~HAPPY THANKSGIVING, LITTLE LONE RANGER~2011

A year ago, a spunky little bay colt’s world came to a sad and terrifying end, as he knew it. There came the frightening noise from the sky and the mad stampede, all of his family and herd mates were running panic-stricken. The tiny colt, barely 2 month old, kept up bravely, his short little legs pumping furiously, determined not to loose sight of his Mom and his family. All of a sudden they were trapped in a small place and they were separated from their family, and he lost his Mom, and then came the pain in his face…..he was kicked and crowded, and he was frightened and alone, the first time in his short life. He tried desperately to stay alive; something was just compelling him to appear brave and calm. He stayed close to one of his bigger brothers; he used to play with, who protected him. They were forced in a small box and it was noisy and cold and his face was bleeding and throbbing, but he snuggled close to his brother. After a long time they arrived to a strange place….when they were let out of the box, he thought he might just find his Mom, started prancing around and calling, no answer came……his brother and his little friends were with him to comfort him. Then came the next day, when he was separated from all his little friends and his big brother, left alone. He started pacing and trotting back and forth, he was alone, really alone, frightened and his face was hurting.

This was Little Lone Ranger’s first “Thanksgiving”

This second Thanksgiving was much better, he survived against all odds, and his face healed up, leaving a huge scar and dip where the bone was broken. He has a family of Mustangs and a “two legged Mom” here at Wind Horse Foundation! He is a loving gentle soul with an incredible spunk and flair….he likes to show up and mock fight with his new brothers, and he loves his cozy shelter with all the hay he can eat and where he can lay down and stay warm and dry. He loves Mom’s hugs too, and he knows he is not supposed to nip Mom. His new Mom loves him with all her heart, yet she is sad for all the loss of freedom, this little Mustang colt will never know, the way God intended him to know.

Mom is planning to take Ranger to the home range in the Pine Nut area, to visit, when he is going to be old enough. For now, all is well.....

~ Mission Impossible ~ACCOMPLISHED~

Maida started working with zeal on this "Mission" I nicknamed "Mission Impossible". She submited a request for the "Lido Fund", kept in touch with the owner of the horses, wrote a a plea for a fundraiser on FB, and she was so happy to receive the only pledge of $25, from a sweet gracious lady, Deborah, on FB. What truly touched me was the way Maida reacted, she could not have been more excited, had she received $2500! This is exactly what I like to see, appreciation for the "intent" we at WHF appreciate any and all donations, because we know that the smaller donations often come with more sacrafice. When she received a very generous grant from the Lido Fund, we knew, that perhaps  we had a real chance because now she had nearly half of the funds needed for the rescue. I stepped in and talked to Katie who did the transport,  we had a good rapport, she had done hauling for me 3 times previous. She agreed to take payments on the other half, actually one third. Then my friend Simrat pitched in her one third up front and now we had a plan. Maida thriving on faith, said I can take out $500 from my college funds, I know people will step up and help.....they just need some time to think on it" Katie said she could do the transport in two phases with a 2wks layover at her ranch. So she picked up the horses on the 31st of July, and 14 days later transported them down to Eugene, Oregon, where we met her and the following day headed back to California. The day before we set out Maida scrubbed the truck and trailer squeky clean, and she told me, that she was so excited that she doubted if she could sleep at all. We were sitting across the table in the kitchen and she said "Anne-Marie, Thank You! ....this is the most exhilarating and satisfying feeling I ever had in my life. To hear this, reassured me, that I was truly on the right tract with the Foundation. I told her I could not have been more pleased to hear that, and how proud I was of her pulling this rescue off against all odds. I also asked her to share this with her contemporaries, let them know that doing an act of kindness can be exciting and a good feeling, and that kids didn't need to have purple hair or body piercings and or huge tattoes to feel noticed and feel good about themselves. She said she was totally up to this. We got up bright and early and set out on our adventure, it was a long, long drive, 10 hrs. We arrived to Eugene around 8Pm, our transport from Washington was running late, so we visited with Simrat, and saw her other two Spanish Mustangs, one a recent rescue. Simrat graciously invited us to stay at her house for the night, which was super nice of her and we gladly accepted. We went out to the ranch where the horses were going to be stabled. It was dark and Simrat found some glo sticks and ballons and Maida was standing in the middle of the road decorated with glo sticks like a christmas three, and just as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. Finally we saw the headlights of Katie's truck, and Maida squiled in delight, they are here! The horses unloaded nicely and I noticed how thin the mare and her gelding son looked like instantly. They were about a 2.5-3.5 on the HS body condition. We lead the horses to their pasture and was time to pay Katie. Maida whispered, ".....you have to write my check.....I said I can't write your check, why? She said, "I never wrote a check before....." I just had to smile, and said, nothing to it, I'll coach you. She wrote out the check and ran back to the young gelding, with whom she was smitten instantly, to say Good Night!

