Wednesday and Boston

Sad news as sweet old Boston was peacefully euthanised late last night at the clinic. His colic progressed and there was nothing else that could be done. Please take a minute to read his Shiloh story in our Greener Pastures area.



Today we drove out to Pahrump to pick up two horses. Fortitude, who was adopted last year as a companion horse, had to return to Shiloh for financial reasons, we also brought his companion, Spirit to Shiloh. Both horses made the journey just fine and are settling in at Shiloh. See both horses in our New Arrivals section of the website.

By the time we got back to Shiloh, the cold wind was whipping again! Sabine had been helping Geoff the Shoer get some horses done, but finally the wind became to much. There is not alot that can be done safely out at the ranch when the wind picks up.

Tuesday- Hold a thought for sweet Boston

UPDATE: 5:30pm Boston is still holding on, vitals are actually looking pretty good, but has not passed anything. He is not very painful at this time, we have decided to put him on IV fluids throughout the night. We are still praying that he will pass something and soon. Shiloh Volunteer, Cheri is spending some time with Boston this evening, as she lives close to the clinic. She is walking him and keeping him company. Thank you Cheri.

Today started out as a beautiful day, the sun was out and the air was clear. We were looking forward to getting out to Shiloh and getting alot done. But, then we got the call. Leo called to say that Boston was starting to colic. Dreaded and scary words to any horse lover.

We rushed to Shiloh. By the time we arrived, Boston was starting to try to roll. After checking him, we gave him a dose of Banamine and loaded him up. We met Dr. Little in town. He checked him over, oiled him with the stomach tube, and did a rectal exam. He could feel a large amount of gas and either and impaction or a displacement in his Colon. We decided the best thing for Boston, was to have him taken into the clinic where he could be watched very closely and decisions could be made without having to wait for anything to progress to where he started to suffer.

As of 3pm, his condition had not improved, but it had not worsened yet. He was oiled again, a belly tap was done (which was normal,)we are just praying that something starts to move. If it doesn't in the next few hours, we will have to decide what is best for Boston. We DO NOT want him to suffer.

Boston was rescued from slaughter about 3 1/2 years ago, he is sweet and gentle. An older horse who was thrown away after his arthritis had progressed. Boston is a special and personal favorite of Jill. We are all just very upset, especially because he is not currently at Shiloh...

This will be updated when we hear back from the vet in a few hours.

A Windy Monday!

The wind was howling out at the rescue today! The sky was full of dark clouds.



Shelters were creaking and shaking and roof panels were starting to flap. The horses were all jumpy and spooky, even the old guys in Vacation Village! While we were checking everyone over, poor Chatty had major problems with his blanket, his hind leg straps had broke and his blanket flipped up over his head! He stood there snorting while we fixed it.

Other blankets did not fare well either in the whipping wind. Rabbit's blanket has seen better days, and it was just newly bought and donated!



We finally left early, there was just too much wind to do anything!

We are in the process of switching over to our new website, we are still loading horses and information. We are working hard so please bear with us!

Friday

Another cold morning, still some snow in the pass.

We welcomed Sabine, Shiloh's rider, back to Shiloh today. Sabine and David had been out of town for a few weeks. They were happy to see their two adopted horses, Balboa and Cheyenne (Magnolia) again.

The Hickey Family was out (minus Darien) and Dave spent alot of time in the Cuckoo's Nest pasture. He is taking on some of the wild mares as his personal project (pic below). Now that their babies are weaned, we are trying to get some of them at least halter broke so that we can possibly find homes for them. It's going to be a difficult job, but we want to give them a chance at homes of their own. Many of these mares are basically wild and untouchable, if there is anyone who is willing to take on a project horse who really needs some work, please email us. The mares are free to good experienced horse handling homes. They are all nice looking and sound. We will have an entire area devoted to these mares and their progress on our new upcoming website.

Speaking of the website, thanks to Marianne, who is working very hard to get all the horses moved over to the new template. With so many horses, this is a very time consuming job! The new site will be more user friendly, with more information, including videos of all adoptable horses. We are hoping to finally launch the new site next week.

A cold and wet Thursday

There was tons of snow in the pass today! The drive to Shiloh was beautiful and the snow stayed on the mountains throughout the day.

It had rained last night, everything was dripping and a bit muddy. But the rain had cleaned the dust off all the red shelters and red roofs, making everthing look shiny and new.

Many of the horses spent the morning laying in the sun in the pastures and corrals. At one point almost half of the horses in the Big Pasture were laying down, relaxing and soaking up the warmth.

