Mi Corazón


Mi Corazón

Originally shared by Jessica Pierce

When bad weather prevents riding, we do a barn lesson, which means "find something to do inside." I did this recently with Jay, who is 9, funny, super bright, and 100% dedicated to animals of all sorts. He has probably 20 minutes of impassioned opinion (based on research) about how zoos can operate humanely and ethically. A big heart.

He says he's the "everything whisperer." A lot of kids think they're good with animals, but there's a difference between wanting to pet them, and caring about what they need. I think Jay is right though, because he says it frankly and not as a brag, and because once a ladybug lit on his shoulder and stayed there through the entire hour's ride, and the kid was not surprised in the least. He names every ladybug Leroy, because "then it's like it's the same ladybug landing on me for my whole life."

Most importantly, he's good with Zorro, who is afraid of men. We don't know why. We have an idea. He's mostly ok, but when we need to bring him out of his stall, the smallest lady can do it more easily than any man. He's scared of male handlers, has a nervous tolerance for the male barn staff who bring his dinner, but loves Jay, who is more patient and quiet than I would have expected a nine-year-old to be. It could be that Jay just isn't tall or loud enough to come across as male, but who knows and who cares; there's trust there on both sides, and I can't imagine that will change as he gets older.

For Zorro, Jay invented the horse hug. I'm not sure why he insists this is a special invention, except that he is willing to stand with his arms around a horse's neck for damn near forever. I try not to ever be the one who has to tell him it's time to go.

On a barn lesson the other day, Jay and I walked around with a worksheet, categorizing all the horses by facial markings. I thought he might get bored but turns out he's as happy as I am to visit everybody. I got to look at that kid's radiant face as he gazed at forty horses.

We got to Zorro's stall and Jay was disappointed that the worksheet had no category he would fit into; he's one of our only horses with no facial markings at all. Jay solved the problem himself: he said "I know where to put him," and wrote a new list in the margin, consisting only of the name Zorro. The title of this list was "My Heart."

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