All About Equine Animal Rescue

01/11/2024

Juliette

***
Learn more about this beauty: www.allaboutequine.org/juliette

31/10/2024

What's a horse's favorite candy?

Jolly Ranchers! 😂

***
Karli is available for adoption (project). Learn more: www.allaboutequine.org/karli

31/10/2024

Claire ain't afraid of no ghost 👻

***
Claire is available for adoption (project). Learn more: www.allaboutequine.org/claire

31/10/2024

The horses are ready to kick up their hooves and join in today's fun!

On behalf of everyone at AAE, these spooky ghouls wish you a Halloween full of tricks, treats, and fun! Stay safe and enjoy the festivities! 🕷️

31/10/2024

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble."

***
Juliette is available for adoption (young horses). Learn more: www.allaboutequine.org/juliette

30/10/2024

Thank you, Kristina C, for sponsoring Claire! Your continued support and generosity are greatly appreciated!

***
You, too, can support the care of horses like Claire through a monthly, quarterly, or annual sponsorship. Learn more or sign up here: www.allaboutequine.org/sponsorahorse

30/10/2024

No bones about it, we are excited tomorrow is Halloween! 💀

29/10/2024

Turn your used RV, car, truck, or motorcycle into support for AAE!

When you donate your used vehicle to CARS - Charitable Adult Rides and Services and designate All About Equine Animal Rescue as the non-profit partner, the profits will used to support our horses! And this donation is tax deductible!

Pick-up is free & easy. Vehicles do not have to be in working condition or even located in California to benefit AAE.

To learn more or start the donation process, visit: https://careasy.org/nonprofit/all-about-equine-animal-rescue

28/10/2024

Outlaw working on his selfie game 🤩

25/10/2024

Karli working in the round pen 🥰

***
Karli is available for adoption (project). Learn more: www.allaboutequine.org/karli

23/10/2024

This is National Estate Planning Awareness Week!

Estate planning doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated. It starts with meaningful conversations with your loved ones about the future. We've compiled some guiding questions to help get you started (see the "learn more" link below).

Start planning now to prevent situations like the one we found Cody in. Cody came to AAE after his owner passed away without a plan for his future care.

This NEPAW, start that important conversation and secure what matters most.

Learn more here: https://conta.cc/4eUlaKj

Start your will here: https://bit.ly/40hgx8G

23/10/2024

Too cute for words!

22/10/2024

More pics of Kody because he's so handsome! 🥰😍

***
Learn more about Kody (adoptable - riding horses): www.allaboutequine.org/kody

21/10/2024

The new gal arrived yesterday!

Thanks again to her sponsor, Laura P., for helping support this intake 💕

20/10/2024

"New Home Syndrome"🤓

I am coining this term to bring recognition, respect, and understanding to what happens to horses when they move homes. This situation involves removing them from an environment and set of routines they have become familiar with, and placing them somewhere completely different with new people and different ways of doing things.

Why call it a syndrome?

Well, really it is! A syndrome is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that consistently occur together and can be tied to certain factors such as infections, genetic predispositions, conditions, or environmental influences. It is also used when the exact cause of the symptoms is not fully understood or when it is not connected with a well-defined disease. In this case, "New Home Syndrome" is connected to a horse being placed in a new home where its entire world changes, leading to psychological and physiological impacts. While it might be transient, the ramifications can be significant for both the horse and anyone handling or riding it.

Let me explain...

Think about how good it feels to get home after a busy day. How comfortable your favourite clothes are, how well you sleep in your own bed compared to a strange bed, and how you can really relax at home. This is because home is safe and familiar. At home, the part of you that keeps an eye out for potential danger turns down to a low setting. It does this because home is your safe place (and if it is not, this blog will also explain why a lack of a safe place is detrimental).

Therefore, the first symptom of horses experiencing "New Home Syndrome" is being unsettled, prone to anxiety, or difficult behaviour. If you have owned them before you moved them, you struggle to recognise your horse, feeling as if your horse has been replaced by a frustrating version. If the horse is new to you, you might wonder if you were conned, if the horse was drugged when you rode it, or if you were lied to about the horse's true nature.

A horse with "New Home Syndrome" will be a stressed version of itself, on high alert, with a drastically reduced ability to cope. Horses don't handle change like humans do. If you appreciate the comfort of your own home and how you can relax there, you should be able to understand what the horse is experiencing.

Respecting that horses interpret and process their environments differently from us helps in understanding why your horse is being frustrating and recognising that there is a good chance you were not lied to or that the horse was not drugged.

Horses have survived through evolution by being highly aware of their environments. Change is a significant challenge for them because they notice the slightest differences, not just visually but also through sound, smell, feel, and other senses. Humans generalise and categorise, making it easy for us to navigate familiar environments like shopping centres. Horses do not generalise in the same way; everything new is different to them, and they need proof of safety before they can habituate and feel secure. When their entire world changes, it is deeply stressful.

They struggle to sleep until they feel safe, leading to sleep deprivation and increased difficulty.

But there is more...

Not only do you find comfort in your home environment and your nervous system downregulates, but you also find comfort in routines. Routines are habits, and habits are easy. When a routine changes or something has to be navigated differently, things get difficult. For example, my local supermarket is undergoing renovations. After four years of shopping there, it is extremely frustrating to have to work out where everything is now. Every day it gets moved due to the store being refitted section by section. This annoyance is shared by other shoppers and even the staff.