Beau was pulled out of "The Cuckoo's Nest" pasture to have a leg wound treated, probably from rough housing with another gelding. He was put on antibiodics and will spend a few days in the barn where we can keep a close eye on him. Booty's infected leg wound was also cleaned, flushed, and re-wrapped. He is recovering, but still on antibiodics, which he hates.

It's supposed to rain again tonight, so we made sure everything was covered and blankets were secure.

BG is still VERY angry at us for his gelding procedure, he is doing fine, but won't let us touch him just yet. Poor guy! The other two goats are recovering well and are out roaming. Slew, the other older goat, stayed close to his newly built straw shelter. (He is a loner and stays away from the other goats.) He can always be found over along the fence line corrals. We built his new house right in his favorite resting spot and he loves it!

Monday was Vet Day!

A cold and cloudy day for a full day of vet care. Dr. Little from Desert Pines was at Shiloh from 9am until 5pm, working on rescue and Boarder horses. (Above, the ranch dogs greet Dr. Little.)

The day started out sad as Coal was peacefully euthanised. This was a very difficult decision for us to make, one that we have all been dreading. We had a long discussion with Dr. Little and Shiloh's Farrier, Geoff. They both examined Coal's horribly Foundered feet, and both concluded that his pain was just becoming too intense. His coffin bone was just so rotated that there was a real fear that it was going to soon penetrate his sole. Coal was a wonderful gelding, one of our Wanderer herd. Coal was ready and passed very quickly and quietly while being comforted by many volunteers, his pain is now gone. He was put to sleep in the Wanderer's area, close to his herdmates...

Adopted Kite (now named Gem) was sedated and laid down so that she could finally have her hooves trimmed. Gem's owner Betsy has been working very hard to get her used to handling, laying Gem down was a, hopefully, less stressful way to get that first trim done correctly. Freemont was also laid down for his trim (picture below), his nuerological problem makes trimming his hooves dangerous for both him and Geoff. Sitka was laid down to take the pressure off of her crippled foot, she just cannot stand on three legs to get her hooves done. All recovered without a problem.

Maverick's eye socket was checked over and his final stitches removed (below).

Pregnancy checks were done on three mares. Skittle, the pony (who, pictured below, looks very interested in her ultasound results) was checked first. Her small size makes the ultrasound unreliable. We will have to wait a while with her. Inspirada, now heavily pregnant, was palpated, her foal is, according to the vet, "the size of a cat". Inspirada is very large for her due date, so she was checked for twins. It appears there is only one foal, she is probably due in 30-60 days. Plymouth was checked, we were told she was pregnant at the auction, she is not, which is best for her. Now Plymouth can start her evaluation for a new home. We tried to check Apache, but she was not cooperative. She is getting bigger, but the best we can say is "maybe she is pregnant". Time will have to tell with her as well.

But, by far the most excitement was "the great goat gelding"! Three of our goats were finally castrated! Billy Goat (BG), John Henry, and Barbaro can now roam freely. The operations went great, although BG had some extra bleeding. He is doing fine now. The pen was full of people and dogs wrangling the goats. It was very exciting (at least for the people)!

Anita holds a heavily seadated John Henry...

BG looks on nervously...

Even though it is for his own good, a sedated BG begs Marianne to have the gelding procedure stopped before it's too late...

BG begins his recovery...

A sleepy, new improved, John Henry...

Barbaro wonders "What the heck just happened?"

Galt, Marquee, and Lincoln, all adopted horses were checked over.

Echo Echo's gelding was postponed due to time. He will be gelded at the next visit in the next few weeks. EE is so easy to handle that it is no big deal to keep him a stallion a little longer. Dr. Little will also do some dental work on the Pig, Oscar Meyer during his next visit. Now that will be interesting!

A Quiet Sunday

A peaceful day today at the rescue. Jill was not able to make it out today, so Sally was in charge. Sally hurried through the chores to get home to watch the Chargers/Patriots Game. Being from San Diego, Sally was rooting for the Chargers!

Some of the Boarders were out enjoying the quiet of the morning...

Tomorrow is Vet Day, so it will be busy! Lots of routine care to be done, a possible gelding, Dental check ups, health checks, etc. Plus all the daily work at the ranch!

We will be posting lots of pics and info afterwards, so check us out tomorrow!

Saturday

As with most Saturdays, Shiloh was busy. Much warmer and a beautiful day.

