Terri Farley

Monday, March 11, 2013

Hearts Wide Open: Patches & Palomino

It takes a special heart to love and let go.

Palomino Armstrong, rescuer of all things 4-footed, has allowed her pinto mini-horse, to leave for a new home.

Patches has been a love-and-therapy helper to both people and animals, even teaching
mustang orphans -- like Honey Bandit, below -- how to be a horse, when he was without his "real" family.

Now, Patches will share his affection with scads of foster children.

"I can only imagine the heartbreak they go through," Palomino said of the parents who welcome kids into their lives, "I am broken-hearted every timed we place one of the foals that we help, and they are all going to wonderful homes. "

Patches has no misgivings about his new life. After a "last minute mani/pedi," the plucky pinto walked up a ramp into the back of an SUV, happy and relaxed to begin his next adventure.

Happy trails,
Terri

Labels: foster children, Honeybandit, Palomino, Patches, therapy horse

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 1:02 PM 0 comments

Thursday, December 30, 2010

End of the Year HONEY Update

Dear Readers,
Here's a new update from Palomino and I think you'll enjoy the image of all of these Shingletowners cuddled up together. Palomino mentions HoneyBandit's Christmas photo and I got a copy in my Christmas card, but I'll have to locate it online so that I can share it with you!
Have a wonderful New Year's Eve!
Terri

I'm sitting on the bed, looking out into Honey Bandit's stall. We just switched DaBubbles over to hang out with Patches. The other stall was too small for Honey Bandit and Patches, and it is easier to watch Honey Bandit with him right next to me. DaBubbles had been next to me prior to this. Since the three of them have been playing together, we thought that Patches and DaBubbles would be okay together.

Honey Bandit needs special feed, and Patches has been gaining too much weight, so this will be easier. However, I feel bad because DaBubbles wants to be back closer to us. Honey Bandit is stoked though. He is thinking that he is the bomb and is really liking being inches away from us again.

I have to brag a teeny tiny bit about our guy. When you pour his feed into his bucket, if you tell him to "wait", he will. He bobs his head up and down until you tell him "it is okay, good boy". He hates it, but is pretty good about waiting.

Well, I have now spent the last half hour getting Patches settled in his little stall, away from DaBubbles. He was not playing nice, so he is on "time out" and sleeping where he cannot thrash on the little guy. Tomorrow he will be able to come back and play, but for now he has to learn better manners.

On the way he got a little "pedicure" and got his feet trimmed. My son thought I was a little bit nuts to be trimming feet after 9 PM, but hey, you gotta "git ER done" when you get a chance.

When you look at this picture, remember that we brought Honey Bandit home on September 2. As of January 2, we will have had him 4 months. I forget how tiny he was, but this picture shows what all of us have worked together to achieve. He went from about 120# to about 300#. We cannot ever thank everyone who is part of this miracle enough. Your generosity, donations, time and love make this possible.

I will be posting some more photos. I have to say that Honey Bandit is ecstatic to be back next to us. He is laying down as close as he can possibly get to us. More photos should be on Chilly Pepper's website or on Facebook in the next few days.

Sorry it took so long to "get back". Ha ha. Am still trying to get every thing set up on the computer. I do have to set the record straight, once again. I cannot take credit for Honey Bandit's Christmas photo. One of his wonderful Aunties, took the photos and printed them all for us to put in the remaining Christmas cards. Without all of the wonderful "aunties" that Honey Bandit has, we would not be getting much done except taking care of him. So I have to send out another thank you to his aunties that made the all the Christmas cheer happen.

God Bless! Love Honey Bandit & the Gang!

Labels: DaBubbles, Honeybandit, Palomino, Patches

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 9:54 PM 0 comments

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Love Working Wonders

photo by Jennifer Gillespie

Dear Readers,
Here's mini horse DaBubbles one month after he was attacked by a cougar.
Amazing!
If you've read my books, you know that those of us who live among wild animals take risks. It's interesting and wonderous to see how quickly DaBubbles has healed.
Still, you know your tender-heartedness better than anyone, so think before you view this video of first day damage to DaBubbles' neck
Best,
Terri

p.s. That IS Palomino in the shot above. Her hair looks red because of the heat lamp used to keep the critters warm.

