Be My Valentine - Zeke

Meet Zeke
I'm not allowed to have favorites but Zeke, well, he's special. The first time I swung my leg over the saddle on Zeke, it was like I was riding my first Arab that I had retired. It felt as though I was picking up where I had left off except with a different horse.


Zeke was just that easy to get along with that after only six months, I was more than comfortable riding him to the church in my big poofy wedding dress for my big day. That is how much I trust him, and I still trust him. Don't get me wrong, my biggest spill also came from Zeke but that's all my fault.


I wasn't looking for a horse but I'm prone to notice arabs for sale. I found him in September 2009 and bought him as my personal horse. We did everything together. He's been my trail horse (although failed miserably because he'd prefer to jump creeks rather than walk through them), participated in parades, and was involved in not one, but TWO drill teams. In fact, he was the oldest horse on the team and keeping up with the younger "pups" and showing them off. He knew when it was the real deal. I'm guessing he once was a show horse in a previous career but we'll never know.


But at the age of 24, he told me that he was tired of performing for drill team so I retired him at that season. He's been enjoying retirement to the extreme since then. When I retired him from drill team, I put him into the Sanctuary program and he's been very happy ever since.


I knew Zeke was special but this past year has shown me the extent of how special he is. He's the typical arab but seems rather down to earth. He's always hung out with Bo and even Brego and Ivan when Bo was in eating. He isn't one of the pushy ones and is lower on the pecking order. But he takes everything into stride.


When Ivan was colicing last November, Zeke stuck fairly close to him. I thought it was odd. He went to far as to touch Ivan's belly where it hurt. Zeke was trying to make him feel better. After we lost Ivan, Brego went into a depression. I was worried sick for Brego. I shouldn't have worried. Zeke was there to bring him out of his depression. Now I see them play fighting all the time, tormenting each other. If Brego isn't picking on Zeke, Zeke is picking on Brego. It's so good to see Brego out of his depression and it's good to see that Zeke is moving around like a typical young arab instead of an old duffer.


He still watches over Bo. There was a bit of a tiff when Lightening came. Lightening immediate went to Zeke for protection and to follow. It was like they were one and the same but in the past few months Lightening has found his own stride. That's a good thing because Zeke is back to watching over Bo. I think Bo and Zeke have always been fairly close friends because Zeke knows that Bo has never been 100% healthy.


Zeke is very special and even at the age of 26 he doesn't seem like he's slowing down in his retirement. I'm looking forward to pampering him during his golden years because he deserves it. He's taken care of me countless times, kept me safe during all our rides, and now deserves (and will get) a retirement where he can be spoiled every day of his golden years.


Would you like to help spoil Zeke? You can sponsor him monthly for $50, which will buy him a bag of senior feed and ensure he gets the needed trims to keep him balanced and comfortable. In return, you'll receive monthly updates with pictures. I know Zeke is special to me, but I'd love to share this special horse with you!


You can pay for sponsorship through paypal at www.paypal.me/Borderlands or via mail
Borderlands Horse Sanctuary
PO Box 164
Humboldt, SD 57035


#MyValentine