We had lots of help with volunteers and visitors. Dave, Shiloh's Equipment Manager and adopter of Rookie and Numerous, and his wife Deonna, hung our two new wooden signs on each end of the barn, and fixed our drip system for the trees. Dave had some help from another Shiloh member, Salsa.

Lenny and Arthur, adopters of Ghost (Noname) and Mateo (Lincoln) worked hard trimming the pasture Mesquite trees. Other volunteers handed out bags of carrots and helped fill water buckets. I think almost every animal on the ranch got at least one carrot!

Many Boarders were out to work with their horses. Eric's young Mustang, Gus, had his first official hoof trim, which he handled very well. Wishes and Jenny lead all over the ranch and Jenny with Tin Man had a good ride in the arena.

Traveler and Frost now have pending adoptions to Bill and Amber, a great animal loving couple who are looking to add horses to their family. Bill and Amber also groomed Roy and Wind (below).

Marquee's adoption became official to Jen. He will be boarded at Shiloh for a while until a space opens up in town. Oasis, another adopted Shiloh Horse, is returning to Shiloh today to be boarded. We are looking forward to seeing Oasis and Elisa again out at the ranch.

Geoff, our Shoer, worked hard. He trimmed both Boarders and Shiloh horses.

Alot of work was done today, thanks to EVERYONE who worked so hard to keep the rescue running smoothly. We could not do it without you!

Freaky Friday

Sunny and beautiful, the air was clear but cold.

Today was a weird day, the pasture horses were all in high spirits. First thing this morning, we had to gather up Sundance, Trace, and Tioga as they were being picked up by the Western Veterinary Conference Vet School. (Shiloh horses are used in their programs here in Las Vegas to teach future vet students. All the horses are given full x-rays and work ups in the clinic (Desert Pines), which is great for our records. The students have to check each horses charts, x-rays, and way of moving to figure out what is wrong with the horse. Many of our lame and special needs horses are used, which helps them earn their feed! Shiloh also works with the Pima Vet Tech school.) Of course, Trace and Sundance were easy to catch, but Tioga, forget it! He decided that it was "Mustang Day" in Big Vacation Village and all of his friends and pasture mates joined in the fun! The horses galloped and bucked all over the place, in and out of the trees. It took us two different tries throughout the morning and everyone's help to FINALLY catch Tioga. The three horses will be boarded out for the next 2-3 months in town, they are kept in a large pasture and are spoiled by the staff. Bucky, Acadia, and Blessing all returned to the rescue- they had been used for the past 3 months.

Volunteers Marianne and Cheri worked hard with horses and helped get all the chores done.

Kestrel, who had been in a corral with NASDAQ, was removed and put into the Hospice. She had begun pushing and bossing shy NASDAQ around. He is already being treated for stomach ulcers, which he got while on the track before his rescue, and Kestrel's bossiness was not helping! Ulcers are extremely common in the off the track Thoroughbreds, we treat them with Ulcer Guard, a paste. We will leave NASDAQ alone for now, he is happier that way and we have already tried 3 other horses in with him! Maverick was moved from the "Cuckoo's Nest"pasture to Big Vacation Village. He is very submissive (strange because he was a breeding stallion), BVV is a quieter pasture so we are hoping he will make some new friends. He is not very social yet, he has probably never been in with other horses unless he was being bred. Hickory is doing better, but we moved him from the Mesquite Manor into the empty barn stall to keep a closer eye on him.

Hickory, pictured above.

Two regular visitors to Shiloh brought out some produce for the goats, pigs, and checkens. Everyone enjoyed a nice big green salad. Afterwards, Oscar Meyer took a sun nap in the straw.

Spur, Curry, and Breezer helped Sally feed and rode around on her Gator. The dogs are always a "big" help with the chores...

It was funny, as Jill filled water buckets, Squirt and Skittles, (pictured above) two of the little ponies, walked right up to their frozen water bucket and pushed their noses in and quickly broke up the ice on the top. The ponies are so smart, the bigger horses will just stand there looking at you dying of thirst, they can't seem to figure out how to break a hole in the ice to get a drink.

The above picture is of Little Vacation Village eating their morning Equine Senior. They all line right up at the buckets!

Another good day with the animals...

Thursday

Cold again, but with some sun. Tons of ice in the waters, the hoses stayed frozen until the late morning.

Hickory's eye is looking better, it's not actually his eye, but something like an infected tear duct. He is on antibiodics and looking better everyday. He is very sweet, lets you clean him up without even having to put a halter on him. He is still in the "Mesquite Manor" area, in the trees. Jericho's wound is doing great, he was feeling frisky in the cold air.

