I adopted Layla thru Columbia Basin Equine Rescue in Washington State. They are a rescue group that works
specifically on one feedlot in Washington State. They work tirelessly to save horses living on the feedlot. These
horses are on the lot waiting until they are fat enough to go to slaughter.
I happened upon CBER website one day in early November 2005. There were many horses listed on there site that
would ultimately be killed if not adopted or Fostered. Layla came to the feed lot in early December. She was
scheduled to be slaughtered and packed for human consumption. There was something about her, I was
immediately attached. I wanted to try and save her.
She is a pregnant mare about 10 to 15 years old, probably a BLM Mustang or the offspring of one. She is such a
pretty little horse, its hard to fathom why she was at the feed lot. She came in with a few other horses that looked a
lot like her. Someone most likely adopted a wild horse or 2 and never did anything to train, care for or control
breeding. All the mares that came in with her were pregnant.
Laylas adoption became final the second week of December. It took another 2 weeks to get everything in order so
she could make the trip to California. During that time she lived at the feedlot . CBER arranged for her vet work so
she could be transported legally over the border into California. They also arranged for her to be shipped to Cal
with a large group of other adoptees going to there new homes.
Layla finally arrived in California on December 22nd, 2005. It was 2 days before Christmas Eve and we were in the
middle of the first big storm of the winter. She had been dropped in Linden about 30 miles outside of Tracy. She
was staying at a volunteer’s ranch until I could get there to pick her up.
Linden is about 2 and a half hours from our home but with the storm and holiday traffic the ride took over 7 hours
one way. When we arrived in Linden it was dark, raining and the electricity at the ranch was out, so we had no
light.
I went with Patricia, a CBER volunteer, into the slippery, muddy pen to try and find Layla. There were 10 to 15 other
horses in pen at that time, so it was a little tricky at first. Once we found her, it wasn’t too difficult. Even though she
is a relatively wild untrained little horse I think she knew that I was her chance to survive. Layla lead out of the pen
pretty well. We shined a flash light into the horse trailer and I walked up into it and Layla followed. Amazing. Our
ride home was uneventful, just long.
We arrived back in Sebastopol sometime after 10pm at night. I unloaded Layla from the trailer with out incident.
She walked right off calmly. She was a little nervous on our walk back to her pen, but she stayed level headed.
She snorted a lot but that was about it. I left her in her new paddock with fresh hay and water. We all slept well that
night.
Over the next few days there was little time to spend with Layla. She didn’t seem to mind. She just ate her hay,
experienced bran mash and checked out all the other animals.
The other horses had an interesting reaction to her, they mostly ignored her. They didn’t call to her, they didn’t
respond to her calls to them. They just watched her in silence. It was as if they were afraid of her. They must have
known where she came from.
Laylas first morning home.
December 26th, 2005
This would be Laylas first training session. She was still wearing the halter she had come in with. I had been
reluctant to remove it in the event I needed to catch her. Not ever a good thing to do but under the circumstances it
seemed the best choice. So the first thing I did after she allowed me to stand near her was remove the halter. She
didn’t move away after it was removed, so I just stood there for a bit. After a few minutes I lifted my hand to scratch
her head were the halter had been. She liked it for a second then she realized what she was allowing me to do and
she moved away.
So I grabbed a chair and a book and began training. I sat there for at least an hour and a half reading and waiting.
She finally looked my way. I kept my head down and focused on my book. She made her way over to my slowly. A
few steps a few bites of grass and then a few more steps, until she finally sniffed me. I just let her be for a while
then I stood and haltered her, first try. I introduced her to my carrot stick. She was very wary at first but then
relaxed. I was able to rub her all over the head and neck area. That was about all she was comfortable with. I didn’
t want to push it and stress her out. We have time.
