Update on the orphans – THANK YOU everyone who donated for the first group of kids. Y’all came through and we were able to pick up all the babies yesterday. Some of them are camera shy lol…. Only showing a few here.
THE PHONE RANG YET AGAIN….. WHILE we were getting these kids settled in, we received word that one of the catchers has another 80 horses he caught yesterday.
At this time we have been put on standby to share 30 ADDITIONAL FOALS, unless the catcher allows some of the mare/foal pairs to be adopted together.
WE HAVE A PLACE FOR 30+ ORPHANS, BUT ANOTHER 20 WILL TAKE AN ADDITIONAL $4,000.
We have been working with Dannielle Dustin for a couple of years and she is amazing. All her babies are halter trained etc. before being adopted and one of her adopters is now also working with us. They can each comfortably handle 10 orphans, and we can take as many as we need to. So that is the good news.
BUT EVERY 10 ORPHANS IS approximately $2000 just for bail, & get health certs on and buy enough milk for a couple of days, SO WE NEED ANOTHER $4,000 to pay for and take on an additional 20. This doesn’t even cover transportation costs or any additional vetting.
The 2nd CATCHER has another 14 babies at his place. Both plan to ship soon, and we are told that up to 30 could be pulled off Mama and need rescued today!!.
So worst case scenario as of this minute – there could be more than 45 ADDITIONAL orphans in need of rescue. Some of these may run through the feedlot and others will be available directly from the catcher once they are stripped off their mamas.
PLEASE HELP IF YOU HAVEN’T HAD A CHANCE TO DO SO YET!
This is Pixie, one of the first 9.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
SHORT UPDATE – 911 – THE NEW BABIES NEED YOUR HELP NOW!
Hi,
We are on the road to WA. We have until 5 o’clock to raise more funds to save these orphans.It will take close to $2,000 JUST to purchase, get the blood work for Coggins with their health certificates, and get enough milk for a couple of days for the 10 orphans that we know of.
The cost for milk averages $300 per baby per month, and that does not include hay and their grain.
From what I have been told, there are other babies in need at the catcher’s, and we need the funds to bring these kids home to safety. Sadly there have been some serious injury and even death due to the large number of horses going in and out of the catcher’s. We need to get any additional orphans out of there asap!
PLEASE HELP NOW IF YOU WANT US TO SAVE THESE 10 BABIES, (plus any others.) Their mom’s and dads will have already shipped to slaughter by the time we get their this afternoon. Let’s AT LEAST save them.
Thank you for helping us save these babies NOW, and thank you for saving all of the lives you have! Each and every single life matters!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
URGENT update from Chilly Pepper. As of this minute there are 3 babies waiting for me in Yakima, NOT counting the many at the shipper’s. (Thankfully our wonderful friend Kari Robi picked them up for me and Mama Mel is currently caring for them as I prepare to head back up.)
The news is NOT GOOD. The trappers just pulled in another 200 horses and I was told there are lots of babies at the shipper’s. As y’all know, it could be 5, it could be 25. I never know until we arrive on scene.
However, Matt is leaving today to deliver horses and within the next two weeks we should have 12 leaving from here.
Matt is also picking up 12 horses in Yakima, after taking 13 to Bend OR, but thankfully most of them will be placed with the folks we work with.
Y’all have saved many lives and y’all have been amazing. However, the funds have dwindled with every horse saved.
To finance the rescue of the upcoming horses we still need your help. Just within the last month or so, we spent OVER $3,740 JUST ON COGGINS AND HEALTH CERTFICATES. This is frustrating beyond belief, but that is what is required to transport these horses to safety. (Coggins is a blood test required by law.) THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE BAIL, FUEL, OR ANY OTHER COSTS.
So PLEASE UNDERSTAND when I say that the funds are dwindling. It is costly to save these precious lives, which makes it even more amazing that we do not have to keep them all on our books. Thanks to the amazing folks we work with, once y’all have saved them, they go to new homes and then we can put new donations to saving more lives.
THE HORSES NEED YOUR HELP TODAY! You decide WHICH TRAILER they will be loaded on. Matt is heading out today and I will be heading out in a couple of days. But we can’t save more if we don’t have funding. The catcher also has 100 horses at his place right now.
WE CAN’T SAVE THEM ALL, BUT LET’S SAVE AS MANY AS WE CAN. EVERY LIFE MATTERS!
The photos at the bottom are some of the ones we just brought home. I am so proud of our Chilly Pepper Family. Y’all are amazing and your love and emotional / financial support is what keeps us going. This is hard and what we see is devastating. Please help if you can (and I am working on Thank You’s as fast as I can.)
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
URGENT update from Chilly Pepper. As of this minute there are 3 babies waiting for me in Yakima, NOT counting the many at the shipper’s. (Thankfully our wonderful friend Kari Robi picked them up for me and Mama Mel is currently caring for them as I prepare to head back up.)
The news is NOT GOOD. The trappers just pulled in another 200 horses and I was told there are lots of babies at the shipper’s. As y’all know, it could be 5, it could be 25. I never know until we arrive on scene.
However, Matt is leaving today to deliver horses and within the next two weeks we should have 12 leaving from here.
Matt is also picking up 12 horses in Yakima, after taking 13 to Bend OR, but thankfully most of them will be placed with the folks we work with.
Y’all have saved many lives and y’all have been amazing. However, the funds have dwindled with every horse saved.
