On April 9, 2009 DreamPower Horsemanship sadly lost our quarter pony Starbright after a lengthy illness. X-rays revealed the infection in her pastern (ankle) had broken down more bone and the new damage to her coffin (foot) bone made it impossible for her to become sound again. After consulting with two veterinarians and a veterinary surgeon, a unanimous decision was made to let her go.

Starbright was the first horse to join DreamPower in 2002, donated by Kathy Faraday and her family.  The 28 year old matriarch of our wonderful herd of generous horses. she was the first to realize our dream of helping children to heal in the presence of horses. Starbright's legacy will continue to live on in the lives of the hundreds of children and teens who will find hope and healing at DreamPower. Since January 1 of this year, DreamPower has served 110 children, teens and adults with special needs.

Starbright was bright-eyed, perky, eating and had an amazing attitude until the very last minute. She kept her beautiful, shiny coat all the way to the end. Throughout her illness Starbright was a trooper with a heart that never quit. She never gave up, never became depressed, never had anything but a courageous heart and the strongest will to live. Her tenacious courage and the strong will to live she possessed all the way until her last breath were the reasons why the vets and I agreed to continue working with her as long as we did.

DreamPower is going to be establishing a veterinary care fund in Starbright's honor, specifically to provide emergency and routine veterinary care to the DreamPower herd. I feel very strongly that every horse working at DreamPower should have excellent veterinary care, whenever it is needed. I do not want a single horse in our program to ever lack necessary veterinary care, just because it was chosen to work in a non-profit organization. These horses give everything they have to our clients, and they deserve all the veterinary support necessary for optimal health and well-being. You will be hearing more about this fund in the future. But if you would like to make a donation in Starbright's honor now, mark the donation "vet fund" and we will make sure that your donation is designated for the care of our wonderful herd.

Lastly, I want to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Bill Seals and Dr. Ann Wimmer of Tri-County Veterinary Hospital in Gilroy, who cared for Starbright in truly amazing ways. They gave their hearts and their minds to Starbright. Their creative, tenacious and skillful veterinary care allowed her to have the very best possible chance to recover. She almost made it. Her feet had healed beautifully from the initial illness. But a stubborn, hidden infection made it impossible for her to fully recover. We are also extremely grateful to Dale Orr of Dale Orr Horseshoeing, who took care of Starbright's feet before and during her illness. His farrier skill allowed her to remain sound despite many challenges through the years.

Thank you for your prayers and good wishes during this long illness. Starbright is in heaven now, free from pain and able to run and buck with all the good horses in the heavenly herd. I know God knew she was coming and had a cozy stall and lots of alfalfa waiting for her today.