Meet Darby

Darby was rescued by Olesja Lapteva of Poulsbo from the Eugene Sales yard in August of 2022. She was running with a paint/draft stallion and was presumed bred so Olesha saved her and brought her home. She added her to her herd but Darby was low man in the herd and did not thrive as she should have. Olesja reached out to us on March 21st concerned for the well being of Darby and her possible baby. Darby was being bullied by the other horses, including being run off her food, wasn’t putting on weight and had chronic diarrhea. She asked if we were interested in giving her a home and we immediately said yes. On Monday march 27th she arrived at the farm and settled in. This afternoon, Tuesday March 28th we had our vet out to give her a wellness exam where she was given an ultrasound and confirmed that she was in foal. She was wormed and given her first round of prenatal shots. She also had her teeth checked over. This girl is in definite need of some more groceries in her diet so she can put on weigh before foaling. She will also need her teeth floated and it was suggested that she is put on a high dose of psyllium because she has quite a bit of sand in her belly.

Darby had quite a full day today! She met other horses, saw the vet, walked over to Alex’s house to graze on some lush grass, snuggled in the grass, and then came back to the farm just in time for dinner! We can not wait to get her all cleaned up tomorrow during our volunteer day! We know the volunteers are going to fall in love just as fast as we have! Stay tuned for some after bath pictures!

It's hard to tell in the photos but Darby is a BIG girl. She is easily the tallest horse here at the farm. She will probably eat twice if not three times as much as the other horses due to her condition. While she is quite underweight, things look good otherwise. It’s going to be quite the journey getting her ready to have this baby but we are excited to be here for it. As always, we so appreciate that Olesja reached out to us when it was clear she was not going to thrive where she was.

If you would like to help support Darby’s journey here at Toni’s Ponies and the journey of her foal there are several ways to do so. This girl is going to need vet care coming up on top of her wellness exam. Donations can be made to Sound Equine of Poulsbo Washington 360.779.5557 on the Toni’s Ponies/Toni Houck account. Gift cards to Tractor Supply help us buy grain and specialty vitamins and supplements. You can also support Toni’s Ponies and the horses we rescue here by a one time or even monthly donation. Our partnership with Zeffy assures that we get 100% of all electronic funds donated to us and pay 0 transaction fees. Click here to become a sponsor.

Follow us on facebook for more photos of Darby and to keep updated on her journey!

Rescue day

9:00am: Today started out like any other day here at the rescue. We currently have fifteen horses, four mini horses, five donkeys, two lambs, a double handful of chickens, and a goat that need feeding. After morning chores, were done we talked about a horse that was in need of rescue. Toni had been sent the same flyer by multiple people online about an abandoned horse just a couple of towns over. She had been in communication with the people for the past couple of days trying to get the story and trying to see if we had the resources for this particular rescue.

12:19pm: Toni gets a call from her contact saying that the horse is now colicing, it’s off it’s food and laying down.

12:35pm: Andy gets the trailer ready and Toni, Andy and Deb jump in the car and pick me (Alex) up on the way out.

1:20: We pull up at our location and walk down to the house. We are greeted by a very distraught woman and a very emaciated horse. The owner explains that this horse was left at her property two years ago and her husband had been taking care of it. He had a stroke a while back and she did her best to care for an animal she knew really nothing about. When I tell you this was heart wrenching, I mean it. This woman was just beside herself with grief and guilt.

This is such a hard thing to see on so many fronts. This horse was in a bad way. It is hard to surrender an animal that you love. It’s hard to make the call to someone when you know the animal is hurting or in need. We never want that to stop people from calling and reaching out. Because we were called, this horse has a fighting chance.

1:55pm: We load this sweet girl in the trailer. Her name is Wendy and she’s on her way to Toni’s Ponies. It’s clear from the get go that she fancies Andy. He walks her down the road and she walks right into the trailer no problem.

