So every day I wake up and in the quiet dark of the mornings over my first cup of coffee I check all of our accounts. Bank, PayPal, Venmo, etc. At the end of every day I forward any donations to the bank as (mostly) I conduct all business transactions from the bank. Easier to keep track of things that way… Lately about 90 percent of the time this is what our balance looks like. Scary, right? Every penny for hay we forward right to our hay guy. 
Then I saw this post from a fellow rescue on my social media. Unfortunately I felt every word. Thankfully this month we got some extra help via a donation match we used for the farrier, and thankfully a couple kind souls donated to the $850 pallet of feed least week (for most of the herd) and lasts about a month. We’ve also had some help with the vet for George and Bodie’s final expenses and the skinny mares and baby Tyler, too. The help was so appreciated because these are the kinds of expenses I’d typically cover myself. 

Every day I am grateful for the support we have, we’d long be out of operation without it. Full stop. And overall it’s the same folks donating what you can in this uncertain economy, many of ya’ll not really directly involved in racing. I call ya’ll our foundation folks. You keep the foundation under us. We are lucky that a couple of steadfast supporters are industry insiders/owners/breeders (who don’t pretend to not know what it costs to care for a horse every month) step up to help care for, in all reality, other people’s castoffs. But we don’t expect it or count on it, it isn’t their responsibility to care for other people’s horse any more than it is ours… 

And cumulatively none of this is possible without everyone’s help. In the last five days I raised $500. On a $6,000 hay bill. It doesn’t include: -Special feed (mare and foal, flax, high fat for the hard-keepers) -Medications/supplements -stall bedding -Farrier -Fly sprays, ointments, water troughs and feed tubs -general maintenance stuff -Fuel for the tractor and ATV -Horse trailer payment -Water bill 
And so much more. We survive because we have to. What happens if we go under? Who will help the herd? Nobody wanted most of them to begin with, hard to imagine they’d want mostly older broodmares and broken former racehorses now. Finding unwell and skinny horses here is not an option so I soldier on and continue to beg. Thankfully I have a job which helps, but I haven’t been able to make up for the shortfall in donations this year. Not even close.

And my house is on the market. My sweet little farmhouse I hoped to spend the rest of my life in is for sale because I am taking care of other people’s horses with ZERO industry help. No second career = no value and no money. Nice, right? So I have to move. I do hope to buy a bigger place out in the country for less money with a well and lower taxes. I hate to use any of this money to pay off the $15,000 in vet and hay I haven’t been able to catch up on. Or pay for dentals and vaccinations, but without help what am I supposed to do? I will have no choice. I’m frustrated today because these horses always deserved better. I do what I can to provide, but making a choice to buy feed and hay or pay for a hoof trim should never be an option. Unfortunately it’s part of my daily existence. And 99 percent of the industry looks the other way. I redid the feed board today. Finally had the heart to take off George and Bodie… barely. I miss them…

If you want to help, I am always grateful. Always. Donation links to help ⬇️: (thank you!) Venmo: @TheBridge-Sanctuary PayPal: [email protected] CashApp: $redransom Zelle: (626) 676-2556 Direct link: paypal.com/paypalme/thebridg… #rescue #Texas #ottb