ARMARGOS

News / Events 2012

January 2012

Well a new year in upon us ..... the best part about this time of year for me is the knowledge that we shall soon see the return of the brighter evenings & mornings, the bursting forth of Spring and the return to grass growth :)

The current headcount at Armargos is 16 equines & 1 donkey .... needless to say this is having a dramatic effect on the longevity of the hay in the barn ... a rough guess by looking at what is left would suggest the bales will be gone by the end of February at the latest - lovely thought ..... NOT :(  Anyway trying to stay in a more positive thinking frame of mind this year so not going to dwell on it right now .....

Lots of upgrade/improvement plans for the year ahead spinning around inside my mind .... a girl is entitled to dream is she not :) :)  I guess time will unveil whether any of these dreams become a reality as the year goes on .....  Armargos is only a very small fish in the ocean compared to some of the other rescues around the country and I feel no shame in admitting that there are times I get annoyed/saddened at the lack of response achieved to some of the fundraising efforts I have tried ... many times I have found myself wondering ‘what am I doing wrong’ and whereby I do not know why some of these efforts have not worked as was hoped I have to thank those of you whom have supported the Sanctuary both financially and/or spiritually.  Lacking a crystal ball I shall muddle along for now in anticipation of the fundraising idea to beat all other ideas arriving in my mind :)

For now I guess I had better put back on my wellies and get back outdoors to tend to the “All Creatures Great & Small” :)

Oh almost forgot .....

The Winners Of The Winter Prize Draw Were As Follows:

1st - Eimear Comerford, Doonbeg (sold by Joanne Hanrahan) 7” €� Android Tablet

2nd - Mary Keating, Kilnaboy (sold by Rochfords Pharmacy, Corofin) Limited Edition Framed Wildlife Print

3rd - Joe Barrett, Kilnamona (sold by Anita Greene) Place on Canine First Responder Course by Bev Truss

4th - Peter Cronin, Ennis (sold by Mia Cronin)  Meal for 2 at Vaughan Lodge Hotel

5th - Hazel Lawrence, Caher (sold by herself!!) Voucher for Hamptons Grill, Limerick

6th - Finbar Anderson, Dublin (sold by Miriam Anderson) Voucher for Swiss Flower Shop, Ennis

7th - Antjie Henn (sold by herself!!) Voucher for Curvy Fillies

8th - Tom Connell, Cree (sold by Louise Mitchell) Voucher for McGraths Saddlery

Congratulations to all the winners :)

Big thanks to those who donated the prizes, sold the lines and those who bought the lines too :) :)

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News / Events  2011

November - December 2011

The 19th of November saw a new arrival for Armargos - Misty was found dumped in Dromore Woods.

She is a pretty grey 12h pony, possibly connemara type, the first thing she needed upon arrival was treatment for her lice but that is no surprise at this time.  Other than that she needed a worm treatment and will be on increased feeds for a while as she is underweight (& possibly in foal).  She will need to have her hooves done soon too as her her toes are long. (photos & update on Misty’s progress soon)

Thanks must go to Mother Nature for the lovely mild start to the winter - definitely the first year the feeding of hay did not have to commence until nearly the end of November :)  I wonder does she intend turning down the strength of the wind and/or amount of rain anytime soon ??

December saw another arrival to the Sanctuary - a donkey this time for a change :)

Ozzy, as he has been christened, is approx 3yrs old and sadly for him he is still a stallion so will have to be kept away from the herd until the weather is right for gelding him.

He has not had a lot of handling so work will be done on that to keep him ‘amused’ for the time being ;)

Again this Christmas the gang got a present of two huge bags of carrots from Dee Cronin & her family ... thanks guys :) :)

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August - October 2011

Apologies for the lack of updates over the past few months but between internet connection issues and the care involved with the animals the weeks seemed to run away on us!

A few have left us for their new lives and others have arrived.  The last week of October saw the arrival of the 500 square bales of hay we ordered from Cork which we hope will see the gang through the winter.  A loan of €1,700 had to be secured in order to make this purchase so more fundraising ideas will have to be toyed with in order to clear this debt ........

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4-7-11 “Orphan Annie”

Well the draw took place today in our Name The Foal Competition and so ‘No-Name’ has now been christened Annie :o)  Congratulations to Pat Laycock in Yorkshire, UK who made the winning name suggestion.

Annie herself is growing bigger and cheekier all the time ... during the past week she decided she was a ‘big girl’ and weaned herself off the teat & onto the bucket, I only discovered she had done it when I heard a slurping noise and quietly went over to see what she was doing ...

