The story is cuddled with heart-touching emotions that are capable of breaking the fine boundaries of the relationship between a horse and his master and the psychic connection they had… A truly amazing story to handle…

Socs- Yes! He Was My Soulmate| A Emotional Horse Story

By: Phyllis Frank

Socrates, (Socs), was my first horse, a 22 year old school horse who I bought for a song and a dance. He was grouchy, opinionated, set in his ways, and very skeptical of me. “Who was I and what did I want” was what he seemed to say when we met. I knew this was going to take a while, to get this ornery horse to like me, let alone trust and love me. He’d pin his ears at me every time I came to ride him, but our rides were like heaven. I figured he had his chance to kill me and he didn’t. I had plenty of time.

I loved him so very much, and he loved me. He¹d nicker when I got to the barn, instead of pinning his ears. I told him everything. All my deepest secrets and thoughts were now mine and his. Socs didn¹t even mind if I sang. We became true soul mates. Unconditional love is truly magic.
He lived to be 25.

I missed him so much. I cried for years. I could never allow myself to get involved with a horse again. I couldn¹t take the pain of losing another. At times I can still feel his presence. I always felt that Socs stayed with me after he died. He¹d pop into my mind for no reason at all, at the strangest times. Often, I could smell Œa horse¹ and I¹d be no where near a barn.

One day, a friend of mine called me to tell me there was a new horse at the barn and I should come and see this new schoolie. I told her I couldn¹t. I hung up and cried.

A few months later, I started to exercise a horse for a friend of mine. It was fun, but not MY horse. One beautiful Saturday in October, I decided to stay home and do yard work. Two of my friends kept calling me to come ride. When I realized they weren¹t going to give up until I came to the barn, I agreed. I had a nice ride. I also seemed to always notice this horse standing in his stall as I walked by – never his face, only his back end and lowered neck. The name over the feed bucket said King. I would wonder why this “King” never stood tall. This particular day, we were talking in the barn after we rode, and I looked over and saw “King” again. I didn¹t mean to. I asked what the story was and why was he never out. My friend told me he had failed the school program, kept coming up lame, and his owners didn¹t want him back. She smiled and said, “That¹s the horse I was telling you to come look at.” The barn manager was trying desperately for a few weeks to find a home for him, because the owners wanted him put to sleep if there was no one to take him.

Suddenly, I was in his stall. I don¹t remember opening the door or going in. I just found myself standing there as if some quiet gentle force guided me in. This horse looked up at me with the saddest eyes I had ever seen. Those eyes said, “How can I disappoint you?” I looked him straight in the eye and told him out loud he¹d be my next horse. He looked deep into my soul. So deep I could feel it.

I ran to find the barn manager. I told her I wanted this horse. She told me to ride him a few times to be sure. I was sure, but I was afraid if I didn¹t, she wouldn¹t let me have him. So I agreed. After every ride, I told her I was sure. After every ride, she told me to wait a while. During one ride, she told me to pick up the trot so I could feel the lameness. I asked for the trot, and King tripped. We both almost kissed the dust. As she yelled for me to, I sat up, and King collected himself, and gave me a gimpy trot around the ring. He was certainly lame. I got off, and told her I still wanted him. She told me to give her my final answer on November first. Everyone at the barn told me I was crazy to take a lame horse. I ignored them. On November first, she signed King over to me, almost 5 years after Socs died.

King didn¹t have any real identification. No one knew much about his history other than some tall tales of King starting fights with other horses at his previous home, uncontrollable behavior, not being too smart, etc. It didn¹t phase me at all. I didn¹t believe any of this. I saw his soul through his eyes. I did believe he was lost, confused, lonely, and in need of some consistent love and care. I decided he needed a real name. He definitely knew his name as King, so I didn¹t want to change what I called him, even though the name King seemed more like a German shepherd¹s name to me. The same girl who told me about him came up with the perfect name: “The King of Hearts”.

We began this relationship on the ground. I¹d go to the barn every day. He¹d nicker so loud when he saw me. I¹d hand graze King for hours since turn out was limited due to space. At times, King would jump into mid air for no reason while I was hand grazing him. Other times he¹d bolt out of the barn on the way to the grass. When he was turned out, he was in a paddock all alone because of those rumors of fighting. When people commented on his behavior, I¹d just laugh and say he had ants in his pants. I continued to work with him every day. I reassured King constantly. Eventually, he began to look for my reassurance. I always told King he was good. Every day when I left the barn to go home, I hugged King, kissed him and told him I loved him. He was beginning to trust me and realize he had a person to love him forever. He was beginning to love me too.

We grew closer each day. King and I began to know each other very well. I understood every look on his face and tone of his voice, as he did mine. If King was in a playful mood or extremely happy, a high pitched nicker would dance from his face as if he was giggling with delight. When I was late getting there, he¹d nicker from deep within his body as if to say, “Finally!” If King wasn¹t feeling good, he¹d almost whisper a nicker. When all was normal, a regular nicker would do.

Eventually, the board got too high and we moved to a beautiful barn with acres of land. King gets out every day all day. He is in a huge field with other horses. He has become best friends with another horse that my husband now owns. This horse who they said couldn¹t get along with any other now has a friend forever.
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I go spend time with King every day. King walks so calmly by my side without a lead as we go in or out from the field or barn. He doesn¹t jump into the air anymore. Sometimes, he doesn¹t even want to go out. He¹d rather stay in with the humans. When there are a lot of us at the barn, standing around talking, King will mosey over and stand with the group, cocking his back foot to relax. I think we amuse him.

I tell him everything, too.
Sometimes I just watch from the fence while King lives his life as he should. Being a horse. My friends from the other barn often ask me how King is. Well, one day I went to the barn, and just stood by the fence again, watching King graze in the setting sunlight. I called to him as I always do when I get to the field, “Hey you!” King looked up at me, we made eye contact, King let out the loudest, highest pitched nicker I had ever heard, and then he went back to eating grass.

That’s how King is.

King and I are soul mates. All King and I have to do is look at each other, and we know what the other is thinking. I never thought it could happen again. I was so close to Socs in such a special way. Our bond was so strong. I am lucky enough to I have the same strong bond with King. .

Oh, and by the way, that gentle force I was talking about ­ it was Socs. Soul mates are forever. One never leaves the other, no matter what.

Phyllis Frank