It was a Friday, January 9, 2009, when John noticed that Bullet was not acting himself.  He let the horses in the barn for their nightly feeding. Bullet went in his stall and just faced the corner and wouldn't even acknowledge John or his food. Although this is very unlike Bullet John didn't mention it to me.  He kind of shrugged it off thinking, ‘Well, maybe he is having a bad day,’ just like we can experience now and then.  He'll be just fine tomorrow.
 
The next morning, which was a Saturday, John went out to give the morning feeding before ranch program with the kids.  When he went up to the barn he saw that all the other horses had eaten their feed except Bullet, still standing facing the corner with last evenings feeding sitting in his trough.  John fed the other horses with their ravishing appetites.  Normally Bullet would be hanging over his stall door with a look that said, ‘Feed me first! After all, I am your first horse!  Uh, favorite over here...’ you can see his thought process...but not this particular morning.  This morning was different.
 
John came back to the house and said, "I don't think Bullet is himself."  "What do you mean he's not himself?" I quickly responded.  "Well, he was acting funny last night and he didn't touch his food, I tried handing him a cube and he didn't want anything to do with it."  "And you waited to tell me until just now!" I snarled, as I was frantically throwing on a sweatshirt, boots, jacket, gloves and a scarf.  I was dressed and in the Jeep in one minute flat.  ‘Colic...Oh my God...Colic…’  My mind drifted to a life changing conference I went to at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch this past June in Oregon .
 
I had arrived a day early in Bend, Oregon so I could do some sight-seeing and a dry run to the Crystal Peaks .  It was mid morning and it was a beautiful sunny day.  The snow capped mountains in the distance was a breathtaking backdrop for the few puffy, light clouds that hung in the most beautiful blue sky.  A sky accompanied by the wonderful, perfectly round sun. It was just gorgeous. 
 
I pulled up to the fence at Crystal Peaks , and there in this pristine corral filled with happy horses one horse in particular came right up to me.  I will never forget his face.  He nibbled at my hand as if to say, ‘What are you waiting for?  Pet me.’  I lifted my hand and stroked his nose and then his neck.  His name was Synjon. He was one of the most amazing looking horses I had ever seen...at that moment I was brought back to my childhood.
 
I had always loved horses.  I would draw them and dream of owning one, but never actually rode one.  And the closest I ever got to a horse was on a black and white TV watching a John Wayne Westerns.  It seemed so odd to have such a passion for something I had never owned or was never really introduced to.  It was a God given passion.
 
One day I joined the girl scouts and went for a trial walk 3 miles long.  It was just as I had done this day in Oregon, only my trial run was now in a car I had rented.  I was checking out the spot where my Girl Scout Troop would meet.  When I arrived at the property, there stood what seemed to me the most beautiful creature I had ever seen! It was a  majestic brown horse.  Of course I couldn't tell you what kind of horse it was, all I knew is he was a horse and he was gorgeous.  He came to the fence edge, just like Synjon did that day at Crystal   Peaks and I slowly put out my hand and he sniffed and nibbled at it.  Immediately I turned and started pulling some fresh grass for him.  He gobbled it up…and then some more.  Together we repeated this again and again.  He was in heaven and so was  I.  That was the day I feel in love...with horses.
 
This horse became my new best friend.  It was a relationship that went on to become very significant in my life as a child, filled with abuse.  My Scout leader sensed I needed that horse and it needed me, and our relationship (the horse and I) changed my life, gave me hope, and a purpose to live in a world filled with terror and rage..
 
As the conference progressed at Crystal Peaks, my life changed as we learned of how to run and operate a rescue ranch, all the challenges and all the rewards that came with it.  I don't think I had cried that much since my daughter's almost fatal accident and the miracle we received.  I must have gone through an entire box of tissues.  We all did.  We all owe Troy and Kim a lot of Kleenex.  We were fed so much knowledge and the presence of God was all over that property, the staff and the horses.  I felt like I was having a taste of heaven itself. 
 
Then the day before we left, Synjon, one of their horses went colic.  He made a turn for the worst quickly, then to the vet.  There was surgery, then prayers, and a turn for the best.  Yah!!!  Then there was an unexpected turn for the worst again.   As we all witnessed Troy, Kim and their staff try to muster up the courage to get through the rest of the conference with hope and a smile, we could sense their hearts were concerned, dripping with the love they had for him and all the joy he had brought to all he encountered.  Synjon was in everyone's prayers.   We prayed together for his healing.  We went to bed praying, and we arose praying.  And we left the conference praying. 
 