Labels: Jennifer, Patches

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 2:15 AM 1 comments

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Palomino & Animals on Forgiveness

Dear Readers,
Do you think my stories of love & trust between animals & people are far-fetched? Don't. Unlikely bonds and cross-species friendships can tell us something important.
_________________________________from Palomino:
As I look at Honey Bandit, happily munching his hay, I wonder, does his story matter to many people? Will we be able to use the knowledge we obtained, watching him fight the impossible odds? Are we smart enough, and kind enough, to know that we need to make some serious changes?

I hope so. When you actually live with the animals, pretty much 24/7, you have time to observe so much. They are incredibly forgiving. I know that we all need to be able to forgive in our lives. When you don't have forgiveness, you end up filled with hate and bitterness. Animals seem to have a way of letting the poison go.

Right now we have a rescued cat that was happily playing with her friend the dog, when the dog got too rough, injuring her. She had a broken rib and a punctured lung. It was a simple case of playing too hard. I was terrified that she had a fatal injury. You would think she would be terrified of dogs after that - right? No, she is not scared at all. Do you know why she is not scared? She isn't scared because she knows that it was an accidental injury. If the dog she was playing with had intentionally tried to hurt or kill her, she would have been terrified. But she knew there was no harm intended. Animals are blessed with an incredible amount of forgiveness.

In fact, she was relentlessly following Chino around tonight. She came up to where he was lying down and tried to crawl on him. He gave a little grumble./growl, and I told him to knock it off. So he got up and kept moving in circles, trying desperately to get away from her. We were laughing so hard we could hardly take the pictures. In the end she won. :) He laid down in DaBubble's stall, and she climbed "into his arms".

I wish that we, as people, could learn to be so forgiving. I guess it is hard to remember sometimes, that no one can undo anything that has been done. I know in my lifetime I have made so many mistakes I couldn't possibly count them all. Honey Bandit was a mistake, as he was "lost in the shuffle". It shouldn't have happened, but once everyone became aware, actions were taken to save him. We need to focus on the fact that if we work together, we can accomplish amazing things. Honey Bandit is a perfect example of that. All we can do is start from this exact second in time and try to change what we know needs changed.

If you look closely at Honey Bandit, you can see that he is an example of a miracle. We came together and made a difference. I know that Honey Bandit is happy now. He still doesn't like things flying above his head too much, but other than that, his life is good. However, we need to make sure that his story does make a difference. One thing I learned, is that one random act of kindness, will lead to hundreds of acts of kindness.

Honey Bandit and Patches had a nice day, enjoying part of it outside when the weather held. HB still doesn't quite have "normal' energy for a foal his age, but I think maybe he is just spending all his energy growing. He is beautifully put together (although I am a tiny bit prejudiced), and I think he will be a big horse. So many of the horses at Litchfield seem to have ancestors who had some draft in them. They are so beautiful, and incredibly big and strong. It is amazing how the mustangs in different areas have such different traits.

DaBubbles wounds are looking so much better. I didn't think they were that different until I saw a video from the first day. UGH. Those cuts were so deep and gaping and you could see all the way into the middle of his neck. So compared to that they look fabulous. Click Me!

We are staying relatively warm, and just a teeny bit wet. Actually there is only one little spot on the roof that leaks now, so we are doing way better than we were before. We are hoping to get some insulation and put it in before the weather gets too cold again. But all is well in Shingletown, and the horses are lying down, resting up for their morning games. (We still haven't caught the mountain lion, so I am not letting the little horses out very often, and only if we are there with them).

Guess what? I know it is amazing, and probably quite scary to think I actually remembered, but I did, so here is the "pertinent information" I am always being told to add. Aren't ya'll proud????

www.chillypepper.weebly.com, Chilly Pepper - Miracle Mustang, Equine Rescue & More, 30027 Highway 44 East, Shingletown, CA 96088

God Bless & Stay Safe
Honey Bandit & the gang

Labels: forgiveness, kitty, Patches

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 5:28 PM 1 comments

Monday, November 22, 2010

Palomino's Update on Creatures Great & Small

Sitting here listening to the rain, it is quiet inside. Honey Bandit is finishing his milk pellets and DaBubbles is standing under the heat lamp. Patches is waiting to come back in when Honey Bandit is through. I have to watch it, because Patches needs to lose weight and Honey Bandit needs to gain it. So I have to make sure that HB gets all the food he needs.

