C O R R A L 52 Oliver Potts Road
Newnan, Georgia 30263
mpcorral@earthlink.net
(770) 254-0840
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News

Thursday, April 23, 2009

We are gearing down for the school year. Our last groups have started, and you can see that everyone is anxious for the summer break to get here! It's been a great school year, and we will miss the kids and teachers until we start back in September.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of our hard-working volunteers. We could not do this without you!

To all of our Saturday volunteers and riders, keep up the great work! The spring session will end in June, and then we'll take the month of July off and start back with our fall session in August.

Don't forget our Saturday horse show in May! It will be Saturday, May 16th, and the Optimist's Club will be there providing lunch as always! Hope to see you then!


Driving Classes, Boy Scouts, Mickey, and Duster


We have officially started driving classes in the new arena at CORRAL! The students start learning by steering two bikes in front of a golf cart. They later progress to steering one of our driving ponies. The program is going great so far. Thanks to everyone who helped us get started!

Boy Scouts worked hard at the barn this winter. We have a new round pen, and a new concrete floor in the covered pavilion. The plans are to screen in the pavilion, add lights, and a fireplace. Thanks Boy Scouts!

We have two new additions to the program: a lovely black arabian named Mickey and a nice quarter horse named Duster. Stop by and welcome them next time you visit the barn.


Thunder

Friday, February 13, 2009

It is with a very heavy heart that I write to let you know that we have lost Thunder. So many of you know what a fundamental part of Corral Thunder has been. He's been there for so many years, providing a gentle ride to so many and touching the hearts of everyone that crossed his path. He was so patient and kind with so many unsure riders. Even on those days when his feet weren't feeling great, he'd go out there and do his job. I know a lot of us have our special Thunder stories like him standing there patiently while Daniel tentatively touched a horse for the first time and squealed with glee. Or how he never batted an eye when Parker panicked when he heard a child crying. Or how David always told us how much he loved Thunder every Saturday when he came to ride.

Thunder's loss leaves a huge void in all our hearts, especially Marie's and Brown's. I'm thankful I have some pictures of Thunder that I can share with them, and we can all enjoy Thunder for the month of May on our calendars. The first day back to class will be a hard one for all of us, of that I am very sure.

Christa


Nipsey and Jacob

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Nipsey and Jacob are our two newest addtions to the barn. Nipsey is a beautiful grey who is currently recovering from having a cracked tooth pulled. Jacob is a little gray pony that we hope will work with the driving program as well as the regular program.

Next time you are at the barn be sure to meet these two great guys. Pictures will up in the 'Horses' section soon!


Driving Arena Under Way - Thanks Mitsubishi!


On Saturday, August 9, 2008, we had 14 volunteers consisting of Mitsubishi employees and their friends and family members. They installed approximately 1,000 linear feet of 3-board fencing at the CORRAL farm. This was hot and heavy work over rough terrain, yet each volunteer participated with enthusiasm and dedication to finish the project. Mitsubishi employees, Joey Stowe, Michele Wilton, Veronica Clark, and Leah Parker along with family members and friends, measured, sawed, drilled, pried, and otherwise persuaded 14-foot, 2X6 rough-cut boards into a beautiful flowing fence that will withstand years of heavy use.

The fence is an integral part of our plan to establish a therapeutic horse-driving program for handicapped children and adults, which will compliment our horseback riding program for handicapped children. These programs touch so many lives of handicapped children, adults, and their families, and bring joy and confidence where there was little before.

It was a heartwarming feeling to witness the commitment of these volunteers to serve others less fortunate and to make a significant contribution to the community.

I and the whole CORRAL organization want to express our deep, personal appreciation for the efforts of each Mitsubishi volunteer and their friends and family members. The results of their efforts will benefit the handicapped children and adults of our local community and beyond.


Good Search

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Use Good Search as a search engine and designate CORRAL as the charity and we can make money. So far we have made about $ .25 !!! Please help!

http://www.goodsearch.com/Default.aspx


Bubba Sparxxx Video

Sunday, September 23, 2007

This video is a little old but I just remembered and thought I'd share it here. It features Brown Powell and Jim Wetherington as the sheriffs. They are riding Straw and Thunder. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW7akj4g2f0


Jenny

Thursday, September 20, 2007

We lost our sweet gray donkey, Jenny, on August 31st. She hasn't been able to get up on her own for quite a while and finally stopped trying. She let Marie know that it was time to go. She will be sorely missed as she's been with the program longer than any other. Her baby, BJ, and pasture mate, Dixie, were given the chance to say goodbye and seem to be doing well. It will be a different nativity scene this year without our beloved Jenny. Run free dear girl!


