This is Digger (“Dig”) our newest horse; a 20 something Thoroughbred gelding. He’s been here a week and had his teeth done yesterday. He needed pretty extensive dental work, including two extractions. Dig’s owner died and he fell through the cracks. We hope he’s as happy here as we are to have him at Sky Ranch. We will update his progress.
Fires
California is my home and I wouldn’t have it any other way… but these fires… of course the loss of human life and the destruction of homes is more than tragic, but when you love the other creatures of the earth it gets really scary.
We don’t have a horse trailer (though hope in time to have one) and though we have a friendly connection to H. E. E. T. (Horse Evacuation Team/ a wonderful, skillful group of volunteers who help get horses out of all sorts of difficulties..natural disasters, traffic accident, swimming pools, you name it) it is a little nerve wracking when there are fires within 30 miles of a horse barn.
Though the fire danger is ever present each year, the drought has made us ever more mindful of how fires, either created by natural phenomenon, mindless human action or worse yet, deliberate dastardly acts, can pose a great threat. Many years ago when I lived in Santa Monica there were great fires nearby that sent soot and ash drifting into our usually clear ocean air. On the TV news, I saw footage of a coyote facing burning brush on the hillside by the 405 Freeway, clearly trying to figure out which way to run. I can’t forget that image and only hope s/he found a safe way out. Fingers crossed that the fall/winter rains are not long in coming.
Home Sweet Home
Home means different things to different people..horses…and frogs…well at least one frog.
For me, home is where my family, critters, and routines reside. My hope for the horses is that home now means a safe place where they have the food, pasture time and kind attention they need. Then there’s the frog.
There is a tiny little white frog who lives in the lower pasture water tank. I feel a little stab of guilt at my insensitivity when he comes swooshing out of the tank when I tip it to get the old water out. Because of his pale color I don’t see him till it’s too late, and I’ve upended his world. Spilled from the tank he hops off slowly but not till looking at me (at least he appears to be looking at me) with his dark brown eyes as if to say: “Pardon me?! Someone is living in here.”
I’m never sure how he returns to the tank. He must climb the polystyrene walls with his sticky feet. But the next time I change the water, he’s in there again and distracted me forgets to look out for him. I don’t want to attribute human thinking to him, but he is willing to come back to the tank even though he was rather abruptly forced out of it. Even in difficult circumstances, home has a pull to it. Sky Ranch Sanctuary provides a home for horses and at least one white frog.
Decisions
Everyone who has cared for and loved an animal knows how heart wrenching it is to “make the decision” when the animal is suffering too much and there seems to be little hope of recovery. I’ve been in that position several times and, it never gets any easier. Even when the attending veterinarian concurs or even suggests that it’s time for euthanasia, there are nagging doubts.
A few months ago our horse Sheldon suffered a terrible painful colic. It was in the evening (colics like childbirth seem to prefer the dark!) when the horse started to thrash and throw himself against the walls of his stall. His anguish was apparent and great. A call to the vet brought him from a party to our barn. He examined Sheldon and gave him some calming pain meds. After doing a rectal exam, the vet stated that there was no fecal matter in the colon area and that indicated the problem was in the stomach, which is very serious and not easily treatable.
Sheldon continued to thrash and throw himself around with no sign of improvement. It seemed so dire. My horse caregiver helper Madeline answered my panicked phone call and came as fast as she could to the barn. It seemed hopeless but when the vet gave Sheldon a sedative cocktail, the horse seemed to calm, and he lay down in his stall. The vet said I should wait till the sedative wore off and then to call him if the pain returned. I was left alone to stand vigil for this dear horse. I stood at his stall door with my eyes pegged on him to see any signs that would help me decide if it was time to make “the decision.”
I suddenly got the feeling I wasn’t alone…that feeling when you know someone is looking at you from behind. I turned and a few feet away was a skunk. We both looked at each other for probably one second. I said “Oh s—t” as we humans often do when faced with a crisis, and s/he may have felt the same. I figured my only hope was to turn and walk away, hoping to squelch any threat the skunk might be feeling. After walking a few feet, I turned and saw the skunk had turned and was walking away rather nimbly in the other direction. One crisis averted. And actually some humor inserted into a scary situation.
I kept up the vigil for an hour or so more and noted Sheldon still seemed very relaxed. Whatever was in that sedative cocktail seemed to have shifted something in his insides. He was resting and seemed comfortable. By morning he seemed fine and back to his old self. The vet called and was pleasantly surprised I think. That was months ago, and Sheldon is still happily with us. The decision to give him more time to work through the colic turned out to be a good one. Maybe we got lucky. The decision made by the skunk and I to just turn and walk away turned out to be a good one too. I love it when decisions turn out to be the right ones.
Something That Matters
Because of the unique nature of horse ownership, there are no accurate figures to document how many unwanted horses exist. Unlike as to dogs and cats, many state laws regarding the abuse and/or abandonment of horses treat horses as “livestock” rather than pets, allowing for much greater leeway in their treatment. Also it is safe to say that tens of thousands of horses are sent to slaughter each year, while some unwanted horses are euthanized. With economic downturns, the number of abandoned or neglected horses rises exponentially.
Sky Ranch Sanctuary currently houses and cares for four horses and we are hoping to expand to care for a total of six. (We want to keep the size manageable for myself and Madeline Royal [horse caregiver extraordinaire] to do the day to day care and maintenance.)
At times I think this is such a drop in the bucket that it seems an exercise in futility. We’re so small. But then I look at the horses we have and remind myself that to Sheldon, Spirit, Party Girl and Snitch, our small haven is everything. They are wanted horses given the care and attention all horses deserve. And that is something that matters.