SCCR Newsletter, Issue #2 - January 1, 2023

Second Chance Cheekye Ranch: Rescue, Rehabilitate, Rehome

Ranch Report

Happy New Year from all of us here at SCCR! The SCCR winter market held on December 10th was a great success! Despite the 8 inches of sloppy snow which collapsed 2 of the 4 Marquee tents at 6am and had everyone hustling to adjust to the weather, we were able to persevere and pull off a great day of arts, crafts, great food, local products and of course, fun with horses. Thanks to the great turn out of over 600 guests, SCCR raised over ten thousand dollars! All funds go directly towards supporting the rescue animals and the ranch, and we are so very grateful to our amazing community of volunteers and supporters for making it happen. We’ve had our share of cold, ice, snow and about everything in between so far this winter, but our incredible and dedicated team of volunteers continue to step up when needed to fill in for extra shifts around the ranch, and we could not be more grateful for them all! It’s a labour of love for sure.

Another highlight to celebrate is that by year’s end, we found homes for 28 horses!!! 28 beautiful souls who were on the path toward an uncertain fate and were lucky enough to make their way to SCCR, found their forever humans this year and with them a new lease on life. This is what it’s all about, and we are so excited to see what the New Year brings!

To Help The Rescue:

• Donate here to contribute towards saving these incredible animals.

• Learn more about the fate of horses who are not rescued, and how to help them.

• Book a tour to learn more about the ranch and meet some of the horses who have been saved.

• Volunteer at the ranch. No experience with horses is necessary.

Meet Nicole Knight,Volunteer Coordinator

In Spring 2021, Nicole and her family visited SCCR and upon learning of the work being done to help rescue and rehabilitate the horses, she quickly offered to help. Nicole started out as a volunteer and shortly thereafter took on the role of Volunteer Coordinator. Her love of horses, her initiative and her strong interpersonal and organizational skills make her a natural in this role. Nicole actively recruits, trains, schedules, and supervises our incredible team of 100+ volunteers for 112 shifts each week. During our busiest times, she is often at the ranch daily, always going the extra mile when needed. We are so grateful she is part of our community.

This year, Nicole and her family adopted their first horse, a 3 year old paint filly named Steele (pictured above) and are dedicated to a lifetime of learning and growing together. Nicole and her family consider their adoption of Steele to be one of the best decisions they’ve ever made, as she has added nothing but unconditional love and joy to their lives.

Adoption Highlight: Malachi

Before After

Malachi, or Mal for short, was only a few months old when his mother was killed by a train. After surviving alone in the wilderness, Malachi was eventually found roaming the highway in Pemberton and SCCR was contacted to help. With two feet of snow on the ground, Malachi arrived so malnourished he could barely control his own body movements and we weren’t sure he would survive the night. One day at a time, Malachi slowly built-up strength until he was no longer an emaciated foal, but a healthy, strong, determined gelding. It can be devastating for a foal to lose its mother, as 100% of their nutrition comes from milk. At nearly 4, he now stands tall and strong at 15.1 hands high and is coming along nicely in his training. Malachi craves his own human connection and is extremely intelligent, almost too smart for his own good. He needs and loves to be challenged with his liberty work. He can walk, trot and canter by voice command, on or off the lunge line. His beautiful confirmation and gait are smooth and effortless! He could easily excel at either English or Western. On the ground this horse has to be engaged with you all the time, so established leadership with him is really important. He picks up his feet, enjoys being brushed and has learned to stand while being worked around. He is a lovable boy with a huge personality, and whoever is lucky enough to win him over will have his heart forever!

To learn more about Mal and other adoptable horses at SCCR and to learn more about our adoption process, click here.

Sponsorship Highlight: Midnight

Still in her prime at 21 years old, this his beautiful black Arab mare had seen many shows and carried many children and adults in a life of horseback riding lessons. Midnight joined us as a surrender in 2018 from a family who had 2 horses and found themselves in an unfortunate and sad situation where they could only take one of their horses to their new rental home. With a 32 year old gelding who they knew would not find a retirement home, they opted to find Midnight a safe place to go. Now 26 and still as spry and keen as ever, she continues to be loved on by young children in our programs. This deserving mare does require extra feed and supplements to maintain her girlish figure, so we welcome sponsorship to help support her through her golden years!

To sponsor Midnight and help make a difference in her life, please click here.

Just for PUN

Question: What do you call a horse that’s not wearing a saddle?

Answer: Neigh-ked