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Very mixed emotions today but cannot express how thankful I am that all our equine family is safe.
A peaceful and comforting moment with Mouse - a very independent little guy who can read human emotions and step up every time. You just have to love him. And let’s not forget Hobbes who has been side stepping up to my right shoulder the whole time. Donkey love. Subtle and powerful.
There are no words to describe the extreme devestation and loss the LNU fire left behind. It came over the Vaca Mountain ridge with a fury and was all you could see for miles. With no power and no warning our neighbors and ourselves evacuated at 3 in the morning grabbing only what was at hand and leaving everything else behind. We were very blessed that we were able to safely evacuate Patriot, LuLu, Calvin, Hobbes, Molly and Mouse. Our gratitude and thanks goes to everyone who helped us that night. The brave folks that came in with horse trailers and brought us to safety will never be forgotten, the folks that stayed behind when they could have left to make sure that all were loaded and on their way to safety. We will never be able to express our gratitude. Our hearts will always be with those who suffered so much loss that horrible night.
The day before the fire was a strange time. Temperatures had been in the high triple digits for a week, and the sky was that horrible grey/orange color that we have unfortunately all become familiar with. Blue Horse Rescue was very lucky to be evacuated to a large ranch in Dixon where our horses and donkeys had space, clean water, were all together and in a very safe environment. The doors were opened to us for two weeks until we were able to bring everyone safely home again.
We were able to return at daylight and fully expecting to find total destruction it was as if the fire had circled around the property and left it unscathed. Only twenty feet away was total loss of property. Once again we had been blessed.
The next few weeks would be very smokey but the following days were really bad. LuLu has lung damage from the Tubbs fire and she had a really hard time with all this smoke. Lots of luck, a strong mare, constant breathing treatments and many meds got her through it.
It’s time again for vaccines. Not a day that Calvin and Hobbes look forward to at all! Hobbes did great and we were even able to get a few pics but unfortunately Calvin was not in the mood for a photo op so we let him be. More sensitive and a little more skeptical, he declined having his picture taken.
Our little ones are getting so much better with being handled by the vet for their routine wellness checks, but those needles are a very different story! We’ll be working on that but I have to say; can’t really blame them! Big thank you to UCDavis Field Service for the amazing care they give our horses, and also for their enthusiasm and patience - much appreciated.
Grace has been in our senior sanctuary with Christina for the past year. Found wandering and alone, and with euthanasia looming as no one came forward to claim her, Christina opened her heart (and with one more senior shelter available!) Grace had a place to live out her days. Great to see Grace happy and part of a family!
Molly and Mouse just adore each other and everyday they spend time mutually grooming each other. They love their grooming sessions! Mouse has now bonded with our little donkey Calvin and I caught this grooming session thru the fence. The grooming wasn't actually mutual - Mouse groomed and Calvin enjoyed his efforts!
Today the big blue ball showed up. Not quite sure why, or what they were supposed to do with it but ever so slightly interested, Molly and Mouse checked it out from a safe distance. I think I was more excited about it than they were. Anyway, Molly and Mouse decided that they’d humor me and calmly go along with the whole thing and see what happened.
What started out kinda flat and boring gradually filled up with air until it was a ball and began to roll around a little in the wind. Now it may not be so boring after all! It was agreed that they really needed to check it out a little more before just walking off to spend the afternoon searching for interesting dried grass.
(After a few moments Mouse was elected to be sent in for a closer look and to possibly make contact.)
Mouse bravely stepped up to make sure that all was safe and then, being the perfect little alfa mare in training that she is, Molly stepped up to see for herself. “Hmm, smells rather strange, but it may have potential. Keep checking it out, Mouse”.
So Mouse, being the sweetest little gelding ever, did just that. Taking his job very seriously Mouse checked it out from every possible angle just hoping that the girl would want to play.
Mouse so thought that this might just prove to be a lot of fun on a windy afternoon. He had visions of chasing the blue ball around with Molly in hot pursuit at his side. But that just wasn’t meant to be.
Playing with the big blue ball was not about to happen. And with the look that only a little alfa mare in training can give you, Molly glared at Mouse not once from the other side of the big blue ball, but just to make sure there was no misunderstanding, she glared twice- the blue ball was definitely out!
And that was the moment that Mouse knew there was absolutely no way Molly was going to show any kind of interest in the big blue ball.
However, Molly is never short on ideas and she enthusiastically let Mouse know how they were going to spend the afternoon doing exactly what she wanted to do. It was her very favorite thing in the world and Mouse would just love it too!! They were going to play the best game ever - it was called mutual grooming!
And so Mouse, being the sweetest little gelding ever, did just that. Mutual grooming it was as the big blue ball sadly drifted off in the wind to finish the day ignored in the far corner of the arena. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.
Our first smoke and fire of the summer. We were very lucky and did not have to evacuate - the response was incredible, the wind was in our favor and the fire was quickly contained. Still, it gets your heart racing.
Grace came to Blue Horse Rescue as a horse that had been found wandering. With no-one to step up for her she was due to be euthanized by Animal Control. Thanks to our foster mom for seniors, Grace was able to come to BHR and is now living her days out with a loving family and her senior friends, Mariah and Bonnie.
Let’s all stay safe and healthy as we navigate these new and challenging times!
Donkey play is tough stuff! The first time I saw this I was really worried but a few minutes later they were buddied up and napping together. While Calvin looks like the under dog in these pics, I can say he definitely is the initiator 90% of the time and has quite a few amazing moves himself.
Calvin and Hobbes enjoying their new found freedom between their stalls and the turn out. Plus they’re helping out with keeping the green grass trimmed back!
Blue Horse Rescue now has an amazing ‘hay shed’ to keep all our feed dry and covered. No more crawling around under water logged tarps at feeding time! Many thanks to Tom for coming out on a very wet and chilly day to put this up for us - much appreciated! And also to John S. for this incredible and much needed donation!
To cut back on the amount of sand, dirt and dust our horses inhale or swallow when eating off the ground we have put two feeding platforms at each end of our large turn outs. It has really helped a lot - much less coughing, sand in bellies, and wasting hay that ends up in the mud and dust. Great to not hear my respiratory mare coughing with every bite!
Today we had a very unexpected visitor to BHR in the form of a wild turkey. She showed up early this morning and was calling and calling to her buddies. No one answered her. She checked out all the stalls, the tack room, cars and trucks and even strolled through the runs looking for her friends. She became a regular at the barn and then one day was gone. I like to think that she found her buddies.
It may not look like anything too exciting but we have added a gate system on either side of the barn so our untouchables (Calvin and Hobbes) are able to leave their stalls and head out to the turnouts, and it keeps everyone just a little bit safer from the road.
May yours be filled with health, joy, love and adventures!
Hard to find the barn this morning with all the fog. Horses are doing good considering this is their first experience with dense fog and little visibility. Lots of firsts for them at our new barn!
Wishing you all a very happy holiday season!
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