Losses

When Quad colicked last week, I went into a complete funk.  I just lost my beautiful palomino mustang mare, Cali, in December of 2012 and the thought of losing another horse nearly drove me crazy with grief.  Fortunately Quad pulled through after a vet visit and a gallon of mineral oil.  However, it took him several days to er... expel all the sand he had in him and the vet said there is still some left in his intestines and it could be 2 YEARS before he gets rid of that.

I just read RV Sue's moving post about her beloved dog, Spike.
     http://rvsueandcrew.net/the-day-after/
I just wish I could reach out and put my arms around her and we could both have a good cry!  I'm still not over the loss of Cali and I still cry every time I think about her.  She was so loving and gentle!  She would have made the perfect riding horse for the grandkids, had she lived.

I have no memorial for the two horses I've lost:  Beauty and Cali.  I do have a chunk of their mane.  Some people send it away and have a memorial made out of it.  I haven't done that.  I prefer the actual mane.  I also have 2 of Cali's baby teeth!  :-)  Finally, I have photos of both of them.  Beauty died in a freak corral accident.  We believe she went down to roll one night, hit her head on the corral bars, and poof!  She was instantly dead.  I found her the next morning.  There were no signs that she pawed the ground, so we believe she died quickly and painlessly.  Cali wasn't so fortunate.  She had a twisted intestine and after the 2nd vet visit, the ranch owner and vet euthanized her on the spot.  she was in a lot of pain and was having trouble breathing.  I'm glad I didn't see her like that.  Instead, I have memories of her  running in the arena, coming up for a smooch, and nuzzling my hair.

It was after the loss of Beauty in 2009 that Quad came to us.  He had been sent to a large thoroughbred rescue near Sacramento, right off the track.  Fortunately, he never ended up on a feedlot.  I visited the rescue one summer and met Quad for the first time.  After the death of beauty, a fellow blogger paid to have Quad shipped down to me.

I bought Lucille from the ranch owner after her previous owner got 6 months behind in her board and was riding her all over town trying to sell her.  Lucille is the oldest horse I have, about 18 or even 19 years.  However, she's the only one I ride.  She is a gaited 1/2 draft, 1/2 Tennessee Walker.  She's very calm and the grandkids can ride her when they are able.

That's Beauty and I at my cousin's ranch in Garner Valley, about 2008.  I let my cousin take Beauty for 6 months to train her.  She fell in love with her and I nearly didn't get her back!  Beauty was a very sweet, calm, intelligent mare who would have made an excellent trail horse.  She never balked and was very willing to listen to her human.  Beauty picked me as her person and she would always nicker when I drove up to the ranch.  RIP Beauty, 2009.

Cali, my palomino BLM mustang mare, about 2010.  Even though she was a mustang, she LOVED people!  She would nuzzle our hair and almost climb into our pockets.  She LOVED water and would often stand in her water trough.  Unfortunately, she was in the same large corral as Scout and Scout would always chase her off the food, so she ate off the ground and got FULL of sand, which eventually killed her.  For a long time, I was so mad at Scout...I HATED her.  I have since forgiven Scout and we continue on with our relationship. RIP Cali, December, 2012...colic.

This is Lucille, the oldest horse in my herd.  She is very friendly, very calm, and very experienced.  She doesn't like the tractor or cars, however.  I am learning a lot from Lucille.  I got her after the death of Cali.  SHE will be the horse the grand kids ride.

This is Quad, my off-the-track thoroughbred.  He is a great-grandson of BOTH Secretariat and Affirmed, and he has Man O'War in his pedigree.  Unfortunately, he didn't have the desire to race, so after 7 races, he came off the track.  He's very laid back.  Our grandson, Ben, has declared that Quad is HIS horse!

This is Sunni.  Sunni was the first horse I rescued back in 2006.  He is too flighty to be ridden.  He is, however, MY horse and he trusts me completely.  He was the unwanted byproduct of a mare bred for her urine when Premarin was popular, like many THOUSANDS of unwanted foals.  Fortunately he was rescued by United Pegasus Foundation and brought to Southern California, to await adoption.  He has a beautiful, fluid trot, but, like I said, he spooks easily.  I'll never ride him, but he is my buddy and companion and we walk in the arena together.  He would probably allow me to ride him, but, at my age, I just don't want to take the chance.  My cousin was saddle training him and he did crow-hop and throw her into the metal railings in the round pen.  THAT was the end of his saddle training...sigh...Maybe SOMEDAY I'll get on him as long as my trainer is there to help me, but I'm in no hurry.

This is Gigondas, my BIG red thoroughbred mare.  SHE should have been the race horse!  This gal has the desire AND the ability to run.  HA!  I'll NEVER ride her!  She was on a feedlot in WA state when I found her ad online.  I adopted her and Beauty together.  Gigondas doesn't really care for people, although in the last couple of years, she has finally allowed us to touch her head.  She leads quietly and has never misbehaved.  I always wanted a big red chestnut mare, and I got one!

THIS is Scout.  In the wild, in a herd, I'm positive she would be the alpha mare, or the herd leader.  She is extremely intelligent.  She READS people.  Of all my horses, if I bring somebody up for some "horse time", SHE is the one they go to.  She is a natural born leader and she and I have had our tug-of-wars.  Unfortunately, most of the time, SHE won!  I've had a trainer now for 2 years and Maia has taught Scout some manners!  Scout now waits quietly at the corral gate and doesn't push me out of the way!  She doesn't take off running either, with me dragging along behind her!  She would make a terrific barrel horse as she is very quick and is built like a tank!  I'll probably NEVER be able to ride her...I'm just not that good of a rider and my trainer refuses to get on her!  I need a 16 year old with flexible bones to hop on Scout...sigh...She has been saddle broke, but NOBODY wants to get on her and break her in.  So, my trainer comes once a week and works with each horse.  That's my trainer, Maia, taking Scout into the arena for her weekly lesson in manners and polite behavior!  She LOVES Scout and spends the most time with her.