June 2010 we were contacted by a lady who had a difficult decision to make. Sherry had a form of cancer and the resulting treatments were quite costly. As a result, she was unable to continue to care for her 2 horses. The younger/more adoptable horse went to another horse rescue.

Sadly, at age 24, Mariah was less likely to be adoptable and Sherry was faced with trying to find a home for an elderly, herd bound mare (unlikely, as she tried for quite awhile) or euthanasia. Quite the heartbreaking decision for anyone to make, especially if you are ill! TIER offered to give Mariah a forever home if needed.

Maria is a Purebred Arabian, registered name is Darts Dawneeka. Sire is Ala Dart, Dam is Ca Roneeka. She was born in 1986.

10/7/2021 we found Mariah down in her pen when we came out to feed.  No idea how long she had been down.  She was now 35 years old and this was the first time we had ever found her down/unable to get up.  After calling every vet on our list (our regular vet was ill and couldn’t come out) we FINALLY made contact with Dr. McCaughan of Creekside Veterinary who could come out in 45 minutes.  All the others wouldn’t have been able to come for hours!!! 

 We had tried to help her up and flipped her over before the vet arrived.  When he got here, we all tried together to help her up.  She couldn’t get her hind legs under herself.  After being at TIER for 11 years,  the heartbreaking decision was made to help her across the Rainbow Bridge.  She had been at TIER for over half its existence!!

What a lovely mare!  Mariah was the sweetest mare ever!  She got along well with ALL the other horses and donkeys at TIER.  She was the “special girl” for Toni, the calm influence for nervous horses, the flirt for the boys and motherly to Pirate the pony.  In typiical grey horse fashon, she really liked rolling in the dirt or mud.  She would get this horrendous wind knot in her mane on a regular basis and just loved to be groomed.  She was one of the horses that helped nervous novice volunteers to gain confidence.  You could just fall into those big brown Arabian eyes and lose yourself.  I am deeply affected by her loss, but so very, very grateful to have had her in my life for a time.  MARIAH…you were such a gift!  Farewell my beautiful girl.  

She is 32 years old and not a whole lot of dentistry to be done.  But, Joe & Martine did what they could for her to help her keep her girlish figure and continue to be able to process her hay and soaked pellets/senior.  Such a LOVELY little mare she is!

She looks pretty good for her age too!  Of course...she is an Arabian and they age gracefully for the most part.

The old Gray Mares ain't as good as they once were,
My how the years have flown,
But there was a time,
Back in their prime,
When they could really hold their own,
May not be good as they once were,
But they're as good once, as they ever were,
Mariah (Darts Dawneeka) 30 yrs. old (She's in the background)
Lovely (Forever Lovely) 30 yrs. old

A huge thank you to Ark Antiques & Joe Yasinosky of Best Equine Dentisty for helping some of the TIER residents with their dental issues! Mariah, who is 30 years old (Darts Dawneeka. Sire is Ala Dart, Dam is Ca Roneeka. She was born in 1986) was such a lady while having her teeth done.  She is such a lovely and kind mare!

You would never guess that she is 30 years old!  Of course, she is an Arabian and they seem to live long lives when properly cared for!

Mariah is wondering if this is REALLY necessary?  It had been a year since she had her teeth done.  Surprisingly (for a horse of her age -29 yrs old!) her teeth were in good shape.

A few edges that needed smoothing out was all she needed.

Her overall attitude about the experience was...BLECH!

Mariah arrived safe and sound. This was a difficult situation for her owner Sherry. Sherry has a form of cancer and the resulting treatments have been quite costly. As a result, she was unable to continue to care for her 2 horses. The younger/more adoptable horse went to Falconridge Equine Rescue.

Sadly, at age 24, Mariah was less likely to be adoptable and Sherry was faced with trying to find a home for an elderly, herd bound mare (unlikely, as she tried for quite awhile) or euthanasia. Quite the heartbreaking decision for anyone to make, especially if you are ill! TIER offered to give Mariah a forever home if needed and possibly find someone interested in adopting this lovely, personable mare.

Mariah arrived and immediately went into heat!! She had been pastured with another mare for a number of years and having "boys around set her system in motion. What a flirt! This went on for days.....I didn't think she'd ever settle down! HA! As a result, all the other girls at TIER went into season and things were spicey and vocal for a few days.

Mariah is low on the totem pole of horse hierarchy, and trying to mix and match partners was a bit of a challenge. We first put her out with Sugar Bear who promptly ran her off from each hay pile we had spread throughout the arena area. We then put them back in their pens, played a little musical corrals and placed Mariah between Sugar Bear and Tigger. Eventually we let Mariah out with Tigger and they got along fine. We then introduced Sugar Bear to the mix, moved them to the pasture area and it is working out well! Hopefully, the Ladies of TIER will continue to be comfortable together and we can group them in one of the large areas together permanently.