AUGUST 18 - TED GOT HIS BACK FIXED!

TED GOT HIS BACK FIXED I think the heat wave’s finally broken. After days upon days of temps over 110. Yesterday & today, I don’t think we’ve reached 100. Close, but not quite – 99 each day? Whatever. We went for a stretch of over two weeks where the temperature never went below 90 – not even at night. Ah – happens pretty much every year, but that doesn’t make it pretty. We’ll get back to the normal highs of 105-106 in a day or so, but that’s a far cry from 115-116. Yay! But that always takes it out of us. The heat. And – at this time of year in the Arizona desert – the humidity, too. By 6AM, Eric & I are always drenched in sweat. Which reminds me of an old saying: “Horses sweat. Men perspire. And women glow.” Man, if Eric & I were of the more ‘persuasive sex’, we’d be glowing like nobody’s business! Whatever. It’s summer in the desert & it’s every bit as miserable as winter in the colder climes. Well, the polar opposite, if you will – but you get the idea. Gotta love Bre. If you’ve been following Tierra Madre for any length of time, you’ll note that our young friend, Bre, is a real fixture around here. She’s 17 & about to become a senior in high school. And, of all the people that come around here, she’s been just about the most regular, most dependable friend we have. I think she came here, first, when she was 11 or 12…..just a mere sprite. But, when school’s not in session (& sometimes, even when it is!), Bre comes through the gates at 8 in the morning, rain or shine. Or heat wave or cold snap. She’s an artist – really, an artist - & has done some wonderful paintings & drawings of the ‘kids’, many of which are hanging on my wall. They’re treasures. And she’s a treasure. A real treasure. Like nobody who’s ever been here. Really. How many young people do you know that would subject themselves to the heat & cold & all the hard work & that comes with caring for 29 horses? And who loves every single one of them & appreciates each of their idiosyncracies & knows how to deal with them? Uh…..not too many, I’ll guarantee you that. But she does – several times a week, each & every week of each & every year. A true gem, that young woman. Her favorite horse? Hudson. “Huddy”. She works with him every day that she’s here. And that’s a challenge I’d throw down to anyone & everyone, because Hudson – Huddy – the Big Galoot – is probably one of the biggest challenges on the ranch. See…..he doesn’t care about pleasing us two-leggeds. He knows he’s a horse & is perfectly happy with being a horse. He doesn’t think it’s his job to do what we two-leggeds ask of him. Oh, to be sure – he’s well-mannered & there’s not a mean bone in his body – but, it’s “Dude….I’m a horse. And I’m perfectly happy being a horse. And I really – really – am not interested in doing a whole lot of your dumb two-legged things. Ain’t my job, okay? My job is to be a horse & your job is to be a two-legged. And when & if those two things meet – to the best of both of our satisfactions – fine. Otherwise, well……you can go pound sand.” And that’s pretty much a direct quote from him. But Bre has taken it upon herself to try to begin to change his mind. And she has, too. Well, a little, anyway. He walks with her, nicely. He listens to her – sometimes, anyway – in the round pen. He lets her do things to him & with him that he usually won’t let anybody else do. God love Bre for taking on the ‘Huddie Challenge’. Bre’s a gem. A true gem. She’s as much a part of Tierra Madre as Eric or I or any of the 29 horses. And I absolutely love her for that. Good, Bre! Ted. Ted hasn’t really been himself lately. I’m talking about when Eric turns him out every morning – at 6AM – with Sweet Boy & Sedona. He’s an ex-racer & usually blows those boys’ door off when he gets to running & tearing around. But, lately, he hasn’t been all that hot on joining in on the ‘running & tearing’ part. Hmmmm……….something’s wrong…..or, at the very least, not quite right. Eric & I talked about it. And, knowing that Ted has a tendency toward a bad back, surmised that he could’ve been hurting from a goofed-up pelvis or something like that. So, we called Dr. Bill Wood – the vet/equine chiropractor – that we’ve used on over a dozen of our horses. Dr. Wood has fixed Ted’s back twice before – each time being a challenge of all of us. The first time, Ted became a raving maniac, right off the bat. I’m talking the aggressive, up-on-his-hind-legs-&-ready-for-battle-type behavior. It was all we could do to get some tranquilizer into him. That was probably four or five years ago. The second time – two or three years ago – we had the same problem. Not a pretty sight. Not for Ted & not for us. To say that those two times were a challenge would be a monster understatement. And, so, today? Today we were ready for the same thing. When Dr. Wood drove in, I said something like, “Hey, Doc – you bring plenty of joy-juice?” He said, “You know I did!” We – actually, Bre – brought Ted out into the breezeway. He took one look at Dr. Wood & - you could see it in his eyes – said to himself & to anyone who’d listen – “Uh-oh….that