The story of Tye, a newborn foal, and Zip, a 5-year-old rescue dog, is one of unexpected friendship and compassion. Tye’s mother passed away when he was only 9 days old, leaving him alone and heartbroken. But Karla Swindle, the farm owner, was surprised to see Zip step up to comfort Tye and take him under his wing. Despite the tough start to his life, Tye found solace in the unlikely friendship with Zip.
“We raise foals every year, and he would kind of look in the door and just look at them, but now it was different,” Karla said. “I spent the night taking care of the mama horse, hoping that I could pull her through and Zip stayed with me in the alley of the barn all night — the foal was laying in the alley, and he just lay beside the foal.”
Although the tiny foal lost its mother, he gained the most compassionate and caring friend instead!
“He adopted it as his baby,” the owner said. “He’s letting him know ‘you’re not alone.’ This is the first time Zip has ever just licked on one[a foal], nudged one, laid on one.”
For nearly two months, Zip stayed by Tye’s side, offering him comfort and protection. The foal appeared happier than ever to have such a loyal friend. Thanks to Zip’s care, Tye was able to heal and move on from the loss of his mother. Even as Tye grew into a grown-up horse, he never forgot his protective companion and continued to spend time with him.
“Every time I would take off to the barn, Zip would run to the stall, and stand in front of the stall and wait for me to get there,” Karla says. “As soon as I opened the door, he would about knock me down before I could get in there and if Tye was laying down, he would go over there and lay his head on him.”
More about this inspiring story in the video!
