Care Fur Life

Miss Hope is enjoying the sunshine today with her favorite volunteers today. 💕🐴

Learning Opportunity!!

Branex Feed & Supply Branex Feed & Supply

Some of our flower and veggie beds, all amended with compost made from our own p**p pile! We cannot wait to watch theme transform this spring and summer.

We still have some compost left! It is turned roughly weekly. Swing on by! We have empty grain bags available to be filled, or can load up truck beds by appointment.

We are just so grateful for our volunteers and all they do for our horses. It’s so beautiful to witness the community they have made at our little barn.

We are just now getting to posting about last month's Volunteer Night. Instead of our usual format, we invited our volunteers to join us in listening to a presentation on equine nutrition put on by Branex Hay in Enumclaw. It was a wonderful sunny evening with lots of learning!

First baths of the season in the books this week! We hope you’re out there enjoying the sunshine and shaking off the winter cobwebs!

1. Horses stand when they sleep because they are prey animals. They have anatomical mechanisms in their legs so that they can "lock" them and remain fully relaxed, thus being ready for movement at any moment.

2. In order to get REM sleep, horses need to lay down. REM sleep helps the body repair itself, but horses only need 2-3 hours a day vs our 8.

3. Horses sleep a little bit at a time. Another way they stay more alert.

4. Horses in a herd setting will take shifts sleeping, it's less vulnerable that way.

5. Horses loosing sleep can be a more hidden cause of a lot of issues such as scrapes and bumps, grumpiness and stress.

Poppy Update!

We have had Poppy now for a little over a year. She roughly two years old, and is gathering life skills left and right. This past week, she worked on relaxing with the ba****ck pad. She is still too young to get started under saddle, but we hope that she will be a riding horse in the future.

General Horse Health Spring Checklist:

1. Coat Conditioner: Right now, our horses are shedding out their winter coat. Now is a great time to give their skin a good check over, and add in some moisture as all of that dead hair can be extremely itchy.

2. Spring Vet Check: Spring is an excellent time to do an annual health exam. Many horse owners choose to do a general exam when they do Vaccinations in the spring. There are certain conditions in horses where spring can cause a flair up, making it an extra good time to have the vet out.

3. Vaccination: Many horse owners choose to have their horses vaccinated in spring (or fall) Spring vaccinations typically include: Rhino, Flu, West Nile, Rabies and Tetanus. Also included can be: Strangles, and Potomac Horse Fever

4. Deworming: Depending on your deworming schedule, early spring is likely a time you would deworm your horse. We typically use Quest (moxidetin) this time of year. In our program, we deworm in the spring and fall.

5. Fly Management: Now is the time to get on top of fly management. Inventory your horse's fly protection gear and order new stuff if needed. Eliminate as much standing water as possible, keeping pens and stalls dry and clean, and getting fly predators or traps ordered.

6. Update Diet: Sometimes, horses can loose weight during an especially cold or long winter. It is important to evaluate their body condition in early spring, and update the feed chart accordingly.

Horses are always bringing out our internal self awareness.

Our mission statement is Rescue, Rate, Rehabilitate. We strive to find the right situation for each horse, based on where they are at at that moment. This is the "Rate" portion of our mission. We evaluate each horse yearly based on this scale. We have a more detailed "Life Skills Checklist" that guides our training decisions. All of our horses are at different levels.

Not our writing, all credit to original poster!

You can’t lie to a horse.

You can’t lie to a horse in training. If you tell a horse you need x y z but don’t enforce x y z, you are lying. For example, if you need your horse to stand still and not walk off, but they take a small step and you don’t remind them of the rule, you lied. Next time they will take a bigger step and receive a negative response from you, but you previously told them a small step was okay.

You can’t lie to a horse about how you feel. Horses live off instinct and quick decisions and they know if you’re scared, tense or excited. If you are mad, chances are your ride will go downhill fast. If you’re scared, chances are you’ll be taken advantage of. This is a reminder to take each ride one moment at a time. They’re just a horse. And you’re just a person.

You can’t lie to a horse about who you are. A horse will always tell the truth. They will reflect to the world who you are as a person, rider and trainer. Thankfully the things that get reflected most are consistency, care, and try.

You can’t lie to your horse, and your horse can’t lie to you.

www.horsepro.tv

New Home - HORSEPro.tv [...]Read More... from New Home

While the term "rescue horse" brings to mind a horse who may be underweight due to neglect, sometimes we come across horses in need of rescue with the opposite problem.

Sometimes a horse is just overweight from over feeding and lack of exercise, but oftentimes (especially in the context of rescue horses) there is an underlying condition.

Pictured below is Teddy. He came to CFL in 2021. Since being in our care, he has been diagnosed with equine Cushings disease (Or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, PPID). Cushings is most common in older horses (Teddy is in his 20's) and is caused by a small tumor that develops on the pituitary gland. Signs that a horse may have Cushings include increased coat length and delayed shedding, laminitis (painful condition of the feet that deserves its own post), lethargy, muscle wasting, trouble clearing infections or abnormal fatty deposits.

Another common condition is Equine Metabolic Syndrome, which has more to do with insulin resistance. Sometimes, horses can have both conditions, complicating the issue.

We maintain Teddy's weight through a combination of medication and diet and exercise. He is on a low carb, low sugar diet and thriving.

Stay tuned for Teddy updates as we start taking him through our life skills checklist!

Update: 💙✨

Felix (previously CFL Dakota) has been adopted!

We are so excited for Felix and his new owner Diane as they start their journey together.

A huge thanks to everyone involved in Felix’s journey! It brings us some much joy helping these amazing horses find purpose, comfort, and forever homes.

Right now it's rainy, windy and shedding season. We head home covered in dust, wet horse hair and wet hay.

