Release the dragons!

I guess I should say "Release The Baby Dragon!" but that doesn't sound as ominous, does it? :)

Snapdragon got her very first full pasture access today! It was wonderful to see her and her Mom out in the grass, gobbling yummy pasture, and simply enjoying being wiiiiiiild mustangs together. Yay!

A blissful summer with my wild girl

Thanks to everyone for all of the love and good thoughts to Miss Chloe-we are so lucky to have such amazing support and kindness showered upon our girl.

I remember too well that awful, cold, snowy morning in May when I was certain that Chloe was ready to leave us. I stayed up well past midnight the previous night trying to help her stop shivering and wondering if it was time.

I second-guessed myself a million times: was I asking too much of her? Was it fair to ask her to keep going for this vague notion that she would be able to enjoy one last wonderful summer here at DVR? What if we made it to the warm weather but she felt too ill to eat or enjoy herself?

I had long discussions with my friend and vet Charlotte Obermeier trying to decide upon a path that I would not regret. What a patient and compassionate saint of a woman she is by the way. If you are in the area and need an incredible equine vet SHE is your woman!

But mostly I did the best I could to listen to Chloe with an open heart.

And what I heard loud and clear was the joyous soul of a magnificent animal who was not ready to give up and had a tremendous amount of strength and fortitude inside of that beautiful mustang body.

I cannot describe how grateful I am that I heard her decision and that it has been-without question-the right choice to support her will to continue living.

So...here are a few images that I captured last night of our wiiiiiiild mustang romping in the pasture. She must have galloped up and down the entire length of the pasture a dozen times in a row-it is clear that she felt wonderful!

I think she was just making sure that I knew that it was, indeed, worthwhile to ask her to make it through those chilly nights so that she could enjoy an evening like this one.

Thank you, sweet Chloe, for being the crazy, goofy, silly, spunky, snuggly, hilarious wild mustang we know and love. We are so lucky to have you in our lives!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy father's day to all of the wonderful dads out there!

And a special happy father's day to The Bestest Dog & Pony Dad ever :) Sorry to have to embarrass you with this video but...well...it's my blog :) Happy Father's Day mr smrp!
xoxox

Too sexy for her clothes

Things are going well here at Dream Valley Ranch (Quick! Everyone knock on wood!). Chloe has begun eating some hay and grain and is enjoying her daily walks in the woods. She is actually gaining weight!

But perhaps the biggest accomplishment is a shared one: I am finally able to blanket my wild mustang! Both Chloe and I have had to take a tremendous leap of faith in one another in order to reach this milestone and we have worked hard at it all month!

In fact...tonight I graduated! I took Chloe's fly sheet off and then blanketed her with a lightly insulated turn out blanket all by myself! Auntie Robin actually cried with joy because she knows how scary this was for me AND my little pony-Yay for us! (It's okay Auntie Robin...your cry baby moment is just between me, you, and the internet!)

We are so lucky to be able to count on the training and guidance of our friend and pony whisperer Auntie Robin through this process and are even luckier to have had such fun along the way! We have laughed so hard as we worked on desensitizing our silly girl to every type of floppy clothing imaginable. I think even Chloe has giggled quietly at us during the silliest of moments! Here is a picture of our clothes horse (or should i say CHLOEthes horse?)...doesn't she look adorable?

And here is a video that I had to put together for this specific song...it was just too perfect to pass up. I hope you all get a good laugh out of our blanket training efforts! Go Chloe go!
xoxo

Chloe the CHLOEthes Horse - Click here for more amazing videos

Zeke the fox

This morning Auntie Robin (my mustang whisperer) and I were taking Miss Chloe for a walk down the driveway when suddenly Zeke trotted across the road in front of us. Zeke is our sweet little resident fox. He makes the rounds every morning trotting through the pastures, the barn, our yard, and around our house before he heads off to explore the rest of his valley. We love seeing Zeke. Here is a short video of our little friend...enjoy!

Happy Dozen Years Rikki Tiki Tavi!

Happy 12th birthday to the happiest and silliest shepherd of them all!!

We adore you!!!


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