                                          Simrat Khalsa Photo

                  Simrat Khalsa Photo                                    Simrat Khalsa Photo

Simrat Khalsa Photo

Next morning we were up at 5 am and ready for the long haul back to California. Simrat waited for us with freshly grinded organic coffee, a welcome aroma. Then we drove out to pick up the horses. I was somewhat concerned if we were going to be able to catch them on the big field? My worries were over nothing, it was rather picturesque to see the small Family of Spanish Mustangs huddled together at the far corner....looked liked a painting. I was emotional, hated to tear them apart, my heart went out for the "Papa Mustang" we were leaving behind with Simrat. If our finances were better I would have taken him too. However I knew  with Simrat he would have the best of care and home. Looked like he knew it too since he headed towards her with a soft expression in his large beautiful eyes. The first one however was the young gelding, who started hesitantly towards Maida, and the old mare had no choice but to be satisfied with me. Maida haltered the gelding she named "Anasazi's Chaco" (to honor my deceased foundation stallion's memory) without any problem, and the tall gelding followed her to the trailer. It was "love at first sight" anyone could see! Chaco loaded up easily after his Mom. While Beau the "Papa Mustang" looked calmly on standing quietly with Simrat....all was well, no dramatic Good By! I sighed with relief. The first part of the journey was very pleasant, cool weather beautiful scenery. We stopped every 2-3 hrs. to offer the horses water, re-fill Chaco's haybag. Poor fellow just ate non stop. He was the one in the poorest condition. I was somewhat concerned as the mare was getting tired and half way through Chaco was showing sign of fatigue. The one good thing was that they drank real well. Chaco was super good since we had a grid on his fold down window, we had to go in and water him that way. He was good and calm, he even stood for Maida putting water over his back to cool him, as we reached Redding California, and the heat was just sweltering. As we were about 30 miles out of Sacramento, all of a sudden the trailer lurched and swayed, like the horses were jumping around. I immediately pulled over suspecting one of them was in trouble. They were both upright and Chaco was trembling slightly. however my ABS light was on. I asked Maida to text her mechanic friend, and moved along a slower pace until we could exit at a rest stop. I checked the rig, no sign of smoke and the brakes were working, then when I re started the engine, the light was gone. Another sigh of relief! The rest of the trip was uneventful and we arrived around 9:30PM. Our Spanish Mustangs and Ranger were greeting the rescued Mustangs with a huge whinny and nickers. We had settled them in their large comfortable paddock and shelter with clean shaving, fresh water and lot's of grass hay! I was weary to the bone, but a warm and fuzzy feeling enveloped my heart....the world was a better place and all was well!
Mission Impossible ......Accomplished, thanks to a bright eyed young girl's unwavering FAITH!
Maida is still short of $900 for the cost of this rescue...and the horses do need a vet check dental, worming and extra supplements. One of our "Horse Angels", Connie surprised us with a donation again and we are grateful for her heart of generosity! Maida is sure others will follow suit, you can't help but believe her!
Donations big & small are appreciated and much needed. Currently all donations are applied towards feed and care of the Mustangs.
Make checks payable to Maida Parsons, (WHF in the Memo) and it will be tax deductible as soon as we receive our IRS #.  PM for address please and or PayPal info.

