The hardest part about working with animals is having to say good-bye. Sometimes they pass away, sometimes they retire to be only pets for loving homes, and sometimes they move on to a different farm that better fits their needs.
Zanina
2009 Dutch Warmblood Mare
Zanina has 2 stories of being part of our family! She was the first (ever) horse to arrive to our barn in January 2018. We had the privilege to be her boarding barn from Jan 2018 - Jan 2019. We fell IN LOVE with her.
Zanina is owned by an incredible professional horse trainer in Southwest Ranches, FL named Lorena Kaelber, owner of LK Equestrians. From May 2021 to May 2022, Lorena generously allowed Zanina to come back to Cheyne Ranch and be part of our education and therapy programs. We were over the moon to have her here! Zanina is a gentle giant, she loves people, especially children. She is one of those intuitive horses who will approach a person who needs her presence, and she will just stand near them, offering her large, protective and loving presence.
Zanina is BIG! She weighs about 1,500 pounds, and she stands 17 hh. Her birthday is March 3, 2009 and her breed is a registered Dutch Warmblood. Before coming to Cheyne Ranch, Zanina had an impressive show record as show jumper.
Zanina passed away in the fall of 2024 at her owner’s barn in Southwest Ranches. She was deeply loved by so many and made such an impression on everyone she encountered.
Lucy
Lucy arrived at our barn February 11, 2020. She came from a family in Geneva, FL. Lucy is a registered appaloosa, with all registered quarter horses in her parentage. Lucy is a chestnut colored mare born January 25, 1998.
Lucy moved to a friend’s barn only 2 miles away in February, 2021. She told us in her own way that it was time for her to enjoy a full retirement and spend her days grazing grass in a pasture.
Lucy passed away at my friend’s pasture in 2024 after living a full and wonderful life.
Frankie, the gopher tortoise
When we moved to our property in July 2016, we were welcomed by the existing resident, Frankie the tortoise. It was always so nice to stop and say hello to Frankie on our nature walks. Frankie even had an overnight visitor once, and I created a moving video, with a soundtrack.
Sadly, in the fall of 2020, Frankie was no longer moving and I asked my friend and neighbor, Ariel, to come take a look. She is a biology teacher who (literally) wrote her masters thesis on respiratory infections of gopher tortoises. She helped us take care of Frankie’s shell. She was estimated to be around 80 years old!! She died of a respiratory illness common to Florida gopher tortoise. We miss Frankie.