2:43pm: We arrive back at the rescue and the peanut gallery (i.e.all the other horses) are lining up to see who is in the trailer. Wendy comes on out like a champ and we are able to spend some time brushing her out and untangling her mane. We get her fit for a blanket and give her some hay and water. Nothing seems to phase her. Tequila, at one point walks right under her… nothing. Her eyes are clear and she seems so happy to be receiving this pampering. She’s cleaned up as much as we can and then taken to the round pen where she’ll spend the night and get used to Jessie and Sugar over the fences. We feed the rest of the horses and throw hay. And that’s a wrap.

4:00pm: The sun is going down and everyone is ready to warm up. I head home across the field and it strikes me that days like this make me feel so many things. I’m so happy that there’s another horse that we can help. I’m sad about her condition. I can’t stop thinking about the woman we left sobbing as she watched us go. I’m worried the horse might not make it. I’m hopeful she will. Toni and Andy have been doing this for awhile and they really are amazing with the people we come into contact with as well as the horses. I feel so lucky to be able to witness days like today.

Don’t forget to follow us on facebook to keep up with all the horses here at Toni’s Ponies. We will be posting updates on Wendy and all of our other equine friends as well. Thank you for your continual support. If you would like to help support this new girl and her road to recovery please consider giving on our donation page which you can find here.

So many things!

So many things!

We’ve got so much going on at the rescue that this little blog post might jump all over a bit so bear with me!

Firstly we want to thank EVERYONE for making our Gala such a huge success. So many people made this possible, from volunteers to community partners. The thank you list is a long one and I’m going to attempt to get everyone on here but if I miss you please know that if you contributed in any way big or small to the gala we appreciate you more than you can possibly know!

This was such a fun evening and we loved seeing everyone decked out in their finest. The music was on point and the room looked fantastic! We had incredible silent auction items and we are excited to announce that we made $10,000 for Toni’s Ponies. This will help us through this winter so much!

At the end of this post please, please, please, take the time to look at our list of thank yous. These are the people in our community who have taken the time and the resources to help make this nonprofit what it is and we are incredibly humbled and so very grateful for their contribution!

Now onto what’s been going on in the last month since the gala! We have been battling the mud for one… only a couple of muddy knee casualties so far! During these winter months it’s pretty mucky here at the farm. We live for the summers and we work HARD in the winters pretty much to stay upright. If you plan on visiting and think you are coming to some pristine barn you might be a little disappointed. We work with what we have and we try to make everything as safe and comfortable as possible for our equine friends. This last week we were able to put stall mats in place that help cut down on mud, we change out shavings as often as we can afford and we make sure everyone’s eating spaces are clean and accessible. This also includes making sure water doesn’t freeze over and the hay stays dry! No visions of grandeur here but everyone is warm and safe!

On November 23 we finally got to meet our new mare in person! The passes had been to rough to get over and so it took a little longer for her to arrive. We are in LOVE. Sugar (because she’s so sweet) was picked up in the Walmart parking lot… you really can get anything there. This is not a sponsored ad… She had such a long journey to get to us but was just as sweet and chill as could be. She had quite the welcoming party that night and got brushed and blanketed and put in her new area. She was great with the people and the dogs that ran around and under her feet. Nothing seemed to phase her. This girl was exposed at the feedlot which means she could possibly be pregnant. We had the vet out on December 2 and found out she is NOT pregnant… which is probably for the best as the vet told us that she’s probably in her early 20’s. Other than being a little on the light side she looks great and we can’t wait to get to know her more. Just this last week she was moved into a new pasture with our long-time resident Jessie. We hope these two will get a long and become fast friends!

Now let’s talk about Hellno… You’ve probably seen the videos of our new furry friend. Hellno is a baby goat that needed a home. When Toni told Andy that she would be bringing this precious baby home I bet you can guess what he said… “Hell No!” But here we are chasing a three week goat between a couple of houses. Hellno… when at my house is called “Heckno” or by my toddler just “NoNo” He’s a lot of work but such an incredible little ball of joy. We’ve been sharing him a couple days at a time

between the two houses and everyone is in love… but also happy to see him go to the other house when the time comes! Eventually he will move outside when he doesn’t need to be bottle fed every few hours and when he wont freeze in this weather! He’ll join the sheep and maybe the growing donkey herd!