Oh yes I shall have my work cut out with this clever young lassie ;o)

As with everything in life though it is not all good news as unfortunately it is looking like she will need to have her umbilical hernia operated on sooner rather than later - we will know next week what the vets decision is ...

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27-06-11  Farewell To Our “Page 3 Girl”

At approximately 6.30pm this evening we watched as the horsebox left our yard with Shadow, our ‘Page 3 Girl’ onboard.  She has gone to live with a mare in Crusheen, Co Clare after she recently lost her companion.

Shadows new owners seemed over the moon with her from the minute they saw her and it is nice to know that she is close by should we ever wish to visit her or just say hello if we are passing her way :o)

Best of luck in your new life Shadow

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05-06-11 “I  NEED  A  NAME”  COMPETITION

         About Me

Name: I don’t have one ;o(

DOB:  28^th May 2011

Sex:  Filly

My Mam: 16h Cob (died having me)

My Dad: 15’2 Cob

Saturday morning, the 28^th of May, a phone call came into Sheena of Armargos, a mare had died after giving birth to a foal during the night and the mare’s owner asked if she would take the foal as he was unable to rear it himself.  Despite how costly and time consuming rearing a foal is Sheena said yes .... Now to help defray the cost of rearing this precious girl, we are giving you the opportunity to give her a name.

Entry Fee

We suggest a minimum donation of €5; although any amount no matter how small will be gratefully received.

Rules

You can enter the competition as many times as you like.

Only one name suggestion per entry.

In the event of more than one name being added per entry, only the first name will be accepted.

Prize

If your name is chosen you will receive a framed photograph, a personalised certificate and a hand crafted gift from Rocky’s Barn.

 You can enter in two ways -

By post

Please send your name suggestion & contact details to the following address:

Or

By Paypal  

Don’t forget to write your contact details & name suggestion in the comment box on Paypal. NB You do not need to be registered on Paypal to send money.

If our Paypal link does not open correctly for you then just go to http://www.paypal.com and click on the “Send Money” tab where you can enter sheena@armargos.com as the email address to send the payment to

Closing date for entries

All entries must be received by Thursday 30th June 2011 and the winner will be announced on Monday 4^th July.

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28-5-11  A New Arrival

We got a call early this morning about a foal that had been born during the night whose mother had sadly died from a possible heart attack afterwards.  The owner had make numerous calls trying to find a foster mare but to no avail so he contacted us to ask if we would take the foal from him.

Being hard hearted is not high up in our list of attributes nor did the fact that we are financially stressed come to the fore of our minds and so an hour later a horsebox containing a pretty filly foal duly arrived.  We had already sourced colostrum at our vets (Ballyhugh Veterinary Clinic, Gort) but despite having made several phone calls we still had not found anyone who had mares replacer formula in stock which was causing stress levels to rise!  Surprisingly, a light bulb went off in the middle of trying to get everything ready for the new arrival and a text message was sent to Louise, a horse-loving friend in Quilty, telling her about needing to track down formula and within the hour she rang to say there was some in stock at the Kerry Agri store in Ennis but that they would be closing at 1pm .... We just had enough time to settle in the foal and give her some colostrum before the dash to Ennis - getting to the door of the shop at 12.50pm .. a very close call that was followed by a lovely feeling of relief as the bag of formula was put into the boot  :o)

Keep all fingers, toes, etc crossed that everything goes a lot more smoothly for her from here on ..

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26-5-11  The Gelding Transformation

Yes, today was a big day for the colts at Armargos and thankfully it went well with no problems, despite Ringo’s efforts to hold on to his crown jewels  ;o)  I am sure all the female equines here breathed a deep sigh of relief to see ‘the job’ on each of the boys was successful and needless to say Nanny May stood guard overseeing that no harm was being done to any of ‘her children’.  No doubt she was a little confused about what was happening as we also had Sky & Shadow in so the vet could microchip and mark them up for their passports - she was probably wondering what the vet intended snipping from them ;o)

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25-5-11  April Leaves Us

Today saw April leaving us to start her journey towards her new life :o)

On the left is her when she first arrived to us and on the right is how she looks now

We are sure you will join with us to wish her the very best for the future :)

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21-5-11  HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY RINGO

Our 2nd colt this year to officially reach the ‘yearling’ age is Ringo (named after Ringo Star as from the very first time we saw him running around the field we felt he was a star in the making).

