Tula Vida Foundation

09/18/2024

Join us this Thursday!!
Tula Vida

Join us this Thursday to help some very special horses!

Receive Reiki along with the Tula Vida Foundation herd of rescue horses in Costa Rica! (Your animals will receive the Reiki too!) 😊✨

The Tula Vida horses are incredibly special souls— any donation you can make will help them to thrive, live happy lives and supply the meds and treatments they need. 💜

You’ll be able to see the herd on Zoom throughout the session as we share the yummy energy 🥰

Please register (link below) -- we'd love to see you there.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horse-reiki-fundraising-event-for-tula-vida-foundation-registration-931631684447?aff=oddtdtcreator

Tula Vida Foundation Jen's Universe

09/13/2024

Join us online next week!!
Tula Vida

Counting down the days to next week's event!

Please join us on Zoom and receive Reiki along with the Tula Vida Foundation herd of rescue horses in Costa Rica! (Your animals will receive the Reiki too!) 😊✨

The Tula Vida horses are incredibly special souls, and we're so looking forward to sharing the healing with them. 💜

Please register (link below) -- we'd love to see you there. Any donation will help the horses to thrive and live happy lives:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/horse-reiki-fundraising-event-for-tula-vida-foundation-registration-931631684447?aff=oddtdtcreator

Jen's Universe

09/07/2024

We do love our volunteer horse spa day - everyone gets involved and today we even had some hair trimming.
Receiving this care and attention is such an important part of these rescue horses feeling good - and giving it is a joy for all involved. Thanks to .kenney and others not on Instagram for another beautiful day with the herd.

09/04/2024

Some wonderful friends of the Tula Vida herd have organized this event to support the foundation, and to share some positive energy with you and your animals.

If you know the magic of reiki then please join and share with us! If you haven’t yet experienced reiki this will be a great taster, and you can see how the horses react.

The link is in the bio of or write a note (or a yes) below and we will send you the link by messenger.

We are excited to experience this for the first time at Tula Vida!

st .kenney

08/01/2024

Never a dull moment - Miela cut herself out in the field and it was deep. Luckily we saw it early and Eric stitched it straight back up! This is just one of the parts of having horses, a horse rescue & making sure we can take care of them well. Eric is amazing at the medical emergency needs and very brave at diving straight in to whatever needs handling - which is lucky as our vet is 3 hours away and of course more expensive. When you support the Foundation you help is buy medicine and - for example - the hay that Miela needs to eat while she is recuperating in a stall!

07/13/2024

He healed and now he heals others. Looking and doing soooo well 2 years on, Imperio!

07/13/2024

Look at Imperio now!!

Look at this picture & imagine this connection. It’s hard to explain in words what we do but this feeling is some of it.
Hard to believe this horse was starving in a field just 2 years ago, now he brings joy to so many. Thanks herd.

06/16/2024

Thanks to all our volunteers for another great horse spa day! The horses enjoyed their pampering and time with friends.

05/18/2024

Everyone got their feet trimmed last week!

When Roncador first came to us his overgrown hooves were part of his pain walking. Imagine toenails so overgrown that mean you have to walk everywhere on your heels!

It’s an important part of horse care to have feet trimmed and balanced every 4-6 weeks and we are grateful for donations that enable it to happen.

We are also very happy to have a new trimmer, known as Chocolito (everyone has a nickname in Costa Rica!) who is very calm and soft with the horses. And who can walk right under Kiki’s belly to get to the other side 😆

04/03/2024

RONCADOR UPDATE

Our new little friend is doing great! He is eating so much better and - as you might see from the photos - is already putting on some weight.

He had a slight set-back when he was lame in his back foot, the same side as the bad knee, so standing was a bit wobbly but it was an abscess (for those who don't know horses, this is an infection inside the hoof that is very painful while pressure builds up but once it bursts out, it heals quickly - it is not serious and we were happy it was that!) You can see the hole where it burst out, it was a big one - but healing really well in the lovely dry weather.

