the little black horse

the little black horse

looks on as three big horses

browse in his pasture

The little black horse is back in his pasture after his summer vacation, perhaps part of a petting zoo tour. I call him Cocao Bean and I really don't want to know his real name. This is his third year in the little pasture on the edge of town, wedged between the Little League baseball fields, the roller rink, a veterinarian and the wetlands nature preserve. Every day in late summer I kept watching for him, sometimes thinking I saw his small dark form, but it always turns out to be a clump of weeds or a pair of tires along the far fence.
          Finally, he shows up in September and I'm ecstatic to see that he has company again. Not a big black bull, like that first winter. Not a pair of Jersey cows, like the second winter, before they disappeared and Cocao Bean was sadly left alone for many months. This year it's three actual horses. At first the big horses stick together and Cocao Bean follows them at a distance, like a younger kid who wants to be part of the gang of older boys.

After a week I notice that Cocao Bean is following one of the horses at a distance. The other two horses, who stick together, appear to be American Quarter horses, but the one the little black horse has chosen looks like a Clydesdale, with feathered white feet and white face. These big draft horses are known for their docile nature and Cocao Bean seems to be saying, "Please, may I be your buddy?"

Not long after, Cocao Bean and Clyde are inseparable.

Even when the Clydesdale grazes side-by-side with the other two Quarter horses, Cocao Bean "heels" Clyde like a friendly dog.

A few days ago I spot the gang hanging out under some overhanging trees, a bit of protection from the rain, though Cocao Bean's coat is soaked.

Cocao Bean is so small he could easily stand under Clyde's belly, where he wouldn't get wet. Bedraggled as he is, he still looks happy to be close to his best buddy.