To finance the rescue of the upcoming horses we still need your help. Just within the last month or so, we spent OVER $3,740 JUST ON COGGINS AND HEALTH CERTFICATES. This is frustrating beyond belief, but that is what is required to transport these horses to safety. (Coggins is a blood test required by law.) THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE BAIL, FUEL, OR ANY OTHER COSTS.
So PLEASE UNDERSTAND when I say that the funds are dwindling. It is costly to save these precious lives, which makes it even more amazing that we do not have to keep them all on our books. Thanks to the amazing folks we work with, once y’all have saved them, they go to new homes and then we can put new donations to saving more lives.
THE HORSES NEED YOUR HELP TODAY! You decide WHICH TRAILER they will be loaded on. Matt is heading out today and I will be heading out in a couple of days. But we can’t save more if we don’t have funding. The catcher also has 100 horses at his place right now.
WE CAN’T SAVE THEM ALL, BUT LET’S SAVE AS MANY AS WE CAN. EVERY LIFE MATTERS!
The photos at the bottom are some of the ones we just brought home. I am so proud of our Chilly Pepper Family. Y’all are amazing and your love and emotional / financial support is what keeps us going. This is hard and what we see is devastating. Please help if you can (and I am working on Thank You’s as fast as I can.)
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
ONCE AGAIN, we have been given another 48 hour deadline…… The original 8 were saved, and another rescue in WA thought that the 6 who were shipping on Friday had all been adopted. Unfortunately, folks did not come through and there are still 4 at risk to ship in 48 hours. There are also an additional bunch waiting to be loaded in 48 hours.
YOUR LOVE AND SUPPORT SAVED 24 LIVES !!!! You paid their bail and allowed us to do what was needed to save their lives. They included 15 foals, 3 mares with their 3 foals, 3 heavily pregnant mares and a badly injured young mare. (Sadly two little ones didn’t make it. One died in WA due to severe injuries and being septic when she came in. The other one died from starvation and dehydration at the vet’s office. We did everything possible to give him every chance. I sat with him in my lap as we helped him pass quietly from this world. He, like Luckee, tried ever so hard to fight to stay with us. He was constantly in my lap or laying with me, and PTL we had a special donor who helped with his vet bills so your funds could save other lives.
Unfortunately I received ANOTHER CALL YESTERDAY – There are 4 babies whose mom’s are shipping on Sunday, and I was told to expect more. We are praying that the two mares who are ready to give birth do so before they are loaded. We have no option to save those two mares, but are praying they have those babies prior to being loaded on the truck. It is a horrific thought either way, but this is our reality and it is brutal. Thankfully we can save many lives with your help, and every single life we save is extremely important to that horse.
We picked up the 4 starving horses, only to have even more heartbreak. The older one who was in the absolute worst shape had to be euthanized yesterday. He went into congestive heart failure and was in agony. So once again we had to do the right thing and clean up someone else’s brutal mess. I simply have nothing left when it comes to my heart.Matt was pretty much ready to just shut this down. We have seen so much death and heartbreak these last few months, and every single one happened because we weren’t able to get to them in time.
We need urgent help immediately to save as many as we can to keep them off the truck. The NEW 48 hour deadline is ticking away as I write this. I realize that we are always having deadlines and emergencies. But that is what the “front line” is. YOU make the difference for these lives, and I am ever so grateful. Please show your love once again.
We so appreciate y’all making it possible to keep them from suffering a horrific death by slaughter.
▪ If you see horses starving, don’t wait. Contact help immediately and feed them in the meantime. It is devastating and heartbreaking to come in too late to help.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
URGENT HELP NEEDED TODAY!!! The above horses ARE SHIPPING ON WEDNESDAY!!! – UNLESS we can raise enough money to save them in the next few days. There are 8 shipping on Wednesday and 6 more scheduled to ship on Friday UNLESS we are able to save them. There are 6 heavily pregnant mares in the bunch, along with some long yearlings and foals.
Unfortunately we have incurred some hefty vet bills in the last couple of weeks that total OVER $ 3,500 which we have not yet covered. There will be more vet bills if we can save these horses and the pregnant mares, with Coggins, health certs etc.
Add to that the fuel expenses, cost of saving the horses and we need help now, or they will die.
We are still standing by for the 25 at risk, miniature horses, and received an update that possibly next week some would be ready to be picked up.
We also need funding to pick up the 4 starving horses shown below.This is a heartbreaking situation where the wife was found deceased and her husband has been unable to function. He is devastated and also in need of care and for us to get these horses to safety and get them healthy again. This also will require extensive vet care and lots of groceries.
We currently have 5 orphans at Chilly Pepper and they are averaging $1500 in milk per month, not including their munchies, hay and the medication that was needed for some of them.
We are looking at huge expenses associated with rescuing these horses. Not only are there the 14 mentioned above, the catcher is bringing in another 6-8 today. ALL of the catchers are trapping as many horses as they can. I realize we cannot save them all, but I am praying folks will step up so we can at least save as many as possible. The four starving kids will come to Chilly Pepper for rehab and we have a place for some pregnant mares and possibly some yearlings if folks want to save them.
PLEASE HELP NOW, and share with anyone who might want to be part of saving these precious lives.
We so appreciate y’all making it possible to keep them from suffering a horrific death by slaughter.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
THE CLOCK IS TICKING on 25 new lives. – 25 Miniatures are at risk of dying, and we need your help to save them…
We came together and saved 25 more mustangs this last week. Thank You for making that possible. Out of those 25, we brought home 4 orphans and a badly injured mare and baby. Thankfully the extended network of folks came together to help.
