RememberingBeauty

Beauty, me, and Dad from March, 2009

2011-07-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

More photos of my Beauty, from March, 2009. Hubby actually came up and helped that day!

Beauty~March, 2009

2011-07-20T07:07:00.000-07:00

My beautiful girl just 3 months before her accidental death. I MISS YOU, my Beauty!

Two years 62511

2011-06-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Beauty,
It has been two years now that you have been gone. I didn't make it up to the ranch this weekend, but I stopped by your old corral on Friday and thought of you. Another mare is in it now. Susanna is her name and her colt is in the one next to her. Quad and Sunni are a couple of corrals down from your old one and Gigondas is almost across from your old corral. She is there keeping an eye on things.

I miss you every day and I pray that we will someday be together again.

I LOVE YOU, Beauty and I miss you every day.

Love,
MOM

One year anniversary June 25, 2010

2010-06-26T05:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Beauty,
It has been a year now that you have been gone. I went up to see the herd yesterday and they were all fine. Scout and Cali have grown into beautiful mares. Both are extremely friendly. That is hard to realize with Scout because she was the most distrustful of humans when she first came to us. Cali, of course, has always loved people. Gigondas now lets me touch her all over without pulling away. I think that is because sometimes I just go up to her and cry on her! She lets me do this now. I think she realizes that I need to let it all out! Quad is settling in. He still isn't sure about me and keeps a wary eye out. Yesterday I sprayed him with fly spray and he didn't bat an eye! Sunni is next to Quad now and actually stood and let me spray him (first time!) Then he came up to me and rested his head on my shoulder.
We ALL miss you! Rest in peace, beautiful one.
Love,
MOM

Almost a year, my Beauty

2010-06-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Beauty,
It is almost a year now that you have been gone out of my life. I miss you so much! I miss your soft nuzzle. I miss your sweet nicker. I MISS YOU! Your buddy, Gigondas, has turned into quite a nice lady! She lets me touch her all over now. She even nickers when she sees my car pull into the driveway and park next to her. She has come a long way and you would be proud of her! She doesn't do bad things any more like take off and drag me and the lead rope! Nope! No more rope burns for me!

I miss your gentle spirit and your soft muzzle. She doesn't cuddle with me like you used to. In fact, only Sunni cuddles with me like you used to, but you know, Sunni is "my boy". He's spoiled!

Love,
MOM

Beauty, June 2009

2010-05-23T09:35:00.001-07:00

My pretty girl a month before her untimely death in June of 2009. Can you believe that this filly was on a slaughter-bound feedlot? PLEASE, if you can, donate to a horse rescue that will save other horses like Beauty from a horrible death. There are a few listed on my sidebars. She was an untrained two year old when I adopted her online, along with Gigondas. They were transported to me in Southern California from Washington state. Gigondas was very wary of humans, but Beauty loved everybody and everyone loved her. She was a gracious, kind, gentle animal. I miss her every day! Beauty was trail trained by my cousin, Valerie, and wasn't afraid of anything. She never bucked or spooked. She would have been the perfect riding horse for me as she communicated with her humans very well and wouldn't hurt any of us! RIP, my dear one.

"F" is for faces~ABC Wednesday 022410

2010-02-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

Three faces of my original five horses~ That's Gigondas on the left, Beauty in the middle, and Sunni on the right. Gigondas and Sunni were Beauty's companions for about two years. Beauty and Gigondas spent about 6 months together in quarantine before I brought them both down here to Southern California. Aren't they cute faces? ABC Wednesday for February 24, 2010.

Beauty and the apple~That's My World for 011819

2010-01-19T05:56:00.000-08:00

As much as Beauty loved carrots, she absolutely adored apples! Sometimes I'd buy bags of precut ones at WALMART, and sometimes I'd even buy organic ones at Clark's, our local health food store, but most of the time I just bought apples at the grocery store and sliced them up for the horses. Here's Beauty getting a whiff of the delicious aroma of the apple in my hand. She was SUCH a goofball! That was my world, with Beauty. TMW for January 19, 2010. For photos of other places, please visit:

http://showyourworld.blogspot.com

Sunday Stills Challenge~emotions~Jan 17 2010

2010-01-17T06:33:00.001-08:00

Beauty was always so inquisitive and one day I brought up a bag of carrots for the horses. This was Beauty's reaction to them. I'll let you feel your emotions while viewing these pics. Sunday Stills Challenge for January 17, 2010.