I am hoping that if we do get snow that sticks here, (we are in the sissy zone), I will get a chance to video tape Honey Bandit's first "snow fall". It will be interesting to see his reactions. He and Patches got to go outside for awhile today. I am not comfortable taking them in the back area to run around yet as we need to catch that cat. Even if we are armed, the cat could be upon the horses way before we got a shot off. I am praying that we will know when it is safe to let them back there again.

Also, we are so close to the elementary school, and the cat (according to comments on a local newspaper blog) was spotted down the road from the school. I would hate to hear about one of our young children being attacked.

It is interesting to read all the comments that people make regarding Honey Bandit and his experience. I have to say the one thing that gets me the most is when people say "the horses are not native". Well, I am sorry, but they are as native as you and I. The United States of America started with the Native Americans, the ONLY NATIVES, and the rest of our ancestors "CAME' to America, just like the horses. Do the people that say they are "not native" think that we should all be rounded up by helicopter and put in jail? Aren't we kind of like the mustangs? The weak and sick settlers did not survive. The strong and healthy survived the journey to America and the harsh winters as they foraged in a wild America. As time went on sickness ravaged the weak and only the strong prevailed, surviving the rough conditions. It was the same with the horses. Only the strong and healthiest survived over time. The weak ones died. They foraged for food and to survive in harsh conditions. For years they have survived in the wild, cohabitating with other wild animals.

I have never said that there is not a need for "management of the wild horses". It is possible that in some cases we need to step in and do something to "manage" the wild horses. Giving more land and higher percentages of the grazing to ranchers is not one of the reasons though. Neither is making it easier for new pipe lines to be added or new minerals to be mined. However, until there is a safe and humane plan that actually works and makes sense, ALL of the roundups should be stopped.

Until that time, if someone in the public observes a sick, or injured, foal or horse, if they can provide medical attention of contact someone who can come and take that animal, it should be automatic. I would think that anyone with any common sense would see the benefits to this. It would save the government time and money, save the lives of numerous animals, and would increase the working relationship between the public and the BLM. But we as the public would have to concentrate on the fact that the people working at that facility actually let us take the sick/injured animal. If we worked together there wouldn't have to be secret, closed to the public, facilities. I think that BLM needs to know that if the corrals were open to the public like they legally should be, that we, the public, would concentrate on working with them to solve any problems that exist. They don't like it when there is a big public outcry about the condition of an animal. Guess what? If we worked together we could stop "Honey Bandit" and other foals from ever getting in that condition in the first place. We could remove the sick/needy horses immediately. That alone would be a huge step to start fixing an intolerable situation.

I have let the Litchfield BLM office know that my husband and I will come no matter what time of the day or night if a foal is down or needs immediate attention. There are people who have been doing that for years in Nevada, and they work together with their BLM offices extremely well. That is why I cannot stress enough that this is not an "anti BLM" campaign, it is a "change the laws to protect our wild horses campaign".

I wrote a letter for BLM to publish. This is a tricky situation, as I need to make sure the world knows Honey Bandit's story in complete detail, no matter how ugly it is. We just continue, as we have from the beginning, to keep it simple and tell the truth. Honey Bandit was not branded at that time and I was told that they did not want to 'brand a dead horse, as then it became a facility death". I know I would not want to be responsible for the welfare of 900 horses. Anyone who has horses knows how hard it would be to really be able to know if each one was okay. So when there are already more in the holding facilities that can properly be cared for; why on earth would you keep bringing more in?