Simrat Khalsa Photo

~Mission Impossible~

.Early in June I received an e-mail from my good friend Simrat from Akkal Ranch in Oregon, asking me if WHF could help save and re-home a 20 yrs old SPMustang mare and her 12 yrs old son. She said she would take the third horse who is the castrated sire, the head of the little family. My initial response was to say yes, especially when I found out that the mare was a daughter of my beloved foundation stallion Anasazi. I had to do a reality check, because the horses were nearly 1600 miles away up in Washington state, and WHF already was running full capacity with the 5 rescues we have done within the year. I had a bad year, off   disability and no job in sight. I was truly distraught, because I have rescued so many other horses and now here is this lovely mare, who is kin and I can't save her from a horrid and uncetain fate? The owner considered handing the little family over to the  Rodeo Association for "re-homing". One does not need too much imagination to figure out that they could easily end up at the local kill pen in Washington. Rodeo and livestock folks don't usually keep old horses, or have much respect for Mustangs for other than bucking stock. I was torn up over the whole issue and in tears one afternoon, when my young rider, and friend, 18 yrs old Maida came over. All of a sudden she said, "....we can do it...I'll do it!" I was looking at her, beaming with confidence and excitement, and I blurted out how?? She had a million ideas for fundraiser and going to the local farmer's market  to set up a table for donations. I had no heart to dampen her enthusiasm, especially since it was getting contagious. Before I realized, I was saying, well there is a small rescue fund for Spanish Mustangs, called the Lido Fund, you could start there. The rest is almost history; Maida was consumed with planning and having millions more ideas, stopping by daily keeping my spirit up and slipping peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, to keep me going helping with chores. All of a sudden my whole outlook brightened.....because I must confess I was down in the dumps. I have experienced hard times before, however never as bad as this. I had no money coming in at all, I applied for temp. unemployment and I still haven't gotten the benefit, and I had 11 Mustangs to feed, a cat with an eye injury, and not much response from putting out repeated pleas for help. I understood that these were hard times financially, yet I could not help feeling disappointed and let down. Maybe it was a crazy idea to try launching a 501C3 right in the middle of a recession? When you have a "DREAM" with a double good mission, it is hard to give up. Saving Mustangs and helping children and the youth to redeem themselves and find a purpose for a brighter future! What could possibly be bigger then that? All of a sudden here it was right in front of me that my philosophy was working, the Mustangs in need were coming to me and the young people too. I realized that this was my opportunity to test my "FAITH" and all of a sudden the world was a better place!

 Simrat Khalsa Photo

Stay tunned for part II.......the account of the "Mission Impossible"

WHF Youth Rider Profile ~Maida~

I found Maida, at the local market, of all places. She was working there during summer. The lovely shy young girl caught my eye; she was petite and a natural beauty, without extra make up , tattoos or body piercing, bright intelligent eyes chestnut hair in a pony tail. What really captured my attention is; she radiated kindness. She never said much just smiled a lot until one day she asked me what kind of horses did I have? She didn't have to ask me twice the flood gate opened and I told her just about everything about my beloved Mustangs. Then I asked, and do you have a horse? She said oh no, just Ponies, with a shy smile. Ponies are great I replied, some of my best SPMustangs are Pony sized. Her eyes got big and asked if she could come over to see them? Of course I said.....you can even ride them if you wish, since it's just me right now. As I was leaving, she called after me, may I bring my sister, she loves horses too and she is the same size, she is my twin. Oh boy, I felt like I hit the jackpot, two petite, good riding girls! One never knows the treasures to be found in a small country market. The rest is history......this was a couple of years ago, and I adore "my twin girls"! The Mom, Wendy is an excellent farrier, so this was meant to be. Maida and Robin proved invaluable help towards the final months of my best friend, and soul mate Montana. The last two weeks we had to help him up every morning, and Maida slept with her phone and rushed over no matter how early it was....just to help old Monte. Some mornings Robin came and even their Dad pitched in. After I had to say farewell to Montana, the girls left a single rose at the doorstep with a box of herbal tea and a lovely card with comforting words to ease my pain. I was truly touched by their genuine kindness. They came and helped with paddock cleaning, and riding those "Mustang Ponies" and falling in love with them. Maida bought a brand new halter for Blackie and an endurance saddle from her hard earned money. She wrote an essay at school about the perils of the Wild Horses and Burros out on our Public Ranges. I had a good chuckle on that one; Maida called me to ask some more questions for her essay, then she ads, ".....well I was going to interview the BLM jerks in Palomino Valley, but ran out of time...." She also accompanied me last September, when I was picking up Misty, the beautiful Grulla mare, I bought for the famous Calico Stallion, Lightning. Misty was Lightning's mare in the wild, and I felt there is no greater gift, next to Freedom of course, then being able to reunite a Wild Horse with his "family". For Maida it was an unforgettable experience. Just now WHF is experiencing real difficult times, and when we were contacted by a fellow SPMustang rescue person in Oregon, to help saving an elderly mare and her 12 yrs old son from uncertain fate, I was agonizing having to say no, due to luck of funds. What was tearing my heart apart was, the fact that the elderly mare was a Daughter of our beloved Foundation stallion, Anasazi! Here I was, having saved so many other horses, and now I can't save the one who is "family"? Here comes the touching part, where Maida came to the rescue......with the zeal and faith of the young, she said we can do it, I will pick up an extra job and we can fund raise and I apply for the "Lido Fund" (....a small rescue fund with very limited finances) and she rattled off dozens of "great ideas" all in one breath. This sure touched my heart, here is this young girl, who is actually practicing what WHF is all about; "Saving Mustangs with the help of the Youth..."  Maida is in the process of orchestrating her very first "Rescue Mission"! She is doing all the phone calls, correspondence and coordinating with transport, arranging for Coggings & H.Cert. funding, and the owner of the horses, who is "just not doing enough...." according to Maida LOL.  I volunteered my time and our rig to meet the transport in Eugene, Oregon, for the cost of gas....thus save some money. I also told her she could keep the horses here at the ranch for the cost of feed and she'll come and clean for them. I wish WHF could do more. Maida is all excited to have her very own SPMustang and will finish training the younger one with the help of a young friend, and she wants to campaign it in endurance to promote the Mustangs! WHF feels truly fortunate and is proud to have Maida to sit on our Board of Directors!