He has been making new friends, both horse and human, and enjoying the Tenorio volcano views (well, probably!) and sunsets in his new field.

We were thrilled this week when he willingly approached us with ears forward as soon as he saw us - trust and connection are building and growing!

His coat is still in bad shape (despite 3 baths) which could be nutrition, so we are giving him extra supplements and natural remedies for that.

Thanks so much for the continued good wishes and support!
If you want to donate to his cause, the link is in our earlier post.

ps he is still somewhat suspicious of the tasty fruit we are offering him, but he loooooves his horse food. He is such a sweet personality - can't wait for you all to meet him!

03/17/2024

RONCADOR UPDATE - very happy to report that he is now eating really well (he can actually chew and swallow!) after his teeth were fixed, ⁠
he is now standing better after his feet were trimmed (they were totally uneven, like wearing different height shoes!). ⁠
Getting them really good will take some time and a few more trims, but as you can see they look much better already.⁠
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He is a calm and quiet character, seems happy to be here - and we are planning to introduce him to some new herd members today so he has some friends. Space, freedom, forage, friends - priorities for mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of horses. ⁠
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An interesting note: From the horse's mouth:⁠
An intuitive friend of ours was visiting him and she received the message that he "reeeeally liked the red stuff." We were a little confused at first, their feed is more green & brown, the shot of vitamin C was red but doubt it was that!, we didn't remember giving him watermelon yet....and then it hit us. The Dunafat! He is on a supplement that is amazing to help horses gain weight - it is reddy/pink and is basically a mix of coconut, oils, molasses and other good natural stuff. It smells amazing and we've tried it ourselves and it is indeed delicious! Good to know that he likes it! 😉⁠
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Check out our stories to see some video of him taking a nap with Sally in the field...⁠
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See below for the link to support if you would like or are able to do so.⁠
Thank you so much for all your continued help and support! ⁠
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paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4556719 ⁠
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03/13/2024

RONCADOR UPDATE - good and bad news!!

He is safely at Tula Vida Ranch! We were able to bring him yesterday and do a good assessment of his condition.
The bad news is- his coat and teeth and feet are BAD (let alone the knee).
The good news is- we have started already in all his care and healing treatments. Details below.

Thanks so much for your help so far - and costs are still mounting up so if you are able to help Roncador would appreciate it:

https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4556719

DETAILS
When he first arrived our Foundation friend Matt gave him a good bath to kill fungus and other nasty bugs. He had a drink and meal, and went out for grass…BUT we noticed he really didn’t eat much and was spitting his grass and hay out…

TEETH
A quick look in his mouth confirmed our fears. His teeth were in bad shape!
In the wild, horses graze on good and varied forage that keeps their teeth smooth and ground down. Living with humans, horses don’t get the same forage as it’s typically much softer, so they get sharp points or other issues on their teeth that can cut into their gums, cheeks and tongue.

Luckily our vet dentist Andres could come urgently today and we found poor Roncador had THREE FRACTURED TEETH!
Sharp shards of tooth were cutting into his mouth every time he chewed (we are sparing you the gross pics but it was pretty bloody). He probably couldn’t chew properly for months!
Eric and Andres did some serious dental work as you can see (Roncador is sedated for this).
Now he will be feeling much much better and is out eating grass already (final pic).

HOOVES
The farrier comes tomorrow to start his feet trimming (which should be done every 6 weeks but his are so overgrown and uneven, who knows when they were last done). Imagine walking for months in shoes of different height and what that does to your muscles and body…

EYE & NOURISHMENT
His eye infection got a flush and is looking better already, he got more minerals and vitamins and his personality is starting to show - what a curious, intelligent sweetie he is!

These are just some of the fundamental aspects of care that make a huge different in a horse’s life and we are happy to be able to offer them to Roncador - THANK YOU for helping us make this happen.

We are working on getting these urgent issues and his nutrition improved, while we create a plan for his very arthritic knee too.

