General

Learning “Horse Speak”

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Learning “Horse Speak”

Horses use body language to say everything from “Stay away” to “I love you” and everything in between. Anyone can learn “horse speak”. All you have to do is watch for the clues.

Ears

Barney Standing in the Barn

Easily one of the most expressive parts of the horse’s body is the ears. The ears are relatively easy to read.

If a horse’s ears are up and slightly forward, they’re active, interested, and possibly a bit excitable.

If their ears are relaxed and off to the side, they’re comfortable and possibly sleepy.

If a horse’s ears are pinned flat back to the head, the horse is scared or angry.

Head and Neck

Any time you want to know what a horse is thinking, pay attention to the head and neck.

If a horse’s head is lowered and hanging in front of their chest, they’re very relaxed and usually sleeping.

However, if a horse’s head is raised high in the air with their chin lifted, they’re alert and on the lookout for something in their environment.

A horse that is bobbing and weaving their head is usually agitated. It could be a clue that they are going to bite or be aggressive.

Maggie with her head raised.

Forelegs

Barney standing with his legs evenly underneath him.

Horses usually stand with their legs evenly underneath them. If they aren’t, the horse is telling you something.

For example, if a horse’s front legs are spread wide apart, it could be a sign that the horse is nervous and is ready to bolt.

A horse that is pawing at the ground usually is getting impatient and wants to get moving.

If a horse is stomping, however, their getting irritated and could start striking out.

Hind Legs

The easiest way to know when a horse is relaxed is when one of their back legs is cocked and slightly off the ground.

However, if a horse only has weight on three legs and the fourth is not bearing any weight but is not cocked, be careful. The horse may be thinking about kicking.

Roanie's hind legs slightly apart.

Eyes

Jesse with his eyes half shut.

The most obvious warning sign to watch out for is if you can see the whites of the horse’s eyes. This means that the horse is upset, scared, or angry.

A horse that’s nervous and is considering bolting, will dart their eyes back and forth quickly.

If the horse’s eyelids are drooping and their eyes are half-closed, they’re extremely content. You see this a lot after they have eaten.

Tail

Most of the time a horse’s tail is still or lazily moving to keep flies off of them. However, if the horse is rapidly moving their tail from side to side, that is a sign that they’re angry and might kick.

If a horse is incredibly nervous or unsure about something in the environment, their tail will clamp tightly against their body.

Roanie with his tail swishing.

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What’s in a Name

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What’s in a Name

“Where did the name Roanchar Ranch come from?” is the number one question that we get at the rescue.

Charlie and Roanie at the fence line
Charlie on the left and Roanie on the right

Roanchar is a combination of our founder’s two personal horses’ names; Roanie, a Strawberry Roan Tennessee Walking Horse, and Charlie, a Percheron/Tennessee Walking Horse cross. They are also the driving force behind the rescue.

Charlie and Roanie were the first horses that our founder owned. Roanie was a seasoned trail horse and Charlie was a 5 month-old colt who was a blank slate.

Owning a draft horse was a dream of our founder. She had fallen in love with Charlie’s mom Denea, a pure-breed black Percheron when she rode her on a trail ride while she was pregnant with Charlie. Denea was gentle, confident, and loving, all the traits that a gentle giant is known for.

A few weeks after riding Denea, our founder was on another trail ride with Denea’s owner, checking pastures for foals. In the middle of one of the pastures lay Charlie. He was no more than 12 hours old and a site to behold. He was glistening white and black and all legs. Our founder fell in love immediately

To prepare for Charlie’s arrival, our founder did research on how to care for a foal, and specifically a draft foal. It was then that she came upon the plight of unwanted draft horses.

Draft horses, who had worked their entire lives, were thrown away when they could no longer work. She knew that she wanted to make a difference in their lives and Roanchar Ranch Draft Horse Rescue was born.

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Not for the Faint of Heart

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Not for the Faint of Heart

The feeling starts as soon as you hang up the phone.

That feeling in the pit of your stomach that ignites a fight or flight response.

You do everything that you can to calm yourself down, but nothing works.

You soldier on because you have a job to do, but in the back of your mind, the feeling gnaws at you.

As you drive up to the stranger’s barn with your trailer in tow, a million scenarios are running through your mind.

You take one last calming breath before you start walking to meet your latest intake.

