Easter Egg Hunt - Saturday April 7

Come to the Lockwood Ranch of Redwings on Saturday, April 7 at 10 am for a free pancake brunch. At Noon - there will be an EASTER EGG HUNT and then at 1 pm there will be a short presentation about welcoming a new pet (or horse!) into your family.

Hope we'll see you!

47240 Lockwood-Jolon Rd.
Lockwood, CA 93932
(831) 386-0135 for questions/directions

April Horse of the Month - HF Skip Badlands "Boomer"

Boomer was born April 10, 1985 on a large breeding farm in Nebraska. Boomer spent nine years of his life as a working member of the ranch staff, teaching children to ride, checking fence lines and exercising young show horses. But even with his good nature and excellent bloodlines, when it came time to reduce the herd size, Boomer was chosen to go to auction. Luckily he was purchased by a broker who sent him to California where he fell into the hands of a Redwings member.

Boomer now lives at the Lockwood Ranch of Redwings Horse Sanctuary. Here his calmness and excellent training make him a great horse for our new volunteers. He is patient as they learn to groom, lead, work on feet - all the basics that every responsible horse person should know.

We are grateful to Boomer for his patience and we are extremely happy to be able to provide him a loving home for the rest of his life. Happy Birthday Boomer!!

March Horse of the Month

Apollo & friend Champ

March is a pivotal month known for the transitional time where winter ends and spring begins. It is traditionally believed that the first few days of March are stormy and volatile, while the month ends mild and warm, hence the saying, “comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb”. Redwings’ black, Andalusian-Arab Gelding, Apollo, has had a similar, unpredictable life before coming to happily live in the sunshine and safety of our sanctuary.
Apollo’s life began in 2003 where he was found at about 6 months old by Animal Control to be severely malnourished, weak, and unable to walk. It was recommended by a vet to put him down. Fortunately, Animal Control went against advice and began feeding him milk cow pellets and hay. He improved, gained weight and strength, but his legs and confirmation suffered from initial lack of nutrition, resulting in him unable to ever be ridden. However, thanks to the devotion, empathy, and affection of true animal lovers, he was taken in by a woman who wanted to give him a forever home of peace and love. He lived a beautiful life with her for 7 years until she became ill and could not care for him any longer. She contacted us asking for assistance, and luckily, we were able to provide Apollo with a forever home.
You can frequently find Apollo frolicking and galloping with his friends Champ and the ponies in the front pasture. They put on quite a show during the afternoons, giving the staff and visitors quite a laugh. He is an excellent example of what the tenacity of animal lovers can provide for those that had a daunting beginning.

Education - our mission!

Over the past month and a half, Redwings has had the pleasure of carrying our message to six classes of second graders at a local school. We are always excited to tell the stories of our equine residents and share with listeners what it takes to be a good and responsible owner.

The six classes were all tremendous groups of active participants with lots of questions. Our hope is that as these children become adults, they will remember that kindness and responsibility is key in being a good owner. We hope they will apply these same qualities in dealing with all creatures on this earth as they become mature citizens.

Introducing our newest residents

Meet Dirty Red (left) and Max (right), the newest members of the Redwings family. As retired Border Patrol horses, their walk down from quarantine to join the herd was what you would expect - dignified, orderly and disciplined - no foolishness from these veterans!

Dirty Red and Max are 14 and 15 years old. They came to us because upon retirement (they could no longer handle the long days of hard climbing in the mountains of Tucson,) the U.S. Government needed to place this "equipment" somewhere. The Border Patrol riders felt strongly they wanted and needed to find the "right" places for their faithful mounts and because our experience suggested they'd have trouble finding homes for the horses with health issues - they chose Dirty Red and Max for us to consider. Both horses have problems that were developed in the line of duty. It is our honor to give these retired veterans the safe forever home they deserve.

Sharing what we know

On February 4, volunteers who have completed a Level I class and at least 40 hours of volunteer work at either our Lockwood Ranch or our satellite location, Ranch Forgotten - were able to take a Level II course.

This course helps students advance in their understanding of handling techniques and health care. Seven willing students partook of this opportunity to share their experiences and to learn alternative methods of working with horses, to make their experiences and the horses' experience equally fulfilling.

We always love having volunteers who can help us with the horses. There are numerous other ways people help too so don't be deterred by distance!

Carrington College visits and helps Redwings

On February 3, 20 students from Carrington College came to Redwings to practice their skill with large animals as they work towards their degrees as Registered Veterinary Technicians. Today the students practiced their skill at getting vitals as this young woman is doing on Lacey. Later in the day, they gave vaccines that our horses require. The students got practice - and our horses received their yearly vaccines - a win, win for everyone! Thank you Carrington College for sharing your great students!