At the moment it definitely looks like Ringo will pass his mum’s height of 14h, possibly before he even reaches his 2nd birthday.  With April (Ringo’s mam) having arrived in foal we have no idea what size or type daddy was but it is fairly safe to say he was coloured and taller than 14’2  ;o)

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19-5-11  HAPPY  FIRST  BIRTHDAY  ROCKY

Please all join with us to say happy birthday to Rocky who turns 1yr old at 2pm today ... It feels like only a month or two since we were answering his every beckoned call for milk ;o)

(For those who don’t know Rocky’s story scroll down this page to April 2010 news and you can read all about it)

We wanted to give him some responsibility now that he has reached his age of transformation from colt to gelding but obviously it would have to be something not too taxing on him as he still needs his playtime so we have put him in charge of our new website shop ;o)

Don’t delay go check out ‘Rocky’s Barn’ today

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5-5-11  Time For Young Boys To Loose Their ‘Toys’

Well the time has come for Rocky & Ringo to have a visit from the vet in order for them to be transformed from colts to geldings ...

Hobo had his ‘transformation’ last Friday and thankfully had a quick recovery afterwards so we are hoping that Rocky & Ringo will do likewise so that they will be able to return to running and playing with their friends as soon as possible.

As always we would be very grateful of any donations towards the cost of gelding the 3 boys whether sent to us (via post / paypal / bank transfer) or directly to our vets, Ballyhugh Veterinary Clinic

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15-4-11  Our Irish Daily Mail “Page 3 Girl”

We were recently approached by a reporter from the Irish Daily Mail to assist them in their quest to run a feature on the plight of equines in Ireland since the arrival of the recession.

This is Shadow, a pretty Welsh type yearling, whom they bought for €50.00 in West Clare .... prior to the recession a pony of her type would not have been bought for ten times that amount ...

Since her arrival to us she has really come out of her nervous little shell and is now firmly a respected member of the herd thanks to her adamant nature :)

Shadow has discovered that humans are not all that bad and that a grooming brush is nothing more than a tool for adding to relaxation ... yes we have turned her into another ‘butt scratch’ addict ;o)

Once we have more handling work done with her she will be available for adoption to a home with one or more other equines for company & play purposes.

The Daily Mail are very kindly sponsoring her medical & feed expenses until she is rehomed.

20-3-11  Use Of Premises Sought For Fundraising Event

Do you or anyone you know have a premises, equestrian centre, dog training/agility facility, etc that they

would allow to be used for a fundraising event on behalf of Armargos and/or Clare Animal Welfare ??

If so please email sheena@armargos.com or sheena@clareanimalwelfare.net

We will also be looking for volunteers to help us organise and run the fundraising event so if there is

any particular thing you would like to suggest, etc feel free to contact Sheena too as “the more the merrier” :)

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18-3-11  We Are Still In Need Of Hay

We have sourced square bales of hay for €3.00ea, any help you can give would be great as it is looking like sufficient grass growth in the fields is at least another month away OR perhaps you would prefer to give us some bales if you or someone you know has hay to spare please keep our gang in mind.

Maybe the next time you are out socialising with your friends you might all

think about foregoing one drink each and send the money to us instead -

you might even thank us for that one drink less the following morning ;o))

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7-1-11  First Arrival Of The New Year

Got a call this morning to say a foal was lying in the middle of a road and when I asked the caller where I was shocked to hear that it was not even a mile from me so I jumped into the car to go check it out and sure enough I found a thin, dung matted foal :o(

After asking around no one knew anything about her and so with the help of neighbours she was brought home with me.  Going by her teeth she is only around 6-7mths old and it is quite obvious that she is not use to being handled.  On checking under some of the matts of dung in her coat I discovered she was very heavily infested with lice.  Some food was prepared for her with a tonic and she was treated for the lice before leaving her to settle into the stable.

Tomorrow she will be started on panacur for her obvious worm infestation and hopefully with time, nutrition and lots of TLC it will not be long before she is feeling happier and healthier.

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News / Events  2010

15-11-10 - Foster Homes Sought

We are currently looking for foster homes that could over-winter some of our female equines.

Four of them have no foals and then there are two with colt foals at foot.

We will provide any ration & supplements required and would be very grateful if you could provide the

hay/haylage.  We would also cover any veterinary costs should they arise.

They are all microchipped and wormed up to date.

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5th October 2010 - Izzy Update

Some of you may remember Izzy who was found tied to a farmers gate with a  severe wound on her left hind leg on the 9th of May last ... well we took a photo of the injured leg the other day and think you will agree that her recovery was very successful :) Here is a photo of how the wound was when she first arrived and then one showing how it looked last weekend.

