NEWS UPDATES     

We can now accept donations through our Facebook page!

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We want to welcome Cassie Rosolowski on board as one of our trainers!  She is working with two of our rescue horses, Kinji and Melodi! About Cassie:

Cassie has been training and riding horses for over 10 years. She has worked with and trained rescue horses that were then used in hippotherapy.  She has a passion for horses and children. She loves to ride and to teach children to ride. Currently, she is a lifeguard, and teaches swim lessons.  She graduated High School in May 2009. Her boyfriend is a Indian River Deputy Sheriff. She is going to school to get her BA in Nursing. 

Welcome aboard, Cassie!

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Our Easter event was amazing! Thank you to all our dedicated volunteers and Sponsors for making this event possible! Be sure to check back for pictures of all the smiles and fun that was had by all! 

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We welcome Kim Jacobs as our new Marketing Director!

Welcome aboard Kim and thanks for all you do! 

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~To: All SOUTHERN STATES

Horse Feed Purchasers:

Our horse rescue collects the Proofs of Purchases off the Southern States feedbags – Triple Crown, Legends, and Reliance feeds – and sends them in for reimbursement for Southern States' *S.H.O.W. Program.  If you purchase these feeds and do not use the Proofs   of Purchases, please consider saving the bags for us     or cutting out the Proofs of Purchases coupons for us to send into Southern States! www.SouthernStates.com

Please contact us at 321.638.4514 if you would like us to pick up any bags you have or mail the coupons to us at: G.E.R.T.H., P.O. Box 236121, Cocoa, Florida 32923 or contact us via e-mail at gracerescue@bellsouth.net. Thanks so much for your help and support!

*Special Horse Organization Winner’s Program

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Donations are welcome and greatly appreciated for any of our rescue/therapy animals! 

We have 6 rescue/therapy horses, 2 rescue dogs and 4 rescue cats! Once these animals have been rescued, there is a lot financially that goes into the care and treatment of them for coggins, hooves, dental, shots, spay/neuter, and of course, food!  Thank you for your care, concern and help in providing for God's beautiful animals! No donation is too small ~ every bit helps! 

NEW ADDITION TO THE G.E.R.T.H. FAMILY! 

 Ok, so we are not a dog rescue, but we've gotten another rescue dog, a cocker spaniel, Sammy.  We tried to refer him out to several local dog rescues, but no one could take him in.  So, he is the newest member of the G.E.R.T.H. family. Welcome, Sammy! Sammy came to us totally infested with fleas and earmites; very, very skinny; had a wound on his head; fatty cysts on his body; rubbing his bottom on the ground; totally overgrown and not neutered. We are in the process of getting him all fixed up caring for him physically and emotionally. He definitely is thankful! He is such a loving dog and gets along great with all our horses, cats and other rescue dog, Toby. Ok, so Toby is just a little jealous, but this too shall pass!  

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported our garage sale or made a donation to help support our horses! We greatly appreciate you and so do the horses! Thanks very much to Laura Pearsall for letting us use her home! If you are interested in sponsoring a horse, please see the sponsorship page!  Blessings! 

  Important News Update!

Governor Crist to sign children's horse riding helmet bill.

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090608/ARTICLES/906089952/1105/NEWS

The Associated Press ~ Published: Monday, June 8, 2009 at 9:38 a.m.

Florida 's governor is scheduled to sign a bill requiring children under 16 to wear a helmet while riding a horse on public roads, lands or trails. The bill signing is scheduled Monday for a park in Loxahatchee. It's nicknamed "Nicole's Law" named for Nicole Hornstein, a 12-year-old Palm Beach County girl who died in 2006 after being thrown from a horse she was riding. She was not wearing a helmet. Hornstein's family has tried since 2007 to get similar legislation passed. Under the bill (HB 169), any person who allowed a child to ride a horse without a helmet would be fined $500. Some Florida cities already have laws that require minors to wear helmets when riding, but the bill would make helmets mandatory around the state  

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We have teamed up with Open Arms 4 Brevard to offer horsey birthday parties to children of families in need.  If you know someone who cannot afford a birthday cake for their child's birthday, please go to www.openarms4brevard.org or contact Millie @ 321.422.4282 or Linnea @ 321.638.4514. Together we can bring our community together!

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Check out the new Horse Rescue Network of Florida website and if you know of any other horse rescues who should be on there, please send the link over to them! www.horserescueoffl.webs.com  

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*VOLUNTEER DAY!*  Thank you to all the volunteers who came out and helped!  Thanks also to Bizzaro's Pizza for supplying their delicious pizza for lunch and Wal-Mart for the drinks that kept us hydrated!   ***

Our newest beautiful girl, Melodi   

 Melodi is a 14 hand Chestnut quarterhorse mare. She has not been eating anything but coastal hay for quite some time, has been standing knee high in mud and is afraid of everyone and everything. She will need a lot of love, patience and soft, slow, gentle touch to help her overcome her fears and learn to trust again. We welcome you to G.E.R.T.H. Melodi with much love!  Melodi is a very flighty and frightened little girl.  She rears back and throws her head up if you try to pet her head or her upper neck. Because Melodi's mane was so tangled and intertwined, we cut it to about 1 inch.  We tried everything from baby oil to cowboy magic and even cowboy magic couldn't get it detangled!  Then we waited a few days and put her back on the cross-ties (she does really well standing still when she has some food in her feed bucket!) and went to work on her tail. Her tail was one HUGE knotted mass! We had to cut through the knot which was a lot of work! Look at the pics below. We tried to leave some long strands of tail so she can use them to swat flies until the rest of her tail grows back. When it does, she will have an amazingly beautiful thick tail - no fake tail for this girl! We also bathed her and she did really well with the water.  Then we put a pretty blue halter on her and voila - she looks and feels awesome! We continue to brush and stroke her around the head and neck and talk to her while she is eating and she has come a long way.  She loves Alex!  When she sees Alex coming down to the pasture, she whinnies to him!  It is so cute! Unfortunately, Melodi does not get along with any of the other horses on the ranch.  Ok over the fences, but her alphamare instincts go into overdrive when put in with other horses.  I think part of that is the food issue.  She doesn't want any other horses coming near her food!  She has put on some weight and is looking much better!  She was eating a special food mixture of Senior Wellness, alfalfa pellets and bran mash, and coastal hay with handfuls of timothy alfalfa mixed. Now she is on regular Legends 11 feed with the same amount of coastal and timothy/alfalfa mixed.  We are so proud of her and the strides that she has made in trusting us.  As Alex said, "God, we are trusting you that she will trust us".