A meeting was held this morning with Sally Iwanski (Co-Founder), Sherry Montoya of Minis and Friends and five students from Texas State University in San Marcos. Over coffee, we had a very productive introductory meeting to discuss plans for a class project, which will be a class project to enhance the goals of Minis and Friends for 2010 and the amount of people we visit. They will be dissecting our Newsletter to instruct us on how we can reconstruct our format and improve our quality. They will also be discussing how we can improve our Media coverage and extend  our visits to reach more people who need us in Williamson and Travis Counties. In addition to this, we will also receive useful ideas on how to utilize the Internet to the best of our potential and to reach many more people, who don’t know about us, and to get more followers. The Students were enthusiastic and full of bright ideas.

After the planning meeting, we all headed over to RanchoMontoya to meet Rocky, Rudy, and Bravo. They were very dirty as you can see from our previous blog yesterday. After the students left, the sun was out and the temperatures were prime for giving the three of them a bath, which is exactly what we did. As you can see in the new photos, they are enjoying the water and getting all spiffied up and ready to go.

After RanchoMontoya, it was off to Sacred Stone to meet with MasterCard, Sean Monet and Diego, (who is currently in training to join our group). So the students will be busy discussing Minis and Friends in class and coming up with lots of bright new ideas which will help us move forward in 2010 with all our great plans we have for this upcoming year. Enjoy the photos.

We sure did get a lot of rain here in Austin over the last few days. We don’t know exactly how much cause we’re horses but we know our water bucket is full and running over. Here at Rancho Montoya things are a bit of a muddy mess. We don’t mind though because we’re horses. The rain just makes us extremely playful. We are all boys, so we love getting dirty and muddy. It’s been too cold for our Mom to give us a bath though because she doesn’t want us to get sick. She’s always looking out for us! We just wanted to take this opportunity to give a shout out to all our Dear Friends and let you know we have been having fun playing in all this mud. But even we, are ready for some sunshine to bask in. We’re all anxious to get this cold weather behind us and get back to what we do best., visiting people who need us and our Love, throughout the community. We have a busy schedule coming up, so right now we are getting plenty of well deserved rest. We have been chasing each other around the property and sliding around in the mud. It’s a blast! You should try it sometime. We wonder if our buddies Sean, MasterCard, and Diego, Milton Burro, and Bandit, and all our other buddies, are having as much fun in the mud as we have had?

  Well so far this New Year, the weather has been unusually cold. The freezing cold frigid temperatures don’t seem to bother the Minis though, as it’s horse-play as usual. Rocky, Rudy, and Bravo, who live here at Rancho Montoya, were playing and running around like normal. I also, talked to Sally who said, at Sacred Stone, Master Card, Sean Monet, and Diego, were all seen running around like crazy, and chasing each other, as well. I think the cold actually makes them a bit frisky, as they were nibbling on each other, and grabbing each other’s legs, as if to entice the other one into play!  Tonight is supposed to be the coldest temperature in a couple of decades in Austin, as we are forecasted to dip to a frigid 19 degrees.  The boys are all looking great in their winter coats they are sporting, and their long manes and tails help them stay warm. However, being the over-protective Mom I am, I still worried about them being cold so………… I had to let Rocky inside to warm up in the addittion to the back of the house, known as The animal room, next to the space heater for an hour or so. He loves to catch up on Days of our Lives and the afternoon cartoons!  He is really well-mannered inside of the house, and he has NEVER  had an accident yet. He is as bad as a little child though, when they say Mom, I’m Hungry! Cuz he’s hungry all the time too. Just like a bottomless pit. Where do those boys put all that food? Sometimes he  helps himself to the fruit bowl for an occassional apple. Can you blame him? An apple a day keeps the vet away!  And get this……..He actually knocks on the back door when he wants to come in. So, as you can see by the attached pictures, you need not worry about our horses surviving the winter cold, as they get plenty of warming up indoors,  and are rally quite spoiled! And you may be wondering, WhyRocky is the only one inside? Well to answer that questionis simple, just like Children, they are much more well behaved when they are alone. So one at a time works best, so there’s no rough-housing indoors.

