Our Hearts Are Heavy, Again…and Again

Many of you know our horses that arrive without a name are given Country artist inspired names.  Calico Girl’s name didn’t follow that tradition.  There’s a reason.  Cali’s mom, Gypsy, was adopted from the Broken Arrow (aka Indian Lakes) holding facility in Fallon, Nevada, in May of 2010 and placed at DreamCatchers to live out her life as a mustang.  Gypsy had lived in Warm Springs Canyon, one of five Herd Management Areas in the Calico Mountains of Nevada, collectivey called the Calico Complex.  In late 2009/early 2019,  BLM captured 1,922 horses in “the Calico Gather”.  Because we learned of Gypsy’s history (thank you, Maya), and she had to leave DreamCatchers, we wanted baby’s name to be special.  Gypsy’s adopter, Elyse, decided “her name is “Calico Girl” in honor of, and to help us all/her future people all know and remember the wild horses. She is a proud descendant of hearty, lovely horses.”

Many of you have followed our version of “Where’s Waldo?”.  Cupcake was AAE’s version of where ever you are, there she was.  Cupcake came to AAE back in 2008, before AAE was AAE…before horses…before just about anything else.  She was about 3 or 4, and one of three goats that brought life to a dead pasture and new life to a once shuttered barn.

Cupcake had her castle in “The Farm”.  She’d sit upon her throne, with a vision of a tilted crown on her head.  She was royalty around AAE.  She had a sore under her tail that persisted, and back in late 2017, it was biopsied.  Sadly, it was a squamous cell carcinoma.  It was between her rectum and vulva, in an area it could not easily be removed.  It was likely to progress rapidly.  Cupcake was not phased by the big “C”.  She was happy, healthy, and had a never ending appetite.  Right about this time, she became an escape artist.  She loved people.  She loved food.  She loved to visit the barn at feeding time and eat everyone’s food.  Since her days were numbered, the only thing to do was to name her Queen of the barn and give her authority to do anything and everything she wanted, without limits.

Well, maybe a few. Cupcake quickly became a curiosity.  She was dog-like.  She loved grooming.  She loved people.  She loved people food.  What could it hurt?

You’d think a big belly ache would follow a bucket like that, right?  Funny girl.  She grazed, she tasted, she was satisfied.  Cupcake was as sweet as her name, and she would eat anything, even cupcakes.  Day went by.  Weeks went by.  Months went by.  The “sore” grew, and grew, and time passed.   As the sore grew, the question of the day, often silent and often spoken, was “How is Cupcake today?”  Quality of life was number one.  As long as she was happy, otherwise healthy, with a good appetite….for food and life, all was good.  As long as she visited the at feeding time (am and pm), all was good.