It has become a common scene on the family’s farm: dear little 1-and-a-half-year-old Lucy Ugarte loving on Brooke’s big horsey nose; and Brooke, still and gentle, loving her right back.
Their first snuggle session happened when a horseshoer was shoeing Brooke’s feet, and Ms. Ugarte had an urge to lift Lucy, then just one or two weeks old, to show her Brooke’s soft eyes.
It was an “Oh my gosh!” moment, Ms. Ugarte told The Epoch Times.
“I was like, ‘This is a miracle moment,’ but then, it just kept happening,” she said. “This isn’t a one-off thing. They just love spending time together.”
The mom is inclined to believe Lucy is already a horse girl. Ms. Ugarte was one too. To see her daughter developing the same passion (even as her older two did not) is something she finds really special.
And Brooke is no ordinary horse. The 14-year-old accomplished quarter horse may be enjoying retirement with the Ugartes today, but in her heyday, she was a 3-year-old world champion on the Paint Quarter Horse Pinto circuit.
Now, on the family’s farm in North Port, Florida, for the past seven years, Brooke has been their barn’s princess.
She is “genuinely good-hearted” and has “a strong desire to please,” said Ms. Ugarte, adding that Brooke tended to become frazzled whenever her owners were frustrated or disappointed. “I would love to say all horses are [good-hearted], but it’s not true. Some of them are temperamental, or they want to get into trouble all the time.
“I trained horses for a living, and I knew Brooke and her owners. I traveled with them to shows and trained their daughter, and then I started having my kids, and I took a break.”
Ever since Lucy got her first whiff of “horsey breath,” Ms. Ugarte said with a laugh, she could tell Lucy wanted nothing more than to hug the horse, touch the horse, hold the horse, and sit on the horse.
They see each other almost every day. Whenever Mom goes out to feed the horses, Lucy runs to the door and pipes up: “Horses, horses, Brooke, Brooke, Brooke!”
And so it became a cherished ritual. They arrive at Brooke’s stall. The smells of straw, horses, and the barn fill the nose. Mom gives her daughter a boost. Brooke waits in anticipation.
Lucy demonstrates for us.
Lucy’s arms around Brooke. Lucy kissing Brooke. Brooke with eyes closed, shaking flies away while they embrace. A shared moment between horse and little girl.
This is the scene we witnessed as Ms. Ugarte spoke to us.
“Lucy loves it, and Brooke returns that love,” Ms. Ugarte said.
After some time, Lucy alone even began to lead the enormous horse, who lumbers leisurely behind her, around the farm.
But although Brooke has shown herself to be trustworthy and extra gentle, as if knowing she’s around a little one and keeping still, Lucy’s mom video records the walking pair from a spot in between them, her body ready to buffer anything that could happen unexpectedly.
“We had a guy here on a big tractor, and he was helping us take down some trees that had died,” the mom said. “That’s not going to be a day that I let Lucy hug on Brooke.”
“I was like, ‘Well, give the people what they want. We'll post more videos,’” Ms. Ugarte said. “It just showed me that people just really want to see happy things that are sweet and kind.”