Now let's talk donkeys! This last week we brought three new donkeys to the rescue. Eeyore, Buddy, and Missy were owner surrenders and we are so very happy to have them. This last volunteer day we introduced them to Gin and Tonic and things went… as well as can be expected really. They weren’t fast friends or anything but given time we think we’ll have quite the little herd. These guys need a little TLC but they are as sweet as can be. Many of you have seen the feet on the little girl and we are excited to have Casey out this week to see what getting those under control look like. Vet will also be out this week and we’ll see if this little girl might be carrying a special surprise!

As this blog post winds down we have one more animal to introduce. Our newest addition is Bam Bam the Turkey! See I told you we were going to be all over the place. Galas, and horses, and goats, and donkeys, and a turkey oh my! Bam Bam lost his feather family to predators and so was rehomed to Toni's Ponies. He'll be joining the chickens soon but for now has parked himself right outside the window above the fire wood. He's friendly and really quite magnificent! Welcome to the family!

Ok last piece of business here! We just got in an order of Hoodies! These are super soft and warm and fit great! For those local these would make really great Christmas gifts! You can purchase online and pick up at the farm! We’ve got all the sizes and colors listed on our FB page and I’ll add those here as well. This round we have mostly larger sizes… Large – XXLarge. I will say, my husband tried all of them on and while he usually wears a large and the large fit him nicely the XL looked great on him too and even the XXL while a little roomy looked nice! So if you have any of those last minute people that you need to get gifts for or you are looking for yourself come and get them!

CLICK HERE FOR HOODIES!

Again thank you for all your support! We hope you and your family has great holiday season!

Below is a list of individuals and companies in our community that donated to our gala. A huge thank you to all of our volunteers who planned, decorated, served food, helped with publicity, and made this happen. We could not have done it without you and we can not wait to do it again next year!!!!

A&L Topsoil · Randy and Carla Bynum

Allison Gilman · Land Title

Amy Spray · Makerhaus

Annie Hermiston · Sweet Santosha Yoga

Antoinne and Tania Issa

B&B’s Bitch’n Fish

Blazing Bagels · Tara and Al Iredale

Boehms Chocolates Poulsbo

Breanne Martinez

Brit’s Delish Creations

Cari Trussel

Cannon Peters Photography

Christina Dupee

Clearwater Casino and Resort

D’vine Bistro

Dreambird Candles · Cathy Johnson

Evergreen Home Loans · John Endres

Grubhut

Harbor Hair Designs LLC Heavenly Soap · Patti Gibbons

Hood Canal Brewery · Caitlyn Hatchel

Jim and Kristi Lindsay

Kathy and Duke Burgeois

Kim and Rod McElroy

King Bridge Construction

Kingston Ale House

Kingston Filling Station

Kingston Lumber Holistic Nutrition Naturally · Dr. Kasia Kines

Kitsap Detail

Kitty Dumford Kristen Chandler · Grundens

Marine View Hair Studio

Mescha Manietta

Miles Sand and Gravel

Minder Meats · Sam Swanson

New Leaf Pho

Nicole Peters

Nothing Bunt Cakes

Samantha Miller

San Juan Cruises

SeaWolfe · Shawn Humphries

Sound Bobcat

Stacy Patrick · Lucky Star

Sully’s Bistro and Bar

Sweet life cakery

The Women’s Club of Seabeck

Thistle Floral and Home · Shannon Costillo

Tickled Pink · Anastasia Carlson

Todd and Asha Sanders

Tonya Miller

Town and Country Market

Ulins Concrete Pumping

Valley Supply

Wendy Shipp

West Sound Wildlife · Lisa Horn

Winky Lux