Sitka's Leg

We brought Sitka into the Desert Pines vet clinic Saturday morning to meet with Dr. Schur. Ronnie Graves, the Florida man who creates Prosthetics for animals as well as for people, came into town and together he and Dr. Schur x-rayed, discussed, and casted Sitka's deformed leg and foot. Although skeptical at first, after talking to Ronnie, Dr. Schur thinks that this just might be what Sitka needs and that it will work for her. As the day progressed, we all got very excited about the possibilities. By the time we left, Dr. Schur was already thinking about using Ronnie's services for other horses that may come into the clinic in the future. Already, Sitka is inspiring people and her story will help other injured horses in the future. Take a look at some of the horses that Ronnie has helped in the past. In particular, the horse AARON, is the most similar to Sitka and her leg will look alot like his does.

We did end up leaving Sitka, and Sunday, in the clinic until Tuesday morning. We wanted the clinic's resident Farrier and the vets to lay Sitka down and have her hooves trimmed. We just can't get her done anymore at the ranch as she can't hold the weight on her crippled leg. Her prosthetic should be done in about 5-6 weeks, at which time she will go back into the clinic to have her leg fitted by the vets and by Ronnie, who will travel out to NV again.

We still need help with her Leg Fund, please consider donating for her new prosthetic. THANK YOU!

Here are some photos from the day:


Sally, Deonna, and Sharil get Sitka and Sunday ready to go...

Jill and Ronnie discuss her leg as Sunday tries to get one last nursing in before we go...

How can we not do what we can to help Sitka, and by doing so, help little Sunday? Look how they snuggle together...

Let's go Sunday, up into the trailer!

In the clinic, ready to start. Look at that foot, poor thing!

Taking x-rays. This set of X-rays showed us all just how much her bone has deteriorated since her last x-rays in August. If we don't do something, she will only have about 2 months left before she will need to be put to sleep.

Sharil comforts Sitka...

While Sally comforts Sunday...

Ronnie and Dr. Schur cast the leg...

After it set, they cut the cast off which will serve as a mold for her prosthetic.

Her leg... Her cast.

Ronnie inspects it...

Sunday roamed a bit while Sitka was worked on. We told him to stay away from the expensive equipment, but, of course, he ignored us and had to be put back on the lead...

PLEASE CHECK OUT SHILOH'S UPDATED ONLINE SHOP!

We have added two new Tony Curtis prints (pictured below), the Shiloh Documentary, and our new 2009 calendars. Why not do some Holiday Shopping to help feed the rescue horses?

Hot Off the Press!

Shiloh's 2009 Calendars have arrived! They are really nice, full of Rescue Horses and their stories, quotes, and more.

These are of great quality with plenty of room to write information in the dates. Each calendar is handsigned by Tony Curtis, Shiloh's biggest supporter.

Online price: $25.00 (includes shipping)

For purchase at Shiloh- $20.00

All proceeds go to feeding all of the animals at Shiloh.

To shop online, please click here!

More stuff!

We've had great support for Sitka's Magic Leg Fund, thank you! Andrea from the UK is donating a painting for us to raffle off at the Pet Expo and I will be offering one of Tony's prints as a raffle prize as well. I have had several caring people email me that they feel bad that they cannot donate any money right now to her Fund. I just want to remind everyone that emotional support can be just as important as financial support when there is a horse in need. We appreciate everyone out there who reads the blog on a regular basis and follows the lives of all the animals at Shiloh...


Boarders can now pay their monthly boarding fees online with Paypal. Please go here to pay with this new feature. (Remember, your boarding fees are paid to Jill Curtis and Shiloh Ranch directly, not to Shiloh. The charity and the boarding business are kept separate.)


We are now accepting sign ups for the Parelli Clinic which will be held December 5-6, 2008 at Shiloh. Please email Dave Hickey at Hickey589@aol.com to sign up for the clinic or for more information. If there is enough interest, we are hoping to add a third day for Level One, Part Two which includes saddling and riding. Email Dave to sign up. Select Shiloh Horses are available for use in the clinic, please email Jill at shilohhorse@aol.com for more information about using one of our horses.

Lastly, The Animal House in Pahrump, NV is kindly donating 7-8 tons of old feed to the Shiloh animals. It is a variety of feed ranging from horse to chicken and pig food (if it can't be fed to the horses- the goats and pigs will sure love it!). Now we have to figure out how to get it to the rescue. The bags are on pallets. Is there anyone in Pahrump who might be able to bring all or some of it out to the rescue? Shiloh will reimburse you for your gas! You will need a truck and/or a horse trailer. Any ideas?

ADOPTED HORSE UPDATES:
Breezie, who was rescued from slaughter while pregnant, looking absolutely wonderful in her adoptive home...

And LOOK at Breezie's baby, Whirlwind, now named Zoey. She looks FANTASTIC! She is now 7 months old and was just recently weaned from her mom. What a beauty! And more good news, she is going to be adopted by her Foster Family (who adopted her mom Breezie). What a great ending to her Shiloh story and what a great beginning to the rest of her life!

