August 28, 2026

Meet Sky

Senior Quarab Mare • Bay • Permanent Sanctuary Resident

When Pierce County Animal Control called Rainfall Ranch Rescue on August 28, 2026, two horses had been found running loose down a road in Graham, Washington.

One of them immediately caused concern.

Her name was Sky.

Sky is a senior bay Quarab mare (Quarter Horse x Arabian), estimated to be approximately 20–30 years old by the veterinarian, although her exact age is unknown. She and her longtime companion, Dani, had lived together since at least 2013. After their previous owner was contacted by Animal Control, the mares were surrendered and came to Rainfall together.

They remain inseparable.

But while Dani arrived carrying a reasonable amount of weight, Sky was severely underweight.

During Sky's emergency intake examination, Tacoma Equine Hospital recorded her weight at 930 pounds and her body condition score at only 2/9. Her ideal weight is approximately 1,100 pounds, but weight alone doesn't tell the whole story of malnutrition. Her poor body condition showed that she lacked the healthy fat and muscle coverage a horse should have.

Her veterinarian documented that her previous diet was described it as deficient. Sky's coat was dull and dry, her hooves were significantly overgrown, and she was overdue for dental care.

For an older horse, those pieces matter tremendously. Senior horses can struggle to maintain their condition when they can no longer adequately chew long-stem forage. Sky needed more than hay, she needed a feeding program designed around what her aging body could actually use.

Sky’s dental examination gave us a heartbreaking explanation for why she arrived at Rainfall Ranch so underweight.

The veterinarian discovered that Sky is missing approximately 80% of the teeth on the left side of her mouth. She is also missing several teeth on the right side. During the examination, one of her remaining teeth on the right was so compromised that it literally fell out while the veterinarian was examining her mouth.

The teeth she does have presented additional problems. Some had developed extremely long, sharp points that were driving into her gums in areas where opposing teeth were missing, causing significant discomfort.

Even more concerning, the veterinarian found holes and spaces in Sky’s mouth packed with hay she had been unable to properly chew. The trapped hay had remained there and was rotting.

These findings help explain Sky’s severe body condition when she arrived. With so many missing and compromised teeth, Sky was likely unable to adequately chew the hay she depended on for nutrition. She had not been receiving a mash or another feed appropriate for her dental limitations.

Sky can no longer rely on hay as her primary source of nutrition. She will need a mash-only diet for the remainder of her life.

Her new feeding plan consists of 13.5 pounds of senior feed every day, divided into three carefully prepared meals:

4.5 pounds of senior feed, soaked into mash, three times every day along with additional supplements.

For Rainfall, that means Sky’s care is more labor-intensive than simply putting hay in a feeder. Every morning, afternoon and evening, someone will be there to prepare a meal she can actually chew and digest.

But for Sky, it means something much simpler.

She can finally eat without being asked to do something her body is no longer capable of doing.

We may never know exactly how long Sky struggled with her teeth or how long she was unable to get adequate nutrition from the hay available to her. What we do know is that we now have an answer and a plan.

Her rehabilitation isn't simply about putting weight back on her.

It is about making sure that every meal Sky receives for the rest of her life is one she can actually eat.

Sky's intake examination uncovered several additional issues that will require ongoing care.

Her fecal testing found Giardia cysts (2+) and Strongyle or Parascaris eggs were detected in the sample. Her bloodwork was largely within the laboratory's listed reference intervals, with mildly elevated fibrinogen and slightly low phosphorus. She has since received parasite treatment through Solas Equine Veterinary.

Her veterinarian also detected an intermittent diastolic heart murmur, suspected to be associated with aortic regurgitation. Because of that finding, Tacoma Equine recommended that Sky not be used as a riding horse unless she first receives a cardiac evaluation to determine the severity of the condition.

Her examination also found moderately loose stool with mild sand present, as well as a reproductive conformation issue that can allow manure contamination and may require additional veterinary management.

Her badly overgrown hooves needed farrier attention, and on September 3, Sky finally received the dental care she had been overdue for.

For Sky, rehabilitation isn't one big fix. It is nutrition, dentistry, hoof care, parasite management, veterinary monitoring and time.

What makes Sky remarkable isn't only the condition in which she arrived.

It's the horse underneath it.

From the beginning, Sky has been sweet, curious and remarkably easy to work with. She enjoys attention, cooperates with her caregivers and has already revealed one particularly adorable preference:

Sky loves baths.

She also has no question about her position in her little herd.

Sky is the boss.

Her companion Dani is her best friend, but Sky is the one in charge. Their relationship runs much deeper than herd hierarchy, though. The mares have spent at least 13 years together and are intensely bonded. When Dani is taken away, Sky becomes anxious and calls for her.

After everything in their lives changed at once, they still have each other.

Because Sky is a senior horse and so deeply bonded to Dani, she will also remain a permanent sanctuary resident at Rainfall Ranch Rescue.

There is no deadline for her rehabilitation and no expectation that she become a riding horse or make herself "useful" in exchange for her care.

Right now, Sky's job is to eat.

To regain healthy body condition. To have her teeth and feet cared for. To receive the veterinary attention an aging horse deserves. To enjoy her baths and every bucket of mash that comes her way.

And, of course, to continue reminding Dani who's in charge.

We don't know every chapter of Sky's life before she came to us. We don't even know exactly how old she is.

But we know what happens next.

Sky and Dani will stay together.

And Sky will never again have to face her senior years without the food, veterinary care, hoof care, dental care and safety she needs.

Welcome home, Sky.