COSTS MOUNTING…
While our vet kindly helped out with a reasonable bill (given all the extra work there was removing teeth), we do need to over all these bills and there are more costs to come so it’s still adding up - and any help you can give is really appreciated.

Here is a link to donate:

https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4556719

We will keep you posted and introduce properly by video soon!

03/08/2024

This horse needs our help!
Otherwise he will be left to die in the field or taken to the slaughterhouse.

Watch our YouTube video to meet him (and brief story below): https://youtu.be/0raDvHSD3qE

HIS STORY

Friends led to us Roncador, who was apparently a great cattle horse but was abandoned in his field due to increasing lameness.

As you can see he is skinny, full of ticks, miserable, with little grass and a long, steep climb down to water that he can barely do with his giant, swollen knee.

Tula Vida Foundation is not currently in a position to support more horses, but this case was urgent so we went to see him and had our vet Andres do an x-ray of his knee.

HIS CHANCE...

His leg isn't broken - but he has chronic arthritis which is manageable, so we did some treatments to make him more comfortable and we believe he deserves a chance to enjoy the rest of his life.

We are getting a blood test for anaemia (which would contagious for the rest of the herd) and then we want to move him to a comfortable, safe place to fill his life with love and care.

HELP NEEDED

To be able to do this, we urgently need your help.
- The owners are willing to let us take him if we buy him for the meat price (buying the horse is really the only way to help them here without any repercussions),
- We already have a vet bill of $2,000 outstanding,
- Roncador will need lots of extra nourishing and treatment to get him back into a healthy weight and state.

Anything you can give to support this brave little guy to get back into the glossy, big quarter horse he is meant to be would be very much appreciated

And some day perhaps you can come and meet him and see the shine back in his eyes.

TO SUPPORT...

To donate please use this PayPal link: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4556719

Or visit our website (www.tulavida.com/support)

Thank you. So much.

11/05/2023

Miela is inside again, with a nasty cut on her back foot. She is an explorer, a brave and free spirit. It can also lead her into trouble! We love and salute her - and call the vet (again)!

10/20/2023

INJURIES ARE TOUGH!
Our beautiful young Miela is always out and about. 2 weeks ago she was badly injured (I am avoiding nasty pictures but in the last one you see how swollen her leg is) so she has needed a lot of extra care from the Foundation. Thank goodness some wonderful donors came through for her and covered the emergency vet bill at just the right time! We appreciate you!! She is healing well and handling her treatments with grace (and just a few faces!). At just 3.5 years old she is really amazing and calm and definitely knows we are trying to help her. Although after 15 minutes of a cold hose on her leg she lets us know she is ready to stop 😜. We are not riding her yet as her bones are still developing, but as you can see she is so friendly! She had never been handled before she came to us a year ago and now she thinks people are her friends ☺️. This work we do with care, love and supporting horses to feel calm, safe and free to be horses is so important to us and we thank you all for your continued interest and help!

08/14/2023

GITANA & MO UPDATE
We are soooo happy to report that Mo is back to his usual self, not even any swelling, and Gitana is doing really well!

Gitana had - as you may remember - a special hospital plate shoe fitted 2 weeks ago. At that point she was in too much pain to put a shoe on the other front foot - but as of yesterday now she has both shoes on and is fully supported!

It’s not ideal to have a horse walking unevenly with one shoe on and one off, but given how much she was limping anyway, the urgent need to protect the injured foot and the level of pain in it, we had to wait until she could tolerate having her matching shoe fitted.

She is off her stall rest and not able to roam with the herd again. She’s so happy - and seems to be in hardly any pain! The vet is very happy with her progress.
We are still treating the foot wound of course and she will need special shoes refitted again in a month, then a special foot protector after that, so still a lot of care and costs, but overall we are thrilled with her progress. And so is she!

Thanks so much for all the support to get us here. We still have a little way to go on he fundraiser so if you can donate then every little helps!

