This is my horse Wendy in the summer of 2007, a few months after we had brought her to the mountains in New Mexico. Wendy was part Appaloosa, seventeen hands high. She had a sweet temperament. She had spent several years in a large corral in desert country, kept from her food by other, more aggressive horses. When she came to us, she was thin, covered with scars from bites from the other horses. She stood in the middle of our field and did not seem to know how to eat fresh grass. She was shy with us. But all that changed quickly. She thrived on the fresh green grass in our valley. She was a great horse to ride ,with a smooth trot, sure footed on mountain trails and beautiful to watch when she ran around the field.
We have learned that grey horses are susceptible to skin and eye problems from the sun.
Last year Wendy developed "Moon Blindness". She lost the sight in her right eye and soon after, in her left eye. This winter we learned that she had cancer in her left eye.
On February 2, on the advice of our veterinarian who had been treating her, we had her put down. She was 15 years old, a beautiful, otherwise healthy horse and that was a difficult decision.
We have decorated the place where she is buried with turkey feathers, rocks, and flowers.
We miss Wendy and we still call her Wendy the Wonder Horse.