As always, Chilly Pepper incurred ALL THE COSTS to rescue them, but once again they are OFF OUR BOOKS, and safe and sound until they find their forever homes.**
Unfortunately with those 25 we incurred some hefty vet bills. I just saw one of them this morning. This bill is $1972.85, which is pretty much going to wipe out most of the budget.
We also have another vet bill for emergency care for Valentine. Matt came home to find him in desperate need of vet care, and although the Vet did every thing she could my beautiful boy died. It is heartbreaking to be gone for so long and have a horse get sick and not make it. We saved 25, but my beautiful boy is gone.
I RECEIVED ANOTHER EMERGENCY CALL YESTERDAY – We are on standby for 25? miniature horses, similar to the ones shown above. Their lives are at risk, but unless we raise enough funds we will not be able to answer the call. We spent thousands of dollars to save the last 25, and we are simply tapped out.
We have a few days to a week or so? We are on standby for when the miniatures are all rounded up and we can pick them up. But it will not happen if we do not raise funds to cover the rescue.
The rescue work we do is very expensive, but Y’ALL ARE DIRECTLY SAVING LIVES! Matt and I are willing to keep doing the work, but as of right now the budget is tapped.We have been getting lots of kids placed, and that also makes a huge difference in the feed bill. We definitely DO NOT hoard horses, and most all of your donations go to saving more lives, as opposed to feeding “stored horses”.
PLEASE HELP if you can. We will ONLY BE ABLE TO SAVE THE MINI’S if folks open their hearts. We are ALSO STANDING BY for more babies. The roundups are happening as I type this and that means lots more orphans. As we sit right now, there are simply not enough funds to save more lives.
We are driving thousands of miles while we save and place these horses. Our rescue spent over $8000 just in fuel last year, but YOU SAVED hundreds of lives. So I am asking folks to help us keep saving more lives if you can.
Below meet our little Bear. She is a yearling, and the size of the 3 week old babies. She is one of the 25 you just saved.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
WOW, it never seems to slow down. The last trip up here y’all saved 18 lives.This time we have 23 on our books on this rescue, and that is just the beginning…..BUT WE NEED MORE HELP TO PULL THIS OFF! We have 14 babies, and each baby averages $300 per month JUST for milk, not including all the rest of the expenses. So we are looking at about three thousand, three hundred dollars ($3,300) just for a month’s worth of milk. That doesn’t include any of the other numerous expenses. Luckily two of the babies came in with mom and the other one we were able to match up with a mare today.
It cost over $1500 just to get the horses to where they are right now, for sorting etc.It is amazing how many expenses there are behind the scenes. Every time anything is done, there is a charge. As Matt and I are not allowed to sort, there is a sorting fee also, every time horses are sorted out for pick up etc. Thankfully there is another rescue working on this as well, and some of these expenses are shared.
However, they have their own horses to pay for and vet etc, as we do. We are looking at a couple thousand in vet bills easily as we have two horses with pretty serious injuries, and we have to get Coggins etc. on all these horses. As these horses are extremely reactive, most likely it will take a maximum of drugs to sedate them to the point where we can treat them properly. As always, the injured and needy are kind of our specialty, so we picked up both of the injured horses so they could get the care they need asap.
RED HEAT, the only surviving stallion out of the 80 plus horses, is one of the ones we are saving. There don’t seem to be many folks out there who can take on a wild stallion and then get them vetted, etc. So since he had the moxy to escape that slaughter truck when 39 others shipped, I believe he deserves a chance to live. Right now the words used to describe his attitude are not complimentary, but once gelded he should settle down nicely.
Of course when we went to pick up horses today, another stallion magically appeared. As he was about to be shipped, we simply had to step up for him also. Stallions are kind of a big deal when you don’t have the right set up on the road, but once gelded, after a time they are simply “geldings”.
We so appreciate all the funds y’all have donated to save all the horses we JUST SAVED, but we have already spent thousands on this rescue and are looking at thousands more to get the 23 that we are already committing to safe and ready to begin their new lives. We can only do it IF WE GET the much needed financial support. Thankfully, once again we are working with folks who will help us place them, so they do not remain on our books. However, as usual we incur all the expenses to save, purchase, sort, vet, transport etc. these horses to start their new lives.
YOU can help us save them. Please donate and share with folks who might not know what an amazing thing you are part of.
I am stuck in WA with the 14 babies and injured horses while Matt will be delivering two mare and foal pairs, 4 geldings and taking one of the stallions to Chilly Pepper. It is going to be a long and exhausting road, and we really really need more milk, as the babies are playing “catch up”.
Thank you as always for coming through for these horses and keeping them from shipping directly to slaughter.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
WE DID IT! We saved another 9 orphans, 3 stallions, a mare and foal and 5 pregnant mares about to pop. In the last month, your donations have saved 40+/- lives!!!
I ALREADY HAVE 5 NEW BABIES WAITING IN WA TO BE PICKED UP AS I WRITE THIS, AND MOMENTS AGO I RECEIVED AN EMERGENCY CALL.The trapper has 80, YES 80, horses in his trap. We have been told to expect anywhere from 25-30 orphans between another rescue and myself, and we are being offered the chance to possibly save some very heavily pregnant mares who are about to drop their babies.
