our horses

 Chianti (pronounced key-ON-tee, like the wine) is a gorgeous Thoroughbred filly. Quietly confident as they come, this little girl fears almost nothing and is gentle as a lamb. Chianti came to us after a diagnosis that rendered her unridable. She suffers some neurological problems in her hind legs and has a bit of a lip droop. Her previous owner wanted her to have a safe, forever home, and knowing that the chances of a two-year-old unridable filly being sold to a good home were very low, Jim immediately offered to take her. She joined Danny in his home in the round pen for her first few weeks at Tierra Madre. All of us watched their first interactions anxiously, awaiting screaming or a small fight to break out. Instead, Danny and Chianti sniffed each other quietly, met each other’s eye, and asked in unison, “Where have you been all my life?” Chianti and Danny now live in a big pen in the field and are just as in love as they were when they first met. Some of Chianti’s old-soul personality is wearing off on a once very headshy Danny, and Danny likes to make her run enough to remind her she is young and beautiful. They balance each other out wonderfully and spend most of their days in their own little world. 

 Birth date, place, and name: 1/21/2011, CA, Borracho Dan ~ Danny is an eight-year-old Thoroughbred with a shy, gentle personality. He was destined to be part of the racing world, but he came to us instead after his previous owner wanted to get rid of him on the grounds that he had a bad knee. Thanks to a sweet lady on the track who knew he was in danger and begged his owner for a few days to find him a new place to live before the slaughter truck came around, Danny came home in March 2015. Danny was pretty uncertain about his new life for the first few weeks. He was rather head shy and it took some gentle coaxing to get his halter on. We turned him out with Iron Man and Slayer to see how they’d get along. The first few times we did this, Iron Man made it his personal mission to intimidate Danny and show him who was in charge. But to our disbelief, Slayer pushed himself in between the two boys before it got real nasty and kept the peace. Now? The three big Thoroughbreds get along just fine. After several months of living at Tierra Madre, Danny has come a long way. He is much more confident about being haltered and he looks forward to his time out with his friends every morning. His gentle soul has captivated us all. And that ‘bad’ knee that nearly cost him his life? It doesn’t bother him one bit. 

 Birth date, place, racing name: 2/13/2000, KY, Big Lips ~ Guess is one of the world’s great dames. A perfectly-proportioned 16-2 Thoroughbred with a beautiful face and a true alpha personality (her nickname is The Queen Bee), she’s beloved by everyone she meets. Jim refers to her as one of the great loves of his life. Jim met Guess several years ago when she was at a horse rescue in North Scottsdale. The owner, Holly, had asked him to work with some of the Thoroughbreds in hopes they would become good trail horses, leading to a better chance of finding a good home. Jim worked with Guess (who is one of the greatest trail horses you’ll ever find) and they developed a strong bond. However, one thing led to another and Jim had to move back to Los Angeles and Guess had to go to a new home. He cried when they parted. Fast forward three years. In the spring of 2006, Holly called one day and asked if Jim remembered Guess. “Remember her? She’s one of the great loves of my life!” Holly said her human could no longer keep her and would he be interested in giving her a home? “When can she be here?” Jim asked. “Two hours.” When the truck pulled up to the ranch two hours later, Jim went into the trailer to lead her out. Guess looked him in the eye and buried her head in his chest. “You’re home for good, baby girl.” And she is and, as Jim says, “She will be for as long as both of us are still breathing.” 

 Hollywood is an Arabian in his teens. He came to us with Cadence and Studley after a miscommunication between his previous owner and his boarding facility’s owner nearly ended with the three of them being sent to the slaughter auction. Once he got to Tierra Madre and learned he was home for good, his personality shone through, and it matches his name perfectly. Hollywood could be the star of every Arabian horse show and he knows it. He holds his head and tail up high for the world to see and walks with just a hint of a swagger. There’s no arrogance to him though – he’s as gentle as a kitten. He does tend to chase Cadence away from her food bin when the hay cart comes around, which goes to show that he knows exactly what he wants in life and doesn’t let anybody stand in his way. Several years ago he developed a hoof disease - acute laminits - that has claimed several Tierra Madre horses in the past and in fact is almost impossible to cure. Miraculously, Hollywood fought through it. Our guess? He wasn’t done showing off just yet. 

 Birth date, place, and name: 8/21/1998, Chile, Coloreado ~ He hails from Chile. He’s big – around 17 hands - & he’s black. And he’s beautiful. And he’s as sweet as the day is long. We helped to retire him off the racetrack. He’d just run his third mile-plus race in eighteen days & stopped in the middle of the stretch, saying, “I just can’t do this anymore.” And no wonder. In his seven-year career, he’d run in 124 races. See why we call him The Iron Man? Lou Gehrig had nothing on this guy. Having spent most of his life in a stall, it took him a couple of days to get used to living outdoors. The first night he was here, I went to visit him. He looked up into the sky & asked me, “Jimbo, what are those things?” I told him, “Those are stars, Iron Man. And they’re your new ceiling.” In October of 2018, Iron Man developed an ulcer in his left eye and after weeks of treatment, it ruptured. With no other options, Iron Man had emergency surgery to remove that eye. Now? Well, it's like he never lost it. He still is the same old puppy dog we all love. 