Honey Bandit's story is not about blame. It is the clear and undeniable fact of what happens when the round ups are done the way they are now. His story is only unique in the fact that he is still alive and here fighting to have a healthy life, and to to tell the world about his fallen family. He carries the torch for all the babies that didn't get to stay alive to tell their stories of horror. He carries the torch for all the mares that lost their babies as they were chased by the flying "mountain lions" we call helicopters. Can you imagine how scary that would be? In the wild if a cat was in a tree, the horses could run away and escape. But this cat simply flies through the air after them. Chasing them until their hearts are bursting in their chests, their muscles screaming in agony as they run down the rocky terrain in the extreme temperatures. The mares are frantic as they are forced to race ahead of their foals. Knowing they should be waiting for them to keep up, but forced ahead by the big steel monster. How much higher does that raise their level of stress? HB carries the torch for the stallions who die trying to save their mares and foals. He is their living, breathing symbol and God saved him for a purpose, and that is to tell his story and help change the way that we treat our wild horses. We need to respect all life, not just that which is convenient for us.

Thank you for allowing us to share in this fight to save the wild horses.

Labels: BLM, cougar, DaBubbles, Hoenybandit, Palomino, Patches

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 6:23 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Unremembered Memories from Palomino

Dear Readers,
Thanks for your patience in checking back on my blog. I've been working behind the scenes for the wild ones & it doesn't come naturally. I'd much rather be writing or clomping around on the range. But talking and using my head as well as my heart can help the horses, too.

Here's an inspiring note from Palomino & a very cute photo of HoneyBandit showing his wild side to buddy Patches.
Enjoy,
Terri

I have started to print out Honey Bandit's "journey back to life" in pictures. I have to say I am actually in shock when I look at these photos. To date, I have never really cried, except for that one day at the vet.
When I looked at the pictures I realized if I had really "seen" his condition and acknowledged how unlikely it was for him to survive, we couldn't have made it through all of this.
Instead, as so many of you know first hand, we just took it one minute at a time. It is just a steady stream of doing whatever needs to be done. It is not that I didn't think about him dying or living, but I couldn't let the emotions pour out. So many women (and yes, even some of the men who visited), look at him or his previous pictures and would just cry.
I have only printed a few pictures, so far. Little by little I am going to document his whole "journey" up to this point. There are supposed to be some big changes coming up with BLM and what is happening with our wild horses, and Honey Bandit is changing the world of the roundups.
I remember when I saw HB's breast bone protruding out of his chest. I didn't even know what it was. It looked like something that didn't even belong on his body.
It is amazing how quickly you can forget the horrors when you look at Honey Bandit today. The 100's of bites and wounds hardly show. His hearing seems to be "back" most of the time. However, today I came home and for a few minutes again he seemed to hear nothing. But for the most part he can hear nearly everything as far as we can tell.
His energy level is not where it should be, but since he is anemic, I guess that is to be expected. He is perking up with a little more "mommy time". He and Patches play together as if they were the same size. It is pretty interesting to watch them. Patches still is the boss. But they both seem to make sure that neither one of them hurts the other one, at least so far.

It would be really nice though, if they would realize that it is 11:33 p.m. And I need some sleep..... But apparently someone whispered in their ears that this is the absolute best time to play and make noise and kick and crash against the walls. Funny but Honey Bandit heard that little message just fine.

I'm off to bed to try to get a little bit of sleep.

1:06 a.m. Boys were hungry and rowdy. Gave them a little snack and said a prayer that they will go to sleep after. I have to say that looking at HB's pix makes me appreciate all of you and everything you are doing to help Honey Bandit stay a success story. Without ya'll, he wouldn't be here.

Labels: Honeybandit, Palomino, Patches

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 2:19 PM 1 comments

Sunday, October 24, 2010

A FRIENDLY CHALLENGE

HoneyBandit & Patches are best friends. Still, HoneyBandit is keeping an eye on that (empty) food dish, just in case...

Manzanita 4th graders offer a friendly challenge to all schools!

The fourth grade class at Manzanita Elementary School
in Redding, CA hereby challenges all schools
to meet or exceed our donations of $250.00 toward
Honey Bandit, the foal in the care of Palomino Armstrong.

Any questions call:
Palomino Armstrong (530) 474 5197
or
Palo Cedro dentist William Farrell at
(530) 547-5757

Palomino may be emailed at:
1palomino@frontiernet.net

The winning (Class who donates the largest amount) will receive a personal visit from Honey Bandit and Palomino and a class party!

Good luck and, “Go Honey Bandit!”

Labels: Honeybandit, Manzanita School challenge, Patches

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Posted by Terri Farley @ 9:16 PM 1 comments