Horse whisperer says Centre Island horses terrified of losing home

Locutus

Adorable Deplorable
Jun 18, 2007
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Well it's in the Star...must be real news. ;-)


Horse whisperer Lauren Bode says she’s been telepathically communicating with Boot, a 16-year-old Belgian cross living at Centre Island’s Far Enough Farm.

So I test her.

“Who’s going to win the Queen’s Plate?”

Boot rolls his enormous dark eyes my way, crunching and slurping a carrot chunk. Is the retired police horse consulting his psychic tote board? Bode laughs.

“First I’d have to tell him what the Queen’s Plate is.”

A non-committal answer from Bode, an animal empath invited by the Star to commune with the island’s farm critters. As for Boot, maybe he doesn’t want to be the Pete Rose of the ponies, spilling industry secrets to gamblers.

But when it comes to sharing emotions, says Bode, Boot and his 29-year-old paddock neighbour, Duchess, are quite forthcoming.

She says the two are upset about moving from Far Enough Farm, a popular Toronto attraction on Mayor Rob Ford’s chopping block.

“The animals were quite worried about going to a new home,” relates Bode, who says Duchess, a 20-year farm resident and former mounted unit member like Boot, senses death.

“She wouldn’t cope very well, but if they’re going together, it would be best.”

The hobby farm, visited by generations of local families and millions of tourists since 1959, is slated for closure on June 30. The City of Toronto has cut its funding (the annual budget is $221,000, covering two staff salaries and animal feed) and that of High Park Zoo and Riverdale Farm.

There are community efforts underway to save all three farms.




more, if you really need it:


Toronto News: Horse whisperer says Centre Island horses terrified of losing home - thestar.com




 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
108,912
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Low Earth Orbit
The horse spirits just channeled me through the powers of the constellation andromeda and the horses are happy to get the **** away from a bunch of gross urbanites and their snot nosed, sticky handed, drooling, whining kids pawing all over them.