NBBH and a Cool Thursday

When I got home Tuesday BBH was missing. She was no where to be found. Then Jim came out with a new hat who immediately became New Best Beloved Hat-NBBH. She had a guinea feather no less. Isn't she beautiful? I guess BBH has met her maker or destroyer as the case may be. Thanks, Jim, I love her.


This morning Fiesty and Princess were having a peaceful nap on the back of the chair.

Then along came Patches and rest time was over.

The laundry was claimed by cats and every time I tried to fold and sort I had help.

Took a short walk around the upper yard and enjoyed the company of Harmony. Doesn't she look cute with the eared fly mask? She and Chance have been the best pasture mates. They can both run like the wind and enjoy getting the other wound up. Sometimes all there is is a cloud of dust.

Chance, whose registered name is Naughty Nine, has recovered from his broken knee. He will always have limited use, but should be a great trail horse. He is easy to be with and really wants to please.

Here's a close up of his pretty face. This one is for you, Diane.

Dancing Drum, Dunny, Frankie and Moon Dancer enjoyed the cool afternoon.

Star was there, too. He was checking to make sure no one left anything at breakfast time.

When Dancing Drum came she was thin and run down. She was headed to slaughter because she couldn't have any more colts. They had bred her to a racing mule, but she didn't conceive so it was the end for her. NorCal rescued her and brought her to us. She's put on weight and feels so good now.
She loves being with Star and Dunny. Everyone in that little herd is very gentle.

Dunny is filling out nicely. His cataracts don't slow him down at all. He races around and kicks up his heels with the best if them.

As I walked by the calf pen (and Bobbie and Quest pen) Bobbie insisted her picture get taken. This was her favorite pose.

When Callie pruned the roses she did a really good job. The roses smell so sweet.

Only a few horses were in the upper turnout this afternoon. Lacey the Haflinger certainly has maintained her weight. We thought she might catch the bug from Babe, but apparently not. Haflingers are mostly this palomino color.

Babe, the Pony of the Americas, lost a lot of weight while she was sick but eats continually now so she should fatten up again.

Skittles was a little sick, but never got bad. She enjoys time by herself, but does not want to be away from her herd. This tree is one of her favorite places.

Stuart was the only other horse in the turnout. There is a nice article about mustangs in the October issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. It said the Kiger Mustangs have the Spanish gene markers in their DNA. They carry the primitive dun coloration and markings in their genes with a dorsal stripe, jack stripe, zebra stripes, bi-colored mane and tail and ears with a dark outline. All three of our Kigers, Stuart, Tiger Lily and Rosie, have these markings.

Love those sunflowers!!!!

The view from our back deck is never tiring. Quest and his little herd is in the calf pen right out our back door.

Bobbie and the calves are in with him.

The minimules are, also, in view.

Thank you James G, Lorie H, Carolene D, Lisa A and all the others who have been so very generous. Home At Last can survive only with the help and support of all of you.

This morning Callie was still muscusy, and Rosie is now drippy. She also has what looks like hives that could be internalized strangles. We will be watching her closely. Both are eating and don't seem to be suffering. Tory and Molly have coughs.
The cooler days have been wonderful. Poor Jim had 100 degree plus weather while I was gone, but now it is sooo pleasant. Our chores are easy to manage when we don't have to work in the heat.

Home At Last

The sunflowers greeted me this afternoon as I came home from the Denver area. It was a wonderful week with family near the Mile High City. Jim had all kinds of stories to tell. Some were funny and some very sad.




Honey cat said a happy hello and thought maybe she could have a little extra treat.


Do you remember the poor raggedy donkey who came a couple of months ago? Well, Jonathan is no longer raggedy. In fact he's fat and sleek. When I talked to Jim last night he said he had good news and bad news. The good news was that we had some wonderful fully ripe watermelons. The bad news was that Jonathan ate them all. Jim said the juice was dripping from his chin and he was one happy donk.

Our pasture has an empty spot. The really bad news is that Breezy Summer died of colic while I was gone. Dr. Darling feels she may have had a strangle abscess break internally. They worked for days to keep her alive. Jim knew she was in trouble because Tucker the mule would not leave her pen. When Tucker stays with a sick animal we know the animal is dying. Tucker has a special gift.

Breezy Summer was a beautiful sorrel Quarter Horse mare. She loved to be petted and Smoke was her favorite pasture buddy. We will miss you, sweet girl.


Quincy came for a drink.

Then enjoyed the salt lick.

More good news. Maggie had been feeling better and Jim moved her back to her friends in their pen. He said Maggie and Sugar groomed each other for hours when they first got back together. Maggie had been sick when I left. In fact, she could hardly breathe.

Belle and Charles were moved to the lower barn so Belle could have flatter ground to walk on. Charles had not been very comfortable with the old turnout, but is at home in the barn. His blindness bothered him and he just seemed unhappy. Now he wanders all over, but as you can see he and Belle are very close. Belle had some lymph nodes swell and now has some edema on her belly. She is eating well and does not seem to be sick.

