Keto (now named Riley) faced an uncertain future before coming to DCH in early 2007 and is now loving his new life: Hi Amanda, Well it's been 6 months since Riley came into my life and he has had a huge impact on me. I had wanted to get a horse for a long time but the timing never seemed right. One night after viewing his ad several times, I decided to see him

I was quite excited as there was something about him that I Iiked and he stood out from all the other horses. I will never forget the moment when I first walked up to his yard and he stopped eating his food and came over for a pat! He won me over instantly with his friendliness.

I have been a little rusty getting back into the swing of things with horses but Riley didn't mind showing me a thing or two. Unfortunately we both can be stubborn and at times it has got me into trouble but in the end I've learnt to be patient and he usually comes around to what I'm wanting of him. We were lucky to meet some people who we ride out with in the national park and have a lot of fun. We even went on our first big trail ride a couple of months ago. The ride was organized with Nag Nag Nag trail rides which is a division of ATHRA. He went very well over all and I think enjoyed being out with all the other horses.

Recently he got very sick with colic and I thought I was going to lose him, after an emergency operation and loads of TLC he is almost back to his old self and I'm hoping to be back out riding in the next couple of months. It's been a tough few weeks for both of us, but I am so thankful that he's come through this major challenge.

He has had to learn a lot in the last six months considering he was only recently broken in and had limited exposure to the outside world. He has done very well, is great in traffic and with other horses. I often wonder what I used to do with my weekends before him - it certainly wasn't as much fun as it is now. I am grateful that he is in my life, he fills a big hole that I've been missing for so long. Thanks again to you and Debbie for all your help. Best Regards Debra

Keto was adopted in August 2009 after 2.5 years in foster care