Thomas

All the horses and ponies are well and enjoying this unseasonal warm weather we’ve been having at the end of this week.  However, on Wednesday morning Gloria, one of the goats who resides at the Sanctuary, approached one of the volunteers to show them a gash on her side.  The gash was about 5″ and no-one has any idea how Gloria got the wound .  The vet was immediately called out and on arrival cleaned the wound and gave Gloria stitches and antibiotics.  Gloria was a very good patient and having been keep inside for a few days the wound is healing really well.  Also this week, Bussie has got a bruised sole, the farrier was called out and on examination it was diagnosed that the sole was badly bruised.  Bussie’s foot is now padded out and Bussie is being stabled-kept until the foot is healed. Bussie is also being cared for by companion Lady who stands by Bussie’s stable with her head inside the stable door!!

We would like to thank 103 The Eye Radio Station for having Carole star as their guest speaker on Monday 16th January at 2.00pm.  Carole talked about Pablo’s Horse Sanctuary in general terms and also made some appeals for help. On the show The Eye also indulged animal-lovers with a whole hour of horse-themed music. Whilst there Carole recorded an appeal which will keep being played on 103 The Eye Radio Station.  It is planned for a live broadcast to take place on the Long Clawson yard sometime in the near future, so a special thank you to Billy Ray and Dr Jay and all the team at 103 The Eye.

Also thank you to Debbie at On The Sands Cafe and Deli in Long Clawson, who raised £47 in the Pablo’s collection tin that is kept on their counter.  On The Sands Cafe and Deli has the most delicious home-made foods for you to buy, or if you have a little more time  you can enjoy the ambiance of the cafe.  It is a great place to meet a friend and have a lovely lunch – for more information please visit their website www.onthesands.co.uk or just click on the link on right.

We would also like to thank the 3 generous donations that were made anonymously this week which totaled £110.  These donations are so gratefully received and as always 100% of donations are spent directly on the welfare of the horses and ponies, as the Sanctuary is run completely by the kindness of volunteers.

We say a sad farewell to one of our volunteers, who is moving away from the area and we wish them all the best for their future.  However, this means we need  more help for the evening feeds at the Long Clawson site.  So if you could give a few hours in an evening, even just one evening a week, please get in touch with Carole.

And finally, last week was Carole’s Birthday which she has kept very quite about – so on behalf of all the volunteers, horses and ponies, and friends of the Sanctuary – we would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLE!!!!! and wish you many more happy birthdays.

Have a good week

Dodger with his friends

Hi Everyone

All the horses and ponies are well this week, however on Friday Dodger, one of the four Dartmoor foals had worked up a bit of a sweat on him, so the vet was called out. However, when the vet arrived and tried to take a good look at Dodger, Dodger decided that he was having none of it and gave the vet a right run-around! The vet (eventually) got to diagnose Dodger as having just a bit of tummy ache, maybe due to some trapped wind. We are pleased to report that Dodger is fine, and the vet came back to check on Dodger today (Sunday) and gave him the official all clear.

A date for your diary is tomorrow (Monday 16th) as Carole is staring as a guest speaker on The Eye Radio to talk about Pablos at 2.00pm. The Eye will also be indulging animal-lovers with a whole hour of horse-themed music. So remember Monday 16th January starting at 2.00pm to 3.00pm – 103 The Eye Radio Station!

A huge thank you this week to the wonderful people of Eastwell for kindly donating £170 through running various fundraising events which included Carol Singing over the Christmas period, and to Peter Marsh of Melton Mowbray for his kind donation of £100 this week. Also a big thank you to Helen Lovegrove and the liveries at Hill Top Farm Livery Yard, Long Clawson for raising £60 through supporting Pablo’s new and nearly-new equine stall on Wednesday. If you would like a yard visit please contact Wendy on 07831 453504 (please note no message service) or email: whcarter@onetel.com. We also need donations of stock – all equine items and clothing (human and horse) donations, please get in touch with Wendy – collection can be arranged.

Savannah is now officially on the Sponsorship Page, taking the place of the beautiful Silver who sadly passed away last year.  So if you fancy sponsoring Savannah, or maybe giving the sponsorship as great gift to a friend or family member – all the information is on the Sponsorship page.

