Sky Ranch Sanctuary

A Horse Rescue Organization

Starlight's Page

StarlightA new mare, Starlight, came from San Luis Obispo County Animal Services to live at Sky Ranch. She’s guesstimated to be about 30 years old. She was abandoned and left to starve. The other horses in the barn are fascinated by her, and she seems to be adapting well to her new home. As you can see from the photo, she needs to put on quite a bit of weight, and we’re working on that with soaked alfalfa cubes and senior horse food. Starlight has a good appetite and seems very glad to be among other horses again.

In Buddhism, it is said that life consists of 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. I think they are onto something. Loss and its accompanying sorrow are inevitable, especially when caring for older horses. But then there is the joy that comes in getting to know a new horse and giving a her a forever home.

Starlight

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Our delicate mare, Starlight, died yesterday after a long day of battling colic. Our vet, Dr. Troy Osborne, came and went and came and went and came one last time, treating her for the pain and trying to get her system moving in the right direction. She would stand and walk around briefly and then lie back down again. The colic seemed manageable early on in the day, but it progressed to unmanageable as day drifted into evening. Starlight was in her 30’s, and we didn’t feel that hospitalization and surgery were humane options for her.

Starlight came to live at Sky Ranch Sanctuary from Animal Control a little over a year ago. We don’t know much about her history, but she had scars on her legs and was abandoned, so she surely had life stories to tell.

We buried Starlight today under overcast skies. We are so sad and only wish her the peace and freedom from pain that all of our horses deserve.

Starlight update

 

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Starlight, our newest resident, is adjusting very well. She is a sweet natured mare and has gained 75 pounds since her arrival. We are so glad to have her here at the ranch. Some minor health issues seem to have resolved themselves, and she seems content as part of the herd.

Her “backstory” of abandonment is a little different. A horse owner went out to feed her horses and found an “extra horse” in with her horses. Creative abandonment? After advertising brought no one forward to claim her, she went to animal services. Now she’s at home at Sky Ranch.

Starlight: New Girl in Town

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A lot happened here last week. Our beloved mare, Spirit, died suddenly, and we will be missing her for a long time. On a happier note, two days earlier, a new mare, Starlight, came from San Luis Obispo County Animal Services to live at Sky Ranch. She’s guesstimated to be about 30 years old. She was abandoned and left to starve. The other horses in the barn are fascinated by her, and she seems to be adapting well to her new home. As you can see from the photo, she needs to put on quite a bit of weight, and we’re working on that with soaked alfalfa cubes and senior horse food. Starlight has a good appetite and seems very glad to be among other horses again.

In Buddhism, it is said that life consists of 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. I think they are onto something.  Loss and its accompanying sorrow are inevitable, especially when caring for older horses. But then there is the joy that comes in getting to know a new horse and giving a her a forever home.

We are thrilled to have Starlight here.