Welcome! Meet Malachi….. the painting pony! Malachi has not always been a painter but he has always been an artist. From an early age, he has been making abstract “art” with his mouth. As the story goes, Malachi was accidently separated from his mother at birth. When his owners found him on the opposite side of the fence the morning after he was born they tried to reunite Mallie with his mother. Unfortunately, she wanted nothing to do with him. Instead, she attempted to attack him upon reunification. As a result, Malachi was bottle-fed and raised by humans and had little social contact with other horses. With so much human interaction and very little herd experience, Malachi began to identify with his human. Just like horses play with each other and practice dominance games among their herd, Malachi too began to experiment with his human owner. Not understanding this horse play and herd behavior, Malachi’s human would punish him for what she considered his “naughtiness.” As a result, Malachi became very skeptical of humans and perfected his dominance games. Acrobatics such as rearing, striking, biting, bucking and kicking were among his talents. For those reasons, Malachi was not a desirable mount or horse partner. He was designated unfit for anyone and doomed for defeat and possibly death. When Shepherd Youth Ranch acquired Malachi, his behaviors had escalated to such a point that his new human would work with him on-line outside of his fence until he was able to respect her space. Eventually, Malachi began to understand and come to love this new communication based on rapport and respect. Today, Malachi remains a challenging horse but through the tenacity of those who care for him and his desire to learn and play, he is on his way to becoming a horse with a bright future full of hope. His artistic skills are a recent development and an attempt to employ his natural curiosity and propensity to put his mouth on objects. Prior to painting, Malachi could be seen taking his rope halter in his mouth and shaking his head up and down resembling the same motion a painter would use with a brush. Presently, Malachi is “employed” as a horse counselor at Shepherd Youth Ranch, a non-profit 501c3 that serves youth and their families who may be underprivileged or considered at-risk. Here, he works with people of all ages, some of which like him have been mistreated and deemed “hopeless”. Malachi offers inspiration to everyone experiencing the challenges of life. He has overcome insurmountable obstacles and encourages us to do the same. Like the Old Testament prophet, Malachi who spoke of the hope that would come with Christ, Malachi the “painting pony” is a modern day example of living hope.
