Home » Posts tagged 'Equine Rescue'
Tag Archives: Equine Rescue
Adoptions ~
When one of Zuma’s rescued horses finds a forever home it is a mixed emotion….. While I am very please to have found a home that will adhear to our adoption rules…. A little piece of me goes with each and every one of our family members.
Zuma’s adoption process requires the following:
- 30-60 day pre-purchase time to ensure the new family member is a right fit
- Forever co-ownership with Zuma’s and a first right of refusal
- Semi annual medical reports from Veterinarian- Vaccinations, Dentist, and Worming receipts
- Semi annual farrier reports
- Quarterly dated photographs
- Minimum requirement of 2.5 acres per horse and 12×12 shelter provided per horse on the property
- Minimum of one other horse as pasture mate
These stipulations help assure us that our home selection for Zuma’s horses is appropriate.
Next week Willy will be leaving the Zuma’s family for a new home in Ogden Iowa with Sharon Hibdon. Willy will be trained as a hippo therapy partner for children with physical challenges. Willy will be sadly missed, he is a sweet sweet boy that will be wonderful for the children in Iowa.
If you have fallen in love with Willy’s infections soft eyes, be sure to stop by and say goodbye before Monday April 26. Tears just getting through this post…….
Willy <3
Needs List
Zuma’s can ALWAYS use your tax-deductible cash donations. But if you can’t donate cash, have you considered all the non-cash things you could offer to help the rescued horses? Here is a list of some things the Ranch needs NOW:
- Volunteer labor
- Grass Hay 12 tons per month
- Round bale attachment for New Holland Skid Steer
- Grain: Nutrena Senior 50 lb bags
- Grain: Nutrena Youth 50 lb bags
- 29 Quest Plus wormers
- Water hose and spray nozzels (always breaking!)
- Manure forks
- 3-sided loafing sheds
- Horse-friendly fencing (labor and materials are needed for horse fencing construction. We have 146 acres…mostly unfenced. More fence= more horses that can be saved)
- Fence gates for new pastures
- Horse bedding (shavings)
- New feed wagon (the bottom fell out of ours!)
- Cobb-sized halters
- Lead ropes
- Horse shampoo & conditioner
- Mane & tail spray
- Hoof oil
- Licensed Psychotherapists who will volunteer their time
- Brushes
- Muck Baskets
- Feed troughs for outdoor shelters
Your donations help turn unwanted horses into useful, loving companions that can help heal the wounded hearts of the foster children in our program. Click below to watch a video about how these horses, once rehabilitated, can give back:
A Letter To Our Mentors~Without Them There Would Be No ELP
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all enjoying the March session of ELP! I think we have seen great progress with many of our kiddos. I see our little ones starting to push some boundaries and test a bit. Our teen group challenged us for the first few weeks, but I think things fell into place on Monday and the documentary is going to be amazing!
You guys are doing a great job with data collection. I know it is hard, but it really is the way to show the insurance companies and funders that what we are doing works. We will become Medicaid providers as of the May session, which may change a few things. For the most part we already take all the data in information they will need. It is exciting- it should help with funding for a lot of our kids.
Thank you for being on top of the sign in-sign out. As we get more organized and progress we will add and subtract protocol. We will start monitoring who picks kids up in the May session and each kid will have a list of who is allowed to pick them up. We will also be doing a communication log starting in May. I am not sure what that will look like yet, but we will go over it prior to the May session starting.
Other news:
We have 2 kids being paid for by the county and one of them is court ordered. All steps forward to the counties recognizing that kids are getting so much from this and that it is worth funding!
We are going to start a weekly mentor training. It will be every from 12:45-1:30. We will role play and work on various scenarios as well as go over questions you guys have. Monday night mentors-you are welcome at the Saturday training. If we need to add a training on Mondays we will look into that. Let me know. That training will start this Saturday!
May session sign ups… it is that time again to sign up for the next session. If you are not continuing, please, please please try to find someone to take your place. The Teen group will be May 3rd, 10th, 17th, 27th, June7th and 14th. The Preteen group will be May 8th, 15th, 22nd, June 5th, 12th, 19th. We will be off the weekend of Memorial Day (May 29th and 31st). Let me know by April 10th if you are returning or who is replacing you. We will have a New Mentor Training on May 1st.
We are going to add ELP Volunteer Hours. Right now the Teen group comes and works from 3-5. It has been a challenge but we have worked most of the kinks out. A lot of the kids have expressed interest in volunteering, but they can’t come whenever they want and we can’t offer supervision throughout the week. So, we will continue the Teen Volunteer Hours on Mondays from 3-5. Typically this group cleans stalls and then plays a game. We will be adding a second work task as they can handle it. The Pre-Teen Volunteer Hours will either be on Saturdays following ELP or on Sundays. Are any of you interested in supervising the kids? The pre-teens would be dusting the arena, washing buckets, etc. There would be little horse involvement to keep the need for supervision ratio down. If you are interested talk to me.