Yesterday Matt and I picked up 4 bags of Foal Lac Powder, 4 bags of Foal Lac Pellet, 6 bags of goat’s milk and about 9? bags of grain. The total was $1460. This much milk would possibly feed 4 babies for a month? It is excruciatingly expensive to properly care for newborn, days to week old babies and even older ones who need milk. The milk is just the start. We spent over $1300 this last trip to get Coggins and Health Certificates etc. and we already had them on a couple of the horses. The Brand Inspection was $116. There are SO MANY HIDDEN EXPENSES… Rescue is expensive.
We are scheduled to get the majority of the orphans, and I have a couple places that can take on up to a total of 9 heavily pregnant mares. But it will take a village. We desperately need help to pull something of this magnitude off. Last year y’all saved 100+ horses in two pick ups. But babies are WAY MORE EXPENSIVE, and we want to at least save as many of the pregnant mares as we can.
IT IS GO TIME, and these 80 horses are standing in a pen, exhausted and confused as to why their world has turned upside down. They have no idea, thankfully, as to the horrors that await them. PLEASE, PLEASE help us save as many as we can.
We only have one of the orphans left, and he gets to hang out with Suzie Q, until we pick up the 5 plus ??????? The only kids we brought home who will be staying on our books right now are the stallions and Timothy. Luckily, we still have folks in our network who are taking on a couple or so and finding them their forever homes. We simply don’t have the time if we are going to keep saving lives.
This is a NOW ISSUE, SORTING IS SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW! (and they are charging $800 – $10 per head to sort them out)
IT’S UP TO Y’ALL – DO WE KEEP ON SAVING MORE LIVES? I HOPE AND PRAY YOU WILL!!. IF WE HAVE THE FUNDING, MATT AND I WILL KEEP ON KEEPING ON…..
You have saved so many lives, , 40 in a month’s time? That is amazing and it is all because of the love and support you have shown for these horses. Let’s save even more. These beautiful animals have only hours for their future to be decided.
On a sad note, my beautiful boy Luckee passed away after a week. I am thankful we spent the time with him, as for a short week his life was pretty darn good for a weak little munchkin. For the first time in his life he had everything he needed. He had little baby horses to love and play with. He was never alone, not even for a second, and he was not cold or hungry or thirsty. He really enjoyed his short time, and when I spoke to the vet, she said she would not change a thing, because he finally got to have everything he needed and have great quality of life for a short time. Of course my heart is still broken, but I am grateful that he DID NOT suffer when he passed.
Let’s honor LUCKEE’S SHORT LIFE by saving his families and relatives from a fate worse than death.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
While waiting to pick up the orphans, and of course the number is now 7 or 8 instead of 4, we picked up a foal named Luckee.
Luckily is literally (and barely) standing in death’s doorway. He needs help to get up and down, and I have attached part of the paperwork the vet’s gave me. He reminds me of Honeybandit, and may be in as critical shape or worse than Honeybandit. IF he lives, it will be by the Grace of God and the amazing folks at WSU equine veterinary hospital. _Luckily for Luckee, Thunder Mountain made the decision to admit him last week, and covered his expenses up til now A t this point all expenses are ours, and the vet said to get ready for a long and costly recovery, IF we see a miracle. Luckee arrived at WSU with no response to his pupil test. That is a pretty dead baby……
He is touch and go, and the easiest thing to do was to let you see what the vets gave me. One vet wanted to let him go, as his prognosis is so poor, but the other two recognized his amazing will to live and as I promise each and every one of the critters we save:
“AS LONG AS THEY ARE TRYING AND WANT TO FIGHT, WE WILL FIGHT WITH THEM UNTIL THEY ARE DONE. IF THIS BEAUTIFUL BOY LET’S ME KNOW HE IS DONE, I WILL DO THE RIGHT THING AND LET HIM GO. BUT IF HE WANTS TO FIGHT, I WILL FIGHT WITH HIM UNTIL THE VERY END.”
On top of all the horses and pregnant mares and stallions and increasing number of orphans coming our way, we had to put one of the trucks in the shop and the repair bill will be just shy of $2000 at a minimum.We are running 16 year old trucks, and there are simply things that HAVE to be done so we can safely pull these horses and get the job done. We, have pulled over 8,000 miles in the last two weeks alone, but lives are saved!
Of course that was not an expected expense, so it is putting a real hurt on the finances. With 8 babies, WE WILL NEED AT LEAST $300 PER MONTH PER BABY, JUST FOR THEIR LIQUID MILK. That will be $2,400 and that is just a drop in the bucket. First we have to pay for them and then we need Coggins etc, not to mention medicine etc. etc. as we never seem to get robust happy babies who need little care.
Thank you to those who have already donated. Unfortunately the truck repairs and additional babies were not covered. However, we really need more help ASAP to purchase, vet and transport additional horses, and provide LUCKEE with every possible advantage to give him a chance for a life. The vet describes below what we will be looking at and how expensive it is IF we can save this beautiful soul.
The catcher was out today so the probabilities are endless.
So please help us if you can, and PLEASE SAY EXTRA PRAYERS FOR THIS SWEET BABY WHO IS FIGHTING SO HARD TO STAY HERE FOR AWHILE!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
Quick update!The ALABAMA 5 are the horses we picked up in Alabama, shown above. As is clear, they need a lot of special care. They will be coming to Chilly Pepper for some TLC, and I am so happy to report it will not be on our dime.
ONGOING NEWS…..
We appreciate everyone who has donated to help save the Mares & Foals and the Stallions and the 4 orphans. We are getting close to where we need to be for those kids. We will be picking up the orphans, mares and foals and stallions on Monday.
