Copper

(Work in progress)
Copper is our big horse whom we have the "time share" with. She is probably in her mid 20's. Last year, she really looked it. She was used occasionally for lessons, but mostly was a babysitter horse. She was not real emotionally attached to any human. I began to play with her and she took to that pretty good. She lived with our girls all winter and they got along pretty good. By spring, she was going out of her way to show love, but as a veteran horse with so many miles and probably a lot of owners, she was a horse who just went along with things.
With regular wormings and grain with senior feed mixed in, she has plumped up really well. She looks really great and strong!
Well, cold weather is beginning to set in. Routines are pretty set now and she, like our other 2 girls, now can recognize our vehicle noises. So, Copper who only started calling for me sometime this summer in a very quiet, kind of rusty whinny, is now bellering like I have never heard a horse when I pull in the driveway. She is not fond of running, but let me tell you, she runs from what ever corner of the field she happens to be parusing to the gate as soon as she realizes I am around, whinnying all the way. It is pretty cool to know I am "mom" to her. It's one thing to have the love of animals you have raised from babies. It is quite another to get the respect and love of a veteran horse. Our Moon, who we had until she was almost 37, was a very beloved mare and when she died, it left a hole in my heart. Copper has finally filled that hole.