Have a good week

We’re pleased to report that all the horses and ponies are well this week.  In addition, some of you may have noticed, in last Thursday’s edition of the Melton Times, a feature which was published about our four Dartmoor foals, D’arcy, Dizzy, Dreamer and Dodger (you can see the full article on our Stories and Tributes page).

Rocky and Weetabix at their new home

You may remember Weetabix and Rocky; two horses who came together as a pair that Pablo’s gave sanctuary to in 2010.  Well, a fantastic foster home was found for them with Sarah and Craig in Leicestershire early last year.   Sarah and Craig sent in this recent photo of Weetabix and Rocky and report that both are as gorgeous as ever!  They have two new friends now, in the form of orphan lambs that Sarah and Chris bottle-fed which have now grown into big, healthy sheep.  Both Weetabix and Rocky are very inquisitive and have enjoyed watching the fencing in their field being recently replaced. We are so pleased that Weetabix and Rocky have found such a wonderful new home where they are extremely well-cared for and loved, thank you so much Sarah and Craig.

We are also pleased to report that Sooty, a young  5-year old thoroughbred mare has recently been rehomed to a good local friend, Sara.  Sooty has settled in very well in her new livery yard and Sara has been spending a lot of time with Sooty and it is planned that she will be re-schooled in the Spring time.

We would like to thank Peter Marsh of Melton for supplying free grazing at the beautiful park in Burton Lazars.  Five of Pablo’s horses and ponies are kept in the 20 acre park, who are looked after by our longstanding and valued volunteers Andrea and Rob, this is really appreciated.  Also thank you to Tommy, a wonderful volunteer of the Fix It Team who has been making new hay racks and feeding stations for the main yard, and to the Fix It Team in general for starting on the repair of another field shelter.

Can you help with getting more hay? asks Bussie

A warm welcome is extended this year to Emily Large and Suzanne Gillespie who have started volunteering at Pablo’s as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Unfortunately, we are still struggling financially to find the funds required for the amount of hay needed over the coming Winter months.  As the price of hay has doubled over the past two years, this has meant that only half the amount of hay has been purchased with the Winter hay fund this year, also as there is a national shortage of hay stocks, understandably we have not had the extremely generous donations of hay as in previous years (except for Dr Gallop, who has once again been extremely generous in her contributions).  Therefore we are having to make an urgent appeal for hay in the form of a press release in all the local papers.  If you have any spare hay that you are able to donate, please get in touch as this would be extremely welcome.

Our volunteer Wendy is looking for new venues for the Pablo’s new and nearly-new equine stall, so if you would like a yard visit please contact Wendy on 07831 453504   (please note no message service) or email: whcarter@onetel.com.  We also need donations of  stock – all equine items and clothing (human and horse) donations, please get in touch with Wendy – collection can be arranged.

If you have any used ink cartridges or old mobile phones, please could you donate these to Pablo’s?  Please see the link on the right, or bring them along to the yard and our volunteer Christine will send them off.  Believe it or not, we can exchange these for a small amount, with all proceeds going directly to the welfare of the animals.

Thank you, and have a wonderful week

Old Arthur - a very gentle soul

Happy New Year to you all.  All the horses and ponies are well and are now all in their Winter quarters, but we are so sad to report the passing of old Arthur, before Christmas.  Old Arthur came to Pablo’s approx 8 years ago and was an extremely gentle horse, who was popular with the volunteers and with the other horses and ponies.  Old Arthur had a particular bond with Cherry, and they loved to spend time together mutually grooming each other.  The vet advised that Old Arthur was in his late 30s and he passed away in his stable during the night from heart failure.

We would like to say a big thank you to Brimsvale Birdseed, at Long Clawson for their Christmas donation of bags of pony nuts, and to Kim and Claire from Nottingham for their kind donation of horse feed and feed buckets.  Also a special thank you to volunteers, Sue and Rosie for spending the whole day on Wednesday painting the field shelters, and to the fantastic Fix It Team for making new feeding stations and feed bins for storeroom.

