"God forbid that I should go to any heaven where there are no horses."
~R.B. Cunningham-Graham~
Earl Schrubbe
Our dear friend and volunteer Earl Schrubbe passed away December 22,
following a hard battle with colon cancer. For those who did not personally know
Earl, and his special horse (also named Earl!), you can read their story in
Going Gaited online magazine or on this Horse-Angels website. Earl the horse,
also a victim of cancer that has advanced rapidly, will likely soon follow his
rider Home. Earl the horse will be buried on The Earls’ favorite scenic hill
where they used to pause in their rides to take in the view. It was Earl the
man’s wish to have his cremains sprinkled on that same site when his horse is
buried, and that wish will be honored. Horse-Angels will be having a memorial
and celebration of the bond and courage of these two wonderful friends this
summer, and all who would like to join our celebration are welcome. The date
will be announced on this website, as well as more details as to time and
special activities.
We sure do miss you Earl!
Rosie
Rosie has been a resident of Horse-Angels since her arrival in 2001 as a 31
or 32 year old starved horse. She was kind and sweet with children and special
needs individuals, and was always a help to us when someone was afraid of
horses. Her patience as fearful children approached and ran, then approached
again made her very special! She has had Cushings Disease for 5 years and
thoroughly enjoyed her shaves every month during the summer months. She also
enjoyed baths and sunshine, and of course FOOD. She has never been thin or
outwardly ill since her initial recovery in 2001. Rosie had to be euthanized
because she was enjoying a roll in the arena, and this time her rear legs could
not lift her to get back up. We tried for 2 days to lift her, but her weak,
geriatric legs could no longer do the job. We will miss you, Beautiful
Rosie!
Buster
Buster was such a proud, wise, and loving horse. In his prime he was a beautiful show Arabian, flaunting his elegance. When he came to Horse-Angels his role changed and we soon found out about his fondness for the foals
and weanlings. All the weanlings and orphans were put next to him, and where he was
grumpy and bellowing to adult horses, he was loving and full of nickers for the
babies. And he loved children too! We called him Grandpa Buster
because of his care for the foals. His last “baby” that he raised is a yearling now named Becca. She had no
mother and he comforted her with his nice nickers when she was hungry
or cold. Baby Becca has now moved into Grandpa Buster’s stall, we know that he would be so proud to have her grow into a young lady in his home. Buster died peacefully in his stable on November 12th 2011. Buster will be so dearly missed, but now he can go and be with his dear friend which he has missed all these years, Samar.
Cherokee
Cherokee came to us in 2002 as a 32 year old, which made her 41 at her
passing on 11/11/11. She had been spared from a slaughter plant by her blindness
(because after buying her at the slaughter auction, the plant discovered both
eyes were blind, and a horse cannot be slaughtered if it is blind in two eyes).
She was left in the slaughter lot to be trampled by sighted horses and was
bitten and knocked over for the 2 days she was in the lot before she was saved
by a passerby. The woman couldn’t say why she felt compelled to turn down that
lane to see what was meant by a “horse slaughter plant”. She was driving home
from a business trip and felt a pull , and listened to it. She had no horses or
trailer, but called friends back home who brought a trailer to save a beaten
blind horse that later became our precious friend. Cherokee never complained;
she felt like a queen in her stall where food, water, and safety made her
content. We planted her a big garden (which will always be “Cherokee’s Garden”)
with clover and weed-free grass so she could go out every morning to bask in the
sun. She loved her baths too, and volunteers loved to give them to her! She
liked to have children hug her legs and hold her tail, and she let people see
that she did not need them feeling sorry for her, because she was safe and
loved, and completely happy! As Cherokee aged, she got more arthritis and her
red roan color turned completely white, but our appreciative, loving friend
never changed. Cherokee was a role model for us here at Horse-Angels! She was
happy when others would have be wallowing in self-pity, and she was gentle and
loving always. Her fine attitude will never be forgotten! Because of Cherokee,
we will never underestimate a horse’s ability to adapt and be satisfied and
happy. Thank-you our beautiful Cherokee for all you taught
us!
