One recent Friday, I received a call at work from Deanna, “Are you sitting down?” She was excited to tell me about a horse she had heard about that was in need of a new home. Windsong was her name and her owner had recently died of cancer. Well, there was no need for a long discussion, we had to get her! So Dee and Becca went and picked her up and brought her home. When I met her, to say I was in awe is not doing Windsong justice. She is beautiful! A white mare, half quarter horse, half thoroughbred, and stunning mover! And she was going to be my horse. A gift like no other. The generosity of Deanna and Woody humbles me every day.
Windsong appears to have Entropian in her left eye. Entropion is a condition of the eye that causes the eyelids to fold inward and press against their cornea. Entropion may be found in one or both of the horse's eyes, leading to extreme irritation and “runny,” watery eyes, similar to conjunctivitis. Apparently, she had past surgery to correct this before, but it has come back. We will be having an animal eye specialist check Windsong. We expect that she will have to have surgery to correct this or possibly have to remove her eye (we are praying this doesn’t happen). Regardless, we will do what we can to see that Windsong has long and happy life with us.
I have spoken with Domenic, the wonderful brother of Windsong’s previous owner, and we plan to keep in contact and we will keep him up to date on Windsong’s progress. I asked Domenic to give me some history on Windsong and her owner as I believe the back story is important to understand the beauty of this horse. He relayed the following to me:
Windsong was originally rescued by my sister Marie in 1996. She was with a group of neglected horses that someone became aware of, and this person told my sister that there was a unique horse in the group that she might be interested in, and that turned out to be Windsong. She was about 150 pounds under weight, so my sister took care of her, and then sent her for some training by a local man. He liked Windsong so much that he offered Marie any horse that he owned as a trade, but Marie refused. She knew that Windsong was a unique mover.
My sister and I grew up in San Francisco in the 1950s, yet we both always shared a love for horses. We used to rent them at various stables back then. Marie got married in 1974, then two years later she had her first horse. In 1978 Marie and her husband moved to Orangevale, where Marie later had a few other horses, and she got involved in jumping and dressage. In recent years Marie had mainly enjoyed trail riding, and we often when riding together, except for the past couple of years when her health problems started.
In honor of Marie, we have decided not to change Windsong’s name. Typically, when we get new animals we change their name (new life – new name!) but since Windsong did not come from neglect, abuse or abandonment, there is no need.
Windsong has become alpha mare of our younger herd. She has established herself as protector and I find her watching the outskirts of the pasture while the other horses are eating. She has found a steady friend in Doc, and they often share flakes of hay. She is very smart and attentive, I am often amazed how busy she keeps herself keeping watch over her herd. Oh, and she loves apples and carrots! Of course, I spoil her – she deserves it, don’t you think?
Thank you Domenic for your gift to us. I am sure Marie is looking down upon us and we will do right by her.
Look for more updates on Windsong as we hit the trails together.
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