Life Will Soon Begin

02/23/08

Hear at Harmony Meadows we are awaiting the birth of two babies. Mother and daughter are due at the same time. Before I go any further, we did not breed these two mares, nor do we allow breeding here period.

Julie and Meg are mother and daughter; both came to us with two other horses last June. Their owner had passed away. A good friend Cathy trusted us enough to turn the horses over to us.

We have already got the joy of being blessed with a beautiful filly name Little Girl. Her mother Bonita is part of this same heard. Little Girl is five months old now and has quite a personality. Her mother rubbed off on her some. We don't mind; she will grow up to be a strong mare just like her mother. It has to be by far the best feeling in the world to walk out of my house and be able to take in the beauty of a mother caring and teaching her young filly the facts of life. I do say, Bonita is quite the teacher to Little Girl.

Now it is time for Meg and Julie to bless us with their babies. We have enjoyed sharing their pregnancy with everyone here. I am sure the girls feel otherwise different. Meg and Julie are nervous horses, and have come a long ways. With many more mild stones ahead of us now that they have babies coming.

The list of numbers to call after the births will be long. We will only allow short visits for now. I love getting to call everyone early in the morning:0) It will soon be time to get the balloons ready to go out for the world to see as they drive by. When Little Girl was born a hand full of balloons were tied to the mail box "It's A Girl" on the large balloon. Everyone that knew me, but just haven't seen me asked if I were, why heck no! Bonita had her baby:0) The looks were priceless!

The invitations will have to get ready as well. Yep, we have a baby naming party to get ready for too.

I know we are a little out there, but we love to share our special gifts we are blessed with. You should see how everyone's face here lights up. It is something else to see.

I will keep you posted on the births as they come. I say that Julie will have a girl and Meg will have a boy. Soon, we will all know.

So, join us at Harmony Meadows Equine Rescue and share what we love so much.

02/28/08

STILL NO BABIES

I think that when you have to wait on something it's enough to make ya go silly. I have lost so much sleep waiting for these babies to get here. Poor Julie is so ready, I feel her pain. So much goes on in my head at night worrying over when these babies are going to get here. I ask myself often about Julie; I hope she will be a good mom. I hope she can handle giving birth; with this being her first time.

So much time and work goes into making sure that all goes well, and when it comes down to it, there isn't a thing ya can do but wait. Man, that can be a strong word at this point.

Every morning when I go in to clean stalls as well as feed Julie and Meg I take my time and try to share some wonderful sights. Watching the babies move around in what little room is left for them to move. Mom's still eating as their bellies jump around, sometimes they jump themselves. I try to make time to talk to the babies when I know they are up and moving. I know it sounds a little shot-out, but why not.

Rescue Horses

This story is by Teresa.

Rescue horses are the best horses I think. They don't have a pretty coat always, but they all have a story to tell. Yes, I know horses can't talk, but you can see it in them. I got a rescue horse not too long ago and he always wants loving and he thinks that life is all about him because part of his life he was neglected. Another reason rescue horses are the best is because they are always willing to learn and want to learn. like this one rescue horse.. In one day Miss. Debbie got him stepping up a mounting block and just stood there and just looked like he was saying, " what do you want me to do now".

All of the rescue horses are willing to do that, but they just need some work on it.
We would really appreciate if you could call to come and visit the horses up for adoption.

Call 770-815-3663 for an appointment. Thanks and hope to see you soon. Jennifer A

Two Brothers and Two Sisters

It was last summer when Teddy and Macy came to Harmony Meadows Equine Rescue. These two brothers were stallions and both well under weight. Teddy is a true sweet-heart while Macy was all about fear. It took two days of being very patient to get Macy here. One thing I have learned is patience pays off.

"TAKE THE TIME IT TAKES" and you will be amazed at how well things work out in the end.

Our first mission was to get both of them on a good diet and call the vet to have their shots and Coggins done. Not to forget to set up an appointment to have them both gelded once they had more weight on them. We do not adopt out stallions here. Breeding is one thing we will not allow to happen with any horse that comes to Harmony Meadows. It took some time for Macy to gain any trust in humans, but step by step we gained it. Teddy on the other hand loves people and was eager to be fed.

