The DROP IN THE BUCKET Fund
Each Month, HORSE AND MAN has a Drop in the Bucket Fund for a specific equine charity. My theory is that sometimes it is easier to give anonymously in a very small amount than not give at all because one feels embarrassed to give just a little.
Well, many of us feel that way. But, if we put all the drops in one bucket, it makes a difference in some horse’s life. So, that is what this page is about. If you feel moved by our monthly Bucket Fund story but only have a few dollars to spare, we are happy to help it grow bigger. If the monthly Rescue horse is involved with a Non-Profit 501 (c) 3, all donations over $20 will receive a tax-deductible receipt from the Non-Profit. If you have a donation under $20 and would like a receipt, just email us and I will forward your request. No worries. All donations are compiled into one larger donation to be gifted at the end of the month.
MAY 9TH 2012 BUCKET FUND (1 WEEK):
THE NURSE MARE FOALS OF THE LAST CHANCE CORRAL
So this topic 
may send some people into an uproar as nurse mare foals are a by-product of another industry. However, I am only writing this to comment on the foals and hopefully help these little guys have a life. To me, if a human creates a foal, then it would be nice for a human to help it survive.
All the other stuff, I’m not touching.
WHAT IS A NURSE MARE FOAL?
A nurse mare foal is the by-product of creating a nurse mare. A nurse mare is an equine wet nurse. Nurse mares are needed to nurse foals who’s natural mother has been taken away to be re-bred. The newly orphaned “more valuable” foal is moved onto the nurse mare. The original foal of the nurse mare is outta luck.
PEOPLE SAY…
People say that this doesn’t happen. I think that argument would come as a surprise to the well established rescue facilities that take as many of these foals as they can afford — every foaling season.
VEILED
Also, you might want to reconsider purchasing any Cordovan Leather products. ‘Nuff said.
SOFT SPOT
I have a real soft spot for innocent babies who are abandoned, sent to slaughter (which is supposed to be illegal) or brought into this world to be left out of it. So, today, I wanted to bring your attention to the wonderful rescue facilities that gear up every Jan/Feb to take as many of these orphaned babies as possible. The most prominent rescue is called, LAST CHANCE CORRAL. After years of experience saving horse babies, they have the procedure down pretty well. After all, it isn’t easy caring for foals that are in shock, have just been wrenched from their Mothers, have not had any care, and just traveled miles in a trailer after being smashed into holding pens.
I got hooked after seeing heart wrenching photos of these tiny, sweet faces in a fresh clean stall, milling about. It was adorable and hopeful. There were buckets of lovely fresh milk replacer
all around and several of the foals had milk moustaches. I loved seeing all the different breeds of babies mingling together. I also loved that the caretakers were tending to the sick and tiny with around-the-clock attention. I know that not all of them make it, in fact, not all of them get even close to this facility. However, it warms my heart that these folks care enough to help. Sadly, I cannot find one of those adorable group shots today. But, I will find it and post it later.
Anyway,
it breaks my heart to see these man-made babies thrown out as if they were trash.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Well, there are lots of adorable babies listed on the site that are available for adoption, sponsorship or just a helpful donation. And, they have tons of information on other ways to help. I know they need funds for all the medical needs, the milk, shavings, hay… you know the drill. For me, I would just love to ship all the babies right home to me here. I have done that before with a weanling. He was just 5 months old 
(Aladdin). I used Bob Hubbard transport. Aladdin traveled from Vermont to Oregon with not a scratch. They took great care of him and made sure he rode near mares and other young horses to keep him company. So, if you want one…
I guess what I’m saying is that if you were looking for a young, well socialized, grab-bag baby, here is your chance! The good news is that the adoption fee is minimal. The bad news, maybe, is that you might not know what you are getting as far as breed. But, for me, I LOVE THAT! I’m a real Grab Bag girl. I can remember bugging my Dad to get “grab bags” at the SF Carnivals all the time. He’d say, “here’s another waste of a quarter…”, but I would love my unexpected treasures. I actually still cannot resist a Grab Bag. Just last summer, I went to a rock and mineral show (don’t ask) and had to purchase the $2 Rock Grab Bag.
Two years ago, I ended up with a Grab Bag Foal when I rescued a 
starved, wild mare from the Fallon Feed Lot. That baby is GORGEOUS. And, you can teach your baby anything you want. So, if you have the room/time/funds, I highly recommend bringing home baby.
.
IN CONCLUSION
If this moves you at all, please do whatever you’d like that makes you feel better. I just did! Thanks for reading.
PLEASE PASS THIS FORWARD!!
