You have seen Abby before. She is the horse that we got Anthony for his birthday. She is 22-25 years old and has the sweetest temperment I have ever met in a horse (unless you have her feed bucket in her hand). But we have noticed more than that. She and Anthony have developed an amazing attachment. He rubs her nose and loves on her while she's eating her dinner. She watches him while he plays in the yard. When she's sure that he's happy and having fun, she settles down to graze.
Yesterday, I caught her so that Anthony could ride her for a little while. He brushed the parts he could reach and petted her neck. Then I saddled her and put him up in the saddle. We went around and around the pasture until he was tired. And so was Abby. We unsaddled her, brushed her down again, and then Anthony ran off to play in the sand. Abby stood there for a long time, just looking out the front gate. I was worried because she was behaving kind of oddly. As soon as Anthony came in the back yard, she started walking around again and acted a bit more like herself. I mentioned the behavior to my room mate (her former owner) and she clued me in. Abby was watching Anthony play and wanted him to come back to her. Missy said that she has never seen that horse bond so fast with someone. Abby listens to him and responds to him when he is riding her solo.
Abby hasn't always had someone to love her. When she came to us, she was about 400 lbs under weight and Missy had her on a weight gain program. She had been starved nearly to death by the man that Missy rescued her from. She was born Texas Go Girl (and is a registered AQHA mare) and is the granddaughter of Go Man Go, a famous racing quarter horse. She was shown and then used as a broodmare until her then-owner got mad at her and decided not to feed her anymore. Now, she's getting fat, happy, and loved by a little boy. What more could a horse ask for?
Anthony and his Abbyhorse
Sweet Anthony! Such a cutie! And the horse is beautiful!
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