Riah
Gender: Mare
Breed: American Quarter Horse
Approximate Date of Birth: 1/1/1991
Sponsor:Arrival Date: December, 2011
‘Riah arrived at Horses of Tir Na Nog in December of 2011. Prior to her arrival, she had been in the care of County of San Diego Department of Animal Services for several months. She and a gelding named Thunder were both taken in at the same time. Thunder was adopted within a few weeks of his arrival. In fact, six other horses had been adopted during ‘Riah’s stay. But ‘Riah continued to wait for her new home. We applaud Animal Services for working so hard and so long to find a home for ‘Riah. San Diego County is fortunate to have such a passionate Animal Services Department.
While it was initially hoped that this sweet girl could be find a home with a therapeutic riding facility, diagnosis of damage to her suspensory ligaments eventually led to her placement with Horses of Tir Na Nog.
She was originally named Mariah, but ‘Riah was chosen as an abbreviation in order to distinguish her from our other mare Mariah. In Hebrew, Riah means “Not forgotten, remembered.” Since she arrived at our ranch a time when many local families are preparing for Hanukkah, it is appropriate to celebrate that ‘Riah was not forgotten, even if it took her a bit longer than most of our residents to come home to Horse of Tir Na Nog.
‘Riah arrived at Horses of Tir Na Nog with Kris Kringle, whom she met while at Animal Services.
Farewell Date: May 14, 2023
On Sunday, May 14, 2023, we lost ‘Riah. That morning ‘Riah stuck a front leg through the corral panel. When she pulled her leg back, she fell. In spite of a fantastic effort by our volunteers we were unable to get her up.
When Dr. Manring arrived, she tried valiantly to get ‘Riah up. During these efforts Dr. Manring noticed what we had seen earlier, while her front end was trying hard, ‘Riah’s hind legs were not helping. She checked ‘Riah’s back legs for a pain response and found virtually none. This, combined with ‘Riah’s failure to use her hind legs, lead to a diagnose nerve trauma. Dr. Manring speculated that the trauma might have been the result of a broken pelvis, leading us to the decision to help ‘Riah cross the Rainbow Bridge.
We believe ‘Riah was born in 1991, making her 32 years old. She had been with us for nearly twelve years. ‘Riah arrived at Horses of Tir Na Nog in December of 2011. Prior to her arrival, she had been in the care of San Diego Department of Animal Services for many months. In fact, six other horses had been adopted during the time ‘Riah waited for her new home.
While it was initially hoped that this sweet girl could be find a home at a therapeutic riding facility, diagnosis of damage to her suspensory ligaments led to her placement with us.
She was originally named Mariah, but ‘Riah was chosen as an abbreviation in order to distinguish her from our other Mariah. In Hebrew, Riah means “Not forgotten, remembered.” Since she arrived at our ranch a time when many local families were preparing for Hanukkah, we celebrated that ‘Riah was not forgotten, even if it took her a bit longer than most of our residents to come home.
As you can imagine, ‘Riah formed many friendships over the years. Most of those friends crossed the Rainbow Bridge before her. We have no doubt that they formed an impressive welcoming committee. While this warms our hearts, she left behind many volunteers who loved this sweet, beautiful girl. Her corral placement and personality made her a natural greeter as volunteers arrived at the ranch. Her passing has left a huge void at the ranch and in the hearts of so many of our volunteers. She will truly not be forgotten.