02/04/2022
We could be in trouble here. And I am so hesitant to put this out there for a multitude of reasons. And I have been trying to figure out what to say. I feel like I have done all that I can to combat the hay prices that have threatened the future of Adorado this past winter. And with grass expected by the end of May, and with the help of some astoundingly generous supporters, we were almost there.
But on March 7, 2022, I sent $2,500 of my own money as a deposit on 42 heavy round bales priced at $120 each - and I asked supporters to ‘match me’; and some of you did! And this hay seller, who had claimed to want to ‘help out because I was doing a good thing’ here, never brought the bales. He gave me excuse after excuse as to why he couldn’t bring them, to the point that I realized something was up. I thereafter found out from the camrose RCMP that he was ‘known to them for similar complaints,’ and that it was quite likely I had been scammed. I since saw his name on a hay scammer list.
The upside is that after an incredibly stressful exchange with this ‘seller’’, I was able to get my deposit in chunks. The downside is that because I had expected those bales for over 3 weeks, I had not been looking for more. And today there are only 18 bales here; enough for just over one week.
I have been making calls past sellers and looking for bales on line and through contacts but there is nothing out there now that I can afford; the prices are all $200 per bale and up, and I even spoke to one seller yesterday, who ranted for about 15 minutes about how some people have been living under a rock and do not understand that there was a drought over ‘all of north america.’ He said there were 3 people in his cue ahead of me so he had no hay to sell.
I am starting to panic. I cannot believe we woulf reach April and looking at running out of hay. I need your help. The horses need your help.
I can’t even think of an appropriate photo to post. But I want to try to convey that Adorado is not about “getting them in and getting them out.” I focus on the horses with little chance - those who others overlook because they can’t be resold. Babies like little Opal who had to learn to drink water after i bought her at auction for $10. And who had congenital issues, and succumbed to meningitis after being here for a few months. But not before being loved and cared for - being loved by me and horses from her auction group that included Jubes Senior.
This is why I do what I do - even though right now, I am tired of fighting. Please - if you know of any caring person who has hay to sell, or can donate, please help.
https://www.adoradonino.org/donate