Wendy would like to say a personal thank-you to everyone who has supported the Pablo’s New and Nearly New Equine stall  this year. The yearly total raised by everyone is  £3437.00, so well done to you all.  Wendy hopes to see you again in 2012, and if anyone has a new venue for the stall or would like a yard visit please contact Wendy on 07831 453504   (please note no message service) or email:  whcarter@onetel.com or if you would like to make stock donations, please get in touch.

Silvana

We would like to introduce a new arrival of Silvana, a 15.1hh mare from Warwickshire, who is 26 years old and in her time was a polo pony.  Silvana was on Pablo’s waiting list for many months, and due to one of Pablo’s ponies having found a new foster home, a space become available and Silvana was given Sanctuary.  Silvana is very sweet and sociable, and has quickly made friends at the main yard in Long Clawson.  Silvana will be available to sponsor , so please check out her page.

Another huge thank you to those who have so generously given donations over the Christmas period, every donation is really appreciated.  However, we would like to launch an appeal for hay.  As all the horses are now on the yard, and funds are low we are looking for donations of hay to help see us through the Winter months.  Unfortunately the price of hay has risen so much this year, that the Sanctuary has only got half the amount of volume of hay for the same price of last year’s Winter funds, which has caused the deficit this year so if you could help it would really be appreciated.

Have a good week.

Also, a huge thank you to everyone who has shown their support by kindly giving donations, being part of the Standing Order Scheme, sponsoring a horse or pony, donating food, rugs and equipment, or holding their own fundraising event.  Every donation, no matter how small or large is so gratefully received and means so much to the Sanctuary.

With all your help, this year we have been able to take in additional horses, ponies and foals that were in need of Sanctuary, whilst still looking after those who need long-term care.

Your help this year is so deeply appreciated and I sincerely thank you from the heart.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year 2012.

 Love Carole”

General back in his field with his companions

Well it’s only one week to go before Christmas day and all the horses and ponies are well and warm in their rugs.  This week, however, General slipped on the mud when he was playing in his field and bruised his back leg.  The vet was called out and after examination the vet prescribed treatment with daily injections of Penicillin and painkillers as General had a small cut on his leg in where some mud had got in.  We are pleased to report that General is recovering really well, and after being kept in the small pen with Jive for company, General went back out onto his field today and his leg looks so much better.  Shanty and Willow are still very much the inseparable pair who walk around together, sleeping together in the barn at night and then out into their paddock during the day.  It’s really sweet as Willow sometimes has difficulty in bonding with other horses, but with Shanty he’s definately found his soul-mate!

The four Dartmoor foals are going to be featured in this week’s edition of The Melton Times, so make sure you reserve your copy on Thursday!  The foals are still absolutely gorgeous and so cute,  they are all very friendly and we’re hoping that fantastic new homes can be found for them in the Spring next year.  If any one would like to help out socialising the foals over the Winter period, then please get in touch.

Our volunteer Wendy held Pablo’s new and nearly-new equine stall at Canaan Farm, Costock today and raise a fantastic £85.  A big thank you to Karen and Hayley Sankey and all the customers for their support. Also a big thank you to Mrs Bush for her donation of 8 rugs; 5 turnout and 3 stable rugs for the horses and ponies at Pablos.

Jive in his new rug

We would  like to say a big thank you to Carol Brock from Birstall, whose horse sadly passed away in February who donated rugs and equine items to the sanctuary.  Also a big thank you to Ann and Ken Johnson who have held more car-boot sales to raise a fantastic amount of £113.

A huge thank you to all those who have sent in Christmas donations and well-wishes to the horses and ponies in care, it is really appreciated.

Have a good week, and only 7 more sleeps to Christmas

Dolly all rugged up

Hi Everyone

All the horses and ponies are well, with their Winter coats growing nice and thick for the coming months ahead. Those horses and ponies which require rugs are all rugged-up to keep them extra warm. This week we welcomed Silvana and Thomas back onto the main yard to spend the next few months in their Winter quarters.