As you look into her soulful eyes, a warmth of calmness envelopes you, and the worry melts away.

She is ready. So are you.

As you drive back, the feelings return like an old friend.

Fear

Doubt

Worry

They consume you as you work through the daily hurdles of a new routine.

You wait for the harmony of a balanced herd to return.

When you finally can relax before the phone rings again.

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Happily, Ever After

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Happily, Ever After

1272! The number of days that Maggie waited for her forever home.

But the wait was well worth it once Teresa and Maggie found each other.

“Maggie is everything I was looking for.  I wanted a horse that was forward with personality and confidence, who wanted to work, learn and grow with me.  She checks all of those boxes, Maggie takes care of me and gives her all with every ride”, said Teresa Cain, Maggie’s adopter.

Our goal is to make sure that each adoption is a good fit for both the horse and the human.  Sometimes, you must be patient for that perfect match.

If you are looking for your next partner, take a look at our available horses or contact us at roancharranchrescue@outlook.com.

Maggie finds her forever home with her adopter Teresa.

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Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

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Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

titan: one that stands out for greatness of achievement

Titan in pasture

Every horse that comes to the rescue is special, but Titan was so much more. He had an innate ability to reach out and touch the heart of everyone that he met. It didn’t matter if it was a fellow horse that needed reassurance, a child who had never been around a horse or a senior citizen who wanted to relive their youth. Titan knew how to make everyone feel at ease.

With his passing, a huge void has been left and everyone at the rescue feels it, especially Jesse. While Titan was Barney’s eyes, to Jesse, Titan was his strength. The two would spend hours together, standing side by side. While Jesse rested, Titan watched over him. Allowing Jesse to lean on him when Jesse’s leg was too sore to bear weight.

Titan at the Rural Outreach Center
Titan at the Rural Outreach Center

At the Healing Horse Summer Program, Titan was in his glory. Surrounded by children, Titan patiently stood while he was groomed and doted over. He regularly bowed his head so that the children could touch his muzzle or scratch him between his ears. His eyes glistened as he lapped up all the attention.

Titan’s larger role, however, was being the voice of the rescue. At every event that he attended, he owned the crowd. While he lured people in with his size, his story of perseverance is what kept them coming back. People could hardly believe that the picture they saw and the horse in front of them were one and the same. Titan opened everyone’s eyes to what a throw-away horse was truly capable of.

837 – The number of days that Titan lived at the rescue

Immeasurable – The number of lives that Titan touched

Rainbow appears after Titan's passing
A rainbow appeared over the rescue after Titan’s passing

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Just When You Think…

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Just When You Think…

It all started innocently enough. A simple conversation with Becky Roy, the founder of Draft Gratitude, and I. As usual, we talked about how our rescues were doing and our residents.  We both have horses with Chronic Progressive Lymphedema (CPL) and both are using the Hinez Compression Sleeve.  Soon the conversation turned to questions about dealing with a blind horse.

We both heard the general recommendations for dealing with blind horses, but we both knew that dealing with a blind draft horse would be a whole different ballgame.  We both had more questions than answers and the conversation waned.

Fast forward a few weeks when Becky and I were talking again.  She said that she knew about a blind horse in my area that needed help and would I be willing to talk to her contact.  I said that I would, but that I really wanted to wait until the weather broke to take on another rescue.

Barney on the trailer from the Finger Lakes RegionFamous last words.  We drove to the Finger Lakes Region a few weeks later and picked up Barney.

Barney’s story is no different than many other draft horses that are no longer able to work, with one exception.  Barney is almost completely blind.  For a draft horse that is set to go to a livestock auction, being blind is a death sentence.  The only people most likely to purchase a horse like Barney are the kill buyers.  They know that they can purchase the horse for next to nothing and make a nice profit when they sell the horse to the slaughterhouse for meat.

To prepare for Barney’s arrival, we put markers on the fence so that he could hear them waving in the wind and we put Titan in the same pasture.  What do they say about the best-laid plans?

After being on the same farm for 15 years, Barney was confused and scared.  He was so disoriented that he shocked himself on the fence as he walked around in circles.  He did it so many times that he made himself dizzy.  I quickly ran out to grab him and get him back to the barn.

