Sometimes, I find the best sort of activity for a Friday night is a recreational cry. You know the kind — you put on an almost flamboyantly sad film (see: Atonement, or literally anything with a dog as a primary character), pour yourself a problematic amount of Riesling, and get stuck into a jolly good weep. You can keep your laxative teas, Kardashians — my favourite form of detox is a slightly tipsy emotional purge, and I won’t be shamed for it. Nor will I soil myself in public. I hope.
This week’s Friday video certainly falls within the realms of the recreational weep, though only if your style in crying doesn’t err towards the pedantic — star of the show Peyo is, as the eagle-eyed among you will notice, lacking a certain pair of wibbly-wobbly dingly-danglies, and thus, undeserving of the term ‘stallion.’
Otherwise, though, this lovely little video shows us a few things we all already know: horses really are the world’s best healers, and these big, slobbery, expensive goons really can communicate an awful lot with just a look and a breath. Peyo does a seriously special job, delivering his own brand of bedside care and support to his hospitalised friends with the help of his owner, Hassen Bouchakour. Together, they understand that sometimes, words aren’t enough — to be on equal terms with an animal who looks you in the eye and doesn’t shy away from your illness can be so much more powerful. This is your final warning: remove mascara, press play, and let loose.
To learn more about Hassen and Peyo and the brilliant work they do in their home country of France, check out their Facebook page, Les Sabots du Coeur, which translates as ‘the Hooves of the Heart’. This week, Peyo will be honoured at the Salon du Cheval in Paris, so if you’re popping along to catch some of the showjumping action, you can meet him for yourself!
