Feed 106 horses

After a winter that brought record rains and snow to the ranch, summer has arrived! The horses are definitely enjoying the blue skies and sunshine. Even on the warmest days you will find the horses napping in the sun.

Our mustangs welcomed summer with a beautiful bloom of snow-in-summer flowers (Cerastium tomentosum). When not enjoying the sunshine, you will find the herd relaxing in the shade of the oak trees in their habitat.

In November of 2022 we shared news of a new arrival at the ranch, Rocky. He came to us from another rescue that needed help caring for the emaciated twenty-two-year-old gelding. He is now enjoying his first summer at the ranch. He has gained the weight he needed, thanks to your generous support of our “Feed 106 Horses” project.

It turns out Rocky is quite the ladies' man. Fortunately, Margie was looking for a tall, handsome fellow to call her own. It was definitely love at first sight for these two. Seeing Rocky recover from his neglect and find love means everything to us.

We are so grateful to you for making the magic of Tir Na Nog possible for all of the horses that call the ranch home. Without your generosity, over 100 horses would be without the forever home they so richly deserve. Our entire herd is grateful.

Our horses were so happy to see sunshine on St. Patrick's Day this year. Weeks of record rain and snow have been made for a tough winter at the ranch, so the sunshine was definitely welcome.

Pax and Officer Clark are very good friends. Officer Clark was a medical retirement from the San Diego Police Department in December 2008. Pax joined our sanctuary in June of 2019. These two have been good buddies ever since and they are both always looking for a reason to party. Of course, as red heads, they have a special fondness for St. Patrick's Day.

Simone has been with us since 2008. She has the dubious distinction of being the worst neglect case that San Diego County Animal Services successfully recovered. Her arrival at the ranch began our partnership with San Diego County Animal Services, a partnership that has saved the lives of over 100 equines since 2008.

Raelee came to us when a local rescue, HiCaliber, closed its doors in 2018. We doubt she knows the legend of Tir Na Nog, but thanks to your support, she has a forever home. She is very bonded to Smoki, another red-headed mare. Your support provides these two beautiful mares with a wonderful retirement filled with plenty of food, veterinary care, farrier care and love.

Whether or not it is Dt. Patrick's Day we consider all of the ranch residents, "lucky." Rain or shine, they're all able to enjoy their golden years. This luck has very little to do with leprechauns and pots of gold. It has everything to do with YOU and your generous support of our work to care for abused, abandoned, and neglected horses.

Thank you for making our horses the luckiest ones around! 

We are so grateful for your support that allows us to feed the 106 equines in our care. We were recently approached by a local foundation, the Remiatte Foundation, that supports what we do to care for horses. Another rescue that the Remiatte Foundation also supports had rescued two horses in August. While the younger mare found an adoptive home, a twenty-two-year-old gelding was in need of a sanctuary placement. They asked us to help.

We were told that Rocky lived with the same family for twenty years. He traveled all over the west coast and Arizona on trail rides. In spite of two decades as part of the family, he was emaciated when he was rescued in August. While he still has a lot of weight to regain, he has a strong appetite. The arrival of fall temperatures will make weight gain more challenging but we are blanketing him to keep him from burning important calories keeping warm. We want all of his calories going to weight gain.

We suspect Rocky has developed pastern arthritis in his right rear leg. We also suspect that he might have Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis, also known as EOTRH. As the disease progresses, the roots of the incisors (and sometimes canines) start to resorb, or basically dissolve. Several of his incisors are very loose. Fortunately, he is eating well now. In November Dr. Harlan, our veterinarian woth East County Large Animal Practice, will x-ray his legs and likely begin extracting the impacted teeth.

It is a very difficult time for us to add an additional horse to the ranch. Feed prices are unprecedented. Each new resident represents a life-long commitment. We wish his family of twenty years had provided for him during his golden years. Since they were unable to, and the non-profit that rescued him couldn’t provide him with life-long care, we are grateful to YOU for your support. Your generosity will allow us to transform this skinny fellow into the true beauty that he is. Every pound he gains will be the result of your support. Thank YOU for saving one more life!

Earlier this summer the owner of two senior horses and a senior burro passed away, leaving no one to care for these equines. They were rescued by County of San Diego Department of Animal Services. Given their advanced ages, close bond and medical conditions, Animal Services asked us to provide them with a forever home.

The mare, in her 20’s, has a number of melanomas. These are common in grey horses. Our veterinarian also suspects she has an allergy to fly bites. We are addressing this with topical medication and a fly sheet.

The gelding, thought to be at least thirty is visually impaired. Our veterinarian believes he has lost most, if not all of the vision in his right eye. He has likely lost at least a portion of the vision in his left eye. This vision loss has greatly enhanced the bond between these two. The gelding appears dependent on the mare for comfort and confidence. Unfortunately, they require dramatically different diets so we have to keep them separated. The gelding’s teeth are worn out. He can no longer chew hay enough to derive nutrition from it, so he is on a soaked pellet diet. We hope that we will soon see him gaining weight.

The burro is thought to be about twenty-nine years old. He is settling into life with our senior burro group.

During this time of unprecedented feed costs, we were only able to offer these two senior horses and burro a forever because of your on-going, generous support. We are grateful to each of you for supporting our efforts to provide life-long care for senior equines rescued by Animal Services.

In our last update we introduced you to four horses that arrived on October 16. Tootsie Roll and Lil' Girl, two sisters, arrived from San Bernadino County Animal Care and Control. They were part of a terrible neglect case. Tootsie Roll had been diagnosed with laminitis and Lil' Girl was said to have significant behavioral issues. Coco and Petey came to us from a neglect case with County of San Diego Department of Animal Services.

We are so happy to share that all four horses are doing well:

• Tootsie Roll's feet have recovered well. Ex-rays showed thin soles and we discovered remnants of large abscesses that would have been painful when they first occurred. The therapeutic shoes put on while she was at the shelter helped provide critical support and she is now pain free.
• We suspect that Lil's Girl's behavioral issues might have been the result of being stressed at the shelter. We have not seen her being aggressive toward people or her sister. In fact, these two girls are now sharing a corral and doing well together. 
• Coco quickly gained weight at the ranch once we increased the number and size of her meals to amounts appropriate to a horse her size. This sweet, mellow girl definitely enjoys her meals. In fact, we have had to transition her from her weight-gain diet to a maintenance diet before she gained too much weight. As a result of arthritis, she is on daily pain medication which has significantly increased her comfort level.
• Petey had the most weight to gain of all four horses. While cold winter temperatures often slow down weight gain, but thanks to his warm, waterproof blanket, Petey is looking much better these days. What we love the most is seeing him dance and prance each morning as we bring him his breakfast. He is one happy boy and the volunteers love him.

We are so grateful for your support of our Feed 1006 Horses Project. Feed prices are going up across all our feeds. We purchase our Bermuda hay by the half truck load. This month, the cost of that half load increased by $1,000! Your support is making such a critical difference in the lives of the horses and other ranch residents we care for. Thank you!