WHF is welcoming the first intern.

We are very pleased to announce, the arrival of our first youth intern; "Misha" from Newport  Beach, Ca. The last place one hopes to find a gifted young horseman. However  often people just get "misplaced" in life. This is exactly what happened with Misha. Always a country boy at heart, he somehow ended up at Newport Beach, and growing up was not easy as he always had a hard time fitting in, and was the happiest at their family ranch in Utah. It was obvious that both boys, (...Misha has a twin brother) had a very deep connection to animals. Misha was not older then about 14yrs. when his father gave him a 2 yrs old red mule to train, nicknamed the "Red Bitch"......for obvious reasons. Much to everyone 's surprise Misha did train the mule all by himself. his very favorite thing was to pack some lunch and head off into the surrounding mountains in Utah. Misha spotted our website and contacted me, expressing interest in an internship at WHF. I told him there was a 2wks-1mos trial, he agreed to it. It became obvious after only 2wks that he was going to be accepted. Besides being an excellent rider and very patient with the more timid horses, Misha proved to be a hard worker with a great attitude. His ambition is to enroll in an equine program at the some nearby college and who knows if all goes as planned....the young man might just have a job at WHF after Graduation!

The First Halter & Fly Mask

Summer has arrived after a long and wet winter, and we had to play a whole lot of "catch up". I don't even remember when the big day came and Ranger accepted his "first haltering". I have was always just kinda playing with him and see how far we get. One lazy warm Sunday afternoon, I walked into his paddock and asked him; hey Range, will this be the big day? And guess what he said; "why not" I had some carrots in my hand and while he was crunching on it, I just slipped the nice red halter on him and buckled it up. Range just stood there like nothing ever happened, and he always had a halter on, I proceeded to finish grooming him, cleaned his paddock then removed the halter after about half an hour. In my experience, once my colts accepted the halter they did not need to live in it. Each day after this I would halter him, and he did not even need carrots, he knew what the routine was. The fly Mask was just as easy. It appears after the haltering and Fly Mask he was just progressing in fast forward. We are leading in the paddock and he allows me to pick up the front feet. Not quite ready for a trim, but nearly. Now Range is rapidly developing into a rowdy teenager, making noise, pretending to be caught in the pipe with his front feet, and he welcomes every opportunity to do his "race horse" act. that is racing around in his paddock with his tail like a flag and running in and out of his house kicking up his heels and grunting, squealing in delight. Of course he looks to see if we are all watching. Some times I clap my hands and he just runs faster. he also must have started teething too, because he has a complete "oral fixation" he is chewing on everything. I had to put bitter apple on the wall of his house, and must protect my butt.....since he snuck up on me once.LOL He is growing leaps and bounds and can almost see out his stall window. When he first arrived I could barely see the tips of those short little "coyote" ears, Spanish Mustangs are well known for. He also has a dorsal stripe and some black zebra stripes on his front legs....interesting, I thought he was a bay. At first he was kind of standoffish with people he didn't know, but now he is walking up to people more readily. Needless to say Range is a "Lady's man" perhaps because he was "man handled" by males predominantly. he still gets a bit weary when there are two people in his paddock....wondering if we are going to "jump on him"? All in all I just marvel at his forgiving temperament, or perhaps this is the way he survived.....just sizing up the situation and choosing his fights? When he knew he was over powered he didn't fight? Who knows, he is a very special little pony full of love and games, and it just does a body good to see him blossom and develop into a handsome little "Boy Horse", all shinny and sleek.

