Margot and Ozzy…

That superbowl ad…the one with the Clydesdale and his trainer…you know, the Budweiser horse that rode in the parade, saw the man who was there to bring him into this world…the man who loved and trained him then proudly stood by as the horse marched regally…that commercial made me cry.

I mean, I knew the horse was going to recognize him, knew the ad was setting us up…but when it happened…it was like the time when…a year after he’d been released in Africa… “Christian the Lion” comes running to greet and hug the people who’d raised him. I cried the first time I saw that video too!

So yes…the Clydesdale horse and his trainer “got me” but nothing like Margot and Ozzy.

You see, my friend Danique Rowsell, she’s a photographer. Her specialty…horses.

Danique has been a “horse-girl” her entire life and knows how to get those moody animals to look directly at her…right into the camera. She knows the very moment to take the shot…to perfectly capture the love and connection between a horse and “his person.”

The other morning, she posted a new photo session on Facebook and I anxiously went in to read and see her beautiful photographs. By the time I was done, I was gasping for air, searching for tissues, wiping my tears.

It was all about Margot and Ozzy.

Margot had been there when Ozzy was born…the first human that Ozzy laid eyes on. She bred him and welcomed the new addition into the world. She raised him. Cared for him. Rode him and jumped him. As Margot says, “life was not always easy with Ozzy but it was always interesting and he always meant well….his shanianigans sometimes were not always appreciated!” But she loved him. Dearly.

She was there to bring him into the world and also when it was time to let him go.To stop his pain.

After a roll in the pasture as horses do, he somehow cracked his hip and as he healed…arthritis took over leaving the beautiful horse in agony. Margot stood by while they tried to heal him…did everything she could to help her horse but it was all in vain.

Her noble beast was broken.

Before Margot would do what was right by Ozzy, she phoned Danique and in doing so, Danique captured the love between this beautiful horse and his wonderful person.

Check out Danique’s lovely story and take a peek at Margot and Ozzy. These animals in our lives, they change us. They lift us up when we need it most, they love us, encourage us, heal our broken hearts…they make us laugh…they exasperate us…they are part of who we are and when the time comes…we thank them…by letting them go.