Again, most all of them will have places to go which will keep them off our long term books. For now they will be expensive, but only for a short time PTL!
HOWEVER, I received another call, THIS TIME from my primary contact in Yakima. Once again WE ARE IN EMERGENCY MODE. There will be more horses, and there could be A LOT MORE! to save when we are up there picking up the group we just started fundraising for.
What will happen is we will get called after they bring in the horses. I will have to stand in front of all the horses and decide WHICH LIVES WE SAVE. ALL THE OTHERS will SHIP STRAIGHT TO SLAUGHTER.
This situation is beyond tough. It is so far out of our control. The only thing we will be able to do is save as many orphans as we can, depending on if we can keep raising more funds. Then there will be weanlings, and it is pretty much guaranteed that there will be a bunch of very pregnant mares.
I wish I had the answer to this. All I know is that we will do every single thing we can to save as many lives as we can, but it will simply come down to how much money we can raise to save these lives. It is not just purchasing them, it is vetting and feeding and transporting and delivering them to their new homes.
I know we cannot save them all, but we need a miracle, and we will save as many as we can.
It’s not fair that I have to look in the eyes of these beautiful horses and basically say “you have to die, because I do not have enough money to save you.” Yet God is putting this in front of us, so we simply will do our best. Please pray hard for this situation and donate if you can.
I WILL POST PHOTOS AS SOON AS I SEE THE HORSES.
Again, THANK YOU to all of you who donated to save the orphans etc.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
As usual we are on a DEADLINE.I HAVE 4 ORPHAN FOALS WHO NEED PAID FOR BY TOMORROW! We have ANOTHER STALLION to save, 9 NINE VERY PREGNANT MARES, (Most of them emaciated), AND THREE? MORE mares with foals at their sides who desperately need out of their current situation.
The baby shown above NEEDS HELP IMMEDIATELY. I NEED FUNDS TO SEND OUT THE VET, and we all know that is never cheap. BUT HE DESERVES A CHANCE. He was born in the rain and cold, and was cold and wet for 3 solid days in the pouring rain and cold winds. There is NO SHELTER WHATSOEVER, and of course now he is having health issues. Can you imagine how dirty it was for his umbilical area when he could only lay down in mud and feces? UMBILICAL infections are often deadly, and he had absolutely no where to lay down where he wasn’t in wet, dirty mud. He is now having SERIOUS health issues, and we need money to try and save him, along with his mother who is emaciated and struggling to even stay warm herself.
There are 9 more mares who are so skinny you wouldn’t think they were about to give birth, but they are. THEY NEED OUT OF THERE NOW! There are 40 HORSES in two small pens. I am sure you can imagine what will happen to a newborn baby with that many hoofers running around. Unfortunately the horses have been confined for awhile and they are getting snotty and fighting a bit. We need to step up and buy these mares and get them to safety.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT MOST OF THEM WILL ALREADY HAVE A PLACE TO GO, BUT WE NEED ALOT OF MONEY TO PURCHASE THEM, PAY THE FEED BILL AND GET THEM VETTED AND TRANSPORTED!
(Although the conditions have become less than perfect, the reason the horses are there is so they have a chance. If they were not there, they would have already shipped to slaughter. )
Matt and I were working with another rescue and had to do an emergency run to Alabama. Matt was going to go alone, but the deadline made it necessary to have 2 drivers. We picked up 5 kids who will be staying with us for some TLC. Thankfully we will only be providing the actual care, and the folks we are working with will support those 5. PTL!! They need medical care and most folks simply cannot do that for wild horses.
As soon as we get back we will be heading up to get the orphans and whomever else we can save. Thankfully Matt will be delivering quite a number of the kids at Chilly Pepper to their new homes. Our feed bill has been horrendous, about $1400 in hay per month, and hundreds and hundreds of dollars in special feed for the babies we just rescued and the special needs horse kids. We also spent close to $5,000 on tires, breaks etc for the truck and trailers. We are running the rubber right off the tires. We have also incurred higher than normal vet bills and we really, really need help so we can make this happen. We also have to pay the folks who run the place while we are gone and make all of this possible.
We are really limited right now as far as available funds for this rescue. All I can ask is that any one who wants these kids safe will do whatever they can. Thank you!
Thank you as always for being part of the Chilly Pepper Family and for making it possible to save so many lives.
Sadly, I need to share that we had to release SUPERMAN from this world. He came in with an injured hip and Saturday he shattered it. We made an emergency call to the vet but nothing could be done. So much heart break, and although it hurts too much and makes me think I just can’t keep going through this yet again, all we can do is wipe away the tears again and again, and HONOR HIS LITTLE LIFE BY SAVING OTHERS.
I LOVE YOU LITTLE MAN. OUR BELOVED SUPERMAN WILL ALWAYS BE IN MY HEART!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
SUCCESS for the group of 6. Working with the folks up in WA at Thunder Mountain and the Yakima Foal Rescue, we are happy to say that all these horse kids are now safe.
We also were able to save another stallion headed straight to slaughter.We are on the way back to WA, where Matt will be picking up 2 stallions and the emaciated mare and her baby.
We will also be picking up two mares with their foals and an unknown number of Yakima orphans as well. I still do not have an exact pick up date, but we will be ready and waiting.
In the meantime, we had an unexpected rescue of 3 miniatures. I received a phone call and the woman said she needed help as she could not care for them. The above photo shows the horrifying condition of their hoofers upon arrival.