Link to the fundraiser:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/1517713061968119/

08/11/2023

Another day another surgery…A minor one today thankfully and Eric was the surgeon!
Only swipe if you want to see…

Galan had a couple of nasty deep cuts on this back leg, pretty swollen and painful. He was rubbing his giant body on a wooden fence post and it snapped in two and he fell onto the fence post poor guy.

Sally was about to head out when she went out to see him and “for some reason” decided to give him a quick hose down before she left - and saw the injury. Well now we know Galan was asking for help of course.

As soon as Sally and Eric starting examine the wound instead of it stressing him out as you might think, he started showing signs of stress release and feeling better, he knew that help had arrived 😍.

He had a tetanus shot and is on penicillin and painkillers and will be fine.

And we wonder why the to-do list never gets done - horses come first!

Thanks for your support - it makes swift treatment in situations like this possible as we have medicine and equipment close to hand (as well as our responsive vet on messages!)

07/24/2023

Gitana got her special shoe! It’s called a hospital plate and is very interesting (and expensive!)…details are in the comments below (as I ran out of space to put it here).

It gets us VERY clear on our priorities when the horses need help - we thought we were busy before but of course we dropped everything for the surgeries and now the after-care is top of the schedule each day.

Links for fb fundraiser or our website are in the our bio at the top of the page. We still have a way to go - thanks to those already helping, we appreciate you.

THE BRIEF UPDATE

GITANA has been walking sooo much better since she got her new shoe and can even go outside to graze with her best friend friend Cosmo for a little while! She is still on antibiotics and has to be in a stable at night (she’s doesn’t love that but if Cosmo stays with her next door then she tolerates it!) but she seems to be healing well thankfully.

MO is doing great. The inflammation is slowly going down and still looks sore but he’s still his happy go lucky self. We have to hose the wound with cold water (there’s a photo of Eric doing this - check out Mo’s face) and exercise him for 30 minutes a day (to reduce inflammation). He’s such a good boy!

To read about Gitana’s special shoe check out the comments below…

07/24/2023

GITANA & MO UPDATE
It’s been a busy week with these guys - Gitana got her special shoe! It’s called a hospital plate and is very interesting (and expensive!)…details below and lots of photos for you.

It gets us very clear on our priorities when the horses need help - we thought we were busy before but of course we dropped everything for the surgeries and now the after-care is top of the schedule each day.

If you can support the fundraiser for these guys (link below) it would be so much appreciated! We still have a way to go - thanks to those already helping, we appreciate you.

Link to the fundraiser:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/1517713061968119/

UPDATE

GITANA has been walking sooo much better since she got her new shoe and can even go outside to graze with her best friend friend Cosmo for a little while! She is still on antibiotics and has to be in a stable at night (she’s doesn’t love that but if Cosmo stays with her next door then she tolerates it!) but she seems to be healing well thankfully.

MO is doing great. The inflammation is slowly going down and still looks sore but he’s still his happy go lucky self. We have to hose the wound with cold water (there’s a photo of Eric doing this - check out Mo’s face) and exercise him for 30 minutes a day (to reduce inflammation). He’s such a good boy!

GITANA’S HOSPITAL PLATE

The purpose of this specialist shoe is two-fold - to take the weight off the sole of the foot (where the surgery hole is) onto the shoe, and to seal the area so it stays sterile and the wound can heal without further infection - as you can see the plate has screws to take it on and off for the wound cleaning. Eric does this every other day and it’s very painful for poor Gitana but very necessary.

The pictures show how the shoe was done. The specialist farrier vet, Otto, came and he made this shoe with a metal cover plate to fit her foot. In true Tico style, he brought his Dad and girlfriend with him to help, all the way from San Jose (a 4 hour drive) - family outing on the job!

They spent about 2 hours making the shoe - all of this is happening up at the new ranch where we don’t have electricity yet so it’s all done with a generator. Jungle medicine!

With a LOT of painkillers and tranquilliser and Sally & Eric for support, Otto fitted the first part of the shoe on her hoof like a normal horse shoe. Then he makes a mould that fits into the sole and moulds to her food. And then (as you can see in the pics) he screws the plate on to the shoe at the base, like a metal cover plate.