We would like to extend a HUGE thank you to all those who have sent donations, cards and well wishes to the Sanctuary over the past few weeks. There are too many to mention, but we’d like everyone to know that every single one is really appreciated and it is lovely to know that there are so many friends out there, helping the horses and ponies. Again, sincerely thank you.

It’s that time of the year again when the quarterly newsletter is out! Those that give regularly on the Standing Order Scheme, and those who sponsor a horse or pony will be receiving their newsletter through the post – so watch out for the Postman. It’s not too late to Sponsor a horse or pony before Christmas, as this makes an excellent Christmas present! Details are on the “How you can help” and “Sponsorship” pages.

This week Pablo’s was asked to help a local charity “Rethink” as a few members would like to start spending therapeutic time with the horses and ponies in the New Year, and we look forward to welcoming them. Again thank you to Mars UK for generously funding the yard insurance which enables people with physical and mental health issues to spend time with the horses and ponies.

Minty

A few individual thank yous this week to Pat a long-standing supporter for her generous donation of £50, good friends Phylis and Richard who save their pennies in jar which amounted to £65, and to Cheryl who held a charity and craft stall in aid of Pablos at Ashlockton Christmas Fair on Saturday 19th November which raised £60.

Our volunteer Wendy is back at Canaan Farm Equestrian Centre’s Open Show on Sunday 18th December, with Pablos’s new and nearly-new equine stall – so if you see Wendy please pop over and say hello.

Have a good week.

Blossom and Westie

Hi Everyone

All the horses and ponies are well, and this week saw the return of the boys (Old) Arthur and Jiffy back onto the yard in Long Clawson.  Arthur and Jiffy are back to spend the Winter season at Long Clawson and it was lovely to have them both at the yard.  Arthur and Cherry have a special relationship, and Cherry was thrilled to see Arthur and the pair have spent the week catching up with each other with plenty of mutual grooming.  The four little Dartmoor foals – Dodger, Dizzy, Dreamer and D’arcy are all making good progress and are responding well to being handled, so that they will be able to be rehomed in the Spring.  We have some pictures of Blossom and Westie in their new lovely foster home with Jodie, and are pleased to report they have settled in very well and you’ll agree they look very happy together.

We’d like to say a special thank you to Mars UK, as they have very generously funded the annual yard insurance again for the coming year.  Thanks to Mars UK this allows all visitors, regardless of their disabilities to be able to spend time with the horses and allow both to gain such benefits from the sharing.

Gayle at the Victorian Christmas Fair

On a rather chilly Sunday, volunteers Gayle and Rachel held a tombola stall at the Victorian Christmas Fair in Melton Mowbray town centre. An amazing £447 was raised from the tombola and sale of home-made crafts.  A “guess the pony’s name” game was also held and many thanks to those who gave their support to raise such much-needed funds.  As always 100% of all funds raised is spent on the welfare of the horses and ponies.

Thank you to Dr Gallop for generously donating and delivering an early Christmas present of 100 bales of hay, and also to Alec as last week he asked for donations instead of presents for his 65th Birthday party; a few more cheques have arrived since which has raised the total to £410.  You’re both stars.

Wendy is holding Pablo’s new and nearly-new equine stall at Riverside Riding Club in Ashfordby on Saturday 10 December, and will also be at the Canaan Farm Show, Loughborough Road, Costock – so if you see Wendy please pop over and say hello, grab some bargains and help the horses and ponies at Pablos as well!

Have a good week

Icarus in his winter coat

All the horses and ponies are well, and Willow and Shanty are still an item this week.  Shanty has decided that Willow needs her nurturing and  therefore needs to be “looked after”, and this is regardless of whether Willow wants looking after or not!  Shanty has now decided that she does not want to go into her stable at night, but to stay outside with Willow instead (just the two of them together).  However, they do make a very sweet pair together.

We are extremely pleased to report that  on Wednesday Blossom and Westie arrived safely at their new foster home to be cared for by our long-standing volunteer Jodie.  Jodie reports that they have both settled in very well and are socialising with the other horses and ponies in the adjoining fields.  Everyone is so thrilled that Jodie has been able to foster both of them, and know that they will be very well looked after with her, and Jodie is still volunteering her time to help at the yard on a Sunday.

