A tree trimming!

While I was home in Columbus the other day, our dear friends Tammy and Cindy came over to help with... decorating our monstrous tree! This incredibly gigantic tree was donated by a former employee of the LCC. How lovely it looks in the foal barn. We usually put the tree right in the gosh darn middle, but it was so HUGE, we had to move it to the side.

Tammy is a logger by profession. This is not her thing. Can you tell?

Here you can start to see the dazzling array of lights that will lend a beautiful ambiance to the foal barn for the festivities...

The incredible tree with all its trimmings!!

I can't remember if I mentioned it on the blog or not, but Tracy, our full time weekday employee, is getting married here at the LCC the weekend after the holiday party. She is truly going to be the holiday bride - and we are milking it! Here she stands trimmed in garland, before the beautiful holiday altar that Victoria constructed for her...

I delivered Mack yesterday and picked up Dante from north of Columbus. Mack was so funny. I left him loose in the whole trailer so he could move around. He hopped on and walked right to where the front slant would be, and didn't move the whole ride. Even when I went to unload him, he waited until I walked to his head and clipped the lead rope on before he moved a muscle. What a silly man.

Dante is tooo adorable! He is 14.2 exactly (we measured him today). The most darling little buckskin. Dante was a nurse mare foal who stayed at the nurse mare farm until he was a few months old. At that time, some kids were chasing him on a four wheeler. It was unclear whether he was run into a round pen panel or barbed wire, but his knee was completely gone. It was just a huge, open wound. I have pics, but I am going to wait to post them next to the 'now' pics! Thanks to his adopter's diligent care, Dante is now 6 years old with barely a scar. He is sound as can be. I can't wait to ride him and see what he's like.

It has rained ALL DAY here. This morning, everything was ice. The driveway was a solid sheet of ice. Before I got back from Columbus with Dante, Victoria called to tell me not to try to come up it! Tomorrow will be just as nasty, if not more so - it will rain more tonight, and the temperature is supposed to continue to drop.

I'm turning in early - I think I'm getting the 'sick' that everyone else has had but ME! Here is a cool photo I found. This is a candlebra that Victoria made a few years ago out of surgical clamps. How cool is that?

A slow Saturday.

It was unusually quiet around here today. Hope I didn't just jinx tomorrow...

Leah didn't feel well this morning, so she took the day off. Boots was here to help me clean. We busted out the stalls and paddocks, then someone arrived to have a look at Henry. He was a gem, of course! The wanted to ride him, and I was like, "Um, well, OK. He has only been ridden once before..." No worries, should have known it wouldn't be an issue for him! The girl hopped right on and rode him right around. What a good boy! They adopted him on the spot. They even ran straight home to get their trailer!

Tomorrow I am going to go pick up Dante and drop off Mack to his new home. How exciting. There may be another new horse or two coming in tomorrow, also... not sure yet...

I rode Otis this evening! The swelling is gone in his leg, and it is cool to the touch. His feet really need trimmed and a set of front shoes, with the frozen pock marked arena, he was ouchy. He is, however, VERY quiet and VERY sweet. He neck reins, has a nice comfy jog. Victoria aged him closer to 20-22, rather than the teens we thought he was. I took him across the road and he didn't mind the water, mud, or banks. He's a nice little horse for someone.

Here are some pics from Leah and I's birthday ride... it was so beautiful, I just had to share them. (BTW, Polar, who wouldn't load when we picked him up, hopped write on the trailer this time. He's a smart boy.) The most unflattering picture of Polar ever, but I had to show you his pretty holiday bell wreath:Mack was so excited, he let Leah bridle him like this. (She is still mastering the tacking up!)
Happy Cowgirl Leah and her Mighty Steed!
OMG It was so beautiful!!
; ) Last pic together...

I also have some awesome pics of the foal barn and the decorating process... but they are on the other computer!! I will try to post them for you tomorrow.

