jonesminiwhinnies

In memory of our beloved "Annie"

August 4th, 1992 --- July 2nd, 2001

Jones' Little Orphan Annie

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"Don't Cry For The Horses"

Don't cry for the horses that life has set free.

A million white horses forever to be.

Don't cry for the horses now in God's hand.

As they dance and they prance in a heavenly band.

They were ours as a gift, but never to keep.

As they close their eyes forever to sleep.

Their spirits unbound. On silver wings they fly.

A million white horses agaist a blue sky.

Look up into Heaven, you'll see them above.

The horse we lost, the horses we loved.

Manes and tails flowing, they gallup through time.

They were never yours, they were never mine.

Don't cry for the horses. They'll be back someday.

When time is gone, they will show us the way.

Do you hear that soft nicker? Close to your ear?

Don't cry for the horses. Love the ones that are here.

~ Author unknown ~

The Life of Annie

Annie was born on the 4th of August in 1992. Everything was fine, and it was an easy delivery.

Our veterinarian was already scheduled to come out the next day, so we had him look over mom and baby. He said they looked great! We let them outside in a small pasture by themselves as we do all the new moms and babies.

On the 8th day, they came trotting in the barn for their evening meal, and Annie's mom dropped to the ground. She had suffered a heart attack and was gone in a matter of seconds. We sat beside her in shock and then started planning how to deal with an 8 day old orphan. We called the vet and ordered some Foal Lac and until it came, we helped little Annie "steal" milk from other lactating mares.

Then we offered her a bottle, she wanted no part of it, but she would drink her formula out of a bucket. Of course, we wore alot of it because she was pretty sloppy, but at least she was eating. We took shifts day and night for nearly 4 months.

Annie did great and seemed very happy, but we had a hard time convincing her that she was a horse and not a person. Eventually she learned to stay in the pasture and to be a horse.

In the spring, we clipped her and were so pleased to find such a beautiful mare under all that hair. We were anxious to show her so we planned a few shows. She did very well, and soon we were off to the Nationals. It was a long drive, and when we got there, we unloaded the horses and Annie didn't seem to look quite right. We had a vet look at her, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong. We continued to watch her through the night, and she seemed to be getting weaker and eating slower. We scratched our classes and headed home. On the way home, she laid down in the trailer so I said we were taking her to the Ohio State Veterinary Clinic. When we got there, the tests started. They suspected ulcers. Her protein level was dangerously low, so they gave her plasma. Then we had to make the decision to operate or not. We said "operate". Well, they did but did not find any ulcers in the stomach. They felt that the ulcers were in her intestines. They couldn't fix them, but the medication they had given her had already started to work and she was improving. Looking back, I wish we had said "no surgery". Now she had to recover from the surgery too.

Well she did great and prove to be a real fighter!

Annie went on to have 6 beautiful foals without any problems.

When her 6th foal was almost 4 months old, we found Annie laying upside down and tossing in her stall. We thought the ulcers were flaring up again. But the ulcer medicine didn't give her any relief so we had more tests done. The results said it was not ulcers this time. Off to the hospital we went. After more tests, it was determined that she had twisted her intestine. There was no choice but to operate.

After opening her up, the doctors could see that this was going to happen sooner or later. Her secum was attached to her first incision site and a large section of bowel was twisted. She tried hard, but she couldn't make it through this surgery with all the complications.

So on July 2nd, 2001, we had to say goodbye to our Little Orphan Annie. We are very lucky to have had 9 wonderful years with her and to have 6 of her offspring still with us. But nothing will ever fill the hole in our hearts when Annie left us.

God Bless you, Annie. We will see you at the gates of Heaven.

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Annie's foals are:

Jones' Little Bit Of Nashville ("Nashville")

Jones' Blue Boy's Texas Tornado ("Tex")

Jones' Grande Nebraska Dawn ("Nebraska")

Jones' Grande Nevada Rae ("Nevada")

Jones' Blue Boy's IBN's Legacy ("Dink")

Jones' Hawk's Ranten And Raven ("Raven")

We refer to all of them as our "Annie brats". They all have her unique personality and lots of attitude!

Jones' Mini-Whinnies

jonesminis@hotmail.com

This page was last updated on: February 21, 2008

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Nashville

Tex

Nebraska

Nevada

Dink

Raven

Annie will live on not only in her son and daughters, but also in her grandsons and granddaughters

Nashville's foals

Jones' Blue Boy's Cauzin Comotion

Jones' Annie's Blue Summer

Tex's foals

Jones' Blue Lyric

Jones' Aint She Fanci In Blue

Jones' Blue Boy's Dallas Cowboy

Jones' Blue Boy's Texas Cowboy

Jones' Annie's Arizona Dream

Jones' Rae of Sunshine

Nebraska Dawn's foals

Nevada Rae's foals

Annie,

A whole year has passed and time has yet to heal the hole in my heart that was left when the Lord asked for you back. I miss you more and more every day Annie and life has not been the same without you. There isn't a day that has passes that I don't think about you and miss you with every bone in my body. I never knew love until you came along. And I've never known pain so deep until you left me. I wish we would have had more time together here, but I know that one day we will be together again. Until then, I thank the Lord every day for the six wonderful gifts that you gave me during your short time here on Earth. Nothing could EVER replace you, but Nashville, Tex, Nebraska Dawn, Nevada Rae, Dink, and Raven help me stay strong. They are the best gifts anyone could ever give and I thank you for giving them to me. I'll never forget you my precious Annie - not even when I'm gray and 80 years old. You were my everything and you still are. I love you so much Annie and miss you terribly. The Lord is so lucky to have you now. Wait for me at the gates of Heaven.

Love Always and Forever,

Nicole

July 2, 2002

Jones' Blue Boy's EatMyDust

Jones' Call Me Phoenix

Annie,

Another year and a half to the day has passed, two and a half years in all. And still I can't even believe you are gone. My heart still aches when I think of you and all you've done for me and how I still wish so badly that you were still here with me. Sometimes I can't believe how bad it still hurts after so long. I thank you every day that you are still willing to be without the six precious gifts you gave me so many years ago. They are my only comfort and consolation for losing you. A little over a year ago, the Lord asked for someone else that is very dear to all of our hearts, Maynerd. I can still remember when you and Maynerd would run around the yard all day playing when you were a baby. And not even two months after that, the Lord painfully asked for one more special soul to join you, Quizzy. It is still hard for us to understand why so many so dear to our hearts had to go so soon and so young. But we find comfort knowing that you are not alone anymore. We all love and miss the three of you terribly but also know that one day we will see you, Quizzy and Maynerd running, playing, and happy once again. Until then my love, don't give up on me. Keep waiting for me at the gates of Heaven.

Love Always and Forever,

Nicole

November 2, 2003