So, consider the horse. Not only are they confronted with the challenge of figuring out whether they are safe in all aspects of their new home while being sleep deprived, but every single routine and encounter is different. Then, their owner or new owner starts getting critical and concerned because the horse suddenly seems untrained or difficult. The horse they thought they owned or bought is not meeting their expectations, leading to conflict, resistance, explosiveness, hypersensitivity, and frustration.

The horse acts as if it knows little because it is stressed and because the routines and habits it has learned have disappeared. If you are a new human for the horse, you feel, move, and communicate differently from what it is used to. The way you hold the reins, your body movements in the saddle, the position of your leg – every single routine of communication between horse and person is now different. I explain to people that when you get a new horse, you have to imprint yourself and your way of communicating onto the horse. You have to introduce yourself and take the time to spell out your cues so that they get to know you.

Therefore, when you move a horse to a new home or get a new horse, your horse will go through a phase called "New Home Syndrome," and it will be significant for them. Appreciating this helps them get through it because they are incredible and can succeed. The more you understand and help the horse learn it is safe in its new environment and navigate the new routines and habits you introduce, the faster "New Home Syndrome" will pass.
"New Home Syndrome" will be prevalent in a horse’s life until they have learned to trust the safety of the environment (and all that entails) and the humans they meet and interact with. With strategic and understanding approaches, this may take weeks, and their nervous systems will start downgrading their high alert status. However, for some horses, it can take a couple of years to fully feel at ease in their new home.

So, next time you move your horse or acquire a new horse and it starts behaving erratically or being difficult, it is not being "stupid", you might not have been lied to or the horse "drugged" - your horse is just experiencing an episode of understandable "New Home Syndrome." And you can help this.❤

I would be grateful if you could please share, this reality for horses needs to be better appreciated ❤
‼️When I say SHARE that does not mean plagiarise my work…it is seriously not cool to copy and paste these words and make out you have written it yourself‼️

18/10/2024

The moment you’ve been waiting for… when we share where our team was heading this morning! Sort of 😝

We were invited to be part of a fun secret project! Unfortunately, we can’t say where or with whom or for what just yet. We’ll share more when we can so stay tuned! It’ll be worth the wait. We promise!

18/10/2024

The team has been on the road for several hours and are almost to their destination! 🏙️

18/10/2024

Some of the AAE team left the barn early, early this morning for a special adventure! Wonder where they could be going... 🤔

17/10/2024

Thank you, Laura P., for sponsoring this new mare! She's not at AAE just yet, but stay tuned for more details.

If you'd like to help, you can still be one of her sponsors. With her health concerns, the extra support would be appreciated! Learn more and sign up: www.allaboutequine.org/sponsorahorse

In case you missed this announcement last week...

This beautiful girl is not getting the care she needs, and it sounds like she has some health issues that need attention. Though she's not at AAE yet, we're hoping to find some help from you, our horse-community, today.

Can you be her sponsor (or part of her sponsor team) to help her when she arrives? She'll need at minimum a guardian sponsor.

Become her sponsor and give this OTTB a better life here: www.allaboutequine.org/sponsorahorse

Thank you!!

15/10/2024

In case you missed this announcement last week...

This beautiful girl is not getting the care she needs, and it sounds like she has some health issues that need attention. Though she's not at AAE yet, we're hoping to find some help from you, our horse-community, today.

Can you be her sponsor (or part of her sponsor team) to help her when she arrives? She'll need at minimum a guardian sponsor.

Become her sponsor and give this OTTB a better life here: www.allaboutequine.org/sponsorahorse

Thank you!!

14/10/2024

Kody (pictured) and his buddy Teddy came to AAE after a concerned neighbor reached out for help. The pair was emaciated and living in deep, muddy muck with long hooves and poor teeth. Fortunately, their owner agreed to surrender them to AAE.

Their bodies were so malnourished, it look a while for their body condition to improve. Look at Kody now!

Their story is just one of many made possible because the commitment and generosity of our horse-loving community. Thank YOU!

11/10/2024

This girl is not getting the care she needs, and she needs help. Can you be her sponsor (or part of her sponsor team) help her? She'll need at minimum a guardian sponsor.

She needs a solid landing, as it sounds like she has some health issues that need attention.

You can help this OTTB beauty start the next chapter of her life; become her sponsor here: www.allaboutequine.org/sponsorahorse

Thank you!!

PS. There are other AAE horses who are in need of a sponsor, too. Sponsors are saviors that allow us to help more horses by supporting their costs for care, including feed, hoof & dental care, vaccines, deworming, and more. Get started here: www.allaboutequine.org/choose-your-horse

10/10/2024

Volunteering, especially with animals, helps reduce stress and improve overall physical, emotional, and mental health! So come volunteer with some of the greatest horses and people around! You'll not only help them, but also yourself.

There are daily morning and afternoon shifts at the barn in Pilot Hill, CA where you'll help feed, groom, socialize with, and love on some adorable four-legged friends!

You can also help at the barn without having to work directly with a horse. There's something for everyone. Other tasks include, fence repairs, fix-it needs, prepping feed, organizing, cleaning, equipment repair, grounds-keeping, etc. With 61-acres, the upkeep is huge!

If none of the above options sound like a good fit for you, but you still want to help, we have remote and in-person volunteer opportunities, including shifts at the All About Equine Used Tack Store, grant writing, fundraising, PR, and more.

Learn more and complete an interest form: www.allaboutequine.org/volunteer@@

09/10/2024

One of the easiest ways you can help the horses and AAE is to like and share our posts!

So please like this photo of Teddy! You know you want to - look how handsome he is!

***
Learn more about Teddy: www.allaboutequine.org/teddy