This is how nice Victoria is to me when I'm doing computer work and attempting to organize the office:

You know you wish you worked here. ; ) Actually, I DO deserve a cookie, because organizing this office is like a big fat JOKE. Over the years, there have been so many 'office managers' and 'computer people' that stuff just accumulates, and accumulates, and accumulates.... and now there are PILES of stuff that make no logical sense what-so-ever. For example, I found a box of CDs. They are all sorted and rubber banded into little stacks. How nice! Except for one problem: Every stack has a big label on it that says 'I have no idea what this is, needs sorted and labelled.' Oh, right. Well thanks for stacking them, you know. Ahh! ; )

So, if you've been wondering, "Where the heck are all the posts?" That's where. My brain is drowning in pointless organization. (Seeing as another 'office manager/computer person' is going to come after me, and inevitably destroy all the hard earned organization that makes sense to ME!)

Happy weekend!

You've never met our dogs!

Here Victoria and I are sitting around the living room, admiring our beautiful pack, and we realized we've never even introduced them properly on the blog. What goobers we are. The only dogs which Victoria and the Last Chance Corral considers offering refuge to at this time are wolf hybrids. This is because of their special emotional and mental needs. Our experience gives us an inner look at their world. Victoria feels that we can possibly offer them more than what an inexperienced dog owner could. They simply are not dogs. For those of you who don't know what 'previous experience' I speak of, Victoria and Don (an ex-employee of the LCC) have lived with wolves for the last 20 years. The most recent wolf passed away last year. In his memory:

I never saw Wolf in his prime, but even when I knew him and he was too frail to move around much, he was intimidating. It just isn't the same as a dog...

So, in our household now, there are SIX dogs. Four of them are Victoria's. Of those four, two are wolf hybrids. Rex and Rory are littermates. Two are German Shepherds, Gerda and Valkry. And two are my mutts.

Rory is a three year old wolf hybrid female. Also known as: ROY, Royfield, Roya and NOOOOO!!! She's really a good little girl. Her dad was a collie but she truly embodies the "WOLF" spirit and mind. She and Rex are kept under close tabs. Rory's biggest thing in life is sleeping with Victoria - she cuddles up with her mistress all night every night.

Rex is a three year old fixed male wolf hybrid. He is the farm's class clown. Definitely not "wolfish" in his day to day life. He is a festival of fun. This guy knows no form of SHY! (Rex on right, Gerda on left.)

Gerda is a 14 year old black German Shepherd. The farm matron and the final word in all matters canine. She is VERY strict and elderly - when she says "no play"...... she means NO PLAY!

Valkry is a 5 year old long haired German Shepherd. She is Victoria's pride and joy. Valkry literally runs the entire farm and controls all proceedings with a quiet, gentle, yet efficient manner. (Val with her kitty, Kittyfood.)

Joe is a 4 year old lab mix (??) mutt. He is my first dog and so holds that special place in my heart. He is super smart, and super deranged. It evens out, I suppose. He has an endless play drive and has taught Victoria's dogs how to entertain themselves... constantly... ; ) He is from the humane society in Columbus. He has made my life very, very difficult since I got him as a 4 month old crazy dog....

Imogen in a two year old Great Dane. She is the super model of the farm. Her job in life is to pose, look cute, greet, and be petted upon. Oh, and to get all the food down from the high spots so the other dogs can eat it. She is a rescue from Carroll County Pound, where she was left in a drop box, skinny and scared. When something isn't just perfect (like her dog bed), she stands and stares at it forlornly for as long as it takes for someone to notice and rearrange it to her liking. Spoiled brat. ; )

So there you are! Now when you come visit, you know which dog is knocking you over and barking at you. Ha, ha!

Good things come in threes!

After King was adopted Saturday, we thought the best part of the weekend was over. Wrong! Sunday morning brought Lilly's new owners to pick her up. Lilly was a little ancy since she hadn't been out much lately, but she seems to know who her new owner, Lacey, is. She is very patient with Lacey and pays attention to what she wants. Lilly loaded on the trailer without a hitch. Lacey emailed me to let me know that Lilly settled in nicely and even gave her 7 year old brother a pony ride! How perfect.
After all his endless waiting, Yuri is finally going to a home of his own. And with a loyal blog reader, to boot! Macphd came to visit him Sunday and decided he has a place in her heart and barn. How exciting! He heads to his new home in Crawford County on Friday. And his poor adopter had to wait forever to go see him at the in town farm, and suffer through our vehicle catastrophes, and our generally unnecessarily chaotic Sunday. Ha, ha.

