To the uninformed person, this photo might appear uninspired and certainly less than remarkable, but of course, they would not have the benefit of the truth beneath the mask. Darla is feral, Red Bucket rescued her with with 12 other pregnant feral mares. While it was not possible to put a halter on her (and frankly no one cared to, as she and her herd mates were roughly herded into a stock trailer and then the auction yard which was to be only a temporary stop before the predetermined Mexican slaughter plant) she wore only the degrading hip number crudely glued to her filthy and neglected coat. While clearly, she was pregnant, every visible ribs were a reminder of the malnutrition and neglect that was robbing her unborn baby of any opportunity to thrive. Her eye lid bore a painful wound and raw reminder of her terrorizing ordeal. Today, the hip number and glue are gone….and so are the visible ribs. Rather than retreating to the back corner of her stall when we approach, she greats us with a whinny, and buries her muzzle in a red bucket that brings nourishment for her and her baby….and a promise for tomorrow. Lauren can almost brush the length of her body and Darla shows signs of enjoying both the touch and the company. Her afternoons are spent with her previous herd mate Marlee, who is also pregnant, and still untouchable. The mares soak in the sunshine, role in the soft sand, and groom each other, all while incrementally dropping their steely guard. Towards the end of the day they wait by the gate and we gently usher them through a portable chute and back to their respective stalls. Their stalls have clearly become a safe nest….the first real home that was really their own. Darla wears a new red break-away halter and a hand-me-down fly mask. Her stall monitor captures her every move, and while the mares no longer appear to walk on egg shells, we clearly are. Darla’s baby should arrive any day (night) and while Susan and Karen are glued to the monitors, Lauren is sleeping in her jeans, as we do not plan on missing one second of what is to be Darla’s miracle.