Midnight
Midnight was a gentle giant, with such a kind and loving personality. He used to love his weekly visits from his friend Tommy, who used to come and spend a few hours with Midnight, brushing and riding him. Midnight had his funny quirks, for example every time you wanted to ride him, he had to be taken into the arena to have a good roll before hand, then he was ready to go and have some fun! We are all going to miss him and his little deep nicker at feed times! Midnight was put down on the November 11th 2011, this was a very hard decision, but we know that he is joined with all his other Horse-Angel friends and will be able to roll in the green pastures to his hearts content.
Jakey
Our loving Jakey died a natural death on November 3rd 2011. He was around 26 years of age and was a great lesson and trail horse, for all ages and abilities of rider. If you were to watch Jakey being ridden you would never have thought he was older than 10, he was always so energetic and willing to please. Jakey was loved very much and will always be one of our Horse-Angels. He will be dearly missed.
Sonic
Our beautiful Sonic died Feb 3rd 2011 from an internal abscess. He was handicapped but never complained, and always made visitors smile with his silly, rowdy antics. He had been with us since he was 6 months old. At his passing, he was 3 months from turning 8 yrs old. He had lots of human and horse friends that miss him deeply. Thank-you Sonic for all you taught us about enjoying life, despite its hardships!
Mo
Mo (Mo Dockin Fox, Quarter Horse) died August 16, 2010. Mo had been at Horse-Angels for 6 years at her passing. She had been ridden hard and had given lessons to many children before coming to Horse-Angels. She was quiet and easy to handle, and we never asked her to work in her retirement years at Horse-Angels. She was a companion to her best friend Tiny, who mourned her loss for several weeks. Mo died of natural causes while sleeping in her stall at age 30 years.
Herbie
Herbie was Horse-Angels' most special resident, and he is still SO missed since his euthanasia at about age 40 on July 20, 2007. We were blessed to have had Herb to love for 5 years. If you visited Horse-Angels during Herbie's stay here, you knew him as Herbie the Greeter, as he was never fenced and was free to visit his friends (he knew all the horses here) or take a nap in the thickest clover. Many visitors arrived to find him standing in the drive to greet them, as you see him in the picture to the left. Herbie never lost his love for children, and allowed himself to be climbed on, hugged, and sprayed with a hose for hours on end. His only fears were of flash cameras and fireworks. He left a huge hole here at Horse-Angels when he journeyed home to Heaven, and that hole cannot be filled by any other. Herbie is buried in his favorite place on the property, where he could see cars come and go, and had a good view of the paddocks and barn. We sure miss Herbie!
Foxy
Another Horse-Angels rescue was Foxy. She was adopted at age 35 to a family who had a three-year-old boy who bonded with Foxy. The adoption was on the condition, due to Foxy’s restricted ability to carry weight, that no one but the little boy would ride her. Things went well for awhile, as Foxy was quite protective of the little boy, and they enjoyed each other very much. However, the boy’s parents allowed Foxy to be ridden by an adult who weighed far more than Foxy’s meager weight limit of 45 pounds, and Foxy fell down with the rider. After this incident, Foxy was taken back to Horse-Angels, and Dr. Whitman decided not to allow her to be adopted again. Foxy did very well at Horse-Angels until recently, when her arthritis got so bad that she had to be euthanized at 38 years of age. The very day Foxy was euthanized, Dr. Whitman got a call from someone who had an old horse they couldn’t take care of any longer. It turned out that the old horse was Foxy’s daughter! Needless to say, Horse-Angels had a new inhabitant in no time at all!
Faith
Faith was a rescue that didn’t make it. She had been on pasture board, and her owner was unable to check on her very often due to poor health. Faith was in her 20’s and suffered from bad teeth, as well as a heavy parasite load, so she became emaciated. She was brought to Horse-Angels in the winter, and was shivering and had collapsed in the trailer when she arrived. It was just too late, and she died two days later.
Dakota
Our beloved Dakota passed away on Sunday October 17th. We will miss Dakota.