It’s Christmas Day and a time to spend with friends, loved ones, and family. Sally and Gil, Paul and I, decided there would be nothing more appropriate than to pay a surprise visit to the Austin Children’s Shelter. We loaded up Rocky into our van and off we went to meet  MasterCard and SeanMonet. Jess and Lain brought Bandit too, sporting his Christmas apparel, pulling his cart and Christmas bells -they all wanted in on the fun too.  Steve and Laura and Tricia showed up to volunteer and help out, what a great day for friends to do a visit at a favorite location!  It was a very pleasant surprise that some of the Children remembered the horses by name from their visits before and they were all so excited as they called out to their favorite  Horse  and came running over to greet them. We had to slow them down and remind them of the rules, No running!  They were all just so happy and excited to see them again and get a chance to hug the horses, brush and groom them  and walk them around for a while.  As I looked around at our group of Mini’s, mingling with the Children, I had this  warm fuzzy Holiday feeling come over me, as I could see the  Joy and smiles it brought to the Children’s little faces. That’s what it’s all about, these guys bringing Happiness and Joy into these kids lives and to let them know we care about them.  At the end of the visit, on behalf of Mini’s and Friends, and our love for these Children we left them with a Merry Christmas wish and a gingerbread goodie bag with a few Christmas treats. What a great way to spend a little time on Christmas Day!

Today was an absolute gorgeous day and it was indeed a spectacular day to have a Winter visit to The Austin Children’s Shelter. Master Card, Sean Monet, Rocky, Rudy, Bandit, and Bravo were all decked out in their Christmas apparel ready to spread a little Holiday cheer to the Children. There were plenty of new kids for the Minis to meet. We saw plenty of big smiles as the Children loved on the Minis. They also had a chance to groom the horses. Many of the kids took to the horses right away and began to form bonds, where they felt comfortable enough to lead and walk the horses around the grounds. Some of the kids were jogging all around with the horses, which was really a good thing because they have put on winter weight and a few Holiday pounds. Sound familiar? Today’s visit was really great and enjoyed  by all, kids and volunteers alike. We look forward to doing a surprise visit on Christmas Day to the Shelter.  Today was my husbands 50th Birthday and on the drive to the shelter, I asked him what he wanted to do for his Birthday? He said, ” I’m already doing it!” So, no questions asked, I know on Christmas Day, we will be joining Sally and Gil, for a trip to the shelter to visit these kids, who are sometimes forgotten about during the Holiday Season, to try to bring the spirit of Christmas to them through returning to show them the horses love and care about them! What a great day! The Minis needed to work and do this visit, just as much as the kids needed them.

Despite the freezing cold temperatures, it’s horseplay as usual for the Minis. Rocky, Rudy, and Bravo were anxiously waiting this morning to go somewhere. I think they thought it was time to go to work. When Paul came home and picked them up, he told them they were going to Sacred Stone to get their hooves done and have a play date and sleep over with the boys, Sean Monet and Master Card. They were so excited they jumped up into the van and off they went. Rudy didn’t need his hooves done this time but he didn’t want to get left behind either! So Susan, the owner of Sacred Stone Ranch, said sure bring him over too. I’m sure they will all have a blast running and playing all day in The  Infinity run,which used to house Caspian horses, and was perfect for the Minis. Minis and Friends, recently, received some new winter shelter, built by the wonderful people from Dell. Here are some pictures of the boys playing together. You can see how much fun they have.  And the cold weather  makes them a little frisky and ready to play.

Today, Saturday, November 28th, Minis and Friends held a pancake breakfast at the Applebee’s restaurant in South Austin. It was a 2 hour breakfast, with All you could eat pancakes, sausage, orange juice, and coffee.  We had a lot of compliments on the quality of the food, especially how delicious the pancakes were. Our hats go off to Applebee’s restaurant and their dedication and committment to helping  and supporting non-profits and the work they do in theirs and our  community. They are not making a profit  off the sales of the tickets at all. Two dollars of  each  ticket sold, only goes to cover the expense of the items. Applebee’s and their employee’s who helped us, were awesome and great this morning. We especially want to thank Paul the GM and Ricardo, the head line cook who prepared all of the food for us. We had so many really great dedicated volunteers who showed up bright and early, to help  host, seat and greet, serve food and beverages, and bus tables. We all worked together as a team and everything went off without a hitch. We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to doing it again with Applebee’s next year. A special thanks to all of the people who supported us and bought tickets,  and who brought their  friends , co-workers, and family. It was a very successful breakfast, considering it was the Thanksgiving weekend. We are happy to report we made a profit of $275.00.  This profit will be used to pay for things such as, shots and equine liability  insurance. Thanks to everyone involved.

