Calling Doctor Peyo to Ward Everywhere

March 19, 2021 12:11 AM

'Doctor' Peyo is a French horse with an uncanny empathy. He can tell when people need him, and is able to soothe the pain of those at palliative stage. Look at this photo collection in The Guardian. Watch this video from a few years ago (he's 17-18yrs old now). Here's a longer, discursive video in French without the music and better resolution (19min), and another one (37min). And an article in Ministry Earth magazine. Friendship is magic.
posted by Thella (23 comments total)

You're saying there's a horse in the hospital?

(thank you for the very sweet post.)
posted by ZaphodB at 1:09 AM on March 19, 2021 [4 favorites]

Thank you for posting this. Beautiful.
posted by Zumbador at 2:43 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

I once worked in a nursing home just down the road from the mounted police stables. The home was not-for-profit, purpose-built for people who had aged out of nearby social housing. The ceilings were high and the doorways wide and police horses were frequently brought inside individual rooms. There was a resident dog as well. I liked working there very much.
posted by Thella at 3:08 AM on March 19, 2021 [9 favorites]

That was so lovely it made me cry. My mom is a cancer patient and loves horses. She would totally enjoy a visit from Dr Peyo.
posted by shoesietart at 4:29 AM on March 19, 2021 [4 favorites]

May wonders never cease.
posted by y2karl at 5:35 AM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

I worried that the doctor was sick, but he was just a little hoarse.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:37 AM on March 19, 2021 [6 favorites]

The wildest part is that the horse himself chooses the rooms he wants to go to!
posted by Tom-B at 6:01 AM on March 19, 2021

OMG how wonderful and heartbreaking. Thank you for posting this.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 6:24 AM on March 19, 2021

Wow wow. Wow. <3
posted by Glinn at 6:29 AM on March 19, 2021

I have something in my eye.
posted by mule98J at 6:47 AM on March 19, 2021 [1 favorite]

What a kind and beautiful face Hassen has too. This was a wonderful way to start the day. Thank you.
posted by HotToddy at 8:00 AM on March 19, 2021

I have been psychologically weakened. Can someone send me Doctor Peyo?

This is beautiful. Horses have just the softest muzzles, and they have such warmth. I can imagine just how comforting that must be.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 9:00 AM on March 19, 2021

Not being a horse lover, not even really a horse liker, I found this surprisingly moving. Also, I believe this horse is most likely a Bhodisattva.
posted by From Bklyn at 9:39 AM on March 19, 2021 [5 favorites]

Friendship is magic.

I see what you did there.
posted by gurple at 9:43 AM on March 19, 2021 [2 favorites]

chills
posted by clownschool at 11:57 AM on March 19, 2021

You can see his dressage training in the way he angles his legs and points his hooves. Lovely.
posted by sardonyx at 1:04 PM on March 19, 2021

"‘I am to some extent this horse’s collateral damage, I didn’t ask for this. It took me a while to accept it. It put an end to my successful career as a sportsman, and as a showman. It was very complicated to no longer be the master, and to be forced to admit that when [Peyo] detects someone [is sick], I am no longer in control. When he decides, I cannot hold him back, it’s a need, it’s visceral, it is in him, he needs to go and cling onto the specific person he has chosen,’ says Bouchakour."
posted by QuakerMel at 8:57 AM on March 20, 2021 [3 favorites]

Can a horsey person give some insight into his braided tail and leg warmers? Are they leg warmers or something else? Is the tail a hygiene issue? And what if he needs to poop?

I keep coming back to this. Even over video his beautiful eyes are strangely moving. I can see how a person could fall in love with a horse just as they do with a dog. It's always been a bit of mystery to me--I mean, a dog sleeps in your bed, goes everywhere with you, is someone you talk to and touch throughout the day, and becomes almost like a part of your body. But the powerful presence of this horse--that must be a different experience altogether.
posted by HotToddy at 9:07 AM on March 20, 2021

HotToddy I have heard horse lovers say that because horses are herd animals, they are tuned into their companion's state of mind to the point where their empathy seems telepathic.
posted by Zumbador at 10:59 AM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

And what if he needs to poop?

he's 'house-broken' (mentions it in the french language video: also that it's no small thing to get him ready to go into the buildings - there's an extensive cleaning and sanitizing regimen. Which makes sense, of course, but I had never thought of it.)
posted by From Bklyn at 12:45 PM on March 20, 2021 [1 favorite]

HotToddy -- Horsey person here. The braided tail is for both hygiene and to protect the hair of the tail from getting caught in things/stepped on/flicked in someone's face, etc. Lots of horses have their tails braided around the dock (the bone and muscle part of the tail) whenever they ride in a trailer.

The "leg warmers" are actually thinggs called "splint boots" to help support the leg's ligaments, etc. You see them on many horses in jumping-related disciplines. In this case, it's probably a combination of support for when he's being trailered and because he's walking on slick floors, something quite difficult to do when you are balancing on a single fingernail.

Finally, most dressage horses are trained to not only relieve themselves on command, but also to wait for an appropriate place to do it because if your horses poops/pees in competition then you get disqualified. :)
posted by Concolora at 5:17 PM on March 23, 2021

Thank you!
posted by HotToddy at 10:00 PM on March 24, 2021

I have shown these clips to friends, watched and rewatched them -- and of him I can safely say why I can't even... What is going on with this horse? It is so beyond the previously imaginable. This creature has such an enormous soul. He is a living breathing mitzvah.
posted by y2karl at 8:03 PM on March 27, 2021