*CHAMP UPDATE*
Hello so i volunteer at the ranch and i cannot explain fully how much love and work we put into these horses. Every single person that comes their does it on their own time and truly there for the horses, non of us gets paid and we do it out of our hearts. Champ has become much more alert and loves his baths i give him. He eats all his meals with joy and is drinking quite well. He has made good friends with the pregnant mare and looks like his strength is slowly coming back :) please please please donate as we are non profit and we have over 65 horses, you can only imganie how much a healthy horse cost now imagine 65, most which are recovering, all which were abused. The expenses are over the top. Every amount is greatly appreciated <3 Thank you all for the donations!
Please people..step up and help this mare.Every little bit counts! I did!
The email had issues on that day which was a big problem since it was a donation day… Sigh. I cannot fix emails once they are sent. But, I believe all links are fixed now. If you ever have that issue, please let me know – AND, you can always click on the HORSE AND MAN header in your email which will bring you to the main website where there are two links to the Bucket Fund. One at the bottom of the page and one in the right sidebar. Thanks for asking!! Today’s email works…
I clicked on your picture of the the horse with the bucket (in the email). It didn’t go to the right place…in fact, it went nowhere. Broke? Or maybe my computer is having a performance problem?
We’re going to do all we can to help Adella. What she went through is heart breaking. Such extraordinary courage she has, quite an inspiration to those determined to pull through adversity and carry on. I will never forget her.
Only a few more days! Hope we go over the top. Looking forward to more updates on Juliet, Faith, and Autumn. God bless!
Hi…god bless you all……I would love to volunteer if it is in my area….I can walk horses or whatever y ou need. I am blessed to have a 14, 11 and 3 year old that are happy and healthy.
Monday after Thanksgiving. Things are back on track. Autumn is growing like a weed and we are slowly adding back Goats milk. She is creep feeding on Foal-lac pellets and a measured amount of water (she plays and drinks very little) Her activity level has stepped up a notch and all is well with the wonderful Bizzy. Now the only hitch is the possibility that the hernia at her umbilicus is slightly larger We are watching it and any change may prompt a quick surgery. Thanks again to all that have donated, We will soon be last months bucket fund so anyone who is thinking about donating still has a few days left.
It looks like the donation thermometer hasn’t moved in a week. I know the Christmas holiday is upon us and we have shopping to do, but here’s a great gift idea for the horse lover. A donation to Autumn in someones name. I’ll make one.
Autumn is doing very well! You can follow her on her FB page: http://www.facebook.com/HopeForHorses
How’s baby Autumn? I agree with Robin’s comment about how pretty she will be when she grows up. Looking good will be a tribute to her wonderful dam and sweet revenge on those humans who abandoned her. As we all know looking good is the best revenge.
How is Autumm doing. When she grows up she will be so pretty. Just look at now as a baby. Keeping her in my thoughts.
Progress. God I love progress. Given the time of year and the beautiful way Mother Nature shows off her colors, Autumn was the perfect name.
Still moving forward. Friday after Thanksgiving, Slowly moving past a constipation episode (36 hrs). Still milking and feeding every 3 hours. Autumn is exercised outside or in the aisle a couple of times each day. Bizzy is reliably giving 600-1100ml of milk at each feeding. We need to reintroduce small amounts of goats milk to get her back up to the 1500ml she needs. Still a fragile little girl. Lots of new movements and behaviors. Starting to have to push back on acting out but she is very smart and gets it immediately.
Autumn is home for 2 days at Hope For Horses. Bizzy is lactating like a champ but we are being forced by Autumns rapacious needs to supplement with goats milk. Bizzy produces 750-900 ml every 3 hrs. We now feed Autumn on the same schedule and she needs at least 250ml and soon 500 ml of goats milk to reach satisfaction. She is ready to roll when we take her for walks but the vet wants her limited until we see better strength in her legs. We are now totally engaged (instead of paying Pilchuck) and its a 24 hr job. If you are in the Seattle area and have animal nursing experience and would be able to milk and feed 3rd shift please let us know. Spooning with a baby horse is compensation.
Thanks to you all for helping to pay her ICU bill. You all share the credit for her survival. She was so sick, this proves it is possible for these premature, underweight, discarded foals to live and thrive. We will do everything we can to give her a life that reflects the love and care all of you have given her.
What a day. Started with a call from the Vet that Autumn had spiked a fever overnight and the Vet was worried that this was a trend up on her hidden infection. Since her gut is now working (Thanks to Bizzy the milk maid) and her joints look strong (no plate infection) so that left her umbilicus which is more outie than we would like. So talk moved to potential surgery sooner than later.
However by this afternoon her blood work had come back and was normal for the first time so the Vet has backed down and we are working toward having her come home tomorrow. Truth is we were not ready so the day was well spent.
Better news yet. One of the http://www.zenyatta.com posters wrote last night , saying she wants to volunteer. Made my day. I’m positive she has lots of horse experience. Will let everyone know that Autumn’s hospital bill needs more help. God bless.
