Stories always have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Somewhere along the way, the beginning of the story gets off track, derailed like a train that was headed on a wonderful journey, but ended up stranded in a desolate and frightening location with no way back to civilization. This is what happened to Shasta. Her story started out promising enough, she was beautifully bred, heck, her sire alone had been purchased for a staggering $800,000 as a yearling. Thats a ton of zeros, but her father was one spectacular horse. With her breeding, one would expect that Shasta would lead a charmed and treasured life, but sadly, Shasta was a victim of corruption, scandal, and greed. Rather than being cherished, Shasta was starved and neglected, she was hours from slaughter when Red Bucket rescued her.

While the stories are as unique as the individual horse, they are also similar in some respects. Shasta’s story began with scandal and greed, resulting in severe neglect and dangerous malnourishment. Shasta, was one of the lucky ones, as she was rescued by Red Bucket. She initially came in and spent her time learning to trust again, she gained weight…a lot of it, close to 300 pounds, and of course, she visited “Red Bucket Charm Farm” relearning ground manners that were very very rusty. The middle of Shasta’s story gave her luxury of time in pasture, learning to be a horse again…clearing her mind, body, and soul in preparation for a new chapter.

Shasta returned to Red Bucket and after a short period of time that allowed her to acclimate to the ranch, and reunite with her sisters, she went to work. She very quickly adjusted to the fact that vacation time was over, and school was back in session. Her soft eye and gentle disposition made her a stand out with the dedicated volunteers who cared for her. Kimberly had only praise for her under saddle proclaiming the lovely mare to be intelligent, scopey, and willing. Shasta didn’t stay on Kimberly’s ride list for long, though.

Shona Barnthouse, a darling slip of a girl with a long lush pony tale, a fawn like graceful stride, and a heart for horses came to Red Bucket to find her special forever friend. She came with a solid resume as well, riding professionally, most recently for Beezie Madden. Shona was rewriting her own chapter and as many do, and transitioned without so much as a lead change from the saddle to the corporation. In Shona’s case, her life was incomplete without the sound of a nicker, the smell of manure, and the partnership of a horse. She wanted…needed to fill a void, to bring completeness to her life.

Perhaps claiming that the match between Shona and Shasta was immediate might be a bit of a mild exaggeration, but it happened quickly. Shona braving the freeways to drive after work to spend even a short period of time with the beautiful bay, unable to stay away. She spent extended time during the weekend riding, bathing…bonding. Then of course, as with all great stories the final chapter was inked. Shasta went home with Shona, forever. Today, Shona calls her Willow. Willow has her own facebook page, a home where she is both admired and adored, and Willow has a beautiful girl with whom to share her beautiful life, and the rest of her story.