"Somewhere in time's own space, 
must be some sweet pastured place. 
Where creeks sing on and tall trees grow, 
some Paradise where horses go. 
For by the love that guides my pen, 
I know great horses live again." - Stanley Harrison

Rowynn

A beautiful 3 year old filly that I had asked the owner to send to me instead of sending of slaughter. They said her knees were injured and had a few chips in them. That kind of thing is very reparable and so I took her on. When she arrived her muscles were so full of steroids you could bounce a penny off of her. She was a very small mare - only 15 hands - racing against much larger horses. She was so excited to come to her foster home; she knew life was going to be different and she just LOVED people. We had an immediate connection.

I had the track xrays emailed to me. After having UC Davis look at the xrays and having more taken: we discovered that she had multiple slab fractures in her knees that were slowly coming apart. The surgeons up at UC Davis did not even know how she would support herself since operating on one knee would mean she would have to support herself for months on the other. Maybe months in a sling for each knee and then the prognosis was massive arthritis.

I let her go peacefully. Another TB raced into the ground on the low level circuits. Still a baby.

I really loved her, as did her foster family. She was a special spirit. When she died three white birds of unknown species lined up in the trees overhead and stayed for a long time.
 

Rocky is a 13 year old gelding from the auction. He was very hungry. He was a Foxtrotter brought to auction from a breeding operation up in Lake County. Very calm to ride; good for beginners, very sweet and easy to manage. He had terminal cancer. I am so glad we got him and not the slaughter market or the rodeo. He went very peacefully.

"I had the sad but very needed duty of gently and humanely euthanizing“Rocky”.  Rocky was still interested in love, hay, and the Equine Senior we gave him, but sadly, despite months of feeding a proper nutritious diet (and, of course, a dental), Rocky had lost even more weight and was very very thin.  His large jugular vein showed me that his heart was not pumping as it should,  and his left eye was draining from a tumor.
 It was time for Rocky to say goodbye, as he was soon to suffer more intensely from his various medical conditions.  His last thoughts as he got sleepy were ‘Yum Yum, sweet feed, the best food ever,  chew chew….”

 Kate and SAFER did right by Rocky;  a humane and gentle euthanasia that he deserved from his people with lots of yummy food to eat.  I am fortunate to work with such a wonderful group of caring, horse loving individuals ."

Dr. Sansome

Sweet Romeo with his eventual adopter Michelle. Brought home from the Roseville Horse Auction just before it was shut down for fire violations. He had badly crippled front feet that we thought were once broken; but turned out to be severe arthritis. He was only 9. How does a little donkey get severe arthritis by 9 years of age?? Michelle and he were the best of buds for a year and a half; she even rescued him a couple of mini mares to keep him company.

But in the end when his pain got bad she did the right thing and laid him to rest.

Really don't know that there was ever a donkey more loved than Romeo at the end of his sweet life.
Carson was a Search and Rescue horse for many years; then a family trail horse.   He was 25 to 28 yrs old. He had very bad arthritis in his front legs; only 20% of the flexion needed to bend them. He has been in pain for a long time. He was dumped at the auction VERY hungry. I can only imagine how excruciating his experience might have been being shipped to Mexico.....  He got a wonderfully long massage from Kat Ripley which he greatly enjoyed, and lots of good food. A good and faithful servant indeed, who deserved a gentle farewell, and got it - because of the SAFER supporters.   
Memorials Page 2