Synjon gave the fight of his life before he passed and though he was so missed and many tears were shed, I am sure the memories were immeasurable of how many lives he had touched.   So many kids changed, and adults as well.  I know he touched mine.
 
Now I rush to get out of my Jeep, fearing the very thing that ended Synjon's life on earth could take my beloved horse Bullet. On the verge of panic, expecting the kids to arrive in 45 minutes for the ranch program, and I just wanted to be with Bullet!  I just wanted to know he was OK...  I just wished I had spent more time with him in the last few weeks...  I just wanted his fate to be opposite of dear, sweet Synjon.  ‘Bullet... Oh please God, please!’ as I struggled to get the barn door latch to open, ‘please let him be OK!’
 
Darn latch! Wind blowing, freezing temps making my anxiety more heightened, I couldn’t find my peace....  I had none...  I had no time to think, pray, or even grab a scripture to stand on.   This got thrown at me about 45 minutes before program!  ‘....Pull it together Danielle...  Pull it together.   If the kids see you like this, that's how they will re-act.’  Thoughts racing and raging through my mind, and what this day held in store for us totally depended on me and my belief system.  I knew that.  I only hoped I could pull it off.
 
Finally, when I got in the barn I scooted to Bullet's stall and there he stood:  Trough full of cubes, head down, hovering in the corner...  ‘Oh no,’ I thought, ‘Oh God, Oh Jesus, help us.’  I went in the stall and walked up to my horse and put my arms around his neck...  I could feel a sense of relief like, ‘Mommy's here...  She can fix the boo-boo.’  We just stood quiet while I held him.  I began to rub his belly slowly with a little pressure… He seemed to like that. So I rubbed and rubbed with my warm hands until I practically wore my skin off. I had taken my gloves off because I wanted nothing between me and my horse:  No fabric, no polyester or nylon keeping me from feeling the warm winter fur of my beautiful quarter horse who came to me like a skeleton, beaten and abused.  I offered him some food:  Nothing…  I spent every minute rubbing and assessing his belly, pleading with God to spare him…  Repenting if I had made him an idol before the Lord in my life. 
 
Here come the kids bouncing out of the cars, smiles from ear to ear.  I had to love on them (which is not a hard thing to do) plus keep it as light as I could with Bullet's condition.
 
The kids were informed we would not be disturbing Bullet that day because he was under the weather. As we opened in prayer, Bullet was included in those prayers going straight up to heaven. I could sense over the next few hours that the kids were very concerned.  The highlight of their day at the ranch is when we are done and have had round up, we let Bullet out and let him mill around the barn. The kids get such a kick out of watching him, walk by the other horses, like, ‘Hey, I get to be free and you don't,’  He would then wander over to the kids and I and pull of our hats or nibble on our faces, as if to say, ‘Hey guys, I love you!’ Munch, munch...
 
We had a great ranch day, but inside me I couldn't wait to be alone with Bullet.  I didn't want to leave him, but I had to call the vet and get my prayer warrior friends on it.  I called the vet 4 times and no return call.  I called another clinic…  It is now Saturday evening, ‘Dang!’ I thought, ‘Why does this sort of stuff always happen on the weekend?’  
 
Finally the call came as the prayer emails went out.  “I am off duty tonight.” the vet said. He gave me some number to call.  I called the number and got an answering service.  At this point it's 8 or 9 at night, and I am just waiting on someone…  No return call from the emergency doctor on duty.  We had no one, no help, no one to say he is going to make it...  Except God.  I made a quick call to another Clinic and headed back to the barn.
 
I wrestled with that latch again.  It felt like an eternity getting in that barn.  It wriggled a little at a time, a tiny centimeter at a time, until finally, in that wispy, chilling wind, I got that latch to wiggle free...  Yes!  It was open and now I was in, using every muscle in my entire body to pull that huge heavy barn door shut against the strong winds on that brisk cold evening.  I jetted to Bullet's stall.  He was lying down. 
 
I knelt in the stall.  I didn't care what kind of dirt, manure, or parasites may be under me. I just wanted to be with my horse.  I laid the upper part of my body over him and quietly and peacefully hugged him. "Bullet," I said, "Mommy's not ready to lose you and neither are the kids.  Please don't leave us. I am not ready and the kids need you." He lifted his head and looked at me as if to say, ‘I know Mom...I know.’  "Let's pray, Bullet...”  Together, just him and I in an old rustic barn probably built in the 1940's with cracks and chipped off weathered wood, our prayer went like this; "Dear Jesus, Bullet is part of our household and we know You know that because you put him in our lives.  You died for me and my household, and now Bullet and I come before You and ask for Your healing power to go into Bullet's body and heal him and restore him completely...and we thank you for his healing now.  In Jesus’ name: Amen.” We sealed it...
 
