Cupid: A Love Story
The best Valentine’s Day surprise I ever received was the opportunity to help a little gelding with sparkling eyes and the heart of a fighter.
Some people make extravagant plans on Valentine’s Day. Some people get surprises. On February 14, 2019, I headed to pick up what would ultimately be the best Valentine’s Day gift I have ever received. I answered a call from local law enforcement about an emaciated horse that needed help. They weren’t sure he was going to make it.
Those eyes. I remember the second I saw him. The only white in a sea of mud. Sweet little sparkling eyes that hadn’t given up even though the rest of his body was trying to. I was honestly worried that the stress of the trailer trip might do him in, so I drove half speed all the way home. When I opened the trailer door he was shaking and feeble, but he happily followed me into the barn where I immediately started tending to him. He stood quietly while I started cleaning up sores on his abdomen and legs and started to brush away the dirt. As I worked, his white hair just fell off in chunks attached to dead skin. Rain rot, lice… you name it. As he was standing there letting me fuss over him, he collapsed. I immediately called some friends who rushed to our aid. They helped me get him back on his feet in a makeshift sling.
For the next two weeks, Cupid spent 99 percent of his time in a sling. He was unable to hold his own weight more than 20 to 30 minutes at a time. The first time we had to get him up he seemed like he had lost all hope. Completely defeated. His body was giving up. But each time he fell, we were there to help him up. And each time we helped him up, he seemed a little less convinced that he should give up.
After two weeks, his once feeble legs were stronger. His skin and hair were starting to recover and to our surprise, he was a Medicine Hat paint! He had beautiful fleabitten gray spots all over his body and a perfect circle around both his ears. Medicine Hat horses are widely respected in Native American culture as special horses. Chiefs often chose them as their mounts. It was fitting that this horse would have the heart of a fighter.
By the fourth week, Cupid could go on short walks around the barn and graze. Short walks turned into supervised turnout while I was cleaning stalls and working other horses.
One day a friend of mine and previous adopter, Ryan Hardison, and her two boys stopped by the farm. Although they had no intention of adopting a new horse, they changed their minds when they spotted Cupid. They immediately fell in love with his eyes, the same way I had. He seemed to shoot love arrows through everyone he met. Despite his condition and the neglect he had suffered, he harbored no distrust of people and took any chance to get love from someone new. His trusting eyes called to Ryan, and she knew he was meant to be part of their family
This sweet family offered to foster Cupid as soon as he was stable enough to be turned out unsupervised. A few short weeks later, Cupid arrived at the Hardison residence where he was smothered with love and received numerous treats. He was ready to be fattened up!
Slowly Cupid gained weight and showed more of his lively character. Early one morning a couple of months later, Ryan was going to feed him and Cupid came running down a hill in the pasture to meet her. That was the first time either of us had seen him gallop and it brought her to happy tears! Cupid had been on the verge of giving up and now he was enjoying the feel of the wind in his mane.
Now, two years later, Cupid can go from one end of the pasture to the other, always running! He is strong, stout, and so very confident. The Hardison family was fairly new to the horse world when we started this journey and Ryan expected to learn a lot from their experience with Cupid. His fighting spirit and trust taught her more than she ever expected to learn from a horse.
Today Cupid is fully rehabilitated and back at Bits & Peaces for training. The saying it takes a village is so true. In addition to Ryan so many people had a hand in bringing this horse back to life and I am so grateful to have such amazing support for these animals. Every time I run my fingers through Cupid’s mane or across his silky coat, I think back to how rough and brittle his skin was the day I brought him home.
The sores I tended to are healed and covered with beautiful white hair. Saddling and riding him for the first time was a dream come true, and Ryan cannot wait to be able to ride the horse that stole her heart as well. I hope we have given him the opportunity to live many happy years.
Those sparkling eyes will always be a reminder to fight the hard fight because every little Cupid out there is worth it.