Some of the moms who volunteer at the Horse Tale Rescue stables in Vaudreuil-Dorion west of Montreal say they have gotten pretty disappointing gifts for Mother’s Day.
“When my kids didn’t make me a card,” laughed barn manager Caroline Handy. “That was the worst Mother’s Day gift, when they didn’t put in the time and effort to make me something.”
Still, she and other volunteers at the stables have come up with a really unusual idea for a Mother’s Day gift which they claim could make some moms really happy.
“A hundred percent organic horse fertilizer,” grinned Caroline Handy, executive director. “It’s fantastic for your gardens.”
The manure, which had been composting for four years on site, is courtesy of the horses that are there for rehabilitation or rest
Some used to pull calèches in Old Montreal before that practice was banned in 2019.
Grenier explained that all the animals have different needs.
“We tailor each of the horses’ need when they come in, based on their age, and if they have any ailments or nutritional needs,” he told Global News. “We tailor the program specific to them.”
The rescue has 13 horses now and six are former calèches animals.
“So there’s a lot of crap to go around,” Grenier joked.
Making the manure available to the public is a way for the stable to raise funds.
According to Grenier, the bigger the donation, the more bags you get.
“Last year we raised over $8,000 over two weekends,” he recalled.
The groups started doing the fundraiser two years ago because of the pandemic.
“We were getting worried about how to make money,” volunteer Marie-Claude Gauthier pointed out. “We used to have these big events that we couldn’t do anymore.”
In addition to the manure there will also be baked goods as well as a variety of plants.
“Oh my gosh. Anything and everything,” Handy exclaimed. “Most of the plants are dug up from our volunteers’ gardens.”
People must register online beforehand.