From where she lounges in her shelter, Zuri hears the rattle of the gate chain as it un-clips to let you in. She greets you with a nicker, perhaps wondering if you’ve brought her a mash, or a flake of hay, or a hand capable of a scratch on the neck. Zuri is like one of those motion-activated decorations — if you walk within a certain radius of her, it’s likely she will call out to you with a string of sweetly enticing nickers, an aria that makes it difficult to not adjust course to go and match her horse hello with a human one.
When she’s not siren-calling, Zuri is likely slurping down her senior mashes or daintily picking alfalfa flowers off their stems. This girl can be particular about her meals, but it’s hard not to appreciate a discerning palate. If she had a coffee order, it would likely change frequently: one day a bone dry cappuccino, one day a drip coffee, black. Those aforementioned nickers might be attempting to clue us in to her exact specifications, but without direct translation available, we do our best to adjust to her whims. It’s what any ole horse (especially any old horse) deserves.
Zuri is a gold-star member of our grooming program. Her sweet and trustworthy nature have made her an easy horse to train volunteers on, and so far we have heard no complaints on her end regarding the frequent currying. She has also taken her first steps into our walking program, designed to keep her active through the winter. Even in the face of new environments and uncertain situations, Zuri remains respectful of the human on the end of her line. Unflappable? Not entirely. But responsible and reasonable about her flaps? Very much so.
Zuri is the kind of horse who is easy to fall in love with, a mare whose inner beauty is easily seen in the deep pools of her eyes, and heard in the sweet ‘huh-huh-huh’ of her nickers.
