Pissing My Pants With Excitement!

Ok, people, the title might be a bit crude and I apologize if it offends anyone, but seriously, I really might pee myself! I just got back from talking with the intern coordinator at UC Davis' Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital and found out I'm going to be their newest equine vet tech intern!!! And because I have so much horse experience, I get to work in the ICU and Surgery units!!! AAAAHHHHHH SO EXCITED!!!

Phew! Ok, now we can move on to the Wild Horse Sanctuary that I visited this past weekend. I know you all are dying to see horsey pictures and, trust me, I've got tons!

Sunday morning, my friend Melissa picked me up from my house with her friend Erin and Erin's boyfriend, Jay.

I brought waaaay too much for a 24 hr trip, but you never know when you'll need your Carhartt jacket!

We drove all the way from Sacramento to Shingletown, CA, which is about 45 mins southeast of Redding. It was a long drive, but worth it. The preserve is kind of out in the middle of nowhere.

A field of yearlings and a donkey greeted us.

We met with the owners and Melissa and Erin caught up with them. They had interned at the sanctuary in 2005 and have consistently come back to visit. Melissa invited me this time so that during the summer and fall, we could come back and help out. We went for a walk around the property since there wasn't much for us to do once we got there.

Mustangs near the buildings

The riding horses

This buckskin had the coolest iridescent eyes!

Me and Yohanka (aka Yolanda) the burro. I want to keep her forever and ever!

Burro herd with baby!

While we were walking around, it started raining on us, which began the never-ending downpour for the rest of our trip.

This mustang had an itch

It's perfectly normal for wild mustangs to sleep on straw...riiiiiight...

Melissa and Erin remembered that there was a horse burial area with a bunch of skeletons and so we went on a wild goose hunt to find them. Except we never did. We did find a creek, though.

When we got back from our trek, we went into the main house and talked to Ted, one of the owners of the sanctuary. He took us on a tour of the the property, which included the rabbit hutch.

Baby bunny!

Behind the house, they have a pond, which would be the perfect place for a country wedding.

Ted and Dianne offered us dinner so we ate with them and sat and talked for a while. We eventually went back to the intern house, where we played a card game I had never heard of, 9 Square. It was pretty fun and Melissa and Erin got to grill the interns about what had been going on since they had last been there.

The next morning, we all got up and had one of the worst breakfasts ever. Mine consisted of an apple, PB from the jar, and 5 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Super healthy, I know. We were supposed to help feed the mustangs but the vet had come out since one old mustang wasn't doing well and needed to be put down. Eventually, we got to go out and feed. It was really "fun" feeding in the rain...with hay...blowing all over you. Awesome. But we did get to ride on top of the hay on the front of the tractor, so that was fun!

Melissa getting a bale of hay ready for the riding horses

Feeding one of the mustang stallions, while being lifted at least 10 feet above his pen! Yikes!

When we were done feeding, we watched the interns separate a gelding (castrated boy horse) from a group of mares (female horses). He was a beauty and I was in love!

I'm always a sucker for the big blazes (white facial stripe)!

One of the guys needed to put a halter on a separated mare and put her in with the other mares so that the next day they could all get ovarectomies (get their ovaries removed). This is important in controlling herd size. Melissa looked like the previous handler of the mare, so she got to go in and calm the mare down so the halter could be put on.

She loved working in the only muddy pen. A little straw please?!

After that was all done, we contemplated going for a ride, but the rain kept coming and none of us really wanted to ride in the rain, except Jay since he's not a horse person. Trust me, there's just about nothing worse than being out in the the pouring rain, getting sopping wet while riding. It sucks! So we decided to pack up and leave, since it was already getting late in the day.

Two of the intern house kittens. Adorable!

Before we left, we watched a mare and foal (baby horse) out in the field nursing and playing. It made me miss working in Kentucky with the foals in my barn!

After a long drive, lots of licorice eaten, and 2 phone Scrabble games played, we returned to Sacramento. It was a ton of fun, even with the rain, and I can't wait to go again and really see the mustangs :)

How was your weekend? Have you ever worked with or ridden horses?