Bullet rose to his feet as if to say, ‘this is my faith stand.’ Finally the phone rings...  It was the other vet service I had called, and a Dr. Dixon was calling me back.  She had a sweet calming tone to her voice, but with very direct questions about Bullet's condition and behavior.  I described what he was doing.  It was 9:15PM.  She would come out or she said we could try a few things and let her know how he reacted...  Back to the barn with flash lights, we felt the saliva in his mouth, it was sticky, we pressed on his gums to see how fast the pink came back and then a pinch to his shoulder to see if the skin released quickly and it did. His saliva was sticky not wet, but he had passed the other tests. 
 
We called the vet back, she had us mix up some bran mash and soak his food, and put electrolytes in his water.  When we offered it to him, he just put his nose up at it, as if to say, ‘No way!’  He did, however, drink a little water... Yah for Gatorade!!! 
 
Sunday morning came and I was back up to the barn.  I noticed Bullet was standing out in his turn out, tail up, but nothing coming out.  He was trying so hard.  …BUT… I also noticed two small piles of manure; they were hard with very little roughage in them, like small stones.  He had eaten almost all his food!  We let him loose to keep things moving and went in and called the vet.  Good News!  But not out of danger yet.
 
Lord, thank You for answering our prayers, but we needed complete restoration and we weren't there yet.  He was slow moving, hanging back from the herd and laying down once and a while.  He did eat his breakfast that morning and that night.  John and I were on regular "poop" checks; examining them, stepping on some to see how hard they were, and picking them apart with rakes and sticks.  We were calling our new vet with updates. I could sense she really cared by the way she went through everything step by step with us.  Dr. Dixon was spending all the time necessary to evaluate each piece of progress.  Then she was on her way out to do an exam...  “Thank You Lord for Dr. Dixon.” I breathed.
 
I ran back to the house to gather a few things, and up our road pulls this huge truck with a vet trunk on the back of it. I was so thrilled to meet this vet that made us feel like we and Bullet were on the top of her priority list. Dr. Dixon turned out to be a young woman, not a stitch of makeup and so beautiful on the inside and out.  She spent so much time carefully listening with her stethoscope to Bullet's heartbeat and intestinal rumblings, taking temps and assessing him.
 
She stayed about an hour, took a fecal with her, we said our good-byes and I asked her, “Can I hug you?” “Yes, of course.” she replied.  As she pulled out of our private road I watched.  Inside of me I knew she was a God-send.  The phone rang a few hours later... Bullet's fecal showed sand and a parasitic infestation that our normal worming regimen did not cover.  We were instructed to purchase Psylium (Sand Clear) Equimax and to give it to all of our horses.  Normally, when worming time comes, our horses draw back, stick out their tongues and dump half of it on the floor.  Well, we said a short prayer and every horse took their Equimax without losing a drop, Praise God.  For those of you who are horse owners, you know how a horse can act when worming them:  Just like a child taking a medicine that they hate.
 
Well, a week has passed.  I didn't mention that in this same week we lost a car and had to purchase another, or that our Yorkie, Bunny, got sick and vomited for three days.  Even Angel had belly problems as well.  Then I came down with a furious flu, vomiting and with congestion,  which is rare for me and probably stress related.  …But through it all I saw God's hand on the entire situation, working out every detail better than I ever could. 
 
All is well at Zoe Sky Ranch and Rescue.  As I made my way to the barn the day before yesterday it was warm in the 60's, the latch on the door opened right up for me, and I walked over to Bullet's stall.  He came toward me, nibbled on my jacket and then gave me a big wet slobbery nibble on my cheek.  Possibly the best kiss I ever had!  
 
Once again, consistent with their word and their promises to us, my God and my Jesus have never failed me.  Thank you Lord and thank you for the prayers of others that we need to stand in the gap when we are just too weary and overwhelmed.
 
I want to personally thank everyone that prayed for Bullet's healing.  Especially to the kids who love him so much…  Maybe more than me....nah.  Ya think? 
 
If you would like to know more about our ranch and what takes place here, please feel free to go to our website and visit the horses and the kids.  Click on a horse and read their story, and click on a kid to see more pics.  There are stories and messages that are uplifting and life changing.  Just go to zoeskyranch.org
 
We accept prayers, volunteers, sponsorship and donations.  As you can understand by reading this story, you just never know when we can use any of the above.
 
With Much Love From our Hearts,
Danielle Kelley and the Family of Zoe Sky Ranch