He stepped off the truck, his white face glowing in the dark. He sniffed and snorted his way around his new paddock, and greeted us with a calm, gracious temperament. I felt immediately connected to him in some way, and he responded to me with the same sense of recognition. I felt indescribably happy that I finally had him here with me. He was very underweight, recovering from queensland itch, and head shy, but underneath all that, he was a precious, trusting soul who adored our company. From day one, he sought us out. He would stand at the back door of our house, peering into my office, watching me work. Patiently waiting for me to come and spend time with him during the day, or surprise him with some fruit bread, a muffin, or some peanut butter toast.

He tolerated ducks, dogs, cats, cows and even Gwennie [my broodmare] and her cranky outbursts at him for no good reason, at unpredictable moments. He was the most affable soul I had met, and he didn't hold grudges - which is unusual for any horse!

About a month after Bernie arrived here, I received his official papers from the Clydesdale Society. Bernie was born on my birthday! I had known there was some connection between us, and that cemented it. He was my soul mate by birth. I was firmly convinced that Bernie and I were meant to be together for a very long time. I even came to take for granted seeing him whereever I went, knowing that he was ready to do whatever I felt like doing on that particular day.

We did everything together. He taught me so many things, and he was very patient, ignoring my lack of skill in areas that he was a master. I decided I wanted to do dressage - Bernie endured the embarrassment of prancing around like a pony as I put him through his paces. He would run around in circles when I decided he needed a good spell of lunging. Good friends needed assistance mustering cattle - Bernie? Yep, no problem, I can do anything! He'd never mustered cattle before, but on those days you would never have known it, and he certainly convinced the cattle he knew what he was doing. Even when he was rudely accosted by two very cranky mares one one such day, he didn't lose his cool.

Visitors? Bernie's favourite! He loved nothing more than seeing a car load of people drive in for a visit. Children were particularly favoured. I'll never forget the time that the next door neighbour's dog hid underneath Bernie so that he didn't have to go back home and miss out on the fun! Or the time that he oversaw proccedings at a BBQ, deftly pinching lettuce from the salad bowl when he thought no-one was looking. One of my good friends will remember her 1 year old's first clydesdale kiss, as Bernie gently leaned in to her son's cheek.

Harness work? No problem! I acquired harness from various friends and others and fitted him out with a set of working harness, and had a slide purpose built so he could either drive me around the paddocks, or use the slide as a carrying platform. That was his forte. He seemed so at home in a collar and chains, pulling his custom made slide around the paddocks, delivering logs back to the house yard.