4th Annual Poker Run


CORRAL's 4th annual poker run will be held Saturday, September 22nd. Please call the barn for more information.

We hope all the participants have a safe and enjoyable ride!


Congrats Brown!

Saturday, May 05, 2007

After a few days training in Florida, Brown Powell passed his driving instructor certification test. We can now officially start our new driving program!


Rock (May 5, 1984 - April 16, 2007)

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Volunteers and friends of CORRAL:

As some of you know, Rock started acting strange last Monday, and after a visit with the vet we decided he needed to go to Auburn.

For those of you who don't know how this started, I'll give you a brief background. Last Monday we pulled out Rock for our first class after spring break, and he seemed agitated. Things didn't improve during the class, so we replaced him and let him hang out in his stall. On Wednesday, he didn't look any better, so Dr. Olsen came to check him out. He had rapid breathing and a rapid pulse and was circling the pasture and back arena. Dr. Olsen couldn't find anything visibly wrong with him and felt that this meant that something neurological was going on, so he called Auburn to let the know he'd be coming down. After an unsuccessful attempt to get him on the trailer Wednesday, we were able to get him on there Thursday.

Auburn ran some initial tests and then did a spinal tap and blood work to rule out any viral or bacterial infections that may be causing his symptoms. All the tests came back negative for any infections. Since it was an undiagnosed neurological condition, the vets could not rule out rabies. They had suggested that we could do a CT scan to look for a brain tumor, but it's so dangerous putting a horse under sedation and then bringing them out, we felt that we couldn't put Rock through that. Knowing that all the tests ruled out something we could treat and possibly reverse his condition, we felt the best thing to do was let him go. We knew that whatever the CT scan showed, he probably would not be able to have the problem treated.

They did an autopsy on Monday and let us know that his pituitary gland was very enlarged and possibly pressing on is brain causing the symptoms he was showing. They have sent out more slides for further testing, and we will get the results in 10-14 days. They were able to rule out positively that he did not have rabies.

Rock will be missed at the barn, especially on those days when we had classes inside and he wanted to check out what was going on.


Work Day

Thursday, March 22, 2007

We are having a Volunteer Work Day this Saturday (March, 24 2007) to help build the fence for our new driving arena. Please call the barn if you'd like the help out!


New Horses

Saturday, March 03, 2007

We have two new horses at the barn.

Winston is a small spotted white Appalossa pony. He used to be a school horse for beginner students but now he's with us.

Breezy is a large chestnut Tennessee Walking horse. Straw recently left to his new life of leisure and retirement so we needed a large horse to replace him.

We used them both in classes today and they worked out great. We are very excited to have these new additions to the program!


Southern Living Magazine

Monday, January 15, 2007

CORRAL was recently featured in the December 2006 issue of Southern Living Magazine (Georgia Living section). It was a three page article with pictures called "Saddles and Smiles." I'll get the article posted here as soon as possible.


Third Annual Poker Run

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

On Nov. 4th motorcycle enthusiasts from all over Coweta and surrounding counties joined together for CORRAL Ride 2006. The ride was held as a poker run and all proceeds went to CORRAL. Sponsorship raised this year was over $1700. Generous local businesses donated over $1900 in gift certificates and items to be raffled/auctioned at the last stop of the ride. The auction alone raised over $1500. We want to thank Steve (a local auctioneer) who once again volunteered his time to auction these items .

Thanks to local businesses, and the generous people at the event, over $4500 was raised to benefit CORRAL. “I want to thank all the volunteers that helped that day. It went smoothly because of all of them”, says Ronda Schwenning a CORRAL volunteer and coordinator of the event, “and I need to say a special thank you to Leigh Wills my assistant event coordinator, that for three years in a row has volunteered her time for months before the event to help it all come together. Both of us are proud to be a part of such a worthy cause.


A Sad Day

Monday, August 14, 2006

We lost a great one on Thursday. Trooper has been part of CORRAL longer than most of our volunteers and riders. For 16 years he was one of the great ones...a therapy horse. He loved his job. We tried to retire him twice but he kept coming back. He loved his work with the kids. In fact, he moved faster than most of our younger horses. Many of our young riders started out on Trooper.

In the winters he would get the wooliest coat. He legs would look like tree trunks. Every Spring, the volunteers would spend hours brushing him, leaving behind a cottony field of white fur and hair. I will always remember those brushings.

