News from Sky Ranch Sanctuary - Sky Ranch Sanctuary

January 1, 2019 By skyranch

Happy New Year!

Sky Ranch Sanctuary wants to wish all of you a very happy new year. Let’s hear it for positive changes in 2019!

The photo is of Sheldon in his new Guardian Mask. We think he looks like a rock star and very “L.A!”

A few months ago, Sheldon developed a condition called “Equine Head Shaking Syndrome.” It’s a puzzling condition that causes involuntary shaking of the head. There are several attributable causes, and it can be very difficult to treat successfully. One of the causes is sun sensitivity , and with Sheldon we definitely see some causation of symptoms in regard to being in the sun. He doesn’t exhibit the symptoms in the barn in the evening, and the symptoms don’t start till the morning sun has been up for awhile.

After an exam and consultation with our vet, we visited Dr. John Madigan’s website to look for solutions. Dr. Madigan, at UC Davis, has studied this condition and he recommends the Guardian Mask, which gives extra UV protection. The mask is expensive relative to a regular fly mask, but we wanted to give Sheldon the best protection we could, while still letting him enjoy his time out in the pasture. So far, though still exhibiting some milder symptoms, he seems to have improved, and we are thrilled. The condition can improve during the winter when the sun isn’t as intense, and sometimes the condition just goes away. Fingers crossed.

Thanks to everyone who responded to our 12 Days of Christmas holiday fund raiser. May all of us enjoy greener pastures in 2019!

December 13, 2018 By skyranch

Merry Christmas! Merry Everything!

We want to wish all of you the Merriest of Holidays! Whatever you are celebrating, go all out!

Our horses are all doing well, and that’s enough for us to celebrate. Thanks to the rain, there is finally some grass peeking up in the pasture. Those of you who live in more northern regions might wish for a white Christmas, but we on the Central California Coast are very happy to have a green Christmas!

Having older horses is another reminder to try and enjoy each day. It’s all passing way too fast. I think one of the greatest gifts our animal friends give us is calling our attention to the reality that each day is new; that what might look at first glance to be the same scenery you looked at yesterday, is filled with new smells, colors and possibilities. The horses trot out to the pasture each day looking around and checking out what might have changed. Each day, look more closely at your surroundings. You may be surprised!

Have a great, safe holiday, and look forward to the New Year. Might as well. It’s going to be here!

November 27, 2018 By skyranch

Thankful

Though the official Thanksgiving holiday is passed, it is not too late to be thankful! We at Sky Ranch are feeling gratitude and compassion. The fires did not reach us and for that we are eternally grateful. For those who lost life, both human and animal, we feel so much sadness. Seeing the images of flames and smoke and knowing the heartache of loss affects us all.

There was one fire close to us, caused by a car roll over, but firefighters got it out before it spread. It is all so fortuitous. Sky Ranch is located in a canyon and looking around at the trees that so graciously look down on us the mental image of them aflame is too hard to take in.(The oak leaves stay green no matter how dry we get! They are a miracle in themselves!) It’s so easy to take all of this natural beauty for granted.

We finally got some rain! And hopefully it did not cause too much damage in the fire ravaged areas. As we move into a Central Coast winter, we celebrate green…we’re finally seeing some!

The horses are doing fine. Some of us (including yours truly) are a little stiff some days, but as we get on about our day, the kinks get worked out. The other day I stuck my nose in Digger’s neck and took in his wonderful horse smell. (May sound strange to some, but horse lovers will know exactly what I mean!) I need do that more often. Small pleasures lift us up. I hope you have some small pleasures that will get you through your day. We (two legged and four legged) at Sky Ranch are grateful for all of you. (And a special thank you for Jennifer for gently getting me off my ____ to get something written again!)

June 25, 2018 By skyranch

Feeding Horses

These before and after photos of Digger demonstrate what a good, edible diet can do for a starving horse! He had his teeth done and then became healthy and robust on a diet of soaked alfalfa cubes, senior horse food, and Platinum Performance (a supplement.)

A neighbor commented on seeing us weigh the hay and measure the senior feed, that doing those things seemed like “overkill” when many people just throw out some hay and the horses seem fine. I’m sure throwing out some hay works for many horses, but at Sky Ranch we believe weight control for our horses is critical to their health and without weighing and measuring it’s impossible to make adjustments to get to a healthier more desirable weight, whether that’s up or down on the scale.

Actually Digger has become a bit too heavy, and we’ve cut back on his alfalfa cubes a bit. He’s still happy and healthy!

I came across a website that has some sensible tips on feeding horses. Check it out of you’re interested and enjoy the summer! https://www.thesprucepets.com/common-horse-feeding-mistakes-1886500

May 23, 2018 By skyranch

Books and Horses

I love books almost as much as I love horses. And this has been going on since I was very young. While many girls my age, maybe 9 or so, were devouring Nancy Drew (and I love a good mystery), I was searching the shelves in our one room village library for stories about animals.

I’d gather them up, go up to the librarian’s desk and watch her put that magical due date stamp on the card and then in the book. Yes, I’m old enough to remember that ancient system.

Favorites were Black Beauty by Anna Sewell…way too sad for me to read now…I was braver at nine; Beautiful Joe by Marshall Saunders: first published in 1894, a story from a faithful dog’s viewpoint about his abused and then rescued life; Smoky the Cow Horse by Will James: about a horse who is lost and then found; and anything by Walter Farley who wrote the Black Stallion series. I sent away for a “signed” photograph of Walter Farley and still have it in the horse scrap book I put together, in which I pasted clippings of race horses and my very amateurish attempts at drawing horses!

I’m sure there are many other titles that I have loved and forgotten.

More recent horsey titles I have enjoyed are:

The Eighty Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts: A story about a horse rescued literally on his way to slaughter who became a champion jumper.

Chosen by a Horse: How a Broken Horse Fixed a Broken Heart by Susan Richards

Saving Baby: How One Woman’s Love For a Racehorse Led to Her Redemption by Jo Anne Normile and Lawrence Lindner

Horses Never Lie About Love: The Heartwarming Story of a Remarkable Horse Who Changed the World Around Her by Jana Harris

Now that the longer days of summer are here, I may read them all again! I hope you have a stack of books nearby to get you through the summer, and I hope that at least one is about a horse.