When I was in the hospital, a therapy dog came around once a week. It was a very beautiful Standard Poodle, much like the one I had growing up. But what I really would have liked was some time with a therapy horse.

Of course, therapy animals need to be completely bombproof, and there’s a lot to “get over” when you’re dealing with patients in wheelchairs or on crutches. When I went to visit the horses last weekend, feeling very independent on my crutches, Freedom would have nothing to do with me. It amazes me how much horses notice about what’s different. Obviously, I never had long metal horse beating wings before! Zelda was more sanguine; she was much more concerned about whether Curly was going to eat her hay. She’d probably make a good therapy horse. As long as people didn’t focus on how big her feet are!

Years ago I brought my Trakehner, Kroni, to my daughter’s elementary school for show and tell. Someone else had brought in their cat, and another kid had a rabbit. Kroni was a huge hit, both in size and in excitement. He stood like a statue while each child (It was probably when she was in second grade) came up and stroked his neck. He must have seemed enormous to them (he was about 16.1). Sadly, after that year, the new principal banned horses from the list of show and tell pets, so it was a once in a lifetime experience, but one I think the kids never forgot.