July 2016 Culture Message

The older I get, the smaller the world actually seems. In my “day job” I continue to marvel about how previous clients keep materializing in new or current client systems, or how someone from my past will connect with me through someone I know. The same seems to be true of horses…we have more than a few now that I … Read More

June 2016 Culture Message

I found myself in the most unlikely place, pulled over in a Best Buy parking lot. It was the nearest location to the freeway exit that I could navigate, and there I sat. The waterfall of tears completely obstructed both my vision and my ability to hear, other than in sound bites. My trainer and dear friend, Ryan, had opened … Read More

April 2016 Culture Message

Given the great success of our adoption program and the recent surge in horse inquiries, I have been reviewing a great number of applications of late. We carefully screen the applications as they provide us with helpful information in which to determine if an applicant is a good fit for our program, and whether or not we have a potential … Read More

March 2016 Culture Message

Stella really did not want to be touched. I didn’t blame her a bit and frankly understood her body language well enough to know that there was good reason for turning away from my gentle, outstretched hand. On rare occasions, she tolerated my palm between her brow, but would recoil suddenly and either retreat from my light contact or flash … Read More

January 2016 Culture Message

There is a magical hour at Red Bucket that few know about. It is my special time to be gently flooded with gratitude and reminded about the significance of our work. The filter is both subtle and powerful at the same time and has the effect of a relentless vice that, while not quite painful, provides a steady and unyielding … Read More

November 2015 Culture Message

“Please God, don’t let Jack die.” My prayers of late have had a thematic pattern…asking for something. The requests have had the vibe of a business email, lacking both the gracious salutation and the closing of politeness that is the hallmark and expectation of a proper Red Bucket correspondence, and certainly the tone of my personal values. There has been … Read More

October 2015 Culture Message

Later I found out that it was Finbar who saved Seamus. It was early and I was well on my way to my “day job”. Typically, Finbar and his associate donkey Mr. Rogers are in their paddock in the early hours of a new day, supervising the morning activities and awaiting what amounts to room service, or the delivery of morning … Read More

September 2015 Culture Message

To say that he was living in squalor would be an understatement. I wouldn’t call it living, and after 6 months, I couldn’t say that he was surviving. The prison that held him against his will was also that which was slowly robbing him of the same. The stall had not been cleaned in as many months as he had … Read More

August 2015 Culture Message

Our culture at Red Bucket is one of doing as much as we possibly can…and then a little bit more. The manifestation of how we live our promise is: one more groom, 24-hour-a-day, round the clock turnouts, 10:00 pm late nights during psyllium week, and a host of activities that are designed to support our horses in a life that … Read More

July 2015 Culture Message

I made a mistake. In actuality, it turned out okay, better than okay really, because it emphasized his growth, confidence, and the embodiment of what “second chance” really means. I had been trying to distract my mount and keep him relaxed and listening to me. Over the course of two years, he had turned a corner in his re-training and … Read More