Dear John,

Wow! It's been six years since you came to the farm. We bought you to replace my old Palomino; Todd was sick of me crying myself to sleep. Thanks for healing the pain. I was pregnant with Jed at the time but rode though all my pregnancies; so it was nice to have friend carry me through the woods on my short rides again.


Not long after we brought you home we discovered you had West Nile. Those were hard days but we made it! Countless hours were spent on your back as you taught me to be a better rider.
You and Rock are getting up there in years. We aren't sure quite how old you are but we know you are close to 30 years old. We are having a hard time keeping weight on both of you and keep you on pasture as much as possible. Your eyes are getting much worse and now I think all you can see are shadows. We don't have many years left and it makes my heart ache to imagine life without you guys.

But anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for the ride tonight. It was just like old times wasn't it! You have taught me so much and I am thankful for all the time we have had. I hope we can go for a ride again soon. I promise to take the paths that we've traveled already so that you won't need to be afraid. Oh, but we going to have to use a saddle next time. You sure don't seem short on energy when something startles you and you almost dumped me tonight!

I love you,
Mom