December 28th, 2005
Huge Storm. One of the biggest in years. When I awoke this morning I wasn't to worried about the storm just
annoyed to have to feed in the rain. At 1 pm my husband and I when going out to run errands. I thought I would
check on Layla before we left. I was horrified when I saw the creek. It had risen to the full height of its bank and
was beginning to overflow into the first pasture, Laylas Pasture. By the time I was able to halter Layla, she was a
little of afraid of me, I was panicked, there was rushing water up to the top of my boots. I then had to lead Layla thru
the water and over a rushing noisy creek via a slippery wooden bridge to a small paddock that she had never seen
before, in the middle of a violent storm. She did remarkably well. When we arrived at the paddock she was
trembling and scared. She listened to me and followed me in. She stayed there for the next few days while we
weathered the storm. It flooded 3 pastures, our septic system, our backyard up to the bedroom and our front yard
and driveway. All in all we faired better than most people. There was no significant damage and our house stayed
dry inside.
This is the creek starting to overflow into
Laylas pasture on the right.
January 1, 2006
There hasn't been much time to work with Layla beyond doing some haltering and unhaltering. Each time I go into
her paddock I work on stroking her head and neck and a little bit of her shoulder. Once the flooding has receded
and things are back to normal we will get back to work.
12/30/05 4pm - Driveway & Llama pasture 1/1/06 Occidental Rd. One of the 2 main
beginning to flood. roads from Sebastopol to Santa Rosa.
Notice the road sign on the right.
January 4, 2006
It was finally sunny and dried out enough to move Layla back to her big paddock for the day. She was very tired of
being confined in her small covered paddock. I was able to put her halter on first try this time. Good progress. She
is leading beautifully. Very responsive and sensitive. I walked her out of the pen and over our wood bridge. She
was a little snorty but very well behaved. She became apprehensive as we approached her big paddock. Her last
experience in there was still on her mind. She surveyed the ground very carefully before stepping into the
paddock. She wanted to make sure the ground wasn’t actually water. Once in the pen I played the friendly game
with her again for a bit. She’s still very defensive about her legs being touched so I worked at little on that and a
little on her back and rump. She seemed almost repulsed when I touched her rump and stifle with the stick. She
picked her back leg up and moved away from me. We played for a few minutes and then I removed her halter so
she could enjoy herself. She promptly lay down and had a roll. This was really good progress because she lay
down very close to me. She must be trusting me a lot more.
January 6, 2006
As always Layla greeted me with a very big whinny first thing this morning. She really loves feeding time. It’s pretty
clear that she had to fight for her food before coming to live with me. She’s a little defensive about her food when
she’s actually eating. Worried I might take it away. After she finished her morning bran mash and supplements I
haltered her so we could walk over to her pasture where she spends her days. Usually it’s a fast walk to the
pasture. She’s new here and to being handled so I like things to be straight forward when we begin something, but
it’s been 2 weeks now and she’s fairly comfortable. So this morning we walked slowly to the pasture, with lots of
stops to check things out. I let her look around, sniff and snort at things. She stood on the grooming mats for the
first time. It’s most likely the first time she’s ever been on a rubber mat. She seemed to like it. Sounds strange yes,
but she did seem to like it. She had watched me and the procession of other horses the day before. Each horse
would walk onto the mats, stand and be groomed. She seemed very interested in what was happening to the other
horses on those mats. So it was an enjoyable moment with her, lingering here and there before reaching her
pasture this morning.
January 7, 2006
Huge Progress this morning. After she finished her morning bran mash I went to get her and take her to her
pasture for the day. Every morning we do the halter dance for a few minutes. I have to convince her that the halter
is OK and I won’t hurt her. On this morning I walked into her paddock the same as every morning, turned to her,
smiled, held out the halter to show her what we would be doing and instead of the halter dance she walked over,
sniffed the halter and stuck her nose in it. I buckled it and off we went to the pasture. Happy Day.
January 8, 2006
Today I was able to cut out some of the mats in Laylas mane. Hated to do it, such a long beautiful mane, but there
was just No way to get out some of those mats. I wish I could get to her tail but that will take more time. She’s still
worried about me touching anything on her rump. Her tail is nothing but one long mat, from the ground up to the
end of her tail bone. It’s awful; it’s probably been there most of her life. When she does allow me back there I think
I will start by just cutting off the bottom few inches and then make a cut up the tail toward her tail bone. Hopefully by
doing this I can save some of the length, but we will just have to see.
