People who live with horses and donkeys often take their noses. Equine noses are sensitive – they decide what to eat with them. They are soft and warm, rubbery yet very much alive. They show affection with their noses, talk with them, learn with them and sense with them. When I enter the pasture, three sets of equine noses greet me, inspect me, scan to see what is in my pocket. I call it the Cookie Toll, it is not simple to get past them until their noses are rewarded.

Their noses are trusting and gentle, they see and feel with them. Every morning, Chloe kisses me in the nose. I give her a cookie or carrot. It is our way of talking, of saying hello, of seeing the mood of the other.