October 27, 2011
VOL. 125, ISSUE 40
50¢
Ramona Sentinel
1
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2011
Inside
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For the Holidays
Struggling to feed growing numbers of horses This is the third in a series about challenges facing the agriculture and equine communities. By KAREN BRAINARD
Wine awards Ramona Valley wines receive high marks and accolades from judges at the annual Lum Eisenman competition....................5
Index Business News.............7 Editorial.......................8 Worship Directory.....10 Our Town..................16 Sports........................24 Classifieds.................27 Obituaries.................39
Many horse rescue operations, known as shelters for horses that are neglected, abused or needing a new home, are finding themselves begging for help to feed their growing population. “We’re full to the brim,” said Nancy Nunke of Hearts and Hands Rescue at Spots ‘N Stripes Ranch in Ramona. With approximately 59 adoptable rescued horses, Nunke finds her nonprofit operation struggling financially. Increased living expenses combined with rising hay prices are making it economically difficult for some owners to keep their horses, so they turn to the horse rescues. At $7,000 to $8,000 a
Sentinel photo/Karen Brainard
Nancy Nunke at Hearts and Hands Rescue feeds “carrot candy” to her miniature horses.
Students adopt Wounded Warrior Project Presorted Standard US Postage PAID Ramona CA Permit No 136
By PIXIE SULSER Veterans Day celebrations and remembrances have come and gone, but daily recognition and support for the troops is still needed. To this end, the Associated Student Body (ASB) of Mountain Valley Academy is in the midst of its Wounded Warrior Project, earning money to donate to the Wounded Warrior Foundation by selling holi-
day trees. “Over the years,” said ASB adviser Larry Hofer, “we (the ASB) have looked for a worthy cause to fundraise and donate to. When I brought the idea of the Warrior Foundation to our ASB, the students overwhelmingly agreed to pursue this project. Our school counselor, Chuck Lopez, suggested we sell holiday trees. Chuck put us in contact with the Family Christ-
mas Tree Farm tree in Lakeside who provided us with 150 trees at cost, and we sold our first 50 trees in just 24 hours! We are on our second set now.” The student group sells Stone pine and Aleppo pine trees for $12 a tree in the Ramona Community School parking lot each school day from 7:30 to 8 a.m. and again from See WOUNDED WARRIORS on page 39
month to feed her rescued horses and zebras, Nunke said, “It’s so difficult. People just don’t realize what it costs to run a horse rescue.” Nunke said she goes through 256 bales of Bermuda hay and 10 tons of Bermuda pellets, which she buys wholesale, every four weeks. In some cases, by the time she receives a horse from an owner who can no longer afford to feed him, Nunke said the horse is so skinny that she is unsure whether he will survive. It will cost her double to feed the horse then because she has to bring back his weight. That is accomplished by feeding often and in small proportions, she explained. A skinny horse is fed six to eight times per day and usually needs supplements. “Their bodies just need a kick-start boost,” she said. “The body has just given up.” Anna Merino, who owns Summer Glen Hose Rescue in Ramona, has had similar experiences. Driving her golf cart through the top and bottom meadows of her 10acre ranch, Merino said of her 21 rescues: “Most of these horses are here because people can’t feed them. Or, they’re on the way to the slaughterhouse.” As long as a horse wants to eat, she will feed him,
P.O. Box 367 Ramona, CA 92065
See HORSE RESCUES on page 38