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.