Horse Illustrated Magazine

If horses could tell us stories from their lifetimes, Sky would have plenty to talk about. At age 32, the gray Arabian mare has seen a lot.

Sky lives at Panhandle Equine Rescue in Cantonment, Florida. She celebrated her 32nd birthday last weekend, and the rescue took the opportunity to throw a party and host an open house.

Sky was one of the rescue’s first residents after it opened its doors in 2005, and she made her way there in an unusual fashion.

“[Escambia County Sheriff’s Office] said she was found after a hurricane,” Panhandle Equine Rescue President Diane Lowery told the Pensacola News Journal. “[She] was very thin, dragging a piece of rope, and completely abandoned.”

It’s likely no one will ever know what happened to Sky immediately before and during that hurricane, but thanks to the freeze brand on her neck—a form of identification sometimes used with registered Arabian horses—her rescuers were able to find out more about her past.

Sky had been a competitive dressage horse in the South in her younger years. Later, she was a broodmare and had two foals before she ended up at Panhandle Equine Rescue. She was adopted out once, but returned to the rescue when the adopter could no longer give her the time and attention she deserved.

At the advanced age of 32, Sky will now call Panhandle Equine Rescue home for the rest of her days. And by the looks of it, she’s pretty happy there.