Thieves and friends...
Life is full of ups and downs. But if there's one thing that we've learnt over the years, it's that people are resilient. We are resilient. Whenever someone tries to knock us down, there are many others there waiting to help dust us off and set us back on our feet.
For every person with ill intent who seems determined to watch us fail, there are others who will go above and beyond to help us achieve our goals and show us the light in troubling times. These people are our friends and supporters, they're each one of you who are reading this note, and for you, we are thankful.
The pensive start to this newsletter is triggered by the loss of more equipment from our sanctuary. Thieves have again targeted our facility and taken with them our precious water pump worth €700, as well as other power tools. The pump was our saviour this past winter when our pastures became flooded, and its disappearance once again highlights the need for our secure boundary wall to be completed.
On the upside, Rod has been working tirelessly to complete the wall, and we are getting closer to the finish line.
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Since we announced the robbery on our Facebook page, several more donations have trickled in. We even had a circular saw donated by a kind man who heard about our stolen power tools. These donations really helped brighten our spirits and we can't thank you all enough.
We're delighted to announce that we're now just €2,000 short of the money we need to finish this project, having raising an incredible €18,000 over the past 15 months. It's been a long road, but we are almost there!
If you can, we'd be so grateful if you could help us raise the rest. Even a small €5 donation truly will make a difference. We can't do this without you and we really need to get this job completed once and for all.
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On this topic, we would like to say a big thank you to our Easy Horse Care Hero, Elaine Sissons. She has once again put herself through the paces to help raise funds for us, and we are ever so thankful.
You can read more about her latest adventure, and all our other news updates, below.
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Upcoming events:
Sunday, July 2: Free open day from 1pm to 4pm
Tour the rescue centre, meet our animals and hear their incredible survival stories, then stop for a snack or drink in our cafe afterwards. Don't forget to use the hashtag #easyhorsecare on social media so we can see all of your beautiful photos!
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New rescue: Solo the pony
Rescue date: May 6, 2017
Solo was found in April on a piece of wasteland in Cartagena, abandoned and left without food. Andrea's Animal Rescue was initially contacted by the police and asked if they could take him in, but their centre is full to the brim so they asked us to step in.
We have since treated some of his physical injuries and had him castrated and wormed. The castration didn't go to planned, as we learned Solo previously had an infection that wasn't treated. The after-effects have shown up in Solo's eyes – hs right eye has quite a large area of cornea damage, making his sight cloudy.
You can see a video update of Solo (pictured above left with his new friend Red) after his castration here and another more recent video here.
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Current volunteering opportunities:
We're always in need of some extra pairs of hands to help us out with all things Easy Horse Care. Here's our latest volunteer position that needs fulfilling:
Field cleaners:
Do you enjoy being outdoors and around friendly and inquisitive horses, ponies and donkeys? Can you spare a few hours here and there?
We're seeking volunteer stable labourers to help clean and muck out our fields. While we do have a small team of wonderful full-time employees who work very hard to keep our fields clean, we often need an extra hand when they fall sick, take a day off or during bank holidays. Sometimes just Sue and Rod are left to muck out for more than 100 equines – an enormous job!
Mucking out is a great way to keep fit while getting to know our rescues up close ... they'll often wander over to "help" by nibbling your shoelaces or nuzzling your face.
For more information about our volunteer positions, including how to apply, please click here.
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Available for adoption: Rosie
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Rosie is a grey mare, believed to be in her late 20s and a very gentle and sensitive lady. She was among the 14 skeletal horses we rescued from Callosa de Segura in 2014.
Rosie became a surrogate mum to our foal Lily when Lily's own mum (also one of the Callosa rescues) sadly passed away just six weeks after the birth.
But last year, we sadly and quite suddenly lost Lily to a mystery illness. Since then, Rosie has been a difficult one to place in our centre, as we have struggled to find her perfect companion. She worries quite a lot and is not comfortable in big groups. She would ideally be suited to a new home with just one horse.
