RIP Rylee

Rylee came to Hanaeleh in January 2023. Her previous owner had purchased her from an auction in Texas, and discovered that Rylee had DSLD, which is a painful stretching of the tendons in her leg, which meant that she could not be ridden without pain.

Soon after, Rylee’s owner was in a terrible a car accident and felt that it was too much to try to care for Rylee, but she was concerned that if she sold or gave her away, someone would try to ride her, so she was going to help her across the Rainbow Bridge. Hanaeleh offered to take her because Rylee still had a lot of life left in her, and she just needed a chance. You can read about Rylee’s rescue here.

When we brought Rylee to Hanaeleh, she was very closed off and was not interested in people at all.

We do not know the life she had before she was purchased at the auction, but we don’t think it was a very kind one. It took several months, but with each and every volunteer loving her and giving her treats, she started to open up and enjoyed seeing people. We saw her very sweet personality come out.

With the blessing of our vet, one of the first things we did when we got her was to immediately put her on a daily dose of Equioxx, a pain medication to help manage the symptoms of DSLD. She seemed to be doing well until April of this year, when it was obvious that she was uncomfortable and was not moving like normal.

We called the vet out, and she said we could give her a daily dose of Banamine instead of the Equioxx, and while that would not solve the underlying issue, it would at least help make Rylee comfortable for the time being. The Banamine worked well for a few months, but a few weeks ago it was apparent that she was in pain again.

It is always difficult to determine the best time to say goodbye to a horse. We do not want to say goodbye when there is a chance at a normal life, but we also do not want to prolong a horse’s suffering for our own sake, either.

We called the vet and they agreed that the kindest thing we could do for Rylee was to help take away her pain. It was difficult to accept that there were no other options for this lovely, sweet girl, but there was nothing that we could do that would allow her to live without the terrible pain.

Rylee’s last day was a lovely summer day, and she was surrounded by her favorite volunteers who groomed her and fed her lots of carrots and other treats. It was so different working with this affectionate girl who had been so closed off when she first came to us, and we’re thankful that we were able to give Rylee the last year and a half of her life filled with love and kindness, which she obviously hadn’t had before she came to Hanaeleh.

Rylee’s quiet presence has been very much missed at the ranch, and Garnet seemed very down for a few days. We put Venus into the paddock with her, and they have been getting along, which is bittersweet as both of them have lost a friend this year.

Rylee was named after a very brave young lady who had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, and one of her last wishes is that a horse be named after her. She had ridden horses when she was healthy, and the horse she rode looked very much like Rylee, so we felt that it was kismet that we learned of her wish just as we brought Rylee to Hanaeleh. We hope that in whatever afterlife there is, both Rylees have found each other, and are exploring their new world together.