How many horses do you know who have a full staff of professionals? Isis does. I need to make t-shirts that say “Team Isis” for her farrier (podiatrist), chiropractor/massage therapist, veterinarian (doctor), trainer, and owner (me). Five people trying to make one mare sound.
My friends think I’m a little nuts working so hard on my mare. “It’s just an animal,” some of them say. They have never seen the soft glow in her eyes, the way she nickers and calls for me when I’m at the barn. They don’t know, and probably wouldn’t understand, the kind of bond and friendship it is possible to share with a horse.
Yes, friendship. She’s proven that she is trustworthy over and over again (she didn’t struggle when I was pinned beneath her). She knows when I’m feeling down and oddly enough, I’m learning to tell when she is too.
She is not a pet. No 1,000+ pound animal should be a “pet.” She is my four-legged kid.