It wasn't long after they came we got a call from a lady name Sandy. Sandy was looking for a horse for her two daughters Katy and Teresa. I told her that we didn't have any horses that were broke to adopt to young kids. I figured that was the only time I would ever hear from them again. Well, not true, it wasn't long when Sandy called again asking for an appointment to come and visit our horses and facilities. We made the appointment and they became volunteers here. We couldn't have been any luckier to find a family as loving and helpful as they are. I love it when people aren't afraid to jump in and get a little dirt under their nails. They can keep up with me :0) I wouldn't trade this family for anything in the world. They have become my adopted children now. I love it when Teresa calls to come over; I'll tell her that they can spend the night. It has become a ritual every-other weekend for a crew of kids to come stay for the weekend or the night. This is how I grew up; we always had lots of kids in the house.

As time went on, Katie and Teresa started spending a lot of time with Teddy and Macy. We allow our animals the freedom to be curious, and to ask questions. We teach people here to take the time and just hang out without expectations. Learn what a horse is about, communication, and yes, we even go and read a book or sit on a stump in their paddocks. If you can't learn it on the ground, what makes you think you can learn it in the saddle? Anyways, I was so impressed on how the relationships between these two sisters and brothers were growing. Teddy chose Teresa and Macy chose Katy; they were perfect matches. I have never in my life seen relationships turn out the way it was turning out.

Katy is high strung just like Macy. Macy went from I don't want anything to do with you to becoming Katy's best friend. Every day I watched their relationship grow. Trust me, putting young horses and kids together is something I run from, but the relationships between these kids and horses was something we couldn't walk away from. When it is right, you know it is right, and this was. I didn't have the heart to adopt out these horses to anyone but Katy and Teresa.

Teresa never had too much to do with horses until she started volunteering here. She and Teddy hit it off right away. These two are so cute to watch. If ever a human and horse were meant to be they were. Personalities were the same all the way around. Teresa and Teddy both just ambled along enjoying each other. Teresa was eager to learn how to work with Teddy, and Teddy could care less. See, neither of these horses were broke to ride much less anything else. Before Teddy and Macy left for their new home these girls had both horses ground working, and Teresa was riding Teddy in the paddock.

Teddy will be a good ole trail riding buddy for Teresa, while Katy and Macy will make a great team in hunter jumping and cross country. It will take a few more years before we get to see Macy hit the show ring, but when they do I know in my heart they will be a team. I look for the light to shine for Katy and Macy when their time comes. These two brothers and two sisters have a relationship that most people will never understand, but here at Harmony Meadows Equine Rescue we have been blessed with two wonderful loving children who have the passion to take the time and understanding to see the relationship they were blessed with Teddy and Macy.

Sandy,

We have been so lucky to have you and your children in our life. God does do things for a reason. He chose us for Teresa, Katy, Teddy and Macy. Not only for them, but for the relationship that has grown between our families and children. Thank you!

Anna and Sue,

Many special thanks to the two of you. If it were not for you stepping in to help Teddy and Macy this story would have no beginning . You both trusted us enough with the care of Teddy and Macy, and I thank you for that. By doing this we all have made special friends and gave the boys a new beginning in life.

NEW STORE HOURS

We will be adding an extra day to our store; we will be opened Fridays- Sunday from 9am till 5pm.

Our store is located in Acworth, Ga. on 41 and 92 at the Flea Market. We carry new and used tack, clothes, books and more.

We have added new items to our store in the last few weeks. More saddles have arrived as well as biker luggage. You should see the mini saddles we just added! They are the cutest saddles I have ever seen.

If you have any ideas on items to add to our store, let us know. We will be happy to do our best to accommodate our customers. Harmony Meadows New and Used Tack Store also takes useable donated items to sell in our store( Items donated are tax-deductable).

We look forward to seeing you, just ask for Debbie and I will give you a 10% discount on any new saddle bought in our store. ALL MONEY GOES TO HELP CARE FOR THE HORSES AT HARMONY MEADOWS EQUINE RESCUE,INC. WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET.

