A Blind Horse, An Old Mule, And A New Bond

When we lost blind Tonto after his colic surgery back in August, his best friend and pasture buddy of many years, blind Scout, became forlorn.  He kept looking for Tonto, pacing in circles and whinnying for him.  Scout was waiting for Tonto to come back, and every time he'd hear hoofsteps approach, he'd get excited and start nickering a greeting, thinking it was his friend.  It was, in a word, heartbreaking.

Not too long before Tonto died, we had an old, sighted mule named Roy arrive.  Roy was a physical mess -- his hooves hadn't been trimmed correctly in years, his joints were inflamed, and he looked like he was in pain when he walked.  Our equine vet, Dr. Erin Taylor, took X-rays of his joints and declared Roy to be a "walking arthritic nightmare."  Erin injected his joints with cortisone, and our farrier trimmed Roy's hooves and put shoes on him.  The next thing we knew, we had an old mule who could walk comfortably with a normal gait.  It was an amazing difference. 

Roy was finishing up his two-week quarantine in an isolation corral (standard procedure for new arrivals) when Tonto died.  We watched dear old Scout keep whinnying off into the distance for Tonto, and we thought ... well, what about Roy?  They were both ancient, both gentle, both needed lots of equine senior to keep weight on.  Why not pair them up?  So one evening I led Roy out of his corral and took him over to Scout's corral.  Scout heard us coming and began nickering ... he just knew it was Tonto!

I opened the gate and led Roy through.  Scout eagerly walked up to greet his friend, and was shocked to find out it wasn't Tonto at all.  Worse, it wasn't even a horse.  It was a mule!  Horses look down on mules and consider them second-class citizens of the equine world, so Scout's dismay was compounded by this discovery.  Scout sniffed, he flattened his ears, threw his head up in the air, and backed away.

The body language clearly said, "You can't fool me, I know this is a mule and I don't like this idea at all!"

Roy, for his part, has spent much of his life getting beaten up by horses, so his first thought at seeing Scout's pinned ears was that this horse was going to strike him.  He shied away, his ears back.  Roy didn't know Scout can't see, and he didn't know Scout would never kick or strike, so he had every reason to expect the worst.  Roy retreated to a safe distance.

Not an auspicious beginning to a new relationship, I thought.

I left the two of them in the corral that night, each in their respective corners. 

The next morning, when Alayne and I got up and looked out the living room window, we could see Scout and Roy in the corral.  In the same corner.  Side by side.  We don't know what happened overnight, but they have been inseparable ever since.  I took these photos of them this afternoon.

If we take Scout out to pasture first, Roy hee-haws and hee-haws until we come back and take him to Scout.  If Roy goes out first, Scout whinnies and whinnies for his friend.  Now that it's getting colder, I take them into stalls at Beauty's Barn every night, a ritual both of these old gentlemen relish.  They get another helping of equine senior grain, fresh wood shavings for bedding, and a warm barn to spend the night in.  I always take in Roy first, and he looks out the stall window to keep an eye on his friend until I bring Scout in.  As we walk by Roy's stall on our way to the stall next door, Scout nickers at his buddy.  You'd think they'd been together their whole lives.

Two old guys, one new bond.

Comments

[Vonnie]

Whenever I feel sorry for myself, I look up stories about animals to get my mind on something else. Found this story today and had a nice cry. I feel better knowing there are wonderful folks out there like yourselves that care about animals and are capable of making a difference in their lives. Thank you!

[Mary Tappero]

This is just beautiful. How wonderful they each found a dear friend, especially for Roy who probably hasn't had many equine friends in his life.

I too would just >love< to see a video clip of these guys.

Bless their hearts, snd yours!

Mary

[Lisa]

Love it! Always great when the blind ones are able to buddy up again.

[Katrina Morrison]

Greetings from Australia!! What a wonderful story. I love what your're doing and being able to read regular updates from your website. Thank you so much.

[Miranda]

It's always amazing to read about special bonds between animals who have chosen to become dear friends. You sort of don't think they do that but from the sounds of it they bond even closer than humans do. I love reading about these twosomes! Thank you and best wishes to Roy and Scout.

[Judy and Joe Taylor]

Good Morning all! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL STORY Wonder what the secret is ??? Maybe it is acceptance,by each one, of what they are, horse and mule --- hey, that is not so bad ---let us be friends , you suppose? Some humans could learn a LOT from this story.

[Amy]

Great story! Brought tears to my eyes! Seems like the only thing missing between these old guys is a game of checkers and a couple cold glasses of lemonade!

[Shirley & James, Portland, OR]

What a wonderful story of friendship. I love how you write Steve. Thanks for another heart warming story from RDR. Humans could learn a lot from Roy and Scout!

[Nina]

What a touching story about two handsome old boys! So glad Scout has found a friend in Roy..sounds like a tight bond!

[Sue H]

I love Scout & Roy's story! It warms my heart that they have found friendship in each other. I know how animals mourn the loss of each other - we had a cat who was so sad after losing his "brother" cat...he wouldn't sleep where they always slept together and "cried" all night for weeks. It was so sad! Yeah for Roy & Scout!

[margaret silver]

What a beautiful, almost fairy tale ending to what might have been a sad story. It is so heart warming to see how Scout got a new friend and Roy a new lease on life along with a companion. As one reader commented, these little snippets could be incorporated into wonderful children's picture books, complete with your photos for illustrations. I teach special ed 7th graders, and they would enjoy these stories which would fit into a unit on caring and compassion so well.

[danielle]

What a lovely story. I so wish I were closer to Ovando so I could volunteer with you guys. I was so sorry for Scout after losing Tonto, so I'm glad to hear he has a new companion...and I'm happy for Roy, too.

[Katy]

Awww, what a sweet story. A video of Roy hee hawing for Scout would be fun to watch (hint hint)! :)

[Mary Young]

What a happy story! Roy arrived just in time!Now I am all teary eyed!

[Laura]

Scout and am so glad you found Roy. He is just as sweet as you are. Enojoy each other!!

[Priscilla Smith]

What a beautiful story. We can learn a lot about compassion and love from animals. If only we, humans, could be more accepting like these wonderful examples Roy and Scout, the world could indeed be a much better place to live in.

[Boundforglory]

It is amazing at the solid relationships animals form in just a short time, even when they are ingrained suspiciously of the other.
Great story and I'm so happy that Scout and Roy are best friends.
Here's another great example of animals forming a bond. A Polar
Bear and Sled Dog. Hope y'all can access it.

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/play/audiogallery/soundseen.shtml

[MaryJane]

A wonderful story! Thanks for sharing it. MaryJane

[Carla Polastro-Nigro]

Roy and Scout remind me of "Old Friends", a lovely Simon & Garfunkel's song:

"Old friends,
Winter companions,
The old men
Lost in their overcoats,
Waiting for the sunset."

I'm so glad Scout has found a new companion and that Roy is finally able to spend his retirement years in comfort, thanks to lots of TLC.

A hig hug from Italy to those two sweet old gentlemen!

[Janet]

The lowly mule, denigrated by all. But not by me and not by Tonto. He is *half* a horse, y'know!

[Debbie Burke]

How wise and compassionate of you to try pairing up the odd couple. A lovely storybook ending for the two old gentlemen! Your understanding and empathy for your critters is a wonderful gift. No wonder the animals (and all your two-legged fans) love you.