January 9, 2006
Testing Limits. She is feeling more comfortable. She tested me a little this morning and I was able to correct her
with out her freaking. She tried to push her way out of the paddock gate this morning, very gently push, but still
pushing. I was able to put my hand up on her nose and move her back. At fist she wanted to turn away and be a
little upset, but you could see her thinking. She turned back toward me and waited for me to halter her. I was pretty
impressed. A few days ago she definitely would have walked off for at least a minute or so, but today she changed
her mind, accepted the correction and waited to be haltered so she could go out to her pasture. She’s thinking
January 11, 2006
Today went well. I was able to brush Layla a little bit for the first time. I brushed her right side, on the neck, chest,
and part of her back. I wouldn't say she loved it or anything like that, but she did tolerate it. I was also able to run
my stick down both of her front legs and then the same with my hand. She still kicks out a bit if I run the stick down
her back leg. It makes her really uncomfortable. She still won't talk with me. Its like she can't or won't hear me.
She leaves her body allot too. She will be totally present one moment and then something will trigger her fear and
she leaves her body. Her eyes lock onto something in the distance and they glaze over a bit. When this happens I
can touch her almost anywhere but if she pops back into her body when I am touching a protected area she gets
very upset. The vet is coming out tomorrow to give her a check up. I hope it goes well
January 12, 2006
The vet was out today. It went quite well. He vaccinated her and wormed her. He estimates that she is about 2
months away from foaling.
January 13, 2006
Layla is very unhappy with me today. She is angry about the vets visit yesterday. She would not let me halter her
this morning when it was time to take her to her big pasture. I did eventually get it on but it was not easy. At dinner
time I had to halter her again to bring her back in but she would have no part of it. I had to leave her in her pasture
overnight.
January 15, 2006
Layla has finally forgiven me for the vet visit. Its amazing how angry she was about the whole thing. Today was a
good day. I was able to halter her without to much trouble. Then I took her out for a little walk around the property.
She did great. Shes a brave little horse. We walked over traps, around big branches, and over water filled
ditches. I was also able to brush most of her body.
January 17, 2006
Today I saw Layla trot for the first time. She was a little upset with me and didn't want to be haltered so I decided to
put a little pressure on her this time. I have always worked at her pace and just waited until she was very
comfortable but today I thought It would be good to push her a little. When she moved away from my touch I sent
her away with purpose by stepping toward her. We did this dance for about a minute. She broke into a floating
head and tail raised trot. It was very pretty. She only trotted for about 5 strides but It was great to see that she can
move when she wants too. After that she stopped and turned toward me. I walked over petted her neck and then
put her halter on.
January 20, 2006
Today Layla had her first tying lesson. I laid the rope over the hitching post and held the very end of it in my hand.
I wanted to make sure I could get the rope off the post fast in the event she pulled back. She didn’t. She just stood
there like the good girl she is. She understands giving to pressure very well at this point. The minute she feels
pressure against the back of her head, her poll, she stops and takes a step forward. So pulling against the hitching
post was a non problem. However she definitely is not used to being in such close proximity to a fixed object. She
bumped her head into the post several times while trying to understand the point of it all. I don’t know if she
understands the post but she did quit bumping into it. Over the next few days I’ll work on tying her to the post for
real for a few minutes at a time.
After our tying session I took her back to her pasture. Today when I removed her halter instead of her running off
to eat her hay she stayed with me. At first I thought it was a fluke and maybe she didn’t know her halter was off.
But then she walked away got a drink of water and then came back to stand next to me. This was the highest horse
compliment that she could have given me. I was officially, at least for that moment, part of her herd. I stroked her
neck, chest, and belly. She stayed with me for about 5 minutes. When she was done hanging out she turned and
left to go eat some hay. It was a very gratifying day.
www.columbiabasinequinerescue.org
Page 2 - Layla's Story
specifically on one feedlot in Washington State. They work tirelessly to save horses living on the feedlot. These
horses are on the lot waiting until they are fat enough to go to slaughter.
