A friend on MySpace shared her touching story of how her and her daughter, rescued a pony named Chip who was so skinny, they thought he may not make it through 2 weeks. Cheryl has given me permission to share this story on our website. It just goes to show, there are alot of good people out there who ARE willing to make a difference!

My name is Cheryl Clay (Hesperia, CA) My daughter & son in law, Erica & Bryan Baxter, (Phelan, CA)

My daughter (28yrs at that time) and I rescued a pony 3 years ago. It was the saddest case I have ever seen. I worked in a local feed store at the time. A customer came in and said she wanted to give away her daughters pony due to lack of interest. She said the pony has been losing weight and doesn't know why. I agreed to come out and take a look. My daughter had been looking for an older, quiet pony for my granddaughter. The next day, I hooked up the horse trailer and drove to the woman's house. We drove by but all we could see was a shaggy looking cow in the back yard. I circled the block and as we came around again, my daughter gasped and said, "That's not a cow! That's a poor little pony!!" It was thin beyond anything we had ever seen before in my lifetime. A skeleton with skin stretched over it. We stopped and got out. The woman wasn't even home after setting up the appt for us to come see it!!!!! There was plenty of hay laying around. What a friendly little guy he was. I called the woman and told her what I thought about her 'a little thin' pony. He was going to die within a month! I told her this is animal neglect and cruelty - she said I could take him if I wanted, plus the saddle, bridle, halter and lead rope - plus the 2 bales of alfalfa. I could tell that "Chip" was blind in one eye. It was April and he was full of long winter hair hanging dull and matted in places. He barely had the energy to step into my 4 horse stock trailer. Long story... short version. We got his teeth floated immediately. He, like your horse, had teeth so sharp that the inside of his mouth had several cuts. One tooth had grown so long that he couldnt close his mouth and chew his food. He was literally licking up alfalfa leaves and trying to swallow them! Oh God, it was pitiful. We both cried watching him. I put Chip on a diet of soaked bermuda blend pellets for the first week, then I slowly started adding rice bran and soy bean meal, plus oil & psyllium. I am sure he was quite sanded inside, from licking up alfalfa leaves off the ground. Chip, the little POA, grew into a beautiful little pony full of energy. My 2 granddaughters rode him all over their 3 acres. The vet aged him around 26yrs. He lived a happy, well fed life being loved and cared for. He even got his own little pony blanket! That was in April of 2006. Sadly, in September 2008, my daughter and son in law had to make the awful decision to put Chip down due to sheath cancer that had rapidly spread within the past 7 months. It was time. Chip will forever live in our memory as the sweet precious little pony who brought 2 years of joy to my granddaughters. I am glad we could give him the best life he could have before he passed over that rainbow bridge. Thanks for letting me share that story with you. Cheryl