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29th September 2010 - Unexpected Arrivals

We got a call today to assist with 2 equines in an emaciated state who were in the process of being seized and so the horsebox was hitched up  and off we went.... When we got there all that was left to do was load them up as the guards, vets, etc had completed the legal work for the inspector to have them removed and so with no hesitation at all they walked up the ramp for the commencement of the journey to our own vet for full medical assessments and treatment, etc.

Upon examination they were both found to be suffering with well established pneumonia and worm & lice infestations, severe rain scald/mud rash along with being totally emaciated.  The vet gave us antibiotics, decongestants, etc and off we set again to make them comfortable and commence what will hopefully be a full recovery for them both.  Please keep your fingers crossed as it will be a long slow road ahead for them.

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27th September 2010 - Some Recent Farewells

Over the past few weeks we have said farewell to four of our gang - Kelly, Bobby, Rasta & Wispa.

It is always sad to say goodbye but at the same time great to see them heading off to new homes where they will hopefully be very happy and loved.  Of course it also frees up space to give our fields a much deserved rest before the onslaught of winter 2010/2011 ..........

With Anna, Bree and Colter still available we hope our recent rehoming pattern continues.

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3rd August 2010 - “Brothers Are Doing It For Themselves”

Rocky has been getting ‘bigger & bolder’ over the past few weeks and so it was decided to seek  out a companion for him who would join in with his fun ........

As luck would have it we knew that an older brother of Rocky’s (same Daddy), Hobo, who was in the care of the ISPCA had been recently weaned from his mother due to her being due to foal again soon and so we were delighted when we got the ‘thumbs-up’ from them for him to come here to join Rocky :o)

Here is a photo of the two boys together at lunchtime two days after Hobo arrived.

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10/7/10 - Courting The Horse Is Going Living In The Field

The Project

On  the 27th of July Maria Wood of Courting the Horse will be kicking off her “Living in the Field” project which means that she will actually be living with Hazel and Pollyanne for four full days

She will be, as much as possible, fitting into their way of living in order to see what it is like to live according to another species routines.

It is  generally the case that horses are expected to adapt to our way of life and Maria wonders how many of us realise how difficult that is for  them Maria will be staying out for four full days with only two 15 minute breaks for essential ‘maintenance’ per day.

She will see what it is like to walk around with them all day, sleeping when they do and sheltering where they shelter.  She hopes that she will learn a lot about their lifestyle, their habits and their needs by being able to observe them for such a long uninterrupted period.  She hopes that there will also be the opportunity to connect on a deeper level to them both and to bring her new awareness into all that she does in the future with Hazel and Pollyanne.

How you Can Support Maria

Maria needs support to motivate her to stay out in the field for the full four days.  She feels that if people show their support and if she can help other equines in need she will remove the temptation to give up when the going gets tough.  If you would like to support Maria in her efforts please choose one of the following methods.

There will be something that everyone can do no matter where or who you are.

Donate In order to motivate her to stay out once she has started Maria has decided to fundraise for several equine rescues details of these will be announced soon.  She feels that it would be otherwise too easy to give up when she gets tired. So this is a vital part of the overall effort.  Also there are a lot of equines in Ireland who need your help.

To make a donation to Maria’s Living In The Field€� or to learn more about

Maria & Courting The Horse check out her very interesting website.

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8/7/10 - Site Updates

Our orphan has been christened Rocky.

To learn all about his life so far and/or to find out about

his ‘guardian angel’ and/or to find out how Izzy’s leg

injury is doing, etc keep checking out our site and/or

our Facebook Page

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21/5/10 - Sometimes Your Best Is Not Enough ..

The past few days here have been a time of great sadness, exhaustion, soul  searching and even a moment which should have been happy & joyful was overcast with worry, doubt, fear and pain ........

Estimated to be around 19yrs old, Faith, who was full of love, trust and gentleness despite the cruelty and neglect she had suffered prior to her arrival here on the 27th of April full of lice, worms, infected rain scald and completely emaciated we knew it was not going to be easy to help her recover but we had to at least try.