I happened upon CBER website one day in early November 2005. There were many horses listed on there site that
would ultimately be killed if not adopted or Fostered. Layla came to the feed lot in early December. She was
scheduled to be slaughtered and packed for human consumption. There was something about her, I was
immediately attached. I wanted to try and save her.
She is a pregnant mare about 10 to 15 years old, probably a BLM Mustang or the offspring of one. She is such a
pretty little horse, its hard to fathom why she was at the feed lot. She came in with a few other horses that looked a
lot like her. Someone most likely adopted a wild horse or 2 and never did anything to train, care for or control
breeding. All the mares that came in with her were pregnant.
Laylas adoption became final the second week of December. It took another 2 weeks to get everything in order so
she could make the trip to California. During that time she lived at the feedlot . CBER arranged for her vet work so
she could be transported legally over the border into California. They also arranged for her to be shipped to Cal
with a large group of other adoptees going to there new homes.
Layla finally arrived in California on December 22nd, 2005. It was 2 days before Christmas Eve and we were in the
middle of the first big storm of the winter. She had been dropped in Linden about 30 miles outside of Tracy. She
was staying at a volunteer’s ranch until I could get there to pick her up.
Linden is about 2 and a half hours from our home but with the storm and holiday traffic the ride took over 7 hours
one way. When we arrived in Linden it was dark, raining and the electricity at the ranch was out, so we had no
light.
I went with Patricia, a CBER volunteer, into the slippery, muddy pen to try and find Layla. There were 10 to 15 other
horses in pen at that time, so it was a little tricky at first. Once we found her, it wasn’t too difficult. Even though she
is a relatively wild untrained little horse I think she knew that I was her chance to survive. Layla lead out of the pen
pretty well. We shined a flash light into the horse trailer and I walked up into it and Layla followed. Amazing. Our
ride home was uneventful, just long.
We arrived back in Sebastopol sometime after 10pm at night. I unloaded Layla from the trailer with out incident.
She walked right off calmly. She was a little nervous on our walk back to her pen, but she stayed level headed.
She snorted a lot but that was about it. I left her in her new paddock with fresh hay and water. We all slept well that
night.
Over the next few days there was little time to spend with Layla. She didn’t seem to mind. She just ate her hay,
experienced bran mash and checked out all the other animals.
The other horses had an interesting reaction to her, they mostly ignored her. They didn’t call to her, they didn’t
respond to her calls to them. They just watched her in silence. It was as if they were afraid of her. They must have
known where she came from.
Laylas first morning home.
December 26th, 2005
This would be Laylas first training session. She was still wearing the halter she had come in with. I had been
reluctant to remove it in the event I needed to catch her. Not ever a good thing to do but under the circumstances it
seemed the best choice. So the first thing I did after she allowed me to stand near her was remove the halter. She
didn’t move away after it was removed, so I just stood there for a bit. After a few minutes I lifted my hand to scratch
her head were the halter had been. She liked it for a second then she realized what she was allowing me to do and
she moved away.
So I grabbed a chair and a book and began training. I sat there for at least an hour and a half reading and waiting.
She finally looked my way. I kept my head down and focused on my book. She made her way over to my slowly. A
few steps a few bites of grass and then a few more steps, until she finally sniffed me. I just let her be for a while
then I stood and haltered her, first try. I introduced her to my carrot stick. She was very wary at first but then
relaxed. I was able to rub her all over the head and neck area. That was about all she was comfortable with. I didn’
t want to push it and stress her out. We have time.
