Lemon's Hope Sanctuary

21/07/2025

Chance runs right up to aunt Debbie, who was puppy and horse sitting today, for lunch.

17/07/2025

We’ve been a little distracted with puppies around here, but Diablo remains a cute chewer. (Pardon the sound of the haying going on in the background.) And he’s far from acting like a devil.

10/07/2025

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We have a fascinating lineup of topics for dog and animal trainers, and animal care professionals, at our upcoming Animal Trainers' Retreat: Training With Love + Science in September. Not a professional animal care provider but a lover of all things behavior and training related as a dedicated pet guardian? You, too, are welcome to attend.

* Panel discussion on ABA as a holistic framework for teaching and training practice, including Debbie Jacobs, Fearful Dogs and Fearfuldogs.com; Laura Monaco Torelli - Animal Behavior Training Concepts; and Eileen Anderson, Eileenanddogs.
* Building reinforcement systems to improve communication with learners by Mary Hunter - StaleCheerios and Behavior Explorer.
* Loose leash walking: the dance dissected by Kiki Yablon, Kiki Yablon Dog Training.
* Anxiety: a science-based approach for animal trainers by Dr. Keira Moore.
* Development and validation of owner-implemented protocols for companion dogs by Dr. Mindy Waite
* Understanding assent through an analysis of alternative contingencies by Hannah McGee, MSPCA-Angell.
* Social reinforcers and sheepherding, by Dr. Maia Nahele Owen.

In addition to listening to these presentations, in-person attendees can enjoy experiential learning and fun experiences playing PORTL (Portable Operant Research and Teaching Lab) and training animals of Lemon's Hope Sanctuary.

Don't miss your early bird discount, ending on July 21! Other discounts for shelter and rescue staff and volunteers, as well as students available. Ceus available through CPDT, IAABC, KPA and PPG.

Link for more information and to register in the comments.

04/07/2025

The 4th of July holiday is a celebration of our country’s origin story, but on this 4th of July, we can’t help thinking about our own origin story:

Almost 30 years ago, when the National Park Service proposed to reduce the size of, and possibly eliminate, the herd of horses on Shackleford Banks, that proposal was met with concern and resistance by locals. Because you are talking about something that people identify with this place as much as the lighthouse or fishing or the beaches. They are an intrinsic part of this place, and this place is an intrinsic part of each one of us who love it and call it home.

And so those local folks sought and secured the passage of federal legislation to protect the wild horses. That they were able to do that represents the very best of the democracy conceived by the call for freedom in our Declaration of Independence: a small group of concerned citizens, from disparate backgrounds and experiences, banding together out of a shared passion for a common concern, forming a nonprofit entity, compiling research and data and facts from the foremost experts in the field, prevailing upon their elected representatives to take up their cause, standing up to the government’s ill-conceived policy proposal and blatant disregard for local interests, cultivating public, and eventually, bipartisan political support for their issue, ultimately resulting in the enactment of federal legislation to ensure preservation and protection of a treasured resource, ideal, and value.

Folks, that’s a case study in basic civics.

In these sometimes difficult and divisive times, don’t ever lose sight of the power of seemingly powerless people, who are willing to step up and exercise their basic rights, and who believe in the justness of their cause. We are grateful for those who did just that, and committed themselves to ensuring the survival of our wild horses for the benefit of future generations.

Happy Independence Day!

Cape Lookout National Seashore

Copyrighted photo of newest foal on Shackleford Banks, courtesy of Linda Kuhn, NPS VIP, shot with a zoom lens. All rights reserved.

04/07/2025

There’s been a lot of grazing happening in the big field. New locations = enriching!

02/07/2025

They won't be sanctuary residents, but we have new arrivals here. Eight beautiful puppies born 6/30/25. Four girls and four boys, all doing well. Mama is fantastic.

18/06/2025

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12/05/2025

Thank you to everyone for the condolences, well wishes and general care surrounding the loss of our horse Henri. Pictured here is Chance with me, back in the day when I rode him a fair amount and was just so proud and happy to be his person. He's 31 years old now and has bad knees, like so many of us, and so I haven't ridden him for awhile.

For those who are wondering about how he's doing since his buddy Henri's passing, he is o.k. He does vocalize quite a lot at people, apparently seeking attention or food. He has always been vocal in these contexts but is moreso now--more frequent and louder. He is eating well and does not appear depressed.

Chance has 24/7 companionship of Lemon the goat and the sheep. He can also have periods of interaction with our miniature horses, who can't be on the grass with him 24/7 and whom he might aggress towards, as he was always aggressive with other horses except for Henri. We'll see how it goes.

09/05/2025

It's a sad morning at the sanctuary. Our sweet horse Henri, the chestnut with the blaze, died early this morning. I discovered that he had passed when I went out to feed everyone. His body was still warm to the touch.

Henri had been sick with what the vet thought was either pneumonia or some other lung condition. He was on antibiotics for that. He was about 25 years old. He had also been diagnosed with a medium severity heart murmur and I had been told to expect about three more years with him, which he achieved, before he went into congestive heart failure. So, his cause of death is unclear, but he lived happily with his best friend, Chance, and beyond the average life expectancy for horses.

When I say Henri was sweet, it's an understatement. Henri was a barn favorite wherever he went. He interacted with people eagerly and gently. Even my husband, who is unsure around horses, loved Henri. Henri was a testament to how lovely a horse can be when handled and trained with kindness, which is all he knew for most of his life. I was once told by a vet that she would happily work with my horses any time because they were so easy to work with.

I never meant to have two horses. I had Chance, the darker horse pictured with Henri, but the two bonded and when it came time for Henri's owner to downsize the number of animals at her barn, I could not separate the two of them. They were like brothers. I allowed them to be together almost all of the time. Some likely found fault with that, as I did not address the separation distress they could experience when separated from each other in recent years, but rather accepted that they were a bonded pair who benefitted from being together.

Chance had been aggressive to all other horses until he met Henri. When they met, they were housed in stalls and fields next to each other and interacted between stalls and fields. One day, the electric fence was out and Henri barged through it to be with Chance. They were together thereafter. In recent years they were kept outdoors together 24/7 and not in stalls, in case you're wondering.

Henri got along with all the animals at Lemon's Hope. He and our disabled goat Lemon particularly seemed to enjoy each others' company. Henri even allogroomed Lemon. Lemon would look pretty disheveled after these grooming sessions, but it appeared to be done with affection. Lemon may be the animal who misses him the most. Except for us apes with the big brains.

14/04/2025

Trying a fleece lasagne to ameliorate mud. Popular in the UK, where sheep are abundant, you layer brush and sheep fleece to fill in muddy spots. You can cover that with a bit of soil or old hay or straw or brush and grass may grow from that. Hoping for less mud in the future.