Some of us don’t easily make friends with the people around us.
Maybe we’re too scared or shy to approach someone or even start a conversation, and that certain fear that we might say the wrong words or choke on our words. Making friends seems easy, but it’s utterly nerve-wracking for some people.
Eventually, there are people who we grow comfortable with and become our friends.
There’s always that one person who notices you, approaches you and starts a conversation. That one person who always makes you feel welcome and accepted. It always starts with that one friend, and once we gain confidence, we begin to be more comfortable with the rest of the crowd.
Socialization in animals is not different than that of humans.
They, too, can sometimes find it difficult to have friends. Those who have experienced abuse wouldn’t be too trusting of both humans and other animals. That’s why we hear stories of animals who stay in the corner of the shelter and don’t want to interact with anyone.
Teddy Bear, or just Teddy, was once a loner when he was much younger.
This miracle baby had a rough start in the sanctuary. R&R Ranch Miniature Horse Sanctuary rescued Teddy’s mother, Eleanor, from an auction in June 2020. She was already 19 years old then, so they never expected her to have a baby.
Lo and behold, they soon found out she was pregnant!
Out came baby Teddy Bear a week after. He was premature, so he needed intensive care, and they gave him the treatment needed to recover. He was brought back to the sanctuary once he regained his strength.
In the sanctuary, Eleanor was very protective of her son.
She would guard him tightly and easily notice if other horses would go near Teddy and instantly thwart them off. She even tried to kick another horse one time! And while this is a sweet gesture of a new mother, this affected Teddy negatively.
Because of Eleanor’s reputation towards other horses, nobody wanted to play with Teddy.
He was an energetic pony – a firecracker! – but other horses didn’t want to go near him, afraid Eleanor would come rushing to them and ward them off. On the other hand, Teddy tried his best to make friends. He ran around the field to encourage other ponies to play with him but to no avail.
Stacey and the rest of the R&R Ranch Staff thought of something out of the box.
They have five dogs at home – mostly Golden Retrievers – so they considered introducing Teddy. The connection was evident the moment they met, and the dogs loved Tedd. They had that same amount of energy when they played together.
Soon enough, the other ponies started playing with Teddy.
All it took was a friend to bring the best out of Teddy and to show the other ponies that it was okay to play with him. Eleanor soon understood that her little pony had to go on his own. Maybe she saw that he had an independent spirit and could take good care of himself.
Watch the full (adorable) story of how Teddy finally had friends in the video below.
