I thought that you might like a bit of an update on McKayla!
I caught McKayla taking an afternoon nap today!
She is doing great and just loving life!
We just cherish everyday that we have to look out and see how much she has
blossomed since she has been with us!
Take care! And THANK YOU for being YOU!!!!!!!!

This is McKayla with her best buddy, PBC!

never thought that I would see the day the McKayla would be this comfortable and bonded with another horse! What do you think of this!!!!!!!
YEAH!
PBC is the QHx that we rescued a year ago off of the elite riding stables!!!! He is now rehabbed and giving rides as long as we keep McKayla near!!!!!!
Yep...they are definitely meant for each other!

Hi! Auntie Gail,
I just thought that I would write to you since Mom keeps saying that she needs to but, just never has the time! I had to slip away from the barn to let you know about my life!!!!!

When I arrived here in AZ 3 years ago, I was so scared and I did not trust anyone! I hardly remember those times and that just seems like a nightmare that happened so long ago. My days are spent out grazing, rolling, sleeping, and playing with Dynasty, Luna, Jesse, Munchee, Pretty Boy and Magic. I come in my stall at night so that I can have my delicious dinner then I sleep comfortably, as does everyone.....then we get our breakfast and spend the day out on 2 acres, together! We get lots of treats from all of our admirers and Mom and Dad are here to give us all of the TLC that we can handle! We have 2 Nubian goats to play with and plenty of chickens to play chase with!

Here is a picture of me with my boyfriend and protector, Pretty Boy!

Pretty Boy came home here the day before Thanksgiving. Mom and Dad went and picked him up from a terrible situation at a very elite riding stable. They told all of us that he would only be here visiting for a few months until he felt better and could go to live with his rescuer Mom, Molly in Maine. Well, it turns out that he is just my age of 25 and just a bit older than they originally thought. The decision was made for him to live out his life with all of us here! YEAH!!!!! We have become the best of friends and spend all of our time together! He sometimes gets a little bit protective of me when Jesse comes to see me, but, I keep telling him that I belong to him and we can be social!

We have so much in common as far as our background and I have been showing him the ropes around this barn and he has been helping me with my confidence and I really feel that I am alive! I am so happy and content that my memories of that other time in my life have just about gone. He is teaching me to go out on walks following him (Mom rides him and takes me so I won't be lonely, plus I need the exercise!) We don't go very far yet because I get kind of scared sometimes when things crop up on my right side....I don't know but, Mom says that I am blind in that eye....whatever that means! I am learning a whole different side of trust and Pretty Boy is trying to be my guide! I think that he gets a bit over-bearing sometimes, but I really like all of the attention and having my very own bonding friend is something that I have never known before.

Ooppss!! I hear Mom coming.....I better stop typing and get back out to the barn! Please don't tell Mom that I can type........she really thinks that she is the only one here who can write to you!

Thank you Auntie Gail for helping me discover that life is not just to exist and then be thrown away! It is all about love and caring!!! I sometimes have to reassure Mom that I am okay....so, you will always hear me being the first to greet her whenever she comes out into the backyard!

Love,
McKayla

McKayla is my watch dog for the barn/pasture.....she will yell if there is a problem out in back to get my attention! Her personality has changed sooooooo much since she has gotten here! She definitely realizes that she is "home forever" and is such a sweet and gentle mare! The shell of a horse that she was when she arrived has blossomed into a beautiful, calm and kind majestic soul that she is!

Dear Auntie Gail,
Thank you so much for helping me to find my "forever" home! It has almost been 2 years that I have been here and I don't hardly remember any of the years that I had before coming home!

I love to run and since my stiffness is gone, I am able to show my Mom and Dad that I love my pastures! I get to go out on hand walks quite a bit.......Mom rode me once in the beginning and then told me that I would never have to be ridden again, and she meant it! I love to go out in the neighborhood and explore! There are such neat smells and the other horses around here love to talk to me and I will always have to answer them back. Dynasty and I have been spending a little more time together because that Luna has been taking up all of Jesse's time. She is such a flirt! But, Jesse does take care of us all during the day!

I am at peace here and all of those things that used to scare me.........they do not exist anymore. I am so secure that when I take my naps, Mom will come out and rub on me while I am sleeping.......it feels so good!

I have to tell you a secret though, when Mom comes back into the barn during the day.........me and the goats will sneak away from the herd to find her. She always sneaks us treats and I do not have to compete with the others for attention or the goodies! I am so special! I love to stand for grooming..........and I love for my Mom to give me her time and hugs!

Well, gotta go back out to the pasture...............
Talk to you soon and give my best regards to my old friend, Precious Gem!
Love,
McKayla

Thought that you would like to hear about my "friend" McKayla!
From the scared and untrusting, never allowed to have a human bond, not knowing that it is OK to take a treat out of a hand, unable to be touched, groomed or bathed and terribly arthritic, thin bodied horse that sheWAS........to the thriving and HAPPY individual that she IS today!!!!!!

Yep, she has come a LONG way!!!!! McKayla now enjoys the grooming! She now likes to go out on hand walks! She does not freak out with things happening on her blind side! She knows how to take treats and will be the talk of the barn when she sees you coming! Her best friends are the 2 Nubian goats that just adore her! She loves to be out in the pasture with Jesse, Dynasty and Luna! And she is content enough to sleep on the ground, in her stall at night! She evens trusts enough to take treats from her ground position!

McKayla has finally figured out that she is HOME forever! The only care in the world that she has is trying to trust enough to take a full bathing at one time! She has figured out that when the farrier comes out and I am there holding her, she can rest her head in my chest and take a nap while her feet are trimmed! Yes, that IS an accomplishment! Her feet and legs have always been an issue and we have taken things very slowly and positively to try to erase the 22 years of negativity she has
tolerated!

The main problem that this little gray mare faces is the melanoma that has burst and has been draining in her rectal area. She is very good about being cleaned up and we have been watching her to try to determine the best course of action (if any) to take! Being that this is not an easy site to manage, we(the vet and I) are doing the most in evasive methods that we can!

For mow, McKayla loves to be ponyed out in the neighborhood and her hand walks are a great source for her to grow and trust! I think that she is now officially retired from any riding and will be able to enjoy the rest of her life, loved and cherished in my pasture, along with anything else that she enjoys doing!

Thanks to you Gail, for allowing us to help McKayla learn trust and love!
She is one of my best friends and we am honored to have her here!

TTYL
Debbie and all of the &ldquokids&rdquo