Superman, who was literally walking on the sides of his legs, was in agonizing pain and could barely move. Based on his condition and the lack of movement and the horrible pain even when on high doses of pain meds, there was much to indicate that he might not be able to recover from the damage. We were advised to euthanize, but wanted to make sure. He would not even walk to food with high doses of pain meds on board. Every step was agony, and we knew we had to do something immediately.
The x-ray was shocking. His lil coffin bones were not nearly as rotated or damaged as first thought. Even after the x ray, the vet was not sure if we could save him. A plan was made and a specialized farrier was called in. She said we should try one trim and see how it went.
Upon arrival, the farrier looked in the trailer. Sadly he shook his head and said “there is nothing I can do for this guy. There is way too much damage”.
The vet told him to look at the xray, and so began Superman’s transformation.
Superman is truly a miracle. His life is a gift from God, as it is simply a miracle there was not more damage to his bones and joints. He is a lucky little man. When we used “miracle” in our rescue name, we had no idea that we would see so many.
The other two will be trimmed very soon, as soon as this urgent emergency rescue is done. We needed to make sure we get only the best trimmer to help these kids and need to schedule more x-rays. They are doing very well and the vet and trimmer are getting the timing set up to give them their pedicures.
So once again we are hiring ranch help, driving two rigs and looking at picking up possibly 3 newborn orphans in the next few days, as well as the mares and foals. Superman’s care was not cheap, but he is definitely worth it.
Please help us save the additional mares and their babies (the ones we have not had access to yet), and the additional newborns and older babies. As usual, we have no idea what the final count will be, but I already have too many to fit in one trailer so Matt will have to come back again. As always, the numbers that are saved will be dependent on the funds available to rescue them.
Thank you as always for helping. We will need more funding to complete the purchase, Coggins and Health Certs as well as all the milk, meds, shavings etc. etc. and all the needs that come along with newly born babies. It is excruciatingly expensive to save them.
Below, Superman feeling much better!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
I have to write this from the heart, as there is no other way for me to share the truth. We had great success and saved 3 moms with their babies. We also saved 7 weanlings, 6 of whom are in horrific shape. They are starving and could easily be called a hot mess. However, the next phase is starting for them. They are being treated and are now enjoying good food and a chance to relax.
Sadly, we lost our beautiful “My Heart’s Desire”. She had a freak accident and snapped her leg, much like my femur did. She ripped her femoral artery and sadly baby passed with her very quickly. We did everything we could, but Mom and Baby left this earth together. It was still so much better for them than slaughter, and mama knew lots of love and tenderness. But that does not help when your heart is in a million pieces.
We are not even home yet, and we received a 911 EMERGENCY CALL. I am sitting in my girlfriend’s living room writing this as I don’t have time to drive the rest of the way home before we send this out.
We got called about a family of six, and we have only hours to say yes, save them or no, we can’t help them and they will ship straight to slaughter.
There is a mom with a teeny tiny new baby, (and if we can’t save the family, we will be heading up to pick up an orphan.) The stallion, who has worked so hard to take care of his family is the most likely to ship. CHILLY PEPPER is literally his ONLY chance to live.There are 3 heavily pregnant mares that finish up this family. Again, I cannot bear to think of these babies being born in a stuffed trailer heading to slaughter. If Mom gives birth during the trip due to the stress, they will be brutally trampled and not have a chance of surviving the trip. IF they make it through the trip, they will be tossed alive on to the slaughter floor.I am sorry this is so brutal, but it is the simple truth.
The trapper is literally at the site loading them in his trailer. We are working with folks in WA to try and find a place for them to land, at least long enough for us to raise enough money to save them. Chilly Pepper cannot take on a bunch of adult horses, but as we are the only ones who can take on a stallion, if we can save them all we will figure that out. He doesn’t deserve to be murdered just because he is a stud.
PHONE JUST RANG AGAIN – IN ADDITION, WE NEED TO pick up 2 mares and foals as well as an undetermined number of orphans this next week, IF we can raise enough funds to purchase, vet and transport this next group. Y’all did awesome this last time and saved 15 horses from facing slaughter.
SO PLEASE HELP US SAVE THESE LIVES IF YOU CAN, AND SHARE FAR AND WIDE SO FOLKS CAN HELP US “GIT ‘ER DONE!
Below, the Family of 6, – who’s fate is still in the air, and that is just the beginning, and during the time it took me to write this, the number has already increased by a minimum of 4 more on top of that and the week is just starting………
WE COULD EASILY HAVE UPWARDS OF 20 BABIES WITH ONLY HOURS NOTICE.
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
Well as usual, we are saving way more horses than we were told about on this trip.
As of right now I am sitting in WA State in Mel’s driveway with 3 mares and their tiny babies. One of them was just born yesterday. We also have 4 weanlings, and unfortunately they are in really rough shape. They are severely unhealthy and so far from healthy it brings a tear.
The first mare that came in with a baby is also underweight and severely lacking in groceries. Her baby (named Jax), had a badly infected puncture wound on his front leg. Thank God we took his temperature as it was extremely high, 104.1. That is really high and much higher could be deadly. So we gave him antibiotics and cleaned and flushed his wound. We have to separate him from mom twice a day to medicate him and clean his leg. It’s a bit hairy because his mom is on the reactive side. But so far everyone is safe and settling into the routine.