Look at Sammy Jay, so trusting, just sleeping next to three big horses (Well to him a small Cat, they must seem big, even though they are Miniatures). That’s where you will always find Sammy Jay, right next to the horses. He loves them so much, they have bonded and formed a deep relationship. He even rolls over, spreads wide open , and let’s the horses lick, clean, and groom him, as if they were his big brothers getting him all cleaned up. He sleeps on the hay right in between Rocky, Rudy, and Bravo. He really misses Stardust though. Stardust was his bestest friend in the whole world. He was so sad when he left. But now he has a new big brother in Rudy, who is only four years old, and since Miniatures live to be 30 or 35, i told Sammy Jay, they will be around for a long time.  As I look at this picture, I sometimes wish I could be as worry free as Sammy Jay, and lie around and sleep and have the life of a cat, or should I say Lives of a cat?

On Halloween Saturday, October 31st, Minis and Friends attended The Juvenile Diabetes Walk. This is the first year the event was held near the new Dell Children’s Hospital at the City park. The weather was beautiful, sunny, and warm, and being that it was Halloween, the crowd was huge. Almost everyone showed up in complete costume, from the littlest tyke to Grandparents, to furry little friends.  There were Ladybugs, Cowgirls, Dorothy form The Wizard of Oz, Punk rockers, Dracula, to The infamous balloon boy.

As far as attractions for the families, there were, Moonwalks for the Children to bounce and jump on, Rock climbing, Facepainting, Hair streaking, Fire truck rides, and free food. The hit of the whole day though was the miniature horses. All of the Children on hand, were just drawn to the little guys. Time and time again, I kept hearing from the parents, Boy you guys are the hit of the event, My children just wanted to keep coming back to see the horses. They were defiantly the main source of their entertainment for the event. We had MasterCard, SeanMonet, Rocky, Rudy, and Bravo there. All of the boys,  were on their best behaviour. Well besides wanting to eat the pumpkins, I brought for decorations and knocking our sodas off the table! This was only little Rudy’s, the new comer’s, second event. Gil and Paul, kept noticing when the kids would walk away or come towards the corral, Rudy would stick his red head, right over the corral, as if to say,” Come over here and see me.” It is so obvious, Rudy is going to be a great therapy horse, and he really adores kids. He wasn’t raised around any Children at all, so we couldn’t tell how much he loved them until we put them in the same venue.

The event was a huge success, as thousands, came out for The walk for Juvenile Diabetes and to support the foundation. There were parents Aunts,  Uncles, and Grandparents with wagons decorated which may have had their child’s name and the year they were diagnosed. As I walked around and saw these, it really brough everything into perspective and  reminded me what  and why we were all there.  To support them so that they could find a cure so no more kids have to suffer.

Emma, called us to Thanks us for attending and supporting their foundation. She also told us, What a big hit the Mini’s were. Then they offered us a donation of 31 bales of very gorgeous coastal hay, as a way to say Thanks to us and the Mini’s.  Since I was taught by my Grandfather, never to look a gift horse in the mouth, We graciously accepted this generous donation, on behalf of our Non-profit organization. Certainly this was a huge donation for us, since we are all individual owner’s and bare the expense of their food., supplemented by  Callahan’s and their continuing donations. We are extremely grateful to now have hay to feed the horses for the winter. We even took two bales and made them a very soft cushy bed to lie on to keep them off the cold ground. Thanks Emma so much for helping us so that we can continue to help our community and organizations like The Juvenile Diabetes and walk for a cure.

Sunday was a beautiful afternoon and a perfect day for a  trail ride and BBQ. We were all invited over to Sacred Stone by Susan to enjoy the day and all go together for a trail ride and then come back and share a feast. And A feast it was, as everyone chipped in and brought their favorite dishes. The atmosphere was so calm, peaceful, and relaxing, it was not hard to kick back and have some great adult conversation, while the Mini horses played in their Infinity run. There were about 15 dogs chasing each other all over the place. Plenty of kids were on hand running around and playing. Young girls enjoying horseback riding. Horses mingling freely while grazing on grass Everyone was enjoying each other’s company and just kicking back and having a few brewski’s. Thanks so much Susan for you hospitality.

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