unconditional love and wanted to brush him constantly, removing his hot, outer coat.
Soon the head-hanging Zeke had a twinkle in his eyes. He often slipped out of the pasture through holes in the fences. The holes had been there all along, but Zeke wasnât compelled to use them until his mischievous nature was reawakened. âHe helped us out by showing us where the fences needed repairing,â Joy said with a laugh.
Zeke, a horse that suffered from a disease that caused heavy fur to grow, loved being brushed by the children at Spirit of Hope Youth Ranch. Photograph courtesy of Joy OâNeal .
Zeke was the darling of the ranch. Standing at his side, brushing him, small, hurt children realized that even big horses like Zeke could be hurt. They could describe to counselors the times that they felt they were under a heavy coat, feeling suffocated, like the beloved horse.
They could love Zeke and know they were loved in return. Unlike humans, horses donât have the ability to hide emotions or lie.
The children would often bring peppermint to the horses as a treat, especially at Christmas, when the candies were in abundant supply. Zekeâs love for peppermint outshone that of the other horses: he could hear someone unwrapping one even some distance from the barn. Knowing Zekeâs sweet tooth, a teacher at a school in Concord, Alabama, had a plan.
At Christmastime each year, her students collected peppermints to use in a variety of math lessons. When the lessons were completed, the students made a stocking for Zeke, as well as for each of the five other horses at the ranch, and filled them with peppermints.
Because of his remarkable recovery and a special affinity with the children, Zeke was inducted into the Alabama Animal Hall of Fame in 2009. Ranch workers took the horse to the Galleria in Birmingham, where, dressed in a top hat, Zeke was guest of honor at the ceremony.
He is the only horse to be inducted into the program.
The hall of fame website writes of Zeke:
Zekeâs most miraculous quality is his ability to touch people. When a child walks into the barn, Zeke rests his head on the stall door, winks and gives a little nicker as if to say âChoose me!â You can almost see the ice melt away from the frozen heart of a child who has not known unconditional love. Zeke represents hope, because even a broken little red horse can find comfort and love and give it back threefold .
On July 5, 2011, when Zeke was about thirty years old, he slowly walked his aching bones to the shade of his favorite tree and lay down. âWe knew he was telling us it was time for him to go to the lush pastures of heaven,â Joy said, her voice filled with tears.
Zeke was buried beneath that favorite tree. A student has begun fundraising efforts to place a memorial at the site.
T HE C HRISTMAS J ERSEY
Little Brenan Ashmore could scarcely wait to unwrap the box. He didnât much care what was inside. He knew it would be special because it came from his friend Jonathan.
When the exuberant eight-year-old redhead managed to get the paper off the package, his typically broad grin seemed to widen by an inch. He held up the gift: a maroon football jersey with the number thirty-two.
He pulled the jersey over his shirt and refused to take it off. For Brenan, that gift was the best of Christmas 2006. It was a bond of friendship. Though often happy-go-lucky and with a personality that sparkled, Brenan had spent much of his young life in the childrenâs hospital in Birmingham.
Brenan was born with hydrocephalus and, by age eight, had undergone more than forty operations to help stop symptoms of the undiagnosed syndrome that resulted. Brenan had pain in his head, shoulders and abdomen and sometimes lost his ability to walk and would use a wheelchair or walker. Shunts drained fluid from his head and spinal cord, and though he was frequently in pain, a smile almost never left his face. His mom, Susan, calls
Soon the head-hanging Zeke had a twinkle in his eyes. He often slipped out of the pasture through holes in the fences. The holes had been there all along, but Zeke wasnât compelled to use them until his mischievous nature was reawakened. âHe helped us out by showing us where the fences needed repairing,â Joy said with a laugh.
Zeke, a horse that suffered from a disease that caused heavy fur to grow, loved being brushed by the children at Spirit of Hope Youth Ranch. Photograph courtesy of Joy OâNeal .
Zeke was the darling of the ranch. Standing at his side, brushing him, small, hurt children realized that even big horses like Zeke could be hurt. They could describe to counselors the times that they felt they were under a heavy coat, feeling suffocated, like the beloved horse.
They could love Zeke and know they were loved in return. Unlike humans, horses donât have the ability to hide emotions or lie.
The children would often bring peppermint to the horses as a treat, especially at Christmas, when the candies were in abundant supply. Zekeâs love for peppermint outshone that of the other horses: he could hear someone unwrapping one even some distance from the barn. Knowing Zekeâs sweet tooth, a teacher at a school in Concord, Alabama, had a plan.
At Christmastime each year, her students collected peppermints to use in a variety of math lessons. When the lessons were completed, the students made a stocking for Zeke, as well as for each of the five other horses at the ranch, and filled them with peppermints.
Because of his remarkable recovery and a special affinity with the children, Zeke was inducted into the Alabama Animal Hall of Fame in 2009. Ranch workers took the horse to the Galleria in Birmingham, where, dressed in a top hat, Zeke was guest of honor at the ceremony.
He is the only horse to be inducted into the program.
The hall of fame website writes of Zeke:
Zekeâs most miraculous quality is his ability to touch people. When a child walks into the barn, Zeke rests his head on the stall door, winks and gives a little nicker as if to say âChoose me!â You can almost see the ice melt away from the frozen heart of a child who has not known unconditional love. Zeke represents hope, because even a broken little red horse can find comfort and love and give it back threefold .
On July 5, 2011, when Zeke was about thirty years old, he slowly walked his aching bones to the shade of his favorite tree and lay down. âWe knew he was telling us it was time for him to go to the lush pastures of heaven,â Joy said, her voice filled with tears.
Zeke was buried beneath that favorite tree. A student has begun fundraising efforts to place a memorial at the site.
T HE C HRISTMAS J ERSEY
Little Brenan Ashmore could scarcely wait to unwrap the box. He didnât much care what was inside. He knew it would be special because it came from his friend Jonathan.
When the exuberant eight-year-old redhead managed to get the paper off the package, his typically broad grin seemed to widen by an inch. He held up the gift: a maroon football jersey with the number thirty-two.
He pulled the jersey over his shirt and refused to take it off. For Brenan, that gift was the best of Christmas 2006. It was a bond of friendship. Though often happy-go-lucky and with a personality that sparkled, Brenan had spent much of his young life in the childrenâs hospital in Birmingham.
Brenan was born with hydrocephalus and, by age eight, had undergone more than forty operations to help stop symptoms of the undiagnosed syndrome that resulted. Brenan had pain in his head, shoulders and abdomen and sometimes lost his ability to walk and would use a wheelchair or walker. Shunts drained fluid from his head and spinal cord, and though he was frequently in pain, a smile almost never left his face. His mom, Susan, calls
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