Beauty in January, 2009~Camera Critters 011610

2010-01-16T08:23:00.001-08:00

I found another website this morning dedicated to another woman's horse that she lost. Apparently I'm not the only blogger to do this. I do it to help keep Beauty's memory alive. I actually forgot I had these photos, which I took in January of 2009. I was going through the photos on my desktop computer, which I recently got back from the shop. It crashed in December and I was terrified that I'd lost all my pictures, but it just needed a RAM update! PHEW! My goal this weekend is to back up all my photos onto an external hard drive. Anyway, these are pics of both Gigondas and Beauty at play in the arena. Beauty was so playful and full of life. It is hard to go up to the ranch and not see here there...I still miss her every day! She had completed her trail training and was a nice, calm trail horse. My cousin trained her and had taken her out on the trail a few times and I'm sure Beauty would have been as competent as any of Valerie's horses, which she takes out on trails at least once a week. Valerie rotates them (she has 4 horses herself), so that they each get a turn out on the trails here in the desert and then, in the summer, up in the mountains. Camera Critters for January 16, 2010

Beauty and I, 2008

2009-12-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

No, I haven't forgotten my sweet Beauty. My desktop crashed and I'm having to use hubby's laptop and he doesn't have a lot of my photos on it. Here are some pics of Beauty and I, from 2008. She certainly did live up to her name! She WAS a beautiful mare, not only physically, but also mentally. She was calm, patient, trusting, and confident. She was wonderful, especially for me, as a beginning horse owner. She was everything I could have wanted in a horse. I miss her every day.

Beauty's first saddle~Camera Critters 110709

2009-11-07T05:10:00.000-08:00

I had a couple of trainers with Beauty. Her first trainer was Angi Keitel, who is an excellent horsewoman and trainer and trains mustangs. She has been in the Extreme Mustang Challenge for about 3 years now and always does very well with her mustangs. THANK YOU, Angi! Anyway, Angi was Beauty's first trainer. Beauty was untrained when we got her off a slaughter feedlot in WA state, as a two year old. She was such a beautiful mare and had such a wonderful, calm personality, that Angi didn't think it would take much to saddle and then ride her. She was right. Beauty gave a couple of bucks, some kicks, and ran around the round pen, then stopped, faced Angi, let out a sigh, and that was it! My cousin, Valerie, took over her training here in Southern California when we moved the entire herd closer to us and she took Beauty out for 9 months of training. HA! I almost didn't get her back! Valerie fell in LOVE with her, saddle broke her, and took her out on trails. Beauty was curious, intelligent, and calm. She would have been the perfect horse for me with my bad back as she didn't spook. But, alas, nature intervened and I lost Beauty. But, here are some pics of the day that Angi saddle broke her a couple of years ago. Camera Critters for November 7, 2009. I miss her every day.

Beauty at play~Camera Critters October 24, 2009

2009-10-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

Beauty was so full of life and enjoyed EVERYTHING! She especially enjoyed going down to the arena and kicking up her heels. On this day Sunni was with her and she chased him ALL OVER! I managed to capture this shot of her at play. I miss her every day and I still can't understand why she died. I do picture her in fields of green grass, far from the slaughter feedlot which I rescued her from. She was a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL horse and companion. RIP, my sweet one.

Beauty having fun~Camera Critters for 100309

2009-10-03T04:48:00.000-07:00

I remember how Beauty used to love to get into the arena and RUN! I had several people tell me she looked like an appendix QH. I don't know her history or breeding as I found her on an online rescue organization, now defunct, up in Washington state on a killer buyer's feedlot. Imagine Beauty on a KB's feedlot! Nobody obviously assessed her. If they had, they would have seen what an obvious gem she was~! She had a great personality, she was intelligent, willing, and loving. It makes me wonder how many other "Beauties" are on feedlots today. Please, if you can, support the horse rescue of your choice and give another horse like Beauty a chance to live a decent life instead of experiencing the horror of a trip to slaughter. The other horse I rescued off that feedlot, Gigondas, I am now training for riding. She, too, was dumped and she is a beautiful red thoroughbred. Camera Critters for October 3, 2009.

Confession 100209

2009-10-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Beauty's death was so unexpected and sudden. I never got to say goodbye to her. Two days before she died, my ferrier came over and did all the horses, including Beauty. I remember he got tired and gave her a couple of thumps. I thought, "Don't do that to my Beauty!!!", but he did. The poor guy had just spent an HOUR trying to get Sunni to stand still, with no success, and he was tired. I didn't see her the next day and the following day, when I drove up to the ranch early one morning, she was dead. Gone. She laid on her side and never got up. No thrashing marks. It appears she got cast, tried to get up, and hit her head on the metal pipe in the corral. That was it. She was gone. I feel so bad that I never got to hug her again, I never got to smell her, or greet her. I never got to hear her nicker. I'm so sorry, my Beauty. I still miss you every day. There is one empty corral at the ranch now and I'm thinking about rescuing another horse, like Beauty. That's all for now. 100109

The tractor and the herd

2009-09-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

Beauty, Gigo, and Cali investigating a tractor when Beauty was with us up in Lancaster.