Trooper loved his women. He would always attach himself to a female in his pasture. The minute one was gone, he'd be attached to another. He had Honesty, Serena, Secret, and lately, Dixie. Marie says he was swinging his neck and huffing at Dixie Thursday morning. Dixie could have cared less, as was usually the case with his women. But he didn't care. He was in love...our little Studmuffin. He's back with Honesty and Serena now.

You told Marie that you were ready, and so we say goodbye.

Trooper
1969 - August 10, 2006
Rest in Peace


More Various Stuff

Monday, July 31, 2006

Ramsey and Secret have both gone on to new homes. They weren't working out for our program so despite their wonderful personalities we decided it was best if they moved on. We will miss them dearly.

We have added a new addition to the barn in the form of old horse named Renzi (Zee). He is not a permanent addition but will stay with us for a while. He's working out splendidly and has already stolen quite a few hearts. :)

CORRAL has recently purchased a piece of land nearby to set up a driving arena. Thank you Guy and Diane! It's just one in a long line of goals to get a driving program at CORRAL. We have the horse, the cart, and the land. Brown Powell will be going to a clinic this fall to become a certified driving instructor. If all works out we'll have the program up and running soon. Thanks to everyone for their kind donations that enabled us to buy this piece of land!


Various Stuff

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Hoof 'Beats'? Some of you may have noticed the nice new sound system we were able to purchase with extra donations last year. I think the music makes the classes so much more fun, especially for the volunteers. :) Thanks to everyone for their donations in making this purchase possible.

New Horse? Yes, we have a new horse out at the barn. Well, actually, she's a Pony. We recently welcomed the sweet Sissy to our program. She is working out beautifully. We are in the process of getting a cart so we can start a driving program with her.

Ike has left the building. One of our big guys who's been having some back trouble went back to his donater so he could have special care. Word is that he's doing wonderfully and perhaps he'll be back with us soon.


New Horse

Friday, October 14, 2005

We have a new horse that we are trying out at the barn. He's a big (bigger than Straw!) quarter horse named Reo. With both Straw and Ike, our two big guys, having back trouble, Reo may have come just in time. Let's cross our fingers and hope he works out!


Second Annual Poker Run


On September 10th, motorcycle enthusiats from all over Coweta and surrounding counties gathered for the Second Annual Poker Run to benefit Corral. We had fewer riders this year but the response from local businesses and certain individuals was overwhelming, helping us to achieve our goal.

The ride started at Coweta Custom Cycles in Newnan. At each stop along the way the rider would pick up a card from one our volunteers. At the last stop we gave $50.00 for the worst hand (which was, in turn, given back to CORRAL) and $150.00 for the best hand (which was also given back to CORRAL...all except $20.00. The winner said he was going to buy lottery tickets later.) The girl who won the 50/50 drawing also handed her money back to CORRAL and so generosity continued...

We had about $1800 donated by local businesses in the forms of gift certicates and items to be raffled off. Prizes kept being returned by the winners so an auctioneer in the crowd offered to auction off prize after prize so that we raised another $1100!

Thank you to the sponsors, businesses, generous participants, and volunteers who helped make this event a huge success. We raised over $4400 for CORRAL!

Oh...and one more....thank you Rhonda for all your hard work!


Photo Album

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Yeah! We have finally gotten the photo album page underway. It's about time, right? :)


Gazebo and Poker Run

Friday, September 16, 2005

CORRAL has just recently been the recipient of a beautiful Gazebo. We set it up alongside the ring to provide shade to parents while watching their kids ride.

CORRAL's Second Annual Poker Run was held last Saturday with much success. Thanks to all who participated!

Pictures of the new Gazebo and from the Poker Run will be up in the photo album soon. Please check back!


Magazine Article?


It looks like Southern Living Magazine will be coming out to do an article on CORRAL. Very exciting!


Volunteer Information

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

We are adding some volunteer information to the 'Classes' page. Please check back soon.


Goodbye Mozzie

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

We lost one of our dear horses this past weekend. He was a grand horse...a racing thoroughbred bought straight off the track...a gentleman through and through. This is the story written by Marie Powell:

On Thursday morning, I drove over to the barn as any other day. I always look in the pasture anticipating all the horses that were always waiting at their gates for my arrival. I noticed that Mozzie wasn't standing in his usual place between Straw and Hobby. But I wasn’t too concerned until I walked to the back to open the gates and Mozzie wasn't there. Sometimes Ike will choose to wait under the trees at the back and from a distance you can be confused about which horse is which. When I realized Ike was at the gate, I had a sudden sinking feeling that things were not good.