December 28th, 2005
Huge Storm. One of the biggest in years. When I awoke this morning I wasn't to worried about the storm just
annoyed to have to feed in the rain. At 1 pm my husband and I when going out to run errands. I thought I would
check on Layla before we left. I was horrified when I saw the creek. It had risen to the full height of its bank and
was beginning to overflow into the first pasture, Laylas Pasture. By the time I was able to halter Layla, she was a
little of afraid of me, I was panicked, there was rushing water up to the top of my boots. I then had to lead Layla thru
the water and over a rushing noisy creek via a slippery wooden bridge to a small paddock that she had never seen
before, in the middle of a violent storm. She did remarkably well. When we arrived at the paddock she was
trembling and scared. She listened to me and followed me in. She stayed there for the next few days while we
weathered the storm. It flooded 3 pastures, our septic system, our backyard up to the bedroom and our front yard
and driveway. All in all we faired better than most people. There was no significant damage and our house stayed
dry inside.
This is the creek starting to overflow into
Laylas pasture on the right.
January 1, 2006
There hasn't been much time to work with Layla beyond doing some haltering and unhaltering. Each time I go into
her paddock I work on stroking her head and neck and a little bit of her shoulder. Once the flooding has receded
and things are back to normal we will get back to work.
12/30/05 4pm - Driveway & Llama pasture 1/1/06 Occidental Rd. One of the 2 main
beginning to flood. roads from Sebastopol to Santa Rosa.
Notice the road sign on the right.
January 4, 2006
It was finally sunny and dried out enough to move Layla back to her big paddock for the day. She was very tired of
being confined in her small covered paddock. I was able to put her halter on first try this time. Good progress. She
is leading beautifully. Very responsive and sensitive. I walked her out of the pen and over our wood bridge. She
was a little snorty but very well behaved. She became apprehensive as we approached her big paddock. Her last
experience in there was still on her mind. She surveyed the ground very carefully before stepping into the
paddock. She wanted to make sure the ground wasn’t actually water. Once in the pen I played the friendly game
with her again for a bit. She’s still very defensive about her legs being touched so I worked at little on that and a
little on her back and rump. She seemed almost repulsed when I touched her rump and stifle with the stick. She
picked her back leg up and moved away from me. We played for a few minutes and then I removed her halter so
she could enjoy herself. She promptly lay down and had a roll. This was really good progress because she lay
down very close to me. She must be trusting me a lot more.
January 6, 2006
As always Layla greeted me with a very big whinny first thing this morning. She really loves feeding time. It’s pretty
clear that she had to fight for her food before coming to live with me. She’s a little defensive about her food when
she’s actually eating. Worried I might take it away. After she finished her morning bran mash and supplements I
haltered her so we could walk over to her pasture where she spends her days. Usually it’s a fast walk to the
pasture. She’s new here and to being handled so I like things to be straight forward when we begin something, but
it’s been 2 weeks now and she’s fairly comfortable. So this morning we walked slowly to the pasture, with lots of
stops to check things out. I let her look around, sniff and snort at things. She stood on the grooming mats for the
first time. It’s most likely the first time she’s ever been on a rubber mat. She seemed to like it. Sounds strange yes,
but she did seem to like it. She had watched me and the procession of other horses the day before. Each horse
would walk onto the mats, stand and be groomed. She seemed very interested in what was happening to the other
horses on those mats. So it was an enjoyable moment with her, lingering here and there before reaching her
pasture this morning.
January 7, 2006
Huge Progress this morning. After she finished her morning bran mash I went to get her and take her to her
pasture for the day. Every morning we do the halter dance for a few minutes. I have to convince her that the halter
is OK and I won’t hurt her. On this morning I walked into her paddock the same as every morning, turned to her,
smiled, held out the halter to show her what we would be doing and instead of the halter dance she walked over,
sniffed the halter and stuck her nose in it. I buckled it and off we went to the pasture. Happy Day.
January 8, 2006
Today I was able to cut out some of the mats in Laylas mane. Hated to do it, such a long beautiful mane, but there
was just No way to get out some of those mats. I wish I could get to her tail but that will take more time. She’s still
worried about me touching anything on her rump. Her tail is nothing but one long mat, from the ground up to the
end of her tail bone. It’s awful; it’s probably been there most of her life. When she does allow me back there I think
I will start by just cutting off the bottom few inches and then make a cut up the tail toward her tail bone. Hopefully by
doing this I can save some of the length, but we will just have to see.