3 amigos~Camera Critters for 091909

2009-09-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

That's Gigondas, Beauty, and Sunni when we boarded them up in Lancaster, CA. I couldn't find a boarding place for Gigondas and Beauty down in the desert and my friend didn't wish to take on 2 more horses for boarding, so we moved Sunni up to Lancaster and the herd was there for 8 months. This is the three of them waiting at the gate for their apples and carrots!

Beauty, Memorial Day, 2007

2009-08-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

These pics are all from the Memorial Day weekend in 2007. See what a beautiful color Beauty was?

I miss you, my sweet one!

On a personal note, it is hard for those of us who have horses to lose one. I know now how hard it is. Our horses are almost like our children. They have different needs and personalities. Beauty didn't need much, just human affection. And she, in turn, returned that affection. She was a loving mare. She never nipped anyone or did anything bad. I would drive up to the ranch and she would see my car and nicker. My morning greeting! I would go over to her and talk to her and give her a morning hug. She was patient and wise, even though she was so young. I miss you, my Beauty.

Beauty, Sunni, and Mom in Lancaster

2009-07-26T08:44:00.001-07:00

My two quarter horses, Beauty and Sunni. I'm not sure which one of them was more jealous in these photos! Beauty chose me as her human, and I will always remember that. Sunni, of course, was my first horse, and until Quad came, was my only "boy". Now I have two geldings, Sunni and Quad.

Every day I think of Beauty and realize how much I miss her snuggles and warm breath.

Beauty and Cali, April 2007

2009-07-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

That's Beauty, will Cali in the background behind her, so this would have been April, 2007.

One month today that Beauty has been gone July 25, 2009

2009-07-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

It's been one month now that Beauty has been gone. Sometimes when I look up at the clouds, I see a running horse, with a beautiful, flowing mane or tail, and think of her. Actually, most mornings when I take my morning walk, I can look up and see this. Of course, it takes some imagination, but I like to think she is still with me. This is one of my favorite photos of her, taken when she was up in Lancaster. I MISS YOU, my sweet girl! I hope you are running free in the green pastures of Heaven. We will be together someday.

Love,

MOM

Beauty and Gigondas, Lancaster, February 2007

2009-07-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

At the same time I adopted Beauty, I also adopted a thoroughbred from the same rescue, Merryana, who my husband renamed Gigondas. They were both together during their quarantine in Washington. On the day they were scheduled to come to So. Calif, the boarding place where they were going changed their minds (they were friends of ours)...the key word being "were"! They said "Absolutely NO!" two days before the mares were scheduled to be transported. I had to call the transporter and tell them the bad news. AND, I was stuck with NOWHERE to board these two mares!!! That was in November. Gigondas came down with a little cold and was given SMZs. It wasn't until January of 2007 that I was able to secure transportation, again, and find a boarding place for them. It was up in Lancaster, a drive from our home of OVER 3 1/2 hours! But, it was the only place I could find for them. They arrived late one night and were unloaded and the next morning, when I saw them, I was so happy! They were both beautiful, chestnut mares! Beauty appeared to be an appendix QH/TB and Gigondas was a HUGE, red thoroughbred. They had been together since September of 2006 and were used to each other's company, so we kept them in the same "mare motel" which was part of a larger corral. We hired a trainer, Angi Keitel, to work with both of them. Beauty was much easier to work as she had a beautiful, calm personality. We could tell right away that Gigondas did NOT like humans and that she had been badly mistreated. We would have to earn her trust! But, Beauty trusted and enjoyed humans. Here are some pics of them from February, 2007.

Beauty feedlot pics September 06

2009-07-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

These were Beauty's feedlot pictures from September, 2006. Beauty was on the feedlot served by CBER (Columbia Basin Equine Rescue). She was an unbroke 2 year old in 2006. I did not even learn her birthday or where she came from. Beauty was an appendix QH/TB. Here she is as a goofy two year old.

RIP, sweet one. I will always remember you! Beauty died tragically on June 25, 2009...unknown causes. There were no thrashing marks in her corral. Colic? Heart attack? Annurism? We don't know and I couldn't afford an autopsy. This blog is a memorial to a wonderful, patient, wise, caring mare who died WAY before her time! I MISS YOU, my Beauty! It is my attempt to keep her memory and wonderful spirit alive. I will post on it occasionally in an effort to pay tribute to her wonderful spirit. If you look closely, you can see her two little "white patches" of hair on her left side. She had two white patches there.