We also saved a very pregnant mare who has a severe injury to her hind end.She was in tremendous pain and is having issues with both back legs. She is very thin and it’s so sad to see how weak she is and how very pregnant she is. She is also on pain meds, and we are hoping and praying that she will have her baby before we have to travel.
We pulled 4 weanlings in with mom and baby, but instead of dropping them off at a friend’s to be placed in their new homes as planned, we have to take them back to NV for some much needed TLC. They are simply not healthy enough to place yet. This is not good news because we really are short on room. When we get more shelters and finish fencing the property it will be a bit easier, but for now I have to find shelter for all of them. In addition, we picked up two more mares with tiny little ones. The little black baby was born yesterday.
Today Matt drove to Bend, OR to deliver 15 mares for another rescue. Tomorrow he has to drive back up to Bonners Ferry Idaho. We are picking up our beloved Diesel and bringing him back to NV. In his pictures he looks amazing and I can’t wait to kiss the little dude again.He has been in a wonderful home, but as they feel they cannot give him the attention he deserves, we are picking him up and will eventually find him his forever home.
The next day Matt is picking up even more kids, as there are two we are expecting who are roughly 7 months and are apparently severely tick and worm infested, not to mention extremely malnourished, much like most of these kids coming off the range.
I am beyond frustrated because we need to put up a shelter here in WA at Mel’s so these horses would have cover. It is pouring rain and my day old baby is out in it. Thankfully mom knows what to do, but it makes me crazy. Baby season is just starting so we are going to have to keep dealing with this.
So we are now looking at 14 horses we need to transport back to our rescue.The good news is that most of them will already have a place to go as soon as they are healthy. The less than great news is that our vet bill for Coggins and blood work is going to be exponentially higher and so has the cost of this rescue increased.
We appreciate all the folks who have stepped up to help, and we still need help. We have a serious shortage of shelters and feed, but I know we will find a way to “git ‘er done”.
What’s scary is the “season” is just beginning. So let’s get ready to keep saving lives and keeping horses safe from slaughter.Together we can make a difference!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
BABY SEASON IS HERE! We have already done 9 horses so far…..
I received an urgent call this afternoon. We have a teeny, tiny little one whose mama is scheduled to ship out, unless we can pull off another miracle. We also are looking at two yearlings IF we can raise enough funds for them. But it gets worse, apparently there is at least one, if not more, very pregnant mares about to ship.
For those of you who have never seen the reality of slaughter, that baby will be sliced out of its mama and thrown alive on the slaughter floor. I have actually seen it. That is the reality. This is why we work non-stop, often literally 24/7 around the clock taking care of babies to try and save as many as we can.
(I cried all afternoon thinking about the baby and the horses. But I know that all we can do is our best, and I am thankful we are given a chance to save some.)
We don’t always have the option of saving mom, and in all reality we are full. So, IF WE HAVE A CHANCE TO SAVE MOM and the heavily pregnant mare and the baby’s mama, we need help NOW, and lots of it. WHO WE SAVE will depend directly on how much money is raised to save their lives. We know we will find a way to get the little one, but I don’t want to leave horses behind that we could save.
UNLESS we just take the orphan, we will need to set up another shelter before we leave to be able to get the very pregnant mare and to save mama and baby.
We don’t have time to build one, we will need to pick up the phone and have on of our little shelters delivered. I was told the horses could ship as early as tomorrow , or it could be a day or even a week. It only takes 15 more bodies to complete the load. We are very fortunate that the shipper really tries to work with us, and we are grateful for that.
However, since we will be driving about 12 hours to get there, and we may get called as soon as tomorrow, we have to be ready. At this point we have pretty much zero in the budget to go get horse kids. Between the last 9 (the Fabulous 5), Justein & Lil Jo, Jolene (aka Racoon), and the little baby who cost about $600 in the end to make sure she was no longer suffering and make sure what we were doing was best for her little life, funds dwindled quickly. Add to that $900 of emergency trailer repairs on the road and the $1100 of hay yesterday, well that puts us very low.
So as it stands, we have one orphan to pick up and two yearlings. We need funds to make that happen and then we can start saving more lives, depending on how long it takes to raise the funds. I have to know the minute he calls who we can afford to save. We have to get another shelter and get a space set up for the new baby and HOPEFULLY – his/her mama too.
CAN YOU HELP US SAVE “Baby, his/her Mama, two yearlings, and one or more VERY PREGNANT MARES”? Until we upgrade the LQ, we will have to run two trucks and trailers depending on how many of these horses we can save.
I simply cannot bear the thought of the baby being thrown aside and dying on the slaughter house floor. I am sorry as I know hearing that will upset many people, but this is what your donations stop.YOU are the difference for these horses. Matt and I will work non-stop but we do not have the funds to save these kids on our own.
On top of all this, we have outgrown our beautiful rolling hospital. Running 2 trucks n 2 trailers is killing the rescues’ funds. We found the perfect (USED OF COURSE) 4 horse LQ. It is much safer for me, (My leg is not being nice) and it has WAY more room for babies/horses than the 3 horse. (No wasted space in the horse area as there are no mangers or side storage. It’s $27,000 (with taxes etc.) but will pay for itself via fuel n lodging savings in a couple years. We will be selling the current Rolling Foal Hospital. The money we save in lodging and fuel EACH MONTH will make the trailer payments, so once we have a down payment we are golden.
