(by Ted Andrews)
We love the draft horses. They are big, strong and gentle. We were looking for a special draft horse, one with pinto markings. We had spent a day with a man looking over his horses, but we never found what we liked. He mentioned that he had one more group in another pasture. As we stepped through the fence, we saw the herd at the top of rise about 200 yards away. I heard a soft whisper, "Lakota" and a spotted horse immediately caught our eye. He was muscular and high headed. My wife and I gave each other glances and we continued up the hill.
As we approached, a spotted horse walked easily over to us. He was smaller than the one we saw but with the same markings. This one looked malnourished, borderline starving. He stood and nuzzled us as if we were old friends. A I gave him a good scratch, I looked around for the horse we saw from the bottom of the hill. He was nowhere to be seen. I asked the owner if there were any other spotted drafts in this group and he said this one was the only one.
It was then I heard, "My name is Lakota". Again it was a soft whisper in my head - the same as before. I realized then that we had been shown a vision of the potential in this horse. We didn't buy him that day, but we both knew that we would likely buy this horse. Neither of us said anything. I didn't mention for several days what I had heard whispered to me. Not because my wife would think I was strange but rather because whenever I hear the name of an animal, it usually becomes ours.
Well, we did buy him, and when he was delivered he was even more malnourished than when we left him. In time he grew healthier and stronger and has become the horse we saw dancing across the top of the distant hill.
And he is Lakota - friend and ally.