Is there really any good way to tell a child their favourite pony has died? When our 30 year old pony "Peanut Butter & Jelly" died I sent Jacob, my 6 yr old nephew in Arizona a loving letter from PJ. His Mom dropped the envelope on the front lawn as if it had dropped from heaven for Jacob to find, I'll find & add the letter.

The hardest part for me was telling the sweetest young girl in the world, Eva Wylie, who helped me take care of the horses as a community project. I gave her lessons as a show of my appreciation. The Wylie's home was adjacent to the property where the horses were boarded and were friends with the landowner. They installed a gate in the fence so Eva could have easier access to the barn. For all intents and purposes Eva belonged to PJ as much as PJ felt she belonged to Eva. I'll find a picture of the two of them together.

When it came time to tell Eva about PJ, I couldn't do it. I didn't have the strength to hear her heart break. Her Mom, Ann Wylie offered to tell her and I was so very grateful. Eva was at the barn when her mother called. After she heard about PJ, Eva cried the entire way home from the barn. I called her that night to see how she was and she said: tears were running down her cheeks and . . .

". . .You know how you always said Eclipse is the most loving of all the horses & whenever anyone is sad he always comes over & tries to cheer them up. Well, he followed me all the way to the gate in front of my house while I was crying. Then he looked at me as if to say 'Are you OK, can I go now?' I patted him on the head and told him I was OK and he could go now. He spun around and galloped real fast back to Shetan and Rockin'Rita." That's our Heart of Gold.

July 25, 2005 Moonlight Ride & Mental Telepathy: I planned to sneak a ride with all the ponies, but it wasn't meant to be. the moon didn't rise up above the tree tops until close to 9:30pm and by then I was too exhausted from helping Mom, working all day,etc etc. Instead I sat out in the pasture and watched the horses play & graze. The horses knew I felt sad so they were incredibly gentle with me. Each would visit, spend a few minutes with me and return to their herd family.

Shetan and Rockinrita started scratching each others backs. They even switched sides with Ritakins sliding her head under Shetan's neck so he could reach her other side. It was adorable and relaxing to watch. but, the whole time my heart ached as I watched Eclipse standing all by himself.

Wulffe was Eclipse's buddy but he passed away a year ago, then Jazzy was Eclipse's buddy when he stayed at Jeanie's place for 6 months, but now he was home and the 3rd "man". The extra wheel without a friend of his own.

I kept wishing Shetan would pay a little attention to Eclipse; even scratch Eclipse's back., but I didn't think RockinRita would allow it. She's very jealous and possessive of Shetan's attention which is why it took years for Ritakins to warm up to me. I was her biggest rival.

Well, Shetan must have heard my thoughts because he left Ritakins, came over to the fence where I was resting my head on the top rail, He pressed his head softly against my forehead and kept it there. I whispered my thoughts about him & Eclipse and "CROSS MY HEART" he walked away from me, straight over to Eclipse and started scratching his back. In turn Eclipse scratched Shetan's back. It was like magic. Saying it warmed my heart is an understatement. It gave me chills.


Then Shetan licked Eclipse's ear. Tears welled up in my eyes and start sliding down my cheek. Shetan really felt my thoughts and knew! He knew!


In the past Rockinrita would have walked off and sulked, but not this time. This time she walked over to the fence and played with me. ME! Her arch rival! With no treats in hand I immediately grabbed grass and fed her grass. I didn't want to lose this rare moment. She seemed to enjoy just spending quiet time with me. I cannot explain how rare that ia. I made sure to absorb every moment.

Ever since Eclipse's 6 months stay at Jeanie's house, RockinRita got more one on one attention from me. She's acting like she feels more loved and very special. Guess she needed the one on one bonding that was possible without Eclipse around. dunno, But it felt like we were surrounded and wrapped with LOVE! It's certainly for the better for everyone, Eclipse, Me and RockinRita.

Like my Dad once said: A good deal gets better.... right? *smile*