guy again!” But Bre & Eric & I & Dr. Wood just all showed him the love. We all stayed calm, cool & collected. Like nothing much was going on. And Ted relented. We got him into the breezeway – onto the concrete where Dr. Wood could truly evaluate him. And, thanks to Eric & Bre, got Ted’s feet situated under him properly. Doc said, “Man – this guy’s pelvis is completely out of whack again. Look – there’s even a ‘hunter’s bump’”. Note: a lot of jumpers develop this problem…..hence, the term. Doc had work to do. But, because Ted wasn’t all kaflooey – at least at that point – we held off on the sedative. We had to get him to stand between a fence & the two bales of hay that Dr. Wood had to stand on in order to work on Ted’s back. And, surprisingly, Ted relented. See – horses don’t like feeling penned in & that’s exactly what they are in that situation. Long story short, with me holding Ted’s head & Eric & Bre getting his hooves into the right spots & Doc doing his thing up on top, he fixed Ted’s back in less than half an hour. And Ted stood there like a champion throughout the whole thing. I think he knew – he knew that his back hurt & he recognized Dr. Wood as the guy who fixes it. And decided that it was okay & he didn’t have to fight us. When we were finished, Doc said, “Guys – this is a five carrot day for ol’ Ted!” And Ted got at least that many. And – after we’d put him back into his house, which is right next to the breezeway where we were all standing – he walked up to Dr. Wood & nuzzled his back. And all of us knew exactly what Ted was saying, too: “Thanks, Doc. Thanks for making me feel a whole lot better.” Good, Ted! We need to exercise him a bit over the next several days & he can’t go out with Sweet Boy & Sedona for a few days, until all of those bones & muscles set properly into place, but Ted is well on the road to recovery. Yay! Oh – remember the Comedy Night we had a couple of weeks ago? It was such a success & so many people had such a good time that we’ve decided to do it again. So, on Friday, September 14th, it’ll be ‘Comedy Night 2’ – at the American Legion Hall in Cave Creek. Tony Vicich (from Comedy Central, A&E & Showtime) will be the headliner again & promises to turn out several laugh-a-minute comics. He told us to bill it as “Best of the West Comedy Showcase – Cave Creek Edition”, so that’s what we’ll do. Fifteen bucks at the door. RSVPs encouraged (480.747.1070). There’ll be a bar with adult beverages & food will be available, too. Our volunteer & AV guru, Ang, will try to stream some of it, live, on the internet but I’ll have to get you details on that as they arrive. But, if you’re in the area, we certainly hope to see you there! Well, kids. That’s about it for now. Thanks for joining us today & please let us know if there’s anything specific that you’d like to read about here in the blog. We’ll do our best to accommodate you. In the meantime, let’s be nice to each other out there, okay? Like I always say, we’re all we’ve got. Peace. Out.

MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM The heat is on! We’re in the middle of one of those stretches of 110+ days that we seem to get a couple of times every summer. Thank the stars - & The Home Depot – for those misters! We used to have a couple of those big sprayers – like you see on golf courses, etc. – at the edges of the arena, but they hadn’t worked in years. Until, thankfully & brilliantly, Eric decided to rectify the situation. He fixed ‘em up & now, those two big sprayers cover most of the arena & that keeps the dust way down. However, there’s one corner that can’t be reached by those big streams of water. So Eric went out & got a regular lawn sprinkler & we hook it to the hose & voila! The entire arena gets covered. And that lawn sprinkler has become a favorite of Sweet Boy, Sedona & Ted. They all hang out around the sprinkler &, pretty much every morning, each one takes a turn standing directly over it, getting his belly washed. This morning, Eric was about to turn it off when he noticed Ted standing right next to it, getting his kisser washed. “Oh – okay, Ted. Carry on. I’ll get to it a little later.” “Thanks, Eric.” Funnier’n hell. Mistah Lee digs the big sprinkler. He’ll stand right there in the midst of it. His playmates – Miss Akira, Rusty, Buddy & Jani – could care less & generally try to stay out of the stream, but Mistah Lee soaks it right up. The ‘sports cars’ – Chance & Studley & Nibz & Hollywood – love it, too, & always end up soaking wet. Then they roll in the sand, get covered with it, get wet again, roll again & the whole shootin’ match happens over & over. Real glad Eric did that. The horses are, too. Good, Eric! Big Charlie’s cellulitis is coming along beautifully. Because we caught it right away, we think we stopped it almost in its tracks. There’s very little, if any, swelling now & it’s been less than two weeks. He’s been off the antibiotics for a week, now – they actually made him a little sick one night. We’ve all had that happen to us, haven’t we? Guess it even happens with horses. Anyway, he’s going out on short walks when we do his