Corey was a handsome, sweet natured horse, and we wish he were still here with us. Corey died from age related causes the night of the big rain storm here on the California Central Coast. He seemed fine that morning at breakfast, but a few hours later it was obvious that something was wrong. A visit from the vet confirmed our fears that what was going on was serious, but we hoped things would turn around. Later that night Corey died.

People who know horses, know how individual they are. Corey was a good guy, but at times he could be short on patience. While getting the horses out for daytime turnout, the usual was to hear Corey banging on his stall wall because another horse was getting out first. Bang, bang, bang! When Corey first came to live here, he once became so impatient waiting to come into the barn for dinner, that he ripped off the pasture gate and flung it into the air. No one was hurt, but we made sure he wasn’t the last to come in after that. He was a horse that didn’t want to cause trouble; he just didn’t want to be forgotten.

Corey was easy going with us and with the other horses and welcomed new horses into the herd. He was a pleasure to have here at Sky Ranch; we miss him and he won’t be forgotten.

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!)

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.

All of the horses are wearing their winter coats!

Although hair growth generally coincides with colder temperatures, it is primarily the amount of daylight hours that affects a horse’s hair growth, or lack thereof. As the daylight hours slowly start to decrease in autumn, horses may start to grow a soft fuzzy coat over their short, slicker summer coat. Likewise, as the daylight hours and temperatures begin to increase in the springtime, the thick, long winter coat starts to shed. The horse’s pituitary gland recognizes this change in daylight hours, and produces hormones that cause a horse to shed it’s winter coat.

We think our horses look great, furry or sleek! And even covered with a little mud after rolling!

Thanks to some winter showers…finally…the grass is starting to grow! We will be green again. We were spared the horrific fires and devastating mud slides, though so many of our fellow Californians..two legged and four legged..were not. So much heart-wrenching loss.

While much of the country is covered with snow, our winters bring us green grass and wildflowers. The horses love the grass of course, but we have to watch Sheldon as the new grass can be loaded with sugar which can create health problems for this wonderful guy. Last year he did fine with the grass, but we will keep an close eye on him.

Our beloved dog, Archie, died suddenly last summer. We miss him every day. In September we adopted a year old Huskie/German Shepherd mix. Named her Ava. She’s a beauty like Ava Gardener (for those of you old enough to remember the actress!) She’s has a sweet, wonderful disposition but is still getting used to the horses. Thinks they’re fun to chase! We’re working on that!

Thank you to all of you who donated to SRS in 2017, to those of you who liked our web site, and to those of you who just visited to see how the horses are doing.

Happy New Year!