The purpose of PPER is to Rescue, Rehabilitate, and Rehome. The first weekend I started volunteering at PPER I helped with the Rescue of the five minis. I was nervous about what we would find when we arrived and what shape the ponies would be in. There were 4 stallions and one mare. First thing I learned very quickly is that a stallion is a stallion – doesn’t matter if it is a mini, a pony or a full-size horse. A mini stallion is just as aggressive as his larger buddies. They are all just one raging hormone! The minis were are adorable, although in dire need of haircuts and farriers! It was easy to tell they had never been groomed or had much human interaction, if at all. They needed to be vetted, gelded, and treated by the farrier as soon as possible. Turns out, the mare is pregnant – ready to foal at any time! That will give PPER 8 minis in total. Well, the vet and farrier have made their visits. We have geldings now instead of stallions – although, it will take a few months for those raging hormones to calm down. So the minis are now in the Rehabilitate phase. They will need to become comfortable with humans, stand to be groomed, trained for the halter, riding and/or pulling a small cart. I personally can’t wait to help in that process. They are just too adorable! Now, this past weekend I was able to experience the last phase or other end of the spectrum – Rehome! A nice family came to ride Snowman and Thunderstorm as their final step to adopting them. What a wonderful experience to see two rescue horses be proudly shown, tacked and ridden. All went well, they have are under adoption contract, and will be going to their new forever home next week! I hope to experience the Rehome process many, many more times in the time to come! In the meantime, PPER will carry on with all three phases – Rescue, Rehabilitate and Rehome. Would you like to help? Donate, Sponsor, Adopt, or Volunteer – every little bit helps! Click the Donate Button Now! |