After Curly died, Rosie was distraught. She paced. She called out. She searched for her friend. I would go and sit with her and she would occasionally stop to check in, but I wasn’t much comfort. The vet gave me Trazodone, which helped (I have never seen so much Trazadone in one place before!) but even at 32 100-mg pills a day, she was only just holding it together. One day I watched her follow a dog walker through the town field, practically begging them to be her friends. It was heartbreaking. It reminded me of the children’s story Corduroy, about a stuffed bear who desperately wanted a friend.

I mentioned my dilemma to Rosie’s previous owners and they were kind enough to offer me a temporary companion horse. Jay is a Quarter Horse gelding in his early 20s who used to be turned out with Rosie. That was a huge bonus because it increased the odds that they would get along right from the start. The last thing we needed was a horse getting injured.

Jay arrived a week ago and the moment he walked into the field, I could see Rosie relax. Her eye got soft and she stopped pacing. There was no squealing. No striking. They touched noses and there was immediate recognition.

Jay has immediately bonded to Rosie. He calls for her if she’s out of sight and happily follows her around. When I turned them out together in the big field, they had a fine old time galloping and bucking. There was no kicking and no aggression, which is ideal.

Okay, Rosie won’t let Jay near her food (I feed them separately) but he’s accepted that she’s the boss mare and lets her eat from any pile of hay she wants.

Jay spent many years living in Los Angeles, where his owner rode him through Griffith Park, so he’s supposedly a trail riding machine, not bothered by much of anything you might encounter. He then spent the last couple of years working in movies, where he carried such well known actors as Christian Bale and Idris Elba. He and Rosie are probably reminiscing about all the famous people they’ve worked with and wondering how they ended up in a backyard barn! He’s a sweet gelding who is settling in and following Rosie around like a puppy. This coming weekend, Lindsay and I hope to get him out on the trails and let him show us what he can do.

And now, just like Corduroy, Rosie has a friend and all is right in her world again.