Levi

Levi and me, 2006

How lucky does one have to be in order to actually have a hero to look up to? But what actually defines a hero? Strength, empathy, or courage? This is one of those questions we all must answer for ourselves. In my case, my horse Levi is my hero. Levi is more than just a horse, he is the best hero anyone could ever dream of. He is a beautiful Morgan Standardbred Bay, with a gorgeous face and a personality to die for. He just turned five years old on Janurary 22, and lives on an awesome horse, ranch just a few minutes down the road from my own home.

Levi has an awesome personality, which is very surprising, considering the conditions in which I received him four years ago. Levi was a neglected horse, left in a filthy stall to die alone. He weighed half what he should have weighed, and was covered with feces and urine. He also had internal worms, and thrush throughout his hooves. More often than not, this kind of treatment completely ruins a horse. The horse ends up hating or fearing humans, and becomes an uncontrollable animal that hates everything. The horse is then shot, because it can no longer be trusted, even though before humans mistreated the animal, it loved life. Levi is a different story; he lived and loved life. Even though he was weak and physically drained due to the environment he was living in, you could still see the kindness and love in his eyes. You could tell he had a lot to offer, but his old owners didn't ever take the time to see who he actually was. I saw more in him than anyone ever did. After I brought him home, we ended up growing an everlasting bond with each other over the years. Many say I was the healer, and that he should be grateful that I saved him, but I truly believe that he helped me just as much as I helped him. Levi learned to trust humans again, and put his fears behind him. He takes each day as it comes, and it never fails that when I go to visit him, he will be there waiting, and he will never judge or look down on me. He has taught me patience, and showed me how to look at life with hope for the future. Levi is a true inspiration to us all. He has opened up doors in my life that were only distant dreams before we met.

In the beginning, before Levi and I were united, I didn't feel like my life was totally complete. Levi was somewhat the same way. He had no one to tell his pain or sickness to. His hunger pains and thirst were looked at as if it were his own fault that he had no food or water to soothe his cravings. He had no hope or outcome of making it out of that barn. When we met, we both understood that our lives were going to change drastically for the better. When I am down and depressed about something, I usually go to the barn, and he gives me the greatest amount of encouragement any one could. He gives me a little nudge on my shoulder, or stares at me with his big brown eyes, and wraps his loving head and neck around my body, pulling me closer to him. It's like he is encouraging me, telling me that everything will be okay, just to stick with it; tomorrow is a new day. Levi also is one to never give up, and we as a community could seriously learn from him. When things seem to get hard in our lives, most of us are tempted to just give up and give in, but when it comes to Levi, enough is never enough. He has lived through unimaginable hardships, and yet to this day I have never seen him give up. He never stops trying to do better, and strives to do what is asked and expected of him. In doing so, we have accomplished more than we ever thought of.

Each day we spend with each other, we grow and work on our problems together. We work on what we need to, and spend time with each other on our down time. We have both met amazing new people and horses through our local 4.H. programs, and through Michigan Country Trail Riding. We have made friends who will last a lifetime, and memories that will never be forgotten. Nothing will change the way we were before we met each other, but I do know that Levi is my best friend and my Hero.