The "Education of Li'll Lone Ranger"......

The second week Range was getting more and more relaxed, he was getting used my presence in his paddock….his was the cleanest, because every poop was picked up immediately. Not because I am “obsessive-compulsive”, however it gives me an excuse to go in there and busy myself. He would walk calmly at a safe distance, turn around and just give me that level, bit weary look; so who are you? What do you want from me? His shaggy coat was full of matted fur with clumps of mud caked to it. It was hard to restrain myself from Jumping on him with a currycomb. I raised several little Mustang colts, my Cerbats were the easiest, because this strain has proven to carry mostly Andalusian  blood markers, and Andalusians are known to have been bred for outstanding disposition. I decided early on, that I will use a unique approach with Ranger, and allow him to set the pace of the training, as his comfort level dictates. I could feel that he was very inquisitive and a gentle soul. He would hesitantly move closer and closer, however the slightest movement sent him fleeing. What truly broke the ice was my cat Tiger. One peaceful afternoon he decided to check Range out, sauntered over to his paddock, and started rubbing up against the fence on the outside. Ranger immediately came alive, slowly lowered his head, and gently blew into Tiger’s face. Tiger bravely stood the scrutiny and started purring. Then as if he sensed that Ranger was kind, he started rubbing up against Range’s face and legs. So here we go, I have my “Wild Mustang Assistant Trainer. So from here  on, I carried Tiger in the paddock and Range came right up to me, how cool is this I thought, most colts would have stumped on a cat, from just being playful, Ranger on the other hand was gentle and treated Tiger like a friend; licking him and grooming him gently. Tiger liked the licking part, however was not particularly fond of the little “love bites” on his ears.  It was very evident from this every day show of affection and developing friendship, that Ranger was starved for love and a friend, and that he felt safe with Tiger. I was trying to win his heart with food, but he would not eat anything else but hay. He probably never had any fresh grass either, it took quite a few days for him to discover that grass was tasty. So I handpicked a bucket of fresh grass for him every day. I still needed to introduce junior pellets, and he definitely did not like pellets. Then my friend recommended Omolene-300.  Then “Range Salad” was created; fresh grass and clover with shredded carrots and Omolene sprinkled on top. It looked good enough to eat. Ranger could not resist and decided he liked it. Within a  week, probiotics and other supplements were introduced. He started looking better and acting more like a normal colt. I do not exactly remember the magical day, when he allowed me to touch his nose, then put his little face in my hand. The magic of that moment stays with me forever. I do not believe in “force” and always do everything at liberty, the halter is the very last thing I put on them. Where as most people do it the other way around….wanting to establish “control” and dominate the horse. Ranger in his short little life, has never had a choice or freedom….it has been taken away from him on that fateful day at Thanksgiving, when he was separated from his Mom and his Family. We will never know how he suffered the horrible facial fracture….it was more likely a kick….was he orphaned in the wild, or it happened during the round up. It made no difference to him….he was left alone and in terrible pain. I am still wondering why he was not euthanized? The scar depicts a horrid injury.  In my heart, I feel it was ultimately his charisma that saved him. Here is this tiny colt with the bright eyes and determination to live…...his message was hard to miss and worked even on the callous BLM personnel. When I picked him up everybody knew him, John Neill referred to him as “feisty” with grudging approval.

To me he appeared an “old Soul” in the body of a small horse colt. I started calling him my little “Boy horse. My “Freedom Training” worked perfect for Range, and he did not take advantage at all. Once he figured out that human touch could be light, the shelter protective and warm, food tasty and abundant, water fresh, his trust has grown in leaps and bounds.