The last part is silicone around the outside of the shoe to seal it well - then a file and polish to finish it off.

We would like to put a shoe on the other front foot so her weight can be balanced but for now it is too painful for her to balance on the injured foot for long enough to do it - the vet will be back in 2 weeks to see if we can do it then.

Thanks for your continued support to this healing process!

A link to the fundraiser (with full details of the injury and a way to support their healing is:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/1517713061968119/

07/16/2023

UPDATE ON GITANA & MO SURGERY

We do appreciate your support in our fundraiser (details and link below) and we know many of you want to hear how these two are doing so here’s the update - great!

They are both healing well after a painful start.
But one very striking thing is their very different approach to taking medicine…
Gitana has a liquid antibiotic which to be fair smells nasty. As you can see in the photo, no matter how much honey, fruit and delicious horse snacks we mix it with, she picks out the dosed bits and spits them on the ground!!
Even banana and watermelon (her favorites) are rejected if she suspects they are medicine 😆
It’s a slow process to get her to eat it all, she is so intelligent and a thinker rather than food obsessed…

Whereas Mo on the other hand…

He has to have 15 tablets. We started off disguising them in banana as you can see, but he is so happy to eat whatever we offer - banana or no banana, that now we can just give him the pills and he crunches them up!
Of course we make sure to have something nice too but he seems thrilled about it all 😆

Very different patients with very different personalities, definitely keeps things interesting around here!

Thanks again for all your treasured support, we couldn’t do it alone that’s for sure ⭐️

If you are able to donate, here is the fundraiser - it also has details of what happened if you want to read all about it…

https://www.facebook.com/100083312260539/posts/pfbid02VMTDrxWvXJq2fKKU9E2g4zRYT6FD6zYfUav6AdANKDJztGfjoM7nJFFeFDu54SPpl/?mibextid=cr9u03

07/14/2023

SURGERY!!!

Yes, Gitana and Mo BOTH had to have surgery yesterday. Full details in the fundraiser (link is in the comments below, if not in this post)- click it to read what happened....Gitana was not unexpected yet it still surprised the vet and Mo was a shocker.

Given the unexpected (totally worth it of course but also very expensive) costs, we have launched this fundraiser. Please send what you can - money, energy, messages...

At times like these it is amazing to feel supported. Thank you in advance.

We will keep you posted of course.

07/09/2023

Gitana has pain in her front foot and cannot put weight on it. It is so hard to see them suffer - she is very tough but we can see how much it hurts.

We think it’s an abscess in the hoof, which is when there’s an infection inside. We are soaking it with Epsom salts, using clay and other remedies to draw it out. She’s inside a stall to limit her movement which she doesn’t love, but she has hay and we are keeping her friends nearby so they can still hang out. As you can see the herd (and us) are keeping an eye on her and giving her lots of love.

We are hoping the vet is coming today (it’s a 3 hour trip from San Jose) to do an X-ray to confirm diagnosis and a treatment plan. We will keep you posted on how she’s doing and if additional care is required.

If you are able to donate, we will use the additional funds for the vet visit and her medical supplies.

Given how far away the vet is, we always have supplies on hand so we can respond immediately to events like this when they happen…with items such as pain relief medication, Epsom salts, vitamins, IV fluids etc. as well as needles and bandages and other essentials. But they get used up pretty fast.

You can donate using the link in the bio or tulavida.com
And please send love and healing energy too…

Gitana appreciates your support!

07/05/2023

Time to plant some grass seed for the pasture!
We haven’t had much rain this season…but grateful to have more this week which will help these seeds grow. We told Beauty it just needs some time before it’s ready to eat, but she’s inspecting…and Fish is along for the ride 😆

07/02/2023

Breakfast with Mr. Big and a view!

06/28/2023

Water cooler conversation with Kiki and Fish!
What do you think this one is about? 🤔😆