Don't fence me in...

Turn up the volume, sit back, and enjoy another creation from Rescue Horse Productions!

Sitka

It looks like we are going to go ahead and Have Ronnie fly out from Florida to make a cast of Sitka's crippled foot. He will then go home and use that to create her prosthetic. He will be coming out on Friday and we will be bringing Sitka (and little Sunday) into the vet clinic for the casting.


We have created a Sitka Magic Leg Fund where we are accepting donations to help pay the cost of her prosthetic. We are estimating the cost at $4,000 for everything. ALL donations to this Fund will go directly to paying her bill and we will keep a running total of the amount raised. Donations are tax deductable.


We will also be putting any donations that we receive at the upcoming Pet Expo, November 22-23rd, into her Fund. At the Expo, we will be offering for donations the beaded horse shoes, little beaded horse shoe magnets and ornaments, t-shirts, and 2009 calendars.

As soon as we have more info about Sitka we will post it. Thank you to all her friends out there who are pulling for her!

Various Things

Things are really getting busy around here!

Traveler says, "Don't forget to VOTE!"


It's our right as Americans to vote and Traveler will be casting his ballot today. He is not telling who he is voting for...

When was the first President election in American History? Traveler knows!

Dave Hickey ( A Shiloh adopter, Volunteer, and our Equipment Manager) is going to be arranging a two day Parelli Clinic at Shiloh on the weekend of December 6-7, 2008. Marc Rea, a three star Parelli instructor, will be teaching the clinic. Our last clinic was a great success and we, and our horses, all learned alot! The cost per horse/handler team is $395.00 for both days, or $200.00 for one day. Spectators/"Auditors" can also attend for $20.00 for one day, or $30.00 for two days. As soon as everything is set, I will be posting more info and accepting horse/handler teams.

Those of you who have followed Sitka and Sunday's story know that we have been considering options for Sitka and her crippled foot. Sitka's quality of life has diminished and we have been discussing euthanising her with our vet. But, to complicate things further, we have been trying to keep Sitka as comfortable as we can until Sunday can be safely weaned. We cannot wean him until at least 4 months of age, which is still very young to be taken from his mother. Last Month, we were approached by Dr. Schur from the vet clinic who, after reviewing Sitka's x-rays, told us that she actually considered Sitka as a good canidate for amputation and a prosthetic leg. Her crippled foot is causing her pain, but it is a "mechanical lameness", the rest of her body is healthy. Dr. Schur contacted a surgeon in WY who was interested in doing the surgery, but his cost was estimated at $10,000- $12,000, which is of course too much for Shiloh to spend. Sitka is an older mare, but she has a great will to live and we, and the vets, just feel that she is not ready to be put to sleep. We want to do what we can to give her a better quality of life and some pain free years. But, we just didn't know if we were going to be able to realistically do that. Then, I got a call this morning. Carol, the loving woman who adopted Blue Moon, had contacted her friend in FL, who is an amputee himself and a great animal lover. He has created prosethetics for other crippled horses and burros, whose only other options would have been euthaniasia. After looking at Sitka's photos, he thinks he might be able to help her! He thinks, with our vet's help, he can create a a prosthetic which would go over her crippled foot, taking all of the weight off of it and bypassing the need to actually amputate the foot. This is all in the planning stages, but I think this just might be the answer for sweet Sitka! Shiloh's cost would come to approx $4,000.00 (his cost for the materials), a much lower and much more realistic number for us. Once we go to the next step, we will be raising some funds for a Sitka Fund. I will keep everyone updated...

Adopted Horse Updates:

Below is "Remington", the baby of Shiloh Horse, Wildfire. He was born in a foster home, and is in a new home now and being well cared for and loved. He looks great!

Below, Angus and his young owner, Alyssa.

This last weekend

First of all- BIG THANKS to everyone who came out to one of Tony's book signings. There were long lines and lots of Tony's fans who came to see him. It is always fun to see Shiloh people away from the ranch- everyone always looks so different out of their barn clothes!

Here is something really interesting, Linda who adopted the Haflinger, Harlow, called the Haflinger association to find out more about registering Harlow in her name. She found out that Harlow is extremely well bred, her sire is a very well known Haflinger stud (pictured below). It just goes to show us again that no horse, no matter how well bred or expensive, is safe from potentially being shipped to slaughter.

Harlow's Sire, she has his face...

Photos from this past weekend:
Nancy and Carol work with their adopted horses, Blue Moon and Twinkle, while Charlie butts in...

Alydar, the goat, climbs into a feeder for a nap...

Sandy pauses to eat a carrot... "What's up, Sandy?"

Dave and his two adopted horses, Rookie and Numerous, share a quiet moment...

Sunday and his friend, Crusoe the Haflinger, beg for some carrots...

B.G. takes a nap in the hay...

Cloud and Thistle have some breakfast in the Big Pasture...

The ranch dogs, Spur and Curry...

Sabine and her adopted horse, Balboa, looking happy together...

Sandy and John clean Moonshine's sore...

Sparrow and Frisco eating together...