January 9, 2006
Testing Limits. She is feeling more comfortable. She tested me a little this morning and I was able to correct her
with out her freaking. She tried to push her way out of the paddock gate this morning, very gently push, but still
pushing. I was able to put my hand up on her nose and move her back. At fist she wanted to turn away and be a
little upset, but you could see her thinking. She turned back toward me and waited for me to halter her. I was pretty
impressed. A few days ago she definitely would have walked off for at least a minute or so, but today she changed
her mind, accepted the correction and waited to be haltered so she could go out to her pasture. She’s thinking
January 11, 2006
Today went well. I was able to brush Layla a little bit for the first time. I brushed her right side, on the neck, chest,
and part of her back. I wouldn't say she loved it or anything like that, but she did tolerate it. I was also able to run
my stick down both of her front legs and then the same with my hand. She still kicks out a bit if I run the stick down
her back leg. It makes her really uncomfortable. She still won't talk with me. Its like she can't or won't hear me.
She leaves her body allot too. She will be totally present one moment and then something will trigger her fear and
she leaves her body. Her eyes lock onto something in the distance and they glaze over a bit. When this happens I
can touch her almost anywhere but if she pops back into her body when I am touching a protected area she gets
very upset. The vet is coming out tomorrow to give her a check up. I hope it goes well
January 12, 2006
The vet was out today. It went quite well. He vaccinated her and wormed her. He estimates that she is about 2
months away from foaling.
January 13, 2006
Layla is very unhappy with me today. She is angry about the vets visit yesterday. She would not let me halter her
this morning when it was time to take her to her big pasture. I did eventually get it on but it was not easy. At dinner
time I had to halter her again to bring her back in but she would have no part of it. I had to leave her in her pasture
overnight.
January 15, 2006
Layla has finally forgiven me for the vet visit. Its amazing how angry she was about the whole thing. Today was a
good day. I was able to halter her without to much trouble. Then I took her out for a little walk around the property.
She did great. Shes a brave little horse. We walked over traps, around big branches, and over water filled
ditches. I was also able to brush most of her body.
January 17, 2006
Today I saw Layla trot for the first time. She was a little upset with me and didn't want to be haltered so I decided to
put a little pressure on her this time. I have always worked at her pace and just waited until she was very
comfortable but today I thought It would be good to push her a little. When she moved away from my touch I sent
her away with purpose by stepping toward her. We did this dance for about a minute. She broke into a floating
head and tail raised trot. It was very pretty. She only trotted for about 5 strides but It was great to see that she can
move when she wants too. After that she stopped and turned toward me. I walked over petted her neck and then
put her halter on.
January 20, 2006
Today Layla had her first tying lesson. I laid the rope over the hitching post and held the very end of it in my hand.
I wanted to make sure I could get the rope off the post fast in the event she pulled back. She didn’t. She just stood
there like the good girl she is. She understands giving to pressure very well at this point. The minute she feels
pressure against the back of her head, her poll, she stops and takes a step forward. So pulling against the hitching
post was a non problem. However she definitely is not used to being in such close proximity to a fixed object. She
bumped her head into the post several times while trying to understand the point of it all. I don’t know if she
understands the post but she did quit bumping into it. Over the next few days I’ll work on tying her to the post for
real for a few minutes at a time.
After our tying session I took her back to her pasture. Today when I removed her halter instead of her running off
to eat her hay she stayed with me. At first I thought it was a fluke and maybe she didn’t know her halter was off.
But then she walked away got a drink of water and then came back to stand next to me. This was the highest horse
compliment that she could have given me. I was officially, at least for that moment, part of her herd. I stroked her
neck, chest, and belly. She stayed with me for about 5 minutes. When she was done hanging out she turned and
left to go eat some hay. It was a very gratifying day.
www.columbiabasinequinerescue.org
Page 2 - Layla's Story
This is a picture
of Layla at the
Feedlot in
Washington
State.
of Layla at the
Feedlot in
Washington
State.
