An Unlikely Pair- How a Quarter Horse Adopted an Orphan Calf

By: Brittany Bevis

Sometimes, Mother Nature can be cruel. But, more often than not, her grace and adaptability becomes present in other surprising ways.

When Michelle Khoshbin came across an orphan, twin calf that wouldn’t nurse, she knew she had to do something. To her surprise and delight, her American Quarter Horse, Vinny, stepped up in ways she never imagined would be possible.

“I started taking horseback riding lessons when I was 11,” Michelle says. “I got my first horse when I was 12. He was a dapple grey paint named Jag. When I outgrew Jag, I sold him and bought my horse, Brady, who I still have. He’s 17, and I’ve had him since he was two years old.”

“Nine years ago, Vinny’s mom came into my life as a horse that I was supposed to do some work with. I fell in love with her and, about a year later, she was given to me as a Christmas present. I really wanted to breed her and my vet, Dr. Hasbrouck, suggested looking up Chipaholic, since I’d always loved Zips Chocolate Chip.”

On April 14th, 2017, Vinny was born, and Michelle was so excited with his promise that she decided to take him to the Quarter Horse Congress to compete in Halter as a yearling. “Vinny has more personality than any horse I know. He always has to know what you’re doing, and he just loves people.”

Earlier this year, on Vinny’s birthday, Michelle’s mare had another colt. Sadly, he was born three weeks early and passed away. Michelle was devastated. “I kept looking online for a project horse, because I was so upset. Eventually, I came to my senses after everyone said to stop looking, that it wouldn’t change anything about the foal that I had lost.”

Little did Michelle know that a project was coming her way, but not in the package she was expecting. The vet who had suggested Vinny’s cross also happens to raise red Angus cows. On May 7th, Michelle accompanied him on a trip to check out the newborn calves when she discovered Milo.

“Milo was too weak and wouldn’t suck or try to nurse. Being a twin, he was only 40 pounds, while a normal calf weighs between 70 to 80 pounds when they’re born. He had to be tube fed for a couple days. I started watching videos and read about putting honey on my fingers, but nothing would work. Milo wouldn’t suck.”

“I saw this video of a calf drinking milk out of a bucket and thought that it would be worth a try. I tried a dog bowl first and Milo caught on. He drinks a bucket of milk in less then a minute now.”

When Milo was strong enough to venture outside, Michelle noticed that Vinny would go over to the fence and watch over the tiny calf. The two became such an inseparable pair that Michelle started turning them out together. “Every day, Vinny is making sure his buddy, Milo, is in the turnout, and he’s always supervising to make sure nothing goes wrong. Somedays, I even ride Vinny with Milo in the paddock, and he sleeps or watches me ride.”

“If I’m riding Vinny in the round pen, Milo will stick his head through the fence to make sure he can watch Vinny while I ride. I’m not sure what the future holds for Milo and Vinny, but I’m sure loving this crazy journey.”

We have received so many fun photos of unlikely friendships over the past few weeks for our EC Photo of the Day submissions. Horses and chickens; horses and cats; horses and dogs, and even horses and potbellied pigs. If you have a great EC Photo or Video of the Day, email B.Bevis@EquineChronicle.com.