I wasn’t really ready to look for a horse when Hero chose me. I was out at the rescue to donate massage to another horse when he got my attention. He was leaning over the fence looking at me in a way that I just couldn’t ignore. All the horses at this rescue had been bound for slaughter at one point, and they all seem to be starved for love and attention in their own way, but Hero gave me a different look. He looked at me like we already knew each other. After giving him a little attention, I went about my business for the rest of the day. That night, I thought about him again and couldn’t stop. I started going out to visit him to see how we got along. What the rescue knew about him was that he was green broke at best (only to later find he was not broke at all), and he could be pretty nervous. When I first walked into his run he was curious about me, but didn’t want me to catch him. When we finally caught him, I took him into the round pen and knew that this was a special horse. He was nervous, but smart as could be and willing to learn. I ultimately took a leap of faith and adopted him because I knew that even though he might be a lot of work, we needed each other.

Since bringing Hero to his new home just a short time ago, he has already started to come out of his shell. Even though he can still be afraid, he always tries his best to do what I ask of him. He is overcoming his fears every day that I work with him. This horse is beautiful inside and out, and I see nothing but amazing things in our future. I am so lucky that he chose me to be his person.