All my life I've loved horses. As a single parent for over 20 years our one luxury was our horses. My children were riding before they were walking. As the kids grew and left home I no longer had horses. When I remarried my husband, Russ knew of my lifelong love of this beautiful animal and before I knew it he had built a barn and fenced in a pasture. We started our hunt for our horses. At an auction one day I stopped and spoke to a small thin little dapple-gray mare. As we walked around Russ said that horse keeps looking at you. I went back and talked to her some more she was a mess but there was something in her eyes that seemed to tell me she was special. Well you guessed it she came home with us; I had a vet come right away and was told she was almost starved and very sickly. We found out she was a pure Arabian and she became my little Dusty.

After a few more months Russ found his dream horse a huge black and white paint we named Patches. For some reason Dusty and Patches became the best of friends we had a few other horses that we boarded at our place but those two were always together. Patches would go wherever Russ wanted her to and Dusty would go anywhere Patches would.

Dusty was like a child always into something when we had a snowstorm she would be out rolling and making snow angels and Patches would be like a concerned parent and go get her and lead her back to the barn.

It became clear that these 2 also thought of us as part of their herd. It didn't matter when the other horse owners would come but the second Russ or I appeared they would be waiting at the gate for us.

In the spring after we had them for more than 5 years we noticed that they were not walking right. Our vet came right away and told us they had "spring founder" I had never heard of this type of founder and was scared as we were doing everything right. None of our boarders were lame just my two girls. We treated them for over a year, they had good days and bad. The last chance was surgery and there was no promise that would work.

One morning as I was out talking to them I knew it was hopeless. We had tried and tried. Their hoofs were so sore. All the corrective shoeing and corrective trimming and medicine and they were not getting better. They would lay down side by side and eat around themselves, then get up move to a new place and lay down again. We had spent so much time with them almost every hour of every day for years.

So on that quiet Sunday morning I knew I could not keep them alive because I loved them. But I had to let them go because I loved them. I had promised Dusty and Patches they would never be apart they were best friends.

They now rest side by side as they did in life and I can sit and remember the most wonderful days with them and all the happy trails we shared.

Are there Angel Horses? Yes I believe my girls are waiting for us to ride with them again in the clouds.

In loving memory of Dusty and Patches.