Blue

Blue had 2 1/2 great years at the ranch and on March 2nd he passed away sometime during the night.  This past year there was a beautiful young lady that started coming to the ranch every Saturday morning.  Because of Blue's health issues he was not pastured with the rest of our horses but ran in a pasture located behind our house with Hershey as his constant companion. This particular young lady took a special liking to Blue and from the very first time she picked him to brush and work with there was something very special between them.  To watch the way those two communicated was beyond anything I have ever seen. 

Blue joined the L5YR in October 2008 through the help of many generous donations. He is a very  gentle giant, standing at 16.1 hands, who was also the top Nebraska barrel horse in 2000. He had been here a little over a month when he developed severe colic, a condition that is a leading cause of equine death. Due to his extreme case, we were advised that if we were somehow able to get him up and in a trailer, and if he survived the trip down to Kansas State University School of Veterinary Science for a several thousand dollar surgery, then he would have a 20% chance of surviving. Our other option was to let him go and stop his awful suffering. We knew the story that brought him here did not play out so that he could die, so against the advise of our wonderful veterinarian, we stayed by his side and let him keep fighting. It is a true testimony for everyone that joined together in prayer that by the end of the day.  Blue was not only still with us, but also in great health. 

 APACHE  

When Apache arrived at the L5YR in April, 2007, with help from the Break Heart Ranch, he was severely underweight and was very weary of people due to his history of abuse. He had a great personality once you gained his trust and quickly won our hearts.

Unfortunately, he couldn't catch a break and what was believed to be a twisted ankle in the late winter of 2008 was later diagnosed as a degenerative joint condition that was also inflaming several old injuries. While his days of giving rides were over it was amazing to see how his heart was only now beginning to open. Over the next several months child after child would pick him to work with and love on instead of his 11 other friends, even though they knew it meant no riding.

Apache's loving trust had a way of reaching you and communicated without words, "just, please don't hurt me." Strongholds were  broken and special bonds were formed during those times spent shoulder to shoulder with kids while brushing Apache. Memories that will last for ever.

This 4th of July while the rest of us celebrated the freedom the Lord has blessed us with in this great country, Apache got his freedom from pain.

 SUZY

At the Nebraska Horse Expo. someone alerted us about Suzy. They said she lived in horrible conditions, was in bad shape, and needed help. Once we went and checked on her we knew his description didn't begin to define the tragedy we saw. Within a couple of days we were able to talk the owner into surrendering her, she would now be safe and call the L5YR home. When we pointed her towards the trailer, she almost ran in. Suzy didn't known where she was going, but she knew she wanted to escape that place.

Besides being underweight and worm infested, this poor girl had not only foundered, but had not had her hooves clipped in many years.

No, she's not wearing a halter here. It had been on her so tight for so long that there was no hair left underneath the straps. Her front legs are so full of cuts and scrapes from the old field fencing and barbed wire laying around on the ground in her old corral, that she didn't have any hair from her knee down.  There are several other severe health issues she was working through, but within days of arriving at the ranch, the vacant look she had in her eyes, like she had given up on life, was gone. She is the most gentle and sweet horse I have ever come across and little by little she was healing and gaining weight.

Most horses wouldn't have survived the conditions she had been living in for many years, but even at 26 years old she was still hanging on waiting for some one to care. Suzy was a fighter and had made great leaps on the road to full recovery. She spent the last, and probably the best, 8 months of her life here at the ranch getting all the love and care she so desperately needed. Unfortunately all those years of neglect coupled her 26 year old body finally caught up to Suzy. Now our initial promise upon very first seeing her, giving her a forever home, has come full circle.