We will also be having an ELP Summer CAMP!!! Summer Camp will be the week of June 14 to 18. It will be between 5 and 6 hours a day with a mix of equine activities, games, hiking and possible field trip. We are looking volunteers who can help out with the kiddos. If interested, talk to me.
Finally- We need to do a Mentor Melting Pot Night. Coordinating 20 mentors and 6 facilitators calendars is insanity, add on top the Colorado weather… So April 12th at 8:00. Email me if you are going to attend so we can make a reservation.
I can’t thank you all enough for what you are doing for these kids and what you have done for me. Starting this program is an amazing experience and has helped me to settle into my new home.
Maura Stack-Oden, MA, BCABA
Behavior Analyst
Zuma’s Rescue Ranch
440-840-9146 (cell)
720-344-8971(fax)
Integrity ~ Why Horse Rescues Need Regulation
This past week Zuma’s Was called to help with Seven horses in need. An elderly couple in Walden Colorado cared for a small herd on their 300 acre ranch. This winter the husband died leaving the herd for his wife to care for . After a long winter and an injury to the wife, it became time to re-home the herd to people that could manage the horses.
Mary Kissam- Rocky Mountain Horse Rescue contacted me about taking some of the horses, of course Zuma’s has no space but accepted two of the horses, that is what we do step in when horses need help. There were four yearlings, two draft horses and not sure what the other was. In fact I am no longer sure of much about this particular rescue after the following trail of events. Mary Kissam stood by her word and had nothing to due with the actions of Nicole Webb.
A photo of the horses needing rescuing was sent to me and I selected two yearlings, a paint and a Palomino, I was told another person would be picking the horses up and then bringing them to me. Day two of this nightmare I this other person, Nicole Webb, that I would have to pay for the two horses and asked if I could pay for fuel to go and get them. I thought this strange but agreed to pay for the paint and the Palomino yearlings and accept delivery.
Colorado would deliver a spring snow storm the next day, so the pick up of the horses from Walden move up and the delivery of the horses to Zuma’s vanished. Mary told me that I would need to go pick the horses up in Longmont, I agreed to pick the horses up.
While making arrangements to re-feed theses horses, Nicole told me that the horses were in poor shape, I asked Nicole what the Henneke score on the little guys was so that I would know how to begin the feeding process. Nicole then stated that she did not score rescue horses and then she questioned me as to whether or not Zuma’s could handle these horses.
Given that the horses were in poor shape I asked Nicole if the horses could stay with her for a week or so to gain some strength, Nicole said NO.I was told that she was not set up to keep them even, though I offered to cover the cost bring hay for them, they could not stay. So the very next day I receive an email from Nicole stating the horses were too sick to move and they would be at her place indefinitely. Seems strange that Nicol could not keep them at all one day then the very next day they are staying with her until further notice. Obviously Nicole had another agenda here and was creating a story to fit her agenda.
The story unravels more, I then receive an email stating that the paint that I rescued had already been adopted by Nicoles’ friend and it would be not coming to Zuma’s at all, but that I needed to pick up the two Palominos that very same day. It was now obvious that Nicole was a dishonest person with an agenda, and that she had lied to me to have things unfold her way. Needless to say I stepped away from this all together.
I surely hope those horses have good homes, for the stories I have heard of a “Rescue” that also breeds horses…… is NOT a rescue at all. Anyone that breeds when there are so many horses needing homes is not a true rescue by any stretch.This is why we so badly need regulations for people calling themselves rescues.
This is why I am so glad to be in the process of becoming a nationally recognized horse rescue myself, and I hope that the IRS will strip all rescues that do not comply with the new national regulations of the 501C3 status.
This industry of rescues is full of people that have no boundary with what they do and it is high-time that the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaties and Executive Director Patty Finch take this industry by the horns and weeds out those that do not belong.
I have heard more horror stories of so called rescues hoarding horses and placing them in horrible conditions.Or Horse Rescues that take horses in for themselves and collection donations to care for them. Rescues that simply make money from selling horses, never following up on the horses they sell.
Horse Rescues are often times seedy causing the industry to look bad as a whole and making it hard on legitimate horse rescues out here doing the right thing by these poor horses.
Beware of any horse rescue that also breeds horses. Also do through background checks on the people you are dealing with, if you suspect foul play contact the Global Federation of Horse Rescue, Patty Finch.
Be the Voice the Horse does not have.
ELP~ Words about the Horse from a Kid
Zuma’s Experiential Learning Kids ~ Straight from the mouth of a child.
Why I like horses:
“They are really big animals. They are amazing. In my heart they are sacred. Like the sacred dog.” (reference to the book, “The Gift of the Sacred Dog” that we both love)
What I do at Zuma’s:
“I’m learning how hard it is to be devoted to something. I have commited to this. And it is painful. It is painful to cough up $4. But I did it. It is painful to scoop poop, but I did it. It is painful to get itchy eyes.”
What do you get from Zuma’s:
“In the evening I get to talk to my mentor in the warm room. I like talking to people – 1 on 1, not in big groups – and I don’t get that a lot.