 After our gates were closed to new intakes, the universe intervened again. After receiving constant emails over the past six months about a 30-year-old mustang whose owners abandoned him, Alexis connected with the owner of the boarding facility where he resided. She had been taking care of him like her own horse, but couldn't sustainably continue to do so. Our long-time resident, Buddy, had just gone to the Great Herd and we had an empty stall, one that would fit an older guy in need of his final and forever home. Would we take him? On March 1, 2023, Jake came home to Tierra Madre, where he is shown love, attention, and care for the rest of his earthly days. 

 Birth date, place, and name: 3/15/2002, KY, Mysto's ~ M’stor broke his knee in a race at Turf Paradise in Phoenix in the fall of 2006. A slab fracture, where the bone fractures like an earthquake – part of it just separates from itself. Bad injury. He was only three years old. He was here the next day. It was either come here or get loaded onto a truck to the slaughterhouse in Texas. The universe brought him here. Lucky for all of us. The doctor said at the time that three things could happen: it would heal well enough for him to be ridden easily at a walk or slow trot some day; it would heal enough for him to have a comfortable life in the pasture; or it wouldn’t heal and he’d lose his life. In the end, it healed remarkably well and the doc said he was 90 percent flexibility in the knee. When he first got here, M’Stor didn’t know how to behave around humans. He’d try to bite all the time and didn’t want to be touched at all. He’d probably gone from being a young, young horse directly into the rather impersonal (for the horses) and very demanding world of horse racing. But, like his broken knee, that behavior is all in the past. He puts his ears back often, but only out of habit. He is now the most loving guy. Jim often stands with him, his arms around M’Stor’s neck, the two of them silently sharing secrets. The great thing about M’Stor is that whatever thoughts we might need to share, he’ll listen. 

 In early 2022, we received a very detailed surrender form outlining a problem that one woman, K, had: her horse, Mater, has a bad hip and all of the vet visits and exams and treatment in the world hadn’t been able to fix it. And K and her husband had gone to hell and back to try to help their boy, but at 21, it was obvious that retirement was his only option. And as much as they wanted to give Mater his retirement, they only had two stalls on their property. So, wanting the best possible home for Mater, K did her research and found us. She was willing to give us donations, Mater’s needed medication, and anything else we might need to care for him, if only he could live here. On top of that, she offered to help us with some of our fundraising efforts. She was so genuine and it was obvious from the start that she truly loved her boy and wanted the world for him. Boy, do we wish there were more people like her. Therefore, in September 2022, Mater came to Tierra Madre, where he will spend the rest of his days showered in love and attention. 

 In a moment when we had one open stall, a horse that needed another chance to thrive moved into it. Oliver joined us in May 2018 not long after Annie. He's a sweet old guy that needed a new home because his owners weren't too keen on keeping him any longer. On a warm Sunday in May, our amazing vet Dr. K called Alexis about a client of hers that had a horse they didn't want anymore. He was supposedly 20 years old, blind in one eye, suddenly a little skittish around humans, and had an old injury in the right hind that made him walk just a smidge under normal, leading to his owners considering euthanasia since they didn't know what to do. Dr. K, being the angel she is, knew he had some good years left and offered them an alternative solution: filling our remaining stall. Alexis went with Dr. K on the following Tuesday afternoon for an evaluation and melted into a puddle when she met Oliver. In Dr. K's findings, he is not blind but needs a sanctuary to live out his days as it will be a better life for him. Finally, that Thursday morning, Oliver waltzed onto our property and surveyed his new place. Welcome home, son. 

 Slayer’s name has nothing to do with his personality. Seems his old human had a predilection for heavy-metal bands. At least she didn’t call him “Ratt”. Slayer’s a big Thoroughbred, well over 16 hands. He's our only one that has never raced, he was a jumper. When he got here, he had a pretty bad back and we had Dr. Wood, our vet/equine chiropractor, fix him up. In taking him through his post-adjustment exercises, Jim found that Slayer has a trot like a metronome. It’s just wonderful. So is he. Except when the food cart comes around. He thinks it’s his job to pull it toward him and eat anything contained therein. More often than not, this little trick results in the cart getting knocked over and the air becoming rather blue with admonitions. He thinks it’s fun, though, so what’s a few choice curse words between friends? He and Iron Man share common fences and they hang out together doing their level best to empty water tanks and so on. They both go out in the arena every day, and when they’re not standing still soaking in their surroundings, they’re tearing around happily and raising enough dust to make us thankful for our bandanas. One real nice thing about Slayer: he’s not into head-banging. 

