A little girl from Norway and her sweet, caring friendship with a miniature horse is taking the internet by storm.
Not only does 6-year-old Ella Solvang-Laagasken play, ride, and train with her 11-year-old horse, Black, but she also takes good care of him, grooming his mane, helping with stable work, and even giving the patient pony glitter pedicures.
“She is a unique girl who has a very special bond with animals,” Ella’s mother, Line Laagasken, told The Epoch Times.
The family found Black for Ella when she was 3 years old, completely unaware if she would like horses. Upon finding Black online, Line and her husband, Thomas, traveled to see him and bought him instantly.
“It was love at first sight,” Line said. “Before he came, we had painted one of the horseboxes pink, the color decided by Ella.”
When Ella first met Black she was really happy. Greeting him with a big hug, she immediately started brushing him.
Line, who works in sales and marketing, claims all the videos the family shares of Ella are her ideas.
Ella and Black have become best friends and she includes him in everything.
“Ella takes him on walks with her doll, they play shop, or have a tea party in the garden,” said Line. "Ella and Black’s favorite thing to do is to go horseback riding with me, Thomas, and the horses.
“She loves to walk around with Black, sit on top of him, and do ‘around the world’ or other tricks. He follows her, enjoys her, and clearly shows that he wants her attention.”
Ella, said her mother, also enjoys helping train the family’s horses using tarpaulins, balloons, and umbrellas—“everything that horses are usually afraid of”—to help them gain confidence, ride safely, and increase the bond between human and horse.
Line is happy that her daughter gets to grow up on a farm, as she believes that farm life teaches one to be confident, independent, and smart.
Black, too, benefits from the bond as much as Ella does. Line claimed that the mini horse’s personality is “like a dog,” he walks loose and follows the family everywhere, and often pops up at the window of their home, asking for carrots.
Since sharing Ella and Black’s special bond on social media, the family has received a plethora of support from around the world. Line appreciates the community they have built together and claims it’s a pleasure to share content with an audience that engages.
When she’s not with her four-legged best friend, “patient, playful” Ella also loves to swim, ride a quad bike, and play imaginative games with her dolls. Yet it’s her relationship with Black that truly melts her proud parents’ hearts.
“[Black is] worth his weight in gold,” said Line. “We love him so much.”
