Gentle Giants Draft Rescue in Mount Airy, MD, was formed to save horses from uncaring owners. Phantom, one of the horses at the non-profit organization, was basically a puppy in the body of a 7-year-old giant horse.
Courtney, a volunteer at the Gentle Giants Draft Rescue, always described him as a Great Dane. Phantom was a very bubbly and goofy horse who absolutely loved swimming. The horse would drag Courtney into the water and play.
Phantom was a shire horse, and he always knew when somebody needed him. One day, one of the other volunteers, Lauren, rescued a 30-year-old horse, Teton. The horse's foot was deformed and had holes, making it difficult to walk.
The foot needed to be regrown and reshaped. It was very uncomfortable for Teton. Phantom understood that Teton would not find it comfortable running around the rest of the field. Nonetheless, he still got close to Teton.
Phantom always encouraged Teton to walk a little further. However, the rescue horse left the field only when he visited the vet. He did not go on any adventure trips.
So, Courtney and Lauren decided to take Phantom and Teton over to the creek. Since Phantom enjoyed being in the water, their caretakers thought Teton might enjoy it too. Teton saw Phantom walk into the water, and he immediately followed him. Soon, Teton joined Phantom in splashing water all around.
It was really cool how Teton looked up to Phantom all the time for inspiration. Usually, younger animals are inspired by looking to the senior generation to learn from, but it was different here. Phantom helped the rescue horse recover from emotional trauma. Today, Teton had become one of the alpha horses in the herd.