 Spencer is our teddy bear of a horse mutt. His former owner, unable to find a home for him, intended to send him to Out of Africa to be used as lion meat. Upon hearing this, we jumped into action and brought him here almost before his previous owner could say another word. There was a news team that came for his arrival and articles written – the whole she-bang. Upon hearing the story on the news, the organization Out of Africa saw a picture of Spencer and said in disbelief that they would have never taken him to be used as lion meat anyway, as he looked far too healthy and full of life. And they were right: Spencer has slight arthritis in his legs but adores his life. With a gentle personality and sweet, sweet eyes, he’s loved by everyone on the ranch. He used to be pushed around a little by our late horses, Solo and Suze, but it wasn’t long before he established himself as the herd’s leader. On Christmas 2015, our neighbors gifted their kids with an airsoft gun... and they decided to test it out in their backyard. That, combined with Suze being Suze, was a recipe for disaster. She was big and beautiful, but *just* a little nuts. The loud noises scared her and she was kicking up a storm in the field. Spencer happened to be standing a little too close and... WHAM. Suze unintentionally knocked Spencer square in the left eye. We spent months taking care of him, making sure he would keep the eye and now he leads a normal, happy life. His skull is a little dented and he's a bit cock-eyed, but he can see just fine thankfully. This boy has been through so much and this just shows he can make it through anything life has to throw at him. 

 Studley came to us with Hollywood and Cadence. After the three of them were in the middle of a rather nasty battle between their owner and the owner of the boarding facility at which they lived, the three of them were bailed out and brought to Tierra Madre to live out the rest of their lives. Before he came here, Studley was found by his previous owner tied to a dumpster where he had been gelded with no tranquilizers and left to fend for himself. If his previous owner hadn’t rescued him, he’d probably still be there, picking scraps out of the trash, or worse. He has a pretty bad immune system, and we suspect he was weaned too early from his mother so that he didn’t get all the nutrients from her milk. Every single summer since he’s arrived, Studley has developed nasty summer sores on his shoulder, chin and feet. We do everything to prevent them – and eventually treat them – and they still manage to crop up. He takes it all in stride, though. In fact, Studley has one of the best attitudes in the world. He’s a bit of a punk and can be rather nippy and headstrong, but even with his nasty history, he is one happy guy. 

 Sunny was born at Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary on May 13, 2015, at 9:20 pm. She is our beautiful baby girl whose arrival we anxiously and excitedly awaited after we saved her then-pregnant momma Rain from slaughter. Sunny has known nothing but love in her short life, and it shows. She is as playful, joyful, and curious as the day is long and her spunk and spirit are unmatched. Everyone she meets is her friend, although no one gets by without giving her a treat or two. Because we are a sanctuary, every once in a long while we have to witness the end of our horses’ life journeys. It is because of Sunny we were able to witness our first beautiful beginning. 

 We got a call in January 2020 from Dr. K about a little mare that needed help. One of her clients suffered debilitating physical issues recently that unfortunately forced her to part with her beloved horse, Tally. Since she has hoof issues, navicular issues, and possible PPID/Cushings, she couldn't be ridden and her owner knew no one wanted to take her. The owner was stressed and grief-stricken at the thought of putting Tally to sleep since she had no other options. Upon the call from Dr. K, Jim said we would take her. At this point, we had made a policy to not take in any more horses due to budgeting, but sometimes the universe taps you on the shoulder and says there's something that needs to be done. And that something was taking in this sweet, mid-teens Quarter horse to live the rest of her life. 

 Winchester’s a Quarter Horse in his mid- to early-twenties.

His journey to us took a couple of rather strange turns.

He was adopted by a woman who gave riding lessons to children &, because he’s so gentle, Winchester fit the bill perfectly. Until twice, he flipped over with a saddle on his back, even breaking the saddle one time. The woman couldn’t risk anyone getting hurt & because she couldn’t afford to keep a horse that couldn’t be used in her lessons, she contacted our vet to discuss putting him down.

Our vet, a rescuer in her own right, took Winchester & thoroughly examined him to find any problems that were causing his issue. She found arthritis in his hocks & a coffin joint & gave him steroid injections to help - & they did. One of her friends rode Winchester for months, even on strange trails. Everything was fine. Until, one day, he flipped again. Thus ended his riding career & our vet said he’d make the perfect sanctuary horse. And he came here.

He has a wonderful personality. He’s always curious, always happy & always full of life. And, yes, he’s as gentle as the day is long. All of us got lucky the day he got here.