Holy cow Doug!!! :D You are awesome!!!!!!!!
Little Autumn has been mentioned on Zenyatta;s diary, and several have donated. I love watching our donations grow each day as we join together to help Autumn…and Hope and…..
Thank you all!
Hi Dawn. It’s been a while since we’ve talked and I still don’t get your blog. Luckily, someone sent it to me and I saw Autumn’s story and had to comment and put out another challenge. I am donating $250.00 to the Bucket Fund and challenge anyone to match or beat me. In fact, as I’ve done before, I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU. Reading her story made me think of what a magnificent mare her Mom was to accept all that was thrown at her and still hang on as long as she did to deliver this precious miracle for us to see. How can you not help???
Dawn’s blog and bucket fund subjects have touched me as no other have. I love her sense of humor, thoughful topics and educational ideas. The pictures are great, also. Thank you Dawn for what you do helping the equine world be a better place for the unfortunate.
[...] The DROP IN THE BUCKET Fund Categories Select Category Bucket Fund Stories (64) Handy Tips (127) Horse Stories (177) Humor (45) Interviews (9) Medical (25) Musings (50) Nutrition (10) People and Places (74) Ralph Neighder Equine Consumer Report (3) Saturday PhoBlog (88) Tack thoughts (18) The Red Horse Diaries (1) Things They Should Invent (6) Uncategorized (17) Western & Equine Artists (31) Wrigley Chronicles (1) /* 0 ) { location.href = "http://horseandman.com/?cat="+dropdown.optionsdropdown.selectedIndex.value; } } dropdown.onchange = onCatChange; /* ]]> */ EquiSpa OCT SPECIAL! Buy 2, get one FREE!! Shipping donated to the Bucket Fund! Click image!This really helped my older ponies fill out! Takes about 4 weeks to see results! Click image! [...]
I have sent this out to all my e mail friends and I hope that they will donate to this great cause… I suggest that all others send this site to all their e friends as well… I was going to include the address where people can send thier money….But have not found one… Several people have requested it…But I seen none posted… john
Donation made in memory of our girl Miss who we lost this year.
[...] –If you would like to donate to help bail, transport and feed these horses, please donate ANY AMOUNT to the Bucket Fund linked here. [...]
Thank you, for helping the rescuers save, feed, transport & rehab at-risk horses, with donations from the Bucket Fund!
I cried today when I read they had all been saved and are in their new homes. All the ones that need to be saved can’t be saved. But I was so moved that these babies were ALL saved. I know the mothers who weren’t saved are smiling now as they look down. And know their sacrifice was not in vain.
[...] watch the donation thermometer rise, click here. Lucy in the arms of her Foster mom… Some of the newly rescued foals temporarily housed at [...]
Unfortunately, the same breeder is this week dumping another 50 pair. How can we get him under arrest or in court so he will stop breeding for meat!
Last weeks group were all rescued with generous donations of thousands and astronomical efforts of many including supreme effort by Debra Hawk: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1621042469
We will soon use up all available resources and people willing and able to help!
This is crazy! I was thinking about Native Dancer all week!
I will be visiting Pay Pal now…
Why not force the issue of neglect instead of intent as far as Champ’s case is concerned. Bring out all the pictures taken when Champ was found. It is only a miracle he is alive now – thanks to Alaqua Animal Refuge. You should see him now – so full of spunk, healthy, and normal weight. It would be a terrible and hateful act to return him to the very man who let him starve.
I love horses I will do anything for them!!!
Ingrid.
Please, send me an address… as I do not like to pay pal way.
It looks like some of your readers have taken me up on my “Double Dog Dare” of donating $12 a month to the various causes. Way to go readers. Dawn supplied the veneu and the causes, now we must supply the means. There are other things going on that are branches of what Dawn reports on here in her blog. For instance, I just transferred 3 of the Christmas foals up to Monty Roberts’ Flag Is Up Farms for training. There was also a very pregnant mare and a mare and new foal transferred from the feedlots down to 2 rescues in southern California; the CA. Coastal Horse Rescue in Ojai, Ca. and the Xenophon Ranch in Morongo Valley. The story is available at my Facebook page Emergency Animal Rescue (Make sure it’s the one with the red logo with the horse, dog and cat). Well, I’m off to Paypal.
Love the Bucket Fund! I follow several rescues due to this site… including the intrepid LeRoy and the Junkyard Four… but my favorites (so far!) are the Nurse Mare Foalies. Thank you, horseandman for helping to encourage my renewed passions for equines! And, Happy Passover and Easter to all.
[...] to be thrown away. But there are people who rescue these fine foals. To learn all about the Bucket Fund and to donate towards the care of The Heartbreak Kids, please click on the [...]
