Merry Christmas and a Spirited New Year!

Hi All;
Hope this finds you nestled inside. If you are in the airport...I hope your layover is not weather related and your WI-FI is free :)

This picture is of Buddy (in the lead) and Alex playing this morning. A brief break from hugging the big bale. They are feeling great for a couple of 20 year olds.

Thanks for your support of the Angel Tree at Theisen's in Ames. Our bucket is filled and the table is starting to hold goodies. I forgot to put salt blocks on our wish list....some Santa added a mineral block which is good. We also received a check from GoodSearch! Thanks to Katie, One Heart receives a donation each time you use this search engine. Look through the blog and on the website for more info on GoodSearch and GoodShop.

We have received several humbling donations from all around the community at year's end. As we approach our 10th year, this support is not only generous but is a stong endorsement for the work you do. YOU, especially, the volunteers, Dani and Jennifer, donors, and horse donors make this all possible.

Buddy and Alex are at "the home place" along with Peanut, Dandy and Miracle. At the "Jungle" are Bri, Shane, Rosie, and Missy (with friend Kyle). Misty and Rocky are on a little "vacation". We had to take T.J. and Coffee to the Vet school where they were euthanized. T.J.'s arthritic stifles were getting the best of him - and even though we were used to his "cranky" face, it was impossible for us to watch his expression change to pain. We had alot of respect for T.J. We wanted to hug away his cranky face but never really convinced him we were the good guys. He had some tremendous high points in his career with One Heart. He will be missed. Many of you didn't get to meet Coffee. She visited the arena early in the Spring but did not get a chance to work. Coffee started loosing weight when the rains and mosquitos hit this summer. We brought her to the home place for more hands-on care but we could not get her weight loss reversed. She was patient and cooperative with a hint of cranky little ol' lady syndrome (after all she was 29!). Contributing to the decision for euthanasia was a sudden onset of lameness in her left from leg. She seemed as confused as we were about the painful condition of her leg/hoof. She had been perfectly sound her whole life.

Kris

Angel Tree

Theisen's in Ames is sponsoring an Angel Tree again this year. Stop in and leave your present for the horses. They left a list on the table or say gift cards work too. (Y'all know how they love to shop. :D) They reminded me to Thank you all in advance!

Shop online and help One Heart at no added cost to you

Did you know shopping online can help One Heart? And it doesn't cost you anything.

1) Go to http://www.goodshop.com
2) Enter your cause (If you don't choose One Heart Equestrian Therapy your shopping will go to the charity of the day)
3) Go shopping. Click over to your favorite store from GoodShop and go shopping as usual.
4) GoodShop donates--Up to 30% of your purchase will go to your favorite cause! Find products, coupons and deals for more than 1,500 stores

It really is that EASY!

You can shop at more than 900 top retailers. For example Amazon, Nike, PetSmart, Staples, Microsoft, Kohls, iTunes, J.Crew, etc.

From the FAQ page at goodsearch.com:

Where does the money come from?

When you shop through GoodShop at one of our retail partners, GoodSearch is paid a commission. At GoodSearch, we've developed a way to track these shopping-generated proceeds and direct them to charities.

Am I paying more to shop through GoodShop? Is this any different than buying directly from the retailer?

Absolutely not! The experience of shopping through GoodShop is exactly the same as going to the retailer directly – you receive the same prices and level of service. The retailers are responsible for collecting payment, shipping and returns.

Do all purchases qualify for a donation?

While the majority of all purchases will generate a donation for your organization, each retailer has its own rules and some purchases may not qualify. For example, many merchants do not contribute donations for gift cards or gift certificates. You can read about restrictions by clicking on the percentage generated link under each retailer's logo on the GoodShop shopping homepage.

You can also help out by searching the internet.
Start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch.com as your search engine and they'll donate about a penny to your favorite cause every time you do a search! http://www.goodsearch.com

So far this year we've earned about $15.50 just by searching! Use goodsearch for school and work and kill two birds with one stone. :-)