Monday, May 12, 2008

Molly the Bionic Pony!






What a cool little pony! An email just sent by my mum and such a lovely story it should be shared!

Meet Molly. She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana, USA . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes.

But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted he r weight, and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.

Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there."This was the right horse and the right owner," Moore insists. Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports. And she ask s for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too." And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. "It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse", she laughs.

Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it.

"It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life", Moore said, "She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.""She's not back to normal," Barca concluded, "but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself."

The 3rd picture is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which has a smiley face embossed in it. Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Mothers Day Tomorrow!

Don't forget! I've put my order in for a new tack box for the horses brushes etc. Might as well get something useful instead of the usual token chocolates from a 2 yr old LOL. Besides the old one got smashed to bits over 2 yrs ago and I've been using a spare feed bowl to put them in and now THAT needs to be used due to a feed bowl falling apart!

All animals are good, Leo is still an angel, some new magnets have arrived (I do love designing them up! go check out the therapies and shop page on my website ;) Haven't needed a fire for the last 3 nights and still getting plenty of riding in, life is good!

Had an interesting talk with Jeanne a healer friend and a dog she's working on. Dog is a very serious, pretty negative, pretty much a pessimist I suppose. Has a few things going wrong with her and she is old too, so Jeanne was doing some work on her for her mum and wasn't seeing much happening within the physical aspect of the dog but feeling a couple of big emotional shifts and release of a lot of emotional crap going on... Went to talk to dog to see if she wanted the healings to continue and to get some clarification and confirm what Jeanne was getting from her. What a different dog! This dog is in love with the healer! Someone cares enough soul deep about her to "meet her" (energy wise) and tell her it's OK to let it go! She is still a serious dog, she is still not "fighting" the physical problems but the gratitude in that dog for the time Jeanne is giving her is absolutely incredible!!!

Instead of just feeling sadness and negativity from her, there is now a lot of love there too, a softness and almost a proper acceptance of things rather than a pessimistic "take it because you have no choice" attitude.

Don't get me wrong, I know healings can work for emotional issues etc, but this is the first time I've been there to see the difference along the way!

And I'm incredibly grateful to Jeanne for giving all her time to this old girl just because I dragged her into helping in our healing circle hehehe.

If anyone wants any further info on what Jeanne does, feel free to ask! Reiki and other 'types' of healing, along with Bach Flower remedies etc, and a very intuitive lady who is already out there "working" as a healer.

Right now the sun is peeping out thru the clouds, Pete should be home from work sometime soon and I can get another ride in before the supposed rain hits!

Take care, and have a lovely day tomorrow all you mums out there, remember as much as they drive you mad, they love you, and really it's just karma for being such a brat to your own mum hehehehe

KA

Sunday, May 4, 2008

What a bright wee sausage!

well his name is Leo, although I've found myself calling him Elmo a couple of times (my deceased wee baby mastiff) He's settled like he's never been anywhere else.

Third meal and he knows his is the LAST of the 5 bowls down and that he'd better wait for it!

Rode Mac today and he kept well clear when asked too, anyone would think he'd been around horses his whole short life!

Such a lovely intelligent wee man and his coat is like silk.

I'm sure I recognise him from somewhere but haven't gone there yet, not sure I want to know to be honest! Somethings are best discovered with time I reckon :)

Got the fire going for the first time today, can't beat a real fire!

And that's it! Healing circle is not far off starting so better get out of here.

KA

Friday, May 2, 2008

The Newest Addition

Just when I was enjoying only having 4 dogs, please enter another needy child.

Got a ring from my old work place (the cop shop) since a few of them know I'm a sucker to save a dog from the blue needle, as the pound had one about to go bye byes. A German Shepherd cross, offered to the police, turned down, and as they don't 'actively' rehome dogs, his time was up.

Being a sucker for a baby in need I said yes (with every intention of being a foster home!) Then I got rung back saying all was fine a lady saw him, fell in love and took him home! All is good! I got another call 2-3 hours later saying he'd been returned as the lady's bitch had attacked him.

So it's all go again, a lady from the station brings him out when she's finished work (lovely thing she is since it's 1/2 hour drive one way!) and in the car is this little wiggly mass of puppy! 5mths old, guarantee it's a bull mastiff x shepherd, lovely wee boy!


So now we need a name for him!!! Any ideas?????


Thursday, May 1, 2008

well autumn is gone

and it looks like winter is upon us! I can't believe I haven't posted anything for a month! So what have I been up to? Not much if the truth be known hehehe. Being getting more riding in, Mac has been "working" and I mean REALLY working. Dressage is coming ahead in leaps and bounds, as a younger rider many years ago I would fluke 2 or 3 strides of engaged work and Mac is such a tense boy I thought how we were going would be it for us (looked nice but tense!) but after getting his hip fixed again at the beginning of Feb we had fights interspersed with GREAT work, lots of fighting, then giving into real swinging, rounded work! I honestly was getting so frustrated with the fights we were having I didn't appreciate the work I was getting till about a month ago! Now every ride we have there are NO fights, just straight into REAL work! It's still stunned me that "I" have gotten a horse to do this!

It's a real "WOW" for me LOL.

So each day fades into another, the boy child is growing (is now 2!) and talking so much better, I can finally understand 90% of what he's saying!

Pete blew up his 4th vehicle since I've known him *sigh* but on the plus side we've found a nice little cheap economical car with low km's on it and should save us in fuel... Makes me glad I'm not working does the price of fuel!!!! Oh My God!!! That and the price of food escalating is just plain SCARY!

So planted some late vegies in the garden and harvested all my pumpkins, found out I can grow things after all! Even my transplanted gum tree that made me PROMISE to keep the horses away from it is still hanging in there (well yes the promise to supply water to it way up by the road was secondary to protecting it from Mac hehehe) so it appears my thumbs might be getting a bit greener as I get older!

All the remaining animals are in good health *touches wood*

Oh and I finally got my order of Himalayan Crystal Salt from Oz! So the boys have been able to get stuck in and just getting the labels sorted at the printer as we speak! Love the stuff! Love the difference I've seen in the animals that needed it too!

So fingers crossed it won't rain over night tonight, my instructors arena needs to dry up so I can have a lesson tomorrow morning, and give me good luck vibes when I try to bribe her into saying she'll clip Mac for me hehehe.

Take care and keep talking!