If anyone is looking to adopt a very quiet and gentle companion (non-riding) mare, old Rosie would be perfect. You can apply for adoption here.
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Elaine Sissons, one of our most tireless #easyhorsecareheroes, has been at it again. This time, she completed the gruelling Tough Mudder endurance event on May 13 in the UK, at the same time raising an incredible €953 to help build our secure boundary wall. You can read more about her incredible efforts here. Thank you so much, Elaine. You are a star!
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We'd also like to thank the Rojales Neighbourhood Watch for their recent €100 donation towards our boundary wall. Says Helen Tudor, who is pictured above presenting Sue with the money: "I hope this small donation will help protect the animals and equipment from low lives who think nothing of stealing essential tools from the centre." It absolutely will, Helen – thank you! Read more about this kind donation here.
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And a shout out to Louise Brandley of Looking Good Boutique La Zenia and her wonderful supporters, who together raised €250 for our boundary wall during a fun tea party and clothes swap on June 2. Louise has also donated a further €300 to our wall project, after selling another two of the beautiful garments donated by Canadian designer Joseph Ribkoff to help our horses. Thank you, Louise!
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Welcoming our first working holidayers
This month two kind-hearted Belgians, Laura and Caroline, became the very first people to stay at our rescue centre as part of our brand new working holiday program. They helped muck out our fields and stables, feed our rescued equines and even tried their hand at clipping Miss Ellie.
It's been so wonderful having a couple extra pairs of helping hands here, and such a beautiful first-time experience of inviting visitors to live at Easy Horse Care while volunteering. We truly do believe this a unique way to experience Spanish life while making a positive difference in the lives of abused and neglected horses, ponies and donkeys.
Says Caroline: "Thank you, Sue and Rod, for having us in your amazing finca. It was a fantastic experience to work with Pepe, Raoul, Pedro and Esteban. Your rescued horses, donkeys and ponies are very lucky to have you all to care for them. I hope many volunteers will come and help you out, you really deserve it."
Interested in a working holiday with us? Full details are available here.
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Happy birthday Isadora the pot-bellied pig
On June 11 our dear Isadora turned six, celebrating with a nap on her favourite rug beneath our dining table.
Isadora came to us not long after she was born in 2011. Some good friends of ours had saved her dad from a market years ago as a tiny little guy, half-boar, half-pig. Then someone gave them another pig, who turned out to be a female. Surprise, surprise, a litter of piglets soon appeared. We agreed to take little Isadora.
You can read Isadora's full story and see her adorable photo album here.
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Rate our centre and help spread the word
Have you been to one of our open days? Have you visited our site? If you loved your visit, we'd be ever so grateful if you'd pop over to our TripAdvisor page and leave a quick review.
This is an easy way that you can help us spread the word about our animal welfare work ... because the more people who know about us, the more opportunities we have to educate the public on correct equine care while pushing for improved animal welfare practices in Spain.
Just click here to head to our listing on TripAdvisor. Thank you!
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Getting to know George...
Each newsletter we like to share a little information about one of our beautiful equine residents. This month, we'd like you to meet George. Once a much-loved professional showjumper, George ended up with owners who badly mistreated him, even cutting out his teeth with an angle grinder.
The mistreatment didn’t end there. These owners jumped George excessively, causing his back legs to swell, and used him in Spanish fiestas. It was at one such fiesta that George, weak and malnourished, collapsed and was taken to the meat lorry, believed to be dead.
Luckily for George, his life did not end there. Read George's full rescue story here and, if you can, sponsor his continued care here.
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As always, thank you.
To all our wonderful supporters here in Spain and across the world, thank you. With your help and support, we are making huge steps forward for animal welfare in Spain.
With best wishes,
Sue and Rod Weeding,
Easy Horse Care Rescue Centre co-founders
(This newsletter was kindly compiled by volunteers Nicole Lutze and Koren Helbig.)
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