This year we were fortunate to have the horses’ yearly vaccines provided free by Merck Pharmaceuticals.
Be Prepared/ Horses and Disasters
Disaster preparedness is important for all animals, but it takes extra consideration for horses because of their size and requirements for transporting them. It’s imperative to be prepared to move the horses to a safe area. Access to a trailer, in good condition,and a pre-planned route of escape…actually two possible routes of escape..are necessary. Evacuation experts suggest practicing routes with the trailer and making sure all of the horses are willing to be loaded with only one handler.
Planning ahead is critical, and that plan must be in place before you see smoke or fire.
The Humane Society stresses that if you are unprepared or wait until the last minute to evacuate, you could be told by emergency management officials that you must leave your horses behind.
Purchasing a horse trailer will help us become better prepared in case of a fire emergency…
Please donate to the Sky Ranch Sanctuary Horse Trailer Fund
Here are links to other preparedness sources if you are interested in researching further:
http://traveltruth101.blogspot.ca/2013/10/fire-preparedness-for-horses.html
http://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/livestk/01817.pdf
Spirit
Spirit, a pretty mare, came to live at Sky Ranch on Halloween of 2014. We had no way of knowing her name, so I named her Spirit because I liked the name! Little did I know how apropos it would be in her case. She has plenty of spirit! She stomps her feet and kicks the barn walls with impatience when it’s time to go out into the pasture. If she were a human, she’d be standing, arms folded, foot tapping and rolling her eyes; wondering why no one knows it’s HER turn.
We didn’t always know Spirit like that…or Sheldon..or Digger..who were severely undernourished when they came to our attention. Food does more than keep the body going physically. It’s nourishment for what makes a being “alive” and willing to address life head on. One only has to look at the photos of children who are starving to see how dim the light is in their eyes.
One of the greatest aspects of this work, is seeing an animal who has been deprived, come alive in spirit as well as in body. Personalities unfold and their individualities shine.
Digger and Archie: Breakfast for two, please.
With Digger’s somewhat limited chewing power, he often drops some senior feed on the ground, and Archie is all too happy to help clean things up!
Frostie: A Memorial
Frostie, a beloved barn cat, died last week of complications from lymphoma. Frostie was born on this ranch 10 plus years ago, to a feral mom and a stray, but tame, dad. He had five brothers and sisters and his mom, Hissie, moved the kittens from a Mercedes chassis in my husband’s shop to under the gas tank behind the house. Frostie was a handsome, leggy, silver gray tabby and he survived, and I’m sure outlived, many of the predators who would have loved to have him for lunch!
In losing Frostie, I lost a dear friend. I was his “only human:” no one else could pet him or pick him up. Most mornings he was waiting for me near the porch, appearing from out of nowhere and standing at my feet. I would pick him up, snuggle him into me, and bury my nose in his fur. Then I could listen to him purr all the way to the barn.
It was like that for us. Even though he’s gone, I catch sight of him everywhere. The heart has a different sense of reality. In a couple of weeks I’ll pick up his ashes at the animal hospital and will scatter them in one of the places where he hung out on the ranch. It will just be the two of us, like always.