Indeed. A donkey once protected her master from an angel. Animals are more aware that we suppose, I think.
It sounds like you were blessed with a wonderful horse.
Wasn’t even my horse, just rented it for a few hours. We got along pretty well, though. It had a real personality, too, with a penchant for practical jokes, I swear. Now the bear I feel sorry for. The ranch manager found out about the incident, who informed a tracker, who carried a high power rifle. When I asked “What about the cub?”, the only answer I got was “We can’t have bears on the ranch”.