Salvo

Dearest Santa Claus,

How happy I am to be the first in line this year to send you my letter.  I’m getting to be an old man, just like you, though I do think you might have a few years on me (I’m 28 which is kind of up there for a horse. I guess you’re a bit older than that, eh? Ho Ho Ho just pulling your leg).

Santa, it’s not so bad being a “senior citizen” because I get wonderful meals every day. They say, “now Sal, you need to keep your weight up.”  I like it best when they put a dab of molasses in my bucket of grain.  They mix it all up with warm water, and sometimes I find pieces of apple in there.  It’s all so wonderful.  Eating is just the best.  I’m sure you agree!

But here is some bad news!  I heard through the sheep grapevine (they are all terrible gossips, but I’m sure you knew that), that the molasses supply is going down fast.  They are frantic about it.  But I can tell you why and it’s all their fault!  (I’m not beyond a bit of gossip myself!)  That new bossy girl Sheila Louise decided she would simply refuse to eat her mash unless there was molasses in it.  She made all those poor old elderly sheep all go on a hunger strike.  It was pitiful.  All well and good for her, SHE’S not missed any meals in the last century.  But anyhow…. fortunately, the strike only lasted one day, and then their food started showing up with molasses in it.  But then…. that meant less for me.  Now this really is a pretty pickle.  However, I have the perfect solution:  please, would you send me my own bottles? I like Grandma’s molasses but you can send another brand if your reindeer have a recommendation.  https://tinyurl.com/molasses-for-salvo

Now, Santa, let’s get down to brass tacks here.  It’s important for an old horse like me to have relatively soft material to stand on.  I prefer the thick rubber mats.  They are very nice in the barns, but in the ‘llama lodge’ (pfui, what a silly name, as if Jean-Claude owns it), the mats are old and have shifted around quite a lot. Sometimes I stumble on them because they are ripped at the edges or sticking up a bit. There is a project afoot (ha ha pardon the pun) to pull up all these mats, level the whole area better, and replace them. But did you know they weigh 90 pounds each?  That means a lot of grunting and groaning from the volunteers who have to do the work. Well, a friend of mine at the Baltimore Zoo emailed me (I’m pretty good on the computer – but don’t ask a SHEEP to send an email.  They don’t know how to spell.) about these EZ grips – they make the work go 10 times faster.  We need a pair or two for this project and future mat moving.  https://tinyurl.com/ezgrip-for-salvo

We will probably need about 6 new mats, too – if you’re feeling the love, you could also send those!  To order these, you’ll need to make a phone call to our friendly friends the Pooles over at Farm and Home.  They know us well 🙂  You just tell them you want to 4×6 rubber stall mats and they’ll send their guys over to deliver!  301-948-537205

Santa, would you send me a sponsor? I’d love someone who especially loves horses and might even come and brush me sometimes.  I have my very own brand-new page for sponsoring and it is here! https://shop.stargazingfarm.org/product/salvo/

Santa Claus, you really are the best.  We animals rely on you every year to listen to what we have to say.  And (aside from Sheila), we are not greedy: we only ask for what we really need.

Mille grazie e cordiali saluti,

Salvo the horse
Star Gazing Farm
16760 Whites Store Road
Boyds, MD 20841

Let us know if you’re planning to send a gift to Salvo!