Sue, you asked so I'm going to share the whole story.
Summer of 2012 Joe's cousins were coming for a visit, they were on the last leg of driving the Nike truck to different sporting events and were on their way home to Portland. The truck that they drove wouldn't make it up our road, so Joe stopped by a horse ranch down the road from us. A new trainer had just taken it over and he was friendly. He said they could park it there and as Joe talked I looked around. I asked about all the young horses he had. He said they were all for sale. I went out and looked, I liked Kota and this little bay kept following him around. He said he would prefer to sale me the bay mare, because Kota was on a one way trip to the meat market, because he kicked the trainer in the head and had chased him out of the round pen. Kota is her full brother. She was cute and I was sure someone would buy her and Kota seemed to need the more immediate help. So I talked to Joe and we bought Kota.
During the winter of 2012 Joe and I stopped by to give the trainer some home-made Jelly for x-mas and he told me the little mare was still for sale. He said she was down at the lower barn with the brood mares. I told Joe I wanted to stop and see her. If ever my husband was going to divorce me it was over this little girl. Bless his heart he drove there and I got out in the snow and found her. I was horrified. This is how she looked.
I think I cried all the way home. Joe didn't think this was the right time to buy her, we didn't have room in the barn and more that likely not enough food.
So I began making her a bowl of feed in the morning when I feed the boys and every day after work I stopped by and fed her. The first day I went out all the brood mare surrounded me and she stood off in the distance. I approached her very slowly and put the lead rope on, the trainer had left this halter on her, I was upset that he did that, because it was starting to wear the hair off around her nose and I was worried it would get caught on something. The next time I went out there, I whistled and she came trotting up with the others, but still stayed back. The third time, she was waiting for me at the gate. I believe she had been eating pine needles because the smell permeated her skin.
After about a month Joe told me that it was my decision. So I went down and paid the 500 bucks for her. The problem was I had to go on a 4 day work related conference and could only come get her after my return.
Now, up to this point I put the lead rope on her and let her eat and I began brushing her, that was it.
The day I got home, I asked Joe if he would help me set up some panels under the awning so she could have a space of her own out of the weather and try to heal the rain rot and I could begin feeding her more food slowly. I rode Beau down in the snow, whistled to her, she came trotting up! I hooked the lead rope on and ponied her back home. I was worried that she wouldn't pony and then I was worried that she wouldn't walk into the barn. She did both! She walked right in that barn like she belonged there.
My dad even sent me $500 dollars to help with her feed bill.
This is what she looked like the summer of 2013.
I adore her!