Some of the Hospice and Mare Motel horses enjoyed some turn out time, there was alot of galloping and rolling in the deep sand. Mercali, Rabbit, and Outlaw were together in one arena, Chico, Pirate (pictured above), and Redondo in the other.

Charlie joined in and teased the turned out horses, then took a nice nap in the aisle of the Mare Motel. There was alot of laying down and napping in the sun, as it was extremely cold last night.

Slew, the goat, snoozed close by Arson...

A quiet day with just the usual pasture walk throughs, blanket re-adjustments, and feeding. There is a busy weekend coming up with volunteers and people looking to adopt, so we just enjoyed the peace and serentiy of the day. With rescue, you just never know what the day will bring, it's always nice when all is well with no sick horses or emergencies. Some mornings we make great plans for the day and something happens that quickly changes everything. Because Shiloh has soo many horses in the rescue, things are always different day to day, it can be sad or happy, but it's just never the same! A peaceful day like today is always a blessing...

A very cold Wednesday!

Today was freezing and very windy! Ice stayed in the water buckets and all our hands froze as we dumped and cleaned the water.

We made sure everyone who needed a blanket on, had one. We blanket all older, thin, special needs, and thin haired horses. The young, healthy, fuzzy guys do great in the cold and usually don't have blankets on. (With almost 200 animals at the rescue, it's a full time job just to blanket those who need it!) Most of our older well used blankets are held on with baling twine leg and belly straps, they might look ugly, but they do the job! We had alot of used blankets donated this year, we really appreciate that! We can always use more as many of the older blankets are on their last legs! Do you have any old, worn, faded, patched blankets sitting around? Please consider donating them. Rescue horses are not too proud to wear hand me downs, it's not about style for them! Blankets can be dropped off at Shiloh or at our vet clinic, Desert Pines Equine at Lone Mountain and Jones (near Craig).

This morning, Sharil, Jill, and Sally added more straw in the pig and goat houses to keep everyone warm. We made sure all the cracks were sealed up and they had lots of straw to burrow under. By the time we were done, the houses were so cozy that Sharil said she might be moving in. She will have to work that out with Sonny, Cher, and Oscar Meyer...

Geoff, Shiloh's shoer, was out. He comes to Shiloh twice a week (weds and sat). With so many horses at the ranch, he has to work hard to keep everyone up to date on hoof trims. He worked in the barn aisle to try to get out of the wind, but his hands were freezing!

Ice and Creek were turned out together in one of the arenas, they had a great time racing back and forth. Some of the Wanderers joined in the fun, they galloped around the outside. Moody had escaped from the Mare Motel sometime last night and had joined into the Wanderer's herd. It was too cold for us to chase him and he kept a close eye on us all day, just in case we might make a grab for him. He is happy being loose, so we will bring him in tomorrow.

Little Daisy got a new blanket, which she hated immediately. We don't really blame her because she does look like a stuffed sausage in it. When Daisy doesn't like something, watch out!

Salsa was in a crazy mood, galloping in and out of the barn aisle. He loves the clacking sound his hooves make on the brick floor! He was very fiesty and would not leave the shoer alone. Geoff made the mistake of leaving his truck door open and Salsa pulled all of his stuff out!

All in all, a cold but good day!

Tuesday at the Rescue...

Another beautiful day, sunny but still cool. The water was frozen again and frost was still in the shadows into the late morning.

Una, a fostered mare was returned to Shiloh yesterday. She went along with her foal, Dulce, to Dulce's adoptive home a few months ago. Dulce is now weaned and ready to move on, so Una came back home. She is out in Little Vacation Village to help her keep her weight up. We are happy to see her again, she is a very sweet mare!

Rex, who finally has gained his weight back, was turned out into the "Psych Ward/Cuckoo's Nest" pasture. His good friend and neighbor, Sadler joined him. They both had a wonderful time bucking, spinning, and galloping around while the pasture horses looked on looking bored. They will continue to gain weight and settle down, in a few months they will be pulled back in to begin adoption evaluation. We like to keep the horse in rehab out in pasture whenever possible, it's healthier and more natural for them- especially for the off the track Thoroughbreds.

Maverick, our gelded stallion who had to have his horribly ulcerated eye removed, was also turned out in pasture. It's probably the first time he has been able to be out with other horses and roam freely. He seems very happy and relaxed and has made some new friends.

Mercali, an off the track TB from NY, was pulled in from the pasture to gain some more weight. He was right off the racetrack and we just could not keep his weight up. He will be put onto our weight gain diet and eventually be put back out with his friends.

