When Mila, a curly-haired wild mustang was originally found on the Navajo Reservation in Gray Mountain, Arizona, she had just lost her mother.
It was 2018, and her entire herd had fallen victim to severe drought conditions. According to Jennifer Brumbaugh, the executive director of Healing Hearts Animal Rescue located in Cave Creek, Arizona, “The summer of 2018 was the worst drought Arizona had had for 10 years.”.
Needless to say, little Mila, who was originally called Coco, was one of very many that had felt the effects of the fatal drought.
“Over 200 horses had died from the drought, and that’s where these little ones were found,” continued Brumbaugh. Knowing that they couldn’t leave the little horse alone, Healing Hearts immediately took her into their care.
As you can imagine, Mila was in a terrible state at the time of her rescue. “She was just a bag of bones when she came.
It’s truly a miracle she even survived,” recalls Brumbaugh. Brumbaugh realized that Mila needed a mother in her life if she was going to thrive.
The volunteers at the rescue decided that it would be best to attempt to pair Mila with another horse. The horse, whose name was Mystery, had just lost her own baby, so Healing Hearts figured that they might be able to help one another heal.
Luckily, they were right, and the pair bonded almost immediately. “They were both in a time of recovery, and a time of rehabilitation. They just found each other, and I really think it saved them both,” explained Brumbaugh.
When Mila went outside for the first time, she started galloping around in excitement, much to the surprise of everyone watching. “Her personality just got bigger and bigger from there,” said Brumbaugh.
As time continued on, Mila began to spend more and more time with Mystery, causing her confidence to grow. Soon enough, it was time for Mila to make another friend.
This time, instead of meeting a horse, Mila was going to meet a human named Macy Zylstra. From the very first moment that Macy set eyes on Mila, she was in love.
“She was so friendly and so sweet. I just knew immediately that we were going to be best friends for life.” As time would tell, Mila was going to love Macy just as much as Macy loved her.
It took no time at all for Macy to realize that Mila’s place was with her, so she quickly made a decision.
With a bit of support from her adoptive mom, Mila went off to live with Macy on her ranch. Since leaving her adoptive mother, Mila has made it obvious that Mystery truly helped her break out of her shell.
Mila is learning all types of new tricks, and she’s learning how to communicate as well. “She’s very vocal — she loves to whinny, nicker or squeal,” said Macy.
“She will jump over anything. She also knows how to lay down on command.” It looks like Mila is loving her new life with Macy.
The first day that Mila joined the older horses at the ranch, she seemed to fit in perfectly. She was brave and walked right up to them.
Macy said the day was magical because a rainstorm came and after the clouds cleared, a beautiful double rainbow appeared in the sky. Mila’s right at home with her herd.
**Mila whose name is short for Milagra was inspired by the Spanish word for “miracle,” and it certainly fits her.
Mila sure has found her place in the world, and fortunately, it’s with people who will love and take care of her.**.
View this post on Instagram When you’re late for happy hour!!. ?
Also for you horsey people do you see this beautiful flying lead change?!??. (Wait for the slowmo) What a super star ⭐️ A post shared by Mila the Mustang (@mila_the_mustang) on Apr 12, 2019 at 2:40pm PDT.