(In doing taxes for 2017, we spent close to $20,000+ in fuel and about $5000 in lodging. This was partially due to the ISPMB rescue, and the rest is due to all the other 250+/- horses we rescued, picked up, shared with other rescuers and transported. )
The babies need milk powder ($149 per bag) , milk pellets, ($100 a bag), grain, vaseline, Colostrum ($100 + per bottle) gloves, baby wipes, meds etc. etc. to have a chance at a real life.
PLEASE HELP US BE READY WHEN THE PHONE RINGS!
BELOW – MAMA & BABY. Meet Justein & Lil Jo SAFE & SOUND THANKS TO YOU!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
With a shattered heart I bring you Tana’s update. As we were so far away, (in NV), when I got the call, and Tana had been found abandoned by the side of the road in Yakima, WA, I knew that she would be needing IV fluids if she was to have a chance to survive, and she needed them right away, well before I would get there.
So we called the vet and she went out to Mel’s to assess the baby, give fluids, check her leg and do her Coggins if all went well. Unfortunately the news was beyond grim. The below photo shows the broken bones in her leg. Even with an unlimited budget, this would have had nearly zero chance and it would have put Tana through more horrific and unconscionable pain. As I looked at her x-ray, I could only think of how much my broken femur still hurts. I could not put her through more pain. So sadly, we made the decision that was right for her; we set her free from this world of horrible pain that she lived in.
So now we have a very hefty vet bill, as well as the cost of her burial and our trip to WA. HOWEVER, we were able to SAVE FIVE (5) more horses from a horrible fate at the slaughter plant. The cost for the two vet visits, (one for Coggins on the Fabulous Five, and one for Tana), as well as the cost to bail these kids and get them vetted is going to be close to $3500? not including fuel.
NOW COMES THE KICKER! Just hours ago I received a call about a newborn(orphan???). Matt and I will be picking up the baby next week. However, this time we have a POSSIBLE CHANCE to save Mom too.I have to let them know by Monday if I am picking up a 4 day old orphan or a Mare and Foal pair.
Unfortunately, I have no more room at Chilly Pepper for adult horses until we fence more of the property and get more shelter. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS – I FOUND A PROBABLE HOME FOR MOM AND BABY, IF we can raise enough funds. I have to pay the vet bills before we even think about another horse. It is hard, because you never want to say no, knowing full well that means a horse will face slaughter. HOWEVER, I cannot be the rescue that just says yes, yes and does not face the fact that it costs money to feed and care for these horses after they are “SAVED”.
So this is my question to our Chilly Pepper Family. What do y’all want to fund? What is your priority? We will be picking up baby for sure next week. I am hoping and praying we can raise enough funds to save Mama. Most of the time we do not even have an option to try and save Mom, but by the Grace of God we do this time.
As much as I want to run out and save all the horses, we have to be responsible. Hopefully we will be getting lots of kids adopted soon, but still being on crutches is slowing everything down. Having a $1000 hay bill every 3 weeks or so is going to limit how many horses we can save.
Number 5, who is not shown clearly in the photos, is currently at our vet as he was colicking earlier today. So there is a lot going on.
I am hoping and praying that folks still want us to try and save as many grown horses as we can, and not just let mom ship to slaughter while we save the baby. Again, most of the time it won’t even be an option. If y’all are with me, lets get these bills paid, some funds for hay and save this mom and her baby.
If we raise enough funds in the next two days she will be going to CA with her baby instead of being loaded on the slaughter truck. It’s up to everyone to decide if she lives or dies a horrible death. This is from the heart, and I simply don’t know what else to do but be honest.
Thank you to everyone who donated to help save Tana. She was a beautiful little girl and thankfully did not die alone, scared and cold on the side of the road. Let’s make her proud and keep on saving lives. THANK YOU!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..
TANA’S life is at stake. She was found injured and alone on the side of the road!
I just received the call for a 3-4 day old orphaned baby mustang found on the side of the road. The folks were going to put it down as there is an injury to the back leg, but decided to give it every chance and called for help. In the meantime they gave it some colostrum and said it is drinking.
We want to thank them for feeding the baby and bringing it in out of the weather.
So Matt and I are in the process of heading up to Yakima momentarily.
We need your help now please, if you can. We have tried to keep the fundraising to a minimum, but now that baby season is here we are going to need your help now more than ever. Due to my broken leg we are sitting on more horses than we normally would be, as I have been unable to train and get them ready for adoption. So our hay bill is $1000 every 3 weeks or so.
We so appreciate everyone who has helped save so many lives in the past and are hoping and praying that y’all are going to be with us again this year. Babies are expensive, but when God puts them in front of us, well we need to step up no matter what. We don’t know why this baby was left behind, whether it is because it is injured, or it could also have other issues.
However, all we can do is get the baby and start critical care immediately. So please help us give this little one a chance. There is a reason it didn’t lay there and die alone. Hopefully the reason is that we can save it.
In addition to foal lac powder, pellets, milk and meds, we will need help with expenses for fuel, Coggins, vet care and special groceries for this baby. We are not sure if he/she will be ok but we are going to give it our all.
The above photo of Hope is most likely very similar to the age and size of the little one we are picking up. Hope is thriving at her new Mom’s at Wendi Clark’s.
Racoon has improved so much. Her coat is much healthier, she has grown 5 or 6 inches taller (it seems like anyway), and she and Belafonte, her goat buddy are best friends. THANK YOU for saving her! She is on her way towards being a healthy youngster!
Below photo is of Tana’s leg
Thank you for all the love and support and all the lives you’ve saved! We could not do this without you!
If you want to help You can go to You Caring – to help us keep saving lives..