I found Mozzie lying under the trees. His coat was wet and covered with dirt telling me that he had been rolling. We’ve had lots of rain; maybe he was just rolling and got muddy? When I ran to him, he jumped up, shook himself and turned to me. I held my hand out to him; he sniffed and then blew right past me and trotted to the barn leaving me behind. I wanted to tell my self that he was fine and chastise him for scaring me, but I couldn’t shake that gut feeling even though he looked so good trotting off to the barn.

Andrea was here to ride Ike and she was waiting at the barn for Mozzie to come in. It didn't take but a minute for her to realize that things weren't good. After entering his stall, he immediately stretched out and started to paw. You see, for Mozzie, he would always run in his stall, turn around, stretch out and PEE!! It never failed! He wouldn’t take a bite of feed until he peed! That confirmed my fear and I immediately reached for the banamine and for the phone to call the Vet.

Dr. McClendon came within the hour, and after heavily sedating Mozzie, he did a rectal examine. He was concerned with what he found. Part of his colon was distended and stretched. We decided to try to sedate him enough to hopefully get everything to relax and go back into place on its own. That was really our only option, as we didn’t feel like he was a surgery candidate. Jason was optimistic in that he had seen cases that had been much worst actually survive by sedating them and allowing them to relax.

We wanted to give him the opportunity and the chance to get past this if possible, but we had to keep him pain free. Jason left me with 2 shots with instructions to watch for any signs when the pain meds started wearing off. Hopefully, when the sedation wore off, he wouldn't be in pain.

I put a fly mask on Mozzie and put him the little arena in the back and proceeded to turn the other horses back out in their pastures. One by one, each horse went over to Mozzie, touched noses and walked on out. That was unusual as I keep three different herds because they don't all get along very well. But it was when his pasture mates came out, that I called Andrea to come and see. Straw, Rock, and Ike were all lined up at the fence with their heads over and each one touched Mozzie, One by one they each hesitated for a minute and then turned and walked out to their pasture. All but Hobby left. It was as if he knew he was about to become number 2 in the herd, that Mozzie was leaving. It was at that point that I knew THEY knew.

I thought Mozzie would be better if he was allowed to go out with his herd and I opened the gate so he could go with Hobby. He walked out and actually grazed for just a few minutes, but then he pawed and lay down. He lay quietly for about 10 minutes. Hobby stood with him and then continued to stay around him but began grazing but as if he was standing guard. It was beginning to get hot and when the sun came out, I brought Mozzie in the back of the barn. Hobby followed and tried to come in with us. Again, that was unusual.

From that point on, it was clear to me, that it was time to make that decision. Jason and I talked back and forth for the next 2 hours. I wanted to see some evidence that he was getting better, but even with the drugs, he was beginning to really get frantic. Jason agreed with me as soon as he saw him. I felt that he was asking me to help him. There is a look that they all get when it is time. It's hard to describe, but you know that look. Their eyes tell you.

As I led him down to his last resting spot, He walked with his head held high and with so much dignity. He never looked back. He never once tried to throw himself down, but walked calmly past all kinds of things that would normally get his attention! I think he knew and he was ready. Mozzie always hated needles, but he never flinched when Jason injected him. There was no fear. He was calm and Jason just helped lay him over. He was free. The way his mane laid, it looked as if he was running. I think he was, after all he was born to run.

Each horse that comes into your life teaches you so much! I guess the biggest thing Mozzie taught me ,was that fear can be overcome when you learn to communicate and when you can prove to a horse that you can be trusted to be his leader. You had to earn his trust, and then you had a friend.


Horse Show

Friday, May 06, 2005

On Saturday March 14, 2005 we will hold a horse show for some of our Spring Session riders. Join us for some fun!


Horse Updates

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Copper left recently to go to a new home where he would be happier.

Trigger will be leaving us soon to go into official retirement since he has been having problems with his back. He is going to be a companion for another horse. :)

On the other hand, we are trying out a new horse named Velvet (Ramsey). He's a gorgeous 17 year old red Arabian. We are all very hopeful that he will work out....he just needs to get used to being in the barn on occassion.


Treehouse

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

We finally completed (well, 95% completed) the construction of a handicapped accessible treehouse. The treehouse has been long desired goal of CORRAL and, in particular, Brown Powell. We wll post pictures in the photo album soon.