An Unlikely Pair: Goober & Bella

He was a tall, lean Thoroughbred. She was a short, stocky Palomino. He was fast and goofy. She was slow and serious. But they were the best of friends. They grazed together out in the pastures and dozed side by side in the shade. I wish I knew their stories, how they had come to be friends. But it will remain a mystery. We never knew where they came from. Only they appeared at the barn one night.

About ten years ago, we had to board Dolly and Cutter for about six months. And though it was hard to not have them with me, the barn where we had them boarded was only five minutes away. And I spent every available minute there. Dolly and Cutter did well there and I enjoyed getting to meet all the other horses boarded there as well. (Read about one special horse here link) One morning my brother and I hurried into the barn to feed Dolly and Cutter. But we stopped short at an alarming sight. Two new horses were in the pasture - one with dried blood all over her face. Tom immediately went to call the barn owner, Brad. As I got closer I saw that the mare’s injury was even worse than I’d thought. A gash, about eight inches long, marred her face - going at an angle from below her left eye down toward her right nostril. Thankfully, it wasn’t still bleeding. But it was deep and covered in dirt. Not knowing what to expect, I cautiously approached the Palomino mare, my heart pounding.  But the mare let me stroke her shoulder and willingly allowed me to wrap the lead rope I had around her neck. She followed me back into the barn like she’d done it a hundred times before. As we walked, the tall Thoroughbred ambled behind us. Tom met me at the gate. 

“Is she okay?” He asked as he opened the gate for me

I shook my head. “Grab the first aid kit. She’s really hurt.”

“What did Brad say?” I called after him.

“He said he didn’t know the horses were here. The owners were supposed to call him when they got here, but they never did. He’s going to get a hold of them and he’s going to call a vet. ”

He brought the kit, a clean cloth, and a bucket of water. The mare stood quietly while we washed the blood off her face and applied an ointment. All the while, her bay Thoroughbred friend watched from the gate. 

When we came back to the barn that evening, Brad was there. He told us that a vet had been there that afternoon. With some care, the mare should totally recover, though she would likely have a scar. The vet had left some antibiotic ointment that needed to be applied twice a day. Brad asked if we’d mind helping with that.

“Of course!” We agreed. “Did you ever get in touch with the owners?”

“No, never did. I only have the one phone number and they won’t answer. They were supposed to let me know when they got here. But they didn’t. They just dropped the horses off in the middle of the night, I guess. I don’t even have a last name.”

I glanced toward the pasture. “Do we know the horses’ names?”

“Yeah, the mare is Bella and the gelding is Goober.” He shrugged. “Odd name for a thoroughbred, I guess.”

Taking care of Bella became a part of our daily routine at the barn, with Goober always staying close by. As she healed, we got to know both of their personalities. Bella was calm and gentle; nothing really seemed to bother her. She just took everything in stride with a pleasant attitude. She didn’t have a competitive bone in her body. She was perfectly content coming in last and waiting to be fed.

Goober was an energetic gelding, with a happy-go-lucky point of view. His antics could always bring smiles and laughter. And he was fast, really fast. He and Cutter loved to race. And he always won. It wasn’t that he had to win, but since he was a Thoroughbred, he was just that fast. And to him, it was just fun and games. Both of them made friends with all the other horses there. And they became loved by everyone that came to the barn.

A month passed. Bella’s face was healing well. But there had been no contact with the people who had dropped her and Goober off here. It was as though their owners had just disappeared. And it was now quite obvious that they were not going to come back for them. I cannot fathom how anyone could just abandon these two gorgeous horses like that. But I was grateful that it had been somewhere Bella and Goober would receive care. Brad told my brother Tom and me that we were welcome to mess with the horses, to see what they knew and how well they handled. We started slow. We’d bring them out and groom them and they both loved it. One day, Tom saddled up Goober. We started on a lunge line and found out that he was well trained under saddle. Other than his rough trot, he was a joy to ride. Tom was soon riding him around the yard. I did ground work with Bella and she was a dream to handle. I eventually climbed on Bella’s back. She stood in her usual calmness and let me just massage her shoulders. I wish I had actually ridden her, but I was hesitant to do so since she was still healing. Still, I am sure that she was just as amazing under saddle as she was on the ground. 

Brad said that he might have to sell them; but in the two months we were there, he had never listed them for sale. They had a way of claiming a place in all of our hearts and everyone pitched in to help with their care. I wish I knew exactly how their story went from there. But it was then that our family moved back to a place with acreage and we moved Dolly and Cutter back to be with us. If we’d had the space and money, I would’ve loved for them to have come, too. Yet I knew I didn’t have to worry about their future - they were surrounded by those who loved them. And they would be cared for, whether they stayed there or found a new home. I know everyone would make sure of that. 

It’s little interactions with horses like Goober and Bella that pushed the door to the horse world just a little further open for me. I got to work with horses beyond my own. I got to watch them communicate, work, and play. I learned how different each horse can be and yet how universal the language of horses is. But my favorite lesson I saw in Goober and Bella was their friendship. How that even the most unlikely pairs can have the best connection. They stood by each other, checked on each other. They didn’t let difficult situations tear them apart, but rather let it bring them even closer together.

And that’s a lesson that goes far beyond horses.