Another of our long time residents will be travelling to his new home in Columbus this week. Mack has been adopted by a wonderful woman who says he is exactly what she's looking for, imperfections and all. How cute is that? And he was a HANDFUL when she came to see him, haha - the no turn out for a few days made him full of vinegar. His adopter is bringing back her 6 year old that she adopted as a weanling. He is super beautiful and super quiet - too quiet for her. ; ) He has the potential to be doing more and she wants him to live up to it, which I think is commendable. (I have been in that situation myself, for sure.)

Leah's heart is broken! I feel her pain, who hasn't been there? But Mack is her first love, bless her heart. Yesterday was Leah's birthday, so she and I hauled up to Stroud's Lake today for a goodbye/Happy Birthday ride. Mack was a gem and Leah had a blast. A good way to end a great relationship.

I took Polar up to the lake today, and he did fantastic! He did spend a brief moment wandering loose around the campground... yeah, Lauren's an idiot. ; ) He did wonderfully. Water, logs, hills, ain't no thing! When he is tired, he does his backing trick. Two or three tries at that and he figured out that I don't fall for that stuff. Continued on like a gentleman. He would lead or follow without a problem. Really his only issue is the backing. He isn't a frantic backer, but he knows how to get his way. We argued a few times, but basically, if he starts backing unnecessarily, a quick, tight circle stops him. Ask him to move off again and he does, or else he gets another quick little circle. He figured out how that works really quickly, and he was perfect. I love him. ; )

Tammy came over to help with the floor in the foal barn today. Tammy is one HECK of a worker!!!! She and Tracy made a TON of progress levelling the floor. Leah and I were so impressed! This foal barn will be ship shape in no time.

More pics to follow!

We need hay!

We are in desperate need of good quality grass hay. Because every calorie on this farm is fed (no pasture), we have no use for poor quality hay. Soft, palatable, green grass hay is what we need, and we need a lot of it. We can buy it, we just can't find it - but if you can donate it - even better! Here is Victoria's idea for hay (written by her):

Hay Satellites

No, not hay bales lazily looping around some distant moon! Real hay, and right here on Earth. Here's my idea: If somebody were to contact their local farms and get everybody to donate 5-10 bales of hay, it wouldn't take long (nor a huge commitment on any one farm's hay budget) to have a load of hay together. You can be that hay satellite on behalf of all the horses that so desperately need that hay. When you have gatehred a truck or trailer full call us to pick it up, or bring it by and visit the horses that you are helping! If this sounds like something that you would like to do, please call Victoria at 740-594-4336. Another option is email us at lastchancecorral@gmail.com, we can post your contact info and your location, so other blog readers can contact you directly to bring their hay to their local satellite farm!

Good things are happening at the LCC

Today was a really great day.

Leah and I had volunteers this morning. Always fun! These were very helpful kids from OU, and they made short work of the barns. It was waaay too sloppy for turnout, but we put a few of the boys out for a minute or two to get the stalls clean. Of course, they came in plastered in mud. Thanks boys!

Then it was time for more work on the foal barn. I forgot to get a picture today. Bad Lauren. All the dingy green curtains to the stalls have been torn down. A few of the industrious girls set about painting the rest of the metal wall, so that is now done. (And it looks beautiful.) The stalls have been dusted and scrubbed to perfection, even the windows, which are terribly hard to clean. New crushed limestone has been laid and packed in all the stalls. The big doors have been scrubbed and putty-knifed to absolute spotlessness. The place is really coming together, I tell you. With luck, the floors will be re-leveled in the next day or two... then we clean and squeegee the floor... and then the fun part, decorating! Yahoo.

I spoke with a potential adopter for Yuri today. It was beginning to look like he would be stuck here forever, but maybe not! Time will tell. As Victoria always says, there is a lid for every pot. Yuri must just be waiting for his to come along.

Then the really good news started coming in. The folks that came to look at King the other night? They wanted to adopt him! Hooray! Leah and I hitched up the trailer and delivered him ASAP. King now has the most loving, beautiful, wonderful, amazing, roomy, grassy, hilly home ever. They plan to maybe drive him someday. ; ) Mostly they just love him. To pieces. He has a 17 acre field by himself until he gets used to the other horses. He looks happy and overwhelmed.