Another funny story. Jim thought Molly wanted out so he opened the back gate. Molly looked at the gate, at Jim, at the gate again and seemed to say, "You forgot to close the gate. Someone else may get in." Jim closed the gate and Molly went to sleep.

Rosie had asked to be let out, so Jim opened her gate. She went to the big tank for a drink, then came back and asked to come in. She's a sweet and gentle girl and often gets chased off her food if she is out. Sh sure looks good now. Remember how skinny she was?

Lexi has put on so much weight I almost didn't recognize her.

Hi, Gracie.

Juan was sick while I was gone, but is doing better now.

Little Cricket came in with Lucky, but never got really sick.

Lucky has made a full recovery.

Callie was a little "off" when I left but is fine now.

Tory was coughing this afternoon. We will keep a close eye on him.

It's always fun to visit some place else, but as they say "Home is where the heart is" and my heart is at the sanctuary.
We still are contagious so be patient with us. We will continue to be closed until we get the OK from the vet. Strangles has been a real problem with a great number of our horses getting sick- some critically and one fatally. We do not want to be responsible for spreading this to other horses.

Since so many of our middle aged and older horses have been affected, I can't help but feel that maybe this is a new strain. Usually it is the young, previously unexposed horses who come down with strangles, but so far that hasn't happened. Let's keep our fingers crossed that no one else gets sick. I miss our volunteers. Don't forget about us, Helen, Leah, Carly, Tina, Sue, Laura, Joanna, Emily, Jenny, Amalie, and all you others. See you soon, I hope.

NorCal Equine Rescue has a lot of horses who need homes. Please, check them out and see if you can give a horse a forever home.

Our vet bill is overwhelming. We can use all the help you can give. Thank you.

Day Before Leaving

Early this morning Fiesty said good-bye to BBH.The sky was beautiful. It was cool and the critters were sporting around.

It felt like the coast. It was wonderful.

Babe and Lacey are doing fine. They haven't developed lumps and are eating like horses (Sorry).

Tess and Amira are good, too. They come up to the top for every meal.

Juan took a break today and rested his sore hoof. He, like a lot of mules, is difficult to give shots to because he tenses his neck muscles and bends the needles. He doesn't like powdered Bute, either. I tried to sneak some in his grain tonight.

Maggie is eating and drinking and not coughing. We're keeping her in a stall because she is so hard to catch. If she should get sick while I'm gone Jim will at least be able to treat her. She misses her friends. They call back and forth all day long.

Lucky, who started this whole illness, is doing fine. Cricket never got sick. Lucky and Leeso were playing I'm The Biggest through the fence tonight.

Breezy Summer didn't lose much weight and is eating enough for two. Her abscess is drying up.

Rico and Navajo are beautiful bay boys.

Cash is one of our real success stories. He's an off the track Thoroughbred who didn't know how to be a horse. He was afraid to be outside, didn't know how to be with other horses and did not want to be petted. Now he is part of a small herd, loves his turnout and asks to be scratched. He was skinny and now he's not. He gallops with Breeze Bay and eats with Jesse.

The garden survived Gracie and is beautiful.

The butterflies love this bush.

Because I'm leaving for Denver tomorrow, I had this need to clean today. So besides feeding, watering, and mucking stalls, watering the garden , doing laundry, ironing and dishes I cleaned. What a silly thing to do. We had traipsed stuff in before dinner, but at least the stuff was on a clean floor.

The one thing I didn't do was make the bed. Who could disturb those 3?

Jim feels about computers the way I feel about flies so there may be no blogs for a week.

Thanks to all for the kindnesses you share with us.

Be back soon.

Interesting Sunday

Again no pictures. Too busy. Maggie B. hadn't eaten for a couple of days and just couldn't swallow. We finally got her caught in the lower barn and she got 2 shots. Boy, is she feeling better. She drank and drank and is her old perky self. She'll stay in the barn a couple of days while we watch her.
Her buddies Sugar and Posey wanted to be with her and their fence was in bad shape so Brian and Jim fence mended. Now the girls will just have to wait until she comes back.
Juan's foot was so sore he couldn't set it down. Aaron came and found a huge abscess. It went from the top of the hoof clear to the bottom. Aaron got it opened and draining, then we soaked the foot. Juan should be feeling better soon.
Quest and Bobbie are fattening nicely as is Charles.
Belle is moving so much better. More shots for her.
There are a few coughs in the herd and Pico's and Breezy Summer's sores are still draining, but no new sickness today. Keep your fingers crossed.
Home At Last has many great supporters. Bonnie and Mike are two. Mike is a finish carpenter and makes absolutely beautiful items. Call him if you need any construction work 530-534-9289
It is hard for us to understand how some people can look at a very thin horse and say they are fine. Yes, some of our horse have lost weight while they were sick, but we are doing everything we can to fatten them. The folks we are talking about let their horses get thinner and thinner and do nothing. They don't call a vet. They don't feed more. They do nothing , then get mad if someone tries to help. Speak up when you see this. Be the voice for those who can't speak for themselves. Thank you to all of you who do this.