A big thank you to our volunteer (and part of the Fix It Team), Alex, who held his 65th Birthday party at the weekend and instead of presents Alex asked for donations for Pablos.  A fantastic £335 was raised and it has been reported that it was a good party night.  Also thank you to our car-booting fundraising volunteers Ken and Ann Johnson, from Earl Shilton who raised £44.43 from holding two car boot sales, and £30.31 from their collecting tin which they took to their local Auction house. A thank you to Firecracker Saddlery for purchasing some saddles from Pablo’s new and nearly-new equine stall and for their advice to Wendy.  You’re all stars.

Little Gerry and Christina Scarlet

A thank you to Kim and her daughter from Cedar Farm Stables, for their kind donation of their horse’s equipment and tack, as sadly their horse has passed away.  Our thoughts are with you at this time.

Sadly, one of Pablo’s supporters and animal lover, Jock McJannet has passed away and his widow Dot, arranged for donations to Pablos instead of flowers at Jock’s funeral, which amounted to £360.  Thank you to Dot and Jock.

It’s that time of year when your garden is asking for well-rotted manure for its Christmas present, and Pablos has the perfect well-rotted manure.  For only a small donation you can come and collect as many bags as you like – go on you know your garden will love you for it!!!  Please give Carole a call to arrange a convenient time for collection.

Remember, if you are going to the Victorian Christmas Fair in Melton Mowbray‘s town centre this coming Sunday 4th December, please pop over and try your luck on Pablos Tombola stall.  All funds raised will be spent on the horses and ponies welfare, and on the Winter feed bill.

Have a good week

Jester

Hi Everyone

Well, it’s been a quiet week with all the horses and ponies being well. Willow is fully recovered from his fall a few weeks ago and is still in General’s paddock, however Willow has now teamed up with Shanty and they are very much the pair! Lady is also absolutely fine after her fall last week, and we are pleased to report that there has been no more slips and falls!

As regular readers will know, a couple of weeks ago Freeway had been diagnosed with seborrhoeic dermatitis and was prescribed Malaseb Shampoo by the vet. Freeway’s dermatitis areas are being shampooed regularly and the shampoo is working wonders, with Freeway’s dermatitis clearing up very nicely.

The fundraising music night was held on Friday 18th November at the Rugby Club, Burton Road in Melton Mowbray with the fantastic local group “Revolver”. Although an enjoyable evening was had by all that attended, unfortunately the date coincided with Children In Need Day, and the turnout was quite low on the night, however £75 was raised which will go towards the Winter feed bill.

Our fantastic volunteer, Wendy held Pablo’s new and nearly-new equine stall at Canaan Farm Equestrian Centre, Costock on Saturday which raised £187. A big thank you to Hayley Sankey and family, and all of their clients for their support. Wendy will be back at Canaan Farm Equestrian Centre’s Open Show on Sunday 18th December, and also will be at Riverside Riding Centre, Asfordby on Saturday 10th December from 9.30 – 12.00.

A big thank you to Gayle, our fundraising volunteer, who held a stall on Melton Market on Saturday and raised a wonderful £104, the money raised from Gayle and Wendy will go towards paying off some of the Summer feed bills, which are still outstanding. If anyone could help by donating any hay for the horses and ponies over the Winter period, it really would be appreciated.

A few more big thank yous, to Sue Gowans, a long-standing supporter, who donated lots of fantastic Tombola prizes, and also for paying for Pablo’s stall fee for the Victorian Christmas Fair on Sunday 4th December, to be held in Melton Mowbray’s town centre. Also to Sue Ruscillo for donating some fantastic Tombola prizes, so if you will be at the Victorian Christmas Fair please pop over and say hello to our volunteers and see if you can win some of these fantastic prizes on Pablo’s Tombola!

And one final big thank you to Graham Wassell from Global Safety, a long-standing supporter and good friend of Pablo’s for his donation of £300. Graham’s donation will be put towards the veterinary bill which has escalated again due to Silver and Ezra’s veterinary care, which now stands at approx £1000.

Have a good week.