[...] condition, 2 pregnant, all starved – yet owned by a hay broker! To learn all about the Bucket Fund and to donate towards the care of The Junkyard 4, please click on the photo (photo credit, Trish [...]
[...] The Drop In The Bucket Fund has only recently come to my attention, and I know far less about their efforts. Currently, they are trying to save some “junkyard” horses that were severely neglected by their owner. Their website is found here. [...]
Doug,
I met March’s “challenge” with a showing of the green for the Junkyard horses!
Thanks…
Karen Lee M Keefe
Rescues are so tough; we have rescued 3 horses and 2 donkeys in the past and they have forever homes here!! I’ll send what I can as I’m disabled..
Where can I mail my check! I suggest keep running Dougs suggestion,
make sure all readers read it. What A Great Idea Doug!
They are at BHFER. Beauty’s Haven Farm and Equine Rescue (http://www.beautysequinerescue.org/) recovering. Glory is in the foaling stall there…
Where are the Junkyard 4 living now?
I want to donate but I do not wish to use Paypal; are there other method that I can use?
Thanks and speedy healing to LeRoy the Wonder Pony! What will happen to him after he is rehabbed?
Everyone can do $12. It’s just $12. I can do it and I’m unemployed (and not by choice). Stupid pharmaceutical industry. I’m switching over to Green Energy Technology.
Is there an address I can send a check to? Thanks! I can do $12…
Way to go Karen. Now that’s a worthy Valentines gift.
I just got back from getting 5 pregnant mares from the Fallon feedlot (thanks to our Equine Angel) and delivered them to 4 sanctuaries in southern California. These places rock.
Happy Valentine’s day, LeRoy!
I met the challenge,
Thanks for all you do!
Wow! Good idea! ;)
May you inspire everyone!
You mentioned in your blog today (Friday, Feb.11, 2011) that you wished everyone who read your blog, all 200,000+ of us, would donate $1 a month to the Bucket Fund. What would happen if we all just did a years worth all at once? $2,400,000 is what would happen. So I put the challenge out to all readers of Horse And Man. $12 isn’t much. A bale of hay. 3 cups of foo foo coffee. But then do that EVERY month. $12 a month. It’s not much. 40 cents a day. And look what could happen. Imagine (John Lennon) what could happen. I’ll send in my $12 now. The challenge is on. I double-dog dare you.
please send me an address.. as I do not do anything will pay pal…thanks
Why does it have to stop at $500?
While reading the powerful article ‘There Is Something We Can Do’, it seemed the author had penned my every thought and feeling about the plight of our beloved wild mustangs and burros. Eerie, yes…but how wonderful to know there is another who sees, thinks and feels exactly as I do. Naturally, I clicked the ‘donate’ button then went to DreamCatcher WH&B Sanctuary site and read every page; what an amazing place! Couldn’t leave the site until I clicked their ‘donate’ button, too! I am so happy to have found Barbara and DreamCatcher WH&B Sanctuary!
Ya know what makes my head spin about people saying that mustangs don’t belong here?
Non-native monkey saying native herbivore doesn’t belong here. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
What happen to Honey Bandit is certainly what is wrong with what the BLM is doing.
I am hoping this sweet little one lives to be able to make his presence known. He could go a long way on saving his species.
So grateful Palomino took it upon herself to save him. Another true animal angel.
I made a donation in the memory of Passion such a sweet filly here for a short time BHFER is an amazing rescue and wish I had know about the bucket fund I would have cross posted all month..
I just tried to paypal for the first time to help with the horses. If it does not come through E Mail me and I will try to send again. Those poor babies who would not want to help them.
I ment in memory for Passion. I a little out of it today.
Ohhh. So very sorry. What a lovely gift. Thank you.
A donation was made in memory of Passion and in memory of my beloved dog Cindy who I to say goodbye to last night.
TO ALL, Please forgive my delay in writing to THANK EVERYONE for Iron Man’s Bucket Fund. Please know that ALL funds go directly to care for these babies and while BLM is helping us with Foal Lac for the BLM babies the others that come in like Iron Man rely on wonderful folks like all of you for helping with their expenses. Everybody has had their shots and are wormed and ALL are doing extremely well. Our little girls Ellie and Bella have very small belly button hernia’s (seem to be a few in the Calico herd) that will be having surgery in a week or so. These are not at all the extent of little Drew’s birth defect and hernia but please say little prayer. We have never lost one to this surgery so I expect all will go great and they will be up on their hoofers in no time. Again Thanks so much and this bucket fund is such a great idea for folks that want to help and be a part of saving and caring for the critter kids. It makes it so nice that anyone can contribute any amount that is comfortable for them and it sure helps the non-profit groups provide for care and little extras along the way. THANK YOU DAWN AND EVERYONE.
Hope you don’t mind. I linked to this in my blog.
http://hawksacres.blogspot.com/2010/06/rainy-monday.html