the twins and family come to visit!

Always a welcome sight are the twins coming to visit us under the big shade tree. Last summer a little orphan showed up only days old. He was quickly adopted by a doe that already had a baby at her side. The three of them would come visit in the evenings and enjoyed the fresh water in our turn out area. After the LNU fire swept thru in August we were very concerned about whether they had made it, so to see them with their herd and growing stronger just warms our hearts.

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Bath Time for Calvin and Hobbes

Our two little donkeys have finally agreed to a bath - it’s been a long time coming. While they allowed and tolerated this indignation their bright white clean coats did not stay that way for long - actually about a minute! Then everything was back to normal and a fine coat of mud was in place. Oh well, at least their skin is temporarily free from dirt, ash, dust and everything else little donkeys pick up along the way!

Hobbes is blissfully happy with a good dusting of dirt.

Hobbes is blissfully happy with a good dusting of dirt.

Calvin gets the prize for the most amount of dirt in the least amount of time!

Calvin gets the prize for the most amount of dirt in the least amount of time!

Strange Skies

The fire left some strange skies and weather patterns. Hot, high winds, orange skies and then our first day of a blue sky peaking through as the wind blew ash and dust. The color of the video and picture below have not been altered. This is what it looked like all day long. The video was taken at about 8 am. The photo about four in the afternoon. Very strange skies and really bad air. A day later we had blue skies and winds blowing ash and dust at 40 mph. Really looking forward to a cool autumn day with the bright blue California skies.

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Unexpected visitor!

Well, I have to remind myself that many animals, and that includes snakes, lost their homes during the LNU fire - we have been very lucky and our doors have been open to all. I’m not a snake person so having this guy living alternately between under one of our stalls and our barn door took some getting used to. But, we have no mice at the moment and I hear they keep the rattle snakes away. So, a big welcome to George, the official Blue Horse Rescue snake.

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Our Safe Haven during the Evacuation

Not permitted to go back to our barn for the first few days after the fire, we were very grateful to the generosity of the ranch owners in Dixon for opening this pasture to our little herd. They moved a herd of 15 mares so we could be in this pasture - amazing kindness and generosity. Thank you so much.

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The wind changed direction for a bit and everyone enjoyed the slightly cleaner air. Still full of smoke there was definitely less particulate matter. A brief respite appreciated by all. While ‘at home’ our herd was not turned out together but they banded as one and I didn’t worry about the little and bigs getting into trouble. They understood the need to be one. Calvin and Hobbes formed their own twosome and kept their distance but should a ranch dog come through the fence they were both quick to chase it away and protect the herd. I was impressed. The very serious ranch dogs were not so much impressed.

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A Safe Spot for Caballo

Caballo recovering from the fire. Eating, drinking, peeing, pooping and doing well. No burns on his body and no lameness or burns to his hooves. He will be watched for possible abcesses and damage to his hooves from the hot ground that he was standing on. We were able to provide farrier care for Caballo and happy that he had no evident damage to his hooves or lower legs. What a sweet boy he is. As he was in the thick of the fire, he will also be watched for respiratory problems, so far so good, but it’s early days, but for now we are happy that he is doing so well.

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Caballo's Story

This is an incredible story of equine resilience and survival skills. We worry so much about our horses, but they seem so much more prepared to handle adversity than we give them credit for. While Caballo’s pasture burned he was able to keep himself safe from injury related to the fire. I won’t even attempt to guess how. So, here’s what we found on neighboring property hours after the fire swept through. Truly amazing.

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Amidst all the burn Caballo stood patiently waiting for help to find his way to safe ground. The gate area was still hot and burning so all we could do was cut the fencing to get him off that hot ground. He embraced human contact and followed D’Arcy to safety.

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A Quiet Moment on Safe Ground

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…

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.

The LNU Fire

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 evacu…

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.

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 go…

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.

Vaccine Day for Molly and Mouse

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.

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