Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The 'S' Word

You wanna bet that I can make all horse owners cringe with one word? Here goes... STRANGLES. See? All of you are quaking in your boots, aren't you?? Now imagine having strangles on your farm... and imagine that nearly all of your horses are infected with this "horsie strep". A nightmare? Yep!

I am sorry to report that our farm has come down with strangles. Since it was over two weeks since we went to the Sugarcreek sale, we were sure that we had escaped 'the sickness'. But, one of the horses that we rescued was carrying it. Needless to say, the farm is on lock down. No horses are coming in, and no horses are going out. That should change within a week or so, we are already approaching the end of the plague. After that, we are going to be heading back to 'things as usual'.

On a lighter note, John Chun bought us a NEW NEW NEW computer with all of the bells and whistles. This will make it soooo much easier to put horses online, and keep the blog updated. Lets all give a BIG round of applause and a thank you to John Chun! We really couldn't do much without him!

Even with people like John Chun, we are still struggling. Normally, our summer donations are as follows (approx):
$1,500 from TB charities
$5,000 from Blue Horse Charities
$20,000 Delaware Classic
$15,000 Private donations, etc
All of the funds above go toward hay for winter, summer farm upkeep and repairs, payroll, etc...
This year, we are working with $10,000... instead of over $40,000.
Which means, that as autumn comes around, we might have to close our doors temporarily until our financial situation improves. We'll see, hopefully a miracle gets dropped on us sometime soon!
Happy Trails!
Rachel

3 comments:

kas0859 said...

Sorry to hear that. Knock on wood I've never had to deal with the S-word, but I know it's hell. I hope the 'All Clear' is sounded soon. Prayers your way.

Emily said...

Strangles sucks in every way possible.
a few summers ago, the horses at a summer camp ive been working with for a few years, came down with a pseudo strangles type thing that came from a local county fair. they have upwards of 75 horses.
its hell.

Sara Emily said...

There was a small outbreak of strangles at the barn I board at last year. It does stink! I hope all the horses come out OK on the other side, and hopefully you guys don't get too exhausted caring for them!