hydrotherapy, nowadays, & he’s having fun ‘exploring’. He should be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Good, Charlie! Here’s one……One of the women I see at the grocery store stopped me today. She asked all about the ‘kids’. And she told me that a few years ago, her daughter went to a ‘garage sale’. And, standing in a field on the property, was one of the sickest-looking, most-malnourished, horses she’d ever seen. She walked around the one-acre property, twice, & saw no evidence of food or water. She walked up to the property’s owner. “How much for the horse?” “Oh”, he said. “He’s a very important, very expensive horse!” The young woman said, “Want me to call the authorities?” He sold the horse, on the spot, for fifty bucks. The woman called her husband to bring the trailer. He took one look at the horse & said, “Honey – I don’t think he’ll live for the ride home.” She said, “Well – that may be…..but he isn’t dying here!” Long story, short – ‘Bingo’ has been at their place for several years, now. He’s fat. He’s happy. He lets their kids crawl under him & all over him & is the sweetest, gentlest horse any of them have ever met. All that boy needed was someone to love him & care for him. And he’s proven that time & again. He proves it every day. How many others like Bingo are out there? Here’s your answer: All of them. All of the ones who are neglected or abandoned or mistreated in some way. Thousands of them. Tens of thousands of them. And each & every one of them wants nothing more than love & respect. And a decent meal three times a day. And a good scratching every day or so. And a fair shot at life. That’s all. That’s all they want. Just like you. Just like me. What amazes me & inspires me is that you’ll see or meet some horse – looking for all the world that he or she wants to just die - &, given a fair shot & a good opportunity – will turn into the happiest, friendliest, spirit you’ve ever met. Ergo – I guess – Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary. Can’t save ‘em all……but for 29 of ‘em – many of whom have come from unhappy lives & unhappy surroundings – well, those 29 horses will be loved & cared for to the best of the two-leggeds’ ability. Our goal is to give them the best lives they could ever imagine, no matter what transpired earlier. And, really – I can’t say enough about a guy who’s become the heart & soul of Tierra Madre. Eric. He walked up the lane about four or five years ago, fresh from getting off his motorcycle. “Want some help?”, he asked. “Sure”, I said. “Grab a rake.” And here we are – years later - & he’s not only become my best friend, but he’s come to epitomize Tierra Madre. Nobody cares for horses like he does. Nobody watches horses like he does. He doesn’t need to be here. But, five in the morning or ten at night, he’s here. And he’s here for the horses & he’s here for me. His better half, Stephanie, doesn’t need to be here, either. Those two can be anywhere in the world they want to be. And yet – yet - they’ve chosen to be at Tierra Madre. In the heat & the cold & the hard times & the good – they’re here. Man, oh, man, huh? Like I always say, I don’t have any two-legged heroes. But, my friends, Brother Eric sure comes close. Alright, then – I’ve about shot my wad for now. Oh – other than to mention our ‘Going For the Gold’ promotion, where we’re trying to raise $2012 during the Games of the XXX Olympiad. So far - & it’s Thursday, August 9th, at five in the afternoon – we’ve raised $1480 – that’s 75% of our way toward our goal. The Olympic torch will be extinguished this coming Sunday – a little over three days from now. Will we make it? Will we achieve our own Olympic gold? I dunno. Up to you, isn’t it? Here’s the dealio……. GOING FOR THE GOLD In honor of the Games of the XXX Olympiad, Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary is inviting you to be an Olympian, too – a Tierra Madre Olympian. The Horses of Tierra Madre – your horses – will be competing for gold as well as the world’s greatest athletes. Their goal? To raise $2012 in gold medals. For each $20 donation you make in the name of your favorite horse, he or she will receive a gold medal. Each & every one of them is ‘Going for the Gold’ & yearns to be high atop the leader board by the time the Olympic flame is extinguished in London on August 12th. Just go here: http://tierramadrehorsesanctuary.org/HowToDonate.html & use our simple PayPal function - then put the name of your horse in the note/comment box. And watch for daily updates on our Facebook pages & on the Alex Brown Racing Forums. Twenty bucks here; twenty bucks there - & we’ll make it! The Horses of Tierra Madre want it. I want it. Eric & Stephanie want it. All of our wonderful volunteers want it. Anyhow, you’ll do what you can do. Or you won’t. Whatever. The fact that you’re reading this tells us all that you care. And that’s the most important thing – that you care. I’m sorry this has been a few days late. No excuses. Just late. I’ll try harder next week….really I will. In the meantime, let’s be nice to each other, okay? Remember, we’re all we’ve got. Peace. Out.