The day of great sadness soon arrived despite us doing everything we possibly could .... it was just too late for Faith and Mother Nature called her home to the endless fields of green last Sunday morning, the 16th of May;o( On Tuesday the 18th, Polly, the 5-6yr old mare that had arrived with Faith, was missing from her field and we presumed that the loss of her friend led her to wander off whilst no one was watching. When we found her she was lying down in a wooded area and upon investigation it was noted that she had a flesh wound on her leg and side and appeared to be unable to get up.  A call was made and soon two kind males arrived to help with getting Polly back on her feet ... it was soon discovered though that we were not going to succeed and the vet was called.  Whilst awaiting the vet’s arrival we found ourselves witnessing and assisting with the ‘arrival of new life’ .. Polly gave birth to a handsome colt .. clearly unable to assist her foal it was up to us to step in and help her carry out her role

.

The vet duly arrived and was quick to administer the necessary injections to Polly and confirm that her inability to rise was not due to her wounds nor were any sprains or breaks evident and that it was put down to sheer exhaustion, long-term malnutrition and that it was clear that she had given all the benefits of the food we were feeding her to her foal since her arrival and she appeared to have kept nothing in reserve for herself.

After getting the colt down beside his mum to see if we could get him to suckle some essential colostrum from her we left them alone to give them some time alone and see if she would manage to rise by herself now that she was obviously carrying even less weight.

Despite the medication administered by the vet and follow-up medication which was prescribed for her, high nutrition feed & fluids, the fact that she weighed less, turning her every few hours, massaging her, providing supplementary feeds for her foal and lots of rest, etc we were devastated to discover that sometime between 3.30am & 7am on Thursday (20th) Polly left our world to join Faith at the Rainbow Bridge ;o((

So the original ‘fight’ to help two mares regain their health and learn that not all humans are the same has turned into hopefully rearing a strong healthy foal ... certainly not what anyone expected and definitely not the outcome anyone wanted but it is the hand we have been dealt and we must now strive to do the best we can with the little orphan that Polly has entrusted to us.

To Two Angels Who Deserved So Much More

It was a busy day when you came to stay

Just a quick look at your bodies told us your tale

The lice, the scald, the bones, the gums so pale

Life to you both had been so unkind

No care you were shown, no ones heart in yours entwined

For over two weeks our best efforts we gave

Nothing was deemed too much in trying to save

Two special girls such as you

The love and nourishment we showered was not enough

The battle to live became for you too tough

First to bid farewell was sweet old Faith

The patience she showed each time her back we did bathe

It was an ease to us to see the peace with which she went

Clearly as she slept her body decided her life was spent

With Polly still here give up we could not

In foal we knew she was but not that she was ready to pick her spot

Her body was not given sufficient time to get strong

Without a thought for herself her son she brought along

We tried all we could to keep her with us, specially as she was now a Mum

But just as with Faith the damage was long done and too soon her end did come

With broken hearts and tired souls we say goodbye

To raise an orphan now we must try

We light a candle for you both to guide your way

Your hearts’ in ours entwined to stay

RIP Faith 1991 to 16-5-10

& Polly 2004 to 20-5-10

Run Fast & Free And Eat Plenty At The Rainbow Bridge

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9-5-10  Information Appeal

Do You Know This Mare ???

We are actively seeking information on the above mare who was dumped on a farmers land in the Liscannor area between the 4th/5th of May last.  If you know who her owner is or have seen her grazing or ridden around the County recently you can either contact Sheena on 0871315904/0868587142

or the guards in Ennistymon on 0657071020 as we intend pursuing a cruelty & neglect case due to the following untreated extensive injury to her left rear leg which you can see is very obviously completely infected.

It is not yet known whether this mare will be ‘saveable’ due to the severity of the above injury and the delay in her receiving appropriate essential medical care. 

Any donations towards the costs of her medical care would be very welcome.

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February - April 2010

After what will be referred to for generations as ‘the worst Winter’ in decades we have gotten lots of new arrivals between February and April.  Some obviously worse than others and some that we cannot give details on due to investigative processes.

December 2009 - January 2010

Well I’m sure it will be of no surprise to many of you that this prolonged ‘Big Freeze’ we are experiencing is having a large affect on the amount of work we have to do daily in order to ensure that all the animals here have sufficient food and water .....  All the equines, 14 in total, are getting extra hay and ration at the moment so if you feel you would like to sponsor any of them then please just contact us and we will gladly discuss the various methods you can do so by.

Needless to say we have also been getting an increased number of calls from members of the public whom are concerned about the welfare of animals  they have seen.  Unfortunately we have not been mobile to check any of  these yet due to the dangerous road conditions both where we are and where the animals are located.  Please be patient as we have not forgotten and we will get to each and every one of the locations as soon as we can do so safely.