Callum had been abused every day of his life. He came to us malnourished, broken and desperate, in tremendous pain…and just in the nick of time. He became a bit defensive about both his stall and his hay, as he had been accustomed to a lack of safety and security and too little food. We embraced him, respected his boundaries and his wishes, and lovingly called him “Grumpers”, and of course at Red Bucket, we work for the horses, and so it was easy to adhere to the wishes of …our precious…if not a bit bossy…new friend. Even (perhaps especially) the grumpy need companionship and touch, and it has been only recently (and after what feels like zillions of failed attempts) have we found success in the new friendship of Callum and Justin. Perhaps it is because they look alike, or that they both have tasted and survived despair, it might just be that Justin is so very kind that he can absorb Callum’s burden and previous pain…or perhaps Callum’s heart is starting to heal just enough to let in a ray of sunshine and sliver of hope. While the new friendship started standing side by side and has progressed to sharing a slow grazer, we are holding are breaths and counting the days until the friends begin the reciprocal grooming that will bring Callum the joy of touch.