Fwd: Nora's obituary

This is Nora's obituary as printed in the Hoofprints newsletter - which is the newsletter for the Sacramento Valley Morgan Horse Club.  

Subject: Nora's obituary

Cinorafawn "Nora"
March 26, 1984 - March 28, 2012
Our beloved mare Nora passed away two days after her 28th birthday. She suffered an inoperable ruptured intestine and was humanely euthanized. She came into our lives 7 years ago after spending 6 years in a pasture following her previous owner, Sigi's death. Nora and Sigi had logged many endurance miles together before he passed away.
When Nora came to us we really knew nothing about her. We brought her home without riding her and without so much as a vet check. With time she revealed her beautiful and loving nature as well as her many skills and abilities.  She soon became a core and cherished family member.
As a trail horse she was incomparable - fun, enthusiastic and completely dependable.  She was my fearless partner in countless magical trail rides.  Hank likes to point out that she is the only horse I would let him ride alone because of my complete trust in her to bring him home safely. But don't get me wrong - Nora had lots of "go" in her and outwalked every horse i ever rode her with, with the exception of my friend Laura's 16 hand Tennessee Walker.  Because of her steadiness, Nora was routinely asked to lead groups of less experienced and/or younger horses on the trail. More than once, her steady mind and generous heart saved me in situations that would have been catastrophic on any other horse.
Nora was also a wonderful driving horse.  She delighted many friends, both young and old, with cart rides through our neighborhood or through vineyards and country lanes.
But most importantly Nora was a very loving being and that manifested itself in many ways - Nora always greeted me in the morning and wanted a cuddle before getting her breakfast. When friends or family came to visit she was the first in our herd to welcome them and offer them her gentle friendship.  She was a loving and rather indulgent second mother to our filly Tess and was also a devoted "great aunty" to our mare Zazu. Even the goats and chickens where drawn to her gentle and loving nature and could routinely be found surrounding her like a band of devoted groupees!
So, you see the loss of our little Morgan mare has left a big hole in the fabric of our lives. But with time we are adjusting to life without her.  We feel blessed to have had her in our lives and are comforted by our treasured memories of her.
You are forever in our hearts Nora. We love you.
Roni & Hank

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Handsome Fellows

Haymon

New baby brother for Hugo, Harry and Moses....introducing little
Haymon! Found orphaned in a stack of hay with his six siblings. The
hay stack had arrived from far far away the day before. Three black
cats - now that's Lucky!

Zazu and Uma's Hind Legs

Uma's knee surgery last Thursday at UC Davis went well. It's called a
TPLO surgery. In addition to her cruciate ligament being torn, they
dicovered she had a very large tear in her meniscus. She now has a
large metal plate in her hind leg and is on strict rest for two weeks.
After that she will begin taking short controlled walks. We have her
restricted in our bedroom and she seems to understand what is going on.

Dr Brenner ultrsounded Zazu's left stifle and could not locate the
source of her problem. However, she suspects a suspenary problem which
would take an MRI to confirm. MRI's of this sort cost over $2000. I
asked Dr Brenner what could be done once if it is a suspensory
ligament problem and was told Zazu would be prescribed pain/anti
inflammatory medication to be maintained on. So I'm going to get her
started on that now beginning with devils claw supplements.

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Uma and Hank at UC Davis Vet Hospital

Hank and Uma sitting in the lobby of UC Davis veterinary hospital.
Tomorrow she is having the surgery to repair her injured knee.

Ultrasound for Zazu

Today is a big day for me and Zazu. Dr Brenner, an ultrasound
specialist is coming over to ultrasound her stifle. I am intensly
hoping to finally get a diagnosis and prognosis on her lameness.

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Independent Seat

One of the human's responsibilities in the horse-human partnership, is
to have an independent seat - that is, to not rely on you hands
(pulling on the reins) to balance yourself when riding.  I decided to work on that yesterday:
I had a lovely time with Nora at Folsom lake trotting, cantering
and walking up and down hills without touching the reins. I tried
doing all the guidance with my legs and seat and made a game of seeing
how long I could go without using the reins. I also practiced posting
with my arms raised in the air. So fun! All this in preparation for
my enduance horse in training - Tessi. While I was out on the trail I
ran into Tessi's trainer, Janine, on a training ride with one of the
clients and a horse she has in training. Soon that will be Tessi and
me! I am looking forward to the prospect of becoming an endurance
racer under Janine's tutilage.
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