripped off his belly and on to the tops of his back feet - he'd lift his foot until it touched his stomach, and if he was getting upset he'd then give a little kick (which got him in trouble, and he would put his foot down politely afterwards).  It took me about two hours to bathe him, but afterwards he was looking very handsome indeed:

What a dapper looking fellow!

As soon as I released him in the field, he started trotting down to the back fence, no doubt in an effort to warm up (even though I was using warm water, he was starting to shiver a bit by the time I squeegeed him off).  He'll have forgiven me by the time I see him next week, I'm sure - and an apple or two will definitely encourage this forgiveness!