Plan B

It was obvious from being around Barney that he is able to see movement of some sort.  The movement just had to be very obvious.  So I decided to attach plastic snow fence to our electric fence.  That way he would touch the plastic before the electric fence and he could see the snow fence flapping in the wind. Once again, what do they say about the best-laid plans?

Mother Nature was definitely laughing as she watched me put the snow fence up.

My area is notorious for being windy.  Hence why a wind farm was erected in my town.  It took one day for the wind to start breaking zip ties.  While the snow fence was a good temporary solution, it was not going to work permanently.

Plan C

To make Barney’s pasture as safe as possible for him, it is obvious that he needs different fencing.  So between myself and Kyle from J&K Agriculture, Inc., we came up with a plan to install a rail and rope fencing system.  The top line will be a rail that Barney will be able to touch without getting shocked.  If he happens to test the rail, the two remaining rope lines will be electrified to stop him from walking through it.

We are looking to install the new fence this summer, but we need your help.  The fence will cost us $6660.  Please help by donating to Barney’s Fence Fund.

Lifting a heavy burden

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Lifting a heavy burden
We were only able to save one of the seven horses that needed our help

Jesse resting

 

October has historically been the month when owners contact us to surrender their horses.  The difference this year was, that instead of getting a call or two, we got seven calls.  Seven horses needed a soft place to land and we were only able to help one, Jesse.  What a heavy burden it is to have to make the decision as to who to help.  We know that the likelihood that some of the horses will end up at a livestock auction is high.  We also know that if a horse does go to auction, that they run the risk of being sold for their meat and slaughtered.

The rescue was founded to provide a safety net for horses and an alternative for owners who would otherwise send their horses to a livestock auction.  The harsh reality is that the rescue is not at a point where we can say yes to everyone and it is a reality that eats at me and that I fight every day to change.

My goal for next year is that we are able to help more horses than we have to turn away.  I hope that you will help me reach that goal by supporting more horses like Jesse by donating.

When a no is even better than a yes

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When a no is even better than a yes

As we continue to grow, we are always on the look out for new funding avenues.  One led us to apply for a grant with a rather large foundation.  While we were hopeful that our request would be granted, but knew the odds were against us.  A few weeks ago we were informed, that in fact, we would not be awarded any money.

For the last nine months, we have been learning how to successfully raise funds with the help of Sandy Rees at Get Fully Funded.  Her willingness to share her knowledge and insight has been invaluable.  One tidbit that she recently shared with us was the fact that we shouldn’t be afraid to ask grantors why an application was denied.  So, we contacted the foundation and asked to speak with someone to discuss how we could improve our next application.

To the foundation’s credit, they got us in contact with one of the members of the review board. She spent half an hour explaining candidly why we were not awarded a grant.  While one reason for not winning the grant was our size, the reviewer told us not to be discouraged.  She went on to say that we are doing great work with the resources that we have and that she understands that we are in a catch 22.  We can’t get bigger without funding and we can’t get funding until we are bigger.  Here is the real kicker, though.  She told us that she would help us when we apply for other grants and even went as far as to tell us some angles that we should be using to set us apart from other applicants.

We now have a great resource in the grant world.  One that we would have never made contact with if we weren’t told no.

A promise is a promise

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A promise is a promise

TobiasI knew that I didn’t have much time left with Toby.  I had done some research on nasal cavity masses and the prognosis was only three to five months.  I thought that I had at least the summer with him.  It was not to be.  Every day I could literally see the mass growing and every day I could hear that breathing for him was getting more and more difficult.  The uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that we did not have months together, but merely weeks.

Every horse that comes into the rescue I make a promise to.  Each promise is different, but the theme is always the same.  In theory, it seems easy to do what is right, but the reality is that sometimes it is not.  Making the decision to say goodbye is final; you can’t undo it.  The decision also has a ripple effect not only on you personally, but also on those left behind.

A herd grieves the loss of a member the same way that a family does.  Our herd has been no different.  Maggie and Toby were close and found comfort with each other.  Toby would lay his head on Maggie’s back while they both napped.  With Toby gone, Maggie has become much more affectionate with me.  Instead of walking away when she sees me coming to groom her, she drops her head, cocks her leg and closes her eyes.

I am keeping my promise to Maggie and Titan as I kept my promise to Toby.  They will always come first.  No matter what the future brings.