Leah and I then headed up to feed at the in town farm. A family called to meet me on the hill because they wanted to have a look at C.C.! These are also really fantastic folks, they are very knowledgeable about horses and all of their horses have some special needs. The woman has a few young horses she is bringing along and is looking for a horse that "knows the ropes." They seemed to like him, but no one can ride at the in town farm because of liability issues, so I will have to bring him here for a day or two if they want to try him. They are supposed to call tomorrow.

Also, a SUPER nice woman in Columbus is coming to look at Mack and Polar tomorrow. Leah is going to show her Mack. I think she is bummed. I told her she should be proud that Victoria and I both think she is ready to show him to a potential adopter all by herself!

The constant rain was exhausting today. Tomorrow: snow! I'll leave you with this:

Oh Henry!

The holidays are coming...

Alright, I know, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet! But we can't help but be in the holiday spirit around here, with all the decorating going on.

We are steadily making progress on the foal barn. There is so much to do! Today we strung many of the lights to make it look holiday-riffic. Victoria wants me to post progressive photos as we clean, so hear are yesterday's: (I know, scary, huh?)

I didn't get any photos today, so you will be blown away by tomorrow's pics. ; )

We have a ritual that is officially the start of the holiday season here at the Last Chance. If you have visited in the evening lately, you may have noticed that we have a pathetic spattering of lights on one corner of the gate. No longer is that the case! After an hour or so's death-defying work, the result is a sight to behold. The problem with decorating and undecorating the gate is that a ladder doesn't do the trick. So we use the tractor.

Yes, I mean we ride in the bucket of the tractor to put the lights up. I know - what the heck? What can I say, the folks at the Last Chance Corral have lost their minds.

Despite the fact that Victoria was absolutely shaking in terror, she wanted to go up first. (It's her only roller coaster ride of the year.) She pulled down the old lights and readied the new icicle set to go along the top. When she headed to do the corner, she had me go up with her. Our fearless tractor driver, Tracy, is already so nervous her legs are shaking as she holds the brake with all her might.

Bad idea, Victoria and Lauren! We almost broke the bucket riding up together. YIKES. After that, she let me do the rest by myself. Riding in a tractor bucket at full extension is scary. That's what I learned. And of course, there are no photos of me because everyone else refuses to bother with the camera! The best part was, we got the whole darn thing up, plug it in.... and the top is blinking. We don't do blinky. These brilliantly designed lights required that I remove four separate red-tipped bulbs and replace them with clear bulbs. More scary lifting in the tractor bucket and moving around. But the result was so worth our strife!

Some folks came by to have a look at King last night. They seemed fairly interested, but haven't heard back yet today. He is a really good boy. Tracy and I think that maybe he had a fever that broke this morning - he was kind of sweaty and clammy, but looked happy as could be. He seems more alert and interested in things today - I think he may have been fighting an infection, and 2 days in a stall just gave him enough rest to beat it! He looks great this evening!

The paddocks have been slop here with the bit of rain we got, so everyone has been in for two days. We let them out today since more rain is on the way, and oh my gosh, you should have seen them. Mack was hotter than a pepper. He was cracking me up! He ran around, harassing all the other horses, for most of the day. Too funny. Unfortunately, everyone will probably be stuck in stalls for a few days now. With such limited turn out and poor drainage, we just can't afford to let them tear up the paddocks. Victoria is out there after every rain, digging trenches to help the water flow out.... but it still takes forever for it all to drain. ; /

With Tracy's help, I got the tack room in the upper barn all cleaned out. It needed it DESPERATELY! I can't believe how much crap I took out of there... probably at least 40 saddle pads... 20 blankets... and this is a 10 x 10 room! Now she and I have room to walk around and feed. We are switching some of our feeds over thanks to the education I received at the seminar at OSU, so we wanted to get stuff cleaned out and organized before we order in the new feed on Monday. Whohoo! Tracy was then motivated enough to go clean the bottom barn tack area too - go Tracy! Now everything is beautiful and organized. I LOVE organization...

I am very behind on office work, but oh my, what can you do. ; ) I will catch up soon. Our goal is to have a new newsletter out before the first of the year, so if anyone would like to write articles about their adopted horses/foals (or anything else for that matter!), please let me know!

No one work too hard tomorrow - it's the weekend! (Speaking of rain..... it just started.... I can hear it quite well on my roof!)