This is likely the last episode (for a while) in this CHARACTERS OF THE FARM series. I saved the biggest (literally) character for last. She is our one and only (for now) horse.

When we brought Maggie home (see video here) we had no idea how our life and farm was about to change! Several members of our family have been around horses, we have ridden horses, but have never owned a horse. This has been a steep, yet fun, learning curve for us.

At first we thought it was going to be fine to just have Maggie be the "Free Range Horse" on the farm. She could wander around the farm and just hang out with us and the other animals. This dream was squashed by Maggie's habits of eating and stepping on trees. She also loves to eat mama's landscaping. Roses and Blackberries were a daily treat for her until they were nearly wiped out. The orchard took a beating too, as it turns out, that Maggie loves young fruit trees to eat and rub her hooves and belly on.

These were really lessons for us to learn. Maggie is a horse... she just does what horses do. We didn't know what all that was yet. All of that learning put us down the road of building the horse barn and fence. Maggie needs her own area to be allowed to be a horse.

Maggie has been very good for our daughter who she belongs to. She loves her and cares for her. This is very good for her development as a young lady. Along with that is the benefit that her brother Luke gets. Luke is our special needs son that loves riding horses for therapy. It's wonderful to see Luke's smile when he is on a horse. In this picture below you can see my daughter holding Maggie in place while Luke and a friend do counting games while seated on the horse.

Maggie is a super sweet horse with lots of great qualities. She behaves well, especially for our daughter. They have bonded really well. There will be a day when we add another horse to the farm, but for now it's fun just getting to know Maggie :)