He may only be 4, but little Hank Boyd can walk a horse like a true cowboy. Never away from his 18-year-old mare Willow, the two lead a ranch lifestyle out in Montana.
It all started when the Boyd family—parents Amy and Ben, and their three children—moved from California to the Treasure State (a nickname for Montana), where the cowboy culture is alive and well.
Hank started seeing cowboys and instantly wanted a cowboy hat and boots. Knowing that all cowboys ride horses, the budding ranchero couldn’t wait to get going. And so the family welcomed Willow in October 2021.
“He had a connection with her from the beginning when we got her,” Amy, 30, told The Epoch Times. “There’s so much value in letting your kids be raised around animals. There’s a connection that, I feel, is different from just playing with friends.”
At first, Hank would simply walk the much bigger Willow around on a lead rope. In no time though, Hank was up in the saddle, and doing all the things real cowboys do, such as brushing and feeding.
While Willow loves grabbing her little owner’s hat all the time, Hank’s favorite thing is giving her treats.
“She knows that she’s going to get treats, so she gets excited for him,“ Amy said. ”When we go down to the field, she comes running right up to the gate, happy to see us, but especially him. She definitely favors him.”
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For Amy, it’s been wonderful to see the close bond develop. Her son has grown more confident, riding and taking care of Willow every day after kindergarten.
The family lives on 16 acres of land, complete with dogs, chickens, and their horse. When sisters Molly, 10, and Hannah, 8, were having riding lessons, their baby brother Hank would watch and learn from them.
“They’d go and get the stuff to saddle up, and now Hank just runs and grabs the saddle himself, copying what they do. Now he does it all,” the mom said.
Personality-wise, Willow is a little stubborn and Hank can act silly, bringing out her playful side. The result is pure fun and laughter.
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Teaching kindness to all her three children is “the most important thing” for Amy. And the proud mom believes that animals too, can help teach kids a lot of things.
Amy said the kids help a lot with taking care of the animals every day, and each little task becomes a playful lesson.
She said: “We have to care for this animal; somebody has to go feed it and somebody has to brush it. Even with the chickens, we have to feed them and go collect the eggs. They provide for us; we provide for them type thing.
“It really helps teach them responsibility from a young age, because you know, we’re going to have this animal and have fun with it and ride it, but we also have to be responsible.
“It’s good to see your kids succeeding and just kind of doing things on their own. It makes me really happy.”
