It's true...our boy is smitten.

Lexie, the mare who arrived with Andy four months ago, has been designated "pasture pal" for our blind friend Buddy. Now that he's "graduated" and is capable of spending panic-free time in the pasture, we wanted to give him the chance to bond with another horse--something his owner suggested that he'd never done. Who better than Lexie, the "I've seen it all" old girl who's rebounded beautifully from chronic deprivation at a nurse mare farm.

Like his predecessor, Buddy does still get anxious. But Lexie calms him. He'll lift his head high in the air, listening hard for his girl. Often, we'll watch, delighted, as Lexie moves over to Buddy, sometimes even walking into the middle of his frantic circling. When Buddy either hears or smells his friend, he'll walk over to her, and we'll watch him unkink, breath by breath. We can almost hear him saying, "Oh FRIEND--I'm so glad you're here!!"

What a joy it will be to watch this friendship evolve. Already it resembles that of the original Buddy (the "star" of Where the Blind Horse Sings) and his friend-for-life Dino--a tiny pipsqueak with the heart of a giant--who came to life upon Buddy's arrival and was a steadfast friend until Buddy took his final breath.