My goal is to ride. My hope is I volunteer enough here that they’ll see I’m truly committed. I’m not just here to make a quick buck. It may not happen until I’m 19 and I’m finally on my own. But maybe one day I’ll have a job and I’ll be able to have my own horse. Or sponsor one. There are tons of possibilities with this place.”
This is why what we do at Zuma’s works! Support our mission, Donate Today
Success ~ Words from a Parent
How our son, age 8, experiences life:
Every day,filled with numerous happenings that he is not expecting.
Not knowing what is going to happen next puts him in a hypervigilant state.
Things that trigger him are : someone coming to the door, a loud noise
(truck driving by, lawnmower, fire-truck). When he gets scared he goes into
flight or fight (usually fight) mode and reacts by hitting, running or
swearing. This makes it hard to be around other people that don’t know him
well because he is usually labeled as a bad kid. They don’t realize these
everyday occurences trigger him. 
How this impacts our life:
He doesn’t have any friends that come over to play at our house. He
can’t participate in extra curricular activities like sports or art
classes. His whole world revolves around his brother, sister and parents.
We don’t go out to eat as a family or have many people over at our house
because of the stress it causes on our son.
Why he likes Zuma Rescue Ranch:
The horses are big and alive! They can be grumpy or happy just like our
son. It gives our son a way to take care of a living animal and at the same
time follow some detailed instructions. It is great occupational therapy!
He gets to know his horse and develop a good relationship since he is paired
with the same horse every week. Maura makes him feel comfortable since she
is clear on her expectations. She also has an amazing talent for
understanding what he struggles with in life. We have not come across
people like her very often! From day one she could separate the bad
behaviors from his personality. Knowing he is being treated fairly and with
compassion takes a lot of stress out of our lives.
This of course only describes how Zuma impacts our life. The other half of
the story is how the horses benefit.
Zuma’s Volunteer Of The Month
Meet Dan Schlachtenhaufen, Zuma’s volunteer of the month for February.
Volunteer Of The Month of February
Dan only started volunteering at Zuma’s in late January and since that time he has consistently volunteered between 20 to 25 hours a week. No job is too difficult for Dan, he cleans paddocks/pastures and the stalls. He even feeds breakfast and lunch to our herd and is by far the earliest volunteer to arrive at the ranch at 7:30am.
Due to Dan’s dedication he has learned all about the horses and knows them all by name.
Zuma’s Rescue Ranch is very lucky to have Dan and all our other volunteers, we couldn’t do this without you all.
Thank you to all the Zuma’s volunteers and congratulations Dan!
Join Zuma’ this weekend at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo.
Equine Assisted Learning
Volunteers Needed!
Zuma’s operates with a skeleton crew supplemented by its cherished volunteers. Volunteers are the backbone of Zuma’s Rescue Ranch, as they are of any non-profit organization–especially any program that involves animals. Programs like ours never rest: there are no days off when caring for heartbeats.
Volunteer opportunities at the ranch are fun, varied, outdoor learning experiences; a chance to get out of the office, out of the house and outdoors. Most of our volunteers would rather clean a barn than their own homes, and for that we love them.
The Ranch has no prerequisites to become part of our volunteer family, just a love for children and/or horses and the outdoors. You need not have horse experience. We can teach you everything you need to know to care for them, a lesson well worth learning.
Volunteer Training : Every 1st and 4th Saturday from 9:00 am-12:00 pm, volunteers can come and learn the ropes. Once you have successfully completed the volunteer training, we offer flexibility in volunteer opportunity scheduling.
Volunteers who have completed the training session are always needed for help with the following:
- Early morning feeding crew (7:30 am)
- Late morning pasture and stall cleaners (9-10 am)
- Lunch time feeding crew (12-1 pm)
- Early evening feeding crew (4-5 pm)
- Early evening pasture and stall cleaning crew (3-5 pm)
- Any time of day for the following; horse groomers, riders, mane pullers, body clippers.
Electricians, plumbers, framers, handy men, excavators & roofers are always needed for projects.
We are always looking for groups that need corporate work days. We have the work and need the help.
Please contact our volunteer coordinator for opportunities:volunteers@zumasrescueranch.com
The Morning Poo Stomp
Support Zumas’ Mission with every email you send
You can support the Ranch by adding the picture and text below to your email signature. Copy and paste it into your signature for all outgoing emails, and become part of our Mission by spreading our name to everyone in your circle of contacts. Send us an email (info@zumasrescueranch.com) and let us know you’ve joined the mission! Thanks for your support!
If you have and interest in donating to support the Mission at Zuma’s please visit our donate page.
Zuma’s Rescue Ranch supports foster children and rescued horses so that they can help one another heal the wounds in their hearts and minds. At the Ranch, horses who were destined for slaughter are rescued, rehabilitated, and trained, so that they can help children who have been similarly discarded by our failing system in equine-assisted psychotherapy sessions. To learn more and find out how you can help, please email Jodi Messenich (Jodi@zumasrescueranch.com) or visit http://www.zumasrescueranch.com or http://zumasrescueranch.wordpress.com today. Zuma’s is an approved 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your donations are tax-deductible. Please support these children and horses. Lives are not disposable.
