When the sun finally came out Saturday afternoon, Maria and I decided to pay a surprise visit to Chloe, Donna and Treasure have told us to drop by any time. When we got to Chloe’s new home, she was up in the middle of the pasture grazing quite contentedly.

Mickey and Queenie, her two pasture mates, have accepted her and the three eat together and hang out peaceably, as if Chloe had been there for years. She was happy to see Maria, they talked with each a bit,and then Chloe resumed her foraging. She was happy to be brushed.

Maria was happy to see her, so was I, and we both felt good about our decision to hand her over to Treasure and Donna, she is ridden regularly, brushed and loved and fussed over continuously, and she has plenty of room to run around and explore and eat, which is her passion.

This is just the way I wanted it,  Maria said as we left, “I can brush her and see her and not feel guilty about not paying more attention to here. It is just right.” In a few weeks, Chloe and the other horses will move across the farm to a summer pasture, wide and green and  hilly.

Biologists tell us that animals like horses are not happy or sad, they are content or uneasy. Happiness, like jealousy, is a human  feeling, animals are not as petty as we are. The primary drive of animals is to exist, to have food, shelter, community and safety. Chloe liked us, now she likes Treasure and Donna.

She does not waste time and energy looking back, or wanting things she doesn’t have.  Animals tend to love those who care for them. When Maria brushed her and gave her a carrot, she trotted up the hill to join the other horses. She never looked back.

It is a hard thing to feel you are not doing enough for an animal, Maria is pleased not to feel it any more. And I’m happy too, because the farm just got a lot more manageable and a lot more peaceful.

We are very happy for her.