Jericho was treated for a small puncture wound and put onto antibiodics. He will remain in the Hospice Area for a few days before rejoining his friends in Big Vacation Village.

Scout had a little too much fun after running and playing in the turn out, she pulled a muscle and had to be treated with pain meds. She is doing better and should recover just fine. Kudos toMarianne, who works with Scout, for noticing that something was not quite right with her.

Marianne, a Shiloh adopter of Galt, volunteer, and website helper, cleaned Hickory's eye and worked with some of the horses. Cheri, another volunteer, helped to move horses and worked with Tattoo and Trooper. Sharil, adopter of Borrego and Cochise, worked her horses and pitched in to help get the horses all checked over and cared for. These three volunteers are always a BIG help and we know we can trust them to always do the right thing with the horses and notice any problems.

Sabine, Shiloh's rider and adopter of Balboa, rode Chico and Pirate and began evaluating Music and Lark for upcoming adoption. Sabine works very hard for the horses and does a wonderful job.

Betsy, adopter of Kite, and her sister, Katherine, owner of boarded Ace, both worked with their horses and walked them all over the property.

The little black chickens attacked and tried to bite Jill as she feed them and Spur, the big ranch dog, slept the morning away on the office's sofa.

Another busy day in paradise!

Monday at Shiloh

It was a beautiful day at the rescue, sunny and quiet. Still cold, but not icy.

Many of the pasture horses laid in the warm sand and took long naps, they would just twitch their ears at you as you walked by to check on them. The weanlings were all separated and the shyer ones were moved into separate corrals for some more one on one attention. The more friendly babies were put in the tree area with two older geldings as babysitters. Boston and Alamo will help the babies learn to have good horse manners and to get along in a group until they move on to their new homes. Boston and Alamo's babysitting fees will be paid in Equine Senior!

Hickory's wound was cleaned and checked, his antibiodics were given. All the horses were checked for new wounds, etc. Water buckets were filled and extra feed given to those who need it.

Apache and Inspirada (both pregnant) were put back into the Bungalow area, which has dried a bit after the water pipes broke a few days ago. Some of the corrals in the bungalows are still too wet to be used.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Desert Pines (Shiloh's Vet) will be coming out to the rescue on Monday the 21st for some routine care. We have some horses being checked for pregnancies, some teeth to be floated, Echo Echo, the new stallion from Animal Control, will be gelded. Some of Shiloh's boarders will also be having their horses checked. Sadly, we will probably have Coal peacefully put to sleep at that time, we are having a hard time keeping his old chronic founder under control. We can't keep him very comfortable anymore and he is having a harder and harder time getting around. He is out with his wandering herd in the back, his best friend, Sitka never far away. Next time you come out, please take a minute to say hi to him (he is grouchy though). We want him to know that we love him...

Shiloh is hosting a Parelli Natural Horsemanship Clinic with Marc Rea, a three star Parelli instructor. The clinic will be on Feb 16-17. The horse and participant part is filling up fast and auditing is available. The two day clinic is $400 for horse/participant teams, auditing is $25 per day/ $40 for both days. This is going to be a wonderful learning experience for everyone, please come on out and join us! Check out the website for more info and details!

We had some new volunteers today. If you are interested in coming out, just send Shiloh an email at shilohhorse@aol.com. Volunteers and visitors are welcome seven days a week! Shiloh's Business hours are from around 8am until around 1:30pm. Come on out and help us groom horses, fill water buckets, etc! Don't forget to bring lots of carrots! The pigs and goats also like old produce (lettuce, apples, tomatos, etc), so if you have any laying around in your kitchen, bring it on out!

It was a busy weekend as Shorty, Cash, and Marquee were all adopted! As sad as were are to see the horses eventually leave Shiloh, we are happy they have new loving owners to care for them. Shiloh always says that rescue is not always the best home for horses, there are many wonderful and caring people out there who can give these horses more attention, training, and one on one love then they can get from us. It's our job to save the horses and then let them move on to new homes when they are ready. There are other needy horses who need our help!

Don't forget Shiloh 2008 Calendars and unique hand beaded horseshoes are still for sale! Go to our front page for more info. We are currently working on a new improved website with a full online store where it will be easy to buy calendars, horse shoes, t-shirts, and more. Tony Curtis will be donating one of his art prints to Shiloh to offer for a $200.00 donation. These beautiful prints will be for sale in our new coming store!

This is a daily blog, so check us out everyday for the latest Shiloh happenings!

Welcome to Shiloh's new daily blog!