Dear Diego (by Jose)

Saturday January 26 2008 Well Diego, it's been quite the winter here in Arizona (your old home). It sounded all fun, getting to travel with bossman Rhett, being a snowbird horse, migrating south for the winter to where it was warmer, where Rhett said there were these cool things that were tall as trees but weren't trees and you didn't want to touch them because they are mean and pokey, and where it hardly ever rains. But as soon as we got to Arizona after a looooooooooong trailer ride, I got kicked in the knee by one of the horses here. It didn't really hurt much, and all the humans thought it healed up right away, but it only healed on the outside. It got infected on the inside so I got shots for 10 days. Those are no fun, but I am such a nice horse, I let anybody poke me as much as they want because they told me it would make my leg better, and it makes them happy when I don't make a fuss about anything. Then I got all better, and Rhett and I got in the trailer again for half a day, and ended up at an endurance ride on flat desert with no tall pokey Not-trees. Rhett went 50 miles the first day, and he got really really tired and didn't have to go another 50 miles on the same day, and I got to do a 50 the next day and got petted at the end because I finished up all good and strong. Just wait till you get to do a 50 mile ride Diego, you will have fun. When Rhett and I got back to Arizona a few days later, we both felt worn out, and after another week we got moved to a little round pen by ourselves, across from the other 5 horses, and I felt better but Rhett felt really bad. I was only coughing and got a snotty nose but Rhett got these big painful bumps under his chin that busted icky green snot and now he's really skinny. We both started getting shots again. Rhett really hates his shots and runs away from needles, but I just let the humans poke me. I'm so good they don't even have to put a halter on me. M came to see us a few days ago, and it's fun because she gives us carrot treats. Rhett and I stand at our fence with our eyeballs glued on the front door, waiting for it to squeak and open and M to walk out, and we whinny at her and she brings us a carrot, many times a day. Sometimes Rhett wakes her early in the morning with his whinnies. And we get fed beet pulp with treaties in it twice a day. It's almost worth being sick for the treaties (but not quite). Last night during the full moon, M came outside and hung out with me, she petted my face and told me all about you in IdaHome, how you have been wearing a saddle and learning to lunge with it in the round pen, but you really like to just stand there and look cute in your bonnet and saddle and necklace, how you rub your mane in the sagebrush so you smell good when M hugs you, how you were naughty and scared of boogeyhorses last time you got shoes, what you thought of your first cow, how you are all wearing snowflake blankets, and how sad and bored all of you are without me, your Social Coordinator. I'm glad I'm here to keep Rhett company but I miss IdaHome and all the space we have to run and I miss you Diego. I am bored too. We can't leave the property we are on for a long time so we don't get any other horses in the neighborhood sick. Rhett and I tried to sneak out the other day when M was cleaning our pen, but she closed the gate before we could get out. M told me if I do ever escape not to go next door and visit those horses, because they haven't gotten our germs, but if I do escape, you know I'm going to go right over there and say hi because I am the designated Social Coordinator in Arizona too. To keep busy I like to help the humans and horses here. I always go help M or the boys when they come to clean the poop out of our pen, and I go up and help Rhett when M and Rusty are giving Rhett his shot. I tell him not to be scared but he's scared anyway. Yesterday I watched the other 5 horses in the bigger pen run around and around in circles, and I was sad because it reminded me of our canyon in IdaHome and because I wasn't running around with them. Today Rhett and I got baths, which felt pretty good, and right afterwards while I was still dripping I went and rolled and rolled in the sand and scratched myself good, and got up and shook off and went and rolled again. Then I felt REALLY good. M said I was a real dirty clean now. I'm not getting shots anymore, but Rhett still has to get them for a while. He is feeling better though, because he's bossing me around and chasing me from the feed buckets. I let him, because it makes him happy. I don't think we can come home to IdaHome for a long while yet because we don't want to make you and everybody in IdaHome sick, but when we do get back there, I think from now on I won't get into the big trailer. I don't want to be a snowbird-horse anymore because it's not so fun. I'll just stay there and lead all the gallops up and down our canyon, and only get in the little white trailer that just takes me on shorter trips closer to IdaHome. I miss you Diego. Love, Jose

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