Tuesday, May 13th... The little mailbox at the top of my screen is closed. All letters, even those which came last night, have been answered. If you have recently sent us an e-mail and did not receive a reply, please resend. Or you can just call me at 530-383-2120.

There were hundreds of letters for Alissa, the girl in San Francisco who wants an end to horse racing. I hit Forward for those letters, and Alissa is answering you. Alissa writes to say she never expected this kind of response. She has a game plan. The beginning stages, and Alissa knows it will be a long and expensive journey. Compiling stats and videos and pictures. A local politician has joined her team. Same with several veternarians.

I so much appreciate your e-mails. Letters from all over the world, proving how horses are loved and admired. It is your letters which give us fuel. I see starving horses at feed lots, and broken down horses from race tracks. Imagine what it feels like to know this is not the way it really is. Happy and healthy horses are the majority. I go to shows. Visit other barns. Love for horses reaches to the top of every shelf. The way it can be is the way it almost is.

Mikka is 14, and she lives in Vacaville, California. Noelle is 18, and she lives in Citrus Heights. Mikka and Noelle met in our driveway. Mikka has lived off and on in a youth shelter. Not an easy childhood for Mikka. Once a week Noelle drives Mikka to a riding lesson in Davis. She takes Mikka to schooling shows, and has taught her basic horsemanship.

Mikka has gone from shy and quiet to confident and silly. Her grades have improved. And Mikka has started taking an active part in the life of her little sister. I have permission from Mikka to share with you this part of her e-mail: It is like one day I went to sleep and if I wake up okay and if I stay asleep that is even better. I was so depressed Joe. Noelle got me a cell phone and told me to call if I needed her. In the beginning I was calling her 20 times a day. Now I only call once or twice cause I am so busy. I clean those stalls after school and I am responsible for bringing the horses inside and measuring their grain. I love being at the barn. Everybody is beyond nice to me. I still have problems at home, but Noelle has taught me to think like a horse. Walk away and wait for better moods. No confrontations. I told everybody at group how horses change courses. My counselor says I only have to go to group twice a month now. I am so grateful to horses and to Noelle. I think about where I was before. God was watching out for me and my sister.

Enjoy your 84 degree Tuesday, and be sure to hug your horses. A heat wave is coming.

Joe

Soon there will be a new link on this website. Past Adoptions.

In 2006 we found new homes for 356 horses. Here are 2 of them:

Top Left: The pretty filly High Tops goes home with Rachel.

Top Right: Chris and Cadillac have been making major noise at all the shows.

Horses who live elsewhere, and they need a new home. These horses are free, and I will do the screening. Give me a call if you are interested.

Bottom Left: He is 18 months and knows very little. A t-post tore off part of his right side, but he is healing. This guy is located near Oroville, California.

Bottom Right: A 14 year old thoroughbred gelding living in Elko, Nevada. The owner will deliver.
    Located in Northern California, TB Friends is dedicated to the rescue and placement of horses that have been abandoned or neglected. Usually these horses arrive from the race track. The horses obtained by TB Friends are often saved from the brutal trip to rendering facilities in Texas.


    When possible TB Friends takes care to select horses well suited to make the transformation to riding mount or show horse. Our proximity to the bay area race tracks, along with the throwaway nature of the racing industry, unfortunately results in a situation where there are many horses in need of rescue, and therefore many horses from which to choose.


    At TB Friends we manage to rescue about two hundred horses every year. When we place a horse there is no charge for the care that we provide them here at Shelton Farms. We only ask for the cost of a horse's rescue and transportation to the farm. For most horses this amounts to less than $1000 dollars.

    Sadly, we can not save them all. We are limited by the number of horses that we can care for at any one time. However, as we find homes for the horses we have rescued, we replace them by rescuing others. For this reason we ask you to consider purchasing a horse from our farm. Not only are you likely to obtain a beautiful animal, but you will also help us to save more horses.
You can call me on my cell at 530-383-2120. If I do not answer it means I am probably busy with a horse. Or on the couch with a rerun of Malcolm In The Middle. Just leave a message and I will call you back soon.