Happy Trails Everyone!

Remember Me

This poem is written by Hannah

Remember Me

I was your best friend

I was there when times were hard

I was there for laughs

I was there when you needed me most

And I was there for celebration

But now I am gone

Your best friend

The one you could count on

The horse

People think we could never be friends

That you could get tired of taking care of me

But you didn't

You loved me as I watched over you from the heavens

Remember me

Miss me

Cry if you need to

But move on, get a new horse

Make him or her your new best friend

But remember me

No matter how far apart we are

We are closer than ever.

Hey Kids!

I have a little something for all the kids to work on for us. We would love to have all the kids write a poem or a story about a horse. It can be any horse: it's your story or poem. Send it to rescue@harmonymeadows.org. I will post each poem on our blog. Once we have enough poems and or stories we will try to get a book publish with all that are sent in to us. My plan is to have the book published in 2009.This gives us a year to put together enough stories and poems to make a book.

I am looking forward to posting all the poems or stories.. Make sure you put your name on it so we have a name to every poem/story. The book will be sold to help raise money for our rescue.

Remember it is what you feel or how you see your horse. Your horse can be a pretend horse or about a real horse.

I will post one poem or story a week unless we have so many come in that we will post every 3 to 4 days. Just keep them coming.

I am looking forward to reading each and everyone sent in to us.

Moms and Dads, remember this is for the kids. You can help some, but let it be their ideas and thoughts. We want to see it from your child's eye.

What’s New Here

We have just opened a new used tack store at the Flea Market on 41 and 92. The store is opened on Saturday and Sunday every weekend from 9am till 5pm. We sell other odds and ends at our store as well. Books, clothes of all ages, lamps, horse blankets, and more. You are more than welcome to donate your items to us to help us raise money for the horses. We have nice new saddles that just arrived, the prices are very reasonable. They range from 8 inch to 18 inch western saddles.

For directions call 770-815-3663. All money goes to the horses, trust me we need all we can get to pay vet bills, and feed the horses.

We are also starting beginner riding lessons on Sundays. The more students we get the more days we will add. We have a wonderful pony named Jingles and Amadeus who is Haflinger cross. Both are wonderful with children. We also have Lucy Lu my Walk-A-Loosa mare who we use in the Special Olympics. I am looking forward to getting started with our lesson program, and working with the kids or adults. All children are required to wear a helmet while riding, no exceptions!

Sign up for our Summer riding camp starting 0n July 14-18^th. Hours will be from 8am till 5pm, we will offer early drop-off and late pick up within reason. $200.00 per child a $100:00 deposit is due before June 15^th after June 15^th we will offer your slot to someone else. Deposit is nonrefundable. We will have limited space, so sign up now.

We will teach the children how to properly clean and care for a horse, ride, play games on horses, and off. Arts and crafts will also be offered. Bring a sack lunch.

Hope to see ya in July!

Please help support your local rescues, we need your help to help them. Every rescue is in need for everyone to help in some way. The prices of hay and feed are out of control. Horses are being starved, shot or even dumped. I have never seen it this bad. We can no longer take in anymore horses without the help of the public. I not only speak for our rescue, I speak for all the rescues. Please help the horses! They did not ask to be brought into this; they had no choice. We have a choice to give them the life they deserve. I have never had to beg for anything in my life, but I will for the sake of the life of a horse.

Amadeus thanks you for your support. He has friends that he wants to continue to be his friends with, with your help. Twister is a 4 year old Arabian mare, Jingles is a 11 year old Shetland pony, Gizmo is a 3 year old Haflinger. Two of the three horses were turned over to Harmony Meadows Equine Rescue from either being starved or just miss understood. Amadeus was bought by me because his family was going through a divorce. Amadeus is here to stay, and to help us bring joy to the children's hearts. I hope to have him join the team for Special Olympics this year as well as jingles if all works out.

Harmony Meadows Equine Rescue, Inc. horses and family thank you for your support.