However, sunnier days are ahead. Bath days are almost here!

This is Rosabella in 2022 after our incredible volunteers gave her her first back of the year. ❤

ALERT! We saw our first flies of the season this week.

That means it's time to start fly season prep!
Flies are not only annoying to us, but our horses can really struggle with these annoying insects. They use horse manure to reproduce, meaning where there are horses, the flies are never far away.

At CFL, we have several horses with extremely sensitive eyes. Flies are attracted to the moisture in their eyes, creating a lot of irritation for these horses. Some horses even have fly related allergies, which can cause all sorts of skin issues!

Here are some of the ways we are working on reducing flies this year:

- Keeping stalls and pens clean and dry
- Eliminating as much standing water as possible
- Pulling out the fly gear, and replacing damaged pieces
- Getting our first fly predator orders ready
- Keeping down our manure pile

Comment down below anything we missed!

If we have learned one thing from our rescues, is that being prepared for emergencies can save a lot of heart ache in the long run. Horse owners should always be prepared for an emergency!

Here are the top three things we hope you never have to use, to prepare for a horse related emergency.

1. Know your horses resting vitals, or TPRS. TPR stands for Temperature, Pulse, and Respiratory Rate. If you suspect an illness, abnormalities in any of these numbers can help clue you in to a problem early on.

2. Have a video of your horse at the walk, trot and canter with no rider. If they seem "off" one day, having this baseline video can be helpful for comparison.

3. Emergency contact info. Primary vet, emergency vet, primary farrier, emergency farrier. It is also helpful to have a list of contacts if your horse is kept somewhere other than your house (even if they are), as in you, your spouse, a trusted friend. A good way to do this is to create a document with all this information, and leave it with your horse. Bonus points if you have directions of your wishes should you not be available (i.e. an authorized spend amount, or if your horse is a surgical candidate.)

*Bonus Post*

Amanda’s favorite question asked during volunteer night!

Q: How do you know when to end a training session?

A: During any training session I’m constantly keeping an eye on when we are closer to the end of the session. I will purposely choose to work on a skill set that I know that the horse has already done successfully. I do that skill a few times, and always end on a positive note! That way the horse feels confident and looks forward to our next training session.

We had so much fun at our last volunteer night!

Each month we gather our volunteers, and Amanda and Leanna pick a horse related topic to discuss with everyone.

This week: lunging and body control on the ground.

Amanda’s favorite part of the night was opening up the floor for questions. Everyone has such thoughtful and interesting questions and we love to facilitate getting them answered.

Nights like these bring us together as a group and keep us all learning.

FREE HORSE MANURE COMPOST!!
LOCATION: Auburn, Wa (pick up only)

Here at Care Fur Life horse rescue we have been actively composting our own manure. Swing by and grab a few pre portioned bags of compost to top off your garden. Or bring your truck down and we will fill you up with our tractor!

Donations are always welcome and all proceeds go right back to the rescue.

Send us a message to schedule a pickup time!

Dental care is an essential part of routine equine health. But why?

Horses teeth are continuously growing throughout their lives. In the wild, the forage they eat includes little bits of rocks and dirt, that help grind their teeth down over time. A smooth grinding surface is essential to the horse's ability to process their food.

In the domesticated horse, their eating habits are different than those in the wild. They are fed at certain times during the day, and we tend to feed dried forage which is softer than the grass in the wild. Horses get uneven wear patters, and sometimes even sharp edges if their teeth are not looked after.

The picture below is an example of what can happen. During Hope's dental Tooman Equine found fairly large, sharp protrusions on her first cheek teeth. These are called hooks. (Right side is before, left side is after.) This issue was likely causing her some discomfort while she was eating. There are also other abnormalities that can cause pain if not addressed.

Here at CFL, we advocate for a yearly dental exam as part of your horses routine care.

**ADOPTED!!**

Dakota

9 years old
Gelding
14.2 Hands
Arabian/Appaloosa Cross

We are proudly offering Dakota up for adoption. This friendly little horse will make the perfect ride for someone. Coming from a significant case of neglect, he has been fully rehabilitated. He is currently in work 4x a week, going WTC under saddle, and has been hauled off property for field trips with great success. He is a more whoa than go ride, and would be best suited for a small adult looking for a partner, or an older child in lessons.

He goes walk/trot extremely well, but is not yet finished in his canter transitions, which is demonstrated in the videos below.

We will require a site visit, as well as adoption contract and fee. We are looking for the best fit possible for him.

Send and email to [email protected], or PM the page for additional information.

The Hardest Part of Loving an Animal.

Over the last year, we have had some great highs. However, it wouldn't be right not to mention the lows. While caring for our rescues is extremely rewarding, it can also bring heartbreak.

In 2022, we said goodbye to five horses. Five unique personalities that were constants in our day to day lives at the barn. Five horses who had been on a rocky journey before landing with us. Five horses who were very loved.

As heartbreaking as the decision can be to give a horse a dignified death, it is one as horse owners and lovers that we all eventually are faced with. It is our responsibly to give them a passing without suffering or fear. It is our duty to repay their kindness to us, their service, by not prolonging their pain. Of course it is never a decision made lightly, but always with the horse's best interest at heart.

In the world of horse rescue, we all too often come across cases where older horses are being re-homed after their usefulness has run its course. That is almost certainly how many of the horses in our herd came to us. We do our best to bring their health up to speed, keep them comfortable and happy in their last years, and when the time comes, give them a chance to go peacefully and with dignity.

So please, we implore anyone with a horse that may be suffering, or that is no longer :useful" consider their feelings above your own. Consult your vet, consult your heart, and do best by your horse. They deserve it.

In Loving Memory of:

Ta**ry, TeAmo, Jedi, Lil, and Baby